Samsung has now released its latest earnings report, and things aren't looking rosy.

Profits for Samsung were down 56% compared to this time in 2018, marking a worrying slow in sales across its various electronics branches. Memory chips, specifically, have taken a hit, with slowing demand for high-end smartphones hitting Samsung double as a smartphone-maker and a supplier of parts to their main competitor, Apple's iPhone range.

While Samsung TVs still vastly outsell the competition – as the largest seller of TVs worldwide – the market is flooding with mid-range models increasingly able to deliver premium formats, 4K resolution, and HDR panels.

• 4K vs 8K: is it worth the upgrade?
• Check out the best 4K TVs 2019
• Foldable woes: see what went wrong in our Samsung Galaxy Fold review

Samsung specifically cites the "intensifying price competition", as well as "unfavorable foreign exchange rates [and] increasingly protective global trade practices", likely referring to the ongoing trade war between the US and China.

$5.6 billion operating profit isn't shabby, of course – it's certainly better than being in the red. But if the trend continues, it could spell trouble for one the world's biggest technology companies.

And, on the TV front, at least, Samsung is hoping 8K TVs can help prop up its 2019 profits, if the company manages to convince consumers that 8K is now a 'mainstream' proposition.

Save us, 8K!

One of the more curious suggestions in the earnings report is that Samsung can push its 8K TVs to help bounce back on profits – and all within 2019.

The profit margins on premium televisions tend to be bigger, though it's unclear how Samsung would cause a shift in buyer behavior here. 8K is still a fringe technology, largely for TV companies to flex muscles at each other while regular consumers continue to get their heads around 4K.

"Conditions in the TV market are expected to stay largely unchanged in the second half of 2019," said the report. "Samsung plans to maximize end-year sales through close cooperation with retail partners and cementing the 8K leadership by positioning QLED 8K TVs as mainstream TVs."

One thing to consider is that Samsung is also backing its own QLED horse, while swathes of other manufacturers make the switch from LED to OLED screens for their premium sets. While Samsung remains the market leader, it's also an outlier in this, and it's unclear whether consumers will end up choosing in Samsung's or someone else's favor in the long run.

• Check out the latest Samsung Q950R QLED 8K TV review

A few weeks ago when the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X and Ryzen 7 3700X launched, an issue showed up where you couldn't play Destiny 2 on the new chips. However, those dark days are over, as you can finally play the game again, thanks to a beta driver update. 

In a blog post titled "Let's Talk Clocks, Voltages and Destiny 2", AMD lays out some of the issues users have been facing with the 3rd Gen Ryzen chips. For instance, there are some changes to the way AMD Ryzen 3000 processors will report voltages, clock speeds and temperatures in order to make the CPU behavior easier to understand from a surface level. 

This is all delivered through a new chipset driver, version 1.07.29, which also features a workaround to get Destiny 2 players back in the game. 

• Take a journey through the wonderful world of PC components
• Pair a 3rd Gen Ryzen chip with the best graphics card
• Ryzen loves the best RAM

This issue with Destiny 2 became apparent right when the new processors hit the street. The game would not launch, and would instead sit in the background using up a negligible amount of CPU and memory resources. We installed this chipset driver on our own machine, and we can confirm it works. 

We should mention that the workaround for the Destiny 2 issue here is only a beta solution, and could potentially have some side effects down the road. For instance, some slowdowns have been reported, according to a post from Anandtech.

However, in the same AMD blog post, Team Red says more permanent BIOS updates are in the works, and should be made available via motherboard manufacturers as soon as they're stable – a process that may take a couple weeks. 

Growing pains

We said it back when the AMD Ryzen 3000 chips first started showing issues with Destiny 2, and we'll reiterate it again here: PC hardware launches always have some growing pains to get over. Still, it would have been nice to see this driver update launch much earlier – it's not a great feeling to jump on a $499 (£499, AU$789) Ryzen 9 3900X and not be able to play one of the biggest PC games on the market. 

Still, in the face of the supply issues faced by high-end Ryzen processors, there are likely a lot of people waiting to pick up one of these chips anyways. By the time that these chips are more widely available we're sure the BIOS updates will be available for download. 

If you picked up a Ryzen 3rd Generation processor early, however, you may as well download this driver, especially if you're trying to play some Destiny 2, especially as it gets ready for its free to play launch later this year. 

• We'll show you how to build a PC

We don't know what Nintendo was thinking, but 32GB of on-board storage for the Nintendo Switch was always going to cause problems for anyone picking up the hugely successful console. Thankfully, you can expand the storage via a MicroSD memory card deal. We're not wasting your time with one of the those dirt-cheap 16GB or 32GB cards either. Let's get serious. How does 400GB  sound?

These cards are also compatible with a huge range of smartphones and cameras (deals like this come with a standard sized SD adaptor too). And frankly, this is a superb deal today from one of the most reputable brands in the business. You can get a whopping 400GB card for just £67.19 (saving around £162 compared to launch price). We've found a similar deal in the States too where you can get the same card for $92.99 (saving $157).

This is one of the largest types of SD cards you can get that are compatible with the Nintendo Switch, cameras and smartphones. And given how severely the prices jump up for the larger 512GB cards, we think the 400GB offers significantly better value per gigabyte.

While there are a small handful of cheaper MicroSD cards out there. They're from brands we've never heard of to be honest and the write speeds on them seem really low compared to this SanDisk. You're getting up to 160MB/s read speed here, which you'll really appreciate when loading Nintendo Switch games, high-res images on your camera or booting up more intensive apps on your smartphone.

We've rounded up a wider selection of the best Nintendo Switch SD cards, but this is our favourite deal today. If you've still not picked up the super portable console, then head on over to our guide to the latest cheap Nintendo Switch deals.

With the pollution level rising at an alarming rate, air purifiers have emerged as one of the saviours to fight rising complications due to air pollution. Seeing the rise in demand, most home appliance brands have started manufacturing air purifiers which can cost you a premium. According to WHO, 4.3 million people die from being exposed to household air pollution. 

Every year, the risk of a rise in health-related issues increases especially during the festival of Diwali, acting as the major contributor to the growing PM levels. PM (Particulate matter) 2.5 is the term used to define the mixture of fine particles including dust, dirt, smoke and liquid having a diameter less than 2.5 microns so naturally, it cannot be seen through naked eyes.

While outdoor air pollution leads to serious health problems, indoor pollution is no less harmful than that. But, before you make that purchase, it’s necessary to look at some decisive factors like the room size, filter replacement charges, standard certification, noise levels, electricity consumption, etc. In this piece, we have listed some of the best air purifiers which you can use to stay void of such vulnerabilities.

1. Dyson Pure Hot + Cool

Perhaps the only air purifier with heater technology, the Dyson Pure Hot + Cool is a three-in-one solution that can be used throughout the year. It will throw a cool breeze at you in harsh summers while in winters, the same appliance will keep you and your room warm and cozy. In addition, the air purifier works simultaneously and is capable of clearing out over 99.95% pollutants, even as small as 0.1 microns. The vacuum-sealed HEPA filters are surrounded by activated carbon filters which remove gaseous odor.

Dyson Pure Hot + Cool has a robust built and feels premium when placed in any corner of the room. Its cylindrical design allows the purifier to oscillate upto 350-degrees. The air purifier can be controlled via Dyson Link app and certified by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Dyson Pure Hot + Cool is priced at Rs 54,900 in India.

2. Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2

Using ultra-dense Toray EPA filter, the Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier offers resistance from PM 2.5, pollen grains, dust and dirt particles and other allergic components. Equipped with a powerful aerodynamic system, the purifier provides a 310m3/h Clean Air Delivery Rate(CADR) and circulates pure air in 21m2 area in 10 minutes. The term CADR refers to the international standard for measuring the effectiveness of the air purifier.

The cylindrical shape of the purifier allows the filter to trap the air from 360 degrees. Its activated carbon filter promises to filter harmful gases and bad odor from the air. It also comes with a smart control system which allows users to control the purifier with their smartphone using the Mi Home App. The system also keeps a check on the filter and alerts the user when it needs to be replaced. Priced at Rs. 8,999, the purifier works silently with 58 percent less energy consumption. So, Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2 is an affordable smart device.

Buy  Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2 for Rs 8,999 @ Amazon 

Buy  Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2 for Rs 8,999 @ Flipkart

3. Honeywell Air Touch HAC35M1101G

Honeywell Air Touch has a 3D airflow function which takes in air from the sides and bottom and releases pure air from the top. With 300 m3/h CADR, the purifier covers up to 450 square feet area which makes it suitable for living rooms and bedrooms. Equipped with a multi-layer air purification system, the purifier comes with three filters including Pre-filter, HEPA and the company’s own patented- HiSiv filter.

While the Pre-filter removes the PM 10, pet dander and hair particles, the HEPA filter purifies the passing air by removing bacteria, viruses and PM 2.5 particles. The HiSiv filter further improves the air quality by removing odors, formaldehyde and VOC which is indicated on the LCD from time to time. The highlight of the purifier is that it is 100 percent ozone free, which means it does not emit harmful gases as the by-product of the filtration process. In addition to this, the pre-filter is washable and does not require an engineer to change it.

The purifier is available in Champagne Gold and Classic White color variants at a price tag of Rs 25,990.

Buy Honeywell Air Touch HAC35M1101G for Rs 19,500 @ Amazon

Buy Honeywell Air Touch HAC35M1101G at for 19,500 @ Flipkart

4. Kent Aura

The well-known water purifier company, Kent stepped into the air purifier market with its Kent Aura air purifier. Priced at Rs 15,990, the purifier comes with HEPA filter which removes bacteria and PM 2.5 and SPM particles from the air. Similar to the Honeywell purifier mentioned above, this one also has an activated carbon filter which removes bad odor from the air. Also, to further improve the air quality, Kent has equipped the purifier with an inbuilt ionizer which traps the pollutants either on an electrically charged collection plate or forces them to stick to the surface of the walls of the room.

Having a 180 m3/h CADR rate, the purifier is suitable for small spaces of up to 270 square feet. The Kent Aura air purifier has a LED display which indicates the air quality level in three colors, blue for excellent, pink for good and red for poor. Apart from this, there are three different speed levels and has an 8-hour timer function. So, if you are looking for an air purifier for a small area at a reasonable price, then this will meet up to your requirement.

Buy Kent Aura at Rs 11,206 @ Amazon

Buy Kent Aura at Rs 10,950 @ Flipkart

5. Philips 3000 series (AC3256/20)

The purifier comes with Vitashield IPS technology which can remove particles of up to 0.02-micron size which is more than 100 times smaller than the normal PM 2.5. With its numerical indicator and 4 color AQI lights, the purifier provides the real-time PM levels in the air. Its special Allergen Mode claims that it can remove 99.97 percent common airborne allergens including the H1N1 virus. The purifier automatically boosts its cleaning performance when it detects any change in the quality of the air.

The purifier has an extra NanoProtect HEPA and AC filter having a CADR rate of 367m3/h which makes it suitable for an area of 95m2. Apart from this, the AeraSense technology of the purifier calculates the life of the filter and also alerts the user about the replacement of the same. Not only this, it automatically stops working if the filter is not replaced on time. It also features a sleep mode which turns down the speed of the fan of the product resulting in noise level of 33db. Users can also adjust the light indicators accordingly in the sleep mode. Philips has priced the product at Rs 32,995 which is a little pricier than the ones listed above but it looks better and offers some extra features if you want to look beyond the basics.

So, with the capacity of tracing the minute particles including virus-like H1N1, the Philips 3000 series (AC3256/20) is a product that you would love to own.

Buy Philips 3000 series (AC3256/20) at Rs 26,487 @ Amazon

Buy Philips 3000 series (AC3256/20) at Rs 23,950 @ Flipkart

6. Philips 2000 series (AC2887/20)

It won't be wrong if we say that this purifier is the cheaper variant of the above mentioned 3000 series. It serves to clean the air of comparatively smaller area varying from 24 to 41m2. Using the similar Vitasheild IPS technology and NanoProtect filter, the purifier promises to deliver the CADR rate of up to 344m3/h, remove ultra-fine particles, harmful gases, bacteria, virus and odor. 

Users can also check the life of the filter as it comes with the company's AeraSense technology, which indicates filter replacement alert. The key feature is that it reduces the noise level to 20.5db in the silent mode, allowing users to have a noise-free and comfortable sleep at night.

The purifier comes with a price tag of Rs 22,995 which is 10k cheaper than the 3000 series.

Buy Philips 2000 series (AC2887/20) at Rs 19,220 @ Amazon

Buy Philips 2000 series (AC2887/20) at Rs 15,999 @ Flipkart

7. Sharp FP-FM40E 33-watt air purifier

Equipped with Sharp’s Plasmacluster technology, the air purifier is the world’s first air purifier with mosquito catcher. The company’s patented technology emits ions which destroy the chemical pollutants and neutralizes the harmful VOC and toxic gases, thus purifying the indoor air. The mosquito catcher uses the non-toxic mechanisms along with a glue sheet which captures the mosquitoes to reduce the possibility of getting bitten.

The purifier also comes with an H14 HEPA filter which captures 99.97 percent of dust particles of 0.3 microns and can last for up to 2 years. With the highest CADR rate in its category, the purifier is certified by 28 global labs for safety and effectiveness.

In other words, apart from giving pure air, this device protects you against deadly mosquitoes. You can buy this air purifier from Amazon India at Rs 25,999.

Buy Sharp FP-FM40E 33-watt air purifier at Rs 25,999 @ Amazon                       

8. Blueair Classic 480i

The Blueair Classis 480i air purifier improves the air quality by removing harmful pollutants, allergy and asthma causing virus. The highlight of the device is its Wi-Fi connectivity with integrated quality sensors which allow users to connect the purifier with any smart device and monitor the air quality level using the Blueair Friend app. This not only allows the user to control the purifier from a distance but also provides the tips to improve the air quality inside. In addition to this, the app allows the user to control functions like child mode, night mode, operating speed, etc.

Using the Blueair HEPASilent Technology, the purifier removes all the airborne pollutants ensuring superior quality of air to the users. It comes with a digital control panel which not only indicates the Wi-Fi and filter status but also informs about the VOC and PM 2.5 levels. The purifier is designed to work in an area of 434 square feet with the CADR level of up to 510m3/h.

You can buy the device from Amazon India at Rs 45,695.

9. Honeywell Lite Indoor HAC20M1000W-48watt

Making way to the list is another air purifier from the well-known brand, Honeywell. Known as the Honeywell Lite Indoor air purifier, the device comes with a three-stage advanced filtration process including Pre-filter, HEPA and Activated Carbon which removes more than 99 percent pollutants, PM 2.5 particles, pollen, bacteria, virus, formaldehyde, odor and toxic gases.

With a CADR rate of 210m3/h, the purifier can clean the air of up to 315 square feet of area in just 20 minutes. It comes with filter replacement and LED air quality indicator and offers functions like sleep mode, child lock, auto timer and 3 mode fan speed control.

Priced at Rs 19,990, the purifier offers approximately 2200 hours of filter life, a noise level of up to 49.5db and is available in Snow White colour variant.

Buy Honeywell Lite Indoor HAC20M1000W-48watt at Rs 12,950 @ Amazon 

10. Panasonic F-PXF35MKU (D)

Last but not the least, is the Panasonic F-PXF35MKU (D) air purifier which comes with 3D circulation airflow with nano purification system. Also, the 3D circulation airflow is divided into two modes namely, Side Airflow and Front Airflow to remove pollutants.

The highlight of the device is that its filter consists of Super Alleru-buster, Green Tea Catechin and Anti-bacterial Enzyme which can remove 17 kinds of virus, bacteria and up to 99 percent of allergens.

Apart from this, it has a sleep mode, auto mode and can work in an area of up to 283 square feet. The purifier is priced at Rs 14,897 on Amazon India.

Buy Panasonic F-PXF35MKU (D) at Rs 14,897 @ Amazon

The summer savings are out in force today and we're super stoked to see the new Apple AirPods' prices tumble down for both the standard version and the fancier option with a wireless charging case. 

So if you've been waiting for a great AirPod deal, today's you're lucky day. Amazon has taken the lion's share of the deals in both the US and UK, but Walmart is getting stuck in too. You can get the standard 2019 AirPods from just $144.99 in the US, while in the UK, they're down to a very tempting £149. And while those are great prices, we've found discounts for the versions with the wireless charging case that are arguably even better value.

The Apple AirPods come with a charging case that provides 20 hours of battery life and up to three hours of talk time on a single charge. The truly wireless earbuds received an upgraded H1 Chip that results in faster pairing and seamless connectivity. The H1 chip also allows you to use your voice to ask Siri questions. You can adjust the volume, skip songs, and even make calls completely hands-free.

Discounts on AirPods are extremely rare, so while the discount percentages might not seem like much, these are fantastic deals for the Apple earbuds. We don't know how much longer Amazon and Walmart will have the AirPods on sale, so you should take advantage while you can.

US Apple AirPod deals:

UK Apple AirPod deals:

See more Apple AirPod deals with the cheapest AirPod prices, sales and deals that are currently going on. Interested in other wireless headphones? We also have the best cheap wireless headphone deals and sales.

Learn more about Apple's wireless earbuds with our Apple AirPods (2019) review.

The global smartphone market slipped 1.2% year on year in the second quarter to 360m units, mainly due to the declining Chinese market.

According to Counterpoint Research, the decline was for the seventh consecutive quarter while China alone accounted for over one-fourth of the global smartphone shipments.

Samsung benefited from the US-China trade war with a 7.1% growth to 76.6m and capturing more than one-fifth of the global smartphone market share.

Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, said that Samsung has completely overhauled its product portfolio this year with its ‘A and M’ series, targeting the sub $300 price segment aggressively.

“The flagship ‘S’ series, which Samsung launched three devices instead of the usual two, covering wider price points, also continued to do well. Samsung was also one of the first OEMs to launch a 5G device – S10 5G, which remains popular in the 5G adopting countries,” he said.

After Samsung, Huawei, Oppo and ZTE launched its 5G devices.

The research company expects more than 20 million 5G devices to be shipped this year.

Huawei to face bumpy road ahead

On the other hand, Huawei, which is at the epicentre of the US-China trade war, registered a 4.6% growth during the quarter to 56.7m units, capturing a 16% market share.

Pathak said that the effect of the US ban in May did not translate into falling shipments during this quarter but it will not be the case in the future.

Speaking to TechRadar Middle East, he said that Huawei’s shipments during the second quarter were on parallel with the first quarter but the vendor did a brisk business in China compared to overseas markets.

“The uncertainty of the US ban remains as nothing on the supply chain is official yet. The chipset and component outsourcing might not be a critical factor for Huawei but the Google OS is the critical part.  It has to be seen about the refresh Mate series by the end of the year,” he said.

In the coming quarters, he said that Huawei is likely to be aggressive in its home market and register some growth there, but it will not be enough to offset for the decline in its overseas shipments.

“This will further lead to the decline of the overall smartphone market in 2019. However, the gap created in the market by Huawei gives a window of opportunity to other OEMs, especially Samsung, to leverage,” he said.

However, the real effect of trade sanctions on Huawei will be felt in the third quarter and shipments in overseas markets are estimated to register a steep decline.

Marketing muscle 

Quoting a survey conducted by the research firm in Europe, Pathak said that 40% of the people are still cool about Huawei and most expect positive for the brand.

“They [Huawei] can increase the capex of the brand by increasing warranty to two years and after-sales service. In China, the demand for Huawei phones has increased amid a slight decline in sales in other parts while consumers are upbeat about the brand,” he said.

Huawei is a brand with great marketing muscle to overcome any uncertainty in the mind of the consumers with great marketing campaigns, he said and added that things will become clear within two to three months and if Google deal does not go through, Huawei will become more aggressive going forward.

Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone shipments fell 11.9% to 36.4m, a third consecutive quarter of decline.

“Amid the slowdown in China and likely launch of 5G capable iPhone in 2020, Apple will have to concentrate its efforts on emerging markets,” he said.

Pathak said the highlight of the quarter was Realme, a subsidiary of BBK Electronics, entering the top 10 for the first time.

Realme recorded 848% year-on-year growth in the quarter, albeit from a small base to 4.7m units.

BBK...second-largest smartphone manufacturer

BBK is now the second-largest smartphone manufacturer globally after Samsung. BBK houses Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus and Realme.

Realme recorded 848% year-on-year growth in the quarter to 4.7m units.

The combined global smartphone market share of Chinese majors Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Realme reached 42% in the second quarter, the highest ever.

 “It took only a year for Realme to achieve this feat. This is one of the fastest ramp-ups. Strong performance in India and expansion overseas drove its growth,” he said.

• Honor forays into television space in bid to expand its smart devices portfolio
• Huawei’s first-half revenue up 23.2% despite US sanctions
• Honor eyes 4.5m smartphone sales in Middle East and African markets this year
• Higher price, fewer models and brands pose challenge to adoption of 5G smartphones in Gulf

This is a bit of an unusual one – we may have just seen actual photos of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, with the iPhone 11R apparently reflected in the screen.

Shared by @UniverceIce, who obtained the shots from an “unknown leaker”, we can be fairly confident at least of the Galaxy Note 10 Plus part, as the name of the phone is actually visible on the screen.

We’d still take it with a pinch of salt, but this close to the handset’s August 7 announcement, and with the images – complete with a punch-hole camera and seemingly hardly any bezel - matching previous leaks, it’s very likely this is the real deal.

• The Google Pixel 4 is also on the way
• See what we thought of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
• Read our full Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review

The iPhone 11R bit we’re less sure about, as that’s further from launch and we can’t make it out super clearly in these images, though whatever phone it is does appear to have the rumored square camera block, along with something covering the spot that would probably house an Apple logo.

If this is the iPhone 11R – or whatever it launches as – then the main thing to be taken from the image, beyond the redesigned camera, is the gold shade it appears to be in, suggesting that’s likely to be one of the launch colors.

That launch is still a while away though, as the iPhone 11 range probably won’t land until September. In the meantime though there’s plenty of Samsung stuff on the way, not just the Galaxy Note 10 range, but also the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2.

• Check out the best smartphones available

Via TME

Lensbaby has made a name for itself crafting offbeat lens options, with its psychedelic images characterized by sweet spots that quickly blend into trippy, blurred peripheries. 

The company has done a stellar job of catering for users of various DSLR and mirrorless marques, and now the company is adding two more, with the announcement that many of its most popular models are to be available in Canon EOS R and Nikon Z mounts.

• Thinking of moving to mirrorless? Check our our Canon EOS RP review
• Need to accessorize? Here are 23 essential bits of kit for your camera 
• Read our in-depth Lensbaby Sol 45 review

The Portland-based company has confirmed that the Sol 45mm f/3.5, Trio 28mm f/3.5, Composer Pro II, Velvet 56mm f/1.6 and Velvet 85mm f/1.8 will be available in both Canon EOS R and Nikon Z fits.

Currently, those wishing to use existing Canon EF- or Nikon F-mount Lensbabies with their newer mirrorless bodies can do so via lens adapters available for both new mirrorless systems.

That's great for older options like the Control Freak and Spark, which aren't currently available in these new mounts, although these fresh options have the advantage of negating the need for adapters.

US Lensbaby fans can order the new optics from the company's website, while those in the UK can get them from Wex Photo Video.

• The best F-mount lenses for Nikon Z cameras

Just a day after it seemed Nikon was readying its much-coveted – but still not actually available – NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct for release, the company has confirmed that another of its promised lenses will be with us shortly.

The Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S is the longest prime lens for the Z mount so far, and one of four fresh lenses that have been promised before the end of the year. 

• Read our in-depth Nikon Z7 review
• The 5 best F-mount lenses for Nikon Z cameras
• What cameras are coming? The best camera rumors right now

Nikon makes some grand clams for its new lens, including exceptional sharpness to the corners of the frame at even its widest f/1.8 aperture. This has been achieved through a fresh optical design that sees 12 elements arranged over eight groups, with two extra-low dispersion elements to combat chromatic aberration and Nano Crystal Coat technology to help banish flare and ghosting.

Also helping to control flare and ghosting is a round hood that ships with the lens as standard, while nine-diaphragm blades inside the lens should ensure that bokeh is nice and smooth. 

And while there's no image stabilization inside the lens, users of the current Nikon Z6 and Z7 already have this in their camera bodies, which should make shooting with the lens at slow shutter speeds possible.

Much like the other two prime lenses in the line, the NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S has a streamlined, minimal design, with a deep control ring that can be customized to perform manual focus, aperture adjustment or other tasks, together with a switch that flicks between autofocus and manual modes. The body also has a dust and drip-proof design to keep its insides protected.

Primed for video

While the lens will be a natural choice for portraiture, Nikon is also keen to highlight its suitability for video work, with an ultra-quiet focus motor and minimized focus breathing, along with its de-clicked control ring for the adjustment of key settings during video recording. 

Right now, the lens is only compatible with the Z6 and Z7 models that were announced last year, although Nikon is rumored to be working on both entry-level and pro-grade bodies to expand its Z-series lineup.

• 9 things you should know about using prime lenses 

Aside from the NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, the company is due to release the 24mm f/1.8 S and 70-200mm f/2.8 S lenses, both of which are still under development. That will make a total of nine native lenses for the line, with many more in the works for 2020.

The NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S is due to arrive in September, priced at $799.95 in the US and £799 in the UK. Pricing for Australia hasn't yet been confirmed.

• The 10 best mirrorless cameras right now

Black Shark, one of the early names in smartphone gaming brands has announced the Black Shark 2 Pro at an event in Beijing. The successor to the Black Shark 2 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset and has got a revamped design. It looks more futuristic than ever and comes in a bunch of new colour options including  electric black, ice ash, blue, orange, purple.

Mr. Peter Wu, CEO of Black Shark Technology, said “Black Shark will take the advantage of the gaming phone, user habits and multi-typing gaming optimization schemes as the breakthrough, to create a gaming open platform. At the same time, Black Shark will open the actively optimized portal for game producers, which can jointly improve the player’s gaming experience.”

Black Shark 2 Pro will be available to buy in China from August 2. It starts from CNY 2,999 (~ ₹30,000) for the variant with 128GB storage and CNY 3,499 (~₹35,000) for 256GB storage.

• Also Read: Asus ROG Phone II hands-on

Black Shark 2 Pro specifications

The Black Shark 2 Pro features a 6.39-inch Full HD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) AMOLED display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The screen is calibrated to reproduce 100% of DCI-P3 colour gamut. It is also the first phone to have a 240Hz touch response rate with 34.7ms latency. However, the screen only supports 60Hz refresh rate. In comparison, the recently announced Asus ROG Phone II has a 120Hz panel though the touch latency is slightly higher at 49ms.

The body of the phone is made from aluminum and measures 10.07mm at its highest point and weighs in at 205g.

Black Shark 2 Pro is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset which was unveild earlier this month. The 855+ has been overclocked to 2.96GHz and is paired with Adreno 640 GPU. This is backed  by12GB RAM with 128GB/256GB storage options.

It has a dual-camera setup which consists of a primary 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor and a 12MP telephoto lens which enables 2x optical zoom. There’s a 20MP camera on the front for selfies.

The phone is fitted with stereo speakers and there’s a fingerprint sensor under the display.

Black Shark 2 Pro comes with 4,000mAh battery which supports 27W fast charging.

• Also Read: Sony launches it's premium Master Series A9G Bravia OLED TV in India

The Samsung Galaxy Fold has been on a bumpy road since being announced in February (literally, as it got recalled for durability issues) but it looks like the end is in sight, because a new rumored release date is just around the corner.

According to Korean site The Investor, which has published previous Galaxy Fold rumors before, the foldable phone will be available between September 18-20 in the US and Korea, with a global rollout to follow.

• This is what we're expecting in the new iPhone 11
• This is what we thought of the Samsung Galaxy Fold
• What upcoming foldable phones are we expecting?

We'd previously heard rumors that the folding handset would be released in September, but this is the most precise date range we've had so far, and it's likely that Samsung officials have a good idea of the release date.

Apple's probably not too happy with the release date though, as that's exactly when we were expecting to see the company unveil the new iPhone 11.

We normally see the newest iPhone generation launched at the beginning of September, but we're expecting it to be a little bit later than previous years in 2019 thanks to consumer tech event IFA 2019 running until September 11, which will likely cause Apple to push back its launch event.

So which will consumers on the market pick, a brand new iPhone 11, or the intriguing Samsung Galaxy Fold? While iPhones are incredibly expensive, we're still expecting the Galaxy Fold to double a standard iPhone's price tag, so Apple will probably win this fight. 

But as the device uses brand new tech, people with the money to splash may just do so on the Galaxy Fold (which is hopefully now durable enough to withstand it).

• A third Samsung foldable could be on the way

There are whispers on the grapevine that Google is thinking of switching its servers over from Intel to AMD, which would obviously be a huge win for the latter.

Before we get too carried away, though, bear firmly in mind that this is merely speculation from an analyst firm.

As Seeking Alpha highlighted, Lynx Equity Research is the company in question, with its analysts hearing ‘rumblings’ that Google is no longer happy with Intel’s server hardware.

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Moreover, the analyst firm has floated the notion that its research into the supply chain indicates that AMD server boards are being made for Google, to back up the broad assertion.

If this prediction comes true, the gravity of this can’t be underestimated for AMD, given the sheer weight of number of servers that Google has (Google is obviously one of the biggest server heavyweights out there, probably vying for the top spot with Microsoft, although exact figures aren’t clear). Not to mention the general signal this will give off to the server buying world.

Remember that server CPUs are where the real money is to be made, not consumer chips (although in the latter, AMD is already squeezing out Intel by all accounts).

Epyc gains

AMD has made big strides with its ‘Rome’ second-gen Epyc server processors, which are set to be launched in August, with other analysts previously picking out these CPUs and the data center market as a particular strong point for AMD with its new 7nm products.

Epyc offers 64-cores and 128-threads per socket, not to mention that crucially, for the business market, AMD’s chips have been seen to have less security issues than Intel’s in recent times.

Of course, even if Google is switching across to AMD as suggested, that shift will happen slowly (likely very slowly) over time. And Intel will doubtless want to fight back, and fight back hard – it’s already rumored to be doing so in the consumer market with a purported 10-core Comet Lake CPU to take on AMD’s new Ryzen 9 3900X.

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Via PC GamesN

Samsung is announcing its next tablet later today, and the company has also confirmed it will be introducing a new smartwatch next week.

August 5 is the big day for the next smartwatch from Samsung, and it's expected to be called the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. That device has been leaked consistently over the past few months.

Samsung will be sharing all of the details at 10AM ET (7AM PT, 3PM BST or midnight ACT on August 6 for those in Australia) come August 5, but it's currently unclear if there will be a live event or if it will just announce the product on its website.

• Our review of the original Galaxy Watch Active
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This news all comes from a 20 second teaser video on Samsung's website that doesn't outright confirm the Galaxy Watch Active 2's name, but the brief glimpses make it look similar to the last-gen watch.

The video description reads, "Say hello to the new Galaxy Watch, your assistant to keep you fit and on top of your day."

A lot of the design elements are expected to be similar between the original Galaxy Watch Active and this next-gen version, but new rumored features include an ECG monitor as well as a 4G variant.

If you're waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, it's still expected we'll hear about that at Samsung's Unpacked event on August 7.

• We're set to see the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 today