

News
Power controllers will rise in price by 10% in the next half of the year
Power controller IC (PMIC) prices continue to rise due to a shortage of semiconductor products, according to the latest research from TrendForce. Analysts predict that the average selling price of PMIC in the first half of next year will rise by almost 10%, reaching the highest in the last six years.
According to TrendForce, PMIC demand is steadily growing in the segments of consumer electronics, telecommunications equipment, industrial control systems and automotive, as well as in connection with the transformation of the industry. Consumer electronics remains the largest consumer of PMIC. While demand for laptops, mobile phones, smartphones and TVs is expected to fall shortly, this downturn will be offset by a recovery in the automotive market and rapid growth in electric vehicle sales, development of automotive electronics and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Given the lack of capacity and the fact that automotive microcircuits undergo many checks to ensure compatibility and high reliability, the lead time for the production of components for automotive electronics has already stretched until the end of 2022. That is, PMIC suppliers in the case of automotive microcircuits call the lead time of 40-52 weeks, and for some models the acceptance of orders has been discontinued. By comparison, the lead time for consumer electronics chips has been extended to 12-26 weeks.

News
Mini PC for those who want to stand out. Chatreey AMR5 offers an unusual design and mode switch

On Aliexpress, an unusual type of mini-PC with a fairly powerful processor appeared on sale. The Chatreey AMR5 model is based on the Ryzen 5 5600U, which offers six cores and a Vega 7 GPU.
The barebone kit is priced at $415, but you can also buy a PC preloaded with 8GB to 64GB of RAM and a 512GB to 2TB SSD. The top version will cost about $1,150.
The novelty stands out, of course, primarily for its design. Moreover, this very design is still associated with one of the functions of the PC. The ring at the top serves as a mode switch. It appears to toggle Windows power modes: Silent, Balance, and Performance Mode.
You can also note support for Wi-Fi 6, backlight, HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C, USB 3.0 (x4), RJ45 ports and dimensions of 156 x 133 x 71.8 mm.
Tablets
Brand new tablet for only $60. Updated Amazon Fire 7 unveiled

Amazon has quietly updated its budget Fire 7 tablets. To be more precise, the Fire 7 and Fire 7 Kids have been updated.
There are no cardinal changes – these are all the same ultra-affordable devices with the appropriate parameters. Since technically the novelties are almost identical, we will talk about them as a single product.
So, the tablet still has a seven-inch screen with a resolution of only 1024 x 600 pixels. This is a very low resolution for 2022, but the price of the tablet is only $60 ($110 for the Kids version).
It is based on an unnamed 2 GHz quad-core processor, which is 30% faster than the solution in the previous generation of the tablet. RAM has doubled, but it’s only 2 GB. Flash memory is available 16 or 32 GB, since there is a slot for microSD. Also autonomy increased by 40%, and now Amazon promises up to 10 hours of work. From the rest, we can note the appeared USB-C port, a 2 megapixel camera and three colors.
Headphones
Apple AirPods Pro ruptured a 12-year-old boy’s eardrums, leaving him disabled. The company was sued

Apple is facing legal action over AirPods.
According to sources, the company was sued due to the fact that a 12-year-old child was injured due to the use of Apple headphones. One would think that the headphones exploded, as this sometimes happens, but in this case the reason is completely different.
The child was watching a movie on Netflix using an iPhone and AirPods Pro. At some point, the Amber Alert system (child abduction alert system) went off. Initially, the headphones worked at a low volume, but the sound of Amber Alert was so loud that it ruptured the child’s eardrums and damaged the cochlea. After the incident, the boy suffered from hearing loss, nausea, dizziness and tinnitus. He is now required to wear a hearing aid.
In fact, this happened back in 2020, but, as is often the case, the general public will learn about such incidents much later.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple is aware of “defective” AirPods that do not mute Amber Alerts. What’s more, Apple also didn’t include a warning about a potential issue that users might encounter.
The lawsuit against Apple seeks damages for the boy and his parents, who are under enormous emotional stress due to the situation. The lawsuit seeks “punitive damages in an amount that will punish defendants for their conduct and deter other technology companies from engaging in such misconduct in the future.”
-
Wearables7 days ago
Xiaomi Mi Band 7 fitness bracelet certified ahead of release
-
Components7 days ago
Xiaomi laptop with high-quality new AMD APU lit up in 3DMark. It is built on Ryzen 7 6800H
-
Wearables5 days ago
The latest Google Pixel Watch smartwatch may get the Samsung Exynos 9110 platform from 2018
-
Components6 days ago
AMD will do it again. Ryzen 7000 processors may be 25-35% faster than the current generation