Lilbits: Sony buys Audeeze, MSI leaks Raptor Lake-S details, and previews of upcoming Android features

Intel’s 14th-gen processors are set to debut this year, and it looks like desktop-class chips that are part of the “Raptor Lake-S Refresh” line are going to be… a lot like the company’s 13th-gen Raptor Lake chips. They’re manufactured on the same Intel 7 node, and featuring the same core and thread counts (for the most part), and very modest performance gains.

That info comes from a pretty reliable source: PC and motherboard maker MSI seems to have accidentally included some specs in a training video that was temporarily visible to the public.

Keep in mind that Intel will also be marketing its upcoming “Meteor Lake” chips as 14th-gen processors. These chips are expected to be manufactured on an Intel 4 process, which could bring bigger performance gains. They’ll also feature a dedicated vision processing unit for AI acceleration, and an updated naming scheme (goodbye “Core i3, i5, i7, and i9,” hello “Core and Core Ultra”).

But rumor has it that Meteor Lake architecture may only be used for the lower-power mobile chips that are typically used in laptops and mini PCs.

Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.

MSI unimpressed with 14th Gen Core series [VideoCardz]

MSI accidentally leaked some key details about Intel’s upcoming 14th-gen Raptor Lake-S Refresh K-series chips. Looks like a modest update, with a 3% average performance boost, but the Core i7 chip gets additional CPU cores and a 17% boost.

Sony Interactive Entertainment to Acquire Audeze [Press release]

Sony is buying headphone maker Audeze to bolster its PlayStation ecosystem, but Sony says Audeze will “continue to operate independent and develop multi-platform products.” The announcement comes a day after Sony unveiled a set of true wireless earbuds and a wireless headset designed to work with the upcoming PlayStation Portal handheld game streaming device. 

ECSIPC Introduces the New LIVA Q3 Series Pocket-sized Mini PC: Small in Size, Big in Performance [ECS]

ECS has (re)introduced the Liva Q3D and Q3H mini PCs with Intel Jasper Lake processors. We first wrote about the former in February, 2023 and the latter in Oct, 2022. But product pages are now live, and maybe you’ll be able to buy one soon.

Stylus handwriting support coming to the Pixel Tablet [@[email protected]]

Google’s Pixel Tablet supports the USI 2.0 stylus protocol, and soon you’ll be able to use a pen to use a new Gboard feature that lets you enter handwritten notes in text fields. It will be automatically converted to text. 

Sneak peek at upcoming “hold close to cast” feature coming to Android [@[email protected]]

In a nutshell, it will let you bring an Android device close to a Pixel tablet in order to cast audio or video to the tablet. Both devices need to be on the same WiFi network, and not all media apps will be supported.

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