Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i HWM Singapore

This month has been a rather interesting one for us. While it may seem at first glance like a ‘slow’ month for everyone else because Apple has dominated the news with the iPhone 15 launch, there has been no shortage of unique tech products and experiences. This issue of HWM was put together to highlight this - dare I say, phenomena - one you take the spotlight away from Apple just for a moment. In the computing space, our Editor-in-Chief has been flying all over the world to check our Intel’s next-generation Meteor Lake CPU and the new manufacturing processes that come with it. This is actually a very big thing for Intel as it would be their very first consumer CPU to be produced with a chiplet design and…

Intel The Magic Of Planet-scale Orchestration There are four other vital stages beyond wafer fabrication that help get processors out to consumers and businesses that are not often discussed. Chiefly, they are the advanced packaging stage, die prep and die sorting, die assembly and testing, and finally, board and system-level integration testing. While Intel’s homeland in the US has several wafer fab plants, most of the packaging, assembly and testing phases occur across overseas sites. Of them, Malaysia houses the company’s very first offshore site from way back in 1972. Fifty-one years later, it is home to 15,000 employees with over 900,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity in Penang. Its current and upcoming facilities are capable of handling all the stages after receiving a silicon wafer. It is also home…

@ A GLANCE SENSOR  45.7MP, CMOS, Full-frame (FX format) LENS MOUNT  Nikon Z-mount IMAGE STABILISATION  5-axis sensor shift AUTO-FOCUS  493 hybrid auto-focus WEIGHT  910g (with battery and memory card) PRICE  $5,999 (body only) Serving as a condensed version of its flagship counterpart, the Z 9, this mirrorless camera offers an enticing proposition for photographers seeking a full-frame alternative that doesn’t break the bank. The Z 8 exudes a sense of sturdiness and precision despite its reduced dimensions. Weighing in at just 910g (including battery and memory card), it’s a full 30 per cent lighter than its larger sibling, the Z 9. The magnesium-alloy body is both robust and ergonomic, providing a comfortable grip for extended shooting sessions. On the left side of the camera, you’ll find a well-protected array of…

@ A GLANCE KEYS  00-KEYS, HOT-SWAPPABLE, PBT SWITCHES  TTC SPEED SILVER V2 CONNECTIVITY  2.4GHZ, BLUETOOTH, WIRED BATTERY  4,000MAH PRICE  $270 But this also means plenty of examples to learn from. You get linear TTC Speed Silver V2 switches, an esports-oriented switch, with a 1.08mm operating point for faster actuation and a reset point at 1.0mm. This is not quite the same as the Rapid Trigger feature on the Wooting 60HE keyboard, but the concept is similar. Once the switch is activated, it resets almost instantly when you start to release it and can then be triggered again, allowing for rapid presses. However, to take full advantage of this, it would mean not fully bottoming out each key press. The overall travel distance is noticeably shorter than regular Cherry MX switches,…

For most people, the biggest problem with the last generation SL was the way it looked. The SL is supposed to be Mercedes-Benz’s flagship convertible, but the old model didn’t look like one. It lacked the aggression and elegance of its forebears and some occasionally mistook it for an SLK. Thankfully, the latest SL solves that. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but most people I showed the SL to said it’s a knockout, whether it’s with its roof up or down. Its long bonnet, sharp nose, and wide hips and shoulders, and classic sports car stance certainly help. Looks good in Sun Yellow too. Codenamed R232, the newest SL brings about many changes. It’s now a full AMG product and is actually closely related to…

@ A GLANCE OS  Android 13 (Nothing OS 2.0) CHIPSET  Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 MEMORY  128gb DISPLAY  6.7-inch, LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz adaptive, HDR10+, 2,412 x 1,080-pixels CAMERA  Dual 50MP rear, 32MP front PRICE  $999 (256gb), $1,099 (512gb) It featured a mid-range chipset and a gimmicky Glyph lighting system on the back that had limited practicality. Fortunately, the Nothing Phone (2) marks a significant improvement in every aspect. This new iteration maintains its striking appearance, complete with the unique Glyph Interface LED lights on the rear. However, the real transformation lies beneath the surface. The Nothing Phone (2) now boasts a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 flagship-tier chip, a cutting-edge LTPO AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, a larger 4,700mAh battery with rapid 45W wired charging,…

@ A GLANCE DEVELOPER  Sega PUBLISHER  Sega GENRE  Party, Rhythm PLATFORM  Nintendo Switch PLAYERS  Single, Multi Gamers, remember those good ol’ days when all the hip kids would hit up the video game arcades right after school? If you do, you’re probably of considerable vintage and may remember Sega’s Samba de Amigo arcade game. Yes, that one, with those maraca-like controllers and music cranked up so high, your dance moves could be heard across the room. After more than two decades since its debut, this quirky gem is back and ready to party on the Nintendo Switch as Samba de Amigo: Party Central. Decked out with a fresh makeover and some snazzy new graphics, this latest edition lets both old-school gamers and newcomers alike bust a move to samba tunes…

@ A GLANCE SWITCHES  Kailh Black Mamba SENSOR  PixArt PAW3395 CONNECTIVITY  2.4GHz, Bluetooth, USB-C BATTERY  450mAh WEIGHT  75g PRICE  $135 Redmagic is a company better known for its gaming smartphones, so the GS001J marks its first foray into the stacked gaming mouse space, and it will need to do a lot to go up against a bevvy of established names and upstart competitors. You can tell right off the bat that this is a Redmagic mouse. The company’s distinct futuristic aesthetic has made its way here as well, with a glossy, translucent shell that hints at the tech packed within. Redmagic’s logo shines through at the back of the mouse, flanked by two LED strips at the bottom of the primary mouse buttons. Together with its aggressive angles and angular…

@ A GLANCE CHIPSET  Apple H2 (earbuds), U1 (charging case) CONNECTIVITY  Bluetooth 5.3 BATTERY  Up to 6hr (AirPods Pro), 30hrs (MagSafe charging case) WATER RESISTANCE  IP54 PRICE  $362.35 Apple has once again raised the bar with the release of the second-generation AirPods Pro, featuring a USB-C charging case. While the change in the charging port is noticeable, there are also some intriguing improvements under the hood that audiophiles will appreciate. In typical Apple fashion, the tech giant has introduced a new “acoustical architecture” for these AirPods Pro, promising true lossless audio transmission to the upcoming Apple Vision Pro – a world’s first. In a market where codecs like LDAC and aptX HD fall short of true losslessness, Apple’s approach is intriguing. Apple is tight-lipped about the details but confirmed it’s…