Samsung is working on a 5 nm Exynos 1000 SoC

With the introduction of the Exynos 990 SoC that is supposed to power the upcoming Galaxy S11 lineup, Samsung completely ditched its focus on custom high-performance processor cores. The Mongoose cores in the Exynos 9820 that should have provided the edge over ARM’s Cortex-A76 cores featured in the Snapdragon 855 did not really cut it, so Samsung decided to shut down the custom core development facility in Austin. As always. Samsung will be offering both Exynos 990 and Snapdragon 865 versions for its 2020 flagships, even though the Exynos SoCs will most likely prove a bit slower. But not all is lost, as Samsung is rumored to already be working on a next gen Exynos 1000 SoC that should at least even the playing field.

The rumor comes straight from reputable leaker Ice Universe, who recently reported that Samsung could be using ARM’s Cortex-A78 as high-performance cores for its next gen Exynos 1000 SoC. Qualcomm will most likely use the same cores for whatever comes after the Snapdragon 865, so it all depends on how well each of the companies integrates these cores with other components like the GPU. Speaking of GPUs, Ice Universe reports that Samsung has not yet decided on the exact model to be integrated in the Exynos 1000. Since it is sticking with ARM’s technology, it might opt for the Mali-G78 GPU, but chances are that Samsung will finally include an RDNA mobile GPU designed in collaboration with AMD.

Last, but not least, Ice Universe mentions that the Exynos 1000 should be produced using the 5 nm process. Samsung has its own fabs, but it is a bit behind TSMC with the availability of the 5 nm nodes, so the Exynos 1000 will most likely be released towards the end of 2020.

Microsoft may ship the Surface Hub 2X with a version of Windows 10X

Microsoft hasn’t said much about the Surface Hub 2X, a product initially announced in May 2018 to much fanfare, since the announcement of the Surface Hub 2S in April earlier this year. Initially announced as a single product, the Surface Hub 2 was supposed to launch in 2019 with a brand new version of Windows 10 built on Windows Core OS, and ship with modern features and capabilities such as tiling, dynamic rotation, faster Windows Updates, and much more.

But later in 2018, Microsoft announced that this version of the Surface Hub 2 would now be coming in 2020 and that it was splitting the Surface Hub 2 into two product SKUs known as the Hub 2S and Hub 2X. The Surface Hub 2S has since launched and is a “lesser” version of the Surface Hub 2X without dynamic rotation, tiling, or any other OS enhancements enabled by Windows Core OS. This is because the Hub 2S ships with the same OS that the original Surface Hub is running today.

Microsoft’s official reasoning for doing this is that customers wanted a version of the Surface Hub 2 running the old OS. While that may be true, the real reason this happened is because the OS being built for the Surface Hub 2X wasn’t going to be ready in time for a 2019 launch. Codenamed Aruba, this is Microsoft’s unique expression of Windows Core OS for collaborative displays like the Surface Hub 2.

I was fully expecting to hear more about the Surface Hub 2X at Ignite 2019, but there was nothing but radio silence on the subject. I mention this because at Ignite 2018, Microsoft gave us the chance to go hands-on with the Surface Hub 2X and its version of Windows Core OS, but that’s the only time anyone outside of Microsoft was able to play with it. In every Surface Hub 2 related event since, the Hub 2X has not been present.

A change in OS experience

So, what exactly is going on here? Has Microsoft silently killed off the Surface Hub 2X? I’ve asked multiple contacts to see if I could get some insider knowledge on the whereabouts of the Surface Hub 2X, and here’s what I found. According to sources, Microsoft has killed off the version of Windows Core OS it was building specifically for the Surface Hub 2. Aruba now joins Andromeda OS and Polaris as another deprecated version of Windows Core OS.

This is interesting, as what makes the Surface Hub 2X the X is the software additions enabled by Aruba and Windows Core OS. So what does this mean for the Surface Hub 2X? I’m told that the Surface Hub 2X itself hasn’t been canceled, and will still be launching at some point in the future. But now, instead of launching with Aruba, the Surface Hub 2X will ship with Windows 10X instead. Windows 10X is another variant of Windows Core OS, codenamed Santorini.

Now, I don’t know if Microsoft will actually call it Windows 10X on the Surface Hub 2X, but it is using the Santorini shell experience. Microsoft, for some reason, is hell-bent on selling Windows 10X as a version of Windows 10 for dual-screen devices only. This isn’t true, of course, as Santorini was built from the ground up for traditional form-factors too, whether they be laptops or large displays. So Microsoft may decide to call it something else, who knows.

Either way, I’m hearing the Surface Hub 2X will be launching with Santorini instead of Aruba now. I don’t know what this means for any of the unique Surface Hub 2X features that were announced back in 2018. I suspect those features will remain intact, as Santorini is still Windows Core OS under the hood. It’s also worth noting that Aruba and Santorini were pretty similar to begin with.

I have a feeling we’ll hear more about the Surface Hub 2X and Microsoft’s plans in this area in early 2020. I don’t know if Microsoft will go on record as acknowledging the fact that the OS has changed, as I don’t think they need to. But I do wonder if this OS change means the Surface Hub 2X will be delayed slightly. In theory, this won’t be necessary as Windows 10X itself is expected to be finalized in June 2020. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

KIRIN 1020 CHIP CODENAMED BALTIMORE,COMING WITH 5NM PROCESS

At present, news about Huawei’s next-generation flagship processor Kirin 1020 is gradually increasing. However, the processor will not be released until next fall.

The news comes from Weibo. One of the bloggers’ channel simply said ‘5nm Baltimore, ready to verify!’ In the past, the internal codes of Hisilicon chips were usually named after foreign cities. Plus, there only two customers of TSMC’s 5nm process at present, Apple and Hisilicon. So there is every reason to think here is a hint that Kirin’s next-generation flagship processor is ready to enter the tape-out verification stage.

It is reported that the current processor chip tape-out is divided into pre-tape verification and post-tape verification. But in September some sources said that the 5nm Hisilicon processor has officially tapped out. So it should be done to prepare the development board to verify whether the function meets the design expectations after the tape is finished, and then enter the engineering machine test phase.

It is worth mentioning that there is news that the Kirin 1020 directly skips A77 to upgrade to the A78 framework. But it seems too early to discuss the framework. Perhaps, at least, until the next summer, there will be more accurate information.

According to the convention, Huawei’s new Kirin flagship processors will be launched every autumn. It should be no surprise to see the Huawei Mate 40 series debuting with this processor.

Regardless of the launch date, what we are most interested in is its increase of power, which according to the last rumors, would be 50% over that of the Kirin 990, a considerably large increase. To give you an idea, the increase in power of Snapdragon 865 compared to 855 is less than 25%.

REDMI K30 DOESN’T HAVE A SINGLE PILL-SHAPED CUTOUT, BUT TWO DISTINCT PUNCH HOLES

Earlier this week, Xiaomi took the wraps off the Redmi K30 in 4G and 5G flavors. The new premium mid-range devices come with the hard mission to surpass the K20 / Mi 9T popularity. Both the variants come with 6.67-inch LCD IPS panels with whopping 120Hz refresh rates. Furthermore, it came with a pill-shaped punch hole for the dual selfie snappers. Now, according to several reports from users who are exploring the new smartphone secrets, it seems the space between the two cameras is actually masked through software. So instead of a single pill-shaped punch hole, we have two separate camera cutouts.

According to a number of reports coming from Weibo, MIUI is masking the empty space between the two front cameras. If you go into the display options menu and choose to hide the cutout, you’ll be able to spot the empty space for a brief moment. Users are adventurous in Android, and it’s not a surprise to see that some of them managed to force the display to completely ignore the space between the two snappers. Therefore, through modding, it permanently shows the dual punch-hole design.

We have to say that Xiaomi is going through a controversial route with this choice. Apparently, it was a design choice that follows current punch-hole standards. The problem is that Redmi K30 uses an LCD screen, for that reason, the cutout may stick out depending on light conditions. LCD screens can’t reproduce the deep black of AMOLED panels which does not light up the screen when displaying black colors.

Chrome 79 will continuously scan your passwords against public data breaches

Google’s password checking feature has slowly been spreading across the Google ecosystem this past year. It started as the “Password Checkup” extension for desktop versions of Chrome, which would audit individual passwords when you entered them, and several months later it was integrated into every Google account as an on-demand audit you can run on all your saved passwords. Now, instead of a Chrome extension, Password Checkup is being integrated into the desktop and mobile versions of Chrome 79.

All of these Password Checkup features work for people who have their username and password combos saved in Chrome and have them synced to Google’s servers. Google figures that since it has a big (encrypted) database of all your passwords, it might as well compare them against a 4-billion-strong public list of compromised usernames and passwords that have been exposed in innumerable security breaches over the years. Any time Google hits a match, it notifies you that a specific set of credentials is public and unsafe and that you should probably change the password.

The whole point of this is security, so Google is doing all of this by comparing your encrypted credentials with an encrypted list of compromised credentials. Chrome first sends an encrypted, 3-byte hash of your username to Google, where it is compared to Google’s list of compromised usernames. If there’s a match, your local computer is sent a database of every potentially matching username and password in the bad credentials list, encrypted with a key from Google. You then get a copy of your passwords encrypted with two keys—one is your usual private key, and the other is the same key used for Google’s bad credentials list. On your local computer, Password Checkup removes the only key it is able to decrypt, your private key, leaving your Google-key-encrypted username and password, which can be compared to the Google-key-encrypted database of bad credentials. Google says this technique, called “private set intersection,” means you don’t get to see Google’s list of bad credentials, and Google doesn’t get to learn your credentials, but the two can be compared for matches.

Building Password Checkup into Chrome should make password auditing more mainstream. Only the most security-conscious people would seek out and install the Chrome extension or perform the full password audit at passwords.google.com, and these people probably have better password hygiene to begin with. Building the feature into Chrome will put it in front of more mainstream users who don’t usually consider password security, which are exactly the kind of people who need this sort of thing. This is also the first time password checkup has been available on mobile, since mobile Chrome still doesn’t support extensions (Google plz).

Google says, “For now, we’re gradually rolling this out for everyone signed in to Chrome as a part of our Safe Browsing protections.” Users can control the feature in the “Sync and Google Services” section of Chrome Settings, and if you’re not signed into Chrome, and not syncing your data with Google’s servers, the feature won’t work.

With Password Checkup being integrated into Chrome, the extension is not really useful anymore. The Web version is still great as a full password audit for all your passwords stored by Google, and now the version built into Chrome will continually check your passwords as you enter them.

NZXT’s H700 mid-tower PC case is on sale for $80, its lowest price ever

Save $50 on NZXT’s excellent H700 mid-tower case with a large tempered glass side window.

NZXT is having a fire sale of sorts, with discounts on a whole bunch of stuff. One that stands out is its H700 mid-tower chassis. This is similar in design to the H710i, one of the best PC cases around, except you’re trading built-in smart functionality for a lower price tag.

In this case, we’re talking about an even $80. That’s $49.99 below its most recent list price. Though it could sometimes be found for below its MSRP earlier this year, we’ve never seen this case dip below the $100 mark. So, you’re saving a decent chunk of change on this one.

You may recall that we compared the H700 to the H500. Our only real knock against the H700 was the price. This sale shoves that concern to the side. The H700 is a clean-looking case made of steel, with a large tempered side-glass panel to show off your handiwork. There’s room for lots of storage, too—you get seven 2.5-inch drive bays and a pair of 3.5-inch drive bays.

NZXT also deserves kudos for bundling four fans with this case. All too often, case makers skimp out in this regard, and it’s unfortunately not uncommon to only get a single fan. The H700, however, includes three Aer F120 (120mm) fans installed in the front and the an Aer F140 (140mm) fan in the rear.

That’s sufficient to keep your PC cool (and adds value to this case), though you can add up to three 120mm for two 140mm fans up top (or go with up to a 360mm radiator for a liquid cooling setup).

There are newer options out there, but with this discount, the H700 deserves consideration as one of the best mid-tower cases for the money. This sale ends on 12/27, so if you’ve been looking for a new case, grab it while you can.

This curved 144Hz gaming monitor from MSI is a deal at $130

Gaming monitors can get very expensive very quickly, especially once you go past 60Hz models. If you’re not looking for the absolute best picture quality, this curved 144Hz display from MSI is now just $139.99 from Office Depot. That’s a savings of $110 from the original MSRP.

This is an older monitor, originally released in mid-2017 (hence why it’s out of stock at Amazon right now). Still, this model offers a 24-inch curved design, a 1080p resolution, and a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. For inputs, you get DVI, HDMI 1.4, and DisplayPort 1.2. It uses a lower-quality Twisted Nematic (TN) panel, but high refresh rate IPS screens come with a higher price tag, and TN is perfectly serviceable for gaming, and preferred by some for its responsiveness.

This is a FreeSync monitor, so the higher refresh rate mode is intended for use with AMD graphics cards. However, there are multiple reports of it working perfectly with Nvidia’s G-Sync compatibility mode, once you manually enable it from your GPU’s settings.

Apple working on fix for iOS bug that lets kids easily bypass Screen Time Communication Limits

Apple this week released iOS 13.3 to the public, which includes a new Communication Limits feature for Screen Time. A new report from CNBC, however, explains that the feature doesn’t exactly work as it’s designed to.

By design, Communication Limits in Screen Time are meant to let parents control who their kids can talk to and when they can talk to them. In its most basic form, Communication Limits block children from communicating with people who aren’t in their contacts, without parental approval.

Today’s report explains that if contacts are not stored in iCloud, the Communications Limit feature doesn’t work as it should. If an unknown number texts a child’s phone, the Messages app gives the child the option to add that phone number to their contacts. Once that number is added, the child can call, FaceTime, or text the person.

What is meant to happen is that when a child tries to add a new contact, they should be presented with a passcode prompt for the parent. Another flaw discovered by CNBC: a child can ask Siri on the iPhone or Apple Watch to call or text any number, regardless of Screen Time limitations.

If Downtime is enabled, which blocks kids from using certain apps between certain hours of the day, there is no option to add a number to the address book. Thus, the features all work as designed.

In a statement, Apple acknowledged this bug, but said that it only occurs in a “non-standard configuration.” Nonetheless, an upcoming software update will fix the problem:

“This issue only occurs on devices set up with a non-standard configuration, and a workaround is available. We’re working on a complete fix and will release it in an upcoming software update.”

That workaround mentioned by Apple is to force contacts to sync with iCloud. To do this, open the Settings app, scroll down to “Contacts,” choose “Default Account” and change it to iCloud.

There’s no word on when Apple plans to roll out a fix for this problem, but it seems likely to come at some point in the form of iOS 13.3.1.

Overclocker Gets 1TB of RAM Running on X299 Motherboard Limited to 256GB

ASRock announced this week that renown overclocker Nick Shih has filled ASRock’s X299 Taichi CLX workstation-grade motherboard with 1TB of memory when the motherboard only officially supports up to 256GB.

To achieve this feat, Shih paired an Intel Core i9-7900X with eight SK Hynix 128GB LRDIMM (load-reduced DIMM) modules. This is quite fascinating, considering we were told that the X299 chipset doesn’t support EEC (error-correcting code) memory, much less LRDIMMs. It’s unknown what kind of magic Shih had to use to get the aforementioned memory to work on the ASRock X299 Taichi CLX.

SK Hynix already has a couple of 256GB LRDIMMs in its portfolio, but they max out at 2,666 MHz. The ones that Shih used seem to be unreleased. According to the screenshots shared, the LRDIMMs carry the HMABAGL7MBR4N-WM part number and come clocked at 2,933 MHz with CL21-21-21-47 timings and a 1.20V operating voltage. 

What makes Shih’s accomplishment even more spectacular is that fact he was able to push the LRDIMMs to 3,471.8 MHz with the memory timings configured to CL20-24-24-56. That Core i9-7900X must have one heck of an IMC (integrated memory controller) to support up 1TB of memory operating at those speeds.

Samsung revealed its 256GB LRDIMMs last year. It would certainly be mind-blowing to see 2TB of memory running on a consumer-grade motherboard. The tools are there ready for anyone to use. Now, we just need a daring overclocker to attempt it.

Microsoft reveals new Windows logo design and 100 modern app icons

Microsoft is tweaking its Windows logo and the icons for many of the operating system’s apps. We’ve known for a year that the software maker has been planning an icon overhaul, and the company’s new Office icons were only the start. Microsoft is now redesigning more than 100 icons across the company with new colors, materials, and finishes.

It’s part of a bigger push to modernize Microsoft’s software and services under the Fluent Design set of principles. “With the newest wave of icon redesigns, we faced two major creative challenges,” explains Jon Friedman, corporate vice president of design and research at Microsoft. “We needed to signal innovation and change while maintaining familiarity for customers. We also had to develop a flexible and open design system to span a range of contexts while still being true to Microsoft.”

Most of the icon changes aren’t major overhauls, but subtle tweaks that make them look far more consistent when you look at tens of them together at once. Microsoft appears to be focusing part of its design efforts on cleaning up its Windows icon problem. Windows 10 has lots of inconsistent icons appearing in settings and apps, with some old icons dating back decades.

Windows 10X appears to be part of the answer to this problem. The software maker revealed a slightly tweaked Windows logo as part of its Windows 10X announcement earlier this year. Windows 10X is designed for dual-screen devices, and it even has a new Start menu and no more Live Tiles.

The existing Windows logo, used in both Windows 8 and Windows 10, is a flat color, while the new logo looks more like a gradient of blue with each quarter representing a different color. Microsoft is also tweaking other areas of Windows 10X, including how you can quickly access the settings panels, the notification center, and more.

Microsoft’s icon work and Fluent Design has been a gradual process, and this will continue throughout 2020. The company’s Edge browser now has a new icon, and even Office itself has a more modern logo. There’s still much to be done, and Microsoft is even trying to tackle mobile design.

Microsoft designers are now working collaboratively internally in what’s described as an “open source” way. Read our full Microsoft design feature from earlier this year to find out how the company has learned from its mistakes to redesign its future.