Silkland, a tech brand specializing in cables and accessories, has once again raised the bar with its new 4ft USB-IF Certified USB4 Cable. This latest cable delivers unmatched speed and convenience, and works seamlessly with all Thunderbolt 4 / 3 / Type C devices, making it an essential tool for professionals and everyday users alike.

Silkland's latest offering stands out as the longest USB-IF certified USB4 cable, measuring at 4ft. This means users can now enjoy a longer reach without compromising speed and efficiency compared to the standard 3.3ft cables. Fully supports the latest features to future-proof your setup. Backward compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2, USB 3.2 Gen 2 x2.

There appear to be an ever increasing amount of gaming monitors on the market these days and the latest addition from Gigabyte is using a 4K SuperSpeed IPS panel. The Gigabyte M27UA sports a 27-inch display as the name suggests and it should be a typical 8-bit + FRC panel with a 95 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space, a 400 cd/m² typical brightness and a 5 ms grey to grey response time. The M27UA also offers a 160 Hz refresh rate which is in line with the best IPS gaming monitors out there and it's AMD FreeSync Premium certified. On the software side of things we find typical Gigabyte inclusions like Aim Stabilizer Sync, Black Equalizer 2.0, built in cross hairs, night vision and an FPS counter, as well as Gigabyte's OSD Sidekick which allows you to adjust the monitor settings from an app in Windows.

Gigabyte has equipped the M27UA with two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, a USB Type-C with DP Alt mode support and USB PD at 18 W (no, that's not a typo). The Type-C port together with one USB 3.2 Type-B port and three USB 3.2 Type-A ports enable KVM functionality—there's even a dedicated KVM button at the back of the monitor. A headphone jack rounds off the connectivity options and there's also a pair of built in 3 Watt speakers. In addition to KVM, there's also support for Picture in Picture and Picture by Picture. The supplied stand offers height and tilt adjustment, but not swivel or pivot. One upside of this monitor is the relatively low power consumption of 34 Watts. There's no word on availability or pricing from the company.

ViewSonic has launched a new OLED gaming monitor in the Chinese market that not only is a dual-mode 4K 240 Hz / 1080p 480 Hz display, but it also brings DisplayPort 2.1 connectivity as part of the package. The XG323-4K-OLED2 is said to sport a 31.5-inch LG OLED panel with an anti glare coating, that delivers up to 450 nits brightness, but it can reach as high as 1300 nits in HDR mode. The 10-bit OLED panel delivers 0.03 ms Grey to Grey response time, 98.5 percent of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and it's also VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certified. There's also support for VRR via some form of AMD FreeSync version.

However, what stands out here is the paired back design, especially considering that the XG323-4K-OLED2 is being sold as a gaming monitor. We get a more traditional square stand and a much thicker display back compared to most other gaming OLED displays. That said, we're not quite sure what ViewSonic was thinking when the base of the stand was designed, as it's not flat. Connectivity, besides two DisplayPort 2.1 port with full 80 Gbps UHBR20 support, also consists of a USB Type-C port with DP Alt-mode and 140 W USB PD support—a first as far as we're aware—as well as more mundane options like two HDMI 2.1 inputs, one USB 3.2 Type-B input, three USB 2.0 outputs and an audio jack. The stand supports the standard tilt, swivel and height adjustments, as well as rotation. Finally the XG323-4K-OLED2 sports a pair of 5 W speakers and a remote control. JD.com is listing the display of RMB 10,999 which is just north of US$1,500. It's unclear which, if any other markets ViewSonic will offer the XG323-4K-OLED2 in.

MSI has become something of a major player in the gaming monitor market and the company had a range of new OLED and QD-OLED models on display at Computex 2024. Let's start with the biggest buzzword model, the MEG 321URX QD-OLED which MSI claims is the world's first true AI gaming monitor. The so-called AI engine is supposed to help gamers lose less with features like AI Skysight which scans the game's mini map in real time for threats and then points them out to the player. There's also the ability to display certain stats on the monitor's "SpectrumBar" which is an RGB light strip below the monitor. Looking at the actual specs we find a next-gen 31.5-inch, 4K QD-OLED display panel with 240 Hz refresh rate and a 0.03 ms grey to grey response time. There was no mention of any HDR certification for this model.

Connectivity wise many of you will not be happy to see DisplayPort 1.4 as the main input, although it also has two HDMI 2.1 ports, a USB Type-C with DP Alt-mode support that also offers 98 Watts of USB PD charging, one USB 2.0 Type-B input, two USB 2.0 Type-A outputs and a headphone jack. KVM support is part of the package and MSI states it has improved the cooling by using a graphene film and a custom heatsink so the QD-OLED panel should run cooler than competing products. The MEG 321URX finally comes with OLED Care 2.0 which MSI claims will "significantly reduce the chances of OLED screen burn-in" according to the information provided at the show. According to TFTCentral, it will cost US$1700, but there's no availability date as yet.

This might be the gaming monitor some of you have been waiting for, as Cooler Master has pulled out all the stops with its GP57ZS monitor that the company was showing at Computex. Apart from being a massive 57-inches, the monitor offers dual 4K resolution, or 7680 x 2160 pixels, which are lit up by a 2304-zone Mini LED backlight. We've seen similar displays from both Samsung and Acer. Cooler Master is clearly using the same VA panel as the previously mentioned companies and you also get the same 1000R curvature here, which means the GP57ZS isn't going to be for everyone. Cooler Master didn't provide any refresh rate details, nor the types of inputs that will be on offer.

In addition to this, Cooler Master also showed off a pair of new 27-inch models, both sporting a 2560 x 1440 resolution. The cheaper GM27QP gets a 1500R curved 160 Hz VA panel and HDR400 support, as well as a DP 1.4 and two HDMI 2.0 inputs. It also gets to make do with basic Adaptive Sync VRR, but it does have gaming features like crosshair, an FPS counter and black stabilisation. The more premium GP27QP on the other hand gets a flat display panel of unknown type with a 240 Hz refresh rate, which is illuminated by an 1152 zone Mini LED backlight. Typical brightness is 350 nits and the contrast ratio is 2500:1, but the display is also HDR1000 certified. Connectivity is seriously upgraded here with two DP 1.4 and two HDMI 2.1 inputs, as well as a USB Type-C input that also delivers 96 Watts of USB PD power. In addition to this, there's also a USB Type-B input and three USB Type-A outputs. For some reason it seems like Cooler Master has stuck with Adaptive Sync on this model too, but this model does at least gain support for Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture support.

For those looking for something a bit out of the ordinary when it comes to monitors, HP might have your next productivity monitor in the shape of the Series 7 Pro Monitor 738pu. It sports a 3840 x 1600 resolution which gives the 37.5-inch panel a rather unusual aspect ratio of 24:10 or 12:5 if you prefer. The monitor is built around an 8-bit + FRC IPS Black panel with a contrast ratio of 2000:1 and a 400 nits peak brightness. The panel supports a colour gamut of 98 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space and sports a 5 ms grey to grey response time. However, it also has a max refresh rate of 60 Hz and is edge lit, which means it'll be terrible for HDR, although it's only certified for DisplayHDR 400, which means pretty poor HDR support to start with.

On the connectivity side, HP has loaded out the 738pu with a wide range of ports, starting with a HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort input, as well as daisy chain output, one Thunderbolt 4 port that also supports 100 W USB PD and DP 1.4, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C port that also supports 65 W USB PD and DP 1.4 Alt Mode, one Thunderbolt 4 output for daisy changing (limited to 15 W), one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C port (no video, also limited to 15 W) and five USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, of which one is a 7.5 W capable charging port. It also has a Gigabit Ethernet port, four integrated speakers with DTS Virtual:X and KVM support, but no headset jack, microphone or built-in camera. It also supports Picture-by-Picture or Picture-in-Picture when multiple sources are connected. The stand supports height, tilt and swivel adjustments. The power supply is integrated and the 738pu has a maximum power draw of 318 W fully loaded. HP is asking for US$1,249 for the Series 7 Pro Monitor 738pu.

Edifier International, the award-winning audio electronics designer, reveal the QR65 Desktop Active Monitor speakers - a new all-in-one unit that combines the brand's renowned acoustic technology with immersive Lumia light effects and TurboGaN fast-charging capabilities.

One of 4 Edifier products to win a prestigious Visual Grand Prix 2024 award and also highly recommended with a much sought after VGP 2024 Gold Medal Award, the QR65 is remarkably versatile, placing an emphasis on both compatibility and multi-use functionality. As the brand name develops, audio quality remains paramount with the QR65 featuring an advanced Acoustic Architecture. Equipped with 2.75" mid-low drivers, an aluminium alloy diaphragm and a long-throw design, the QR65 can produce consistently punchy bass frequencies whilst bolstering rich and full-bodied mids. Thanks to 1.25" silk diaphragm dome tweeters, finely tuned by Edifier's world-leading audio engineers, the speakers boast precision-tooled high frequency reproduction, creating crisp and bright trebles that stand out above even the most bass-laden of mixes.

MeLE, designers of mini PCs, and industrial PCs, unveiled the Fanless Stick PC PCG02 Pro. Measuring 146 mm x 61 mm x 20 mm (LxWxH), this thing is about the size of two smartphones duct-taped together, but weighing as much as one (since there's no battery inside). Under the hood is an Intel N100 "Alder Lake-N" processor, which features one "Gracemont" E-core cluster for a 4-core/4-thread CPU, and an Intel Xe LP-based iGPU with 24 execution units. The N100 in the MeLE PCG02 Pro is wired to 8 GB or 16 GB of LPDDR4X-4266 memory. Storage is in the form of 128 GB or 256 GB of eMMC. The device comes with Windows 11 Home single language pre-installed.

The Fanless Stick PC PCG02 Pro comes with an impressive set of connectivity for its size. Networking options include Wi-Fi 5 ac + Bluetooth 5.1, and a 1 GbE wired Ethernet. Display outputs include two HDMI 2.1, which can power a pair of 4K Ultra HD displays at 60 Hz, each. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) type-A ports; and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) type-C. There is a second type-C port used for power input through any USB PD 3.0 source that can deliver 25 W. A power adapter is included. Depending on the memory- and storage size opted for, the Fanless Stick PC PCG02 Pro is priced between USD $270 to $290. It can power a range of applications between home-entertainment (it's completely fanless), through digital signage, or even most office applications.

For those of you that have been waiting patiently for the first DisplayPort 2.1 monitors to start arriving, we have good news as Gigabyte has revealed details of its first display equipped with DP 2.1. The monitor in question is the AORUS FO32U2P which also sports a 4K QD-OLED panel with a 240 Hz refresh rate. The 31.5-inch QD-OLED panel does follow the standard feature set with a 10-bit panel, 250 cd/m² brightness, 1.5 million to one contrast ratio, 0.03 ms GTG response time and a DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. Gigabyte has gone for an anti-reflective coating as well, which might not appeal to everyone.

As for the inputs, the DP2.1 ports support the full UHBR20 spec, which is 80 Gbps of total bandwidth over four 20 Gbps DisplayPort lanes, which means Gigabyte hasn't skimped on anything here. Yes, you read that correctly as well, the monitor has two DP 2.1 inputs, one full size and one mini DP input and there's also a USB Type-C input that supports DP-Alt mode, in addition to 65 W USB Power Delivery and USB data, although it's not clear if this port also supports DP 2.1. Furthermore, there are two HDMI 2.1 ports, one upstreams and two downstreams USB 3.2 ports, as well as a headphone and microphone jack. Gigabyte has also equipped the AORUS FO32U2P with a pair of 5 W speakers and a stand that offers tilt, swivel, pivot and height adjustments. The maximum power usage is said to be 78 W, but this shouldn't include the USB PD part. Other features include KVM support, daisy-chaining via a DP output, picture in picture and picture by picture support and various gaming features such as crosshairs, night vision, black equalizer etc. Gigabyte has as yet to announce official pricing on a release date.

Update Mar 5th: We've received additional details on the DisplayPorts of the AORUS FO32U2P from Gigabyte and only the DP inputs supports DP 2.1, whereas the USB Type-C input and the DP daisy-chain ports are limited to DP 1.4. The MSRP of the AORUS FO32U2P will be US$1399.99 with the AORUS FO32U2 which is a DP 1.4 version will have an MSRP of US$1199.99.

Lenovo has released a pair of new ThinkVision displays, namely the P27pz-30 and the P32pz-30. These office monitors not only have 1,152 local dimming zones and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, but they also incorporate a USB4 input. Somewhat unusually for Mini LED monitors, Lenovo has gone for IPS panels and both models sport a 3840 x 2160 resolution, a typical brightness of 650 nits, DisplayHDR 1000 certification, a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a 4 or 6 ms response time depending on mode. There's also support for 99 percent Adobe RGB and 98 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut, although the panel is still an 8-bit+FRC panel and not a true 10-bit panel. The downside you ask? A 60 Hz refresh rate, which almost feels like a crime, despite the fact that these are productivity focused displays.

As for connectivity there's little lacking as besides the USB4 input which also supports DP Alt mode and 140 W USB PD, both displays also sport two HDMI 2.1 and one DP 1.4 input and one DP 1.4 output. Furthermore there is one USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 input, one USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 output with 15 W USB PD support, four USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port and a 3.5 mm audio output. The USB4 solution appears to be based on VLI's VL830 or VL832 endpoint devices due to lack of any kind of USB4 output. Both models also feature built-in KVM functionality, a smart sensor and an internal power supply, as well as a height adjustable stand that also tilts and pivots. The kicker is the asking price, as Lenovo wants no less than €1,699 for the 27-inch P27pz-30 and €1,999 for the 32-inch P32pz-30.

VIA Labs, Inc. (VLI), a leading supplier of USB4, USB 3.2, and USB Power Delivery Controllers, today announced that the VL832 USB4 Endpoint Device Controller achieved USB4 certification from the USB Implementor's Forum (USB-IF). VIA Lab's VL832 supports USB 40 Gbps operation and is now listed on the USB-IF Integrator's List under TID: 10033.

VIA Lab VL832's USB-IF Certification represents a key milestone in the USB4 ecosystem. The certified USB4 device controller with an integrated USB 3.2 USB 10 Gbps Hub, USB 2.0 Hub, and DisplayPort output, provides essential connectivity for peripheral devices such as multi-function adapters and docking stations. In USB4 40 Gbps mode, VL832 supports full DisplayPort HBR3 bandwidth (32.4 Gbps), and the USB 20 Gbps hub can enable multiple USB 10 Gbps devices to operate at full performance on supported host platforms. Both metrics are double what was previously possible using DisplayPort Alternate Mode, which is limited to 2-lanes of DisplayPort when supporting USB 3.2 functionality.

With Intel about to launch its 14th generation of Core processors, the motherboard makers are refreshing their LGA-1700 motherboards, as Intel won't be releasing a new chipset for the 14th gen CPUs. ASUS has now revealed three new boards that will come ready out of the box for Intel's 14th gen Core CPUs. This kind of meagre lineup is likely what we'll be seeing from all of the major board makers, since it doesn't make sense to overhaul all of their boards for the new CPUs, since only a BIOS/UEFI update is needed for the new CPUs to function in just about any 600- or 700-series motherboard. ASUS' lineup of new boards consist of the ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero, the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II, and the TUF Gaming Z790-Pro WiFi.

Apart from a design overhaul of all three models with some minor changes to slot placements, which includes new, improved M.2 heatsinks with a much more refined look, ASUS has added WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support to two of the three new models. On the ROG Hero board, ASUS has dropped the Hyper M.2 Card in favour of an onboard M.2 slot with a taller heatsink, looking much like what we've seen on some AMD X670E boards. ASUS has also added support for USB PD 3.0 and Quick Charge 4+ to the front USB Type-C ports and even made an app that shows how much power is being delivered by the port in question. Furthermore, ASUS has added support for AEMP II which the company claims makes it easier to optimise memory performance on the boards. ASUS did not reveal when the new boards will be available or what they'll cost. Specs of all three boards after the break.

World-renowned mobile accessory brand Spigen announced its newest series to their charging power accessory lineup: Spigen ArcDock Pro Multi Hub 6-in-1 and Spigen ArcDock Multi Hub 8-in-1.

Spigen ArcDock Pro Multi Hub 6-in-1 has 2 USB-C ports, 2 USB-A ports, 1 HDMI and 1 ethernet port. Compatible with USB4 and Thunderbolt 4, each USB-C and USB-A port is faster than USB 3.0, with a 10 Gbps data transfer speed. Also, the HDMI port of the Spigen ArcDock Pro Multi Hub 6-in-1 supports up to 8K@60 Hz. Lastly, with pass-through charging, it provides USB PD 85 W charging power.

Dell has added a new display to its UltraSharp range and this time around we're looking at a 38-inch ultra-wide display with a resolution of 3840 x 1600 pixels. The display uses an IPS Black panel with a 2000:1 contrast ratio and it covers 100 percent of the sRGB and REC.709 colour gamuts, as well as 98 percent of the DCI-P3 and Display P3 colour gamuts. Sadly it only has a brightness of 300 cd/m² and it's unclear if this is an 8-bit + FRC or a true 10-bit panel, as Dell only mentions support for 1.07 billion colours. It uses a standard WLED backlight, so no fancy miniLED backlight here and as this display is intended for work use, it also only appears to support 60 Hz refresh rate with a response time of 8 ms in normal mode.

Other features include a built-in KVM switch courtesy of a pair of USB-C ports, with the primary supporting USB PD up to 90 W, as well as DP Alt mode, with the second port only supporting USB 3.2 Gen 2 data at up to 10 Gbps. Other inputs include two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DP 1.4, while the outputs consist of five USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps Type-A ports, two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps ports, a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet jack and a 3.5 mm audio line out jack. One interesting feature is that the built in Ethernet supports network boot, something that isn't a common feature on monitors and it also has the ability to lock the wired port to one of the two connected computers in KVM mode. The stand supports height,swivel and tilt adjustment. The asking price for the U3824DW is US$1,529.99 and it's available from Dell now.

KVM switches are either one of those things you need or you don't have much use for, however Sabrent has launched a new Thunderbolt 4 based KVM switch that differs from your average KVM switch in a few ways. As any KVM switch, it allows two computers to share peripherals and displays, but it also supports up to 60 Watt USB PD charging of laptops. The latter is something Sabrent has offered on its USB-C KVM switches, but this time around the power adapter for the KVM switch handles both devices, unlike its USB-C KVM switches which required a USB-C PD charger per device, with the power being passed through the KVM switch.

The Thunderbolt 4 KVM switch lacks any traditional display outputs, relying entirely on Thunderbolt 4 for display connectivity, although DP Alt mode over USB-C is supported and each output supports up to 8K 60 Hz output with DSC 1.2 or 5K 60 Hz without DSC. The KVM switch supports three Thunderbolt 4 devices, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A devices and two inputs via Thunderbolt 4, with all USB ports supporting data speeds of up to 10 Gbps. It also comes with a switch button, which means you can hide the KVM switch out of sight and still have easy access to switch between devices. Sabrent is asking for US$299 for its Thunderbolt KVM switch, which is a steep premium over its USB-C KVM switch which is currently selling for US$119.99.

At Computex 2023, MSI was showing off its USB4 100 W Expansion Card—also known as the MS-4489—which is the first officially announced USB4 add-in card in the market. MSI didn't specify the actual chip being used, but we've verified that the card is based on ASMedia's ASM4242 USB4 host controller. Just as with Thunderbolt cards, the MS-4489 needs to be connected internally to the motherboard with a cable that handles some of the communication with interfaces that can be routed over PCIe and this is the reason for the lower pin-header on the card. We're not sure what the USB 2.0 pin-header is for, as on Thunderbolt cards, this would be an input, but the ASM4242 supports native support for USB 2.0, unlike Thunderbolt, but it could be a USB 2.0 output.

What makes this card stand out compared to MSI's Thunderbolt 4 card is that it offers 100 Watt USB PD support on the primary USB-C port, with the secondary port delivering up to 27 Watts of power. As with Thunderbolt add-in cards, the MS-4489 relies on a pair of full-size DP inputs if you want to use DP Alt mode over USB-C to connect displays to the card. To be able to deliver this much power, MSI has added a 6-pin graphics cards style power connector to the card to be able to deliver enough power to the USB-C ports. Another oddity with the card is that it has a physical PCIe x8 slot, but it's only wired up for PCIe x4. This could limit compatibility on motherboards that lack either an open ended PCIe x4 slot or a x16 slot that's wired up for four lanes of PCIe. We're expecting to see more products like this later in the year from all the other motherboard manufacturers and maybe even some third parties.

So far it has been very quiet on the market when it comes to USB4 hubs, with most products being based on Intel Thunderbolt hardware costing Thunderbolt money. Realtek was demoing its RTS5490 "hub router controller" at Computex and it's as far as we're aware, the first USB4 hub IC that has been announced. The RTS5490 supports speeds of up to 40 Gbps and it has one upstreams and four downstreams ports. It's also backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), as well as slower USB standards. It also supports the USB PD 3.1 standard and should as such be suitable for docking stations that can deliver up to 240 W to a connected laptop.

It also has native support for DisplayPort 2.1 Alt mode and UHBR20 up to 80 Gbps for DisplayPort signals. The demo board only had an older MST controller, so it would be limited to DP 1.4, but hopefully some company is working on a DP 2.1 MST controller, as this is required to split off the DP signal to the physical ports from USB-C. We were not given any details on when the RTS5490 will be available in the market and pricing will obviously depend on what kind of extra features are being added by the device makers, as it's unlikely that the first products based on it will be simple hubs.

Baseus, a leading consumer electronics brand, recently launched an important product: the Baseus PowerCombo Tower series of smart 65 W desktop power strips. Anyone familiar with surge protectors has more or less heard about joules (J), the unit of energy. Baseus PowerCombo Tower series smart version stands out by featuring 1200J surge protection, while the industry standard is between 800 to 1000J, ensuring utmost safety for both individuals and devices.

The second great wall is the BDIP Baseus Digital Intelligent Power, a technology that monitors circuit status to detect malfunctions like overload, overvoltage, undervoltage, overcurrent, short-circuit, and more, then actively cuts off the power in 0.1 seconds, solidifying the barrier. Yet, Baseus has gone further. The case is made of fire-retardant material, ensuring that the product is safe-to-use inside out, and is also superpowered by GaN technology which increases power conversion, resulting in less power loss translating to less heat generation, thereby cutting off the odds of causing damage. In short, this charging station features 8 safety protections, keeping its user and their devices safe 24/7 without requiring supervision.

We've seen all kinds of devices integrate E Ink technology over the years, ranging from USB flash drives to keyboards and of course eReaders. However, Philips decided it was a good idea to stick one next to a 1440p display in its forgetably named 24B1D5600 monitor. The 23.8-inch 2560 x 1440 monitor has the E Ink display attached to its right side and the E Ink display is attached on hinges and can be angled up to 45 degrees towards the main display. The E Ink display measures 13.3-inches and has a resolution of 1200 x 1600 pixels.

Although originally revealed at CES 2022, it seems to have taken Philips quite a while to bring it to market, although it appears to have been on sale in Asia for at least a couple of months by now. The main display features an IPS panel with a 75 Hz refresh rate and a brightness that tops up at a mere 250 cd/m². It has a typical IPS contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a grey to grey response time of 4 ms. However, it also doubles as a docking station for a notebook, as it has a USB-C input that supports USB PD 3.0 up to 90 W and it has a built-in Gigabit Ethernet port. It also sports a DP 1.2 input and a four port USB Type-A hub, plus an audio output. One quirky thing is that the E Ink display requires its own input which is via a USB-C port that supports DP Alt mode and that is capable of outputting 15 W of power to an attached device. The 24B1D5600 retails for around US$620 in Asia.

ADLINK Technology Inc., a global leader in edge computing, today launched Pocket AI - the first ever ultra-portable GPU accelerator to offer exceptional power at a cost-effective price point. With hardware and software compatibility, Pocket AI is the perfect tool to boost performance and productivity. It provides plug-and-play scalability from development to deployment for AI developers, professional graphics users and embedded industrial applications.

Pocket AI is a simple, reliable route to impressive GPU acceleration at a fraction of the cost of a laptop with equivalent GPU power. Its many benefits include a perfect power/performance balance from the NVIDIA RTX A500 GPU; high functionality driven by NVIDIA CUDA X and accelerated libraries; quick, easy delivery/power via Thunderbolt 3 interface and USB PD; and compatibility supported by NVIDIA developer tools. For the ultimate portability, the Pocket AI is compact and lightweight - est. 106 x 72 x 25 mm and 250 grams.

Last month, Philips introduced a pair of 40-inch ultrawide monitors targeting office work, both with a resolution of 3440 x 1440 pixels. Now the company has introduced a pair of larger 45-inch displays for the same target market, but with a wider 5120 x 1440 pixel resolution and a 32:9 aspect ratio. The 45B1U6900C and 45B1U6900CH are largely identical as with the 40-inch models, with the differentiator being that the latter has a built-in 5 Megapixel webcam with support for Windows Hello. The other difference being that the 45B1U6900C sports one USB-C and one USB-B port for the KVM functionality, whereas the 45B1U6900CH is equipped with a pair of USB-C ports.

The display panel is of VA type with a refresh rate of up to 75 Hz and a typical response time of 4 ms. It has a brightness of 450 cd/m² and a typical contrast ratio of 3000:1. It's also DisplayHDR 400 certified. Outside of the USB inputs, these displays have two HDMI 2.0 inputs, a DisplayPort 1.4, with the USB-C ports on both models offering DP Alt mode, 10 Gbps data speeds and USB PD support up to 100 W. Both models have four downstream USB-A ports, one which supports fast charging and an additional USB-C downstream port that delivers up to 15 W of power. There's also Gigabit Ethernet and an audio jack, as well as a pair of built in 5 W speakers, making these displays decent docking stations at work. The stand is height adjustable and the display can be tilted and swivelled, but not rotated, for obvious reasons. No pricing is available at the moment, but both models should be available shortly.

From 2024, all mobile devices in the European Union will have to use USB-C as the standard charging port, courtesy of a new law that was passed by the European Parliament. This means that mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems and earbuds, all have to sport a USB-C port for charging in the near future. Many of these devices already do, with the main exception being Apple, although many lower-end devices still rely on micro USB, due to the lower cost. The European Parliament voted 602 in favour of the new law, with only 13 parliamentarians being against and eight that abstained, which shows that most EU nations were in favour of the move.

From 2026, laptops which adhere to the USB PD 3.0 standard, i.e. up to 100 Watts, will be required to charge via USB-C as well. As such, it seems like the EU didn't enforce support for USB PD 3.1, which goes up to 240 Watts. The EU is also planning on enforcing a common wireless charging standard, which is expected to come into effect by the end of 2024. It's not clear which standard will be chosen, but it's highly likely to be the Qi standard, as it's the most commonly used wireless charging standard.

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced a few changes to the various logos that are tied to the USB standard. This is said to be done to simplify the plethora of logos that are currently being used and to make it easier for consumers to know what they're buying. At the same time, the old SuperSpeed USB logo is being retired and the branding will not appear on new products at all. Instead, the logos that were developed for the USB4 standard and USB PD 3.1, will be adapted across the board. The new changes will come into effect this quarter and could appear on new products before the end of the year.

The new logos that will replace the SuperSpeed logo are pretty straightforward, with a 5 and 10 Gbps logo being added to the 20 and 40 Gbps logos that we've already seen. These logos will be used for packaging, on cable connectors and even on some devices. The new 5 and 10 Gbps logos can also be combined with the 60 W and 240 W charging logos when used with USB-C cables. All of this should make it easier as a consumer to know what kind of cable you're buying, but keep in mind that these logos only apply to certified products and not all USB cables are certified. Still, it's an improvement overall and should make life easier when shopping for cables, assuming the new logos are being used properly.

The USB Promoter Group today announced the pending release of the USB4 Version 2.0 specification, a major update to enable up to 80 Gbps of data performance over the USB Type-C cable and connector. The USB Type-C and USB Power Delivery (USB PD) specifications will also be updated to enable this higher level of data performance. All of these specification updates are expected to be published in advance of this year's series of USB DevDays developer events planned for November.

Protocol updates are also being made to enable higher performance USB 3.2, DisplayPort and PCI Express (PCIe) data tunneling to best use the higher available bandwidth. "Once again following USB tradition, this updated USB4 specification doubles data performance to deliver higher levels of functionality to the USB Type-C ecosystem," said Brad Saunders, USB Promoter Group Chairman. "Solutions seeing the most benefit from this speed enhancement include higher-performance displays, storage, and USB-based hubs and docks."

LG's Intel based gram-series of notebooks have proven quite popular in the Ultrabook segment. However, its Ultra PC models are built around AMD hardware and although there have been a 13.3-inch model in the past, the company has announced its new 14- and 16-inch models. Both models are based around either a Ryzen 5 5625U or a Ryzen 7 5825U processor, which is built on AMD's Barcelo chips. This sadly means that features like USB4, DDR5/LPDDR5 and PCIe 4.0 support are out the window. This is because Barcelo is a refresh of Cezanne, which means both CPU families based on the Zen 3 architecture. On the plus side, this means the pricing will be quite competitive, but more on that in a second.

The 14-inch model measures 313.9 x 220.45 x 16.3 mm and weighs in at 1.29 kg, whereas the 16-inch model is slightly larger—for obvious reasons—and measures 356.3 x 248.6 x 16.3 mm, but remains fairly portable at 1.6 kg. The display on both the 14- and 16-inch models features 1920x1200 resolution, with the 14-inch model having a brighter display at 300 vs 250 nits for the 16-inch model. Neither display is what you'd call impressive though. Other features include up to 16 GB of dual-channel LPDDR4X memory, up to 1 TB of storage, HDMI out, a USB-C port with DP Alt mode and USB PD support, two USB-A ports, a microSD card slot, an audio jack and a power connector for the charger. WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, as well as a fingerprint reader are also part of the package. Battery life is said to be up 21 and 20 hours respectively when it comes to video playback, with the 14-inch model managing 16.5 hours in MobileMark 2018, whereas the 16-inch model only manages 15 hours flat. LG will offer a range of SKUs that start at €1,199 for the 14-inchers and €1,399 for the 16-inchers, all of which should be available at some point this month.