The Apple Watch is a great device that the company keeps on improving with every new release. What once used to be a very limited wrist accessory is slowly becoming more capable and independent. The cellular models of this wearable make it even more powerful. They allow you to call, text, stream online music, and download apps — even if your phone is dead. One of the perks of having a cellular model was the ability to book an Uber ride directly from your wrist. The feature worked even if your iPhone wasn’t around. Wasted by the end of the night and spent all of your iPhone battery juice on selfies? Your cellular Apple Watch could get you back home. However, that’s no longer the case, for Uber has killed its Apple Watch app.
As Apple Insider reports, Uber has dropped support for its Apple Watch app. Uber on watchOS used to allow users to request rides and get relevant information directly from their wrists. When you launch the app on your watch now, it displays a poorly written message that states the following:
Please switch to the Uber mobile app
We no longer supporting the Apple Watch app. Sorry for the inconvenience
Usually, when companies kill a watchOS app, they just completely remove it from the watch. It’s unclear why Uber has left it for the time being. It could be a way to inform users who depend on it that it’ll no longer be available in future updates — rather than just making it vanish directly after dropping support. It’s also unclear why the company has decided to actually remove a feature that could be of utmost importance to users in certain situations. Even Apple at some point praised it in one of its App Store Stories. From now on, you will have to depend on the iPhone app to request rides.
Have you ever depended on the Uber Apple Watch app? Let us know in the comments section below.
After months of leaks and weeks of teasing, the OnePlus 10 Pro has finally launched in China. The OnePlus 10 Pro arrives months ahead of its usual schedule, and the device is launching without its regular non-Pro variant in tow. So what has changed for OnePlus’s premier flagship? Let’s find out!
The new OnePlus 10 Pro comes with an updated design. While the phone retains its familiar silhouette on the front, the rear has a new camera island design that is reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S21’s camera island. The point of difference is the placement of the three cameras, and an extension from the edge instead of the corner. The Hasselblad branding is prominently etched on the side of the camera island. Overall, the OnePlus 10 Pro has a lot more individuality than last year’s OnePlus 9 Pro. We’re not sure what the “P2D 50T” text present on the flash module means, though. What we are sure about is that no one will miss the loss of the fourth rear camera.
Display
For the front, the OnePlus 10 Pro shares a whole lot with the OnePlus 9 Pro. The 6.7″ LTPO AMOLED is still a QHD+ 120Hz panel, but you now get 2nd generation LTPO, meaning the device can identify content and adapt its refresh rate between 120Hz – 1Hz quicker than the OnePlus 9 Pro could. The device also comes with Dual Color Calibration, which means that the device was color calibrated at high and low brightness levels. OnePlus has not specifically disclosed other details of the device in the press release shared with us, but the OnePlus 9 Pro had the following specifications that we can expect on the OnePlus 10 Pro as well: HDR10+ certification, 10-bit color depth support, MEMC support, and sRGB and DCI-P3 color space support.
Internals
OnePlus flagships are expected to come with the latest in silicon, and the OnePlus 10 Pro is no exception. The device comes with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, coupled with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. While new silicon is definitely something to look forward to, the most exciting bits on the OnePlus 10 Pro might just be its battery and charging setup. For one, you now get a bigger 5,000 mAh battery. And two, it charges even faster, thanks to 80W SuperVOOC Flash Charge, with a claimed full charge in 32 minutes. As a relief, OnePlus is also including an 80W charging brick and accompanying USB-C cable within the box. If you prefer to charge wirelessly, 50W AirVOOC lets your phone be fully charged in 47 minutes.
Camera
OnePlus’s collaboration with Hasselblad continues on in 2022. The primary camera and the tertiary telephoto camera on the OnePlus 10 Pro remain the same as the OnePlus 9 Pro. What changes is the secondary wide-angle camera and the front camera. For the secondary camera, we get an even wider 50MP shooter with a 150° FoV. By default, the phone will click photos with a more conventional 110° FoV with distortion correction. And if users want, they can switch to the 150° mode and a Fisheye mode within the Camera app. For the front camera, we now see an upgrade to a 32MP camera, up from the 9 Pro’s 16MP.
There are other new camera features too. The OnePlus 10 Pro is the first smartphone from OnePlus to come with 10-bit color photography, extending across all three of the rear cameras. 10-bit color photography on the OnePlus 10 Pro will allow for wider gamut coverage, resulting in smoother color transitions and fewer instances of color banding. If you care about RAW photography, there’s more good news. The Hasselblad Pro Mode in the camera app allows for 12-bit RAW photography from all three rear cameras. There’s support for RAW+ too, which results in a RAW file and a processed JPEG file at the same time, giving you the flexibility and convenience of both formats. Then there is Movie Mode, which lets users adjust ISO, shutter speed, and other settings when video recording. In Movie Mode, You can also film in LOG format without a preset picture profile, a blank canvas that videographers would appreciate.
Software
The OnePlus 10 Pro ships with ColorOS 12.1 based on Android 12 in China. OnePlus assures that the device will ship with OxygenOS 12 based on Android 12 when it launches in India, Europe, and North America. But seeing how the lines between ColorOS and OxygenOS continue to blur every passing day, the difference might just boil down to marketing.
OnePlus 10 Pro Availability: China
The OnePlus 10 Pro launches in China in Volcanic Black and Emerald Forest colors at the following prices:
8GB + 128GB: CNY 4,699 (~$740; ₹54,500)
8GB + 256GB: CNY 4,999 (~$785; ₹58,000)
12GB + 256GB: CNY 5,299 (~$830; ₹61,500)
The device goes on sale on January 13 in the region. For India, Europe, and North America, the device launches later on — stay tuned for that.
There is no word on the regular OnePlus 10 so far, neither for China nor for international release. The white color variant of the OnePlus 10 Pro is also missing so far.
OnePlus also launched a Silver color variant of the OnePlus Buds Pro in China at this event.
What are your thoughts on the OnePlus 10 Pro? Let us know in the comments below!
The new 12th-gen Intel Core processors and AMD’s Ryzen 6000 series mobile CPUs have both arrived on the market with support for DDR5 memory modules. The upcoming AMD 7000 series desktop processors will also support DDR5 RAM, which means we’re about to see a whole lot of DDR5 memory in the coming months. DDR5 standard enters the market bearing a lot of improvements. Some of them are more significant than others but they all echo the idea of opening doors to better performance. But just how much of an improvement are we talking about? What’s new in DDR5 vs DDR4 that warrants an immediate upgrade plan, if at all.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at the DDR4 vs DDR5 RAM comparison to tell you everything you need to know. We’ll check out the specifications to highlight some of the key differences and try to understand the performance difference to see which one’s better to consider for your next gaming PC build.
The DDR5 RAM modules are physically identical to the existing DDR4 sticks. That’s not necessarily a surprise, though. Unlike the DDR3 to DDR4 transition, the new DDR5 doesn’t have a new or additional number of pins than the predecessor. It retains the arrangement of 288 pins but the pinouts are slightly different. The real difference, however, resides at an architectural design level. While the DDR4 modules have a single 64-bit channel, DDR5 DIMMs come with two independent 32-bit channels. The burst length has also been doubled from 8 bytes to 16 bytes. Let’s take a detailed look at some of the key differences now:
Bandwidth & capacity
One of the biggest advantages of DDR5 memory modules is that they bring a higher level of bandwidth. This is more important now than ever as we continue to get new processors with a lot of cores. The Intel Core i9-12900K, for instance, has 16 cores in total. Even the relatively low-powered mainstream parts like the Core i5-12400 have six cores. The mainstream PC market is only going to get better CPUs with a higher core count in the future, so this is one of the most important things to consider.
The JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council) specifies DDR4 data rates spanning from DDR4-1600 to DDR4-3200. For DDR5, it’s specified as DDR5-3200 to DDR5-6400. That being said, it’s safe to say that you’ll see DDR5-4800 serving as the baseline while the latter number keeps increasing as the standard matures over time.
Another thing that the DDR5 standard brings to the table is denser memory modules for high capacity. While the DDR4 modules topped out at 16Gb memory chips, DDR5 quadruples that number to use up to 64Gb memory chips. In theory, we can have as much as 128GB of memory per module, which is significantly more than what any DDR4 memory stick has to offer. There’s still some time before we start seeing 128GB capacity DDR5 modules, but we already have 64GB kits with 2x32GB sticks on the market.
Operating Voltage
Power efficiency is also one of the major talking points of DDR5 memory modules. On the surface, DDR5 memory modules have an operating voltage of 1.1V, down from DDR4’s 1.2V. This is bound to be different for each kit as they’re overclocked or have higher binned memory with tighter timings. We’ve seen DDR4 modules scale up to 1.6V, and it’s safe to say that DDR5 will further increase to hit higher values. We already have DDR5 modules on the market that go as far as 1.35V for DDR5-6800. As faster memory speeds take priority, DDR5’s operating voltage will also climb alongside to hit new highs. There’s also the new Intel’s Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 3.0 that supports up to five XMP profiles, with two custom profiles saved directly on the SPD.
It’s also worth pointing out that motherboards are not responsible for voltage regulation for DDR5 modules. These new modules have power management IC (PMIC) — 5V for mainstream modules and 12V for server-grade DIMMs. PMIC, in case you don’t know, uses 5V input from the motherboard and converts it to usable volts. The PMIC has a lot of advantages including improved voltage regulation, strong signals, and low noise. It’s definitely a good change, but it makes the RAM modules expensive and is currently one of the main reasons behind the DDR5 supply being short.
DDR4 vs DDR5 RAM: Specifications
Now have we’ve covered some of the major differences between the standards of memory, let’s take a look at the key differences to summarize the transition from DDR4 to DDR5 (baseline specs):
Features
DDR4 RAM
DDR5 RAM
Memory Speed
1600MHz – 3200Mhz
4800Mhz – 8400Mhz
Die Density
16Gb SDP -> 64GB DIMMs
64Gb SDP -> 256GB DIMMs
Voltage
1.2V
1.1V
Power Management
On motherboard
On DIMM PMIC
With that out of the way now, it’s time to compare modules from each standard to see exactly how these changes reflect in real-world usage.
DDR4 vs DDR5 RAM: Performance
For this particular comparison, we’ll be using the Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 memory alongside an Intel Core i9-12900K. For the DDR5 test, our motherboard of choice will be the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro DDR5 compatible platform. You can also grab a version of this motherboard that’s compatible with DDR4 kits, which is what we used for this particular comparison while keeping the test of the hardware the same.
Intel’s new Alder Lake-S desktop CPUs are the first consumer-grade processors to arrive on the market with support for DDR5 memory. AMD has also announced DDR5 support with its new Ryzen 6000 series mobile CPUs and the upcoming Ryzen 7000 series desktop chips, but they’re not yet available on the market. It’s safe to say that Intel has beat AMD to this one. So for this test, we paired an Intel Core i9-12900K processor with a Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-4800 32GB memory kit. It’s a dual-channel kit with two 16GB DDR5 modules with an integrated heat-spreader.
By default, the Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 memory modules operate at DDR4-4800 at 1.1V. It runs at JEDEC specified timings of 38-38-38. However, a quick visit to the XMP 3.0 will boost the Fury Beast up to DDR5-6000 with CL40 and 1.35V.
It goes without saying that both DDR4 and DDR5 modules must be operating in a similar system configuration. We compared the 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 memory with an equivalent 32GB (2X16GB) DDR4 kit on a similar test bench. The lack of DDR5 modules on the market has limited the number of modules we could use for this test, but we’ll try to add benchmark numbers of more modules to this comparison as we get our hands on other kits.
Here’s a quick look at some of the benchmarks that we were able to run for this particular test:
Benchmark
Kingston Fury Beast
32GB(2X16) DDR5-5200 C40
ADATA XPG GAMMIX D30
32GB(2X16) DDR4-3600 C18
PCMark 10
(Higher is better)
12,145
11,628
Cinebench R23 – Multi
(Higher is better)
27,086
27,140
Blender – BMW
(Lower is better)
87
88
Corona 1.3 – RT (Lower is better)
54
54
Handbrake x264, .mkv to .mp4
(Lower is better)
123
131
Handbrake x265, .mkv to .mp4 (Lower is better)
283
291
The benchmark numbers, as you can see, revert some unsurprising results. As far as the baseline numbers are concerned, the DDR5-4800 C38 obviously performed better than the DDR4-2666 C18. This performance delta decreases as you bump the DDR4 module’s memory speeds up to, say, DDR4-3600 as shown in the table above. Going up to DDR4-4000 C16 against DDR5-4800 resulted in a very minimal performance difference.
While the transfer speeds of the new DDR5 memory modules are excellent, we think there’s still plenty of room for improvement when it comes to the memory timings and latency. DDR5 is still in its infancy, though. We’d give it more time to mature and dominate the DDR4 modules on the market.
DDR4 vs DDR5 RAM: Compatibility
DDR5 memory, as we’ve mentioned plenty of times in this article, is only compatible with the 12th-gen Intel Core processors on the market right now. This includes the three unlocked parts — 12600K, 12700K, and 12900K — but even the other mainstream CPUs in the lineup support DDR5. DDR5 compatible AMD CPUs are not available on the market yet, but they’ve been announced and are coming sooner than you think.
The aforementioned Intel chips are also compatible with DDR4 memory modules, which is why we were able to test both standards with the same CPUs. However, you’ll need a separate DDR4 compatible motherboard for it. This is because all the Intel 600 series chipset motherboards including the Z690, H670, B660, and H610 either support DDR5 memory or DDR4, not both. You’ll have to decide which standard to stick to for the foreseeable future before buying one of these LGA 1700 motherboards for your Alder Lake-based PC build. As for the Ryzen 7000 series chips, well, it remains to be seen how AMD’s supported chipsets will handle memory compatibility, so we’ll have more to talk about that closer to the 7000 series launch.
DDR4 vs DDR5 RAM: Which one should you buy?
We’ve seen the major differences between DDR4 and DDR5 memory modules along with some benchmark numbers, showing some real-world performance tests. Now for the most important question — Which one should you buy for your next PC build? Well, the answer to that question, at least at the time of writing this in early 2022, depends on your budget for the PC build and how easy it is for you to source DDR5 RAM kits.
Since the 12th-gen Intel Alder Lake motherboards only support one memory standard, ditching DDR4 memories for DDR5 only makes sense if you have the budget for it. Our collection of the best DDR4 RAM and the best DDR5 RAM kits will tell you that there’s a significant difference in price. Add that to the overall build, you’ll end paying big money as the platform entry-cost with DDR5. Not to mention, it’s also not particularly easy to find DDR5 memory modules in stock.
So if you’re looking at a tight budget for a 12th-gen Intel build, then we recommend picking up a decent DDR4 memory kit with relatively high speeds. It can definitely keep up with the current crop of DDR5 modules on the market. This is subject to change in the future depending on the DDR5 stock availability, subsequent change in prices, and the arrival of more mature kits with tighter timings. We’ll definitely revisit this comparison at a later time to see how things have changed. In the meantime, we think there are other components to spend more money on including the best M.2 SSDs, best CPU coolers, best PC cases, and more.
If you have any further questions regarding the DDR4 vs DDR5 comparison, then be sure to let us know by dropping a comment down below. As always, you can also join our XDA Computing Forums to interact with other experts in the community to discuss your build, get products recommendations, and more.
Zynga has developed many free-to-play games for mobile and desktop platforms over the years, including the original Farmville, Draw Something, and Words With Friends. For better or worse, the company was one of the pioneers in the spend-real-money-in-a-game genre, and now it’s being acquired by game publisher Take-Two for what can only be described as a boatload of money.
Take-Two and Zynga announced on Monday (via Android Police) that Take-Two has agreed to acquire Zynga “in a cash and stock transaction valued at $9.861 per Zynga share, based on the market close as of January 7, 2022, with a total enterprise value of approximately $12.7 billion.” For comparison, that’s slightly over five times what Microsoft paid for Minecraft creator Mojang in 2014, and nearly twice the cost of Microsoft’s more recent ZeniMax/Bethesda acquisition. That might seem like a lot of money for a company that isn’t producing big-budget games, but Zynga did report a revenue of $616 million during the last quarter of 2021, so it probably won’t take long for Take-Two to recoup the acquisition cost.
That's slightly over five times what Microsoft paid for Minecraft creator Mojang in 2014.
Zynga currently maintains dozens of games, including Draw Something, Boggle With Friends, Crosswords with Friends, FarmVille 2: Country Escape, FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape, FarmVille 3, Pick My Stuff, and Zynga Poker. The company has also developed a few games based on other intellectual property and franchises, including Wizard of Oz Magic Match, Wonka’s World of Candy, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, and Game of Thrones Slots Casino.
The announcement mentioned that Zynga has nearly 3,000 employees, and the deal opens the door for Zynga to create games based on Take-Two’s franchises. Take-Two has many popular game franchises under its belt, including Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, NBA 2K, BioShock, Borderlands, Civilization, Mafia, and Kerbal Space Program. I can’t wait for the inevitable Kerbal Space Program-themed gambling game — a farming game based on Civilization might be fun, though.
At this year’s CES, Razer announced the 2022 versions of most of its Blade gaming laptops, including the new Blade 15. This is one of best 15-inch laptops out there, especially for gamers, but also for content creators. But it’s not alone in that space, and the Dell XPS 15 (2021) is another very popular and fairly powerful laptop for creators. If you’re trying to buy a new laptop to get some demanding work done, these are both great options. Should you buy the Razer Blade 15 (2022) over the Dell XPS 15 (2021)? Let’s find out.
One thing we’ll say right now is that the XPS 15 hasn’t yet been refreshed with the new hardware announced by Intel and NVIDIA at CES 2022, so this matchup favors Razer right out of the gate. However, comparing the two brings out some important differences that will probably still apply when the XPS 15 eventually gets upgraded. That way, you can decide if it’s worth waiting for the XPS 15 refresh, or if you should buy the Razer Blade 15 when it’s available. Without further ado, let’s dive right into the comparison.
Specs
Razer Blade 15 (2022)
Dell XPS 15 (9510)
CPU
12th Gen Intel Core i7-12800H (14 cores, 20 threads, up to 4.8GHz, 24MB cache)
12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900HK (14 cores, 20 threads, up to 5GHz, 24MB cache)
Intel Core i5-11400H (up to 4.5GHz, 6-core)
Intel Core i7-11800H (up to 4.8GHz, 8-core)
Intel Core i9-11900H (up to 4.9GHz, 8-core)
Graphics
Discrete:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (6GB GDDR6)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (8GB GDDR6)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (16GB GDDR6)
Integrated:
Intel UHD Graphics
Discrete:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6 (45W)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB GDDR6 (45W)
Integrated:
Intel UHD Graphics
Storage
1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD (upgrdeable)
Open M.2 slot for expansion (up to 2TB)
512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
2TB PCIe NVMe SSD
4TB PCIe NVMe SSD
8TB PCIe NVMe SSD
RAM
16GB dual-channel DDR5 4800MHz (slotted, upgradeable to 64GB)
8GB dual-channel DDR4 3200MHz (slotted)
16GB dual-channel DDR4 3200MHz (slotted)
32GB dual-channel DDR4 3200MHz (slotted)
64GB dual-channel DDR4 3200MHz (slotted)
Display
15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS, 360Hz, up to 100% sRGB
15.6-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440) IPS, 240Hz, NVIDIA G-SYNC, 100% DCI-P3
15.6-inch Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) IPS, 144Hz, 100% DCI-P3, Corning Gorilla Glass
15.6-inch, Full HD+ (1920 x 1200), InfinityEdge, anti-glare, non-touch, 500 nits
USB Type-C to Type-A and HDMI 2.0 adapter included
SD card reader
3.5mm headphone jack
Audio
Stereo speakers
Quad stereo speakers (two 2.5W woofers, two 1.5W tweeters)
Webcam
1080p Full HD webcam + IR camera
2.25mm, 720p HD camera + IR camera
Windows Hello
Facial recognition with IR camera
Facial recognition with IR webcam
Fingerprint sensor
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth 5.2
Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2×2)
Bluetooth 5.1
Color
Black with green Razer logo
Platinum Silver exterior + Black carbon fiber interior
Frost exterior + Arctic White fiber glass weave interior
Size (WxDxH)
355 x 235 x 16.9 mm (13.98 x 9.25 x 0.67 in)
344.72 x 230.14 x 18 mm (13.57 x 9.06 x 0.71 in)
Starting weight
2.01 kg (4.4lbs) (Most SKUs)
2.08 kg (4.59 lbs) (4K display)
1.81 kg (3.99 lbs) (non-touch, 56Whr battery)
1.91 kg (4.22 lbs) (non-touch, 86Whr battery)
1.96 kg (4.31 lbs) (OLED, 86Whr battery)
2.01 kg (4.42 lbs) (UHD+, 86Whr battery)
Price
Starting at $2,499.99
Starting at $1,299
Right away, you can tell there’s a big disparity in terms of specs between the two laptops, as well as in terms of pricing. These differences should help make it obvious which model is right for you, so let’s dive deeper into what they mean for you.
Performance: The Razer Blade 15 is a powerhouse
The big difference start right away with performance. With the latest refresh, the Razer Blade 15 comes with 12th-generation Intel Core processors up to a Core i9-12900HK. These new Intel processors use a hybrid architecture mixing high-performance and efficient cores for a total of 14 cores and 20 threads. Meanwhile, The Dell XPS 15 is still using 11th-generation processors up to a Core i9-11900H, with 8 cores and 16 threads. We don’t yet have benchmarks to compare these two processors directly, but Intel claims the Core i9-12900H is roughly 30% faster than a Core i9-11980HK, as seen below.
The difference in graphics performance is also significant. The Razer Blade 15 comes with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, which features 7424 CUDA cores and 16GB of GDDR6 memory. Even the lowest configuration, an RTX 3060, includes 3840 CUDA cores and 6GB of memory. That’s compared to the maximum configuration of the Dell XPS 15, which is a GeForce RTX 3050 Ti with 2560 CUDA cores and 4GB of memory.
The Razer Blade 15 (2022) will naturally perform much better than the Dell XPS 15 across the board, but that will also come at the expense of battery life. It has a large battery, but it’s bound to drain more quickly. These high-performance GPUs use a lot more power, as you’d expect.
On the flip side, the Dell XPS 15 gives more options for the RAM and storage configurations out of the box. You can configure the laptop with up to 64GB of RAM out of the box, as well as up to 8TB of storage with two SSDs. Meanwhile, the Razer Blade 15 is more streamlined – it comes with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. However, you can upgrade those specs yourself after the fact up to 64GB of RAM and 4TB of storage. The Razer Blade 15 also has faster RAM, thanks to support for DDR5, plus PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, but those are things that a new version of the XPS 15 would likely get as well.
Display: Razer Blade 15 for gaming, XPS 15 for work
The displays between these two laptops are also very different, and it’s here that it might become clearer what you should get for yourself. The Razer Blade 15 (2022) gives you three options to choose from: Full HD 360Hz, a Quad HD 240Hz, or 4K 144Hz. These are all gaming-focused displays with high refresh rates and resolutions to match your specific preferences. They’re all in the 16:9 aspect ratio, which is the most popular form factor for gaming. They’re also all IPS panels, while last year’s model offered a 4K OLED version that was more tailored to creators.
On the other hand, the Dell XPS 15 may have a less impressive display on paper, but it’s more focused on productivity and work. It comes in a tall 16:10 aspect ratio, and that extra vertical space helps you see more text and UI elements at once. All the panels have a 60Hz refresh rate, and you can choose between a Full HD+ IPS panel, a 3.5K OLED version, or the extra sharp Ultra HD+ IPS panel. That lower refresh rate makes it obvious it’s not a gaming laptop, but it’s just as sharp. With the 3.5K OLED panel, this is also a better display for media consumption (and it’s just more beautiful in general). And if you want to do color-sensitive work, the Ultra HD+ model covers 100% of Adobe RGB, making it ideal for that.
That’s what it boils down to – the Razer Blade 15 (2022) is fantastic for gaming, but if your focus is work, then the Dell XPS 15 will probably serve you a bit better. In terms of audio, both laptops have a stereo speaker setup, but the Blade 15 only has two speakers, while the Dell XPS 15 has a more impressive setup with four speakers (two woofers and two tweeters). The Dell XPS 15 is known for having one of the best speakers on a Windows laptop, so that’s your best choice if you’re not planning to use external audio.
Above the display, the Razer Blade 15 pulls ahead, however. It comes with a Full HD 1080p webcam along with an IR camera that can be used for Windows Hello facial recognition. Dell’s XPS 15 uses a 720p camera, and on top of that, it’s a tiny webcam at 2.25mm, which was designed this way to keep the bezels as small as possible. That means image quality isn’t very good, even for a 720p camera. The Dell XPS 15 still supports Windows Hello facial recognition, but the Blade 15 is significantly better in this regard.
Design: The Dell XPS 15 is more portable and professional
Moving on to the design, the Dell XPS 15 reinforces its position as a better work laptop. The XPS lineup is known for being very compact, and it’s shorter in length and width compared to the Blade 15. It also starts at a lower weight (3.99lbs vs 4.4lbs), though that will vary with your configuration. It’s also slightly thicker at 18mm compared to the 16.9mm of the Blade 15. Regardless, it’s a more portable laptop, though not by a huge margin.
The Dell XPS 15 is also a more professional-looking laptop than the Razer Blade 15 (2022), without being boring, The outside comes in two shades of silver – Platinum silver (darker) and Frost – and the inside comes in either a black carbon fiber weave finish or a white fiber glass composite material. This dual-tone look is pretty unique, but it doesn’t stick out in a bad way if you’re working in an office.
On the other hand, the Blade 15 is almost entirely black, but it has a green Razer logo on the lid that might not be to everyone’s taste. The keyboard is also RGB backlit, though there’s nothing to stop you from setting the light to white like a normal laptop would have.
Ports and connectivity: The Blade 15 is more convenient
Finally, the port selection is potentially the biggest downfall of the Dell XPS 15, and the Blade 15 is far more capable in this regard. The Razer Blade 15 has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, three USB Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, an SD card reader, and a 3.5mm combo headphone jack. That covers just about any need you might have, and all those ports are fast, too.
The Dell XPS 15 relies heavily on Thunderbolt and docking. It has two Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) ports, one standard USB Type-C port, a headphone jack, and an SD card reader. To be fair, Dell ships a USB Type-C to Type-A and HDMI adapter in the box, so if you need those ports, you’re not completely out of options. But the Razer Blade 15 is certainly more convenient with all the ports being built-in, and more of them at that. If you want to have an office setup with the XPS 15, you’re probably going to need to buy a Thunderbolt dock.
As for wireless connectivity, the Razer Blade 15 is a bit more modern, but that’s something the XPS 15 will catch up with when it gets its own 2022 refresh. The Blade 15 (2022) supports Wi-Fi 6E, while the XPS 15 still comes with Wi-Fi 6.
Bottom line
It’s evident that the Razer Blade 15 is a better laptop on many technical levels compared to the Dell XPS 15. It has newer and faster processors, far better graphics, high refresh rate displays, a better webcam, and way more ports. These are all clear advantages, but some of them are also a result of the Blade 15 being refreshed first. The Dell XPS 15 will probably get those new processors sometime soon, and it’s possible that other things will improve, too.
But even in its current state, the XPS 15 does have some advantages. For one thing, it has taller 16:10 displays which are great for productivity. Plus, it gives you a stunning OLED option or an Ultra HD+ panel with 100% Adobe RGB, if you plan to work on color-sensitive projects. It’s also a more professional-looking laptop and potentially easier to carry around. And as far as internal specs go, you can configure it with a lot more RAM and storage right out of the box if you don’t want to upgrade it yourself later.
The Dell XPS 15 also has a much lower starting price, naturally because it also has less powerful specs in its base model. If you need as much power as you can get, it’s clear that the Razer Blade 15 is a better laptop, and it’s especially hard to recommend the XPS 15 with its now-outdated specs. It’s still a fantastic laptop, though, and if you don’t need all that power, it’s a great choice, though we’d recommend waiting for a 2022 refresh of the XPS 15 before making a purchase.
If you can’t afford to wait, you can buy the current Dell XPS 15 using the link below. The Razer Blade 15 (2022) isn’t available to buy yet, but preorders will open on January 25th. If you want to check out other options, we have a list of the best laptops you can buy right now.
WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging services in the world, with somewhere over a billion people using it on a regular basis. The platform is also rapidly evolving, as new features are being tested and rolled out constantly. This time, WhatsApp is rolling out new search filters in the WhatsApp Business application.
WhatsApp Business is an alternative messaging application developed by WhatsApp, intended for use by companies and other organizations to communicate with (potential) customers. It has some extra functionality over the standard WhatsApp application, such as business profiles, away and greeting messages, and landline/fixed phone number support.
WhatsApp Business search filters (Source: WABetaInfo)
WABetaInfo spotted a new addition to the WhatsApp Business application on Android and iOS — more search filters. You could already narrow your search results to messages containing photos, videos, links, GIFs, audio files, and/or documents, but now there are three additional options. You can now filter messages based on if the recipient is in your contacts list, and if the message has been read or not. As with the existing filters, you can use more than one at the same time.
There’s probably less of a need for the new search filters in the regular WhatsApp application, except for people that send and receive a significant amount of messages. Still, it would be nice to see it on the standard app as well.
The new Pixel Pixel 6 series debuts a revamped At a Glance widget. The updated widget can show your calendar event, your flight boarding pass, workout stats, and more. In November, we learned that Google was working on a big update for the widget that would add even more features, including the ability to display shopping lists, doorbell alerts, connection and battery info of Bluetooth devices, and so on. While most of these features have yet to go live, Google has started rolling out Nest doorbell alerts for some users.
As spotted by Mishaal Rahman, At a Glance widget has now started showing Nest doorbell alerts for some users. The doorbell alert integration is rolling out via a server-side update. As you can see in the screenshots below, when your Nest doorbell detects activity at your door, the widget now shows a persistent notification on the home screen and lock screen that reads “Someone’s at the door.”
A big feature update is coming soon for the At a Glance widget. Integrated Nest doorbell alerts started working for tipster Nick Cipriani today w/ Google App v13.0.6.29. I can also confirm doorbell alerts are working, and I also enabled the new settings page. pic.twitter.com/HhhULDOKhl
Note that the new At a Glance widget, which is baked into the Google App, is currently exclusive to the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. That means the doorbell alerts integration will likely be limited to these two devices as well — at least initially.
In addition to Nest doorbell alerts, Google is working on adding the following capabilities to the “At a Glance” widget:
At a store: Shopping lists and Google Pay rewards cards when you’re in supported stores
Bedtime: Your upcoming bedtime from the Clock app
Connected devices: Connection status and battery info for your Bluetooth devices
Fitness: Activity info from your fitness app
Flashlight: Reminder when the flashlight is on
Safety check: Safety check countdown from the Personal Safety app
Timer & stopwatch: Timer and stopwatch info from the Clock app
None of the above-listed features are currently live yet. We’ll let you know when they start rolling out to users.
Samsung is gearing up to launch its next flagship lineup, Galaxy S22 series. Over the past months, we have learned plenty about the Galaxy S22 series, with leaked renders and rumored specifications giving us a fair idea as to what to expect from Samsung’s next flagship lineup. Now a report claims that the lineup will launch in early February, in line with earlier rumors.
According to a new report from South Korean publication Digital Daily, which cites a Samsung Electronics official, Samsung will hold an online “Galaxy Unpacked 2022” event on February 8, where the company will debut the Galaxy S22 series. The official says the company has internally confirmed the launch date and is “discussing the timing of sending out invitations to the end of January.” In addition, the report says the new lineup will go on sale on February 09, with general sales kicking off from February 24. Samsung Electronics’ communication team declined to comment on the report.
The launch date revealed by the Samsung official is in line with what John Prosser claimed back in November. Back then, the tipster said Samsung was going to hold a Galaxy Unpacked event on February 8, where it would take the wraps off of the new Galaxy trio.
Just like last year, Samsung’s 2022 flagship lineup will reportedly consist of three models: the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Plus, and Galaxy S22 Ultra. All three models are rumored to pack Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2200 SoC (the US and India are likely to get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1). As far as the design is concerned, the standard Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22+ are believed to retain the last year’s design, as seen in leaked renders. Both phones will reportedly feature a 50MP GN5 primary shooter.
The smartphone market now has a decent selection of foldable phones to choose from, if you are in the market. The clamshell-style is one of the more popular types of foldable devices, with Samsung leading the way in sales with the Galaxy Z Flip3. Since the launch of this device, HUAWEI has begun selling its own phone with a flip function called the P50 Pocket. Each phone has its own strengths, so let’s take a look at the areas where the HUAWEI P50 does it better than Samsung.
No More Hinge Gap
One of the most common complaints from users of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 is the gap in the hinge. When the phone is closed shut, a small gap can be found between the two screens. When HUAWEI designed the P50 Pocket, they made sure to create a phone that doesn’t have a gap. So when the P50 Pocket is closed, both screens lie flat against each other.
The P50 Pocket also has a slimmer build altogether. Measuring only 15.2mm from one end to the other when the phone is close, which is smaller than the 17.1-15.9mm measurement on the Galaxy Z Flip3.
A Larger Display
While it isn’t a dramatic difference, the HUAWEI P50 Pocket has a slightly bigger screen than the Galaxy Z Flip3. The P50 Pocket fits a 6.9″ folding display at 1188×2790, while the Galaxy Z Flip3 has a smaller 6.7″ screen at 1080×2640.
Since you’re getting a phone with the ability to fold to half its size, opting for the larger display is probably a good idea. A slightly higher resolution benefits the 21:9 screen on the P50 Pocket, as your games, movies, and apps will look fantastic on this display.
No Folding Crease
Another common complaint about the Galaxy Z Flip3 is that users will find a crease begin to form in the center of the display, after moderate use. This is also an issue found in most other flip phones with these flexible folding screens. HUAWEI claims to have fixed this common issue to the point where users won’t experience it at all on the P50 Pocket.
More RAM and Storage
While these two phones share very similar specs across the board, the Premium Edition of the P50 Pocket will offer 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The Galaxy Z Flip3 will max out at 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. So the extra boost in memory is there for anyone that needs it. Both phones share the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, so you can expect similar performance from both of these devices.
A Bigger Battery with Faster Charging
For anyone that values fast charging speeds and large batteries, the P50 Pocket is going to be the better option. HUAWEI put a large 4000mAh battery in their phone, with a 40W fast charging capability. The Galaxy Z Flip3 has a smaller 3300mAh capacity, and the fast charging maxes out at 15W.
In conclusion, both of these phones are great options for anyone looking to get a new flip phone, but the HUAWEI P50 Pocket exceeds in many ways that should be seriously considered. You can find out more information on the HUAWEI P50 Pocket on the official page here.
We thank HUAWEI for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.
As someone who uses both iPhones and Android phones but prefer using the latter, it’s pained me for years that the best smartwatch by far — the one made by Apple — only works with the iPhone, which means whenever I was using an Android phone, I knew the smartwatch paired to it was second rate. The biggest issue was that, compared to Apple’s wearables, most Android watches had comparatively slow performance and lackluster features set — a problem that was partly Wear OS but mostly due to underpowered chipsets like the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100.
This problem was, I don’t want to say “fixed”, but at least alleviated in 2021, with Samsung and Qualcomm each releasing new wearable SoCs that improved performance significantly. It’s the latter chip — Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus — that powers the just-announced Skagen Falster Gen 6, and the improved speed is immediately noticeable compared to 2020 Wear OS watches.
Skagen Falster Gen 6 Specifications: Click to expand
Skagen Falster Gen 6: Specifications
Specification
Skagen Falster Gen 6
Build
Stainless steel casing
Glass face
Dimensions
Thickness 11.5mm
Watch face 42mm
Display
1.28-inch AMOLED
326 ppi
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+
RAM & Storage
8GB storage + 1GB RAM
Battery & Charging
Battery size not disclosed
Rapid charging (0-80% in 30 minutes)
Audio & Microphone
Single loudspeaker
Single microphone
Sensors
PPG Heart Rate
SpO2
Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Compass
Altimeter
Off-body IR
Ambient Light
Software
Wear OS
About this review:Skagen provided XDA a review unit of the watch before launch. Skagen did not have any inputs in this review.
Skagen Falster Gen 6: Design and Hardware
The Skagen Falster Gen 6 may have just hit the market, but it is not new per se. This is actually a rebranding of the two-month-old Fossil Gen 6. They have the exact same internals, so you’re getting 8GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, all the usual sensors like accelerometer, gyroscope, altimeter, etc, plus that aforementioned Snapdragon Wear 4100+.
Since Skagen is a Danish-inspired brand that aims for “Danish-minimalism,” the Falster Gen 6 comes in a smaller, sleeker body than Fossil’s Gen 6, without the raised bezel, and thin, detached lugs. I’ve been wearing the beautiful but bulky Huawei Watch GT 3 prior to switching to the Falster Gen 6, and the latter’s much smaller size was a breath of fresh air.
The Huawei Watch GT 3 (left) and the Skagen Falster Gen 6.
I am a fan of the watch’s matte black coating over the stainless steel frame (it also comes in silver), but not so much of the cheap rubbery strap. There is a version with a leather strap plus you can use any third-party 20mm strap, so this is not a huge deal.
And while the Falster Gen 6’s 11.5mm thickness is a hair thinner than the Fossil Gen 6, is still thicker than the Apple Watch Series 7 or Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. I also question the need for three physical buttons (the middle one is rotatable), as a combination of screen swipes, taps along with a single button should be enough for navigating a smartwatch UI. Plus they get in the way when I bend my wrist up 90-degrees, such as when I’m trying to do pushups.
The Falster Gen 6 can track just about everything rival smartwatches from Apple and Samsung can do, except EKG
Still, I’d say overall the Skagen Falster Gen 6 is a good-looking sleek smartwatch that doesn’t get in the way of long sleeve sweaters or jackets. The 1.28-inch AMOLED screen looks great in a vacuum, but compared to the Huawei Watch GT3, it doesn’t get as bright, and colors don’t pop as much.
There’s a loudspeaker on the left side of the watch casing and a mic on the right side. They both work fine — I was able to take phone calls even outside with traffic noise, and both myself and the other party could hear each other fine.
Around the back are the usual sensors: the Falster Gen 6 can track just about everything rival smartwatches from Apple and Samsung can do except EKG (electrocardiogram). Otherwise, blood-oxygen level, steps walked, stairs climbed, heart rate, GPS tracking are all here.
Fossil/Skagen did not disclose battery size, but I have been able to get a day and a half on a single charge. Right now, as I’m typing this, my watch has been off a charger for 26 hours and there’s still 37% battery left. While a day-and-half is fine for me, I must mention that there are rival smartwatches from Fitbit and Huawei that can last way longer — the Fitbit Sense and Huawei Watch GT 3 can go five to six days on a single charge. Fossil/Skagen also claims the watch can add 80% in 30 minutes of charge, but I could not recreate those speeds. Half an hour of charging a completely drained Gen 6 only added 67% of battery in my testing, which is quite off the marketing number.
A bigger gripe for me is the Falster Gen 6, like 99% of smartwatches, uses a proprietary charger, meaning you need to bring that cable with you on trips, and if you lose it, you must buy another one. Huawei’s recent smartwatches can be charged wirelessly via any Qi charger. That’s the way smartwatches should go. Or at least use USB-C.
The Falster Gen 6 watch is rated 3ATM, meaning it can withstand rain and light splashes, but you can’t really take it swimming.
Skagen Falster Gen 6: Software and Performance
Fossil was left in a rough spot when Google and Samsung announced a surprise partnership last year at Google I/O that essentially gave Samsung first dibs at Wear OS 3. This means the Skagen Falster Gen 6, like the Fossil Gen 6, runs on the older Wear OS 2. While Fossil promises an update to Wear OS 3 will come sometime in 2022, we must review the watch for what it is — running outdated software.
For the most part, I had no issues with the Falster Gen 6’s performance. The UI moves around smoothly, and I enjoy being able to rotate the middle button to scroll down. There are some noticeable shortcomings, like the inferior Google Maps integration. When I am navigating with Google Maps and wearing a Galaxy Watch 4, I get turn-by-turn instructions that show on my wrist. This doesn’t happen on the Skagen Falster Gen 6. Wear OS 3 also has superior watch face complications and has exclusive access to a Wear OS-specific YouTube Music app.
There is one crucial thing the Skagen Falster Gen 6 get right that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 does not — it has Google Assistant
There is, however, one crucial thing the Falster Gen 6 gets right that the Galaxy Watch 4 does not — it has Google Assistant! Samsung’s latest smartwatches may be running Wear OS 3, but it’s not a pure Google version of the software. Instead, it’s littered with Samsung’s services, including the significantly inferior Bixby.
So while the Falster Gen 6’s Wear OS 2 is a bit slower and lacks some features of Wear OS 3, it can at least access the best and smartest digital voice assistant on earth.
Google Maps on the Falster Gen 6
Another feature that the Falster Gen 6 can do quite well is allowing me to respond to text messages from various chat apps via voice dictation. This sounds like a simple enough feature, but very few Android smartwatches get this right. Huawei and Xiaomi’s smartwatches, for example, can only show notifications, they cannot actually respond. Fitbit Sense can only do canned responses. Any Samsung or Wear OS watches from before 2021 technically could respond, but the voice dictation was so painfully laggy, they were virtually useless. Only in 2021, when there was the aforementioned silicon upgrade from Samsung and Qualcomm, did some Android wearables finally become capable enough to handle voice dictation in a timely manner.
You can also respond to messages with an on-screen keyboard on the Falster Gen 6, but the QWERTY keyboard is very cramped, resulting in typos often. This is another area where the Galaxy Watch 4 is superior, as it offers a scribbling method of text input (copied straight from the Apple Watch) that works much better than pecking on a tiny keyboard.
Fitness tracking on the Falster Gen 6 is fine. It’s been raining all week in Los Angeles, so I have been unable to go for runs, but the watch did track my steps accurately. I also tried SpO2 and heart rate tracking with the Falster Gen 6 alongside the Apple Watch Series 7 and Galaxy Watch 4 and all the results were similar. Sleep tracking worked okay, I think Fitbit’s sleep tracking is still the best-in-class, in that it doesn’t get tricked into thinking I’ve woken up just because I tossed and turned a few times.
Google Fit, the default health app to track data for Wear OS devices, is also a bit lacking compared to similar apps from Fitbit, Apple, Samsung, or even Xiaomi. The interface is complicated, and instead of showing you actual data, Google Fit has a habit of showing you some arbitrary point system, like “you earned 40 points for an afternoon walk.” I don’t care about the points, just show me how many actual steps I walked!
There are, sadly, very few watch face selections in the Wearable app, and while third-party apps like Facer have more options, the app itself is a bit spammy, with constant push notifications, lots of ads, and some watch faces requiring money that isn’t clearly labeled
Skagen Falster Gen 6: Conclusion
I really enjoyed my time wearing the Skagen Falster Gen 6. Yes, the software isn’t as zippy as a Galaxy Watch 4, and battery life isn’t as impressive as Fitbit Sense or Huawei Watch GT 2. But the Falster Gen 6 can do one thing better than those other watches for me: it allows me to check my phone less often.
This is because I use Google Assistant often, and I get a lot of chat messages throughout the day (Slack, WeChat, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal). The Skagen Falster Gen 6 with Google Assistant support, and a functional way to respond to notifications fit whats I need.
Galaxy Watch 4 (left) and Skagen Falster Gen 6.
However, at $295, the Falster Gen 6 is $50 pricier than the Galaxy Watch 4, so if you don’t need Google Assistant often (or if you somehow are okay with Bixby), then the Galaxy Watch 4 is a better performer at a lower price.
Fossil's newest smartwatch released under its Skagen branding, this is a clean and minimal-looking Wear OS watch that, despite outdated software, still does smartwatchy things quite well.
