The new in the world of technology

Android creator Andy Rubin is returning to the smartphone business with his new  Essential Phone , and one of its signature features is a modular accessory system that Rubin and co promise will "keep your phone cord-free, future-proof, and always up-to-date." Featuring a pair of magnetic pins on the back of the device, this so-called Click cordless connector will hook up to Essential’s 360-degree camera and its Essential Phone Dock (pictured below). Beyond those two publicized accessories, we’re left guessing as to what additional modules Essential might be planning, or how exactly this physical modularity would assist with keeping the phone up to date. Lacking an onboard headphone jack, the Essential Phone would be a great candidate for an audio accessory that bumps up its headphone-powering capabilities while also adding in that universally compatible port. Another company that’s eschewed a headphone jack in its recent designs is Motorola, and it too has opted for a sys...

Nvidia has announced Max-Q at Computex Taipei today, a new design approach that’s intended to enable thin, light, and quiet laptops with strong gaming performance. The company says that the Max-Q spec can cut the power consumption of a GTX 1080 in half, for example, allowing it to be used in an ultraportable notebook. Nvidia is working from the principle that you get diminishing returns at some point when increasing performance capability, and Max-Q software figures out the optimal point to target. That GTX 1080 with half the power consumption is the exact same chip you’d find in a bulky gaming laptop today, but Nvidia says it should achieve about 90 percent of the performance in a thin and light design. Each Max-Q laptop requires the manufacturer to work closely with Nvidia on thermal and acoustic design to eke out extra efficiencies wherever possible. Several manufacturers are announcing Max-Q designs at Computex Taipei this week, and the most interesting we’ve seen so fa...

It’s happened to the best of us: you’re in the heat of a critical moment in a boss battle, throwing back cans of  Mountain Dew Game Fuel  to keep you going, and  tragedy strikes . The condensation-slicked can slides out of your grip, and, as if in slow motion, you watch your drink plummet toward your prized gaming keyboard. Even if the hardware somehow survives the fizzy flood, everyone knows the switches will never feel the same with all that sticky sugar on them. Fortunately, Corsair has engineered a new ending to this tragic tale with its K68 mechanical keyboard, designed to survive dust and spills with an IP32 rating. Each key on the K68 has an individual silicone rubber shield to protect the internal hardware. Water resistance aside, the K68 is a solid gaming keyboard that’s in line with the company’s other midrange offerings. The K68 is available with Cherry MX Red switches backlit with red LEDs, which can be customized using Corsair’s Cue application ...

Samsung is bringing its S Pen technology to the company’s notebook line today. At Computex, Samsung is launching its new Notebook 9 Pro. Unlike the previous Notebook 9 series , this Pro version now has a 360-degree hinge just like Lenovo’s Yoga laptops and it means the Notebook 9 Pro can be used as a tablet or a laptop. Samsung is pairing that hinge with an embedded S Pen that slides into the base of the Notebook 9 Pro. The S Pen includes 4,000 levels of pressure and the ability to detect tilt for shading (just like Microsoft's  new Surface Pen ). It also includes Samsung’s Air Command software for drawing, notes, and editing documents. Samsung is also ensuring its S Pen is fully compatible with Windows Ink, allowing Notebook 9 Pro users to use the stylus across all of Windows 10. Samsung is releasing 13.3- and 15-inch models of the Notebook 9 Pro, and both will include Intel’s latest Core i7 processors. The 13.3-inch version will ship with 8GB of RAM, while the larger ...

The Xiaomi Redmi 4, which was  launched in India  a couple of weeks ago, is now on sale in the country. The smartphone can be purchased from either Amazon or Xiaomi’s online store in a few different variants. You can get your hands on a model with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage for Rs. 6,999, while the version with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of space will set you back Rs. 8,999. Both of them come in Matte Black and Elegant Gold. The Xiaomi Redmi 4 also comes with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, but this variant won’t be available in India until the end of June. Once it goes on sale, you’ll be able to get it for Rs. 10,999. Xiaomi Redmi 4 was officially announced back in  November in China . It sports a 5-inch HD display and is powered by the Snapdragon 435 chipset. The smartphone is equipped with a 13 MP primary camera with Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) and LED flash, while the front-facing selfie snapper has a 5 MP sensor and an f/2.2 aperture. The de...

I’ve spent a little over a week with the HTC U11, and I  really  like it so far. I’ve been using the Taiwanese model (which isn’t fully compatible with US networks), so I’m waiting for the US version to arrive before I publish my full review of the new HTC flagship. But in the meantime, I wanted to give you my initial thoughts after one week with the HTC U11. As far as the look and feel are concerned, the phone retains a lot of the design language that we first saw with the  HTC U Ultra . But things are a lot more refined on the U11. For starters, the large camera bump found on the U Ultra isn’t present this time around. And, with the U11 featuring a smaller 5.5-inch display, the handling experience is more comfortable. The edges of both the front and back glass curve down to meet the metal frame, which gives the U11 a very seamless feel with no sharp or rough edges, similar to what Samsung has done with the  Galaxy S8 . It is comfortab...

Andy Rubin’s Essential Products has revealed a new device that goes head to head with Amazon’s Alexa-powered speakers and the  Google Home . Called the Essential Home, it’s basically a digital assistant for your house that is equipped with a round screen and can be activated with a question, a tap, and even a glance. So, what exactly does it do? Well, it allows you to control your music, set timers, and control your lights, among other things. Of course, you can also ask it a bunch of different questions and it should provide you with an answer right away. It basically does more or less the same thing as its competitors. However, the company does claim that the device is a lot more focused on privacy. Unlike the Google Home  and Amazon Echo, for example, which work by sending your data to a remote server, the Essential Home is designed to talk to devices over your in-home network in order to limit sending data to the cloud. Unfortunately, a lot of the details...