NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Restocks: Where and when to purchase your new graphics card

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X may be getting a lot of retail spotlight, but there’s another piece of gaming hardware that shouldn’t be missed this holiday shopping season–the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. NVIDIA’s newest, super-powerful graphics card has been getting a lot of buzz around the web, but there’s just been one problem… trying to buy one! While PC gamers have been faring better on getting the RTX 3080 than console gamers, the limited stock has still been a real issue with the card. We’ve compiled everything we know about the GeForce RTX 3080 restocks below!

Understanding the GeForce RTX 30 Series

Before getting into the restocks, it’s worth taking a minute to talk about the RTX 30 Series, NVIDIA’s latest graphic cards line. Of the line, there are four cards: the RTX 3060 Ti, the RTX 3070, the RTX 3080, and finally the GeForce RTX 3090. In short, the higher the number, the more powerful the graphics card.

The GeForce RTX 3090 is the most powerful of the new Series 30 graphic cards, but the RTX 3080 is the most popular of the bunch. This is because the GeForce RTX 3080 is the best value for the specs you get. The RTX 3080 is a perfect blend of technological improvements and cost-effectiveness, making it the most in-demand card. The 3090 may be more powerful, but the price will scare most of the consumer base off. You may also need better components, like a beefier power supply, which also puts off prospective buyers.

With that, we focus on GeForce RTX 3080 restocks for this article, but you should be able to follow any Series 30 graphics card at the same retailers.

When and where will the GeForce RTX 3080 be restocked?

While we believe the information below is accurate, it’s important to note that sometimes restocks don’t happen as planned. Restocks may go up late, websites may break, or retailers may just change their minds. This information is to help you plan for possible restocks.

There are multiple versions of the GeForce RTX 3080 on the market for you to pick up, but… well, they’re all sold out right now! You might see some RTX 3080 models “on sale” at places like Amazon, but these will be third-party sellers. PC Gamer reports that this is a problem plaguing much of this year’s PC hardware releases, with similar shortages on AMD graphic cards and new processors. It’s just a rough go of it all around.

Unfortunately, there’s just not a lot of information out there about when the GeForce RTX 3080 will restock. The graphics cards have seen the occasional restock since its initial release, but they usually don’t have much of a warning. Tom’s Hardware reports that the inability to restock has to do with chip shortages and other materials being in short supply. At this time, all we can do is wait and see. If we learn more, we’ll be sure to update this post!

One of the best chances to get the 3080 at this time is if you buy a pre-built PC with the RTX 3080 in it, such as the Alienware Aurora R11 or the ABS Gladiator. Of course, if you’re just looking to upgrade your rig and don’t want a whole new PC, this is far from the best option.

If you absolutely need an RTX 3080 by Christmas, StockX is always an option. With the inflated prices, though, I’d recommend you get by with an older graphics cards and just wait for retailers to restock.

General advice for restocks

Trying to get your hands on something with limited stock is really, really stressful. Make sure to give yourself the best chance you can by following the advice below!

• Make sure you have an account at the store, and all personal information is updated. Restocks put huge strains on websites. On top of that, retailers will only allow you to hold it in your cart for a few minutes, if even that long, when it comes to items like this. Don’t waste your chance trying to update your address or payment information!
• Start refreshing the page early. Often, retailers won’t put stock up at EXACTLY the moment they say. It may be a few minutes early or late. Get to the store page of the item you want before the restock time. You might get lucky!
• Use Ctrl+F5, not just F5. This gives you a hard refresh that doesn’t pull store information from the cache. So, you won’t get outdated information and will be able to see the “Buy” button as soon as possible!
• It’s usually better to be on the computer rather than your phone. While that is not always the case, mobile websites aren’t always optimized for fast refreshing. Or optimized for mobile viewing at all, sometimes. However, sometimes you can have better luck on a mobile app than a browser site. It’s not very often, though, so it’s best to start trying with your computer browser first.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Store Links

Generally, the GeForce RTX 3080 restocks are only going to happen online, as many typical retailers will not be stocking this in-store. Here is a handy list of retailers that you can check!

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• NVIDIA
• Newegg
• Office Depot/Office Max
• Walmart
• StockX

Unless you have specific and reliable information on an offline retailer stocking up on the card, we would advise against physically visiting a store just to check.

The post NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Restocks: Where and when to purchase your new graphics card appeared first on xda-developers.

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Restocks: Where and when to purchase your new graphics card

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X may be getting a lot of retail spotlight, but there’s another piece of gaming hardware that shouldn’t be missed this holiday shopping season–the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. NVIDIA’s newest, super-powerful graphics card has been getting a lot of buzz around the web, but there’s just been one problem… trying to buy one! While PC gamers have been faring better on getting the RTX 3080 than console gamers, the limited stock has still been a real issue with the card. We’ve compiled everything we know about the GeForce RTX 3080 restocks below!

Understanding the GeForce RTX 30 Series

Before getting into the restocks, it’s worth taking a minute to talk about the RTX 30 Series, NVIDIA’s latest graphic cards line. Of the line, there are four cards: the RTX 3060 Ti, the RTX 3070, the RTX 3080, and finally the GeForce RTX 3090. In short, the higher the number, the more powerful the graphics card.

The GeForce RTX 3090 is the most powerful of the new Series 30 graphic cards, but the RTX 3080 is the most popular of the bunch. This is because the GeForce RTX 3080 is the best value for the specs you get. The RTX 3080 is a perfect blend of technological improvements and cost-effectiveness, making it the most in-demand card. The 3090 may be more powerful, but the price will scare most of the consumer base off. You may also need better components, like a beefier power supply, which also puts off prospective buyers.

With that, we focus on GeForce RTX 3080 restocks for this article, but you should be able to follow any Series 30 graphics card at the same retailers.

When and where will the GeForce RTX 3080 be restocked?

While we believe the information below is accurate, it’s important to note that sometimes restocks don’t happen as planned. Restocks may go up late, websites may break, or retailers may just change their minds. This information is to help you plan for possible restocks.

There are multiple versions of the GeForce RTX 3080 on the market for you to pick up, but… well, they’re all sold out right now! You might see some RTX 3080 models “on sale” at places like Amazon, but these will be third-party sellers. PC Gamer reports that this is a problem plaguing much of this year’s PC hardware releases, with similar shortages on AMD graphic cards and new processors. It’s just a rough go of it all around.

Unfortunately, there’s just not a lot of information out there about when the GeForce RTX 3080 will restock. The graphics cards have seen the occasional restock since its initial release, but they usually don’t have much of a warning. Tom’s Hardware reports that the inability to restock has to do with chip shortages and other materials being in short supply. At this time, all we can do is wait and see. If we learn more, we’ll be sure to update this post!

One of the best chances to get the 3080 at this time is if you buy a pre-built PC with the RTX 3080 in it, such as the Alienware Aurora R11 or the ABS Gladiator. Of course, if you’re just looking to upgrade your rig and don’t want a whole new PC, this is far from the best option.

If you absolutely need an RTX 3080 by Christmas, StockX is always an option. With the inflated prices, though, I’d recommend you get by with an older graphics cards and just wait for retailers to restock.

General advice for restocks

Trying to get your hands on something with limited stock is really, really stressful. Make sure to give yourself the best chance you can by following the advice below!

• Make sure you have an account at the store, and all personal information is updated. Restocks put huge strains on websites. On top of that, retailers will only allow you to hold it in your cart for a few minutes, if even that long, when it comes to items like this. Don’t waste your chance trying to update your address or payment information!
• Start refreshing the page early. Often, retailers won’t put stock up at EXACTLY the moment they say. It may be a few minutes early or late. Get to the store page of the item you want before the restock time. You might get lucky!
• Use Ctrl+F5, not just F5. This gives you a hard refresh that doesn’t pull store information from the cache. So, you won’t get outdated information and will be able to see the “Buy” button as soon as possible!
• It’s usually better to be on the computer rather than your phone. While that is not always the case, mobile websites aren’t always optimized for fast refreshing. Or optimized for mobile viewing at all, sometimes. However, sometimes you can have better luck on a mobile app than a browser site. It’s not very often, though, so it’s best to start trying with your computer browser first.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Store Links

Generally, the GeForce RTX 3080 restocks are only going to happen online, as many typical retailers will not be stocking this in-store. Here is a handy list of retailers that you can check!

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• NVIDIA
• Newegg
• Office Depot/Office Max
• Walmart
• StockX

Unless you have specific and reliable information on an offline retailer stocking up on the card, we would advise against physically visiting a store just to check.

The post NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Restocks: Where and when to purchase your new graphics card appeared first on xda-developers.

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Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S – Which one should you buy?

Microsoft’s latest gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S have finally hit the stores. While stocks have been very limited, the holiday season might be the perfect time to get your hands on either one of them. Speaking of which, Microsoft is offering two options for consumers. The fairly affordable Series S can deliver 1440p 120fps gaming along with HDR and Ray Tracing features while the Series X pushes the boundaries by offering 4K 120fps gaming that can even go up to 8K resolution. Now, this itself should give you a fair idea as to which is the right one for you. But let’s quickly first compare the new consoles with the previous-gen offerings, to get better clarity as to how big of an upgrade are we looking at.

Xbox Series X and Series S — The Big Upgrade

The Xbox Series X and Series S, both take a generational leap over the Xbox One X and One S. Let’s consider the four main aspects that you should be looking at. First of all, the new Series X takes a whole new direction when it comes to design. The Series X comes with a tall tower design, unlike the One X that would easily slide under your TV. Similarly, the Series S also gets a new design where Microsoft has managed to shrink it quite a bit, making it the smallest Xbox console ever. This one, however, can still make space under your TV as it can lay flat, unlike the Series X.

Performance is where the new consoles are obviously going to shine. The Xbox Series X comes with a custom made octa-core AMD processor based on the Zen 2 architecture clocked at 3.8GHz. The One X also came with a custom eight-core AMD processor, but that one runs at a maximum of 2.3GHz and was based on an older architecture. The Series X also gets 16GB of GDDR6 RAM that outperforms the 12GB of GDDR5 RAM on the One X and of course more powerful graphics hardware that can deliver 12 teraflops of power and 52 compute units running at 1.825GHz. The GPU on the One X on the other hand only comes with 6 teraflops of power, 40 compute units and runs at 1.172GHz.

This basically means that the Series X can run games at 4K 60fps easily whereas the One X has the ability to run only a handful of titles in full 4K natively. The Series X actually goes beyond that and can play certain titles at 4K 120fps and 8K 30fps. The Series S also makes use of the same custom octa-core CPU that is clocked at 3.6GHz as seen on the Series X which is a huge jump over the 1.75GHz octa-core processor on the One S. There is also an increase in terms of memory where the Series S makes use of 10GB GDDR6 compared to the 8GB of DDR3 RAM and 32MB of ESRAM on the One S.

The more powerful hardware then brings a significant difference in the graphical output between the Xbox Series S and the One S. The older console cannot output 4K while the new Series S aims at 1440p 120fps as well as 4K resolution upscaling features. Besides offering obvious graphics improvements, the two new consoles also bring ray tracing for improved lighting as well as auto HDR features that bring a huge change in the overall look of the games.

The new consoles also make use of a faster SSD instead of using hard drives that were seen on both the Xbox One X and One S.  In doing so, Microsoft promises super-fast load times, as well as a new quick resume feature that lets you switch between games and resume where you left off, without having to load the game all over again. It is notable that the Series S only gets a 500GB SSD, which is less storage compared to the 1TB HDD on the One S, but that was probably done to keep the cost of the new console in check.

Another important aspect here is the optical drive. If that is an important feature for you, then you should know that while the Series X does come with one, the Series S does not. In comparison, the One S was offered with and without the optical drive, while the One X came with a built-in optical drive.

Lastly, the price. The Series X is priced at $499 which is similar to the launch price of the One X, making it a valuable upgrade. On the other hand, the Series S is priced at $299, which is again a great price but you do need to consider that unlike the One S, this one doesn’t come in an optical-drive version. The One S was priced at $299 and $249 for the digital-edition.

Now that we cleared that up, let’s have a look at how the two new consoles compete against each other.

Design

The Series X comes with a tall ‘monolithic’ design, almost like a small form factor tower PC. It can be placed horizontally, however it is suggested otherwise since the cooling fan is going to blow hot air out from the vent on top. It only comes in a black color finish with green accents on the exhaust grill. The design approach for the Series X is debatable. While it makes a lot of sense for optimized thermal performance, it could be tricky to fit inside your existing TV cabinet.

The Series S on the other hand comes in a white finish and has a more conventional design where you place it flat. Now it can stand tall just like the Series X, and being super compact one can easily slide around their TV, vertically or horizontally. Of course, you need to make sure that you don’t block the large round exhaust as it does get quite hot. I personally prefer the design of the Series S, even though I know it isn’t the more powerful one. It just looks really modern and minimalistic with perforations all around for improved airflow.

Performance

Both the consoles are powered by a custom made AMD eight-core processor based on the Zen 2 architecture. The Series X has the CPU clocked at 3.8GHz per core (3.6GHz with multi-threading) while the clock speeds on the CPU of the Series S are at 3.6GHz (3.4GHz with multi-threading). It is the graphics performance that really sets them apart as the Series X comes with AMD’s RDNA2 GPU capable of 12-teraflops performance using its 52 compute units clocked at 1.825GHz. The Series S offers just 4-teraflops performance making use of 20 compute units at 1.565GHz. The Series S gets 10GB of DDR6 memory which is again less than the Series X that comes with 16GB of DDR6.

The higher specced Series X promises 4K gaming and can push up to 8K resolutions at lower frame rates. At its native resolution, the console can go up to 120fps. The Series S on the other hand is optimized for 2K (1440p) gaming at up to 120fps but can offer dynamic resolution going up to 4K. There are certain common features including Ray Tracing, support for quick resume, HDR as well as variable refresh rates (VRR). Both the consoles also offer similar audio features including support for DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby TrueHD with Atmos, and Windows Sonic.

	Xbox Series X	Xbox Series S
CPU	Octa-core AMD Zen 2, 3.8GHz (3.6GHz with multi-threading)	Octa-core AMD Zen 2, 3.6GHz (3.4GHz with multi-threading)
GPU	1.825GHz clock speed, 12 TFLOPS, 52 compute units	1.565GHz clock speed, 20 compute units, 4 TFLOPs
Memory	16GB GDDR6	10GB GDDR6
Resolution support	2160p at 120Hz, up to 8K	1440p at 120Hz, up to 4K
Internal storage	1TB NVMe SSD	512GB SSD
Storage expansion	1TB expansion card	1TB expansion card
External storage	USB 3.1 external HDD support	USB 3.1 external HDD support
Optical disc	4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive	Not available
Connectivity	3x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports HDMI 2.1 802.11ac dual-band wireless 1Gbps Ethernet	3x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports HDMI 2.1 802.11ac dual-band wireless 1Gbps Ethernet
Audio	DTS 5.1 DOLBY Digital 5.1 Dolby TrueHD with Atmos Windows Sonic	DTS 5.1 DOLBY Digital 5.1 Dolby TrueHD with Atmos Windows Sonic
Dimensions	301mm x 151mm x 151mm	275mm x 151mm x 65mm
Weight	4.45kg	1.93kg
Price	$499	$299

Storage

Both Xbox Series X and Series S feature custom super-fast NVMe SSD storage. This helps the console to load games way faster than the previous generation consoles. While the Series X gets a larger 1TB drive, the Series S features a 512GB unit. Of course, you can further add a proprietary storage expansion card that would run exactly like the internal drive. Additionally, both the consoles come with three USB 3.1 ports to attach external drives. Thanks to the new SSD drives, these consoles offer a new quick resume feature. Users can pause a handful of games allowing them to quickly jump back in where they left off and even switch between them without reloading the game. Having more storage makes a lot of sense especially considering the fact that games are now tipping the 100GB mark. Also, since these consoles offer backward compatibility, one would definitely need a lot of space to maintain their library.

Price

The consoles are priced at a substantial difference. The Series X is priced at $499 while the smaller Series S is priced at $299. When it comes to the pricing, it makes sense to go for the more powerful Series X. You not only get a more powerful console, but you are also getting double the storage which is going to be crucial if you want to have a solid library of games available at your disposal. While the Series S is indeed cheaper, it makes sense as a purchase only if you have a very strict budget and do not intend to get a 4K TV in the future.

Conclusion: The Xbox Series X should be your de-facto choice

Microsoft has taken the right path by launching two consoles at different price points, similar to how it did with the Xbox One lineup. The Series X is the obvious hero product and feels like a justified next-gen console upgrade. It should be your choice if you care about the best performance along with a high-resolution 4K gaming experience. Along with that, you get larger internal storage compared to the Series S which is important if you want to store more games from the go. The Series S is not as beefy as the Series X. It offers a more compact package and is only optimized for 1440p resolution. It does offer some of the benefits from Series X. But for an extra $200 for the Series X, you are getting a lot more, and honestly, it does make sense to buy the Series X.

Xbox Series X and Series S Restocks: When, where, and how to buy Microsoft’s new gaming console

Go for the Series S only if you are willing to compromise on the resolution and internal storage or just don’t want to spend extra for a 4K TV in the near future, or have a very strict budget. For all other cases, the Xbox Series X is the one you should be buying.

The post Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S – Which one should you buy? appeared first on xda-developers.

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Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S – Which one should you buy?

Microsoft’s latest gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S have finally hit the stores. While stocks have been very limited, the holiday season might be the perfect time to get your hands on either one of them. Speaking of which, Microsoft is offering two options for consumers. The fairly affordable Series S can deliver 1440p 120fps gaming along with HDR and Ray Tracing features while the Series X pushes the boundaries by offering 4K 120fps gaming that can even go up to 8K resolution. Now, this itself should give you a fair idea as to which is the right one for you. But let’s quickly first compare the new consoles with the previous-gen offerings, to get better clarity as to how big of an upgrade are we looking at.

Xbox Series X and Series S — The Big Upgrade

The Xbox Series X and Series S, both take a generational leap over the Xbox One X and One S. Let’s consider the four main aspects that you should be looking at. First of all, the new Series X takes a whole new direction when it comes to design. The Series X comes with a tall tower design, unlike the One X that would easily slide under your TV. Similarly, the Series S also gets a new design where Microsoft has managed to shrink it quite a bit, making it the smallest Xbox console ever. This one, however, can still make space under your TV as it can lay flat, unlike the Series X.

Performance is where the new consoles are obviously going to shine. The Xbox Series X comes with a custom made octa-core AMD processor based on the Zen 2 architecture clocked at 3.8GHz. The One X also came with a custom eight-core AMD processor, but that one runs at a maximum of 2.3GHz and was based on an older architecture. The Series X also gets 16GB of GDDR6 RAM that outperforms the 12GB of GDDR5 RAM on the One X and of course more powerful graphics hardware that can deliver 12 teraflops of power and 52 compute units running at 1.825GHz. The GPU on the One X on the other hand only comes with 6 teraflops of power, 40 compute units and runs at 1.172GHz.

This basically means that the Series X can run games at 4K 60fps easily whereas the One X has the ability to run only a handful of titles in full 4K natively. The Series X actually goes beyond that and can play certain titles at 4K 120fps and 8K 30fps. The Series S also makes use of the same custom octa-core CPU that is clocked at 3.6GHz as seen on the Series X which is a huge jump over the 1.75GHz octa-core processor on the One S. There is also an increase in terms of memory where the Series S makes use of 10GB GDDR6 compared to the 8GB of DDR3 RAM and 32MB of ESRAM on the One S.

The more powerful hardware then brings a significant difference in the graphical output between the Xbox Series S and the One S. The older console cannot output 4K while the new Series S aims at 1440p 120fps as well as 4K resolution upscaling features. Besides offering obvious graphics improvements, the two new consoles also bring ray tracing for improved lighting as well as auto HDR features that bring a huge change in the overall look of the games.

The new consoles also make use of a faster SSD instead of using hard drives that were seen on both the Xbox One X and One S.  In doing so, Microsoft promises super-fast load times, as well as a new quick resume feature that lets you switch between games and resume where you left off, without having to load the game all over again. It is notable that the Series S only gets a 500GB SSD, which is less storage compared to the 1TB HDD on the One S, but that was probably done to keep the cost of the new console in check.

Another important aspect here is the optical drive. If that is an important feature for you, then you should know that while the Series X does come with one, the Series S does not. In comparison, the One S was offered with and without the optical drive, while the One X came with a built-in optical drive.

Lastly, the price. The Series X is priced at $499 which is similar to the launch price of the One X, making it a valuable upgrade. On the other hand, the Series S is priced at $299, which is again a great price but you do need to consider that unlike the One S, this one doesn’t come in an optical-drive version. The One S was priced at $299 and $249 for the digital-edition.

Now that we cleared that up, let’s have a look at how the two new consoles compete against each other.

Design

The Series X comes with a tall ‘monolithic’ design, almost like a small form factor tower PC. It can be placed horizontally, however it is suggested otherwise since the cooling fan is going to blow hot air out from the vent on top. It only comes in a black color finish with green accents on the exhaust grill. The design approach for the Series X is debatable. While it makes a lot of sense for optimized thermal performance, it could be tricky to fit inside your existing TV cabinet.

The Series S on the other hand comes in a white finish and has a more conventional design where you place it flat. Now it can stand tall just like the Series X, and being super compact one can easily slide around their TV, vertically or horizontally. Of course, you need to make sure that you don’t block the large round exhaust as it does get quite hot. I personally prefer the design of the Series S, even though I know it isn’t the more powerful one. It just looks really modern and minimalistic with perforations all around for improved airflow.

Performance

Both the consoles are powered by a custom made AMD eight-core processor based on the Zen 2 architecture. The Series X has the CPU clocked at 3.8GHz per core (3.6GHz with multi-threading) while the clock speeds on the CPU of the Series S are at 3.6GHz (3.4GHz with multi-threading). It is the graphics performance that really sets them apart as the Series X comes with AMD’s RDNA2 GPU capable of 12-teraflops performance using its 52 compute units clocked at 1.825GHz. The Series S offers just 4-teraflops performance making use of 20 compute units at 1.565GHz. The Series S gets 10GB of DDR6 memory which is again less than the Series X that comes with 16GB of DDR6.

The higher specced Series X promises 4K gaming and can push up to 8K resolutions at lower frame rates. At its native resolution, the console can go up to 120fps. The Series S on the other hand is optimized for 2K (1440p) gaming at up to 120fps but can offer dynamic resolution going up to 4K. There are certain common features including Ray Tracing, support for quick resume, HDR as well as variable refresh rates (VRR). Both the consoles also offer similar audio features including support for DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby TrueHD with Atmos, and Windows Sonic.

	Xbox Series X	Xbox Series S
CPU	Octa-core AMD Zen 2, 3.8GHz (3.6GHz with multi-threading)	Octa-core AMD Zen 2, 3.6GHz (3.4GHz with multi-threading)
GPU	1.825GHz clock speed, 12 TFLOPS, 52 compute units	1.565GHz clock speed, 20 compute units, 4 TFLOPs
Memory	16GB GDDR6	10GB GDDR6
Resolution support	2160p at 120Hz, up to 8K	1440p at 120Hz, up to 4K
Internal storage	1TB NVMe SSD	512GB SSD
Storage expansion	1TB expansion card	1TB expansion card
External storage	USB 3.1 external HDD support	USB 3.1 external HDD support
Optical disc	4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive	Not available
Connectivity	3x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports HDMI 2.1 802.11ac dual-band wireless 1Gbps Ethernet	3x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports HDMI 2.1 802.11ac dual-band wireless 1Gbps Ethernet
Audio	DTS 5.1 DOLBY Digital 5.1 Dolby TrueHD with Atmos Windows Sonic	DTS 5.1 DOLBY Digital 5.1 Dolby TrueHD with Atmos Windows Sonic
Dimensions	301mm x 151mm x 151mm	275mm x 151mm x 65mm
Weight	4.45kg	1.93kg
Price	$499	$299

Storage

Both Xbox Series X and Series S feature custom super-fast NVMe SSD storage. This helps the console to load games way faster than the previous generation consoles. While the Series X gets a larger 1TB drive, the Series S features a 512GB unit. Of course, you can further add a proprietary storage expansion card that would run exactly like the internal drive. Additionally, both the consoles come with three USB 3.1 ports to attach external drives. Thanks to the new SSD drives, these consoles offer a new quick resume feature. Users can pause a handful of games allowing them to quickly jump back in where they left off and even switch between them without reloading the game. Having more storage makes a lot of sense especially considering the fact that games are now tipping the 100GB mark. Also, since these consoles offer backward compatibility, one would definitely need a lot of space to maintain their library.

Price

The consoles are priced at a substantial difference. The Series X is priced at $499 while the smaller Series S is priced at $299. When it comes to the pricing, it makes sense to go for the more powerful Series X. You not only get a more powerful console, but you are also getting double the storage which is going to be crucial if you want to have a solid library of games available at your disposal. While the Series S is indeed cheaper, it makes sense as a purchase only if you have a very strict budget and do not intend to get a 4K TV in the future.

Conclusion: The Xbox Series X should be your de-facto choice

Microsoft has taken the right path by launching two consoles at different price points, similar to how it did with the Xbox One lineup. The Series X is the obvious hero product and feels like a justified next-gen console upgrade. It should be your choice if you care about the best performance along with a high-resolution 4K gaming experience. Along with that, you get larger internal storage compared to the Series S which is important if you want to store more games from the go. The Series S is not as beefy as the Series X. It offers a more compact package and is only optimized for 1440p resolution. It does offer some of the benefits from Series X. But for an extra $200 for the Series X, you are getting a lot more, and honestly, it does make sense to buy the Series X.

Xbox Series X and Series S Restocks: When, where, and how to buy Microsoft’s new gaming console

Go for the Series S only if you are willing to compromise on the resolution and internal storage or just don’t want to spend extra for a 4K TV in the near future, or have a very strict budget. For all other cases, the Xbox Series X is the one you should be buying.

The post Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S – Which one should you buy? appeared first on xda-developers.

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Realme X50 Pro’s stable Realme UI 2.0 update with Android 11 is now rolling out

Realme was among the first OEMs to announce an Android 11 beta for its flagship Realme X50 Pro earlier this year in June. A month after the announcement, the company rolled out the first Android 11 Beta 1 build with Realme UI to the device. Early last month, the Realme X50 Pro received its first Realme UI 2.0 Open Beta release based on Android 11. And now, the company is finally pushing the first stable build of Realme UI 2.0 to the device.

According to a recent post on the Realme community forums, the Realme UI 2.0 update has started rolling out to Realme X50 Pro users in India. The update (firmware version RMX2076PU_11.C.16) is based on Android 11, and it brings a host of new features to the device. You can check out the complete changelog, with all the new features and improvements in the changelog section below.

As with all major OS updates, the Realme UI 2.0 release for the X50 Pro will roll out to users in a staged fashion. This means that it will only reach a handful of users today, with a broader rollout following a few days after. As of now, Realme hasn’t published a manual download link for the update. We’ll update this post with the download link as soon as it’s available.

Realme UI 2.0 changelog

• Personalizations
  • You can now create your own wallpaper by picking colors from your photos.
  • Third-party icons for apps on the home screen are now supported.
  • Three Dark mode styles are available: Enhanced, medium, and gentle; wallpapers and icons can be adjusted to Dark mode; and the display contrast can be adjusted automatically to ambient light.
• High Efficiency
  • You can now drag text, images, or files out of a floating window or from one app to another app in Split screen mode.
  • Optimized the editing page of Smart Sidebar: Two tabs are displayed and the order of items can be customized.
• System
  • Added “Tone tunes”: Consecutive notification tones will be linked to form a single melody.
  • You can now determine a time period when Do Not Disturb is on.
  • Optimized the user interfaces of Notes: New visuals are provided on the list and editing pages.
  • Added weather animations to provide you with a more interesting experience.
  • Optimized vibration effects for text input and gameplay.
  • Optimized “Auto brightness”.
• Launcher
  • You can now remove a folder or combine it with another one.
  • Added filters for “Drawer mode”: You can now filter apps by letters, install time, or usage frequency to quickly find an app.
• Security and Privacy
  • Added “System cloner”: You can create a system clone from your main system and use different fingerprints to enter different systems.
  • You can now turn “App lock” on or off in Quick Settings.
  • Added “Low battery message”: When your phone battery is lower than 15%, you can quickly send a message to share your location with specified people.
  • More powerful SOS functions
    Emergency info: You can quickly display your personal emergency info to first responders. The information can be shown even when your screen is locked.
  • Optimized “Permission manager”: You can now choose “Allow only once” for sensitive permissions to better protect your privacy.
• Games
  • Added Immersive mode which reduces disturbances while gaming so you can stay focused.
  • You can change the way to summon Game Assistant.
• Communications
  • You can share your personal hotspot with others via a QR code
• Photos
  • Added the Cloud Sync for Private Safe feature which allows you to sync the photos in your Private Safe to the cloud.
  • Optimized the photo editing feature with upgraded algorithms and more markup effects and filters.
• HeyTap Cloud
  • You can back up your photos, documents, system settings and more, and easily migrate to a new phone.
  • You can select the types of data to be backed up or restored.
• Camera
  • Added shortcuts to instantly share and edit photos or videos.
  • Added the inertial zoom feature which makes zooming smoother during video shooting.
  • Added the lens stain detection feature.
  • Added the level and grid feature to help you compose videos.
• realme Lab
  • Added Sleep Capsule, help you schedule downtime and secure your sleep time
• Accessibility
  • Added “Sound Amplifier”: You can amplify faint sounds in the environment and soften loud sounds when wearing earphones.

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Thanks to Telegram user @girish2834 for the screenshot!

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Realme X50 Pro’s stable Realme UI 2.0 update with Android 11 is now rolling out

Realme was among the first OEMs to announce an Android 11 beta for its flagship Realme X50 Pro earlier this year in June. A month after the announcement, the company rolled out the first Android 11 Beta 1 build with Realme UI to the device. Early last month, the Realme X50 Pro received its first Realme UI 2.0 Open Beta release based on Android 11. And now, the company is finally pushing the first stable build of Realme UI 2.0 to the device.

According to a recent post on the Realme community forums, the Realme UI 2.0 update has started rolling out to Realme X50 Pro users in India. The update (firmware version RMX2076PU_11.C.16) is based on Android 11, and it brings a host of new features to the device. You can check out the complete changelog, with all the new features and improvements in the changelog section below.

As with all major OS updates, the Realme UI 2.0 release for the X50 Pro will roll out to users in a staged fashion. This means that it will only reach a handful of users today, with a broader rollout following a few days after. As of now, Realme hasn’t published a manual download link for the update. We’ll update this post with the download link as soon as it’s available.

Realme UI 2.0 changelog

• Personalizations
  • You can now create your own wallpaper by picking colors from your photos.
  • Third-party icons for apps on the home screen are now supported.
  • Three Dark mode styles are available: Enhanced, medium, and gentle; wallpapers and icons can be adjusted to Dark mode; and the display contrast can be adjusted automatically to ambient light.
• High Efficiency
  • You can now drag text, images, or files out of a floating window or from one app to another app in Split screen mode.
  • Optimized the editing page of Smart Sidebar: Two tabs are displayed and the order of items can be customized.
• System
  • Added “Tone tunes”: Consecutive notification tones will be linked to form a single melody.
  • You can now determine a time period when Do Not Disturb is on.
  • Optimized the user interfaces of Notes: New visuals are provided on the list and editing pages.
  • Added weather animations to provide you with a more interesting experience.
  • Optimized vibration effects for text input and gameplay.
  • Optimized “Auto brightness”.
• Launcher
  • You can now remove a folder or combine it with another one.
  • Added filters for “Drawer mode”: You can now filter apps by letters, install time, or usage frequency to quickly find an app.
• Security and Privacy
  • Added “System cloner”: You can create a system clone from your main system and use different fingerprints to enter different systems.
  • You can now turn “App lock” on or off in Quick Settings.
  • Added “Low battery message”: When your phone battery is lower than 15%, you can quickly send a message to share your location with specified people.
  • More powerful SOS functions
    Emergency info: You can quickly display your personal emergency info to first responders. The information can be shown even when your screen is locked.
  • Optimized “Permission manager”: You can now choose “Allow only once” for sensitive permissions to better protect your privacy.
• Games
  • Added Immersive mode which reduces disturbances while gaming so you can stay focused.
  • You can change the way to summon Game Assistant.
• Communications
  • You can share your personal hotspot with others via a QR code
• Photos
  • Added the Cloud Sync for Private Safe feature which allows you to sync the photos in your Private Safe to the cloud.
  • Optimized the photo editing feature with upgraded algorithms and more markup effects and filters.
• HeyTap Cloud
  • You can back up your photos, documents, system settings and more, and easily migrate to a new phone.
  • You can select the types of data to be backed up or restored.
• Camera
  • Added shortcuts to instantly share and edit photos or videos.
  • Added the inertial zoom feature which makes zooming smoother during video shooting.
  • Added the lens stain detection feature.
  • Added the level and grid feature to help you compose videos.
• realme Lab
  • Added Sleep Capsule, help you schedule downtime and secure your sleep time
• Accessibility
  • Added “Sound Amplifier”: You can amplify faint sounds in the environment and soften loud sounds when wearing earphones.

The post Realme X50 Pro’s stable Realme UI 2.0 update with Android 11 is now rolling out appeared first on xda-developers.

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Razer launches the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro earbuds with ANC and THX certification

Razer is primarily known for its gaming laptops, accessories, and peripherals. But the company also offers lifestyle products, from an ergonomic mouse to a wireless mechanical keyboard — two devices that would fit nicely in a work from home setup. To further round out its lifestyle portfolio, Razer has unveiled new true wireless earbuds called the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Pro that support active noise cancellation (ANC) and feature THX certification.

Razer already offers an array of wired and wireless audio accessories, including last year’s Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds and this year’s Opus over-ear headphones. The company’s previous earbuds offered a “Gaming Mode” for minimal latency, a sleek all-black design, and up to three hours of use per charge. About the only premium feature the Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds lacked was ANC, which has been added in the new Hammerhead True Wireless Pro.

Razer’s new earbuds promise the same Gaming Mode for a minimum latency of 60ms—the actual latency may be higher depending on the particular device and OS the earbuds are paired to. They also feature the same convenient on-ear touch controls. But that’s where the similarities end; the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro includes a number of other improvements that make these earbuds a big step up over the original model.

Razer says the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro feature “Advanced Hybrid ANC” with two external microphones and two internal microphones. One microphone is used for voice chat, which is located at the bottom so it’s closer to your mouth.

Each earbud supports independent playback, making it easy to listen to audio with one earbud on and the other one off. You can’t, however, connect to multiple Bluetooth audio sources simultaneously. There’s a Quick Attention Mode that allows users to hear what’s happening around them without taking the earbuds off. This feature essentially uses the ANC mics in reverse.

Speaking of Bluetooth, the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro headphones support Google Fast Pair for quick pairing. The earbuds, however, do not support the full set of Google Fast Pair features, such as showing the individual battery life of the L/R earbud and case or the location in the “Find My Phone” app. They do support Razer’s own QuickConnect feature, which makes it easy to quickly connect to another audio source that you previously paired up with. The feature is available in Razer’s mobile app, which also offers equalizer settings, the ability to remap touch gestures (up to 5 different gestures), and an earbud fit test.

Razer Hammerhead True Wireless (Free, Google Play) →

In addition to ANC, the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro features 10mm drivers and THX certification, which promises superior noise isolation, 20-20kHz frequency response, and no frequency distortion at high volumes. By featuring THX certification, Razer is aiming to offer users sound playback “as the creators intended.” The headphones feature two of THX’s patented audio technologies: THX AAA amplifier technology and THX Spatial Audio technology. On the other hand, the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro does not support audio codecs like aptX, aptX HD, aptX-LL, or LDAC, so you’re limited to just SBC and AAC.

Razer also made some important design changes to make the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro worthy of the pro name. There are seven different ear tips to choose from; the default size is medium. There are also three ear tips that are called “SecureSeal,” which feature translucent silicone that provide a more stable fit for activities like working out. The other three are called “SmoothComfort,” and promise to be comfortable over extended periods.

The Pro model promises about four hours of battery life for each earbud with ANC enabled, with 20 hours of total battery life with the case. The case will offer roughly four top-ups, so you won’t need to worry about finding an outlet over a busy workday. You can charge the case using a USB-C cable, though the charging time will depend on the power brick or charging source as a power brick is not included in the packaging. Unfortunately, the case doesn’t support Qi wireless charging.

The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Pro earbuds retail for $199.99 / €209.99 and can be purchased starting today. You can find them on Razer’s website and Razer retail stores in the U.S., Canada, EU, China, and Asia Pacific countries. Razer is also selling a protective THS durable TPU carrying case with a carabiner clip for $29.99 / €34.99.

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Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Pro Specifications

Headphones 

• Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20kHz 
• Impedance: 16 Ohm 
• Drivers: 10 mm 
• Approximate weight: 53 g (5g x 2 earbuds, 43g charging case)

Microphone 

• Frequency response: 100 Hz – 10 kHz 
• Signal-to-noise ratio:60 dB 
• Sensitivity (@1 kHz): -42 dBFS
• Pickup pattern: Omnidirectional 

 Touch controls 

• Music Controls: Play, pause, skip, previous 
• Call Controls: Answer, reject, switch, end 
• General: Pair, power, activate gaming mode and smartphone virtual assistant 

Battery 

• Battery life: Up to 20 hours (with included charging case)* 

* May vary depending on usage 

Compatibility  

• Devices with Bluetooth audio capability 
• Smartphone application available for Android and iOS devices 

Supported codecs: SBC, AAC

Certifications 

•  THX Certification

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