Technology

There are many laptop makers in the market today, but it looks like we can now take Toshiba off that list as the company has quietly announced that they are exiting the laptop business. The company has revealed that they have since transferred all of their remaining stake in its personal computing business over to Sharp.

Toshiba’s exit shouldn’t really come as a surprise if you have been following the news. Back in 2018, the company had actually sold 80.1% of its personal computer business to Sharp, and now it looks like Sharp will pretty much own all of it while Toshiba will stop selling laptops completely.

Sony reported its fiscal first quarter results last week covering the three months to 30 June 2020. The actual performance for Sony's mobile business was not that interesting – Sony shipped 0.8 million smartphones, a slight decline from the 0.9 million units sold in the same period last year. Sony's latest flagship, the Xperia 1 II only launched in select regions towards the end of this quarter, so it wouldn't have impacted the results in any significant way.

Fujifilm is known for their high-end mirrorless cameras like the X-Pro3, X-T4, and the X-H1. However, these cameras aren’t cheap and if you are a fan of Fujifilm but don’t want to break the bank, you might be interested to learn that the company could actually have a new mid-range camera in the works.

Apart from the cameras we mentioned above, the company does have some mid-range cameras like the X-T30 and the X-E3, but according to a report from Fuji Rumors, they have heard from their sources that apparently Fujifilm has two new mid-range cameras in the works, and that at least one of those cameras will be part of a brand new lineup.

It used to be that when it came to noise cancelling headphones, Bose would be the default choice for many. However, these days Sony is absolutely killing it and its WH1000 series has become a new fan favorite. In fact, if you’re looking for a new pair of noise cancelling headphones, Sony has unveiled their new headphones – the WH1000XM4.

These are the latest noise cancelling headphones from the company that carries on the tradition of their WH1000 lineup. While the design of the headphones looks like its predecessor, the changes made are mostly under the hood. According to Sony, some of the upgrades they’ve made includes a new Bluetooth audio system on a chip that apparently analyzes music and surrounding noise at a rate of 700 times per second.

Want to get a full frame mirrorless camera? Unfortunately, full frame mirrorless cameras aren’t exactly cheap and Sony’s A7 is probably the cheapest you can expect from the company. However, that might not necessarily be the case in the future, at least according to Sony Alpha Rumors.

The publication is claiming that come September, Sony is expected to announce an entry-level full frame mirrorless camera that will be part of its mirrorless lineup. The naming of this camera is unclear, but it has been speculated to be called either the A5 or the A6, which kind of makes sense given that Sony’s mirrorless lineup consists of the A7 and A9 series.

One of the upsides of using Android is the ability to use custom launchers. Unlike iOS where users are more or less stuck with what Apple has given them, Android allows for a greater degree of customization.

If you’re not planning on rooting your Android device, launchers are a great way to customize your device without getting too technical and are usually safe and won’t mess up your phone.

On video platforms like YouTube or media apps like VLC, users are able to control the playback speed of their videos. They can slow things down or they can speed it up. The good news for Netflix users is that if you were hoping to get these kind of controls, you’ll be pleased to learn that it is now happening.

If you watch Netflix on Android, the company has recently confirmed that they are rolling out support for playback speed controls. This will let users speed up videos by 1.25x or 1.5x, or slow down videos by 0.5x or 0.75x. However, it seems that these settings will not be saved and users will need to manually speed up or slow down their videos with every video watched.

This is why it doesn’t really come as a surprise to learn that Microsoft has since announced that they will be shutting down the Cortana apps on both iOS and Android. According to Microsoft, “As we make this shift toward a transformational AI-powered assistant experience in Microsoft 365, we need to adjust our focus areas of innovation and development to give our customers assistance where they need it most. As a result, we are making changes to some U.S. consumer-centric features and functionalities with lower usage.”

This doesn’t mean that Microsoft is done with Cortana or that they are killing it off entirely. Instead Cortana will continue to live on within iOS and Android, but it will live on by being integrated within Microsoft’s 365 apps, so if you really have to use Cortana, you’ll still be able to access it within these apps.

Now, these aren’t actually new TVs and have been announced before, but according to Sony, these are the TVs that you should consider if you want to get the most out of your PS5 gaming experience. This includes the X900H 4K HDR Full Array LED and Z8H 8K HDR Full Array LED models.

So what about these TV models that makes them better suited for the PS5? According to Sony, “’Ready for PlayStation 5′ TV models also boast Game Mode, which allows users to automatically play games on the PS5 with low latency. Thanks to Game Mode, users can wake both the TV and PS5 at once with the DualSense wireless controller, and also seamlessly control their PS5 using just the TV remote.”

One of the new features that Google is bringing to Android 11 are Bubbles. The concept of chat heads isn’t new and we’ve seen Facebook use it with Messenger in the past, but with Android 11, Google is bringing it about in a big way. In fact, according to 9to5Google, it seems that Google could be bringing its Assistant feature to Bubbles.

According to an APK teardown, they found evidence that suggests that Google is working on something called Assistant Chat Head. Similar to Bubbles, it shows how Google Assistant can float about on the Android home screen like a contact that you’re chatting with. For now, tapping on it summons Google Assistant.

Yesterday it was reported that Studio MDHR’s indie hit Cuphead could be headed for the PS4. This was due to the fact that the game was spotted on the PSN Store, hinting at its arrival. The good news for those who have been looking forward to the game is that it looks like Cuphead is officially here and is already available for purchase.

The game is priced at $20 and gamers who are interested can head on over to the PlayStation Store to get their hands on it. That being said, the developers have also announced that as a thank you to Microsoft for helping them with the game, they have also announced a free special update exclusive to Xbox gamers.

Sony has released an exciting new firmware update for Xperia 1 II (Mk2) owners, adding RAW support across all three of its rear camera lenses when using the Photo Pro app. Build version 58.0.A.3.88 is currently rolling out to select regions for the single SIM variant (XQ-AT51) including Russia, US and carriers including O2 UK and Orange in Europe. There is no update for the dual SIM variant (XQ-AT52) at the time of writing, though this should follow shortly.

When Cuphead was launched, it was initially exclusive to Microsoft’s Xbox and Windows platforms. However, the good news for non-Xbox gamers is that if you own a PS4 and were hoping to see the game released for your console, you might be pleased to learn that your wish could be granted.

This is because some gamers have spotted a listing for the game on PSN. However, it seems that the listing was for international PSN Stores, but we imagine that if it is released, it should be available globally. There is no word on when it will be launching, but given its listing, we imagine that it should be soon enough.

If you’re just a casual photographer, there’s a very low chance that you might encounter an issue where your camera overheats. This usually happens to more professional photographers who might take photos non-stop or who record lengthy videos in high resolution. However, it seems that Canon might have an answer to that problem.

In a patent discovered by Canon News, it looks like Canon’s answer to cameras overheating would be to create a lens adapter that comes with an active cooling system that will help keep the camera cool during operation. How this works is that this lens adapter will feature vents on the top and a fan on the bottom.