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• Intel’s 13th-gen then 14th-gen CPUs could launch at a pace that’ll worry AMD

  Intel’s Raptor Lake desktop CPUs could launch in just over six months’ time, and rumor has it that these chips will provide a beefy performance boost. What’s more, next-gen Meteor Lake could arrive hot on the 13th-generation’s heels to put more pressure on AMD’s Ryzen processors.

  Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID) has a new video out on YouTube which, among other topics, addresses Raptor Lake and its rumored launch date, as well as the kind of performance boost we can expect from the next-gen CPUs.

  The leaker believes we’ll witness the arrival of Raptor Lake processors late in Q3 2022, which presumably means September. Interestingly, this echoes a previous leak on Twitter which also pointed to a third quarter debut for Intel’s 13th-gen chips.

  Perhaps even more interesting is the revelation that MLID believes Meteor Lake will land less than a year after Raptor Lake, so that could mean August 2023 (maybe even slightly earlier).

  Bear in mind that this is the prediction for Raptor Lake desktop models, with mobile CPUs debuting in laptops in the fourth quarter.

  MLID claims that with Raptor Lake, we’re looking at an 8% to 15% single-thread performance uplift compared to Alder Lake, which is a laudable boost, and more optimistic sounding than Intel’s recent (much vaguer) claim of ‘up to’ a double digit boost.

  In multi-threaded workloads, we can supposedly expect a bigger 30% to 40% surge in performance.

  On the whole, this sounds pretty impressive for what is just a simple refresh of Alder Lake, with no big changes to the formula. We already know that Intel is planning to boost efficiency cores with the flagship Raptor Lake chip, and in fact double them up to 16, but performance cores will stick with a configuration of 8.

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  Analysis: AMD set to come under serious pressure?

  As we’ve recently seen, the rumor mill believes that AMD has stepped up its intentions with the incoming next-gen Zen 4 launch in an effort to get these Ryzen processors out the door in Q3. As we theorized earlier this month, this could be a reaction to the news that Raptor Lake might come in Q3 (which was floated in a previous rumor), and that Team Red may be aiming to steal Intel’s thunder.

  However, if it’s true that Raptor Lake is due in September, and Meteor Lake could follow in the summer of 2023 – shifting to 7nm, and providing nearly as good a boost as Raptor Lake, according to MLID, even if the 14th-gen will purportedly focus more on mobile CPUs – then AMD will seriously have its work cut out to respond to that kind of pace of development.

  While Ryzen has ruled the desktop CPU roost in recent times, Alder Lake has swung some momentum back Intel’s way since it launched, and it looks like Team Blue really doesn’t want to let up the pressure.

  • Check out the best PC components for your rig

  Via VideoCardz

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• Nvidia’s GeForce Experience now lets you tame the noise of your gaming laptop with RTX 30 series GPUs

  One of the benefits of new Ampere mobile GPUs is the ability to keep a lid on noise levels.

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• A new iPad Air sounds a lot less tempting now that I've tried Samsung's new tablets

  I generally don't like big gadgets. I hate having to stretch my fingers around a giant phone, or clamp bulky smartwatches around my wrist, or crane my neck to look at massive screens. That's why the iPad Air 4 seemed perfect for me - it was a lovely, portable little champ that, in terms of size, was just right.

  With news that Apple has confirmed its March launch event, rumors are swirling about what we'll see - and an iPad Air 5 is one of the top choices. Leakers seem pretty convinced that Apple's next mid-range tablet is on its way.

  You'd think that I'd be excited by this news: a successor to this lovely Air tablet might be coming! However I recently had my head turned by something I thought I'd hate - the absolutely gigantic Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.

  Bigger is... better?

  I often find it hard to predict how I'll feel about gadgets until I've fully tested them out, and I regularly get blindsided by devices I didn't expect to like (or didn't expect to dislike).

  That was the case with Samsung's new 14.6-inch super-tablet, a device which is much bigger than any other slate on the market, and which I initially thought would be too unwieldy to use properly.

  

  Well, I was wrong. I really enjoyed using the thing for taking notes, doodling, working, watching Netflix - it was a dream. My qualms about this baby-sized tablet quickly vanished while using the thing. 

  In short, I liked the thing a lot more than I expected to, which made for an easy review to write. But it's not as great now that this Apple event has been announced.

  How big is 'big'?

  Going from the 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra to my 12.9-inch iPad Pro felt like quite a step down in terms of size - I had to rest the slate a little closer to me when streaming things, and I often went to sketch or doodle and found me accidentally using up all the canvas too quickly.

  Rumors suggest the iPad Air 5 could be 10.9 inches across, which is another case of serious shrinkage for me.  I'm going to have to squint to see anything.

  Of course, this is a very limited problem. Not everyone tests gadgets for their job. But there are other things that the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra convinced me tablets need, that I don't imagine the new iPad Air will have.

  Samsung's wins

  The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with an S Pen stylus. For iPads, you always have to buy the Apple Pencil separately. That alone is a major reason that the iPad Air might seem like a tough sell - you have to shell out loads of extra cash.

  Plus, there's a good chance that the new iPad Air will have an LCD screen, as previous iPads (save a few Pro models) have had. This just pales in comparison to the AMOLED panels on the Galaxy Tab S8 devices. AMOLED has much more vibrant colors, far better contrast, and higher max brightness.

  Since I use my tablet lots for streaming, this is a major win for Samsung.

  I was also impressed by the battery life in the Tab S8 Ultra. Now, I know 'bad battery life' is a complaint about Apple devices that's so common that it's lost its meaning, but in my 2018 iPad Pro, I often find I can't simply go to a coffee shop and write without having to plug the thing in while I'm there.

  Before you start to write emails 'of course battery life would drop over four years' - I haven't actually been using it that long, I'm just referring to which model it is.

  Of course, there are also reasons to prefer iPads over Android tablets. They have a better selection of apps, they play well with other Apple devices, and there's a much bigger selection of third-party accessories to buy for them.

  But I always used to claim Apple held the 'best tablet' throne in an iron grip - after testing the Tab S8 Ultra, though, I'm a little less excited for whatever the next iPad might have to offer.

  • Check out our Apple March Event live blog

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• Slack is about to receive its most important upgrade yet

  Slack has announced a major overhaul for its online collaboration platform, parts of which have been “rebuilt and re-engineered from the group up” to help make work simpler and improve productivity.

  Speaking at the company’s annual Frontiers event, CEO Stewart Butterfield explained the upgrades will create new opportunities for workflow automation and address the frustrations associated with juggling many different business applications.

  “Having a digital HQ that everything can plug into is incredibly powerful for allowing the free interchange of information. The world we want to bring about is one with a lot more fluidity,” he said.

  “This is the culmination of what we’ve wanted from the very early days. We’ve always wanted to give people the equivalent of Lego; blocks they can re-combine themselves [to create new functionality].”

  It’s all about automation

  The headline upgrade centers on a new-look version of the Slack Workflow Builder, a tool that allows any worker to automate their workflows, without having to wait on overburdened dev teams or write the code themselves.

  Although the Workflow Builder has been used creatively by customers so far, the service currently offers relatively simple capabilities. However, Slack has rebuilt this platform from the ground up, expanding the pool of potential use cases dramatically.

  Soon enough, users will have access to a wide library of “building blocks” that can be linked together via a simple drag and drop mechanism to create new automations involving multiple third-party apps.

  For example, any user will be able to quickly spin up an automation that streamlines the process of document approval or requests for time off, which would usually involve hopping between multiple disparate applications. And this is just a simple example.

  

  If there is no available “building block” that fulfils a particular task, a developer can step in to create one on an employee’s behalf. This new block will then become available across the organization, and can be “remixed” into various other workflows.

  “We wanted to take the power of what developers can do on the platform, make [this functionality] reusable and remixable and connect them to the Workflow builder, so a non-developer can have access to way more powerful workloads,” explained Tamar Yehoshua, Chief Product Officer.

  The developer-facing tools will enter private beta immediately, giving devs the opportunity to devise new building blocks before the Workflow Builder update rolls out for regular users next year.

  Slack Connect

  The secondary focus area at Frontiers is Slack Connect, launched last year to give businesses a simpler way to communicate and collaborate with external organizations, without having to rely on cumbersome email chains.

  According to Slack, the service has been adopted by more than 100,000 businesses worldwide since it went live. And now, the company is expanding the offering with new functionality.

  As of early next year, up to 250 organizations will be able to participate in a single channel. And a little further down the line, Slack users will be able to set up “secure work environments” for sprawling projects that require the input of thousands of different partners.

  Although small businesses are unlikely to make use of this new functionality, large enterprises required to orchestrate complex projects or organize large-scale events are bound to benefit.

  • Also check out our list of the best project management software

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