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Asus announced its 2019 lineup of thin and light Ultrabooks at CES 2019, including the ZenBook 14 and the new Zenbook S13. The Asus ZenBook 14 manages to pack the latest Whiskey Lake Ultrabook processors, along with Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics and up to 16GB of RAM into a svelte, blue chassis that's as thin as it is light. This Ultrabook weighs just under 1.45kg (3.2 pounds), while managing to cram a 14-inch display into a 13-inch chassis. That thin and light Chassis features Asus's Utopia Blue color and the spun metal finish that the manufacturer is known for. And, when the lid is opened, the back will lift up the chassis to give a more comfortable typing experience. There's an extra twist here. The touchpad on the Asus ZenBook 14 manages to double as a number pad, so you can do calculations and spreadsheets, without having to somehow fit a full keyboard on a 14-inch laptop. This is similar to Asus's ZenBook Pro 15, though it's not quite as fully featured – or as expensive. The Asus ZenBook 14 will be available sometime in Q1 2019 starting at $749 (£590, AU$1,060). http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DzhKYMiCMcc2wQR7vNc9yf.jpg Even smallerAsus also announced the ZenBook S13 at CES, with similar specs, but a much more attractive chassis – Asus claims its the world's thinnest laptop with discrete graphics. The Asus ZenBook S13 keeps the same 12.9mm (0.51 inches) thickness of the original ZenBook S, but this time around, it managed to shove an Nvidia MX150 GPU in the mix. This isn't the most powerful GPU on the market, not by a long shot, but it is perfectly capable of light video editing or casual gaming. And, you could easily carry that power along with you, as the laptop only weighs 1.1kg (2.3 pounds). The Asus ZenBook S13 will be available sometime in Q1 2019, though Asus hasn't shared pricing information at the time of this writing. Check out our list of the best UltrabooksWant more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/uIHg2vWhyvE

Samsung might have begun its AI experiments with last year's Samsung Q900 8K QLED TV but, in 2019, the South Korean electronics maker plans to take machine learning to the next level. Specifically, Samsung will expand its AI's capabilities to improve Bixby, the sound quality of its TV's built-in speakers, and Tizen, its smart TV platform. In 2019, users will be able to ask Bixby questions, and it will use context awareness to automatically adjust answers based on a specific question. Bixby will also be able to integrate with an intelligent home, allowing it to control Samsung devices, other Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and life-on-demand services. AI Sound, on the other hand, uses spatial awareness technology to analyze and adapt the audio to create the best experience based on the settings and location of the TV. It also applies scenic intelligence technology to analyze each scene (news, sports, game etc.) in real time and adjust the audio accordingly. Samsung had previously used metadata to apply sonic processing in its TVs, but the addition of AI technology gives its 2019 models the ability to enhance and optimize audio based on analyzing sounds in real time. Finally, TV Plus will now use the AI built into Samsung’s smart platform to enable the TV to discover new content based on a person’s viewing habits, then make recommendations for its users. Samsung's obsession with AIOriginally, when Samsung started talking about TV AI at last year's CES, it was focused almost solely on its intention to improve image processing – especially on 8K TVs where significantly more picture processing is required in the upscaling process. How it did that was by analyzing images constantly and building a comprehensive database that uses learning algorithms to incrementally improve the image processing. The company then regularly updates the database on the TV itself with the latest formula bank, thus allowing the upscaling to deliver the best possible images. The processing not only upscales the image, but also applies texture creation, noise reduction, and edge restoration to take full advantage of the 8K panel. This year, however, AI isn’t just being used to improve the quality of the upscaling on Samsung TVs – the manufacturer is committed to applying the same machine learning techniques to other aspects of its TV’s performance. If the idea of a smarter TV sounds scary, don't get too worked up – there’s little danger of your Samsung TV becoming self-aware. According to Samsung, the purpose of these AI improvements are to allow Samsung TVs to get smarter by the day, with AI helping to improve the picture and sound quality, while making the smart experience as rewarding as possible. That's a robot revolution we can really get behind. Want more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Ai4MOS7MB7w

Matrix Industries has revealed the PowerWatch 2, a successor to their original PowerWatch and PowerWatch X smartwatches that remain fully charged by using body heat. The new model has several improvements on its predecessor, which, despite its miraculous charging tech, didn’t have much worth bragging about. Matrix added always-on GPS, a heartbeat sensor and other bells and whistles to bring the PowerWatch 2 nearly to parity with leading smartwatches. Its black, rugged exterior looks much like the PowerWatch X, but has a sharper 1.2-inch screen – and it’s in color this time. There's also a solar panel ring around the inner rim of the watch’s faceplate, which is mostly there to reassure users who don’t quite believe the smartwatch’s thermoelectric generator can power the wearable by itself. It runs on a custom OS specially designed by Matrix to sip (not drain) power; likewise, the thermoelectric tech and processor are all proprietary. Advantages make disadvantagesOf course, that custom tech could make it onerous for third parties to design apps for the PowerWatch 2. As it stands, the watch supports Google Fitness, Apple Healthkit and Strava out the gate, but time will tell if lack of access to watchOS or Wear OS keeps developers from creating for the wearable. In the meantime, the PowerWatch 2 has its own set of apps, mostly to track health (steps, sleep, even the power a user generates). If nothing else, it’s a robust fitness tracker. That all comes at a (literal) cost: the PowerWatch 2 retails for $499. Or will, assuming the IndieGogo campaign Matrix launched is funded through to production. If you want a cheaper PowerWatch 2, get one for a $200 early bird cost. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2019 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earthhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/cNz7Tk-tanc

At a special First Look event held on Sunday evening, Samsung debuted two new versions of its MicroLED TV (formerly known only as The Wall) - a smaller 75-inch variation as well as a significantly larger 219-inch model. According to Samsung, the 'smaller' 75-inch TV size will go by a new monicker (The Window) while the 219-inch latter will pick up the mantle of The Wall. The screen made a huge splash last year when Samsung lauded MicroLED’s capabilities, claiming that it had near-perfect black levels akin to OLED and higher contrast. The two new TVs build on that legacy and offer two rather extreme options in terms of size when they come out sometime in the future. MicroLED, for those who missed the memo last year, uses millions of inorganic red, green and blue microscopic LED chips that emit their own bright light to produce brilliant colors on screen. It’s slightly different than OLED - which uses organic emissive elements - but, according to Samsung's spokespeople, that switch to inorganic might help the TV last longer and eliminate burn in. While Samsung couldn’t provide specifics on resolution at last year’s event, it was officially confirmed this year that its MicroLED TVs will offer 4K UHD resolution in the 75-inch model, and "something above 4K" in the 219-inch version. That’s a step down in terms of resolution from some of the 8K TVs we’ve heard about here at CES 2019, but that’s not unexpected given the nascent nature of MicroLED. Just another brick in The WallMuch of Samsung's presentation at the event revolved around the idea of MicroLED being modular - and thus, can be made into any number of shapes and sizes. What that means is that some day, not far into the future, we'll be able to order custom-sized MicroLED TVs... well, within reason (you can't get a 72.45-inch TV, for example, because the modules wouldn't allow for that). The other interesting point Samsung made during the keynote is about using different aspect ratios - sure, most content is made 16:9, but if you have a different ratio in mind, Samsung's MicroLED TVs would be up for the challenge. ...Unfortunately, however, you'll still need to order them through a custom-installer, so the average consumer won't have a 219-inch MicroLED TV in their house anytime soon. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6bRB4FGkzwkZDoE74USLQ4.jpg Another wall we won't be able to affordSo how much will Samsung’s monstrous MicroLED TVs set you back? Samsung has yet to disclose an official price or release date for either of its new models, and while the company never officially disclosed the price of last year's model either, estimates put it at around $100,000 for the 146-inch flatscreen. While a 75-inch version of The Wall will be exponentially less expensive than the commercial 146-inch version from last year, there's a very good chance that it could cost well over $20,000 (£15,000, AU$28,000) – Samsung's 75-inch 8K QLED TV was $15,000, and that used traditional LED-LCD technology. So, are you ready to shell out for a TV that costs as much as our house? Want more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/ot2ZUy78yRg

Locomotion has always been a tricky issue when it comes to virtual reality gaming. Ideally, we'd all be running around limitless VR playgrounds, but the reality is more likely that we'll be sat on a sofa in our living rooms, either pushing a control stick to propel us forward or using some sort of in-game teleportation mechanic. While some have thought that an at-home VR treadmill is the answer, the team at 3DRudder think otherwise. Shown for the first time at CES 2019, they have built a tilting disc for PlayStation VR that you control with your feet, giving you direct motion control over a character as you play. If it sounds familiar, that may because you've heard the 3DRudder name before – it was first introduced at CES 2017, but was then intended for PC VR players. With the might of the Playstation VR behind it, it could be about to reach a far bigger audience. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gc8kLtsYgCL2e7TgJAQN24.jpg Developer supportThe 3DRudder for PS4 is a plug and play device – no set up is needed, you simply pop it into a USB port on your console and start playing. Twist your feet to turn in game, lean left or right to strafe, and tilt the disc forwards or backwards and you'll move in either direction. From a quick play with the system at CES Unveiled, it proved very intuitive indeed. However, not all games will support the 3DRudder straight out of the gate – developers will have to individually program support for the peripheral into their games. But the future is already looking bright. The 3DRudder will work with more than 30 games when it launches in April, including new titles The Wizards, Sairento VR and Blind. And most exciting of all? Sony is fully behind the concept, with a host of first-party titles already in development taking advantage of the novel control system. The 3DRudder for PSVR will cost €119 when it launches in Spring 2019. That's roughly $140, or £110. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2019 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earthhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/AAcsQktwzIo

When you're deep into a movie or a brilliant track, the last thing you want is to lose all the audio when you move from one place to another. The new Jabra Elite 85h headphones - launched at CES 2019 - are designed to try and take away the annoyance of having to alter your headphone settings on the fly to get the best sound experience when leaving home, commuting or just wandering around a big city. This works using Audeering technology, an audio analysis company that Jabra's parent company GN Technologies has a minor stake in, where artificial intelligence uses eight microphones to analyse the surroundings and decide on the best sound quality needed. The Jabra 85h headphones will adapt automatically to the sound around you, switching between 'Commute', 'In Public' and 'In Private' modes to offer tailored sound - and uses six of the microphones to provide active noise cancelling too. There's a lot happening this year - see all the top launches from CES 2019Your own new worldhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/By43LzwhZ3vxUQ3iiG25Wb.jpg The 'Gold Beige' coloring You'll be able to create your own 'sound environments' too in the associated application, and the headphones will remember to switch to that mode when certain audio conditions are heard. In terms of the smarts built into the headphones, Jabra is promising that the cans will always be listening for the Alexa, Siri or Google wake commands (presumably depending on the phone you're using) to allow you invoke the voice assistant without touching a button. While that sounds cool, given there's a lot of promotion being made on using these headphones in public, you're going to look a little odd just shouting out Siri's name when idly wondering how tall Kylie Minogue is while quietly sitting on a train. Despite this 'always-on' technology, Jabra is promising 32 hours' battery life and strong audio through 40mm custom-engineered speakers thrusting sounds into your ears. Without active noise cancelling enabled, this battery life will apparently increase up to 35 hours. Isn't adaptive sound a bit 2017?Adaptive sound is the new wave of audio improvement in headphones, with certain models (like the Nuraphones or the adaptive sound built into the HTC U12 Plus or the Samsung Galaxy S9) but those models are all about changing the sound to work best to our ears. Given hearing differs from person to person, and it alters over time, this is the perfect way to get the best sound quality into your brain holes. The Jabra Elite 85h headphones aren't offering this option (although you can tailor it manually through the app) but instead is altering the kind of noise coming into your head to make sure it helps block out unhelpful sound and improve that which you can hear. The new Elite 85h headphones will be available in black, titanium black (which just sounds like a fancy way of saying gray), gold beige and navy (well, brown and blue). The Jabra Elite 85h release date has been set for April 2019, and the 85h price is a pretty expensive £280 / $299 (around AU$500) with no official word Australian release at the moment. Check out our list of the best noise-cancelling headphones to see how these comparehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/266utefbXB4

Withings has just announced two new fitness trackers at CES 2019, and one incorporates a major innovation that we've previously only seen on the Apple Watch Series 4 in a smartwatch. The Withings Move ECG features an electrocardiogram monitor, a first for a hybrid smartwatch. At first glance it looks to be a traditional watch, but the hidden tech inside the Move ECG will help you monitor your step count and overall heart health. The ECG monitor allows you to detect heart conditions like atrial fibrillation that without this sort of monitor can be difficult to spot. Like most other smartwatches and trackers, the Move ECG can take regular heart rate readings as well as track your calories burned, pace, distance, workout routines and elevation. An innovative hybridA small gauge on the watch face itself will tell you how close you've come to your daily step count goals, and will also monitor your sleep with stats on the duration and interruptions throughout night available. According to Withings, the battery is set to last an entire year, so you won't have to take it off at night to recharge it. The watch itself is a similar style to the Withings Steel HR, but it comes in a variety of bold colors, including a black version. You'll be able to buy the watch with either a black or white watch face, plus there's a selection of bright and colorful straps to choose from too. The Move ECG is set to launch during Q2 2019, which means we may see it any time between March and the end of July. It's set to cost $129.95 / £129.95 (about AU$230). Whether or not you'll be able to use the ECG feature in your respective country comes down to clearance from respective government bodies. In the US it'll need FDA approval, and Withings can't currently confirm that. Although we've previously seen an ECG monitor on the Apple Watch Series 4, that's a feature that is still limited to the US. This is the first consumer wearable that's compatible with Android phones capable of an ECG reading. The company has also announced a less feature-rich watch called the Withings Move. This is a more affordable activity tracker that can still monitor your health and give you limited workout information. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tKNJfaepGgVUidnLyh3Hsm.jpg It's water resistant up to 50 meters and there's connected GPS if you want to take it for a run. There's no heart rate monitor on this watch though, and obviously it doesn't feature an ECG monitor either. Battery life is estimated to be 18 months on the Withings Move, and the company has given a variety of customizable looks for the 38mm watch with five color options set to launch from early February in the US and UK. We don't currently know the release schedule for other countries. The Withings Move will cost $69.95 / £59.95 (about AU$110), and you can pre-order the watch now. The company also announced a new medical product for its line-up called the Withings BPM Core. This is a cuff to measure your blood pressure, alongside an ECG monitor and a digital stethoscope to monitor your heart health. It's not dissimilar to a blood pressure cuff you may have used at a doctor's clinic, but this is a portable option that you can keep at home or take away with you when travelling. It's set to launch later this year – an exact launch window has yet to be determined – and it will cost around $249.95 / £249.95 (about AU$450). The BPM Core isn't a device for fitness fans, and instead is meant for medical purposes but if you need to keep an eye on your heart health it may be a useful tool to have at home. New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2019 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earthhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/NDm0IQLBpGI

Electric car startup Byton is back. After unveiling its M-Byte Concept vehicle back at CES in 2018, it's returned to Las Vegas, Nevada for CES 2019 with news that the M-Byte will be available before the end of 2019. There will be two models of the all-electric M-Byte, with the entry level model offering up to 250 miles on a single charge and starting at $45,000. There will also be a model with a bigger battery, which will offer up to 320 miles from one charge. The M-Byte comes loaded with innovative features, and it's the first car to offer full connectivity on the go with multiple antennas and 5G support built in. Inside, the main attraction is the huge, 48-inch display which spans the entire width of the vehicle (that's the size of seven tablets or 24 smartphones). The look of the interior has been updated over the Concept for the production version, but the huge screen remains, as does the 7-inch 'driver tablet' which is mounted in front of the steering wheel. The tablet doesn't rotate with the steering wheel though, keeping it orientated correctly the whole time. Physical buttons and stalks have also been included on and behind the wheel, to provide quick, safe access to core features and provide a still-familiar look and feel for drivers. Another screen has been included as well, with an 8-inch display housed between the front two seats of the Byton M-Byte. This is more for the front seat passenger more than the driver, but you'll also be able to use voice and gesture control as well. It also had its K-Byte concept car (announced in 2018) featuring a digital grille, which certainly looks cool, but we're not too sure how practical it'll actually be day-to-day. The Byton press conference is currently happening right now, and we'll be updating this article live as more information is announced. Want more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/pwtll7xhEQ4

While all eyes were trained for AMD to announced 7nm Ryzen 3rd Generation processors and Vega II graphics cards, the company has surprised us all with its new 2nd Gen Ryzen Mobile CPUs. Whereas in years past AMD would only introduce a handful of CPUs, the chipmaker now has a full product stack to power everything from gaming laptops, Ultrabooks, budget notebooks and even Chromebooks – more on this last one soon. AMD Ryzen 7 3750H: 4-cores, 8-threads, 10 GPU cores, clocked at 2.3GHz to 4.0GHzAMD Ryzen 7 3700U: 4-cores, 8-threads, 10 GPU cores, clocked at 2.3GHz to 4.0GHzAMD Ryzen 5 3550H: 4-cores, 8-threads, 8 GPU cores, clocked at 2.3GHz to 3.7GHzAMD Ryzen 5 3500U: 4-cores, 8-threads, 8 GPU cores, clocked at 2.1GHz to 3.7GHzAMD Ryzen 3 3300U: 4-cores, 4-threads, 6 GPU cores, clocked at 2.1GHz to 3.5GHzAMD Ryzen 3 3200U: 2-cores, 4-threads, 3 GPU cores, clocked at 2.6GHz to 3.5GHzAMD Athlon 300U: 2-cores, 4-threads, 3 GPU cores, clocked at 2.4GHz to 3.3GHzLooking at AMD’s product stack from the bottom up, you’ll find it offers quad-core chips more quickly and regularly than even Intel’s latest Whisky Lake and Amber Lake processor families. The Ryzen 3 3300U is AMD’s second lowest-tier entry-level CPU, but if you were to buy an Intel-powered laptop with the same number of cores you would have to find a machine with at least an Intel Core i5-8265U – or i5-8259U from the Coffee Lake U-series family. Unfortunately, AMD’s top-tier mobile processor only features four-cores, whereas the Intel Coffee Lake H-series chips have moved up to being hexa-core. However, it’s worth noting that the company has only announced two H-series CPUs, so this could just be the beginnings of the brand’s gaming laptop ambitions. Performance gainsAccording to AMD, the Ryzen 5 3500U will deliver 14% faster web browsing, 27% greater media editing performance and tie in productivity than an Intel Core i5-8250U (Kaby Lake R). In terms of battery life, Team Red promised users can expect up to 12 hours of general usage and 10 hours of video playback. Of course, AMD’s greatest strength is it integrated, discrete-class Vega graphics and company. The Ryzen 7 3700U pitted against an Intel Core i7-8565U (Whisky Lake) can play most games 10 or more frames per second faster at a 720p resolution and low settings. AMD also plans to keep its mobile chips in top game playing shape by delivering Radeon Software updates to all its Ryzen Mobile processors both past and present. Meet the first AMD-powered ChromebooksOn top of introducing its 2nd Gen Ryzen Mobile Processors, AMD also introduced new A-series chips designed specifically for Chromebooks. AMD A6-9220C: 2-cores, 2-threads, R5 Series Radeon Graphics, clocked at 1.8GHz to 2.7GHzAMD A4-9120C: 2-cores, 2-threads, R4 Series Radeon Graphics, clocked at 1.6GHz to 2.4GHzIn a fight between the AMD A6-9220C and the Intel Pentium N4200, Team Red promises users can expect 23% faster web browsing, 2.5x faster email, 33% faster photo editing and 34% gaming. That last bit seems crucial as Chrome OS and Android seem to be inseparable at this point and gaming on Chromebooks becomes bigger. Want more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas!http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/gEJmx2Edmas

Acer announced the Acer Swift 7 at CES 2019, promising an even smaller device than last year's impossibly thin laptop. Slowing its pursuit of that 'world's thinnest laptop' title, Acer's flagship Ultrabook for 2019 is still just 9.95mm (0.39 inches) thin and weighs in at just 890 grams (1.96 pounds). A smaller chassis allows the Acer Swift 7 to shrink the bezels even more this year around, achieving a screen-to-body ratio of 92%. The monitor itself is a Full HD 1,920 x 1,080-pixel panel with a 100% sRGB color gamut. The focus on crafting such a thin and light laptop hasn't come at the expense of durability, as the new Acer Swift 7 is made with magnesium-lithium and magnesium-aluminum alloys. Acer claims that these materials are two to four times tougher than regular aluminum, while also being up to 35% lighter. Swiftly fixing the pastWe weren't the biggest fans of the 2018 Acer Swift 7, as it pulled out the clicking functionality from the touchpad, and featured a behind-the-curve Intel 7th-generation fanless processor. Acer is addressing these complaints by including an 8th-generation Intel Amber Lake fanless processor, similar to what's found on the 2018 MacBook Air, and an integrated click button in the touchpad. Acer claims the Swift 7's processor will enable 10 hours of battery life. And, when paired with the 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, the Acer Swift 7 will deliver "top-notch performance for web browsing" and "productivity with presentations and spreadsheets". Acer also claims that it can handle creative tools, but that'll likely be limited to some Photoshop work. Finally, there's the new touchpad. Made of Corning Gorilla Glass, it should be both durable and responsive. And, Acer has listened to feedback, and has integrated a physical clicking mechanism into the Swift 7's touchpad. The Acer Swift 7 hopes to appeal to the same kind of luxury mobile audience as the Apple MacBooks, and will be out in the US in May at $1,699 and Europe in April, at €1,799. Specific UK and Australia availability information is forthcoming. The best laptops of 2019 so farWant more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/RQ6DfiXo23Q

For the longest time, Chromebooks have included either Intel or ARM-based processors across the board. But, at CES 2019, there have been plenty of Chromebooks announced with AMD processors for the first time. This marks the first time AMD processors have made their way into Chromebooks, and possibly a shift away from the Intel and ARM hardware usually featured in Chrome OS devices. Chief among these new AMD-based Chromebooks are the HP Chromebook 14 and the Acer Chromebook 315. HP hasn't shared pricing information for the HP Chromebook 14, but the inclusion of an AMD processor could mean a more affordable Chromebook – making it more appealing to students that don't necessarily need the fastest hardware. Intel has had some well-publicized problems with availability of its 14nm silicon over the last few months. And, while this has led to AMD taking significant market share in the desktop space, we haven't seen Team Red penetrate the mobile space in a major way. But, AMD's push into Chromebooks looks to change that. Still, just because AMD is new to Chromebooks doesn't mean that the HP Chromebook 14 is going to be slow. The AMD A4-9120 in the Chromebook 14 is a dual-core, quad-core chip with a base clock of 2.2GHz and a 2.5GHz boost. This is comparable to the Pentium and Celeron chips common on low-to-mid range Chromebooks. The processor is backed up by 4GB DDR4 memory and a 32GB eMMC storage drive, behind a 14-inch HD (1,366 x 768) display. HP also claims that you'll be able to get up to 9 hours of battery life. HP hasn't shared availability or pricing information for the HP Chromebook 14, but we're sure that information will become available closer to its release. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3ULTmmYFqvoPswFZmxdw9M.jpg An AMD Chromebook with a larger displayAcer has also teamed up with AMD to craft an affordable Chromebooks, with its 15-inch Acer Chromebook 315 – configurable with either AMD A4-9120C or A6-9220C processors. Unlike HP's offering, the display on offer here will be Full HD, or 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, and will be packed with 8GB of RAM. This should make it much more effective for work and play. Acer is also claiming that it can hit 10 hours of battery life. The Chromebook can also be upgraded to feature a touch screen display, which will make Android apps much more user friendly, without having to rely on a touchpad for interaction. The Acer Chromebook 315 will be available in February in the US, starting at $279. And, in Europe in April for €349. Specific UK and Australia availability information is forthcoming. Check out our list of the best ChromebooksWant more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/w6yidBf24Ng

At CES 2019, HP announced its 2019 monitor lineup, with the new Pavilion 27 Quantum Dot display at the forefront. This QHD (2,460 x 1,440) monitor will feature unique Quantum Dot technology, which uses micro-crystals to generate images, and as such, its remarkably thin, measuring just 6.5mm. And, it's not just the thickness, the Pavilion 27 Quantom Dot has an ultra-thin, three-sided micro-edge display that virtually eliminates bezels. All of that wouldn't mean much if the panel technology wasn't up to par, and thankfully it is. HP is using Samsung's PLS technology, which is similar to IPS, but should theoretically lead to even better viewing angles and brightness. And, since it covers 90% of the DCI P3 color gamut, it should be quite color accurate as well. Combine all that with the AMD FreeSync compatibility and a low blue light filter, and the HP Pavilion checks all of the boxes of a high-end monitor. The HP Pavilion 27 Quantum Dot display will be available in March 2019, and will set you back $399 (about £310, AU$560). http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KsNW98fKURZKwQjnBJVeMJ.jpg A whole line of monitorsHP didn't just announce the Quantum Dot display at CES, but a whole line of new monitors from the FHD version of the HP Pavilion 27 to the gigantic HP Omen X Emperium 65. The HP Pavilion 27 FHD is a 27-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS monitor, with 250 nits of brightness, covering 94% of the sRGB color space. It will also have USB-C compatibility, with the same Micro-edge bezels as its Quantum Dot companion. This FreeSync monitor will be available in March for $329 (about £360, AU$460). Then, there's the HP Pavilion 32 QHD display, which is 32-inch, 2,560 x 1,440-pixel monitor, also with FreeSync and a blue light filter. It doesn't have the same narrow bezels as the other monitors in this lineup, but with 100% of the sRGB color space it shouldn't matter too much. If 32 inches is too big for your desk, it will be equipped with standard VESA mounting, too. It will be available in June for $379 (about £300, AU$530). If you're on the market for a new gaming monitor, HP has you covered with the Omen X Emperium 65 – a massive 65-inch gaming monitor with G-Sync technology. And, with a 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) resolution, HDR 1,000, and a high refresh rate of 144Hz, you're going to need an incredibly powerful Nvidia Turing card to drive it. But, even if you don't have room on your desk for a 65-inch monitor – we don't either – it comes with Nvidia Shield streaming technology, a sound bar and smart TV apps built in. If you're ready for a gaming monitor of this caliber, you can pick it up in February for $4,999 (about £3,950, AU$7,070). Check out our list of the best monitorsWant more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/QfduAmRHx7g

Turns out there's more than one way to make a foldable phone. While we wait the official unveiling of Samsung's long-anticipated Galaxy X (or Galaxy F) handset, a new patent reveals the company's alternative plans for creating a bigger, tablet-style display – attaching two handsets together via a magnetic lock. Spotted by LetsGoDigital, the newly published patent shows two handsets fixed together at the edges to create a bigger screen. As the phones and magnets rotate around the axis, you've effectively got a jumbo foldable phone. This won't be replacing the truly foldable handset that Samsung has already been showing off in prototype form, but it may be a sign of new features on their way to future flagships from the manufacturer – the Galaxy Note 10 perhaps? It's possible that this is one of the ways the Note series will continue to be separate from the Galaxy S series. The design shown off in the patent is along similar lines to the ZTE Axon M we saw last year: a foldable phone made from two displays with a hinge in the middle, rather than a truly flexible display. In this case though, both halves could still be used separately. This clever use of magnets opens up a variety of options for snapping phones together: as well as making one large screen, you could have one phone facing forwards and one facing backwards for the perfect selfie taker. Alternatively you could have the two phones on top of each other, both facing the same way, to create a full-screen display with a slide-out keyboard on the second phone. As always with patents, treat this as a hint of what Samsung's thinking about – this won't necessarily make it to market. If it does, remember you'll have to pay double for your second phone, so you might want to start saving now. The Royole FlexPai will beat Samsung Galaxy X to 'first foldable phone' titlehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/6aw00Xzfn7A

We're set for an exciting 2019 as far as phone launches go, and those launches are going to include the Huawei P30 handsets in the first few months of the year. Thanks to some new unofficial renders, we've now got a much better idea of what the P30 could look like. The renders produced by OnLeaks and 91Mobiles aren't taken directly from Huawei sources, but they do round up all the rumors and tips we've heard up to this point – we've got the teardrop notch on the front of the phone, and the triple-lens camera around the back, and some ultra-thin bezels around the side. And... a 3.5mm headphone jack! That's a welcome change from the Huawei P20 we saw last year, though it matches the Huawei Mate 20 that launched in October 2018. You'll be able to keep using your old wired headphones after all. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/i72jFDDLZUUpJa4Rpb7bKH.jpg Huawei P30 render (credit: OnLeaks/91Mobile) What else have we got here? The Huawei P30 is tipped to use a two-tone color backing similar to ones we've seen from Huawei before, and the rumor is that the phone will also use an in-screen fingerprint sensor like the most recent Huawei handsets Overall we're looking at a substantial upgrade from the Huawei P20, but for even more screen space and camera lenses you might want to consider the Huawei P30 Pro instead: it's said to be coming with a quad-lens camera around the back, which might mean the snapper gets up to 10x optical zoom. For now this is all speculation – albeit speculation rendered in a very appealing form – but we shouldn't have too long to wait to see what Huawei has been working on. The P20 and P20 Pro launched in March 2018, and their successors should arrive around a year later. 10 smartphones launches to look out for in 2019Via The Next Web http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/SMEG55NKc9M

It was a fairly quiet year for AMD’s graphics department in 2018, but 2019 has the chance to dial things up a bit with the expected announcement and launch of new Vega II graphics processors built on a 7nm process. The wait for a new AMD graphics card has been long and arduous, but Vega II may put AMD back on the map. Based on what we’ve heard AMD’s 7nm GPU architecture could outpace Nvidia Turing 12nm graphics cards from both a shrunken architectural-aspect and for performance-to-price. Cut to the chaseWhat is it? AMD’s first 7nm graphics cardsWhen is it out? Likely within the first half of 2019What will it cost? TBDhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/apravUyp7id2iJajDbyEs.jpg AMD Vega II release dateAMD Vega II’s release date remains to be a mystery, but there’s been plenty of speculation and leaks on the internet street. Currently, the most reliable release date we could pin down is the first half of the year – yes that’s really the tightest window we’ve seen reported thus far. The original lineup of Vega graphics cards built on a 14nm process was announced at CES 2017 and didn’t hit the market for consumers until that August. Now, two years later, we’re likely on the cusp of Vega II’s announcement and there’s a possibility AMD may follow the same rollout pattern. There have been plenty of signs pointing to an unveiling at CES 2019. For one thing, AMD will have a keynote at CES. That keynote paired with the recent spotting of a new trademark application for what looks like a Vega II logo strongly hint at Vega II featuring in the keynote. Given AMDs GPU roadmap, the Vega II should turn out to be built on a 7nm process. PCGamesN has suggested that the new 7nm Vega II may release as early as the end of the first quarter of 2019. However, Wccftech believes it may take until the end of the first half of 2019 for the GPU to hit the market. Since the first line of consumer Vega cards took more than half a year from their announcement to their release, the Q1 release does seem optimistic. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7xitux35Z58WDTvo5sMgs.jpg AMD Vega II priceIf you thought AMD Vega II’s release date was nebulous, pricing on AMD’s new graphics cards is an even bigger mystery as we practically haven’t seen any reports to suggest anything. For the time being the best way of telling what the company’s next GPUs will cost is looking back at how it priced its previous parts. AMD Radeon RX Vega 64: $499 or £549 (about AU$630) AMD Radeon RX Vega 56: $399 (about £305, AU$505)Knowing AMD’s usual MO and its mission to serve underserved gamers, you can bet it will produce affordable graphics cards rather than the most powerful parts for extremely expensive prices. In December 2018, we heard one report of an AMD Radeon RX 3080 that could match GeForce RTX 2070 for half the price. If these rumors are even half true, they strongly support our theory. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QEPKbjbbeXhwABagcCBRqQ.jpg AMD Vega II specsThe switch from a 14nm process to a 7nm process should allow AMD to pack even more power into each GPU. Since AMD’s strategy of late has seemed to be to throw more and more cores at a problem, as we’ve seen clearly with the 32-core Threadripper. Rumors of AMD 7nm processors have thus far included 16-core Ryzen 3rd Generation processors and Ryzen Threadripper 3rd Generation CPUs are expected to up the ante once again as well. The 7nm process has already been used in GPUs by AMD with the Radeon Instinct MI60 and MI50 cards. An interesting aspect of these cards is that they’re based on the Vega architecture, and they also use HBM2 memory modules. This suggests that Vega II could also continue to use the HBM2 seen on the original Vega graphics cards. It’s worth noting that, though the Vega II is expected to be powerful, it’s not necessarily going to be targeted at gamers. It could instead be geared toward professionals and creatives. That’s not to say the cards won’t be gaming ready. A YouTuber named leaked of 7nm AMD GPUs including a Radeon RX 3080, RX 3070 and RX 3060 that could go head to head with all but Nvidia’s highest-tier RTX cards. However, these GPUs seemed to fall under a separate Navi architecture and not Vega II. So, just what we will really get from Vega II is a question CES 2019 will hopefully answer, but all signs point to a lot of power.Aside from standalone cards, it seems all but guaranteed that the Vega II series will find its way into mobile and lower-power devices as integrated graphics processors. With a new generation of Ryzen processors expected, a new generation of Vega graphics to integrate into APUs is only fitting. In fact, laptop benchmarks have already shown “Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx” integrated graphics showing up with Ryzen 3000 APUs, so it’s likely just a matter of time. Even the anticipated Xbox Scarlet Cloud could see Vega II built into its APU. AMD Ryzen 3rd Generation could introduce the very first 7nm processorshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/z-l-hQQVilc

AMD changed the world with its first Ryzen processors and impressed us even more with its sophomore release of CPUs, but we expect Ryzen 3rd Generation will truly blow Intel out of the water. With Ryzen 3rd Generation, we expect AMD will introduce its first 7nm mainstream processors. If Team Red manages to pull this off, it will have created the first 7nm architectures to come to PCs. Considering Intel’s well-documented struggles to introduce 10nm Cannon Lake chips, AMD could swoop in and upstage its rival completely even before it gets a chance to launch Sunny Cove, while also introducing some of the most impressive CPUs ever created. Cut to the chase What is it? AMD’s next line of mainstream processors When is it out? Likely March to August 2019 What will it cost? TBDhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rF7wN4tebgGvLGqJQ5sJdT.jpg AMD Ryzen 3rd Generation release dateAlthough there’s haven’t been any rumors or hard evidence to help us predict when Ryzen 3rd Generation processors will release we can make an educated guess based on previous launches. The first generation of Ryzen processors hit the market in March 2017 and Ryzen 2nd Generation arrived a month later in 2018. With that in mind, it seems almost certain that Ryzen 3rd Generation processors will release in sometime in Spring (or within the months of March-August for those on the other side of the hemisphere). More immediately, we fully expect AMD will introduce its Ryzen 3rd Generation family at CES 2019, where the company has promised to talk about 7nm processors and graphics cards. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MTAAZCkW6gvPhE5xWMmfMF.jpg AMD Ryzen 3rd Generation priceOnce again we don’t have any empirical proof to list the price of AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 3rd Generation processors. However, thanks to a curiously detailed report from a , we have model names and prices for nearly every possible Ryzen 3rd Generation processor.Here’s how much Ryzen 3rd Generation processors may cost: Ryzen 9 3850X: $499 (about £400, AU$700)Ryzen 9 3800X: $449 (about £350, AU$600)Ryzen 7 3700X: $329 (about £260, AU$450)Ryzen 7 3700: $299 (about £230, AU$400)Ryzen 5 3600X: $229 (about £180, AU$320)Ryzen 5 3600G: $199 (about £160, AU$270)Ryzen 5 3600: $178 (about £140, AU$240)Ryzen 3 3300X: $129 (about £100, AU$180)Ryzen 3 3300G: $129 (about £100, AU$180)Ryzen 3 3300: $99 (about £80, AU$140)Although, this list of prices seems compelling and on track with the prices of AMD’s current lineup of Ryzen 2nd Generation processors, we would buy into them until Team Red officially announces prices. Now what’s interesting here is AMD has a track record of lowering the prices of its processors going from Ryzen to Ryzen 2nd Generation. The AMD Ryzen 7 1700X originally launched with a $399 (£389, AU$569) price and it was succeeded by the more affordable $329 (£349, AU$515) AMD Ryzen 7 2700X. With that in mind, we couldn’t imagine/would be disappointed if the Ryzen 7 3700X were to cost more. For now, it seems AMD will hold onto the same pricing scheme from its current slew of chips going into the next generation. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LTPeJFto3f4dQTUUMg27a7.jpg AMD Ryzen 3rd Generation specsHere’s where things get exciting. Whereas Ryzen 2nd Generation processors were built on a 12nm Zen+ architecture that introduced a slight die shrink from the original 14nm Zen architecture, Ryzen 3rd Generation is said to be built upon a much smaller 7nm Zen 2 platform. As with most die shrinks, this refinement in process should lead to increases in speed and power efficiency. However, what is interesting is there are many rumors pointing to Ryzen 3rd Generation CPUs that will feature dramatic increases in core counts. Thanks to a multitude of leaks we pretty much can fully outline what Ryzen 3rd Generation processors there will be and they are as follows: Ryzen 9 3850X: 16-cores, 32-threads, clocked at 4.3GHz to 5.1GHzRyzen 9 3800X: 16-cores, 32-threads, clocked at 3.9GHz to 4.7GHzRyzen 7 3700X: 12-cores, 24-threads, clocked at 4.2GHz to 5.0GHzRyzen 7 3700: 12-cores, 24-threads, clocked at 3.8GHz to 4.6GHzRyzen 5 3600X: 8-cores, 16-threads, clocked at 4.0GHz to 4.8GHzRyzen 5 3600G: 8-cores, 16-threads, 12 GPU cores, clocked at 3.2GHz to 4.0GHzRyzen 5 3600: 8-cores, 16-threads, clocked at 3.6GHz to 4.4GHzRyzen 3 3300X: 6-cores,12 -threads, clocked at 3.5GHz to 4.3GHzRyzen 3 3300G: 8-core, 12-thread, 12 GPU cores, clocked at 3.2GHz to 4.0GHzRyzen 3 3300: 6-cores, 12-threads, clocked at 3.2GHz to 4.0GHzWe heard the first murmurs of what Zen 2 processors could do as early as October 2018. In the report suggested that AMD Radeon Technologies Group received its first engineering sample for the unreleased architecture in the form of an 8-core chip capable of reaching frequencies up to 4.5GHz. In December 2018, the rumors began to really head up as we received an almost complete breakdown of this new series of CPUs. This nearly complete set of listings came from a YouTuber named AdoredTV and while they seemed unlikely to be true, a Russian retailer would later back up the Influencer’s report with nearly identical specs on all its product pages for the whole series of chips. We’re not sure if the Russian retailer was just cribbing AdoredTV’s video like a cheat sheet, but so far no other rumors or reports have contradicted what we know so far. This is also all we know so far, but we’re certain that AMD will officially announce Ryzen 3rd Generation processors and a whole lot more at CES 2019. AMD Rzyen Threadripper 3rd Generation HEDT processors could be even more impressivehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/AMCyBL4gX4A

The sun is out (still pretty cloudy though...), the arrivals hall at McCarren International Airport is filled with a buzz of excitement and there's a lanyard hanging round our neck. It can mean only one thing... it's time for CES 2019! CES 2019 is the world's biggest tech show, and we're reporting live from Las Vegas for the next week to bring you all the latest news, launches, insight, analysis and exciting developments in the world of technology. We'll be getting hands on with all the hottest gear, speaking to the people who matter from the biggest companies around, and unearthing the weirdest, wackiest and potentially game-changing under-the-radar tech the show's vast halls have to offer. What to expectCES 2019 officially runs from January 8 - January 12, but most of the major press conferences will take place on January 6 and 7, which means we've got a full week of exciting tech announcements. We're expecting to see 8K TVs, the next generation of computing, flexible phones, exciting new car tech and lots more including wearables, drones and smart speakers. You can keep up to date with all the latest news and hands on reviews with our CES 2019 hub, which will be rounding up all the hottest tech at the show. Want more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas!http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/FuggrbLJ7-k

As users get wiser to phishing scams, so the scammers are producing cons that are ever more complex – like the very genuine-looking Apple Support scam that's doing the rounds, as reported by security expert Brian Krebs. What happens is you get an automated call that appears to come from Apple itself: the logo, the address, and the phone number all appear to check out. The call warns about a data breach at the company and then asks users to get in touch – via a different number – to protect their Apple IDs before doing anything else. When the scammer's phone number is called, it reaches what seems to be a foreign call center. Krebs tried ringing it and was put on hold before being disconnected, so it's not clear exactly what the scam is supposed to be. Stay protectedWhile details are thin on the ground at the moment as to the purpose of the phishing attack, we do at least know what it looks like. Be wary of any calls you get out of the blue that appear to be from Apple Support. As with any suspected phishing attempt, whether it's over email or the phone, don't follow any embedded links or numbers. Instead, contact the company involved directly using the official numbers listed on its website – in this case, if you rang Apple Support, they would be able to confirm they hadn't been in touch and your Apple ID was fine. Scammers continue to use a variety of tricks to try and get people to part with personal information or to install something that they really shouldn't. To help minimize the risk, keep all your apps and devices up to date with the latest security patches. Cybercriminals are coming for your credentials, here's how to stop themVia AppleInsider http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/c0PwwWUhMQI

We're expecting the Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphones to arrive at the end of February at the MWC industry event in Barcelona, and if rumors are to be believed, there are three different models on the way. New leaks over the weekend suggest the entry-level S10 Lite is still going to pack quite a punch. According to seasoned tipster Ice Universe, who has a respectable record when it comes to revealing smartphone specs ahead of time, the S10 Lite will feature the same Snapdragon 855 or Exynos 9820 processor as the more expensive models. If that's true, it means you'll still be getting a very powerful phone for your money, even if you opt for the Lite model. It would seem Samsung is going to make the savings on the S10 Lite in other areas like the screen and camera – perhaps following the example of the iPhone XR, which has the same chip as the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. Peak S10 rumor seasonIt's just about peak rumor season now for the Samsung Galaxy S10 models, so more leaks and speculative predictions are likely between now and February. Thinner bezels than ever before are on the cards, with battery sizes up to 4,000mAh also rumored. With the Galaxy S10 Lite specifically, it would appear it's going to come sporting a 5.8-inch screen. The standard Galaxy S10 is being tipped to roll up with a 6.1-inch display, while the most expensive Galaxy S10 Plus will come with a 6.4-inch screen. We've already mentioned the internal chipsets, which will be Snapdragon or Exynos depending on the region. Price-wise, the suggestion is the S10 Lite will roll up for a cost of around $650-$750 (that's roughly £510-£590 or AU$915-AU$1,055). Within a couple of months we should have confirmation on all of these details – and of course we'll bring you the news on launch day. The first Samsung Galaxy S10 photo leaks along with new wireless charging featurehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/x4p-5uCiLQE

Wear OS watches tend to feel quite similar. Unlike Android phones, they don’t have radically different interfaces that give models different personalities. This makes the watch face you choose all the more important. It’s the root of your watch’s character. You’ll find thousands of watch faces on Google Play, but thanks to its limited discovery features, finding the gems can be awkward and time consuming. That’s why we’re here to help, with a rundown of some of our favorites, all of which you’ll find below, along with links to their store page. Best Wear OS watchesInvert (ustwo Watch Faces)http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LHdCxpfeHnuqs8Nqk7RWmV.jpg ustwo Watch FacesFreeIf you know ustwo, you’ve probably tried its games, like Monument Valley. However, ustwo is also a design studio, one that has devised some of the most interesting smartwatch faces available. Download its ‘Watch Faces’ app and you’ll find its most artistic and unusual designs. This app was released at the tail end of 2014, but still contains many of Wear OS’s most interesting faces. The gang of 15 are so stylish and confident, it’s hard to pick just one. But Invert is one of the most accessible. Purple and bright orange, the colors invert as the seconds hand ticks across the face. There’s no extra data and no complications, but ustwo is a master of distinctive style. Stellar (ustwo Looks Android Wear Watch Faces)http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/h8pvrrpWHSaJ6nrAGmhShV.jpg ustwo Looks Android Wear Watch FacesFreeustwo deserves one more plug in this list, for its third collection of watch faces. These are the most conventional, but also offer the most customization. Stellar is part of ustwo’s Looks app, which focuses on faces with space for Wear OS complications, the data widgets that let you choose which data fields end up on your watch. It’s an analog face, with three spots for complications. There’s none of ustwo’s left-field design style here, but it’s eminently tasteful. Rawmarinerhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WfE9Dvot8N4bQGAgkXeheV.jpg RawmarinerFree (optional $1/£1/AU$1.49 IAP)This watch face has the look of a serious diver’s watch. But it doesn’t go in for fake metallic finishes you’ll find elsewhere, and avoids the uncanny valley effect of a face that tries and fails to look ‘real’. You can try Rawmariner for free, but if you pay for the premium version you can customize the color and use the timer feature. Just tap on the watch face and the timer view pops up. Folds (Facer Watch Faces)http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fx9A9Qm4MVKu9gWQA4BWdV.jpg Facer Watch FacesFreeFacer is perhaps the best-known platform for smartwatch faces. You install it like a normal Wear OS watch face but can then use the Facer phone app to choose the actual design. The Facer platform offers thousands of looks. Some are free, others cost a dollar or two. Folds is a good place to start if you want something less than completely conventional. It’s free to download and use, and arranges a bunch of info fields onto a series of virtual pieces of colored card. You get the time, date, the battery life of your watch and phone, the date and weather. And somehow it doesn’t appear at all cramped. Magic. Flight A3 Classic (Facer Watch Faces)http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5zyCyCdvHenzLW2ZaveZaV.jpg Facer Watch FacesFreeHere’s another of our Facer favorites. Flight A3 Classic is one many roundly realistic-looking watch faces available from the Facer store. You get a clear, bold face, the date and a second mini face inside that shows you the time in 24-hour style. Y’know, in case you live in a window-less house and have jet lag so bad you can no longer tell if it’s day or night. Modern Times by Plutohttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mux2RAsaA6N585DGodvRdV.jpg Modern Times by PlutoFreeThis is a good choice if you want to give your smartwatch a touch of Swatch-like analog charm. Modern Times by Pluto is a minimalist analog face with curvy hands and fonts, for a tasteful but friendly appearance. There are extra data fields here, but while they look like Wear OS complications, they are actually custom parts. This lets them fit more perfectly into the watch face, but means you don’t get control over what bits of info are shown. However, many of you should be happy with the date, and the dual phone/watch battery indicator on offer. Primary Basichttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Wp2ANspTBTi3sSjFs8kYqV.jpg Primary BasicFreeHere’s one of our favorite clean and simple watch faces. Primary Basic is a digital watch face that fits in the date and the battery life as well as the time. However, those extras are displayed in grey, letting the time take center stage. The pleasantly rounded font isn’t retro and doesn’t try too hard to look deliberately styled. However, the characters’ curves and their position on-screen give Primary Basic an accomplished, professional appearance. This may not sound that important, but there are many amateurish Wear OS watch faces on Google Play. Brownstone (Pujie Black)http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZM9xRqFSqPBsWxQXaGPumV.jpg Pujie Black$1.99/£1.69/AU$2.89Pujie Black is a smartwatch face platform, not just a single watch face. Wouldn’t know that from the name, would you? It’s not free, but in the default package you get a bunch of faces, effectively for the price of one. Many styles are on board, but we settled on the no-nonsense Brownstone. It is a clean and simple analog face with spots for three Wear OS complications. The potential of Pujie Black is immense, as it also lets you create your own faces. Timr Facehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Hye3LvnmpGpPfTX3USk9rV.jpg Timr FaceFreeThe key to making a watch face feel unusual, rather than just looking so, is the mechanic used for the passing of seconds. Timr has this nailed, with what looks like a ruler scrolling along the bottom to show the granular passage of time. It’s quite handy too, if you need to frequently (but casually) see how long things take. You can also customize the color of the highlights, picking from 10 different shades. Face-ify HDhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vVYtSCPQ9auSAHuiozQGfV.jpg Face-ify HDFreeThis is a watch face that seems inspired by comic books, with bold outlined fonts and punchy colors. There are no complications here unless you pay for the premium version, but even with the free one there’s a level of interaction. A double tap on the clock can be used to start up the stopwatch, timer or alarm clock. One of our favorite parts here, though, is the look it uses for the always-on display. The monochrome version is, if anything, better looking than the standard colored-in one. Cronosurf Wavehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Juo9wSSpiw7hboRSGjLZqV.jpg Cronosurf WaveFreeMost chronograph-style watch faces only borrow the style of their ‘real’ watch inspirations. Add in slightly dodgy drop shadow effects and faux shiny parts, and they can seem almost embarrassingly try-hard. Cronosurf Wave is not only one of the most authentic digital alternatives to big wrist timepieces visually, it is also one of the most ambitious Wear OS faces in terms of function. You can set timers, there are multiple night modes, and even one that shows your compass bearing, using the reading from your phone. You’ll need to put a little effort into learning its functions, though, as Cronosurf Wave has its own UI style, rather than using generic complications. Interactive Rich Watch Facehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VZGDH8AGnEYMihzGk8dCfV.jpg Interactive Rich Watch Face$1.99/£1.49/AU$2.19Most of our picks have either aimed for a traditional look or one with quite a minimal style. Interactive Rich Watch Face may prove to be more of an audience divider. It has a hint of steampunk styling, or perhaps that of an old luxury car’s dashboard. If the default two-tone color scheme is a bit too rich, you can switch to a white, silver or black theme. Tap the center and the face shows you your daily steps and battery life as well as the date. Check out the best Wear OS appshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/B0gPHvEzFUk

Broadband can be a pretty competitive market, each supplier undercutting the other to get the title of best fibre broadband deal. But Vodafone has been holding on as one of our favourites recently offering fibre for an incredibly cheap price but the question probably on your mind is can any other broadband deal compete? The deals in reference are Vodafone's Superfast 1 and 2 packages which have received big price cuts recently knocking them down to some seriously cheap prices. The standout deal for us is Vodafone's Superfast 1 package which you can now get for £20 a month. That's average speeds of 35Mb for a very low price. But what other options are there? Well BT has always been a favourite of ours, mainly due to it's big reward cards. Right now you can get BT Superfast Fibre for £29.99 with average speeds of 50Mb. While that is already a great deal, the £100 BT reward card you get with it really sells it. If you wanted something a bit extra with your fibre then Virgin has dropped the price of its Player Bundle. That's superfast fibre speeds averaging 108Mb, over 70 TV channels and the ability to rewind and record TV, all for £32 a month. You can see all of the deals mentioned in full down below but if for whatever reason you're needing something a little bit different then you can find all of the options available in the UK on our best broadband deals page. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VgyagGS9HpAEPUQtUJBfrg.jpg Vodafone's cheap fibre dealsThe best of rest fibre broadband dealshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/-VVJxPlUcMs

The world's first foldable phone isn't going to be the Samsung Galaxy X, instead it's the FlexPai from Royale, and it'll be officially launched on January 7 at CES 2019. We already know a lot of the specs for the FlexPai as it was announced in China back in November 2018, but this is the first worldwide launch for the phone and we'll be reporting live from Royale's press conference to bring you everything you need to know about the futuristic device. The Royale FlexPai is a phone-tablet hybrid, with a large 7.8-inch, 1920 x 1440 AMOLED display which can be folded in half to provide a 4-inch smartphone-like form factor. It won't fold fully flat though, with a hinge bend in the screen creating a wedge shape when in 'phone' mode. What we know so farYou'll also get either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of storage, a flagship-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset (although the exact model is yet to be confirmed), dual 20MP + 16MP rear cameras, fingerprint scanner and a 3,800mAh battery. There's currently no word on the Royale FlexPai release date or price, but we're hoping these details will be revealed at the press conference on January 7. Royale is currently selling a developer version of the FlexPai for $1,318 for the 128GB model, or an eye-watering $1,469 for 256GB of storage - and we expect the final consumer version to cost around the same. We're reporting live from CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada for the entire week, and we'll be bringing you all the latest from the world's biggest tech show, including a hands on: Royale FlexPai review. CES 2019: all the latest from the world's biggest tech showhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/EGhTiS_UVLo

Nvidia is reportedly courting phone maker-meets-processor manufacturer Samsung for a 2020 line of RTX desktop graphics cards built using Samsung’s 7-nanometer (nm) transistor process. This comes from Japan’s My Navi News, claiming access to Samsung sources and information. The processors will be developed using Samsung’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) process, which uses a plasma laser to drive silicon material into 7nm transistor structures. Samsung started producing 7nm processors using this method in October 2018, which Tom’s Hardware reports is ahead of its promised early 2019 launch schedule. Nvidia’s latest graphics architecture, Turing, is built on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) 12nm process, and the firm was reportedly slated to build its 7nm RTX graphics processors on TSMC’s matching silicon. The switch could be due to Samsung being further along in its EUV plans than TSMC and other competitors, like Intel. Of course, ARM has several processors based on its 7nm chipset designs on the market already, particularly from Apple (A12X Bionic) and Qualcomm (Snapdragon 855 and 8cx). With 7nm processors driving its graphics cards, Nvidia can either produce new cards with lower power consumption overall at the same performance level or – more likely – use the lower power draw of the 7nm process to pack in even more performance at the relatively same overall power draw of today’s cards. Here’s to hoping Nvidia has more to say about 7nm processors during its CES 2019 keynote. These are the best graphics cards of todayVia Tom’s Hardware http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/3iN4hWueIQE

New Year's has arrived, and for many people, that means an annual resolution to get in shape. If you'd like to get more active, buying an activity tracker in 2019 can be very helpful in your new fitness journey. By recording and tracking your activity, as well as monitoring your progress, a fitness tracker is a great tool to motivate yourself when you're doing well or to keep you in check when falling behind on your goals. We've rounded up our top five fitness trackers that will not only meet a variety of needs but are also currently on sale. Whether you're looking for a basic activity tracker under $100 or a top-of-the-line smartwatch that can do it all, we've got you covered. Next big phone: Samsung Galaxy S10 release date and leakshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/WoaFD7jgbBo

While Facebook and other tech giants are dealing with data privacy issues, Microsoft is working on a new project code named “Bali” designed to give users greater control over the data collected about them online. The project, which is currently in the private testing stage, is being developed by Microsoft Research. The webpage for the Bali project is currently inaccessible but ZDNet learned that it allows those with a code to sign in and those without a code to request one. The project's “About” page offers more details about its functionality, saying: "New personal data bank which puts users in control of all data collected about them.... The bank will enable users to store all data (raw and inferred) generated by them. It will allow the user to visualize, manage, control, share and monetize the data." Inverse privacyProject Bali is based on the concept of inverse privacy where an item of personal information is inversely private if a third party has access to it but the creator or user of it does not. Some examples of organisations that create inversely private data include healthcare providers, the police and employers. Users could benefit from owning this data themselves instead of having it locked away by a third party. According to the Bali Project's website, the project is in the initial stage as the developers focus on aiding users in collecting their personal data from various websites and giving them the ability to view this data. Last fall, Microsoft, Adobe and SAP signed the Open Data Initiative and at the time Microsoft Officials highlighted users' control of their own data as a key component of the initiative. Via ZDNet We've also highlighted the best free office softwarehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/-4xhtBz3prQ