HDTV antennas, smart bulbs, smart thermostats, and more are all discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on a 35-mile range HDTV antenna, a smart bulb starter kit, the ecobee3 smart thermostat, and more! Time’s running out to take advantage of these prices, so hurry!

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MoviePass: Everything you need to know

Here’s your one-stop-shop for all the MoviePass news, controversies, and more.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, there’s a good chance you’ve heard a thing or two about MoviePass. Although the company was founded way back in 2011, it’s picked up a lot of steam over the past year or so with its too-good-to-be-true offer of allowing you to see one movie per day for just $9.95/month.

MoviePass has become one of the most disruptive companies of recent memory, and whether you’re looking for the latest controversies or want to learn more about the service before you sign up, you’ve come to the right place.

Without further ado, this is everything you need to know about MoviePass!

The latest MoviePass news

July 5, 2018 — Peak Pricing is now rolling out to all MoviePass users

After being announced late last month, MoviePass is officially launching its new Peak Pricing system.

Like we mentioned in the last news update, Peak Pricing will add a small surcharge to certain showtimes based on the movie you’re seeing and what time it’s playing. A red lightning bolt icon next to a showtime indicates that it is affected by Peak Pricing while a grey-colored one notes that Peak Pricing may go into effect for it soon.

If you’re checking in for a show with Peak Pricing, you’ll see a confirmation screen highlighting the amount you’ll be charged.

MoviePass notes that Peak Pricing is “rolling out gradually over the next several weeks.”

June 22, 2018 — MoviePass Peak Pricing, Bring-A-Guest, and Premium Showings

Get ready, folks. There’s a lot changing with MoviePass, so let’s dive right into the big highlights:

• Bring-A-Guest: If you’re going to the movies with a friend or family member that doesn’t have MoviePass, you can purchase their ticket from the MoviePass app. You’ll still pay the full ticket price, but it should make the ticket-buying process a bit more seamless. You can pick a seat for you and your guest if you’re going to a theater that supports e-ticketing and reserved seating, and if your friend signs up for MoviePass without 24 hours of your showtime, you’ll get a full refund for the ticket price.

• Peak Pricing: For showtimes where “the combination of demand for a title, date or part of day is higher”, you’ll need to pay a “small additional fee” for your ticket. You can avoid the added cost by seeing a different movie or seeing that same title on a different day, and MoviePass will give you a Peak Pass once a month that waives the fee for you. If you’re billed annually or quarterly, you won’t be subject to Peak Pricing until your subscription resets.

• Premium Showings: No matter what plan you’re on, you’ll have the option of seeing RealD 3D, 2D IMAX, 3D, and other Premium Large Format movies by paying an upgrade fee.

MoviePass says these features will be rolling out to members “in the coming weeks.”

All the important details

There are two plans to choose from

Right now, you’ve got two options to choose from if you want to get MoviePass — MoviePass and MoviePass Unlimited.

The former of those two is a limited time offer and allows you to see three movies per month + comes with an extended three-month trial of iHeartRadio All-Access.

While it’s nice that MoviePass has this available if you want to save a couple bucks each month, I’d recommend going all the way with MoviePass Unlimited. For $9.95/month, you can watch one new movie per day in theaters every single day.

Both plans are billed monthly and can be canceled at any time.

See at MoviePass

E-ticketing makes everything easier

MoviePass is regularly partnering with more and more theater chains to support e-ticketing, and if you happen to live near one that offers this, you’re in for a real treat.

For theaters that don’t support e-ticketing, using MoviePass requires you to be within 100 yards of the theater you’re going to, check-in to the showtime on your phone, and then swipe your card to get your ticket. If the showing happens to sell out by the time you get to the theater, you can either choose another movie or call it a night.

However, if there’s a theater near you that does support e-ticketing, the process is way simpler. Once you find the showtime you want to go to, a “Get E-Ticket” button will pop up instead of the “Check In” one.

E-tickets can’t be canceled once you buy them, but they do have the added benefit of allowing you buy them wherever you are. Also, if you’re theater supports e-ticketing and reserved seating, you can even choose your seat right from the MoviePass app! Once you get to the theater, just type in the redemption code for your e-ticket or scan the QR code.

Right now, e-ticketing with MoviePass works at Goodrich Quality Theaters, Studio Movie Grill, and MJR Theaters.

Only 2D movies are supported, at least for now

As it currently stands, you can only use your MoviePass to watch regular 2D movies. In the near future, however, that will soon be changing.

In the coming weeks, MoviePass will allow you to pay an upgrade fee to see RealD 3D, IMAX 2D, 3D, and other Premium Large Format movies.

It’s unclear right now how much those upgrade fees will cost, but you can absolutely expect them to be considerably less than the full ticket price.

You can’t rewatch movies

As good of a deal as MoiePass is, it’s not without a few limits here and there — the first of which is the fact that you can’t rewatch movies.

MoviePass experimented with letting people rewatch the same movie over and over again for a few months but eventually decided to revoke the right to prevent ticket-scalping and other misuses of the service.

It would certainly be nice to have the option of seeing a movie again that you particularly like, but don’t expect this to come back anytime soon.

You can still benefit from your theater’s loyalty program

If your theater has a loyalty program that rewards you with points for buying tickets and concessions, you can link it up to your MoviePass account and still get rewarded for the tickets you “buy” with your MoviePass subscription.

As it currently stands, you can link loyalty programs from Goodrich Quality Theaters, D Place Entertainment, and Starlight Cinemas.

It’s an admittedly small list right now, but it’s one that should only grow more and more as time goes on.

What’s the deal with Peak Pricing?

MoviePass is always trying to find ways of adapting its business model as more and more people join, and one of those latest efforts is seen with Peak Pricing. On June 22, MoviePass said the following:

Under this plan, if the combination of demand for a title, date or part of day is higher, subscribers may be asked to pay a small additional fee depending on the level of demand. You can avoid this peak surcharge by choosing an alternative date or film.

In the MoviePass app, showtimes that are affected by Peak Pricing will be indicated by a red lightning bolt icon next to them. If a showtime isn’t currently in Peak Pricing but might enter it soon, you’ll see a grey icon.

The surcharge you’ll need to pay is entirely dependent on the movie and time, but as a point of reference, the screenshots MoviePass shared show a surcharge of $3.43. Thankfully, MoviePass will launch Peak Passes in the coming weeks that’ll allow you to waive the Peak Pricing fee once per month.

Peak Pricing officially launched on July 5 and is rolling out to users over the coming weeks. If you’re currently subscribed to an annual or quarterly plan, you won’t have to deal with Peak Pricing until your plan ends and renews.

Be mindful of the device authorization limit

If you’re someone that lives the two phone life or frequently goes from device to device, you’ll want to keep MoviePass’s device authorization limit in mind.

To “keep your account secure”, MoviePass only allows you to be signed into the MoviePass app on one phone at a time. However, if you do get a new phone or need to sign into another one for whatever reason, you can log into your account on another phone every 30 days.

Just download the app, enter your credentials, and confirm that you want to use that as your authorized device.

Updated July 5, 2018: Updated the Peak Pricing section with new details shared by MoviePass.

Common Galaxy S9 problems and how to fix them

Even new phones can have problems — we’re here to help you with them.

Samsung’s hardware is solid, particularly in high-end phones like the Galaxy S9 and S9+. But any time you make tens of millions of a single phone and ship them around the world, some customers are bound to find issues — and at this scale, they can quickly become significant.

Now that the Galaxy S9 and S9+ have been out for several months, we’re rounding up the most common problems and finding the best ways to fix them.

Bad battery life

Some people report solid battery life, particularly with the larger Galaxy S9+, but the smaller phone leaves something to be desired for heavy smartphone users. No matter your situation, here’s how to get the most out of the battery you have:

• Use Power saving mode. Turning it on from the notification shade quick settings or the Device maintenance settings, the “mid” Power saving mode will reduce your screen resolution, lower brightness and stop apps from waking up in the background. You shouldn’t use this mode all the time, but if you’re low on charge it can be a life saver.
• You can find battery-intensive apps by going to Device maintenance and tapping on Battery usage to see what’s taken up the most power over the course of the day. If something’s out of the ordinary, keep an eye on it and see if it continues to cause problems.
• Uninstall unused apps, as they may be waking up in the background and using battery without your knowledge. If you haven’t used an app in a while, there’s no need to keep it around when it could be using up your battery.
• It may look really cool, but you can save lots of battery by turning off Always On Display. Go to Settings, Lock screen and security and tap the toggle next to Always On Display. A compromise can be to limit the hours it runs (via these settings), rather than having it on the whole day.

Running out of storage

Samsung made a great move in putting 64GB of internal storage in the Galaxy S9 and S9+, and even released 128 and 256GB options, meaning you have even more runway for using the phone without worrying about storage. Still, some people are going to hit that limit sooner or later. Here are some tips for cleaning up your internal storage:

• Offload photos to a cloud management service like Google Photos. The service offers unlimited backup of slightly compressed high-quality uploads, plus 15GB of free full-quality backups. After the photos are uploaded, you can save space by removing them from your phone.
• Use the Galaxy S9’s built-in Device maintenance feature, found in the settings. Tap on Storage and see what it can offer to clean out — just be aware that it may clear some cached images and temporary files that will just have to be downloaded again when you use some apps.
• Delete unused apps! You may have gone on a download spree when you first bought your phone, only to end up using 20 of the 200 apps you installed. Scroll through your apps and find a few that you don’t use — long press the app icon and tap Uninstall to remove it from your phone. You can always download it again later.
• Get an SD card, and start to store non-critical data like music, movies, photos and videos on the card. You can move some apps, but the best way to save on storage space is to move big media files first.

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS problems

Dealing with wireless problems can be frustrating, whether you’re talking about Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS. There are so many variables involved that it can be tough to tell whether the issue is on the phone’s end or somewhere else. The basics of troubleshooting these issues are as follows:

Make sure you turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, wait a few seconds and turn it back on. If that doesn’t fix the problem, move on.
Restart your phone. Sometimes all that’s needed a quick kick to the reset button and you’re good to go.
If Wi-Fi problems persist, try forgetting the network by long pressing on the network name and tapping Forget network. Then tap the network again to re-enter the password and re-connect.
If Bluetooth problems persist, try unpairing the device from your phone and re-pairing. To do that, tap on the cog icon next to the product’s name and hit Unpair. Put the device you’re connecting to in pairing mode and connect again.
If you’re worried you may have tweaked settings inadvertently and want to start over, go to General management, Reset and then tap Reset network settings.

• This will forget all of your saved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices, but it may be what’s necessary to fix the problem.

If the problems persist at this point, chances are they are related to something else in the chain, like the wireless router or Bluetooth accessory you’re trying to use. Follow troubleshooting steps for those devices and start fresh.

Software isn’t up to date

One of the biggest frustrations for Android fans is how slow Samsung can be at keeping its software up to date, even on its most expensive and popular devices. You can always check for available over-the-air (OTA) updates by going to Software update in your settings — but just because you don’t get an update this way doesn’t mean there isn’t one available. You can update manually using Samsung’s Smart Switch desktop software — just install it, connect your phone and tell it to download updates automatically. Sometimes the staggered OTA rollout schedule can put you late in the lineup, and you can get it faster by going through your computer.

If you’ve attempted to update over the air and via your computer, and still don’t have the latest software, chances are it just hasn’t been released for your phone yet. Remember that Samsung doesn’t release the same software update to all models of its phones at the same time, and there can be differences in release timing between countries and even individual carriers. On top of that, Samsung rarely keeps up with monthly security patches, and often rolls up multiple patches into just one update every few months.

How to factory reset the Galaxy S9

Sometimes after lots of troubleshooting and work, you just can’t find what’s causing your phone problems. When all else fails, it may make sense to just factory reset your phone and start fresh. Back up your important data, and perform these quick steps to reset your phone to the way it came out of the box:

Go to your Settings.
Scroll down to General management.
Tap on Reset.
Tap on Factory data reset.
Read the warning, scroll down and tap Reset device.

• If you have a lock screen pattern or PIN, you’ll have to confirm it.

Other issues

What are your main issues with the Galaxy S9 or S9+? We’ll keep this article updated as new information becomes available!

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint

Samsung Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?

This one is a tough sell — but a sell Samsung isn’t really trying to make in the first place.

It doesn’t take long to realize the Galaxy S9 is very similar to its predecessor. Hand the two phones to an average person, and they wouldn’t likely know which one is the “newer” device. They have extremely similar designs, the software is near-identical and the insides haven’t dramatically changed either.

Nevertheless, people who love their Galaxy S8 are likely to be interested in anything Samsung has to offer, and will want to know whether the next flagship is worth their time and money. Here’s what you can expect when looking to upgrade from the Galaxy S8 to the Galaxy S9.

What’s the same

Samsung seems happy with its current design language because it kept things nearly identical for its 2018 flagship. The Galaxy S9 is almost the exact same physically as the outgoing Galaxy S8, with only a 1.2 mm reduction in height and 8-gram increase in weight separating the two. The metal and glass are both thicker, but you’d be hard-pressed to tell if someone didn’t let you in on the secret. You may notice the subtle change from a glossy to lightly textured finish on the metal — but the actual feel of it isn’t much different.

Physically, these two phones are nearly identical.

That means that the screen size remains the same at 5.8-inches in the Samsung standard 18.5:9 aspect ratio, with the same resolution, curved sides, rounded corners, and Gorilla Glass covering. The buttons all remain in near-identical positions, including the Bixby button on that left side underneath the volume rocker. Inside you have the same 64GB storage (plus SD card slot), 4GB of RAM, wireless charging, fast charging and all of the other Samsung standards. It also notably did not improve charging speeds, leaving things at Quick Charge 2.0 levels.

The important thing to note here is that nothing has gotten worse or less capable for 2018 — Samsung only built upon and improved from the Galaxy S8. In a way that’s a feature of this release, as so many times we see companies try to push the envelope year-over-year in a way that ends up leaving behind well-liked features from previous versions. So, look on the bright side.

What’s different

The most substantial change in the Galaxy S9 is an all-new camera setup, comprised of a new “Super Speed” Dual Pixel sensor and a lens with a physically variable aperture. The sensor offers dramatically reduced grain and improved fine edge processing, which was a sore spot of the Galaxy S8 in low-light scenes. Speaking of, the move to an f/1.5 aperture also lets in more light in badly lit scenes, giving that improved sensor even more to work with. The result is notably improved low-light photography that’s among the best in the industry. The new sensor also gives the Galaxy S9 a 960 fps super slow-motion mode, going well beyond the Galaxy S8 for a super dramatic effect.

Lots of subtle improvements, and absolutely no downside.

Even though the battery hasn’t gotten any larger, the Galaxy S9 has more efficient processor that can help a little with overall longevity. Whether you get the Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9 version, both processors are more frugal with power for normal tasks, which in the end will save you battery (though the Snapdragon model seems to be the better of the two this year). Just how much is really going to depend on how you use the phone, but considering the rest of the experience has remained effectively constant, don’t expect this to be a massive improvement.

Samsung’s only claimed improvement with the 5.8-inch display for 2018 is a bump in brightness, but at a 15% increase that’s pretty substantial. That puts the GS9’s display roughly on par with the Galaxy Note 8 in overall brightness, and that’s noticeable over the Galaxy S8. The Galaxy S9 bests the S8 and the Note 8 with audio, though, firing up a second speaker above the screen for stereo sound that’s louder and has crucial stereo separation.

And it’s a relatively small thing, but the one real change to the usability of the Galaxy S9 is its fingerprint sensor, which is far easier to reach and use than on the Galaxy S8. It makes the swipe-down gesture for the notification shade useful, and generally reduces frustration when you’re trying to unlock your phone — something you do hundreds of times a day.

Should you upgrade?

I’ll say it right away: most people who have a Galaxy S8 shouldn’t expect to upgrade to a Galaxy S9. And with all of Samsung’s product decisions and messaging around the Galaxy S9 launch, it doesn’t expect many people to make the one-year upgrade either. There’s a massive base of Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 owners out there that are being targeted here, getting a refreshed and improved Galaxy S8 that’ll still look fantastic compared to those older phones.

If you bought your Galaxy S8 on Day 1 last year and have had it for well over a year now, you may be willing to sell off your phone to a third party and pay up the difference, but even in that case you’re looking at hundreds of dollars of outlay to get this newer phone that isn’t that much better. The one thing you could say for upgrading is that the Galaxy S9 does everything the S8 does, plus more — you don’t lose anything in the upgrade process. Even with that in mind, it’s tough to argue that a new camera system, moved fingerprint sensor, slightly faster processor and brighter screen is worth the hundreds of dollars it’ll cost to make the jump.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint

Update July 2018: Updated to reflect the Galaxy S8’s age and new pricing.

Inbox by Gmail Finally Gains Support for iPhone X

The Inbox by Gmail app for iOS devices was today updated with support for the iPhone X, a full eight months after the larger-screened iPhone launched.

Since November 2017, Inbox by Gmail has received 13 updates, none of which included iPhone X support until today. Inbox is one of Google’s last apps to get iPhone X support, with most other apps updated earlier in the year.

Before update on left, after update on right
Following today’s update, the Inbox by Gmail app will no longer display black bars at the top and the bottom of the app, with your list of emails taking up the full length of the screen.

According to Google’s release notes, no other new features were included in today’s update.

Google today also updated its standard Gmail app for iOS, introducing support for high-priority notifications for important messages.

Inbox by Gmail can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Gmail can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tags: Google, Inbox by Gmail, Gmail
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MoviePass Now Charging Extra Fees for Popular Showtimes

MoviePass in June said that it would introduce surge pricing for moviegoers watching movies at peak times, and as of today, those new surcharges have gone into effect.

In an email sent out to customers and a new section on its website, MoviePass explains that its new “Peak Pricing” system may require subscribers to “pay a small additional fee depending on level of demand” for a movie.

MoviePass claims that peak pricing provides “additional flexibility” for MoviePass and its users around popular movies and times for which there is limited inventory.

The service says that to avoid fees, subscribers should choose an alternative date or film, with one fee waiver per subscriber available each month. MoviePass has provided little detail on the new fee system. Peak pricing fees are determined “based on movie demand and popularity” with movies that are in demand for “title, date, or time of day” impacted.

Specific surcharge fees have not been outlined by MoviePass, but a screenshot of the peak pricing feature shared by MoviePass displays a $3.43 fee for seeing “Avengers: Infinity War.” Extra fees will be charged to the credit card on file with MoviePass.

Peak pricing will be rolling out for all MoviePass users “in the coming weeks” for all theaters, with MoviePass planning to provide details on which films will be subjected to peak pricing and how much they will cost in the MoviePass app.

Movies affected by peak pricing will feature a red lightning icon when prices have gone up, and a gray lightning icon when prices will soon surge.

MoviePass subscribers who were promised unlimited films for their monthly fee with no restrictions at the time of sign up will likely be unhappy with the new fees. MoviePass says that even with fees, the service is still cheaper than traditional movie tickets.

Even with the peak pricing fee, you will be paying less for the ticket than you would if you bought it at retail price, and in the coming weeks, every subscriber will be able to waive one peak fee per month. That said, if you would like to avoid paying the fee, you can choose an alternate title or showtime!

In the future, MoviePass plans to introduce features that include Bring a Guest for purchasing an additional ticket, and extra fees for IMAX and 3D movie showings. These new options will allow MoviePass to better compete with AMC, which recently launched its Stubs A-List service.

With Stubs A-List, customers can see three movies per week for $19.95 per month, with no restrictions on times or repeat movies. Stubs A-List includes IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, Prime, and Big D movies at no extra charge.

Tag: MoviePass
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Twitterrific Outlines Changes to Push Notifications and Live Streaming Ahead of Twitter API Updates

Twitterrific today updated its Twitter clients for iOS and Mac devices to implement some changes to the way the service works ahead of upcoming API changes that will go live on August 16, 2018.

Starting on that date, Twitterrific says that its iOS app will no longer be able to receive and display native notifications. Users will not be notified when someone likes their tweet, quotes a tweet, replies to their tweet, sends a direct message, retweets, or follows them.

As a result, Twitterrific’s Today center widget and Apple Watch app, which rely on these features, are being retired.

Users will continue to receive push notifications until August 16, but after that date, the feature will vanish. Twitterrific is removing the Push Notification in-app purchase for new users.

Twitter’s upcoming changes also remove live streaming for third-party apps on both iOS and Mac, which will impact how Twitterrific works. Once the API is dismantled, tweets and direct messages will be delayed by a minute or two.

As of today’s update, Twitterrific says the apps will still attempt to live stream tweets, but will revert to refreshing every two minutes if it is unable to connect to a live stream. Live streaming will also continue to be available until August 2018.

In most use cases you probably won’t notice the difference, except in cases like live events or with popular searches that update frequently. On the plus side, this change means that Lists can finally auto-refresh themselves like other timelines – something that had been sorely missing for a long time.

For users who want to continue to get push notifications, Twitterrific recommends installing the official Twitter client for notifications while continuing to use Twitterrific for everything else.

Twitter shared full details on its upcoming API changes back in May. Twitter is offering premium and enterprise API access to developers, but prices are prohibitively high. There is no replacement for the current live streaming API, which Twitter says is only used by 1 percent of monthly active apps.

Tags: Twitter, Twitteriffic
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BBC turns to California court in bid to find ‘Doctor Who’ leaker

BBC America

The BBC is turning to the California Federal Court to help it discover who leaked footage from an upcoming season of Doctor Who, one of its most successful shows.

The footage, which lasts just short of a minute, reportedly shows the new Doctor Who — Jodie Whittaker — along with two photos of the actor. The content was shared on the Tapatalk app, which offers people easy access to forums from across the web.

California-based Tapatalk isn’t accused of any malpractice, indeed, the app’s terms and conditions warns users against sharing copyrighted material.

Representing the show, BBC Studios is asking the court to force Tapatalk to release data that could reveal the source of the leak, BBC News reported this week.

The British media giant said in a statement that it will “strive to protect our program-makers, audiences and license fee payers from any breaches of security — ensuring Doctor Who fans enjoy the final and fully completed version of the episode when it premieres.”

According to the BBC, the leaked footage had not completed the production process and therefore lacked the proper color grading. It also included “temporary music.” Such characteristics could help to pinpoint the perpetrator, the BBC said, as they may help to identify where along the production process the leak occurred.

Another clue could come from the discovery that a “small number” of people on text and chat app Discord had talked about the leaked content prior to its appearance on Tapatalk.

The link to the footage has since been removed from Tapatalk, and BBC Studios has been working to remove the content from various social media services and other websites.

The BBC’s long-running sci-fi series has built up a huge fanbase over the years, with leaks proving to be something of an occasional problem for the show. But it’s not always mysterious miscreants spoiling the fun. In 2014, BBC Worldwide, which merged with BBC Studios in April, was forced to issue a public apology after it accidentally gave online access to five scripts and six unfinished episodes from an upcoming season.

More recently, the Doctor himself, then Peter Capaldi, unexpectedly revealed during an interview that he was retiring from the show before any official announcement had been made.

Steven Moffat, at the time Doctor Who‘s showrunner, said of Capaldi’s surprise revelation: “In this world where … it is absolutely impossible to keep secrets, there was no point in trying. I’d far rather nobody knew until the regeneration. That would be so exciting, but we just can’t do it.”

The next season of Doctor Who, which stars Whittaker as the first female Doctor in its 55-year history, airs in the fall.

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Intel 9th-generation CPUs are refreshes with slight clock speed bumps

The next-generation of Intel CPUs isn’t going to be its long-awaited Cannon Lake design, which drops the die size to 10nm, but instead will be a refresh of the 8th-generation. New leaked details suggest they will be a little faster than their predecessors, with a slight increase to clock speed. The absence of details on top end chips does suggest Core i7 CPUs could have a higher core-count than previous processors.

AMD’s launch of the Ryzen CPU line in 2017 lit a fire under Intel like we haven’t seen in a long time. It increased core counts in its mainstream CPUs for the first time in years and even rushed out a (bogus) supercooled 28-core chip showcase at Computex to try and steal AMD’s Threadripper 2 thunder. It may be that the 9th-gen refresh is another attempt to combat AMD, which launched a Zen+ version of its Ryzen CPUs earlier this year.

Although Intel hasn’t made any kind of official announcement about its 9th-gen chips, it did leak a couple of documents which were rather revealing. The first showed up in a microcode revision document for Spectre vulnerabilities. It has since been edited, but as with everything that lands on the internet, someone grabbed a screenshot of it — this time it was Videocardz.

The CPUs listed under Coffee Lake S (6+2) includes the i5-9400, i5-9400T, i5-9500, i5-9600, and i5-9600K. The i3-9000 and i3-9100 were listed under the Coffee Lake S (4+2) category. The lack of mention of any Core i7 CPUs suggests that it’s possible that the higher-end mainstream CPUs will offer eight-cores, but that’s pure speculation at this point.

Another document leaked by Intel and since removed, is a much more detailed specifications document. Once again grabbed by Videocardz, it confirms that the Intel 9th-gen chips are refreshes of existing 8th-gen hardware. It also tells us that we can expect slight clock speed boosts because of that, with base clocks at the low end being nudged up by 100MHz, while turbo clocks at the top end saw a slightly more impressive 200MHz increase.

Core counts, power draws, and cache sizes all stay the same across generations, so it may be that the Intel 9th-generation CPUs don’t offer a huge performance improvement over existing CPUs from the 8000 series.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Intel Core i5 vs i7
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• Intel Anniversary Edition 5GHz six-core CPU hits 7.2GHz in supercooled overclock
• AMD vs. Intel

The new, cheap Surface tablets could cut corners on processing power

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

You can’t have something for nothing, and that looks set to be the case with the upcoming low-cost Surface tablets Microsoft is  reportedly working on. Reportedly, the way it’s looking to get the cost of the convertible tablet down to under $400 is by fitting them with Pentium Silver N5000 and Pentium Gold Y-series CPUs. While they match up favorably with the Core m3 processor used in the base-model Surface Pro, they fall well short of the Core i5 CPUs used in the slightly more costly models.

While this is disappointing for anyone who was hoping for a viable alternative to the Surface Pro for general computing purposes, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise if you consider the purpose of the rumored new Surface line. Microsoft is looking to compete directly with Apple’s iPad hardware. Those tablets are relatively low cost and offer reasonable power, but they don’t compete with laptops. The whole point is to keep costs down, and Pentium Silver and Gold chips could be a great way to offer that whilst introducing the benefits of brand new CPU technologies.

Whichever configuration new Surface buyers opt for, they should get far more powerful hardware than the last Surface tablet, the Surface 3. Although we liked that 2015 convertible tablet with its Intel Atom CPU, the three-year-old hardware doesn’t hold up to the newer Pentium chips. The Atom and Pentium Silver chips have four cores, where the Gold chips have two (with support for hyperthreading), but the newer architectures are significantly more powerful in all scenarios than the older Atom chip.

That said, those hoping for real power will want to opt for heftier devices, as these chips are not designed to be workhorses. While perfectly capable for watching Netflix or writing up documents, more intense tasks will certainly stress the system. As Engadget points out though, that’s not a problem, as Microsoft’s simply wants students and budget tablet users to consider it instead of the Apple alternative hardware.

For everyone else, there’s fantastic convertible laptops in the Surface line like the Surface Book 2, which sports industry leading battery life and real performance hardware.

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