The CPU in the Acer Aspire 3 A317-51G is slowed down

The Acer Aspire 3 A317-51G is a multimedia all-rounder in the 17.3-inch format. The test device provided to us is the current top model of the series. It’s available for just under 1,000 Euros (~$1,185). However, you won’t find any high-quality case materials despite the high price point. The chassis is completely made of black plastic. The massive case and the mediocre battery life reveal that the laptop is primarily intended for use on a desk.

The laptop is powered by a Core i7-10510U processor and a dedicated GeForce MX250 graphics core. Together, they bring most of the games in our database smoothly onto the screen. However, you have to accept some compromises in terms of resolution and quality level – this is especially true for modern titles.

Users who need as much CPU power as possible would be making a wrong choice here, though. Acer slows down the processor a bit because the power consumption of the entire laptop needs to remain within the energy budget provided by the 65-watt power adapter. The purchase of a Core-i7 Aspire is, therefore, not worthwhile. Compared to the Core-i5 processors, the CPU is supposed to offer higher Turbo clock speeds, but it doesn’t manage to deploy them. However, this can look different on Aspire models that lack a dedicated GPU.

The port configuration isn’t particularly generous. The laptop has three USB Type-A ports (2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1). There’s no USB Type-C port. A memory card reader has been completely forgone as well – a questionable decision. An external monitor can be connected via HDMI.

The display (Full HD, IPS) scores points with a matte surface, stable viewing angles, good contrast, and decent color reproduction. The maximum brightness and the color-space coverage are too low for a device in this price range, though.

More information and many benchmark results can be found in our review of the Acer Aspire 3 A317-51G-72MD.

New Redmi K40 Pro leak reveals major performance and camera improvements over the Redmi K30 Pro

The Redmi K30 Pro was launched earlier in the year and it appears Xiaomi already has its sights set on the successor to that phone, the Redmi K40 Pro. New information has now surfaced about the K40 Pro, painting a picture of a device that’ll handily outperform the current Redmi K30 Pro across the board.

According to tipster Digital Chat Station, the Redmi K40 Pro will offer a Snapdragon 875. Massive surprise. The Redmi K20 Pro and Redmi K30 Pro were powered by the Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon 865 respectively, so this was always expected. In any case, the Snapdragon 875 will be built on Samsung’s 5nm manufacturing node, so should be considerably more powerful and efficient than the Snapdragon 865 on the Redmi K30 Pro.

Another improvement of the Redmi K40 Pro over the Redmi K30 Pro will be in camera performance. The Redmi K40 Pro has been touted to feature Samsung’s new 108 MP ISOCELL HM2 sensor. That could also be the sensor on the upcoming Mi 10T Pro, actually. The HM2 is, by all metrics, a better-performing CMOS sensor than the 64 MP Sony IMX686 on the Redmi K30 Pro.

The Redmi K40 Pro is also expected to offer a bigger battery and faster charging versus the Redmi K30 Pro.

JAM Audio’s latest wireless headphones offer ANC and a fold-away design for US$60

JAM Audio has announced that it is seeking to bring ANC to the affordable end of the wireless headphone market with its new product. The Travel ANC set is indeed rated for this sought-after spec: its OEM claims that it can even work with its audio switched off for a bit of quiet in crowded or distracting environments.

The Travel ANCs are rated for 18 hours of playback, or 24 with its eponymous function turned off. JAM Audio also claims that the headphones deliver “hard-hitting bass with full-range sound”. Their ear cushions are padded, and they can bend along the headband and pivot at the ear-cups for compact storage when necessary.

The headphones have physical controls for media and calls, and also feature a 3.5mm jack for the option of wired listening (there is also an AUX cable in the box). Next to this port is one for microUSB – which implies a major compromise with these well-priced ANC accessories: in other words, it may take a long time (which goes unspecified by the OEM) to charge them.

Accordingly, the JAM Audio Travel ANC wireless headphones are just US$59.99. They are available from certain US retailers, or from the company’s own website, from now.

Galaxy F41: Details of Samsung’s alleged camera-centric budget phone surface ahead of launch

A few days ago, it was revealed that Samsung would debut a new lineup of phones. This new lineup, the Galaxy F series, is billed to offer camera-centric devices in the budget segment. It appears Samsung will kick off the series with the Galaxy F41 and details of the phone have now surfaced.

According to a report by GSMArena, the Galaxy F41 will be powered by the Exyno 9611. Samsung has thrown that chipset into a whole bunch of its budget phones, with devices like the Galaxy M31, Galaxy M31s, Galaxy A51, Galaxy A50s, and Galaxy M30s all using the same SoC. The phone will also come with 6 GB of RAM.

A leaked user manual of the Galaxy F41 also revealed some important details. For one, the phone appears to sport a waterdrop notch and not a hole punch as one would expect. The display is an FHD+ AMOLED as expected but bezels look to be on the large side—larger than is typical with new phones in 2020.

The Galaxy F41 will offer a triple-cam setup at the back, with a 64 MP main camera joined by an ultra-wide-angle shooter. It’s unknown what the third camera is. Other features include a rear-mounted capacitive fingerprint reader, dual speakers, and a headphone jack.

Supposedly, the Galaxy F41 could be a rebranded Galaxy M31. That looks viable, too, as some features appear to be the same on the two phones. Both phones happen to look incredibly similar, too. 

Surface Pro X 2020 billed to launch in October with custom Microsoft SQ2 processor and 64-bit app support

Microsoft is having another crack at the Surface Pro X, according to Windows Central. The first-generation device arrived just under a year ago, specifically on October 2 2019, so it is about time that Microsoft released a successor. According to Windows Central, Microsoft will unveil the new Surface Pro X alongside the budget Surface Laptop on which we reported last month.

The new Surface Pro X will retain the design of the current model but with one change. Windows Central claims that Microsoft will offer a platinum version of the Surface Pro X, probably alongside the black colour that the company currently sells. The website states that Microsoft plans to bring more Surface Pro X Type Covers to market too. Apparently, these will reflect the colours that Microsoft sells for the regular Surface Pro series.

Perhaps the most significant change for the next Surface Pro X will be the introduction of a new custom processor. In July, Windows Latest spotted a device called OEMSR OEMSR Product Name DV on Geekbench running a processor clocked at 3.15 GHz, albeit one called an Intel Pentium II/III.

Windows Central states that the next Surface Pro X will feature the Microsoft SQ2. The website does not know what changes Microsoft has made from the standard Snapdragon 8cx Gen2, but the Geekbench listing referred to the OEMSR OEMSR Product Name DV running Windows 10 Enterprise 64-bit. Hence, 64-bit support could be on the way to the Surface Pro X. There is no word on 5G connectivity though, nor pricing.

Leaked AirPods Studio photo and renders confirm the design of Apple’s upcoming US$349 over-ear headphones

The first sighting of the AirPods Studio has been leaked online. Rumours about Apple’s first AirPods-branded over-ear headphones have been floating around for a while now, but information had dried up in the last few months. Unlike past leaks, this new one has been published by @choco_bit, a popular leaker on Twitter.

According to Mark Gurman and Jon Prosser, the AirPods Studio will have multiple advanced detection features, including neck detection. A magnetic headband and detachable earcups are thought to make their way to the AirPods Studio, too.

Naturally, the AirPods Studio will have active noise cancellation (ANC), like practically every other set of premium over-ear headphones. Apple is expected to price the AirPods Studio at US$349 too, matching the price of the Sony WH-1000XM4 and the launch price of the Bose QC 35 II. Apple is said to have included a magnetic headband and earcups, also.

We have been unable to confirm the authenticity of the picture. However, Jon Prosser seems to think that it is legitimate, at least from his angry response anyway. @choco_bit thinks that the photo is of a Sport variant, so Apple may be planning to release multiple editions of the AirPods Studio. Exactly when is unclear, though.

Prosser has also released concept renders, designed by @CConceptCreator, of the AirPods Studio, too. Prosser claims that he has released these rather than actual images to ‘protect the source’, make of that what you will. Additionally, the AirPods Studio will lack a 3.5 mm jack, as it is an Apple product after all. Instead, Prosser claims that Apple has included a USB Type-C port, which will presumably handle charging and wired audio output.

Lenovo releases the Flex 5G to the US market via its own site

Lenovo’s Flex 5G is its take on the “Always On Always Connected” Qualcomm Snapdragon for notebooks platform. It is a 14-inch convertible with an FHD IPS display and 8GB of RAM that can be charged at up to 45 watts (W) via its type C ports, which also support DisplayPort and the USB 3.2 standard. It also now has a sales page on the OEM’s US site.

The Flex 5G (or Yoga 5G, as it may be known in other markets) is not exactly new to this market: Verizon has also been listing it as a device with next-gen connectivity on its network. The 2-in-1 costs US$1399 through this vendor, whereas its first-party source has put it at a starting price of $1699.

The new non-Verizon version has the same specs as the one sold by Lenovo; however, the latter can use both mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G, whereas the former is stuck on the carrier’s ultra-wide (UW) mmWave bands. Therefore, a buyer may be able to use it on more available mobile networks, at least. Otherwise, the Flex 5G supports Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0. It is available now from its new vendor.

The Razer Phone 2 has not received an OS upgrade in almost 19 months

We gave the Razer Phone 2 top marks when we reviewed it in 2018 on account of its 120 Hz display, high-quality DAC, 8 GB of RAM and expandable storage, among other positives. However, few would have predicted the device to receive such poor software support.

Razer launched its second smartphone running Android 8.1 Oreo in October 2018, despite the release of Android 9.0 Pie two months earlier in August. It took Razer until late February 2019 before it started upgrading the handset to Android 9.0 Pie, and until April for AT&T to upgrade its devices to Google’s then-current OS.

Android 9.0 Pie is where the Razer Phone 2 remains though, almost 19 months on from its last OS upgrade. Razer still delivers software updates to the Razer Phone 2. The last update contained the September 2020 set of security patches, which makes the Razer Phone 2 more up to date than many smartphones. Conversely, Razer is yet to confirm plans to bring Android 10 to its most-recent handset.

Considering the time elapsed since the device’s last OS upgrade, it would seem unlikely that the Razer Phone 2 will ever receive Android 10. Oddly, the original Razer Phone received two OS upgrades, but that low bar sadly seems out of reach for its successor.

Apple showcases an overhaul of the iPad Air with a new design, A14 Bionic chipset and 20 W USB Type-C charging

Apple may not have announced the iPhone 12 series today, but it has unleashed the A14 Bionic chipset with the new iPad Air. The fourth-generation tablet has received an overhaul from the tablet that Apple released last year, which was the first iPad Air since the second-generation model that debuted in 2014.

The new iPad Air has been upgraded to a 10.9-inch screen that resolves at 2,360 x 1,640 pixels, which Apple is calling a Liquid Retina display. The fourth-generation tablet has much smaller bezels than its predecessor too, so Apple has moved the Touch ID to within the power button. Another change from previous iPad Airs is the switch to USB Type-C charging. Apple will include a 20 W USB Type-C charger in the box, which should give the iPad Air relatively speedy recharging times.

Apple has also upgraded the iPad Air to Wi-Fi 6 and claims to have equipped the tablet with a 60% faster LTE modem than the one it included in last year’s iPad Air. The new iPad Air will also support the Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard, and Smart Folio covers.

Undoubtedly, the most significant change for the iPad Air is the inclusion of Apple’s new A14 Bionic chipset. If you would like to find out more about the company’s new 5 nm chipset, then head here.

The fourth-generation iPad Air starts at US$599 and will begin shipping from October in five colours. The base model comes with 64 GB of storage and Wi-Fi only. If you want LTE connectivity or 256 GB storage, then these are US$130 and US$150 surcharges, respectively.

HP Omen Blast and Omen Frequency Wireless gaming headsets promise immersive 7.1-channel audio and long hours of comfort listening

HP has announced two new headsets to its gaming accessory portfolio — the Omen Blast and Omen Frequency Wireless. Both headsets aim to offer an immersive 7.1-channel surround audio and compatibility with PC and consoles.

HP Omen Blast

The Omen Blast is a wired gaming headset that comes with its own 24-bit USB DAC that is compatible with Windows and macOS. It features 53 mm drivers and offers 360-degree 7.1-channel spatial awareness. Users can customize the sound profile in the Omen Command Center. The Omen Blast is compatible with PC, PS4, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and can even be used with smartphones with 3.5 mm headphone jacks.

The Omen Blast features a retractable passive noise-cancelling microphone and volume controls directly on the 1.2 m-long cable. HP says that the Omen Blast uses “super-duper-soft” padding and a suspension headband that should allow for comfortable wear during extended gaming sessions.

HP Omen Frequency Wireless

The Omen Frequency Wireless is HP’s 7.1-channel headset offering low-latency audio with a long battery life and is powered by the C-Media Xear chip. The Omen Frequency Wireless uses Warp Wireless Technology to minimize lag while ensuring high fidelity. HP says that the headset can offer up to 30 hours of battery life on a single charge via USB-C. The Omen Frequency offers touch controls for volume, lights, and power.

Like the Omen Blast, the Omen Frequency also features the ability to set custom audio profiles via the Omen Command Center along with an environment noise-cancelling microphone that can be easily tucked away when not in use.

HP notes that full wireless functionality is made possible via the Omen Command Center and thus works with Windows 10 and higher. Some wireless features are limited on the PS4, macOS, iOS, and Chrome OS. Those with a Nintendo Switch or Xbox One will have to make do via the 3.5 mm jack.

The HP Omen Blast gaming headset is now available via HP.com for US$79.99 while the Omen Frequency Wireless is expected to be available from December for a starting price of US$169.99.