Samsung Galaxy S21 series tipped for new UD fingerprint scanner as FCC confirms Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 versions

More details about the Galaxy S21 series have been revealed ahead of the anticipated launch earlier next year. The designs of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra have already been revealed this week, and now Ice Universe has revealed details about the state of their primary biometric authentication method.

According to the leaker, the trio of devices will have much faster and larger UD fingerprint scanners than those that Samsung included in the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra. Specifically, Ice Universe claims that Samsung has doubled the speed of its fingerprint sensor between generations, and it should now be fast enough to ‘tap to unlock’ a Galaxy S21 series handset, rather than having to press its screen. The leaker adds that the sensor measures 64 mm², making it 1.77x the size of the sensor found in the Galaxy S20 series.

Additionally, the FCC has inadvertently confirmed that there will be Snapdragon 888 versions of the Galaxy S21 series. As the screenshot below shows, documentation for the Galaxy S21, referred to by its model number SM-G991U, states that it has an SM8350 chipset, which is the model number of Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset.

The US will be one of the countries in which Samsung sells Snapdragon 888-powered versions of the Galaxy S21 series based on the FCC filing, but it is unclear where else Snapdragon SKUs will appear. Samsung sells the Snapdragon version of the Galaxy S20 FE globally, but there is no indication that this will be the case with future Galaxy S handsets. Other Galaxy S21 series handsets should come with the Exynos 2100, which Samsung has hinted that it will unveil on December 15.

Alleged ASUS ROG Phone 4 Geekbench listing surfaces online

At the Snapdragon 888 launch earlier, Qualcomm confirmed that at least 12 OEMs have committed to using the chipset in their smartphones. It is expected to make its debut alongside the Xiaomi Mi 11 at the end of December 2020. Several Geekbench listings of devices running the silicon have surfaced, giving us a decent idea about its performance. An alleged ASUS ROG Phone 4 Geekbench listing has now shown up online.

Twitter leaker @Stufflistings (via Mysmartprice) stumbled upon what appears to be the ASUS’ upcoming gaming smartphone running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. Its single and multi-core scores of 1,081 and 3,584 fall in line with the silicon’s earlier Geekbench showings. However, it is unclear if the device in question is indeed the ASUS ROG Phone 4. In all likelihood, it could be the ZenFone 8. After all, ASUS was in the habit of launching its ZenFone-branded flagships before the similarly-specced ROG counterparts until 2019. Very little is revealed about the smartphone in this particular listing, so it’s hard to tell.

If the ASUS ROG Phone 3’s release date is anything to go by, the ASUS ROG Phone 4 might not hit the shelves until August 2021. However, the smartphone appearing on Geekbench this early indicates that ASUS may launch it earlier than usual. Qualcomm seems to have clocked the chipset’s Cortex-X1 core at a conservative 2.8GHz. ASUS can potentially overclock it to run at much higher speeds, thanks to the unique cooling solutions it uses on its gaming smartphones.

AirPods Max over-the-ear headphones with active noise cancellation launched for US$549

Apple has slyly made its entry into the Hi-Fi audio market by launching its new AirPods Max over-the-ear headphones. It comes with all the bells and whistles one would expect out of a high-end audio product and a price to match. The AirPods Max will retail at US$549 on Apple’s official website. You can pre-order your pair now, and shipping is expected to start on December 14.

The Apple AirPods Max comes with a 40mm Neodymium driver custom-designed by Apple. It uses the same H1 chip found in other Apple audio products and employs what Apple calls ‘computational audio’ to deliver a superior listening experience. Some of its features include Adaptive EQ (equalizer) that changes dynamically adjust the frequencies of the audio depending on real-time factors like the fit and seal of the headphones. The included Gyroscope and accelerometer can work in tandem with the AirPods Pro Max’ H1 chip to deliver a surround sound experience by tracking the user’s head movements.

Other AirPods Max features include Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), which is made possible via three microphones dedicated for the task. On the flip side of things, there is what Apple calls a ‘Transparency Mode’ too. It allows you to be more aware of your surroundings by letting in some ambient noises. Switching between the mode is seamless and made possible via a tap of a button. The included position sensor automatically pauses music when either earcup is turned or when the headphones are taken off.

Like regular AirPods, the AirPods Max can switch between compatible Apple devices such as an iMac, MacBook, Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and iPod. Another exciting feature is the ability to ‘share’ an audio stream between two sets of AirPods. The AirPods Max also features a ‘case sensor’ which put the headphones in ultra-low-power mode whenever they are stowed away into the included carrying case.

Apple claims that the AirPods Max can deliver up to 20 hours of battery life with ANC enabled. A cursory glance at the official spec sheet suggests that the headphones can be charged with a Lightning cable directly. Apple has also included a USB-C to Lightning cable inside the box. The headphones even come with an Apple Watch-inspired Crown that can help users adjust volume, change tracks, invoke Siri and the likes. Apple also lets you get a custom engraving on the AirPods Max via its official website.

The AMD Radeon RX 6700M series will have larger dies than the RX 5700 XT

It has been a few weeks since Patrick Schur published information about the mobile variants of the RX 6700 series, but the software engineer has offered yet more insights into the upcoming RDNA 2 cards. According to Schur, Navi 22 GPUs will have 18.31 x 18.27 mm dies, which equates to a size of 334.52 mm². As Wccftech points out, a die size of 334.52 mm² would be over a third larger than the die of the RX 5700 XT.

Additionally, Navi 21 GPUs will offer up to a 192-bit memory interface split across six chips. Apparently, SKUs with a 192-bit bus width will also have a target TGP of 146 W, although Schur has previously claimed that the Navi 22 XT GPU has a TGP of 186-211 W. By contrast, Navi 22 SKUs with 90, 110 and 135 W TGPs will be limited to a 160-bit bus on five memory chips.

AMD supposedly plans to release Navi 23 and Navi 24 mobile GPUs too, which would make Navi 22 the top-end SKUs of the RX 6000M product stack. Navi 22 GPUs are also expected to offer up to 2,560 cores, 40 Compute Units (CUs) and up to 12 GB of VRAM. RX 6000M laptops should begin arriving in the first half of 2021, just in time to challenge NVIDIA’s RTX 30 series options.

The Nokia 5.4’s specs are allegedly revealed in full in a new leak

Nokia still has time to live up to rumors of new hardware launches before 2021 begins. The 5.4 is allegedly one of the devices in question, and, based on its name, may do so to succeed the 5.3. However, according to a new leak, it may not be a direct translation of that phone’s collection of hardware specs.

Earlier tips have indicated that this putative new x.4 smartphone would debut with a 6.39-inch display, much like the Nokia 3.4. A new one claims to confirm this detail – with the additional kicker that it may be an LCD HD+ panel.

It is also now asserted that the 5.4 will have a footprint very similar to the pre-exising budget device: 160.97 x 75.99 x 8.70 millimeters (mm), with a weight of 182 grams (g).

This latest report also claims that the 5.4 will run on the Snapdragon 662 SoC, whereas the 5.3 has the 665, a very similar 11nm processor that could be perceived as superior as all its 8 cores are clocked at 2.2GHz, whereas those of the 662 can start at 1.8GHz instead. Then again, this could make that chip more power-efficient.

That might be as well, as the 5.4 is now apparently destined for a 4000mAh battery. It might improve on the 5.3 in that it has 128GB of internal storage, yet may stick with 4GB of RAM whereas the older handset has 6GB options.

The Nokia 5.4 is also now said to have 48+5+2+2MP quad rear cameras, a 16MP selife camera, a rear-facing fingerprint sensor and (despite its peri-2021 status) Android 10 out of the box. However, its latest leak still does not include a concrete date for its introduction.

HP EliteBook 830 G8 and EliteBook 840 G8 launched with Intel Tiger Lake CPUs, 5G-enabled nano-SIM card slot, and more

HP has launched a new range of Intel Tiger Lake-powered notebooks tailor-made for 24×7 connectivity. The HP EliteBook 830 G8 and EliteBook 840 G8 feature a host of connectivity features including 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6 and 5G, allowing users to stay connected to the internet at all times. HP will divulge more information about the EliteBook 830 G8 and EliteBook 840 G8’s price later this month, as the notebooks are expected to go on sale towards the end of December 2020.

The HP EliteBook 830 G8 and EliteBook 840 G8 come with 11th-generations Intel Tiger Lake CPUs. Both Core i5 and Core i7 variants will be available for purchase, and the top-of-the-line SKU will likely run the Core i7-1165G7 processor. It can be paired with up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at 3,200MHz and 2TB of solid-state storage via an NVMe SSD. Both RAM slots are user upgradable. Graphics processing is taken care of by an Intel Xe GPU, which has been a standard on most Tiger Lake-powered notebooks without a dedicated graphics card.

The only discernable difference between the HP EliteBook 830 G8 and EliteBook 840 G8 is the screen size. The former comes with a 13.1-inch FHD IPS LCD panel, while the latter has a larger 14-inch screen with the same spec. For an extra price, you can add a layer of what HP calls Sure View Reflect privacy screen, which should help keep the contents of your screen away from prying eyes.

Input options on the HP EliteBook 830 G8 and EliteBook 840 G8 include two Thunderbolt 4.0 ports, one of which can output video, two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, one HDMI 2.0 port, one combo audio jack and a nano-SIM card slot. Its 3-cell 53Wh battery supports fast charging at up to 65W via the included charger or any USB PD-complaint device. The included 720p webcam can be paired with optional IR camera for Windows Hello functionality.

The latest Galaxy S21 leaks appear to confirm quad cameras

A YouTube-based leaker’s latest video revolves around what seems to be a live image of actual S21-series handsets. These devices, photographed from the back by a source sakitech claims wishes to remain anonymous, echo the new design linked to the phones in previous rumors, right down to the new kind of camera-hump.

The vlogger points out that the S21 Ultra (the larger of the 2 phones featured in the new still image) has 5 round cut-outs in its pronounced module. Its appearance may have been what led to talk of a penta-camera set-up for this flagship in prior reports. However, there are in fact only 4 lenses visible in this photo, accompanied by a flash and what is now thought to confer laser auto-focus on the phone.

sakitech also now asserts that the actual cameras consist of a 108MP main shooter (possibly the ISOCELL Bright HM3 sensor) with a 12MP ultra-wide camera, rounded out by the dual telephoto solution hinted at in prior leaks. One of these is ostensibly a periscope lens for the rumored 10X spec, whereas the other might handle 3X zoom duties.

The “S21+” next to this phone, on the other hand, is now projected to have two 12MP shooters, one of which is to be for ultra-wide functions, accompanied by a third that, while 64MP in resolution, is slated not to be the primary sensor but is (again) a zoom lens.

These specs may mean these S21 variants pack improvements in the camera department compared to their predecessors, although only to a certain extent, according to sakitech.

This latest S21+/Ultra leak also suggests that Samsung has chosen matte finishes for the rest of their casings, a detail that has been put to good use in the artist Snoreyn’s latest renders for LetsGoDigital. Then again, there are no guarantees this will translate to real-world units sold in 2021 as yet.

These new images also integrate the latest tips on S21 specs and esthetics from other sources such as Ice Universe. Finally, the same blog also now predicts that the new series will start at about €900 (~US$1090) on its release to the European market.

Xiaomi Mi 11 fan-made concept render portrays an exquisite-looking smartphone that apparently has a 5,000-mAh dual-battery capacity

There have been some alleged leaks and glimpses of the Xiaomi Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro, and fortunately concept designer Ben Geskin has come up with a terrific render of what he thinks the regular model could look like, based on the numerous whispers that have been shared online about the device. The design is sophisticated, with the rear-facing camera unit catching the eye in a positive manner with its already rumored square housing and large main sensor (108 MP?) clearly visible.

From the front there is little to notice in this concept Mi 11 apart from the subtle punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera in the top left-hand corner. The display will supposedly be a quad-curve type, although that is not plainly obvious in the Xiaomi Mi 11 render. If the real thing ends up looking this elegant, it will likely win many fans solely by its appearance. However, Xiaomi will also stuff its next flagship smartphone to the gills with desirable high-end components, including the new Snapdragon 888 SoC.

One of those key parts is the battery, and new certification shared online recently hints at the Xiaomi Mi 11 possibly coming with a dual-battery system that would amount to somewhere in the region of a 5,000-mAh total battery capacity. Noted leaker Digital Chat Station also states that this particular device, which could be the Mi 11 but might also be a different smartphone from the same company, can manage 55 W fast charging and have its depleted battery refilled in just 35 minutes.

A new leak may push LG’s rollable phone closer to a launch date

Rollable phones are an emerging alternatives to foldables, and currently exist as concept or prototype devices in the hands of OEMs such as OPPO, TCL and LG. Now, there is a new hint that the latter is getting them ready for consumers as well.

It comes in the form of a certification for a device called the LM-R910N, which, according to the leaker Tron (or @cozyplanes on Twitter), LG has had approved as an unlocked and carrier-locked phone in South Korea.

This tipster – who also broke the news that this OEM has a new, 16-inch Gram laptop in the works – asserts that it is Project B, the code-name for LG’s first-gen rollable.

Assuming this new leak is accurate, it may be a sign that LG is gearing up to launch “Project B” some time in 2021. It may even be a sign that the OEM aims to be the first to get a extendable display device onto the market, beating others such as the OPPO X 2021 to the punch.

Should this be the case, it may be hoped that this new form-factor will not eventually meet the same fate as other innovative smartphones such as the G Flex series.

Lenovo might announce ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga in the next week

Earlier this year, the names of two new ThinkPad X1 models were leaked: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano and ThinkPad X1 Titanium. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano is already available in the USA – the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium meanwhile is nowhere to be found. The last time we heard about it were a few leaked promo videos on Youtube.

2020 is drawing to a close and by this point, we expected to see the ThinkPad X1 Titanium in early 2021, maybe with an announcement at the virtual CES. However, there are new signs that at least the public announcement might still come in this year.

Lenovo has recently updated its Accessories and Options Compatibility Matrix (OCM). The newest version (as of December 6 2020) includes the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga Gen 1. Alongside the full-name of the product, the OCM also reveals the model-numbers: 20QA and 20QB. Also, it appears the X1 Titanium Yoga will rely on M.2 2242 SSDs for internal storage, exactly like the ThinkPad X1 Nano.

With the model appearing in the OCM, this might be a hint that an announcement is imminent. At the same time, there is news from China: The Chinese tech-site ITHome reports that Lenovo’s Think division will hold a special event next week, officially launching the ThinkPad X1 Nano in China – and unveiling the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga at the same time. This should be regarded as a rumor at this point, but we might see more of the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga very soon.

Based on prior leaks, we already know that the X1 Titanium Yoga will be a convertible ThinkPad with Intel’s Tiger Lake platform inside. It will be the thinnest ThinkPad laptop yet, with a body completely made out of metal. Judging from the pictures, it looks like the screen will have a 3:2 aspect ratio, though this is not confirmed yet.