Arm has unveiled the Cortex-X4 supercore, which will be used in the next generation of flagship single-chip systems.

Arm is talking about a 15% performance boost, which is a lot for a single generation. In addition, Cortex-X4 is the most efficient Arm super-core ever.

Interestingly, in the press release dedicated to Cortex-X4, most of the text concerns not quite the newest core. Arm also unveiled its most powerful CPU cluster ever. In this case, we mean the possibility of combining Cortex-X4 with the new Cortex-A720 and A520 cores.

The basis of the cluster is the new block DynamIQ DSU-120, which allows you to cluster 14 processor cores. Of course, this is not required for smartphones, but it is a good start for platforms aimed at PC. As an example, Arm gives a cluster of 10 Cortex-X4 cores and four Cortex-A720. The block also supports L3 cache up to 32 MB and new intelligent power saving modes.

Separately, Arm mentioned a cluster with a core formula of 1 + 5 + 2. It is this configuration that is attributed to the SoC Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Nvidia has introduced G-Sync Ultra Low Motion Blur 2 (ULMB 2) technology, which should make the image on the monitor even clearer.

Nvidia itself speaks of an effective motion clarity frequency of over 1000 Hz, and this should not be confused with frame rate, since there are simply no panels on the market with such a frame rate.

Technologically, ULMB 2 is about the same as the original ULMB technology, which appeared in 2015 and, due to the shortcomings of monitors of those times, did not gain popularity. We are talking about backlight strobing technology, which means that in ULMB 2 the monitor backlight turns on only when each pixel has the correct color value. The idea is to not show the pixel transition, but only show them when their color is accurate. To solve the problems that come with this approach, Nvidia figured out how to control the response time depending on where the vertical base is. Nvidia calls this “vertical dependent overdrive”.

As a result, the very value of effective motion clarity according to the Nvidia formula turns out to be four times higher than the actual frame rate of the monitor. That is, in the case of a panel with a frame rate of 360 Hz, the Nvidia indicator will be 1440 Hz. The company claims that such a monitor will offer the same smoothness and clarity as a non-ULMB 2 monitor with a true 1440Hz frame rate.

The technology is not only presented, but already available. At least two monitor models already support it: Acer Predator XB273U F and Asus ROG Swift 360Hz PG27AQN. They will soon be joined by the 540Hz Asus ROG Swift Pro PG248QP and AOC Agon AG276QSG G-Sync. In the case of the first, it turns out that the effective frequency indicator due to ULMB 2 will be 2160 Hz.

Apple has announced the imminent end of support for the service My Photo Stream (My photo stream). This means users will have to upgrade to iCloud Photos to store photos until the service’s shutdown date.

Apple plans to end support for My Photo Stream on July 26, 2023. A month before the full shutdown, Apple will prohibit uploading new photos from devices to My Photo Stream. The company explained:

Photos uploaded to the service before this date (June 26) will be stored in iCloud for 30 days from the date of upload and will be available on any of your devices with My Photo Stream turned on. On July 26, 2023, iCloud photos will be deleted and the service will be discontinued.

Original photos stored in the device memory will not be affected and will not be deleted. However, if access to the device with the originals is lost, then it is better to take care of saving photos from My Photo Stream in advance.

Apple also clarified:

Going forward, iCloud Photos will be the best way to securely store your photos and videos in iCloud and keep them in sync across all your devices.