‘Something big’ is coming to the Google Pixel universe

Dovetailing with the first day of the Google I/O conference, the company will be holding an event on May 7th that will introduce “something big” into the Google Pixel universe. The associated video clip shows a promo for Avengers: Endgame-themed augmented reality stickers, but as Engadget points out, there should be more than that.  

Rumour has it that Google might launch Pixel 3a phones. The rumoured Pixel 3a reportedly has a 5.6-inch display with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 12-megapixel rear camera with the same Pixel Visual Core found in the high-end Pixel 3. There’s also supposedly a Pixel 3a XL that would push the screen to a 6-inch display and runs on a Snapdragon 710 processor. The goal supposedly for these new phones is to bring the essentials of the Pixel back down to a more affordable price. 

Facebook brings dark mode to all Messenger users

You no longer have to send a moon emoji to activate dark mode on your Facebook Messenger. The social network rolled out an update to all iOS and Android users to let them toggle dark mode on or off. Facebook joins a number of apps that offer this feature. And if this is something you’ve been waiting for, then it’s time to update your app.

‘All Digital’ version of the Microsoft Xbox One S gets leaked

A disc-free Xbox One might be coming in our immediate future. WinFuture got images of what’s being called the Xbox One S All Digital. This version is basically an Xbox One S without a Blu-ray drive. Instead, it comes with a 1TB hard drive (at least in Europe) and it also comes with preinstalled copies of Forza Horizon 3, Minecraft, and Sea of Thieves. We’re expecting this to launch as early as April 16^th and hit Europe by May 7^th. This time frame could be the same in other markets as well. The Xbox One S All Digital will reportedly be priced at €230 (around CA$350).

Source: Engadget

Acer launches built-for-creators ConceptD 9

At its Next@Acer Conference late last week, Acer launched a new line of products it’s targeting to creators called the ConceptD. One of the newest products here is the ConceptD 9 Creator Laptop. Its design is reminiscent of the Predator Triton 900, which was launched earlier this year at CES 2019. It has Acer’s Ezel Aero hinge that lets you pull the 17.3-inch screen closer to you over the keyboard. Acer partnered with IF Design to create products that focused on four principles: accurate colour reproduction, powerful performance, silent fans, and attractive design.

To fulfill this, the ConceptD 9 is Pantone validated, supports 100 percent of the Adobe RGB colour gamut, and has DetalE colour accuracy rating of less than one (the closer this number to zero is, the better). This allows graphic designers and photo editors to get colour accurate screen that can reproduce a wide variety of colours. It can run on up to the ninth-generation Intel Core i9 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 card. As expected it’s going to cost a lot at US$4,999 (around CA$6,600) and it’s expected to come out in June. We don’t have word if this will be making its way here yet.

Source: Engadget