After announcing their MariSilicon X last year, OPPO is continuing their foray into the silicon space with a new dedicated processing unit they’ve named the MariSilicon Y. This year, they aren’t focusing on optics though, they’ve set their eyes on Bluetooth Audio. The MariSilicon Y comes with a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) and is capable of up to 509 GOPS of on-device computing.
Source: OPPO
The new System on a Chip (SoC) is made using N6RF technology – the same technology used to create cutting edge 5G technology. OPPO has utilised the fabrication to create a dedicated chip that helps increase the fidelity of Bluetooth audio by increasing Bluetooth bandwidth by up to 50%. This is in comparison to currently available Bluetooth SoCs. OPPO has developed an in-house Pro Bluetooth pack that enables this increase. It allows for transmission of 24-bit audio at 192kHz. That’s the same lossless quality we used to get with audio CDs! Simply put, this processor is able to give you more detailed audio over the same Bluetooth connection that you have with your wireless earbuds.
The unprecedented bandwidth, 12Mbps transmission ratge and audio quality empowers a more robust listening experience complete with the capabilities for spatial audio experiences. OPPO also uses an in-house codec to achieve this. OPPO touts that their new URLC codec is supposedly able to have better compression rates than current codecs like LDAC, LHDC, AAC and AptX. However, the MariSilicon Y still supports these codecs for universal compatibility and is one of the first SoCs with next generation L3C codec support.
Source: OPPO
The MariSilicon Y also has built-in AI that is able to take listening experiences to the next level. It is able to recognise and isolate different layers of music and even change the spatial location of given layers. In the demo during the INNO Day 2022, they isolated a single instrument – the guitar – in the audio and were able to up the volume as well as swap the space which the sound occupied during playback. Of course, this would be more obvious with headphones than on a speaker.
Being in the sound technology space is not very new for OPPO. Prior to being a big name in the mobile space, the company built its reputation with some of the best audio products on the market until 2018. However, they have recently been returning to the audio space with products like their OPPO Enco line up of earbuds.
OPPO has made a name for itself when it comes to smartphones. Now, the company is looking to make similar advancements in health devices with the OHealth H1; its first health device that combines six vital sensors to bring better, more accurate health metrics. The announcement of the device comes together with the announcement of OHealth becoming an official sub-brand of OPPO.
The OHealth H1 brings together ECG, SpO2 (Blood Oxygen), heart rate, body temperature, sleep tracking and heart and lung auscultation sensors into a single device. While it may seem like the device is intended for medical professionals, but no, OPPO is intending its users to be the everyday Joe and Jane. The H1 is a family health monitor which works together with the OHealth app on smartphones.
The H1 provides more accurate SpO2 readings purely because of the mathematics of things. Using a similar sensor to the ones we have in smartwatches and fitness bands, it measures the SpO2 of the vessels on the fingertips which far outnumber the vessels on the wrist. It is also able to provide body temperature readings by using infrared measurements of the forehead.
In addition, sleep tracking is contactless with the H1. Instead, it measures micromovements from breathing, body movements and heartbeat while being adjacent to the user. OPPO hasn’t clarified how this will work when it comes to shared beds. Using its own OPPO Sense algorithm, the data collected is processed and displayed in the OHealth app. OPPO has also collaborated with Omron to enable blood pressure measurement. It’s also able to work as a digital stethoscope.
While OPPO hasn’t announced pricing or availability yet. The OHealth H1 is one of their most innovative devices to date in a brand new category. Not only does it have implications for fitness enthusiasts, but it also empowers telemedicine and better, more personalised healthcare which is an upcoming conversation in patient care and medicine.
Gaming monitors need to be fast. In the early days of fast gaming monitors, OLED technology is quite unheard of. The reason is because OLED panels can only go so fast in terms of refresh rate. While OLED monitors offer colour accuracy and vibrance like no other, they are rather dimwitted in terms of refresh rate until a few years ago. Now though, OLED panels are some of the most sought after in gaming. Pretty soon you are going to be able to get you hands on one with 240Hz in refresh rate, faster than anything that came before it.
The monitors in question are LG’s latest 27-inch and 45-inch models introduced for CES 2023. You get the new 27GR95QE and 45GR95QE gaming monitors. While both have their similarities, they are built to serve different segments.
Both gaming monitors offer 240Hz in terms of refresh rate. Both monitors also offer 0.3ms in GTG response time, faster than almost anything that you can find in the market currently. Both are also NVIDIA G-Sync and FreeSync Premium compatible, making them rather versatile for whatever GPU you might have in your PC. At the same time, they both offer a DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 98.5%, something even content creators can highly appreciate. Both are capable of producing images at HDR10 standards with a contrast ratio of 1,500,000:1 for a higher level of detail than any gaming monitor you can find in their classes. Of course, they both sport the latest HDMI 2.1 standard alongside a DisplayPort 1.4 port.
Source: LG
Their difference lies in the shape and size of the panels. The 27-inch monitor is a flat screened 16:9 monitor that most gamers can appreciate. 27-inch is a rather standard size for gaming monitors and 16:9 is currently the most popular aspect ratio for most gamers. It is also the current standard size and aspect ratio in esports, which also means this would be suitable for most esports titles like Dota 2, or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). At the same time, its QHD (2,560 x 1,440) resolution is widely accepted as the most optimal resolution for displays at its size and for gaming purposes. Most GPUs today are also optimized for gaming at this resolution which also means that this might be the more popular option for the most serious gamers anyway.
If you want to take things a little further and get even more immersed in your games, you want the 45-inch behemoth that is the 45GR95QE. It is a curved display monitor with an 800R curvature (0.8m radius) That also means that it is more curved than almost anything that you might get in the market. Its shorter optimum distance also means you get to be closer to the action for an even more immersive experience than ever before. It packs WQHD (3,440 x 1440) resolution too to ensure that you still get all the details you need in the ultra-wide monitor.
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
LG’s UltraGear 27-inch and 45-inch OLED gaming monitors will be showcased in CES 2023 happening on the 5th of January 2023 all the way to the 8th of January 2023. There is no specific information regarding the market availability of the monitors currently. That also means we currently do not have any pricing information too. We are keeping our ears close to the ground for any updates though, so do watch this space. More information on LG’s range of UltraGear gaming monitors can be found on their website.
UPDATE 16th November 2022: Both cards are now available at AMD.com and in retail, with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX priced at USD 999 (approx. RM 4420) and Radeon RX 7900 XT at USD 899 (RM 3980).
AMD has released their first generation of rDNA 3 architecture cards, the RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT to be available from mid-December 2022.
The RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT sports the new rDNA 3 architecture.
Chiplet design in rDNA 3 brings the most efficient performance possible
Announced in November, the RX 7900 series cards are the first chiplet design graphics cards available on the market. The chiplet design uses multiple dies interconnected using similar technology to the Ryzen CPU’s, resulting in improved performance with up to 54% better power efficiency as claimed. The most anticipated feature is of course performance that the rDNA 3 architecture brings. AMD has claimed that it delivers up to 54% more performance per watt than the rDNA 2 cards, a significant improvement.
Enhanced 4K gaming experience with Display Port 2.1
Being top tier graphics cards, they are geared towards 4K gaming and fans can expect significant improvements. For a direct comparison, the RX 7900 XT has up to 1.7X higher 4K performance than the previous generation Radeon RX 6950 XT, highlighting the generational uplift of rDNA 3. Being one of the first cards to support DisplayPort 2.1 with UHBR 13.5, expect high refresh rates on 4K gaming (up to 480Hz) and 8K gaming (up to 165Hz).
Enhancements and availability of RX 7900 series
FSR 3 and AMD Advantage for Desktop promises better gaming performance in 2023
Alongside the new cards, AMD has also announced the latest iteration of temporal upscaling technology, FidelityFX Super Resolution. AMD plans for the new technology to be available in 2023 alongside the new AMD Fluid Motion Frames technology. Collectively, these enhancements are expected to build on the current FSR 2.2, though no exact details on how it works have been revealed just yet. AMD also announced the AMD Advantage for Desktop PCs to the benefit of both gamers and streamers. The feature further enhances gaming and streaming performance by combining the Ryzen 7950x processors and RX 7900 XTX graphics cards.
The Radeon RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT are available now at USD 999 and USD 899 respectively from AMD.com and in retail.
The corruption in Sanctuary runs deeper. The largest shard of the World Stone has found its way to the depths of Stormpoint. Once home to the worst creed of Sanctuary and political pariahs, the clandestine island prison is shrouded in mist and battered by rainfall. News of the shard has reached the Cult of Terror, loyal disciples of Diablo. They lay siege to Stormpoint Keep in search of the shard to bring back the reign of the Lord of Terror.
Blizzard’s controversial mobile dungeon crawler – Diablo Immortal – is getting its first expansion. The new expansion which launches on December 14 will bring players to the prison island of Stormpoint. There, players will face new monsters in new dungeons and take down the behemoth Howling Terror.
Source: Blizzard
The expansion is not simply additional maps and dungeons. It will expand the story line of Diablo Immortal. There are 20 new monsters, new bosses and mini bosses as well as horde of crabs.
In addition to the expanded storyline, the update will bring quality of life and balance updates to the game. The game will get more challenging for those looking to test their mettle with Hell VI, Hell VII, and Hell VIII difficulties. Rewards for daily activities such as Bounties and Bestiary have been improved with higher chances to score Legendary items while completing three dungeons daily guarantee a set item once a day. Servers have also been buffed with higher legendary drop rates.
Three new Paragon Trees are also being introduced. Massacre, Brawler and Duelist. The first focuses on increasing character battle efficiencies allowing you to rack up kills and get higher kill streaks. As a brawler, your characters will have better defenses against Elites. As a duelist, you’ll become a killer able to rank up the body count quickly but you also lose the streak when you get damaged.
So… the question now is… Will you be returning to Sanctuary hero?
OPPO has announced on its official Chinese website the launch of its new Reno9 series of devices. Three devices have been named: the Reno9, Reno9 Pro and Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1-powered Reno9 Pro+.
Three variants announced for the Reno9 series. Image source: GSMArena
The Reno9 basics: 6.7-inch 120Hz display, dual camera-setup and 4500mAh battery with fast charging
120Hz OLED display, 12GB RAM and eye-catching Red and Pink Gradient colors for the Reno9. Image source: GSMArena
The vanilla variant of the Reno9 offers a 6.7-inch OLED display with FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It offers good visibility as the display reaches up to 800 nits of brightness, rated for HDR10+ content and has 2160Hz PWM dimming. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G and runs on the Android 13-based ColorOS 13 out of the box. Rear cameras are a 64MP main shooter with 2MP black and white sensor. The front facing camera is a 32MP selfie camera with autofocus. The device itself is pretty light and handy, weighing in at 174g with thickness up to 7.2mm. This space fits a 4500mAh battery that supports 67W fast charging with the adapter provided. The Reno9 is available in 4 colors: Black, Gold, Red and Pink Gradient. For memory configurations, there are two variants, both with 12GB of RAM and option of 256GB or 512GB of storage.
Reno9 Pro steps up performance with imaging platforms and 16GB speedier RAM
Powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 8100 and dedicated imaging platform MariSilicon X, the Reno9 Pro brings impressive photos and videos. Image source: GSMArena
The Reno9 Pro is an upgrade on the Reno9 hardware wise despite sharing the same body. They share the same body dimensions, 4500mAh battery and 6.7-inch OLED display. It is powered instead by the flagship Mediatek Dimensity 8100 platform, that promises better performance while still running ColorOS13. Photo taking gets a big upgrade with the improved dual camera setup. It now consists of a 50MP main shooter, and an 8 MP ultrawide-angle module. It also features the MariSilicon X Imaging NPU, an Oppo developed platform for image processing. This imaging platform also enables 4K AI night video, 20-bit ultra HDR and live preview on Android devices among other features. All variants of the Reno9 Pro come with 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, a capacity not seen since the Find X3, and options of 256GB and 512GB. The device is available in three colors: Black, Gold, and Pink Gradient.
Spearheading the series with Snapdragon 8+Gen 1
Headlining the new series is the Reno9 Pro+ that promises premium features and hardware. While sporting the same 6.7-inch display as its siblings, the display and the phone itself has a curved design. The highlight feature is the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 platform under the hood, making it the first Oppo flagship to run this platform. It is also coincidentally the first device to have both the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and Marisilicon X Imaging platform. By leveraging the image and video enhancements features of both platforms, we can expect enhanced image quality, color accuracy and clarity.
Improved cameras with Snapdragon and MariSilicon X platform-driven image enhancement. Image source: GSMArena
The camera setup is once again improved with a 50MP main shooter with autofocus and OIS capabilities and 2MP depth sensor. The secondary module is an ultrawide 8MP shooter with 120 degrees field of view and has macro capabilities when shooting close up to 4cm. The battery receives an upgrade to keep everything powered with 4700mAh capacity and 80W fast charging over USB-C. It is available in the same memory configuration of the Pro series, with 16GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB storage. As for color options, Oppo has done away with the Pink Gradient and introduced a new Mint Green option alongside the standard Black and Gold. Unfortunately the Mint Green is only available for the 256GB storage variant.
Stand out with the Mint Green color for the Reno9 Pro+. Image source: GSMArena
SINGAPORE, Dec. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — PureSoftware, a global software products and services major announced its partnership with Databricks, a lakehouse company, excelling in enabling businesses to unify data and AI seamlessly to take data analytics potential to a new level. The Databricks Cloud Platform is designed for organizations that require an integrated view of data across multiple clouds and hybrid deployments, allowing businesses to make better decisions faster.
As a Databricks system integration partner, PureSoftware will combine the platform capabilities of Databricks with its data and AI expertise to create an integrated data ecosystem for both multi-cloud and hybrid cloud business models. The partnership will assist businesses to leverage the best of both worlds – Data lakes and Data warehouses, to simplify structural complexities in data governance, data engineering, data sharing, data streaming, and data science besides managing large-scale data pipelines to access real-time insights.
About PureSoftware
PureSoftware is a global software products and digital services company that has been driving transformation for the world’s top organizations across multiple verticals, such as banking and financial services, telecom, healthcare, gaming, and entertainment. Arttha, by PureSoftware, is a globally trusted financial technology platform. It helps businesses embrace digital solutions in the areas of consumer and MSME banking, agency/ branchless banking, digital lending, payments, BNPL and merchant management. Arttha5G, by PureSoftware is an ORAN-compliant 5G platform that enables companies to deploy digital RF front-end solutions for enhanced connectivity.
Malaysia’s electric vehicle (EV) market is heating up. You can not only get fully electric cars in Malaysia, but you can also get fully electric motorcycles too these days. Of course, the fact that there are more fast charging stations dedicated for EVs in Malaysia is a large driving factor for manufacturers to buy into Malaysia’s Electric future. It explains why Mercedes-Benz is betting on bringing in their Mercedes-EQ EQE business sedan to the shores.
The Mercedes-Benz EQE is mostly a respond to the response that Mercedes got with their EQS that was launched way before the EQE we see now. Where the EQS is a large SUV for those who value cabin and storage space, the EQE is more of a business sedan made more for style and comfort on the road.
You still get the same underpinning as the EQS, since they are based on the same all-electric Mercedes-EQ architecture. You get a powerful 215kW electric motor powering the rear wheels. You get 565 Nm of tourqe from the motor that allows the Mercedes-Benz EQE to propel its 2.3 tons body from 0-100km/h in 6.4 seconds and up to 210km/h in top speed.
It may not sound like it is all that fast. It makes it up with plenty of range though. A full charge will give you a range of up to 669 km. That is worth nearly a single back and forth trip between Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown, Penang.
With EVs though, there is always a problem of refueling. To be fair, it is more recharging your battery than refueling, and charging your batteries take time. For the Mercedes-Benz EQE, you can charge your car in just 32 minutes with a 170 kW DC charger. If you are not too hard pressed for time, you can charge your car still with a regular wall outlet from your home in 8 hours and 15 minutes.
The Mercedes-Benz EQE comes with a lot of safety assistance too to make it one of the safest things you can be in on the road. Mercedes-Benz’s Driving Assistance Plus with Active Distance DISTRONIC, Active Stop-and-Go Assist, Active Steering Assist, and Active Lane Keeping Assist keeps you on the road and a safe distance from cars in front of you.
One of the biggest selling points of an electric vehicle is its noise, or rather its lack of it. Not having engine noise also means that you get to hear even more things that are happening around the car, which might not be too pleasant. The EQE is designed to cocoon its passengers in a quiet comfortable compartment that is separated from everything else outside the cabin. They use a special foam designed to fill the car to really isolate the cabin while adding some rigidity to the chassis. The windscreen’s frame crossmember is also filled with sound insulation to further isolate noise from the cabin. Thanks to a powerful Burmester sound system in the EQE as well, you can drown out the outside world with immersive music.
The Mercedes-Benz EQE 350+ is available in Malaysia now for MYR 419,888. Keep in mind the quoted price is not including insurance. You can get your EQE through Mercedes-Benz Financial packages with fixed monthly instalments. More information on the Mercedes-Benz EQE can be found on their website.
AMD offers to improve your gaming experience by offering free games bundled with select graphics cards.
Get Dead Island 2 and Callisto Protocol with AMD graphics and raise your game!
From now until 4th February 2023, every purchase of RX6000 series cards at participating retailers will come with up to two games for free. All purchases of the selected cards will come with the zombie-slaying sequel Dead Island 2. Purchases of the RX6700 and higher will also get the highly anticipated sci-fi survival horror, The Callisto Protocol. Additionally, The Callisto Protocol comes with AMD Radeon inspired weapon skins, a digital skin and special character.
A full list of eligible graphics cards can be found on the AMD Raise the Game bundle offer page. The free games will be given as game codes that can be redeemed online at www.amdrewards.com/terms.
More FPS with FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.2
Alongside the free games giveaway, AMD has also announced FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 2.2. AMD’s temporal upscaling answer to nVidia’s DLSS technology, FSR 2.2 promises to bring improved framerates and enhanced visuals.
Up to 218 games already supported by AMD’s FidelityFX Super resolution upscaling tech.
FSR 2.0 was announced earlier in May 2022, with up to 218 games combined supported by the technology and its previous 1.0 iteration. FSR 2.2 support will begin its rounds of the gaming sphere starting with its first game, Forza Horizon 5. AMD has also announced that FSR 2.2 will be free to download for game developers on GPUOpen.com soon though no specific date was mentioned. This should help speed up FSR 2.2 support for more games in the near future. Gamers can maximize their FSR and Radeon graphics card experience with the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition™. This enables enhancements such as 4K gaming with DirectX 12 Ultimate and DirectX Raytracing (DXR).
For more information on AMD’s Raise Your Game Bundle and FidelityFX Super Resolution technology, visit AMD’s official website.
Last year, Red Hat shared our plan to evolve our global Telecommunications, Media and Entertainment (TME) organization to better suit the needs of our partners and customers. Since then, we’ve been connecting and building within our ecosystem to deliver solutions that answer our customer’s biggest needs, one of which is helping navigate the global shift in the way services are delivered across both the TME industry and society as a whole.
Industry-leading partners and connected organizations are working together with the telco ecosystem to build on each other’s innovations in new ways, working together to accelerate the pace of industry change, with a focus on building frictionless customer journeys. For example, service providers are helping banks meet the demands of customers for real-time digital services like hyper-personalization, real-time fraud detection and next-gen connectivity – while also giving the unbanked access to financial services. From mobile banking and payments, connected vehicles, public safety monitors, private 5G and more, service providers are fundamental in providing the many technologies that are driving a completely new landscape for improved societies and global transformation.
How Cloud Independence Can Drive Change
However, this does not happen overnight. Service providers are rethinking their cloud approach by transitioning to a hybrid and multi-cloud environment to help them become more flexible, agile, scalable and competitive in a constantly evolving market. In a TM Forum Themes Report, sponsored by Red Hat, we found that this pivot can lead a service provider to decide which hyper-scale cloud provider meets their needs best.
Which cloud-native solutions have the flexibility and functionality at the scale my organization requires?
Can I balance these benefits against customer choice, disparate cloud silos, increased costs and limited flexibility?
To help mitigate this risk, we found that service providers are working to maintain cloud and container independence – especially if they want to remain competitive as these new technologies begin rapidly rolling out. This TM Forum Themes Report explains this need for independence, highlighting how service providers are increasingly taking a hybrid multi-cloud approach to maintain supplier diversity while expanding their own telco cloud (operator-as-a-platform) skills and technologies.
Customers at Transformation’s Epicentre
Underpinning these efforts are 5G networks that provide innovative ways for service providers to monetize their investments. We see this in areas like enterprise multi-access edge computing (MEC), open and virtualized RAN, 5G core and more, with real-world successes from our customers including Bharti Airtel, Verizon and VodafoneZiggo.
Red Hat can help service providers successfully compete with new services and business models, boost revenues and meet rising customer expectations by providing strategic expertise and a rich portfolio of products and services for their hybrid cloud deployments. We provide the flexibility for their projects across this vast landscape, from proofs-of-concept to production environments, helping providers select what works best for their own specific needs.
In addition to this shift, we’re excited to see service providers taking advantage of cloud services managed by third-party experts like Red Hat including Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) and Microsoft Azure on Red Hat OpenShift (ARO). This helps organizations offload the underlying infrastructure work and focus on their core business, providing additional flexibility and driving tangible business benefits.
We are also seeing Red Hat customers increase artificial intelligence (AI) deployments, or providing AI-as-a-Service, over the past year, from Turkcell AI to NTT East (in Japanese). It is clear that the practical deployments of AI – from new consumer apps and social engagements, to enterprise B2B apps and AI at the edge, are making a significant impact by enhancing customer experiences, driving greater business efficiencies and creating new revenue streams.
The Partner Ecosystem is Expanding
In order to deliver these customer-centric solutions, Red Hat is working with Ericsson, a leading provider of 5G software and hardware to lower the barriers to 5G adoption and build an open platform for 5G connectivity and innovation. We are doing this through active collaboration across Ericsson’s portfolio, including packet core, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and operations support system (OSS), as well as Cloud RAN in Ericsson’s Open Lab – a space for fast and interactive co-creation of innovative solutions with communications service providers and ecosystem partners.
Things do not stop there – other software providers such as Baicells, Casa Systems, MATRIXX Software, Mavenir, Nokia, Rakuten Symphony and Samsung work closely with Red Hat to modernize 5G and RAN workloads across the open hybrid cloud. Additionally, with Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel and Lenovo, we are able to build full-stack hardware and software solutions on top of a reliable infrastructure to support customer deployments from the data center to the edge.
