It’s been a long time since I’ve used a laptop with a screen larger than 13 or 14 inches for any length of time. It’s so refreshing to have the room to spread my apps out … even if the machine no longer fits in my backpack. Maybe being able to fit your bag under the seat in front of you is overrated.
Compared to the cavalcade of 13- and 14-inch laptops that cross my desk, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra, with its 16-inch touchscreen (2,880 x 1,800 pixels), is a behemoth. Weighing in at 3.9 pounds (but only 19 mm thick), it has a heft that’s backed up by its top-shelf specs, which include 32 GB of RAM, a 1-terabyte SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card. The centerpiece is the new Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, the current top-of-the-line processor in Intel’s Core Ultra CPU lineup.
Photograph: Samsung
As benchmarks go, the Galaxy Book4 ran rings around all the other Core Ultra laptops I’ve tested in the last few weeks since the new chips launched, though none of those had an Ultra 9 or a discrete graphics processor. On some CPU-based tests, the system doubled up on the performance of the Lenovo X1 Carbon, and on graphics-based tests, I was regularly able to get three to five times the frame rates I saw on machines that used the Core Ultra integrated graphics processor. The Book4 is certainly credible for use as a gaming rig if desired. Plus with 12 hours and 43 minutes of battery life, as tested via my full-screen YouTube rundown test, you need not fret about being away from an outlet all day.
The larger chassis gives Samsung room to squeeze a numeric keypad into the picture, though I longed for full-size arrow keys when working with the device. The responsive keyboard is paired with one of the largest touchpads I’ve ever seen on a laptop. At 6 x 4 inches, it’s considerably bigger than a standard passport—arguably too big, as there’s barely room on the left side of the touchpad for your palms to rest. I generally disliked working with this touchpad, as I found it both missed clicks and inadvertently registered unintended taps much too often.
The MSI Claw, released in March 2024, has gotten plenty of negative attention thanks to its poor optimization at launch. But a new PC gaming handheld sporting an Intel processor is coming and may be the answer to Intel’s portable console woes.
The AOKZOE A2 Ultra has been confirmed to sport an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, according to a report from PCGamesN. This is the same processor powering the high-end models of the MSI Claw A1M, which received plenty of backlash due to its struggling with basic gaming tasks that its competition easily handles.
Unlike MSI, the company behind the device seems to have more experience with manufacturing PC handhelds, though, like the Steam Deck and nearly every other handheld in the market, it usually uses AMD processors. While we don’t know why AOKZOE made the switch to Intel, there’s a good chance that the AOKZOE A2 Ultra could be the redemption story that Intel needs right now.
MSI Claw was disappointing
As of now, there’s no clear reason why the MSI Claw is struggling. Our own preview of the handheld was beaming, praising its consistent and excellent performance with the limited games on hand. However, once in-depth reviews arrived, tales of subpar performance woes quickly spread.
These issues include some Intel-related updates refusing to install properly, the MSI Center’s inconsistent game launching, overheating issues, inconsistent performance, and more. Right now, the universal experience with this system seems to be frustration and disappointment.
And the problem is, we don’t know who’s to blame for this. Is it MSI’s manufacturing process, or architectural limitations with Intel processors? The answer will most likely be settled with the AOKZOE A2 Ultra once it launches, which makes this handheld incredibly vital for Intel to prove that its processor can stand against AMD’s in this market.
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Vivo’s current flagship smartphone, the X100 Pro, is one of the most advanced phones on the market. However, the company seems to working on offering something even better. Reportedly, Vivo is developing the X100 Ultra, a more advanced version of the X100 Pro, offering upgraded hardware, better specifications, and more features.
According to various reports, the X100 Ultra will feature four cameras at the rear instead of three on the X100 Pro. Interestingly, one of them will be a 200MP unit with a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 100mm (4.3x optical zoom over the primary camera). Seemingly, this is an upcoming camera sensor from Samsung with model number HP9, and it can be used as a primary as well as a secondary camera (with a telephoto or ultrawide lens).
At the moment, there’s no information on the improvements the Samsung ISOCELL HP9 offers over the latest 200MP sensor from the South Korean tech giant, the ISOCELL HP2. The company offers three more 200MP camera sensors, HPX, HP1, and HP3. Could we see the upcoming sensor on the Galaxy S25 Ultra? Well, only time will tell.
Samsung has a somewhat unusual offer for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Two of three storage options are now available for a lower price, but only if you pick the right online exclusive color.
This new limited-time deal can save you $150 on the 256GB or 1TB Galaxy S24 Ultra. With this discount, you can get the 256GB premium flagship for $1,149 or the 1TB model for $1,509.
You can save $150 on the unlocked S24 Ultra with no strings attached or trade-in. The caveat is that you have to pick the Titanium Green color. It’s the one with a light green finish paired with a black frame and S Pen.
If you want to trade another phone, you have the option, and you can get an additional $750 discount on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. By combining the $150 Titanium Green discount and $750 trade-in deal, you can save up to $900 on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and buy one for as low as $399.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is technically the best Samsung phone you can buy right now. It boasts a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, a 2600 nits display with exclusive Gorilla Armor protection, a titanium frame, an S Pen, and a powerful camera system.
The S24 Ultra — along with the rest of the S24 series — is also the first Samsung phone to benefit from seven years of OS upgrades and eight years of security patches.
Hit the Buy button below and grab your discounted Titanium Green Galaxy S24 Ultra while this limited-time offer lasts.
HP has launched a new ultra-portable laptop in Japan, and the sleek and powerful EliteBook 635 Aero G11 is already being hailed as a potential competitor to Dell‘s XPS 13, thanks to impressive specs and a lightweight design.
The Windows 11 Pro laptop is powered by either an AMD Ryzen 5 8640U or Ryzen 7 8840U processor and comes with 16GB of onboard LPDDR5 memory and a 512GB M.2 SSD. It features a 13.3-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) LCD display with a maximum brightness of 400 cd/m².
The EliteBook 635 Aero G11 includes a 5MP webcam (with a sliding privacy cover), an IR camera compatible with Windows Hello, Poly Studio audio, and a backlit keyboard. With a magnesium casing the laptop is impressively lightweight at just 1kg, making it perfect for users on the go.
Japan only
Aimed at business users, the EliteBook 635 Aero G11 has a variety of ports including USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1, a combo stereo headphone/mic jack, two USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports with USB Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4 capabilities, HDMI 2.1, and another USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 port. Connectivity is provided in the form of Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
It looks great, but there is a huge catch – the EliteBook 635 Aero G11 is currently only available in Japan, with no plans for a global launch. It’s possible that HP may be testing the waters with a limited release there first and will bring it to other territories in due course, but for now we’ll just have to wait and see.
In Japan, the EliteBook 635 Aero G11 will be released on April 26, priced from 274,780 yen ($1796.79).
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It was expected that Intel‘s LGA1851 socket would house the tech giant’s next-gen Arrow Lake chips, but for now it seems the company might have another use for it.
At the recent Embedded World conference, Intel unveiled its Meteor Lake-PS architecture for edge systems, the first Core Ultra processor on an LGA socket.
The new SoC design, which integrates the Intel Arc GPU and a neural processing unit, is aimed at enabling generative AI and handling demanding graphics workloads for sectors such as retail, education, smart cities, and industry.
Ultra low TDP
Intel says its Core Ultra processors offer up to 5.02x superior image classification inference performance compared to the 14th Gen Core desktop processors. Applications for the PS series include GenAI-enabled kiosks and smart point-of-sale systems in physical retail stores, interactive whiteboards for advanced classroom experiences, and AI vision-enhanced industrial devices for manufacturing and roadside units.
The new chips are designed with low-power, always-on usage scenarios in mind. This is evident from the fact that none of these chips have a Thermal Design Power higher than 65W. There’s even a low-power version with a 15W rating (12-28 configurable TDP).
Intel says “Moving away from the conventional setup where Intel Core desktop processors are combined with discrete GPUs, the PS series of Intel Core Ultra processors introduce an innovative integration of GPU and AI Boost functionalities directly within the processors, alongside the flexible LGA socket configuration. Offering four times the number of graphics execution units (EUs) compared to their predecessors in the S or desktop series, these processors deliver a powerful alternative for handling AI and graphics-heavy tasks. This design not only negates the necessity for an additional discrete GPU, thereby lowering costs and simplifying the overall design process, it also positions these processors as the go-to solution for those prioritizing efficiency alongside enhanced performance.”
The desktop LGA1851 socket can support 5600MHz DDR5 memory, two PCIe Gen4 SSDs, and four Thunderbolt 4 devices. There is a notable absence of chipset support for Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, and PCIe Gen5, however.
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The new desktop Intel Meteor Lake chips are not expected to be available until the fourth quarter of 2024. This timeline also coincides with the expected launch of Arrow Lake desktop CPUs, according to the latest industry rumors.
One of the more curious claims we heard last year was that there might be an iPhone 15 Ultra – this being a super-premium iPhone that would be even more expensive than the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
There was some debate over whether this would launch instead of or as well as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but of course in the end it didn’t launch at all. So does that mean dreams of an iPhone Ultra are dead? Well, not necessarily, as some sources have pointed to an iPhone 16 Ultra instead.
But are we actually likely to see an iPhone 16 Ultra? Or an iPhone Ultra any year? Or will Apple stick with its current selection of model types?
The case for the iPhone Ultra
The iPhone 15 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
While there was some talk of an iPhone 15 Ultra, arguably the most credible source on the Ultra subject was Mark Gurman, who claimed in a February 2023 Bloomberg newsletter that Apple had discussed launching a higher end Ultra model alongside the Pro Max, and that it could do so in time for the iPhone 16 line. So in other words they reckoned we might see an iPhone 16 Ultra instead.
So that remains a possibility, especially as Gurman – who has a great track record for Apple leaks – has talked about an Ultra phone a number of times. Back in 2022 for example he specifically said “Ultra is coming” in a post on X.
Gurman seems to think this would could land as well as a Pro Max model, but given that the iPhone 16 Pro Max might be substantially better than the iPhone 16 Pro, it’s also possible that Apple could simply rebrand the Pro Max to the Ultra.
And the Ultra name also makes sense, given that Apple has launched the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Arguably, launching an iPhone Ultra would also make the phone feel like a more direct competitor to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which could be desirable for Apple.
The case against the iPhone Ultra
The iPhone 15 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
While some credible sources have spoken of an iPhone Ultra in the past, and even specifically mentioned that it might launch this year or later, we haven’t heard anything about an Ultra recently.
That includes from Mark Gurman, who was one of the main sources on the subject, but no other leakers have recently mentioned an iPhone Ultra either.
Not only that, but early iOS 18 code obtained by MacRumors only mentions model numbers for four upcoming iPhones, which would presumably be the iPhone 16 (listed as ‘D47’), iPhone 16 Plus (D48), iPhone 16 Pro (D93), and iPhone 16 Pro Max (D94).
Now, that still leaves the possibility that an iPhone 16 Ultra could land in place of a Pro Max, but makes it seems unlikely that we’ll see both models anyway.
So will there be an iPhone Ultra?
Given that talk of an iPhone Ultra has died down, and that there’s no real evidence or recent suggestion of one among the iPhone 16 line, we’d think it’s very unlikely that we’ll see an iPhone Ultra this year.
If we do, it will probably be a rebranded iPhone 16 Pro Max, rather than an additional model that sits above the Pro Max. And given the rumored specs of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, you could probably basically consider it an iPhone 16 Ultra even if that’s not what it’s called.
But with no recent talk of the Ultra name, our best guess is that this year we’ll see an iPhone 16, an iPhone 16 Plus, an iPhone 16 Pro, and an iPhone 16 Pro Max.
It’s still entirely possible that an iPhone Ultra could land in 2025 or beyond, and whether through rebranding or a new model we doubt the Pro Max line will be Apple’s top phones forever. But there’s little to suggest we’ll see an Ultra iPhone anytime soon.
I had three flagship phones on three different tripods all aimed at a sun rapidly being crowded by a nuisance moon, and all I wanted was one or two excellent eclipse shots.
Turns out that photographing a solar eclipse with your smartphone is not that easy. In fact, figuring out a repeatable process without cauterizing your retinas is downright challenging. But I did it. I grabbed some of the best smartphones money can buy, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and prepared for 180 minutes of celestial excitement.
That last selection might turn a few heads. It is, after all, a now aging flagship Android phone that does not have the latest image processing or even the fastest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip found in the Galaxy S24 Ultra (the S23 Ultra has the Gen 2). However, one thing it has that none of my other flagship smartphones offer is a 10X optical zoom (not even the S24 Ultra has that).
Throughout this endeavor I committed to not using any enhancements, leaving the phones’ zoom lenses to do their best work without digital magic. I never pinched and zoomed. I just pointed each phone at the eclipse and hit the shutter.
Making an adjustment
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Except as soon as I did this, I realized it wasn’t going to work. The sun naturally blows out the exposure on all the phones. It’s not that I haven’t taken pictures of the sun before. I’ve snapped quite a few with the iPhone and to get over the blowout, I tap the sun on screen and that speeds up the exposure to lower the light and bring out the sun’s definition.
An eclipse wreaks havoc with a smartphone’s exposure controls, and the more the moon occludes the sun, the sharper that light becomes. My solution was simple and likely one you’ve seen elsewhere. I took my Celestron eclipse glasses and carefully placed the film of one sunglass lens over each phone’s zoom lens. If you ever have trouble identifying which camera is the zoom, just open the camera app, select the max optical zoom, and put your finger over each camera lens until you see your finger on the screen.
Three phones, three tripods (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The solar sunglasses helped with cutting down the massive glare. After that, I tapped on the screen and adjusted the exposure until I could see the sun getting the Pac-man treatment from the moon. In most cases, the result was a very orange-looking sun.
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For the next hour or so, I shifted from one phone to the other, repositioning my tripods, lining up the sun, and snapping away.
There were some non-smartphone-related glitches, like cloud cover right before our peak totality (90% where I live) but I was more successful than I expected and the smartphones, for the most part, were up to the challenge.
Not all smartphone cameras are created equal
As you can see, the Ultra’s 10X zoom gets you closer. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
You’ll see some of my comparisons above and below (I’ve used the best from all the phones in the above shots) which I did not resize or enhance, other than cropping them where possible to show them side-by-side.
While the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro shoot at 12MP (the latter is binned from a 48MP sensor, meaning four pixels combined into each one), the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 10X zoom camera is only 10MP. I think those numbers do factor into the overall quality.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The Google Pixel 8 Pro matched the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x zoom and sometimes seemed sharper than either the iPhone or Galaxy S23 Ultra, but I also struggled the most with the Pixel 8 to capture a properly exposed shot. It was also the only phone that forced a long exposure after the peak 90% coverage. The good news is that some of those long exposures offered up the most atmosphere, managing to collect some of the cloud cover blocking my full view of the eclipse.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Things got more interesting with the iPhone 15 Pro Max and its 5x Tertrapism lens. The eclipse appears a little closer than on the Pixel 8 Pro, but also more vibrant. There are a handful of iPhone 15 Pro Max pictures where I can see the clouds and it’s quite beautiful. As with all the phones, this image capture process was a bit hit-and-miss. Colors shifted from orange to almost black and white, and sticking the focus was a challenge. When I did manage to capture a decent photo, I was thrilled.
One of the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s best eclipse photos. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom pulled me thrillingly close to the eclipse. It was certainly easier to get the exposure and focus right. At a glance, the S23’s images are better but closer examination reveals significant graininess, so much so that some appear almost like paintings and rough canvas.
As I dug deeper into all the photos, I noted how each phone camera used ISO settings to manage the image capture and quality. The iPhone 15 Pro Max ranged from ISO 50 (very slow light capture) to ISO 800 (super fast for ultra-bright situations and action shots). Naturally, those at the upper end of the spectrum are just as grainy as those from the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which ranges from as low as ISO 250 to 800.
Sometimes the comparison came down to a matter of taste. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The Google Pixel 8 Pro has the widest range from as low as ISO 16 to an astonishing ISO 1,536. It used that for a capture of the 90% eclipsed sun behind clouds. Aesthetically, it is one of the better shots.
If I had to choose a winner here, it would be the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra by a nose. That extra optical zoom means you have more detail before the graininess kicks in.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is a very close second, but only because it was easier to capture a decent shot. I also think that if it had a bigger optical zoom, the iPhone’s powerful image processing might’ve outdone the year-old Galaxy.
Probably my favorite iPhone 15 Pro Mac eclipse shot. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Google Pixel Pro 8 has some great shots but also a lot of bad ones because I couldn’t get it to lock in on the converging sun and moon. It also suffered the most when it came to exposure. Even so, I am impressed with the ISO range and the sharpness of some shots.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Google Pixel 8 Pro also deserve special mention for producing my two favorite shots. They’re not the closest or clearest ones, but by capturing some of the clouds, they add an ethereal, atmospheric element.
If I live long enough to see another eclipse (there’s one in the American Midwest in 2044), I’ll look for special smartphone eclipse filters and give it another try. By then we could well have 200x optical zoom cameras with 1,000MP sensors.
It’s fair to say the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra‘s cameras haven’t had the smoothest of launches since the phone came out – but it sounds as though a fix is on the way to deal with the final three outstanding problems.
As per serial tipster @UniverseIce (via SamMobile), Samsung‘s engineers are on the case with solutions for below-par telephoto image quality, inaccurate white balance problems, and issues with abnormal red coloring in some situations.
While we’ve not heard a huge number of complaints about these problems specifically, they are out there. However, it’s worth noting that no timeframe has been given for this next update.
In our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, we were very impressed with the performance of the camera modules, as well as the handset overall. While we didn’t notice any major issues like the ones this rumored update will address, other users clearly have.
Third time lucky
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will improve many camera problems in the next “camera firmware update”, Including telephoto image quality, inaccurate white balance and abnormal red color.but they have not given an accurate timetable.I hope they can solve it in AprilApril 7, 2024
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You could say this is a case of third time lucky for Samsung and software updates for the Galaxy S24 camera: the first update in February improved shutter speed, video clarity, and automatic exposure and color selections.
Then we had a second update at the end of March, which included more improvements to camera quality and usability. One of those improvements was apparently to white balance – although this still seems to be a problem for some.
With so much image processing now done by smartphones after a photo is taken, there can be a wide variety of end results in terms of colors, brightness, white balance, and exposure. To some extent, it’s down to personal preference in how you want these settings managed – making it difficult for phone makers to please everyone simultaneously.
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However, for it to take months for a flagship phone’s camera to get up to its full potential isn’t ideal, and Samsung will be well aware of that. What’s more, the camera isn’t the only component that problems have been reported with.
Samsung is slowly expanding its PC lineup. After launching its first desktop PC in years last year, the company has launched its new all-in-one PC in South Korea. Named All-In-One Pro, the iMac-like desktop PC is now available for pre-order. It will be readily available in South Korea starting on April 22.
The All-In-One Pro is priced at 1.99 million ($1,469) in South Korea. It isn’t clear if it would be launched outside of South Korea.
Samsung’s new All-In-One Pro PC has a metal frame and Intel Core Ultra processor
The All-In-One Pro has a metal frame with an ultra-slim design (6.5mm). Samsung says its ultra-slim form factor gives users more free space on their table. Even the wireless keyboard and mouse bundled with the All-In-One Pro have metal materials and offer a unified design. It has a 27-inch 4K screen, which is 13% wider than last year’s All-In-One Pro model. It is also equipped with 3D loudspeakers compatible with Dolby Atmos audio.
It has the Intel Core Ultra processor (exact model number unknown as of now), which offers higher CPU and GPU performance than the 13th Gen Intel Core i5 chip used in last year’s All-In-One PC. It likely comes with at least 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD storage. It isn’t clear if its RAM and SSD can be upgraded. The full-sized keyboard has a dedicated Microsoft Copilot AI key, while the mouse has a minimalistic design.
It has an HDMI port, a couple of USB Type-A ports, an Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm headphone port. Wireless connectivity features include Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E. It also has a built-in webcam for video calls and conferences. It comes with Windows 11 Home and several Galaxy Ecosystem apps and features, including Buds Auto Switch, Multi Control, Quick Share, and Second Screen. You can drag and drop files from your Galaxy phone or tablet to the All-In-One Pro and vice versa.
Thanks to the Windows Phone Link app, you can see your Galaxy phone’s notifications on the PC and even reply to notifications. You can mirror the phone’s screen on the PC as well. You can also use your Galaxy phone’s camera as your All-In-One Pro’s webcam for even better image quality.
A Samsung Electronics official said, “Samsung All-in-One Pro is an all-round PC that can be used in a variety of daily life such as studying, work, and hobbies with its sophisticated design and powerful performance. It provides a more convenient and free daily life with powerful performance, a differentiated Galaxy ecosystem, and AI functions.”
