It looks like we’re finally going to see a significant architecture change (new 2.5D interconnect tech) with AMD’s Zen 6 generation that will lead to better bandwidth, latency, better scaling, and power efficiency. This will increase cost, however. AMD is on a roll and have been able to consistently produce meaningful generation over generation performance increases. Zen 5 itself is already claimed to have a nice performance increase. We’re still waiting for more leaks and benchmarks for Zen 5 which should be coming out any day now.
Nikon Z6 III
This camera is really overdue. Nikon’s doing well at the high end with their Z8 and Z9, but their mid-range camera bodies have been lacking for quite a while, especially on the video side.
We’re starting to get excited about this camera though as it’s looking to be decently video oriented and full-featured. Really, like with the Z8, it seems like Nikon is throwing everything at this camera to make it all you need as long as you can live with the 24MP sensor.
Some key specifications that intrigue us:
- 6K video with strong codecs
- Significantly improved IBIS
- Strong dynamic range and low-light performance
- N-RAW video
- Improved AF
- $3000
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AMD Navi 44 and 48 Video Card Information Leaks (RDNA 4)
Finally some reliable information has come out about AMD’s next generation of video cards.
What we’ve learned:
- Monolithic dies via TSMC 4NP (all this really means is that they got slightly better dies than NVIDIA has right now)
- We’re seeing boosting of between 3.0-3.3 GHz
- FP8 and matrix hardware now present
- RDNA 4 will be ready for Q4 of 2024, however the marketing team will decide when these will ultimately launch (possibly 2025)
- Navi 41 and 42 to have GDDR7 memory
We’re always happy to see anyone compete against NVIDIA as they’re the kind of company that needs competition to keep them from bad behavior.
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Sony A9 III Global Shutter Mirrorless Camera
This $6000 camera is expensive but it’s also the king of action capturing full-frame cameras. The global shutter is most valuable for video but also helps with sports and wildlife when you’re shooting in bursts and don’t want any distortion to your image from a rolling shutter. There is a trade off, however, in that the low light performance is reduced on account of global shutter. This is expected behavior when a global shutter is involved.
We were sad to see the 10bit 422 at 500Mbit codec of the Sony A1 missing on this camera as that was our favorite way to shoot video.
The reviews are out for this camera so do take a look at some:
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Samsung Galaxy A55
Some leaks about the Samsung Galaxy A55 appeared on TENAA website. This indicates an imminent release, likely in the summer. This phone looks a bit different with rectangular features and a key island for controls. It features triple rear cameras and it looks like it will equipped with a Samsung Exynos 1480 processor and a nice, large 5,000mAh battery.
We don’t know much else at this point.
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ASUS ROG STRIX XG259QNS 1080P 380 Hz Monitor
The ROG Strix XG259QNS was announced on February 5, 2024 by ASUS. This 24.5″ 1080P IPS panel monitor is clearly target at gamers with its refresh rate of 380Hz and a response time of up to 0.3ms. The brightness is adequate but not amazing at 400cd/m². We wish it had HDMI 2.1 instead of 2.0.
The price is not known yet but the current XG259QN monitor with very similar specifications sells for $450 presently. We also don’t know the release date but we expect it soon.
See ASUS’s specification page about this monitor for more information.
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ASUS ROG Ally 2 Coming in 2024
The ASUS India Vice President of the Consumer and Gaming division has stated in a conservation with Techlusive: “We most likely will launch a second generation [handheld gaming console] this year. We will still keep the Windows features, but we will focus more on gaming.”
Given some of the issues with the first generation with the SD card malfunctioning due to heat we’re happy to see this unit living on in a second generation.
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Samsung Galaxy Fit3
The Samsung Galaxy Fit3 is coming very soon which is good since it’s long overdue (3 years and counting since the last one). It appears to come in black and white (or is that silver?) colors.
This affordable, probably $99, device will be compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones.
Unfortunately we don’t know too much about this device but given it’s a Samsung product we expect and hope that it will at least be decent.
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Fujifilm X100VI Camera
The Fujifilm X100V is a niche but well loved camera with a fixed 35mm equivalent lens and an excellent Fujifilm cropped sensor with all of the expected functionality. If you can live with the focal length and want a more compact camera, this is certainly a nice option.
The X100V sells for $1400 but rumors seem to indicate that the X100VI will go for $1700.
The best information we have indicates that the specifications may be:
- 40MP Sensor with 6.2K 30P and 4K 60P video
- Same EVF as the X100V and single UHS-I card slot as the X100V
- Heavier, but only slight
- Production has moved from Japan to China
- $1700
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The New Nvidia RTX 3050 Sub-$200 Graphics Card
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a video card from Nvidia for lower than $200. But this is not an exciting card considering its specifications:
- 2,048 or 2,304 Cuda cores (the previous 3050 had 2,560 Cuda cores)
- 6GB of GDDR6 ram (the previous 3050 had 8gb)
- 96-bit memory busy width (the previous 3050 has 128-bit)
- Boost clock of 1,470 MHz (the previous 3050 has 1,777 MHz)
- TGP of 70W (versus 130W of the previous 3050)
- Approximate price of $179
However, it’s good to have options at this market segment. This is probably okay as a budget 1080p card that will let you play games at medium settings. It will definitely be an improvement over any integrated graphics. But would would recommend you save up a bit more and get something that will last you for a longer period of time. This is, after all, based on 3.5 year old architecture.
One interesting situation to consider is, do you buy a Ryzen 8700G or a cheap processor and a new Nvidia RTX 3050? Trick question. Wait for the 8700G to drop in price.