Microsoft refreshes the Surface Pro X with the Microsoft SQ2 processor based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2

Early last month we learned that Microsoft was working on a refresh for last year’s Surface Pro X. At the time, sources familiar with the matter had revealed that the Surface Pro X refresh would feature the same design, but it will be offered in a new ‘Platinum’ color variant with new Type Cover color options. We’d also learned that the device would feature Microsoft’s new SQ2 processor. Now, the company has finally lifted the covers off the new Surface Pro X and it’s exactly what we expected.

Microsoft has essentially upgraded the top-end SKUs of last year’s Surface Pro X with its new SQ2 processor and introduced a new Platinum color option for the device. The base variants of the Surface Pro X will still feature the older SQ1 processor and they’ll be sold alongside the new Surface Pro X. As expected, Microsoft’s new SQ2 processor was designed in collaboration with Qualcomm and it’s based on the company’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 platform.

Microsoft claims that its new SQ2 chip is the fastest processor in its class, which is capable of offering better performance while using less battery. To further improve the Surface Pro X’s performance, Microsoft has also made some enhancements to Windows on ARM. These include updates and optimizations to the Visual Studio Code for Windows on ARM, which is expected to boost overall performance and increase battery life (up to 15 hours) across all Surface Pro X configurations (including the ones powered by Microsoft’s SQ1 chip).

Along with the new Surface Pro X and the Surface Laptop Go, Microsoft unveiled three new colors for the Signature Keyboard — Platinum, Ice Blue, and Poppy Red — at the event.

The company also unveiled the new Designer Compact Keyboard, a wireless Number Pad, a 4K Wireless Display Adapter, a Bluetooth Ergonomic Mouse, and a new Sandstone color variant for the Microsoft Modern Mobile Mouse.

Pricing & Availability

The updated Microsoft Surface Pro X with the company’s new SQ2 processor is already up for pre-order on the Microsoft Store in select regions. The device is priced starting at $1,499.99, and it will be available across other retailers starting from October 13th.

The new Microsoft Designer Compact Keyboard is priced at $69.99, the new wireless Number Pad is priced at $24.99, the 4K Wireless Display Adapter is priced at $69.99, and the new Bluetooth Ergonomic Mouse is priced at $49.99. As of now, the company hasn’t released the availability information for these accessories.

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The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go costs $549 and features Intel’s 10th-gen i5 processor

Almost exactly a year after hosting its big Surface event, where the company unveiled the Surface Duo, Surface Pro 7, and Surface Laptop 3, Microsoft today announced a couple of new products for its Surface lineup. One of the most noteworthy products announced today is the new Surface Laptop Go — the company’s most affordable laptop so far. Powered by Intel’s 10th generation Core i5 processor, the Surface Laptop Go is expected to take the thin-and-light notebook market by storm, especially due to its affordable price tag.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go features a clean, minimal design akin to other notebooks in Microsoft’s Surface lineup. And despite its affordable price tag, it offers a sleek and durable metal finish that gives it a premium feel. The laptop packs in a 12.4-inch PixelSense touchscreen with narrow bezels, an aspect ratio of 3:2, and a resolution of 1536 x 1024 pixels.

It features a full-size keyboard that offers 1.3mm of key travel for a comfortable typing experience, along with a large precision trackpad right underneath.

Much like other products in the Surface Laptop lineup, the Surface Laptop Go also comes with a fingerprint scanner built into the power butter for Windows Hello biometric authentication. The fingerprint scanner will also support one-touch sign-in for other Microsoft services like OneDrive Personal Vault. Sadly though, the base model doesn’t include the fingerprint power button.

On the inside, the Surface Laptop Go packs in Intel‘s 10th-generation Core i5 1035G1 processor, up to 16GB of RAM (16GB limited to commercial SKUs), and up to 256GB of storage. While the base variant of the Surface Laptop Go only includes 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage, Microsoft claims that all configurations of the laptop will feel snappy and fast. The laptop is rated for up to 13 hours of battery life on a single charge with fast charging support to help users quickly top up the battery to 80% in just one hour. However, the company hasn’t shared the exact capacity of the battery included in the laptop yet.

In terms of I/O, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go offers a USB Type-A port, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack, and the Surface connector for charging. Other features include a 720p webcam, Studio Mics, Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Audio tuning, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.0. The laptop will be available in three color variants — Ice Blue, Sandstone, and Platinum.

Surface Laptop Go Pricing & Availability

The Surface Laptop Go starts at just $549 for the base 4GB/64GB variant. Microsoft is yet to reveal pricing information for other SKUs in the lineup. We’ll update this post with more information on pricing and specifications as soon as it’s released. The Surface Laptop Go will be available for pre-order on the Microsoft Store in the US today and it’s expected to reach other retail outlets by October 13th.

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Hold For Me on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G lets Google Assistant wait on the line for you

Have you ever called up a customer care number, dialled in the several access codes as prompted and navigated through cumbersome voice menus, only to hit a wall of prolonged wait times? I have, far too many times, much to my annoyance at the wasted time and the maddening repetitive music. And apparently, Google has too, as Google Assistant’s latest Hold For Me feature solves a problem for me that I never knew I needed a solution for.

The idea with Hold for Me is simple — you call up a business’ toll free number and get put on hold. You can either choose to stay on hold, and wait and stay attentive for when you finally connect to a person on the other end, or you can let Google Assistant do the waiting for you. The latest Google Phone app on the new Google Pixel 5 and Google Pixel 4a 5G allows you to do this. So when you call a toll-free number and a business puts you on hold, Google Assistant waits on the line for you. Google Assistant will notify you with sound, vibration, and a screen prompt once a human is back on the line and ready to talk to you.

Hold for Me is powered by Google’s Duplex technology. This allows the feature to recognize hold music (which can vary wildly across businesses) and also understand the difference between a recorded message and an actual human representative on the line. When the call is being held by Google Assistant, it is muted on the user’s end and instead, real-time captions are displayed on the screen to let the user know what is happening on the call. Once a representative comes on the line, Google Assistant sends a notification to the user, and even goes ahead and asks the representative to hold for a moment to let the user return back to the call.

Hold for Me is an optional feature that can be enabled in the settings, so you can leave it out entirely if this is not something that entices you. You can further activate it on a per-call basis for toll-free numbers. Google assures that in order to respect user privacy, the audio is processed entirely on the device, and the feature does not even need a Wi-Fi or data connection to work. Audio also stops being processed when you return to the call.

Hold for Me is the latest in a series of feature updates that make phone calls better. Call Screen from Google helped users avoid spam calls, while Verified Calls lets them know beforehand why a business is calling them so that they can decide whether they want to accept the call. Google says that just in the USA alone, people spent over 10 million hours on hold in just the last week. That is a lot of cumulative waiting. With a feature like Hold for Me, users can rightfully spend more time doing other tasks and less time pointlessly listening to hold music.

There’s currently no information on if and when this feature will be made available to devices other than the Google Pixel 5 and Google Pixel 4a 5G. To the best of our knowledge, the feature is also currently limited to the USA.

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Increasing Graphics Performance while Reducing Complexity with HUAWEI CG Kit

The area of computer graphics (CG) research is extensive. Not only is it about exploring new ways to generate and present images through computation and algorithms, but there is also the study of principles behind how these images can be viewed consecutively to portray a sense of motion. At Huawei, their vision is to bring in more cutting-edge CG technologies to the industry.

Having acquired a good amount of technological know-how, coupled with complete hardware expertise, Huawei wants to share their knowledge with the world. In the CG field especially, they want developers to benefit from years of graphics rendering technology by providing improved solutions to enhance app performance.

At the start, Huawei invested a large amount of effort to engage with developers. Through countless interviews, their development team was able to take a deep dive into the trends, pain points, requirements, and industry. Coupled with the industry insights Huawei garnered from the work they’ve done; we gained many precious insights.

In engaging with gaming developers, for example, it was understood that their focus is to make games more fun and expressive. But with the lack of hardware understanding, it is a challenge to perform in-depth graphics optimization. This is especially so when they are faced with business challenges and pressures to trade-off. As a result, they often face a couple of issues – gaps in the implementation of 3D graphics on various platforms, poor high-end image quality rendering, and high power consumption.

In June 2020, Huawei launched the CG Kit as part of their HMS Core 5.0 capabilities. Given the in-depth insights into the CG industry, they were able to develop the CG Rendering Framework that provides better 3D rendering capabilities on Huawei devices. It also supports secondary development, with increased graphics performance while reducing difficulty and complexity, which therefore helps significantly increase image quality, power consumption, and overall development efficiency.

With the CG Kit, developers can now focus on app innovation. We also have team members seconded to our key gaming partners’ offices to conduct joint research and development. By working even closer together, there can be a better understanding of the needs of the industry and their development process to drive further integration between Huawei and developers from a tools and workflow perspective.

At the same time, Huawei not only wants to provide developers with cutting-edge technologies such as super-resolution and animations, but Huawei also wants to grant them a platform with access to the latest graphic innovations in the industry. That way, developers only have to focus on developing content with greater imagination and value.

In the future, CG Kit aims to provide more plug-in capabilities, especially to increase the efficiency of graphic processing. Huawei also aims to drive further development in CG, where CG Kit then becomes a bridge for developers to exchange ideas and experience; to learn from each other. Only then, will we have a more vibrant and diversified ecosystem development community.

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.

 

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The new Google TV interface will replace Android TV’s UI in the future

At the Made by Google 2020 event yesterday, Google unveiled the new Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, the new Nest Audio, and the new Google Chromecast. The new Chromecast comes with Google TV as one of its highlighting feature. Google TV is not just a simple rebrand to Android TV though, but its not exactly a new version of Android TV too, either. And now, Google has confirmed that the Google TV interface will replace Android TV’s UI in the future.

What is Android TV?

To understand what Google TV is, we do need to back up a little (but not too much since there is actually a Google TV that existed in 2010-2014 too). Android TV was introduced in 2014 as the successor to the Google TV platform from yesteryears, and it was Google’s way of taking back control of the TV platform. Android TV is a special version of Android that is specifically designed for TVs and large screen interfaces. Android TV is not open-sourced, but OEM partners that utilize Android TV on their TVs can “skin” the home screen app for their devices. This is where we see custom UX solutions like Xiaomi’s PatchWall and OnePlus’s OxygenPlay interfaces, focusing largely on content discovery and content aggregation across various different services. But OEMs can also choose to ship Android TV in its default interface, much like what Sony does for its TVs.

Android TV plus Google TV

The new Google Chromecast brings along the new Google TV. This new Google TV is not a rebranding of Android TV as an OS. Instead, it is a custom UX solution that focuses on content discovery and content aggregation that is built on top of Android TV — it is Google’s answer to PatchWall and OxygenPlay.

While PatchWall and OxygenPlay are exclusive to devices from their respective OEMs, Google TV is not meant to be exclusive to Google (excluding 2020). The company will be making Google TV available to other manufacturers that want it as an option on top of Android TV, like Sony, starting in 2021. Beyond the two year point, however, all new Android TV devices have to use the Google TV skin.

Google TV brings along a new Live tab for TV service-type integrations, deeper Assistant integration, and some other changes. Google will also be bringing some Google TV UI features directly to Android TV, so all Android TV devices will have those features.

In a nutshell, Android TV and Android TV + Google TV will co-exist as solutions available to TV companies for the next two years. Google has also promised to update “eligible” devices to the Google TV experience, but details on that have not been shared yet. It also remains to be seen how Google TV’s existence impacts OEM UX solutions, as shipping two content aggregator services on a single device will likely create unneeded duplication. Would you really need two services telling you to watch the same movie?

Google TV app for Android smartphones

In addition to these changes, Google is also rebranding the Google Play Movies & TV app into the Google TV app. The idea behind this rebranding is to bring these content aggregation features to devices beyond TVs, such as your smartphone. Google Play Movies & TV already did this content aggregation, so the name change brings it in line with the Google TV branding and purpose. The rebranding is rolling out as an update over the Google Play Movies & TV app to users in the USA.

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Source: Google, AndroidPolice

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Telegram adds search filters, anonymous admins, and channel comments

Telegram v7.1.1 is now rolling out on the Google Play Store, and it brings a couple of exciting new features to the popular messenger. As per the official announcement post, the latest update for Telegram includes Search Filters, a Remain Anonymous toggle for group admins, Channel Comments support, and some cool new animation effects. Here’s a quick rundown of everything new in the latest Telegram update:

Search Filters

If you’re a frequent Telegram user, you’d know that searching for media, links, files, etc. on the messenger could prove to be a bit of a challenge. To address this, Telegram v7.1.1 brings new Search Filters to the app. As you can see in the attached GIF, the new Search Filters will let you easily find shared media, links, files, chats, music, and more based on a couple of different criteria.

You can use this new feature to search for files by type, time period, or source. For instance, if you want to search for a particular file type, the updated Search feature has new tabs like Media, Links Files, etc. that you can easily access. If you want to search for items shared on a specific date, you can enter the date in the search bar and all the items shared on that date will pop up in the results. And finally, if you wish to look up files shared by a particular person, group, channel, or bot, you can search for it using the search bar.

Furthermore, these new Search Filters can be combined. This means that you’ll be able to look for something as specific as “messages with a link, sent in March 2016, containing the word “boat”.”

Anonymous Group Admins

The privacy-focused nature of Telegram has made it a valuable tool for protestors around the world. The messenger is often used as the primary means of communication for organizing protests for democracy and freedom, and Telegram is now adding another layer of protection for people who organize such protests.

With version 7.1.1, Telegram is adding a new Remain Anonymous setting to Admin rights for groups. Using this setting, group admins will be able to post messages to the group anonymously, as their messages in the chat will be signed with the group name.

Channel Comments

Telegram’s latest update also brings a new comment button for posts on channels with discussion groups. Tapping on the button will let you comment on any post in the channel, and all the comments on a post will show up within a thread of their own. The comments will also show up in the discussion group within channels.

In case you’re not a member of a channel’s discussion group, you will receive a notification every time someone replies to one of your comments via a new chat called Replies. If you’re interested in testing out this new feature, you can visit this channel.

New Telegram Animations

The update also includes a host of new animations for the Telegram app on Android. These include animations for expanding or hiding the keyboard, switching between day and night themes, and pop-ups for deleting messages, changing notifications, saving media, etc. You can check out these animations in the GIF attached below.

Along with the new features mentioned above, the update also brings the ability to let users take a closer look at anyone’s profile picture in a group chat by pressing and holding on the picture. In case you’re using multiple accounts on the platform, Telegram now also lets you preview the chat lists of your other accounts using the same gesture in the accounts switcher.

Furthermore, the update introduces a host of new animated emoji (see above). To share these animated emoji with friends, you can simply send a message with a single emoji. You can download the latest Telegram update from the Google Play Store link below. Alternatively, you can download the latest APK from APKMirror and sideload it on your device.

Telegram (Free, Google Play) →

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Here are all the new Google Camera features on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G

After months of leaks and speculation, the new Google Pixel 5 and the new Google Pixel 4a 5G are here. Both of these represent the latest and greatest hardware that Google can present this year. While the hardware may not be the greatest, Google’s strength has always been in software, and more specifically, camera software. Both the new Pixels come with Google Camera alongside new features. Here are all the new Google Camera features on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G.

Google Pixel 5 Forums ||| Google Pixel 4a 5G Forums

Ultrawide Lens

While not a “Google Camera” feature per se, it is a new change to Google’s camera setup. Gone is the telephoto camera from the Google Pixel 4 series, and in its stead comes a new ultrawide lens. You still get zooming features like Super Res Zoom, but all of it is now handled through software.

While Google could have packed in three cameras, especially at a time when other flagships go as high as five rear cameras, this current situation is a liveable compromise.

Cinematic Pan in Google Camera

The Google Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 come with Cinematic Pan. This gives users shake-free panning on videos, making their videos appear more professional. Google says the ultra-smooth panning is inspired by the equipment that Hollywood directors use. In effect, the panning stabilizes the video and slows it down to give it a cinematic look. This feature is currently available for the new Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, and Google has not mentioned whether the feature will make its way to older devices. (Pssst, Google Camera mods).

Locked and Active Stabilization

Google’s support page for the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G also mentions two other stabilization modes: Locked, and Active, in addition to the Standard Stabilization and the new Cinematic Pan. Standard stabilization is for countering light hand vibrations, Active stabilization is for countering heavy movement, and Locked stabilization is for capturing faraway still shots.

Night Sight in Portrait Mode

Night Sight has been one of Google’s earliest and most impactful camera features, essentially using machine learning and other software wizardry to capture detailed shots even in low light. The feature received several extensions, such as astrophotography, letting users even capture stars using their phone camera. Similarly, Portrait Mode allowed Google to capture images with a bokeh effect without needing a dedicated depth camera in the earlier generations of Pixels. Night Sight in Portrait Mode is a natural culmination of these two features.

Essentially, with Night Sight in Portrait Mode, you get the ability to capture blurred backgrounds even in extremely low light. In both, default and Portrait mode, Night Sight turns on automatically when you take a photo in low-light conditions.

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This is all for the announced new features in the Google Camera on the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. There are a few more features in Google Photos too, for the new phones. We’ll keep you updated with other features that we spot. Stay tuned!

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