Xiaomi makes another smartphone battery advancement
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has developed yet another improvement to smartphone batteries. Following on from the blitz of its currently available 120W superfast charging and with 200W HyperCharge tech in the works, Xiaomi has now turned its attention to batteries.
The company recently announced it’s been working on a new high-silicon lithium battery. This announcement came from the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The new battery tech in question will offer increased capacity at the same volume. The company has been able to improve on the amount of silicon present as well as a packing technology that reduces the size of the control circuits. This means a new battery can offer 10% more capacity without increasing the size of the cell.
Although 10% might not seem like a lot, that’s because it isn’t. But it’s something. However, Xiaomi only plans to start mass-producing these new batteries in Q2 of 2022 so we probably won’t see phones using it until Xiaomi’s next generation of smartphones towards the end of next year.
Source: XDA-Developers
PowerColor x Ducky Mech keyboard crossover
If you find yourself constantly refreshing the page of that juicy RTX 3080 on your favourite local retailer, trying to catch the restock so you can finally get your hands on a current-gen graphics card, we feel you. Trying to buy a graphics card or, really any PC component, right now can be a difficult task. When you do find stock don’t be surprised to find the price well over MSRP. It seems like one of the GPU manufacturers, PowerColor, is trying to make things better. Although it’s not going to be for everyone.
PowerColor and Taiwanese keyboard manufacturer Ducky are bringing out a new mechanical keyboard… yay, we guess. The PowerColor X Ducky One 2 SF RGB comes in the 65% form factor. For those not in the know, that means you lose the function row, Numpad and home cluster (usually) but keep the dedicated arrow keys. On this one though you still get a few home cluster keys.
Also new to the Ducky lineup are the Kailh switches you can choose from. You have the option of the Kailh BOX white or BOX brown switches. The whites are clicky (so not for an office environment unless you hate your coworkers) and the browns are a tactile switch. And, like the name says, you get per-key RGB all over. This is one of the few times that a cool product like this might just be available here in SA through local Ducky retailer Rebel Tech. The PowerColor X Ducky One 2 SF RGB retails overseas for $110 but expect the local price to be more.
Source: PC Gamer
The newest esport is here - MS Excel
This weekend the world of financial modelling was set ablaze with the best esport in the industry. The Financial Modeling World Cup hosted competitors from around the world competing to solve actual financial case studies in Microsoft Excel for a prize pool of $10,000. Yes, you read that right. We now have an esport in Excel, what a time to be alive. If you enjoy a good spreadsheet or just like gameshows then you might like this.
Watching a round is a little similar to watching someone take a school test but there is a panel that provides commentary. The contestants are given a case study and have to break down and solve the various problems that it entails. We recommend just giving it at least a 5-minute watch, you know you want to. We won’t spoil the winner of the nail-biting final so check it out on YouTube. Of all the people that list ‘proficient at Excel’ on their CVs, we reckon these guys are the only ones that actually mean it.
Source: PC Gamer
Toyota wants you to subscribe to start your car
Seems like Toyota hired an ex-EA exec recently because it is the next company trying to cash in on the software-as-a-service model. First reported by The Drive, Toyota cars from 2018 and newer require you to sign up for a subscription if you want to make use of some features, including starting your car remotely. Toyota offers a range of what it’s calling ‘Connected Services’, one of those is Remote Connect which allows drivers the ability to start their car remotely. But it’s not as straightforward as simply paying $8p/m (R130) or $80 (R1,300) a year and starting your car with your smartphone. It will depend on which audio package your car comes with.
Honestly, this just seems like an easy way for Toyota to get more of your money and way more effort for the driver than what it’s worth. If you want to know the ins and outs of the Connected Services Toyota offers, you can check them out in this PDF. But we wouldn’t bother. Do you really want to pay extra to be able to start your car from a few metres away?
Source: The Verge