Over the weekend Intel officially introduced its new discrete graphics solution for laptops. The first notebook with an Intel Iris Xe MAX GPU is now available for purchase, and at least two more are on the way in the coming months.
But the GPU is based on the same Intel Iris Xe technology Intel uses for the integrated graphics for many of its new 11th-gen “Tiger Lake” laptop chips. So why opt for the discrete version?
Intel didn’t really lay out many good reasons in its press release, but Ars Technica participated in a briefing and pressed Intel representatives for more details and found out that… honestly most gamers and casual content creators won’t see much benefit to getting a Tiger Lake + Iris Xe MAX laptop over getting one with plain old Iris Xe graphics. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any advantages. And it’s possible things could get better in the future.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
- Deeper dive into Intel Iris Xe MAX discrete graphics [Ars Technica]
What’s the difference between Intel’s Iris Xe integrated graphics for Tiger Lake chips and the new Iris Xe MAX discrete GPU? Since it’s a separate chip, it gets dedicated memory, higher clock rate, and separate TDP budget for a boost in content creation. - Designing Raspberry Pi 400 [Raspberry Pi]
Raspberry Pi explains some of the thinking behind the new Raspberry Pi 400 computer-in-a-keyboard, including why it has micro HDMI ports, a faster CPU than a Raspberry Pi 4, and isn’t based on the Compute Module. - Automatic forwarding of emails in free Yahoo Mail accounts will be discontinued [Yahoo]
Yahoo Mail will no longer offer automatic email forwarding for free account holders, starting Jan 1, 2021. If you’re using the feature, you can upgrade to Yahoo Mail Pro for $3.49/month, which also includes ad-free service and priority support. Or, you know, switch to another free email provider. - Ubuntu 21.04 daily builds [Ubuntu]
Ubuntu 21.04 Hirsute Hippo daily builds are now available for download… but these are *very* early development builds of the next version of Ubuntu, which isn’t set to go stable until April, 2021. - Xiaomi Mi Box 4S Pro with upgraded 8K video decoding [GizmoChina]
The Xaiomi Mi Box 4S Pro media streamer goes up for pre-order in China Nov 5th for about $60. It’s expected to be able to handle 8K video thanks to an upgrade from HDMI 2.0 to HDMI 2.1… although it remains to be seen if it’ll actually have the processing power to match. - Ubuntu Touch OTA-14 brings support for more phones, bug fixes, and more [Linux Smartphones]
The latest update of this smartphone & tablet-friendly version of Ubuntu brings support for more devices, some bug fixes, and a couple of small enhancments. - Librem 5 Linux phone mass production begins, shipments start mid-November [Linux Smartphones
Purism’s Linux smartphone that features a removable battery, a microSD card reader, and hardware kill switches for the privacy-conscious, is set to begin shipping this month. The company has shipped a limited number of early hardware already, but this is the first time “Evergreen,” mass production hardware will be shipping to customers.
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