With the Galaxy Note 20 launch just a week away, all eyes will be on what upgrades Samsung brings to the table. While the chipset might remain unchanged, there might be a silver lining. While Samsung flagship like the Note series and the S series are powered by Snapdragon chipsets in the US and European markets, they come with Exynos chipset in Asian markets such as India. It often tends to lose out on the performance front against Qualcomm Snapdragon counterparts. However, a new leak suggests some good news in this regard. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 release date, price, news and leaks Upcoming smartphones in India: Specs, launch date, price (Image credit: Samsung/WinFuture) According to a tweet by Anthony, a Youtuber, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 will continue to be powered by the Exynos 990 chipset, but with major improvements in terms of the performance and efficiency. These optimizations should bring it closer to the Snapdragon 865 series. He even suggested that it is almost li...
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JBL Endurance Peak and JBL Free bring truly wireless tunes to your ears
You can't turn a corner at IFA 2018 in Berlin without stumbling across a pair of true-wireless earbuds, the sort that comprise two individual pieces, connected only by the magical power of Bluetooth, one for each of your ears.
JBL is doubling down on the format this year with two new models: the JBL Endurance Peak and the JBL Free.
First up, the JBL Endurance Peak, pictured at the top. They're aimed at sporty types, and are well suited to swimmers with their IPX7 waterproof rating.
Designed to comfortably fit most ear types without falling out, they feature "PowerHook" technology that allows them to intelligently turn on or off when you put them on or take them out.
Complete with a charging case that offers a speed charge mode that gets you an hour's worth of playback from ten minutes charge time, you get 28 hours of battery life overall, with 4 stored in the earbuds themselves and 24 in the portable case.
They'll go on sale in November for £129.99 (roughly $170, or AU$230).
JBL Free
The JBL Free are up next, and are more focussed on pleasing commuters.
They're again truly wireless, with a charging case that can provide 24 hours of playback when combined with the buds themselves.
Though they're not as rugged, but they're splashproof too thanks to an IPX5 rating. Both the JBL Free and JBL Endurance Peak offer hands-free calling with an integrated mic, though the more discreet oval design of the JBL Free might make them better suited to everyday use.
Available in black or white, the set is available now, priced £119.99 (around $155, AU$210).
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
Dyson's new hairdryer is decorated with gold leaf
If you're looking for the ultimate upgrade to your old hairdryer, Dyson has you covered – the latest version of its Supersonic hairdryer is finished in 23.75 karat gold.
The Dyson Supersonic 23.75 Karat Gold is finished with gold leaf, which Dyson says has been ‘applied by hand using traditional gilding techniques’. Under its bling exterior though it's the same as the regular Supersonic, which comes in a range of colors.
The company warns that the gold leaf is delicate and that, over time, the red base of the hair dryer may begin to appear – but apparently this is intentional, and not a defect – instead it's ‘something that makes each hair dryer unique to its owner’.
Fortunately, the product comes with a red Gesso presentation case to help preserve the finish. You can watch a video showing the delicate manufacturing process on Dyson’s website.
So how much will a gold-plated hair dryer set you back? In the US it's priced at $500 – that’s $100 more than the regular Supersonic. At the moment it's only available from Dyson’s US website – availability and pricing for the UK and Australia hasn't been confirmed, but you can expect to pay a similar premium over the £300 / AU$499 price of the regular Supersonic.
If you're more interested in how the hairdryer performs than how it looks, check out our Dyson Supersonic review.
Catch up on all the news from IFA 2018
JBL brings Google Assistant to new Everest GA wireless headphones
JBL has announced the launch of its new Everest GA wireless headphones range, all of which is optimized for Google Assistant. In other words, you can have easy access to the world’s biggest search engine without so much as lifting a finger.
Announced at IFA 2018, the range includes the new 710GA over-ear headphones, combining JBL’s long audio heritage with intuitive voice activation technology from Google, which can be activated by using touch sensors on the earcup. This means you can send texts, make calls, and most importantly, control your music without missing a beat.
Sharing is caringAccording to JBL, two hours of charging time will provide you with over 24 hours of music, making the 710GAs a great choice for busy commuters, long distance travelers, and those of us who are a little forgetful when it comes to charging our devices.
They also come with JBL’s ShareMe 2.0 feature, which allows you to pair with any other compatible Bluetooth headphones, meaning you can share your music with your friends wirelessly and listen together without cumbersome wires.
Also in the Everest GA range are the 110GA in-ear wireless headphones, which come in three different sizes for a snug fit and improved comfort. The 110GA’s come with eight hours of playback from a two hour charge, and are also optimized for Google Assistant.
JBL are yet to confirm the availability of the new range, however prices have been released, with the 710GAs coming in at around $300 (£230 / $400) and the 110GAs priced at around $120 (£90 / AU$160).
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
Waterproof JBL Charge 4 speaker doubles up as a portable battery
It’s hard to stand out in the Bluetooth speaker market at IFA 2018. With so many smart models on display, simple sonics just won't cut it. So the new JBL Charge 4, announced at the Berlin show, is a bit of a jack of all trades.
For starters, it’s a Bluetooth speaker, capable of connecting to two devices at once. That means you can share your tunes with a buddy without both having to keep swapping connectivity to the speaker first.
It can also play as part of a giant, 100 speaker soundsystem, with JBL Connect+ tech letting the Charge 4 hook up to dozens of other speakers of the same kind for simultaneous playback.
And, it’s also a portable battery pack, too. With 20 hours of audio playback per full charge of the Charge 4, you can hook up a smartphone to give it a bit of juice when on the go.
Wet and wildDesigned for pool parties, the JBL Charge 4 also has IPX7 waterproofing, letting it take a dunking without doing any damage to the electronics inside.
There are plenty of color options to choose from too, with “Desert Sand, Mustard Yellow, Dusty Pink, Grey Stone, River Teal, Fiesta Red, Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Steel White, and Forest Green” shades all set to be available.
Launching in October, it’ll cost £159.99, which is around $205 or AU$280 when directly converted.
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs iPhone X
Sony’s second main flagship of 2018 - the Sony Xperia XZ3 - has arrived, but it has got some steep competition, including from the iPhone X, which – despite launching back in 2017 – is still Apple’s latest handset and still a top seller.
With its QHD+ OLED screen, stereo speakers, high-end power and more the new Sony flagship has a lot going for it but, of course, so does the iPhone X, and while they’re both high-end phones there are a number of key differences.
What's it like to use? Check out our hands on: Sony Xperia XZ3 reviewIf you’re not sure which to choose you should definitely wait for our full review of the Sony Xperia XZ3, but ahead of that we’ve compared the specs of the two phones, so you can see what strengths each has on paper.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs iPhone X designThe Sony Xperia XZ3 and the iPhone X both have a metal frame and a glass back, but the rear of the Sony Xperia XZ3 is much curvier and the phone is thicker at 9.9mm, to the iPhone X’s 7.7mm.
They also look quite different. There’s an Apple logo in the center of the iPhone X’s rear, while you’ll find an annoyingly-placed fingerprint scanner there on the Xperia XZ3 (the iPhone X doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner, relying instead on face detection with Face ID).
The cameras are also laid out differently, with two of them towards the left edge of the iPhone X and just one in the center of the Sony Xperia XZ3.
The Sony Xperia XZ3 has a curvy glass back
Even bigger differences come when viewing the phones from the front. We’ll cover the screen itself below, but note that the iPhone X has a notch at the top and basically no bezel below the screen, while the Xperia XZ3 has a full-length bezel both above and below its display.
One area where the XZ3 has the edge though is in water resistance, as its IP68 rating means it’s slightly more waterproof than the IP67-rated iPhone X.
The iPhone X is also clad in glass, but less curvy
The two phones also come in a different selection of colors. For the iPhone X you can choose from Space Grey or Silver, while the Sony Xperia XZ3 comes in White Silver, Forest Green, Black or Bordeaux Red.
Of course, their weights and dimensions also differ. The Sony Xperia XZ3 is 158 x 73 x 9.9mm and 193g, while the iPhone X is 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm and 174g. So the iPhone X is smaller in all dimensions as well as being lighter.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs iPhone X displaySony and Apple both switched to OLED screens for these phones, so both should be quite vibrant with good contrast – the iPhone X certainly is but we’ll give you our final verdict on the Xperia XZ3’s screen when we’ve fully reviewed it.
The Sony Xperia XZ3 has a 6-inch QHD+ display though while the iPhone X has a 5.8-inch 1125 x 2436 one, so the XZ3’s is a bit bigger and sharper.
The Xperia XZ3 has a bigger screen but more bezel than the iPhone X
The Xperia XZ3’s screen is also curved, while the iPhone X’s is flat, but where the iPhone X has just a notch, the Sony Xperia XZ3 has quite large bezels.
The aspect ratios also differ a bit, with the Sony Xperia XZ3 being 18:9, while the iPhone X is 19.5:9. However, both phones can playback videos in HDR, so both are banking on the next-gen display tech being important to consumers.
Which screen is better could well be subjective but keep an eye out for our full Xperia XZ3 review to get a better idea.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs iPhone X OS and powerThe Sony Xperia XZ3 runs Android 9 Pie, which is the brand-new version of Android currently found on very few phones. The iPhone X meanwhile runs iOS 11.
As ever when comparing Android and Apple phones the difference in operating system is one of the biggest differences – you probably already know which you prefer.
As for power, the Sony Xperia XZ3 has a Snapdragon 845 chipset and 4GB of RAM. The former being a top-end chipset and the latter being more or less competitive with other flagship phones (though a few have 6GB or even 8GB of RAM).
Both phones are powerful, the big difference is the operating system
The iPhone X on the other hand has a similarly top-end Apple A11 Bionic chipset and 3GB of RAM.
As ever with Apple phones the specs don’t tell the whole story, so don’t be put off by the lesser RAM amount – this thing is at or near the top of most benchmarks and silky smooth in use.
For storage you get 64GB plus a microSD card slot in the Xperia XZ3, while the iPhone X comes with either 64 or 256GB but doesn’t have a microSD card slot, so there’s no expansion potential.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs iPhone X camera and batteryYou get a 19MP single-lens f/2.0 camera on the back of the Sony Xperia XZ3, one with the ability to shoot 4K HDR videos or Full HD slow motion 960fps videos.
The iPhone X meanwhile has a 12MP dual-lens camera, with one f/1.8 aperture lens and one f/2.4 aperture.
We haven’t properly tested the Xperia XZ3’s snapper yet, but we can tell you that the iPhone X’s is impressive and even works quite well in low light. It can also record video in 4K at 60fps (though not with HDR).
Sony has stuck with a single-lens camera on the Xperia XZ3
Round the front you get a 13MP f/1.9 camera on the Sony Xperia XZ3, while the iPhone X has a 7MP f/2.2 one, but that doesn’t tell the whole story as it’s a TrueDepth camera, capable of judging depth to effectively blur parts of the image for an impressive bokeh effect.
Neither phone has a particularly large battery. The Sony Xperia XZ3 has a 3,330mAh one and the iPhone X has an even smaller 2,716mAh one.
In our review we found that the iPhone X offered a solid day of life – we’ll let you know how the XZ3 fares once we’ve properly tested its battery. However, both phones support wireless charging.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs iPhone X price and availabilityThe Sony Xperia XZ3 will start hitting stores from the end of September in some regions, but the UK will have to wait until October 5. However, you can at least pre-order it now.
We don’t know if or when the Xperia XZ3 will land in the US or Australia, or how much it will cost there, but in the UK it costs £699 (around $910/AU$1,250).
The iPhone X on the other hand is available now in all those regions, but it costs a lot, starting at $999 / £999 / AU$1,579 for the 64GB version and rising to $1,149 / £1,149 / AU$1,829 if you want 256GB.
TakeawayWe won’t know exactly how the Sony Xperia XZ3 compares to the iPhone X until we’ve put it through a full review, but going purely on specs it has a larger, higher resolution screen and a similar amount of power, but a chunkier build and one less camera.
There are other differences too, highlighted above, with the most notable of course being the operating system, along with the price, as the Sony Xperia XZ3 is significantly cheaper, despite being newer.
The iPhone 11 will probably land soon
Do we really need 8K TVs yet?
The first 8K TV is here. Now available to buy for a bargain €11,990 ($14,732, £10,520, AUS$19,216), Sharp's Aquos LC-70X500E is the first 8K TV to go on sale in Europe and around the world.
An 80-inch version, the LC-80XU30, has been on sale in Japan for a few years (we even reviewed it), but this new model's global availability marks nothing less than the beginning of the 8K era.
The LC-70X500E was unveiled at the IFA Global Press Conference in Rome, and the venue was purposely picked - it was now or never. IFA 2018 has now arrived with an even greater array of displays, including the astonishing Samsung Q900R 8K TV.
But wait. 8K? What about 4K? Isn't that supposed to be the latest and greatest in TVs? Why are we obsessed with 7,680x4,320 pixel TVs? Do we really need 8K TVs?
Regardless, more 8K TVs are coming in 20188K content may be virtually non-existent, but we're about to see every major brand launch an 8K TV.
“Will the other TV brands be able to resist the temptation to offer a premium 8K TV? Of course they won’t,” said Paul Gray, Director Research and Analysis, Technology, Media & Telecom, IHS, speaking to TechRadar at the IFA Global Press Conference.
CES 2018 also saw a bevy of 8K TVs shown-off, including Samsung's 85-inch Q9S 8K QLED TV, Sony's 85-inch 8K TV, and LG Display's 88-inch 8K OLED TV display. All three were prototypes … but not for long, with each manufacturer delivering full models at the IFA 2018 show before the end of the year.
But these TVs are a mere appetiser. Next comes wallpaper TVs.
But these TVs are a mere appetiser. Next comes wallpaper TVs.
“People want larger screens at home,” said Sascha Lange, VP Marketing & Sales at Sharp, who thinks the only limitation on TV sizes is resolution, hence the drive for 8K. “The pixel density of a 64-inch 4K TV is exactly the same as a 32-inch Full HD TV,” he said. “And a 120-inch 8K TV also has exactly the same pixel density as a 32-inch Full HD TV.”
That mighty concept, and others, like Samsung’s The Wall, would allow broadcasters to capture, say, an entire football pitch. You would sit close to your 150-inch 8K wallpaper TV and turn your head to watch the action, just as if you were there.
“Today even a 70-inch screen doesn’t fill a wall – you could easily get a 120-inch screen on a wall in any home,” says Lange. “People want larger screens and they have the space, and now the technology is here.”
The Wall by Samsung is a 146-inch microLED TV coming out later this year.
How big do we want our TVs?Sharp can see a clear trend, and it’s for ever-bigger TVs.
The highest demand for better screens and larger displays comes from China, where the average size of a TV is 54-inches. In the U.S. it’s 50-inches, in Europe it’s 49-inches, and in Japan it’s just 40-inches.
In fact, 55-59-inch TVs are the biggest-selling size of TV in Europe right now, and it’s a sector that’s grown by almost a quarter over the last year alone.
IHS Markit predicts that 8K displays will make up only about 1% of the 60-inch and larger display market in 2018, but a whopping 9% by 2020. That’s a massive chunk of the TV market, and it’s easily the most lucrative. 8K is about cash.
8K is about cash.
OK, so sales of 70-inch and bigger TVs make up only 0.4% of the European TV market, but if you are in the market for one, what would you buy?
“Sharp’s 8K TV and a 77-inch OLED TV are very similar prices,” says Gray, who's unsure about this TV's commercial future as a mainstream product. “People will buy 8K TVs as monitors, as 4K multi-screens, as whiteboards, but as high resolution TVs, probably not – this is a hybrid prosumer product.”
So how big should an 8K TV be?
“If 40-inch was the starting point for 4K, then 80-inch has to be the starting point for 8K,” says Gray. That suggests the LC-70X500E is on the small side. “But there are other reasons to have a 65-inch 8K screen, such as character readability in China, and the fact that smart TVs are as much about graphics as they are about video.”
Video is consecutive images, or frames, flashed-up on a screen in quick succession. The more you have per second, the smoother the image. It’s expressed as frames per second (fps), though there’s no internationally accepted frame rate so PAL and SECAM (Europe and China) differs from NTSC (North America and Japan).
Sharp’s 8K TV can show a maximum of 50/60 fps (for PAL/NTSC), but that’s a technology that pretty much maxes-out at 4K.
“If you double the resolution, then you ought to double the frame rate,” says Gray. “Otherwise all you get is camera blur that’s very accurately recorded!”
So just as we went from 24/25fps for HD to 50/60 fps in Ultra HD 4k, we should go to 100/120fps for 8K.
“Broadcasters have absolutely bought into that because motion sharpness is more important than anything else,” says Gray. Put simply, watching video in 8K without 100/120 fps is pointless.
Put simply, watching video in 8K without 100/120 fps is pointless.
Sadly, there’s no way of getting high frame rates into any kind of TV. Not even the upcoming HDMI 2.1 standard will change that, though it will support 8K resolutions.
So the LC-70X500E includes eight HDMI ports, four of which need to be used simultaneously to get a 8K signal into it. Sharp’s new 8C-B60A, the world’s first 8K camcorder, can capture 8K content at 60 fps and be hooked-up to the LC-70X500E.
Sharp also says that still images in 8K can be viewed from a USB thumb drive or HDD. The LC-70X500E will also upscale 4K into 8K. However, if you want to watch live 8K TV broadcasts, you’re going to have to move to Japan and tune in to NHK’s satellite TV broadcasts in 8K resolution.
“The application that is crying out for more resolution is VR headsets because VR will only work when you become completely unaware of the pixel structure,” says Gray.
He also suggests that high resolutions could be used by broadcasters to offer completely new immersive ways of watching TV by capturing in 8K and zooming-in on specific areas.
“360 with 4K is an interesting opportunity for short content ‘snacks’, especially for live coverage where you want a sense of presence, such as at the Olympics,” says Gray. “You could scroll around with your remote control, like having a periscope, to look around the stadium.” Those kind of viewing options require 8K capture.
8K TVs might seem pointless to some, but it will help sell bigger TVs, which are becoming more popular, it will introduce 8K as a creative capture format, it will likely rejuvenate VR, and it could completely change how we watch TV.
“There’s a whole new creative production grammar and language that will need to be used,” says Gray of the 8K era. “The storytelling will be different, with much longer shots, and more time to soak it all in, much like the best VR experiences.”
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
Sony's new smartwatch uses e-Paper tech and it's very expensive
Sony has announced its first wearable in four years at IFA 2018, and while it's does st on your wrist and tell the time, it's not what some had hoped for when dreaming of a Sony Smartwatch 4.
Instead of a Wear OS watch, the company has unveiled a new product called the Fes Watch U. It uses e-Paper technology to allow you to create your own designs all around the watch, including on the strap.
This is a similar product to a prototype device we've seen multiple times - firstly in 2014 - which was called the Fes Watch. This is the first watch from Sony using e Paer technology that will actually be on sale
It runs Sony's own software, but it won't included apps and is more fashion led than a lot of devices we'd consider to be called smartwatches.
Totally uniqueBoth the watch face and strap are covered in e-Paper material, that allows you to customize it from your phone with different black and white pattern designs.
It comes with a range of 100 pre-loaded designs, but you'll be able to make your own to show off and Sony has confirmed it's working with designers to make further designs too.
The Fes Watch U is going to be on sale in the UK, Italy, France, Germany and Spain from some point in September - we don't yet know if it's coming to the US or Australia - and it's set to be very expensive.
You can buy it in either silver or black, but the price is different for each with the former being £529 (about $690 / AU$940) while the latter is a whopping £699 ($900, AU$1250).
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
8K TV: Everything you need to know about the futuristic resolution
Like it or not, 8K is coming. IFA 2018 was the proving ground for the technology set to invade your home over the coming years, with all the major players showing off exciting new screens and hi-res tech to dazzle your peepers with. Just one look at the new Samsung Q900R 8K TV and you'll agree – TV is about to change forever.
Yes, we know you’re just getting used to 4K – perhaps you’re even wondering whether the new level of detail is too much – but 8K images, TVs and perhaps even VR headsets are now only a few months away from hitting cinephiles homes.
We know this because of the bevy of 8K TVs exhibited at CES 2017 in Las Vegas (the annual barometer of the global tech industry), which was followed by concrete launches at IFA 2018. And, in addition, because Japanese state broadcaster NHK plans to send live 8K pictures over the airwaves during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
8K TVs will certainly be on sale around the world by then, and by the start of 2019 we're expecting them to be the go-to screen technologies for those that demand the best from their home cinema experiences.
The countdown to 8K TVs for the home has already begun. We must be ready.
8K is nothing short of the clearest picture you’re ever likely to see. It’s got four times more pixels than 4K images, measuring 7680x4320 pixels, which equates to a total of 33,177,600 pixels. In a 65-inch screen they are so small you won't even be able to make out the pixel structure. However, many 8K TVs are much larger.
What should we call 8K?It’s called 8K because the images are roughly 8,000 pixels wide, give or take a few hundred, but the specification also comes under the umbrella term Ultra HD, so some people use the term Ultra HD 8K. Others still call it 8K Super Hi-Vision, such as NHK, which invented it back in the year 2000 and branded it in 2012.
8K resolution is 7680x4320 pixels, so is also called 4320p – for the same reasons Full HD was called 1080p – though it’s more commonly referred to as Ultra HD 8K or just 8K. Since 8K screens have about 33 million pixels in total, that’s a 33-megapixel image.
Do all those extra pixels matter?Absolutely, yes. Full HD 1080p TVs gave you a two-megapixel image, which isn’t much compared even to what your smartphone’s camera is capable of. 4K ups that to eight megapixels, which still seems underwhelming considering the capabilities of human vision and, again, what smartphone screens can now achieve. So the 33-megapixel image of 8K – the next mathematical step-up from 4K – could at last provide the kind of immersive-ness we’ve been searching for. Or, at least, that’s the theory.
Given the announcements at IFA 2018, expect to start seeing 8K TVs trickling slowly into retailers from the end of 2018 , and picking up pace after CES 2019 in January. However, the regional availability, and general sense in even considering buying one of the displays, will likely depend on 8K content.
Is it possible to buy an 8K TV now?Yes, and you've been able to do so for a little while now already – Sharp sells its 85-inch LV-85001 for US$130,000/UK £106,960/AUS$176,500, but only in Japan. Dell showed-off its UP3218K, a 31.5-inch 8K monitor, at CES 2017, and announced that it would go on sale in March 2017 for US$4,999/UK£4,100/AUS$6,800.
However, it's the screens that will become available in the coming months that should excite the most – the Samsung Q900R 8K TV is already stealing hearts and places on Christmas 2019 wishlists.
Do manufacturers have 8K TVs ready?Absolutely – and they have had for a few years. At there was a 65-incher from SkyWorth, the 65-inch Chang Hong 65ZHQ3R and 98-inch Hisense LED98NU9800V ULED TV, to name but three. Another 98-incher, the 98ZHQ2R from Chang Hong , appeared to be held in place by something akin to scaffolding, so thick were the supports. “There are no plans to release this because there’s no 8K content out there, but you could use it as a PC monitor,” said Yuxiao Zhao at Chang Hong Electric to TechRadar at the time.
But that's all changed now – the latest wave of 8K TVs are every bit as thin and home-friendly as what we now expect from our existing 4K TV models.
Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, LG, Sharp and more brands all have 8K TVs in the pipeline – expect all the major TV manufacturers to have 8K TVs ready for consumer eyes by early 2019.
Does an 8K TV need HDMI 2.1?Yes –and they all will have the new specification of the HDMI cable, which for the first time allows 8K resolutions to pass through. HDMI 2.1 – announced by the HDMI Forum in January 2017 at the CES – is a major enabler of the forthcoming 8K resolution revolution, making sure TVs accept 8K resolutions at 60 frames per second. However, that's a no-brainer piece of future-proofing, and no guarantee that it means 8K TVs are imminent.
There are many sources that will produce 8K content. The first is Hollywood, whose directors have begun to use the new RED Weapon 8K camera (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has already been filmed this way in 8K).
Second is the Tokyo Olympics, which means waiting until 2020. However, 8K will only be broadcast by NHK in Japan itself.
Lastly – and perhaps most tellingly – 8K content will come from all of us. 8K capture from 360-degree video cameras is already offered by the GoPro Omni VR and Insta360 Pro, which was launched at CES 2017. "Talk to the VR guys and they're tell you that the higher the resolution and frames rates, the better," says Jeff Park, Director of Marketing at HDMI Licensing, whose new HDMI 2.1 permits 8K image transfer. "VR today looks good but it lacks fidelity … if it was affordable and practical, they would do 8K now," he says. 8K-per-eye VR headsets, anybody? They're surely in the pipeline alongside a wider field of view.
But, in the interim period, it'll be advanced upscaling processors that will take full HD and 4K content and make them ready for the 8K big time, redefining the sharpness possible from existing sources.
It may seem like a stretch to have to buy an 8K TV when 4K TVs are only now beginning to bed-in, but 8K now seems inevitable.
Check out our full guide to 4K if you want to catch up on a more current resolution.
Researchers 3D-print a prototype bionic eyeball
Engineers from the University of Minnesota have 3D-printed a prototype for a bionic eyeball, which could one day change the lives of people with impaired sight.
The researchers demonstrated the process by printing components onto a hemisphere of glass. Building circuits on a curved surface is a tricky process, but essential for making a device that can be implanted into an eye.
The whole process took about an hour, and the university published a time-lapse video to accompany the paper:
First, they printed a base outline using an 'ink' containing silver particles, which dried evenly without running down the glass. They then used semiconducting polymer materials to print photodiodes, which convert light into electricity.
Vision of the future“We have a long way to go to routinely print active electronics reliably, but our 3D-printed semiconductors are now starting to show that they could potentially rival the efficiency of semiconducting devices fabricated in microfabrication facilities,” said professor Michael McAlpine, a co-author of the study. “Plus, we can easily print a semiconducting device on a curved surface, and they can’t.”
The technology is promising, but it's still at an early stage. The next steps are to print a prototype with a more light receptors, and to find a way to print onto a soft material that's suitable for implanting into a real eye.
The best 3D printers of 2018Via Digital Trends
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs Sony Xperia XZ2
It's only six month since the Sony Xperia XZ2 launched, but we already have the Sony Xperia XZ3. Despite that tight turnaround this looks to be a big upgrade in some ways, most notably in its new OLED screen.
However, in some other ways the Xperia XZ3 seems like business as usual for Sony and very similar to its predecessor.
What's it like to use? Check out our hands on: Sony Xperia XZ3 reviewSo to help you get a handle on exactly what’s new and different about this model we’ve put the XZ3 head-to-head with the XZ2, comparing them across every key spec category.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs Sony Xperia XZ2 designYou won’t be able to tell much difference between the Sony Xperia XZ3 and the Xperia XZ2 from a brief glance, but as Sony somewhat refreshed the design for the XZ2 we wouldn’t really expect much to change visually less than a year later.
Both phones have a metal frame and a curvy glass back protected by Gorilla Glass 5. Both also have a rear-facing fingerprint scanner (maddeningly) halfway down the back and come with IP68 certification, meaning they can survive being submerged up to 1.5 meters deep in water for up to 30 minutes.
There's not much difference between the back of the XZ3 (pictured) and the XZ2
Both phones also have sizable bezels above and below the screen, rather than a notch, but they are at least put to somewhat good use, as both handsets sport front-facing stereo speakers (though they’re apparently 20% louder on the XZ3), while one thing that neither handset has is a 3.5mm headphone port.
The Sony Xperia XZ3 is slightly slimmer than the Xperia XZ2, with the former coming in at 9.9mm while the latter is 11.1mm, but other than that the main design difference is the colors they’re available in
Even with that there’s a lot of overlap, as the XZ3 comes in white silver, forest green, Bordeaux red and black, while the XZ2 is available in black, silver, green and pink.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs Sony Xperia XZ2 displayThe display is the single biggest difference between the Sony Xperia XZ2 and the Sony Xperia XZ3, because while the Xperia XZ2 has a 5.7-inch 1080 x 2160 LCD screen, the Xperia XZ3 has a 6-inch QHD+ OLED one.
This is the first time Sony has stuck a QHD screen on a phone and the first time anything outside its Premium range has been more than Full HD+, so that’s a big change that’s been a long time coming. As is the move to OLED – another first for the company.
The XZ3 has a bigger, sharper, curvier screen than the XZ2
In all that means the Xperia XZ3 has a bigger, sharper screen that’s more vibrant than the XZ2’s. It’s also curved, which the Xperia XZ2's isn’t.
Those curved edges are more than just a stylish finish too, as they also give you a new way to interact with the XZ3, letting you for example quickly access favorite apps by double tapping on the edge.
However, both handsets have an 18:9 aspect ratio in line with most modern smartphones and both are also capable of displaying HDR content.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs Sony Xperia XZ2 OS and powerThe Sony Xperia XZ3 has a Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM, which, funnily enough, is exactly what the Sony Xperia XZ2 has, so don’t expect vast upgrades in performance, though those are high-end specs. Both phones also have 64GB of storage and a microSD card slot.
The Xperia XZ2 should have the same raw power as the Xperia XZ3
One difference between them though is the operating system, as while the Sony Xperia XZ2 currently runs Android 8 Oreo, the Xperia XZ3 ships with the brand-new Android 9 Pie.
The XZ2 will get upgraded to that at some point, but it doesn’t have it yet and probably won’t be supported with updates for as long as the XZ3 is.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs Sony Xperia XZ2 camera and batteryBoth the Sony Xperia XZ3 and Sony Xperia XZ2 have a 19MP f/2.0 single-lens rear camera with a similar assortment of features, including, notably, the ability to film in 4K HDR. So there’s not much to choose between them there, at least on paper.
That said, the camera software has been updated a bit for the Xperia XZ3, as lifting the phone horizontally can automatically launch the camera, so you don’t miss a snap.
Both phones have a 19MP rear camera
Sony has also upgraded the front-facing camera for the XZ3, kitting it out with a 13MP f/1.9 snapper – a likely improvement on the basic 5MP f/2.2 camera on the front of the Xperia XZ2.
We’ll let you know whether the XZ3’s snapper is better in practice once we’ve put it through a full review.
As for the battery, the Sony Xperia XZ3 has a 3,330mAh one, which is just a tiny bit bigger than the 3,180mAh battery in the Sony Xperia XZ2.
In this case bigger should be better, but it remains to be seen whether the extra capacity is enough to compensate for the larger, sharper screen. That’s another thing we’ll be sure to tell you once we’ve put the XZ3 through a full review.
Sony Xperia XZ3 vs Sony Xperia XZ2 price and availabilityThe Sony Xperia XZ3 is hitting stores at the end of September, with pre-orders opening from August 31. We don’t know the price everywhere yet, but in the UK it costs £699, which is around $910 / AU$1,250.
The Sony Xperia XZ2 launched at the same price in the UK and was $799 in the US – so that’s probably around what US buyers will pay for the XZ3. The XZ2 has now dropped in price in many stores, but only by around $100 / £100.
TakeawayThe Sony Xperia XZ3 feels focused entirely on the screen, a screen which – on paper at least – is a huge upgrade from the display on the Sony Xperia XZ2.
There are other changes and upgrades, including a slightly larger battery, a slimmer build, a new front-facing camera and some new software elements, but it all sounds quite minor other than that display.
We’ll let you know how well all the XZ3’s components come together once we’ve put it through a full review, but looking just at the specs it’s really all about the screen.
If you want the best screen Sony has to offer (and aren’t fussed about the 4K Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium) then the Xperia XZ3 is likely the phone for you. But if you’re happy with a Full HD+ LCD screen then the Xperia XZ2 could be a cheaper choice.
After something smaller? Check out the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
Best cloud computing services of 2018
The advent of cloud computing has spawned a huge number of companies offering a slice of their data centres’ processing power for a fee. This is a huge step forward for small business owners: while previously organizations had to buy and maintain their own physical servers, cloud computing now means that you can get started far more quickly and inexpensively. Processing data in the cloud also means that as your business grows, you can keep up with increased traffic to your server.
In this guide, you’ll discover some of the very best cloud computing providers on the market today.
We've also highlighted the best cloud web hosting services in this roundup
Rackspace Cloud
Rackspace Cloud is a set of cloud-computing products from the US company Rackspace. Rackspace was founded in 2006. The solution offers web application hosting, platform as a services and cloud services amongst others.
Racksapce allows you to choose a cloud provider with which you can then interact via Rackspace’s platform. The service has partnered with major cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and WMware. The advantage of this system is that you have the scalability of some of the biggest cloud providers around but with the customer support of a smaller company.
Rackspace offers a wide range of cloud services. These include public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud and multi-cloud. When it comes to their IaaS solution, Rackspace now builds entirely on open source system. This is because it uses the cloud operating system OpenStack.
The public cloud option provides quick and easy access to the IT resources you need. This reduces the cost of datacentre management. This multi-tenant service offers ‘pay as you go’ scalability which is ideal for users that have heavy or unpredictable traffic.
The private cloud option offers the option of a single tenant environment. This means that servers can run faster due to eliminating the ‘noisy neighbor’ effect. Private cloud offers dedicated servers for maximum security in and out of your data center. With a private server, the user has greater control. These can be hosted on-site or at a service provider’s data center.
Rackspace has also created a hybrid cloud which gives access to a combination of both the private and public clouds.
You can sign up to Rackspace for free which includes a technical account manager, security guidance and free server monitoring and reporting. Rackspace has an in-depth guide into their prices. This way you can pick the package that best suits your needs.
Users have mentioned issues with documentation but this is balanced out by excellent service support.
You can sign up for Rackspace Cloud here
IBM Cloud
IBM Cloud is a set of cloud computing services offered by the eponymous tech giant IBM. The solution offers platform as a service, software as a service and infrastructure as a service.
IBM Cloud offers a wide range of services. Not all of them are cloud based: it covers both virtual and hardware –based servers, composed of public, private and management networks.
As hardware and virtual-based servers are combined into one on demand cloud-platform, you have complete infrastructure control. IBM refer to their hardware servers as ‘bare metal’. These provide clients with sole access to their entire server. This reduces the ‘noisy neighbor’ effect and greatly improves performance.
IBM Cloud is integrated and managed by a single system that can be controlled via web portal, API (Application Programming Interface) or mobile apps.
IBM Cloud’s Bluemix developing solution has a wide range of cloud SaaS management tools.
IBM Cloud also offers full server customization. This means that everything that is included in the server is handpicked by you. This way you do not have to pay for features that you might never use.
IBM also offer a ‘Lite’ tier. This has no time limit, will not ask for credit card details and includes 256MB of Cloud Foundry Memory. After this you have the option of the ‘Pay as you Go’ Tier where you only pay for what you use. The website has a calculator which you can use to estimate costs. If neither of these are suitable, you can contact IBM for a subscription package tailored to suit your needs.
Users have noted a slight delay when loading pages.
You can sign up for IBM Cloud here
Amazon Web Services
AWS was founded in 2006. It provides on demand cloud computing to individuals and organizations.
Amazon Web Services is a cloud-based program for building business solutions using integrated web services. AWS offers an extensive range of IaaS and PaaS services. These include Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2), Elastic Beanstalk, Simple Storage Service (S3) and Relational Database Service (RDS)
AWS offers extensive admin controls available via their secure Web client. Users can access a number of features from here including encryption key creation and auditing.
Aws lets you customize infrastructure requirements. This costs far less than if you were set up in your own premises.
Users can also access EC2 we services. This permits you to run and acquire servers as necessary.
AWS has three different pricing models; ‘Pay as you Go’, ‘Save when you reserve’ and ‘Pay less using more’. For more information about these, users must contact sale directly.
AWS also offers a free 12-month tier. Once your trial period has expired, you must either choose a paid plan or cancel your AWS subscription.
Some online commenters have complained about difficulties with contacting customer support.
You can sign up for Amazon Web Services here
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure was released in 2010.
Users can run any service on the cloud or combine it with any existing applications, data centre or infrastructure.
Microsoft Azure provides a wide array of solutions suitable for all types of industry. All your business needs will be taken into consideration. This results in a package better suited for needs.
Azure means there is no need to have physical servers on site. This reduces the usual costs, such as an onsite server support team.
The Azure Migration Centre makes cloud transfers faster and easier. The solution is also compatible with Linux.
Microsoft Azure offers a 12-month free tier which includes access to all popular services, $200 (£153.74) credit and over 25 ‘Always Free’ services. All of Microsoft Azure’s prices and plans are laid out in great detail on their site. The page includes a cost calculator and a ‘Pay as you go’ service. Each plan can be tailored to your specific needs.
Some users have noted that the price can be quite high relative to other services.
You can sign up for Microsoft Azure here
Google Cloud
Google Cloud Platform is Google’s cloud service provider. The platform enables users to create business solutions using Google-provided, modular web services. It offers a wide array of services including IaaS and PaaS solutions.
With Google Cloud’s multi layered secure infrastructure, users can rest assured that anything you build, create, code or store will be protected. This is done through a commitment to transparency and a highly trained team of engineers.
Google Cloud has a variety of tools to ensure consistent performance and management. These include Compute Engine, App Engine, Container Engine, Cloud Storage and Big Query. Google also offers smooth migration to virtual machines with flexible pricing.
There is a free 12-month trial, which includes $300 (£230.62) towards all services and products offered by Google Cloud Platform.
Some online commenters have mentioned that setup can be difficult for beginners.
You can sign up for Google Cloud here
Beyerdynamic’s Blue Byrd wireless headphones fine-tune their sound to your ears
Over at IFA 2018, Beyerdynamic has introduced a new range of Byrd wireless and wired in-ear headphones, with three flavors on offer to suit different budgets and tastes.
All of these headphones benefit from an ‘ultra-flat’ design, meaning they won’t press on your ear even if you’ve got them in while listening to music while lying on your side.
The entry-level model is the Beat Byrd, which are wired headphones that offer what Beyerdynamic promises is clear sound backed with a powerful level of bass. This model will only be sold via the company’s online store, and will be available by the end of September costing €24.90 (around £22, $29, AU$40).
Stepping up to the Soul Byrd, this is again a wired model, with a premium build quality, promising to deliver a balanced sound with considerable clarity, Beyerdynamic observes.
You also get five pairs of silicone ear-tips in a range of different sizes, and an in-line three-button remote with integrated microphone. Soul Byrd headphones will go on sale mid-October priced at €79 (around £71, $92, AU$126).
Finally, at the top of the range we have the wireless Blue Byrd headphones, which do away with the cable in favor of a Bluetooth connection (although the earbuds themselves are still linked as you can see in the above image).
The built-in battery gives you up to six hours of listening, and the headphones can be recharged via USB-C. This flagship model also come with Mosayc sound personalization, which fine-tunes the sound to your own hearing (following an app-based hearing test conducted via your Android or iOS device).
We've rounded up the best truly wireless AirPod alternativesIf that system works as promised, you’ll get a sound fully tailored to your own ears, which is an exciting prospect.
Beyerdynamic’s Blue Byrd wireless headphones will be available before 2018 is out, with a recommended price of €129 (around £115, $150, AU$205).
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
Sony’s WH-1000XM3 turns your crowded commute into a silent retreat
In a show dominated by 8K TVs from the likes of LG and Samsung, Sony has a slightly different announcement for its IFA 2018 appearance – one that will be hard to keep quiet once the cans are out of the bag.
Earlier today, Sony unveiled its new WH-1000XM3 noise-cancelling headphones, the sequel to the Sony WH-1000XM2, and the heir apparent to the highest seat in the noise-cancelling headphone kingdom.
The reason Sony stole the hearts and ears with the 1000XM3’s predecessor was its excellent noise-cancellation modes, Quick Attention Mode and aptX/aptX HD support, all of which will be available again in the 1000XM3.
Like last year, you can expect a 30-hour battery that should easily get you across the Atlantic and back.
What’s improving this year, according to Sony, is the introduction of multiple microphones that will help calls come through cleaner and a switch from a microUSB port to a USB Type-C port along the earcup of the headphone. Along with that a Quick Charging function that provides up to 5 hours of wireless playback after just 10 minutes of being connected to a power source.
The sound of silenceIn a brief demo with the 1000XM3 headphones ahead of IFA, we noticed a substantial improvement on noise-cancellation from last year’s 1000XM2 to this year’s 1000XM3 – even if the audio sounded relatively similar year-over-year.
If you look at the bridge of the headphones, you’ll also notice a change in the padding which, along with the reduced weight, should make them more comfortable to wear during extended flights. (Hong Kong here we come!)
Powering the 1000XM3’s noise-cancellation prowess is Sony’s new QN1 processor that’s faster than last year and offers more powerful processing, too – things we couldn't tell from our time with the headphones but a neat upgrade all the same.
The Sony WH-1000XM3 will be available starting in September for $349.99 (around £270, AU$479).
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
Sony Xperia XZ3 is the first phone to use the company's top-end TV tech
Sony just announced its next flagship smartphone at IFA 2018 and the follow-up to this year's Xperia XZ2 is called the Xperia XZ3 and comes with some major display upgrades.
The 18:9 aspect ratio has returned for the Sony Xperia XZ3, but the exciting new feature is the 6-inch QHD+ HDR OLED display that replaces the LCD tech Sony used to use.
It's a similar tech to what's used in Sony's range of BRAVIA OLED TVs, so it should allow for better colors, blacker blacks and even sharper images overall.
The screen is capable of upscaling standard content to HDR quality too, which should allow for better images in everything rather than just when you're watching HDR compatible shows on Netflix or YouTube.
The design of the phone has been refined so it's now more curved on the rear, with a 3mm aluminum frame, plus curved 3D glass on the front and back of the phone, protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
Don't be fooled by the 3mm frame - the glass brings the dimensions up to 158 x 73 x 9.9mm, and it weighs in at 193g.
It's also IP65/68 water resistant, so this should be able to survive the odd slip into your sink. For color options you've got Black, White Silver, Forest Green and Bordeaux Red.
A TV in your pocketThere's no 3.5mm headphone jack here, but Sony has improved the speakers so it's 20% louder than the Xperia XZ2 and it comes with high-res audio features we've seen on previous Sony handsets. The Dynamic Vibration System that shakes the phone while you're playing games or watching films is back too.
Sony has enhanced the new screen tech with something called Side Sense too, which will allow you to open apps by sliding your finger down the side of the screen. This will pop out a small menu that will give you some shortcuts that should make it easier to use such a large phone.
Sony Xperia XZ3 with Side Sense shortcuts
There's a 19MP main camera on the rear of the Sony Xperia XZ3, the same one that we saw on the Xperia XZ2. It's capable of 4K HDR recording and Full HD 960fps Super slow mo, as well as a variety of other features. There's a 13MP selfie shooter on the front that can do bokeh shots too.
Powering the Xperia XZ3 is the latest generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset alongside 4GB of RAM, plus there's 64GB of storage. If that doesn't sound like enough to you, there's microSD support for up to 512GB.
The battery pack inside the phone is 3,330mAh, plus there's wireless charging and it will come running Android 9 Pie software right away.
You're able to pre-order the Xperia XZ3 in the UK now with a launch date set for October 5, but we've yet to learn whether it will be coming to the US or Australia. If you pre-order now you'll also get a free copy of Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 4 on release day and access to the beta for the game on PS4.
The Xperia XZ3 price is set at £699 (about $900, AU$1250) and we've yet to see any official deals from mobile phone networks and carriers. We'll be sure to update this and our hands on Sony Xperia XZ3 review when we hear more.
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
Google Home Max is now available in the UK... for a high price
Google Home Max has officially launched in the UK. The smart speaker, which we feel is much more clever and better designed than its competitors, has been available in the US and Australia for a while, but finally UK customers have the chance to get their hands on one.
How much will it cost me?Now, here's the thing: the Google Home Max is now available to buy both in store and online exclusively from the Google Store and John Lewis, but it's coming for the rather high price of £399.
This is a little more than we were expensive than we were expecting, given you've been able to get the same product in the US for $399 for a while now, and apart from Apple most brands aren't matching pounds to dollars any more in international pricing.
That said, you can get the new speaker in chalk and charcoal colouring, so at least you've got some options to meld it into your home decor.
So what’s so special about it?The Google Home Max is a much larger version of the Google Home - but it’s 20 times louder due to the 4.5 inch high-excursion woofers installed.
Like it’s smaller sibling, the Max also makes use of the Google Assistant AI, which you can use to control your home, answer questions and even set reminders.
In addition, the Google Home Max is the first Google speaker with smart sound - a feature which allows the Max to adapt its audio to you and your environment by adjusting the sound to wherever you place it in a room.
The Max supports Bluetooth and has an auxiliary port (see, it can be done, Apple), but also works with a wide range of music services such as YouTube Music, Google Play Music, Deezer and Spotify. There’s also the option to listen to old-fashioned radio channels, which will please many.
An iPhone 9 upgrade is sounding attractive to almost half of iPhone users
Demand for the iPhone 9 could be far higher than initially predicted according to a survey by technology research firm Loup Ventures.
Researchers asked 530 US-based iPhone users when they planned to upgrade their handsets. To their surprise, almost half of respondents said they were planning to upgrade within the next 12 months – far more than last year.
Better start queueingAccording to the survey, 48% of current iPhones owners intend to upgrade to a newer iPhone model in the next year, compared to just 25% in 2017.
Of those, 42% plan on buying one of the three new iPhones to be announced next month, while 18% plan to purchase an iPhone X, 16% want to upgrade to an iPhone 8, and 24% intend to upgrade to another iPhone.
In addition, 19% of the 212 Android users surveyed said they intend to change to an iPhone within the next year, compared to only 12% last year.
Loup Ventures' survey was small and its figures might not be a totally accurate prediction of upcoming sales (not everyone who says they will buy an iPhone actually will), but the results are still a good indication that there's particularly keen interest in the iPhone 9.
The allure of the notchSo why are iPhone users to keen to upgrade? It may be a matter of looks. As other phone makers rush to copy the iPhone X's distinctive design, customers are beginning to feel a bit left out if their phone's screen isn't sporting a notch, and are more willing to upgrade from their old devices.
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 9, iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Plus (official names TBC) in the next few days, and the caché that comes with a modern notched design will surely be a factor for customers considering a new handset.
Check out all the latest news from IFA 2018
Toshiba reveals unbelievably thin, back-chatting TVs at IFA 2018
If you can get your hands on a new Toshiba TV you might soon be able to talk to it using Alexa, as announced by the company at Berlin’s IFA conference today.
At IFA 2018 Toshiba announced that, starting in 2019, the majority of Toshiba OLED, 4K HDR, and Full HD smart ranges will have Amazon’s voice assistant built in, giving users access to a variety of voice features.
Instead of relying on a voice-activated remote control or the Amazon Echo, the new TVs will have an inbuilt far-field microphone, meaning you can ask your TV directly to turn the volume up, change the channel, or switch inputs.
As well as that, you’ll be able to take advantage of Alexa’s capabilities, including playing music, reading the news, launching apps, and any number of third-party ‘skills’.
If you always forget to order new batteries for your remote control, you may also find Toshiba’s Amazon Dash integration useful. Customers with compatible TVs will have the ability to automatically reorder remote control batteries from Amazon when low battery levels are detected.
Integration with Amazon Dash and Alexa forms part of Toshiba’s new ‘Smart Lounge’ experience, in which they aim to make the television the “forefront of home entertainment”.
Super-thin TVsToshiba also announced the launch of its thinnest ever TV - at just 2.5mm thick, the Wall Art model is designed to sit completely flush against the wall, creating a window-like effect with its 65 inch screen.
The Wall Art TV is not only designed for entertainment; it’s also meant to function as art for your lounge. With powerful 4K HDR, it should provide exceptionally clear images, color, and contrast - and when the TV is not in use, its ultra-thin design allows it to blend into your home decor seamlessly.
Toshiba has been able to make this model so thin by removing any of what they call “distracting hardware”, which means the TV relies on a separate sound box for audio, which connects via a “discrete” cable.
Aside from the Wall Art TV, Toshiba has also announced a new 65” inch bezel-less model, removing intrusive borders with a tiny 4mm frame.
The new TV is also able to boost picture quality in real-time, using Toshiba’s ‘Micro Dimming’ feature, which analyzes every TV frame as it plays, adjusting the light and dark areas of the picture for a more lifelike image.
As well as Micro Dimming, the bezel-less model is Dolby Vision-enabled, promising cinematic viewing in your home.
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced. The best Amazon Alexa deals in 2018
Philips new monitor range includes a massive, superwide 49-inch screen
Philips is showing off a large range of monitors at IFA 2018, and while there are plenty of stylish screens on show, there are also a few that really stand out from the crowd.
For example, the huge Philips 499P9H is a superwide curved screen that measures an immense 49-inches.
Its 32:9 aspect ratio fills your vision, and it comes with some nifty features, including a USB-C dock, Windows Hello-compatible webcam for logging into Windows 10 using facial recognition, and a ‘Zero Power Switch’ to save electricity.
Philips also showed off its 276C8, 278E9Q, and 328E9F monitors, which are ultra-slim frameless monitors that offer an ‘edgeless’ design that maximises screen real estate.
Philips is also offering a closer look at its Philips Momentum 436M6VBPAB monitor. This is the first screen in the Momentum series, which are monitors aimed at console gamers.
So, it offers 4K resolution, Quantum Dot technology, Adaptive Sync, 4ms response time and Ambiglow Lighting.
Here's our pick of the best monitor of 2018It’s also the first display in the world to achieve the VESA DisplayHDR 1000 standard, which offers more lifelike and vibrant images with increased brightness and depth.
Further information about these screens is a bit thin on the ground, but we’ll try to test some of them out while we’re at IFA 2018.
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
Toshiba launches its first ever 8K TV
Everyone’s talking about 8K TVs, and Toshiba is the latest mainstream brand to unveil an ultra HD model, as the company announced at Berlin’s IFA 2018 conference.
With four times the clarity of the 4K models you might have become used to in recent years, the new TV from Toshiba is said to deliver sharper and better-defined imagery than ever before.
What is 8K TV?8K TV is the clearest picture currently available, owing to a more dense concentration of pixels than 4K and Full HD models. This calls for a larger screen size (the new Toshiba model comes in at 65-inch), allowing for over 33 million pixels per screen - making it impossible to make out the individual pixels.
Toshiba TV Catalog 2018: here’s every Toshiba TV model coming in 2018Resolution-wise, this is sometimes referred to as 4320p, in the same way Full HD is known as 1080p, meaning 8K provides an unbelievably defined picture.
Welcome to the 'Smart Lounge'Toshiba has set out to “re-establish the TV as a go-to entertainment hub in its own right” by offering what it calls the "Smart Lounge experience".
Features include a remote control that allows you to browse channels without leaving what you are watching, as well as dedicated buttons for streaming services like Netflix, meaning you can switch from terrestrial TV in one click.
While prices and availability are yet to be confirmed for Toshiba’s new 8K TV, prices for 4K TVs currently on the market range between around $600 (around £470 / AU$825) at the lower end to over $4000 (around £3100 / AU$5500) for high-spec models - and we'd expect it to far exceed that upper pricing level.
IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.
Nikon D3500 vs D3400: 5 key differences you need to know
Given how much Nikon’s new Z system stands to shake up the mirrorless market, it’s perhaps unsurprising to see that it’s launched its new entry-level DSLR, the Nikon 3500 without too much of a fuss.
Even so, the new camera updates the hugely popular D3400, and the changes Nikon has made for this latest iteration mean the line should continue to be just as much of a smash with first-time users as it historically has been.
Here, we dive into the spec sheet to get a better idea of exactly what Nikon has changed between the two models.
Best entry-level DSLR 2018: 10 budget DSLRs perfect for the beginner Nikon D3500 vs Nikon D3400: sensorWhile the D3500 mirrors the D3400 in offering an effective pixel count of 24.2MP from a DX-format (APS-C) sensor without an optical low-pass filter, Nikon’s US press release states that this sensor is newly developed.
The spec sheet shows it to have 24.78MP in total, rather than the 24.72MP count of the D3400. Quite why Nikon has opted for a new sensor, and what that means, is unclear, but hopefully it'll lead to improvements in image quality.
Nikon D3500 vs Nikon D3400: battery lifeOne thing that sets the D3400 apart from its rivals is its battery life. While we normally find such models can persevere for around 600 or 700 frames on a single charge, the D3400 managed a staggering 1,200 frames (according to CIPA ratings).
As impressive as that was, Nikon has somehow managed to boost this to 1,550 frames per charge on the D3500, despite it using the same EN-EL14a battery. This represents a 30% increase, and will no doubt be appreciated by those shooting for a full day without easy access to a power point.
Nikon D3500 vs Nikon D3400: designThe D3500 brings some of the features that made the D5600 shine down to a cheaper price point. In the hands, the first difference you’ll notice is that the grip is more substantial, which should not only help with handling overall, but also when using longer and/or heavier lenses.
The rear plate has been revamped too. The buttons that line the left-hand side of the D3400's LCD have now migrated to around the top and right-hand side of the display on the D3500, with the info button that resides on the D3400’s top plate joining them.
Additionally, the live view button on the D3400’s rear is now a lever around the mode dial on the D3500's top plate. The only other difference is that the flash button from the D3400’s front plate has now crept around the back too.
Nikon D3500 vs Nikon D3400: size and weightThe D3500 shaves 30g off the weight of the D3400’s body, weighing 365g rather than its predecessor's 395g without a battery or memory card in place. This is a minor difference, and probably not one that will be appreciated in use, but it’s welcome all the same.
The D3500 has the same 124mm width as the model it updates, but it's 1mm shorter and 6mm thinner than the D3400, at 97mm and 69.5mm respectively. Again, those are hardly big figures, but even small incremental reductions in size will help the model to stay competitive against a slew of mirrorless rivals.
Nikon D3500 vs Nikon D3400: priceCost is a key factor for this market, so it’s welcome to see Nikon delivering the new model at a more attractive price point than before, at least in the US.
The D3400 was launched at $649 with its AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 VR optic, but the newer D3500 will land at just $499.95 with the same lens. Another kit option, which sees the camera bundled with both the aforementioned lens and AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED lenses, will be made available at a suggested retail price of $849.95 in September.
Pricing is somewhat different in the UK, however, with the £499 kit retail price actually slightly higher than the £490 price of the D3400. Those not fussed about VR can save £20 and grab it for £479 for the non-VR version, while those in the Australia can get the VR kit for AU$1,099.
Check out all the big tech announcements from IFA 2018
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