#4K Display Market

[electronalytics]

4K Display Market

[aarunresearcher]

The United States smart TV market size is projected to exhibit a growth rate (CAGR) of 2.00% during 2024-2032. The growing popularity of streaming services, the widespread adoption of smart TV in the educational sector, and the continuous evolution of technology led manufacturers to innovate, improve screen quality, enhance connectivity options, and incorporate voice recognition features into their products represent some of the key factors driving the market.

[filtergrade]

4K Modern Food Menu | Restaurant Display After Effects Template

[garbinge]

When One Day Comes

Chibs Telford x F!Teller!Reader Tig Trager & F!Teller!Reader 30 Day Fic Challenge (26/30)

Summary: An unexpected visitor turns into a trip back to Charming.

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: Angsty. Mentions of violence and injury.

SOA Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics @kmc1989

Part 1 // Part 2

“Some guy’s here.” Thomas walked inside the house and interrupted your paperwork. 

Quickly, you looked up from the scattered mess on the dining room table and stared at Thomas. 

“You tell him that the market is on the next path on the highway, just like the sign says.” 

It was common for people to mix up your dirt path for the one up the road where the large farmer’s market was. It had prompted you and Nero to place a sign at the top of the path to communicate that but occasionally some idiot wouldn’t read and would make their way to your home on the farm. 

“I did, but he told me he was looking for you.” Thomas didn’t seem concerned, he was currently searching through the fridge for something to spoil his dinner but that was the least of your concerns. 

As you stood up, you continued to ask your nephew more questions. “Did he say anything else? Give a name? Say why he was here?” While Thomas had his back turned to you, you were casually grabbing your gun from the lockbox that you kept hidden by the back sliding door. 

“Nah, just that he was looking for you, he looks weird, curly hair, sunglasses– looked stressed.” He had a mouthful of something in his mouth as he spoke, still staring into the fridge. 

“Alright, probably just someone trying to sell us something.” That wasn’t uncommon either, you’d get a lot of sales people to come try and sell you farming equipment, get you to join their local markets, all typical for the size of land you had. But it didn’t take away from your visceral reaction to move towards protecting yourself. That was a habit that was engraved in you from your days in Charming and you’d find that just because you got out of the toxic town, the Teller ways stayed close to you regardless. 

“Oh–he didn’t have a car, looks like he walked from up the path.” The kid still was half in the conversation as he spoke but that detail was one that alerted you that maybe this wasn’t someone trying to sell something, and maybe there was something more happening here. 

Not knowing what you were walking into, you tucked the gun in your waistband and draped your shirt over it before placing your hand on the sliding door handle. “Alright, do me a favor? If you see Nero, tell him to meet me outside.” It was your backup, you didn’t want to alert the young boy and scare him, you knew he had been coming in from his daily chores which meant there wasn’t going to be much that would pry him away from his playstation for the rest of the day. 

As you cautiously walked outside, practically scaling the side of your back porch to get a look at who was there. Your hand was behind you, ready to grab the gun as a threat and if needed force but when you saw the wrinkled button down shirt that was pacing up and down the dirt driveway, your shoulders dropped. As you exhaled out and closed your eyes to shift your mind from one issue that was now nonexistent to the current one you were facing, it was loud enough to grab your visitor’s attention. 

Now, the curly haired man was looking in your direction, taking his sunglasses off to get a better look and calling out your name in a questioning manner. 

“Yea, Thomas had me convinced you were a hitman.” You were now moving down the stairs of your porch and onto the dirt driveway to meet the man. “But I guess he wasn’t too far off.” 

“Your words, they hurt me.” He faked his heart breaking as he grabbed it and made an excruciating face. 

“Tig.” You nodded as you approached him and he immediately stood straight up from his display of acting and brought you in for a hug. 

“Hey, doll.” The squeeze was tighter than you expected but you chopped it up to being years since you last saw him. “Sorry for the surprise visit,” his voice was in your ear before he pulled back and then pointed over his shoulder, “I–uh, tried to be a little discrete, parked my bike at the beginning of the driveway, but he was driving in one one of those ATV’s when I walked up. Didn’t mean to ruffle any feathers.” He referred to Thomas. 

You laughed at that and waved your hand. “Thomas is at the age where if it doesn’t have a controller he doesn’t think twice about it.” 

Tig laughed at that but you could tell that it was a nervous laugh, that he was holding something back. It was then you realized he wasn’t wearing his kutte and figured that had something to do with his visit. 

“No kutte.” You reached out and patted his chest. 

He looked down with a frown and immediately looked up. “Oh, uh, yea, left it back on my bike,” he was pointing over his shoulder again, “he–Chibs, let me know about the rule, Hap too, just in case, you know.” 

The rule. You remembered the last thing you said to Chibs the last time he was standing in pretty much the same spot as Tig was right now. 

“Don’t come back here unless the ink is blacked out and the kutte is off.” 

It wasn’t exactly the rule you gave, you didn’t say next time you come by don’t wear your kutte and leave your bike at the driveway. You told Chibs, he needed to leave the club if he wanted to see you again. But you had to appreciate that he had told his right and left hand men that they had to be respectful of your home, in case. In case. That got you thinking, what did that mean, in case? 

“What do you mean in case?” You felt your heart starting to beat faster and faster as the thoughts danced in and out of your mind. 

Tig looked visibly upset, visibly stressed, and that made you even more on edge. 

“What happened?” You knew what happened but it didn’t stop you from asking the question.

“It’s bad, doll.” Tig inhaled. “He wiped out. He’s at St. Thomas in surgery right now, second one since he got there.” 

“How’d he wipe out?” Again, you had a ballpark idea of how it happened but you needed to hear it from him. 

“He got shot, Mayan retaliation.” 

A good five seconds passed before you responded but to both you and Tig those five seconds were likely feeling like 5 minutes. 

“I��ll get a bag, follow you there.” Your brain was starting to mush together, thoughts were melting into other ones, worry and panic were sparring back and forth in your gut. 

But before either of them could continue the conversation, someone was interrupting you by calling out your name but with Aunt before it. Turning around quickly you saw your eldest nephew on the porch, no weapon in hand but his demeanor was firm, ready to jump into action at any moment. 

“Thomas told me someone was here.” He said as he stepped quickly towards you too, Tig bringing his hand up to the bridge of his nose as he turned around. 

“You alright?” He was next to you, towering over you, similarly to how your brother– his father, did. 

“I’m fine, sweetheart.” You squeezed his shoulder. “An old friend of mine is sick at the hospital and Alexander was just coming by to let me know.” It was a calculated sentence, Abel didn’t know much about Jax, it was a constant struggle of what information you wanted to share with him and what you should. It was a lot easier when he was younger, the story of how his father passed was watered down similarly to his adoptive mother’s but as he grew older, he had more questions, more curiosity. “Why don’t you come help me pack, Abel. I’m going to go visit him for a couple days and I’ll run you through the things around the farm you can take over for me.” 

“Yea, alright.” He wouldn’t take his eyes off Tig who had only waved by lifting his hand slightly at the mention of his first name earlier. 

“C’mon.” You grabbed the young boy by the shoulders and turned him around. 

As you started to grab things and toss them into a duffel bag, you tried to mask your anxiety and spiral of thoughts. 

“So Nero can take care of the feed deliveries and stuff that happens while you’re at school, I’ll call him on my way out, but I’m gonna need you to finish the inventory on the table, I’d ask Thomas but, well, I don’t trust he’ll pull himself away from that TV before the submissions are due.” You chuckled, awkwardly. “But besides that, just feed the critters, morning and night, I’ll toss in some extra allowance for you since you’re gonna have to get up earlier to make it all happen. Also, I’ll leave money for food, don’t cook, I’ve seen what you and Thomas make and I’d rather you order from some shitty fast food restaurant than risk one of your concoctions sending your organs into a fit.” It was then you were pulling your wallet out and searching for bills. “Also ask Nero for anything, I haven’t talked to him yet, but he should be around.” 

You were rambling and Abel saw through it. 

“That guy knew Dad, didn’t he?” He was staring right at you, his eyes were searching for an answer on your face. 

You moved to close the door, you didn’t want Thomas to hear, but it was also a way to break Abel’s stare on you. 

“Yes.” You were still trying to search for what you were going to say but you knew he needed the truth, or at least a morsel of it. “My brother–Jax–your father, lived a complicated life, one that he never wanted you or Thomas to experience or honestly even know about. I’m not sure he really thought through what that looked like once you got older, but nonetheless, his life was not suited for you kids.” Abel was glued to you, taking in every word hoping the next ones would offer up more than this reiteration of what he’d sort of heard before. You plopped down on the bed in front of him and sighed. Abel wasn’t ready for Jax’s full story, his mind was young and impressionable, the chance he’d leave here and go to Charming for answers and end up back in the generation’s curse was too feasible, but he could hear yours. 

“Your dad had a group of friends, always around, honestly they became like family, my mom–your grandma, lived for it, we always had dinners, always hung out, we were all close.” You explained. “There was one friend in particular, that I got, well, close with.” 

Abel laughed at that and smirked. 

“Watch it.” You smirked back at him. 

“Was Dad mad?” He was intrigued by the story, you didn’t often talk about this stuff. 

“Annoyed at first.” You thought back and smirked before correcting yourself. “Yea, he was mad. But the guy–his friend was older and so was I, so he couldn’t really say much about it, just huff and puff.” 

“Was grandma mad?” 

You laughed at that. “The opposite, grandma loved it, the idea to make the family more of a family, she had been pushing it forever. Honestly, I tried to go against it but this really had nothing to do with her, this was…different.” It started to hurt talking about it but you continued. 

“This guy, he was super close to your dad, one of his closest friends, and he was kind, funny, caring, had this accent that just melted my heart.” The smile on your face was contagious and Abel was catching it as you spoke. “He’d take me on these trips, we’d explore all these national parks,” you thought back to every ride you’d taken on the back of Chibs’ bike where you’d have picnics, get caught in the rain, went quarry swimming, the memory of Chibs swimming still making you chuckle. That slowly turned into you remembering other memories, “we went to Ireleand together too.” As those words left your mouth, you felt your stomach drop as you looked up at Abel who was none the wiser of why you really went. 

“You loved him.” Abel was smiling. 

You wanted to agree, even tell him that you still did but that was a can of worms you didn’t need Abel to open, let alone yourself so all you did was nod. 

“What happened?” 

“Remember how I said your father had a complicated life? Well so did his friend, and his friend didn’t want to leave that complicated life and I did.” It broke your heart saying it, you had thought it all these years but never spoke it outloud let alone to your nephew.  

“You left because of us. Thomas and I.” Abel put the pieces together. 

“I left for you. I’d put you before anything, always.” You were leaning over and grabbing his hands and squeezed them. 

“It was that guy that was here last year. The one with the bike.” 

All you did was nod. “He apparently got hurt and I just–” You looked at Abel and weren’t sure if you wanted to say the words, they felt more like something you needed to say out loud for you than for him. 

“Need to know if he’s okay.” He cut you off. 

Another nod escaped you but you spoke up to say something different, something that broke you. “And say goodbye if he isn’t.” A tear fell from your face and you wiped it away immediately and smiled quickly standing up to finish packing your bag. 

Before you could stuff one more item of clothing into your bag, you felt an arm around your shoulder and bring you in for a half hug. “I’ll bribe Thomas with my new controller, we’ll both pick up the farm work while you’re gone.” 

“Thanks for understanding, kiddo.” 

______

The ride was long, longer than you remembered but it made sense that you moved this far away. As you entered the town line, everything came back to you, like a wave that washed over you. One full of memory, grief, and that one feeling that ultimately always wrecked everything. Hope. 

The sounds of more motorcycles joined the one that was already behind you, you recognized some of them but not all of them. They followed you to the hospital and as you stepped out of the car, Tig was walking back up to you, a group of more MC members standing a few feet behind. Despite this being the life you grew up in, it felt strange, it felt wrong, but you pushed that all aside, or at least tried.

“Party of 15 joining us inside?” You asked looking back at the group. 

“It’s a messy time, doll. Our president was gunned down, need all the protection we can spare.” 

“Yea, when isn’t it.” You turned and began your walk into the hospital where you eventually saw Happy. He looked visibly upset, the Sgt at Arms patch on his kutte felt heavier today than other days and you knew that. “Hap.” You whispered and slouched down to see his face before he was standing up quickly and very awkwardly. 

He didn’t move to come hug you at first, but when you dropped your shoulders and tilted your head with an accompanied “c’mere” he was moving to embrace you, an act Happy reserved for rare times in his life, but this qualified as that. 

“He’s out of surgery, they said he’s in serious but stable condition.” He was now looking back between you and Tig as he spoke. 

“Is he conscious? Can I see him?” 

“Only letting one at a time back there, Quinn’s back there now.” Rat spoke up, bringing himself into the conversation as he stood from the seat next to where Happy was. 

“We’ll tell him to jump out.” Tig’s hand was on your back and giving daggers to Rat. “Go, take all the time you need.” 

You stood at the door for a minute, staring at him, all broken and helpless. You felt your fight of flight kick in as you took a step back, followed by a step forward before inevitably the freeze tactic kicked in. Suddenly you were stepping in and at his side. 

His eyes moved to take in the figure next to him and they went wide before they closed. “Quinn, could you tell those lovely nurses to either cut this morphine or give me enough to knock me the fuck out, I’m bloody hallucinatin’.” 

“Not hallucinating.” Your hand moved to lightly push his hair out of his face. “I’m really here.” 

He stared at you for a good minute before smiling. “I must be really bad if they got you to come back here.” 

“You’re fine,” you continued to stroke his hair, “Tig has a way to make everything seem more dramatic than it really is.” It was a lie but you needed him to believe he was going to get better if there was any hope for it to be true. 

“If I knew escaping death was all I needed to do to get you back here, I’d have done this ages ago.” He laughed as he tried to sit up. 

“Hey, hey, hey, hey–relax.” You gripped his arms and assisted him as he scrunched up his face and groaned. 

“You know what happened?” He asked, moving over for you to sit but you didn’t. 

“I do. Tig told me. Retaliation.” You nodded, not letting go of his head despite not wanting to cuddle in next to him. 

“He tell you I’m done?” 

Those words came from him but felt like they were caught in your throat as you tried to answer. 

“You–You’re just saying that, scares like this, they stir up two things in you guys, either the motivation for severe retaliation–the kind that that starts a war, or it shakes up the desire to want to leave, go nomad, take the back seat.” You remembered the typical club ways. 

“I’m not just a member, love. I’m the president, going nomad, taking the backseat, ain’t really a choice for guys like me.” 

“Neither is leaving if I remember correctly.” You took a deep breath. 

Chibs closed his eyes and took a breath similar to yours. “I’m old. Too old for this. I’m not made to hand off the gavel and take the other head of the table. I’m done. After this hit, I’ll be lucky if I can ride again, they’ll offer me a spot out of courtesy but that’s not me.” 

“And what will you do with all this free time you’ll inevitably have?” 

“I have a friend, real looker this friend of mine, pretty as ever, owns a farm a few hours out from here, I’d probably see if she could use the extra farm hands, might take some convincing, but I’m hoping she’ll come ‘round.” 

There it was. That hope that Charming was always serving up. You had been here less than an hour and it was already happening, it wasted no time. 

“Focus on getting better, you can think about your next act when the bruises fade and the bullet hole is just a scar.” You plopped down next to him, your way of softening the blow of not giving him an answer of coming to the farm. You wrapped your arm around his and leaned your head on his shoulder, lightly as to not cause him more pain, but you had a funny feeling that he wouldn’t have told you if he was in pain from it, it was something both of you wanted, to absorb every second of this moment because the next ones were still so unsure. 

______

You sat on the back porch swing, coffee cup in your hand, birds chirping as the sun began to rise across the fields. You stared at the dirt path driveway, like you were waiting for someone to arrive but immediately your thoughts were interrupted by the complaints and arguments of two young boys. 

As your head twisted to look at them, you saw them bickering and slightly pushing each other before they stopped as they got in front of you. 

“See you tonight.” Thomas bent down and placed a kiss on your cheek before he got a head start down the porch. Abel was looking down at you and tilted his head. 

“You alright?” The concern was littered all over his face. 

“I’m fine. You have your keys?” You knew he did, Thomas was normally the forgetful one being the younger more daydreaming brother. 

“Yes, I’ll be home at 4 today, I’m picking up a part for my dirt bike downtown.” He dangled his keys. 

“Sounds good, drive safe.” 

He was leaning down to place a kiss on your cheek similarly to Thomas before he began walking away. But after taking one step, he paused and looked down at you before he followed his brother. “You happy?” 

Big question for two little words. 

“I am, kid.” You smiled and Abel accepted that and nodded before jogging after Thomas. 

You watched them pile into the used car that used to be yours that you gave Abel when he got his license. As the dirt kicked up on the driveway, you still stared down the lengthy path long after they left, only to be interrupted as the accented voice brought you back to the porch. 

“Lost in thought, love?” Chibs was shirtless, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he stood at the deck stairs. 

You couldn’t help the smile that grew on your face as you stared at him. He must’ve gotten up early to take care of the animals, he had dirt on him too which meant he probably did some work in the crop fields or the greenhouse. 

“Just waiting for the day someone comes down that driveway and steals you away from me.” 

“Not happening.” He was walking up to you and leaned down to press a deep kiss to your lips, one that you always melted into fear it’d be your last. “I told you 3 months ago, I tied up all the loose ends, no one knows I’m here. But if you’re not comfortable, you say the word and I’m out of here.” The words were spoken so close to your lips. 

You brought him down for another kiss. “I’m worried about losing you, not pushing you away. Just, hard to believe that dream you were sellin’ over a year ago was in stock is all.” You pecked his lips again. “Plus I like not having 5AM livestock duty anymore.” A laugh escaped you as one left his mouth as well. 

He was standing up now and shaking his head before he realized the porch light was disconnected. His hand reached up to grab the bulb and screw it in tighter. Your eyes stared at the black ink that was spread across his back. It was healing nicely. Maybe that was a sign that you could block out the past and move forward from it, or maybe it was all wishful thinking.

[televisionenjoyer]

WHY ARE MOVIES GETTING DARKER I AM ON MY KNEES

Ok fuck it let's go. My amateurish opinions on the three biggest mysteries of film: why they're getting darker, less vibrant and harder to hear. As someone who has worked on camera, montaging, effects and animations, colorimetry when I'm allowed, and on one weird occasion, audio (but I'm an enthusiast ok?)

The short answer is because of technology. The long answer is more nuanced

- Why are movies getting darker?

The "official answer" that filmmakers give actually is technology. Digital cameras allow for much more detail with less lighting required. It also allows videographers to play with different light and exposure settings on the go, instead of having to go with the limitations of the pre-bought film's asa and the precalculated ideal settings. Also film is notoriously bad at capturing dark scenes and responsible for much of the graining we see on analog tv and film.

So basically, they claim it's a stylistic choice. Which could be debated, I mean, after at least five years of everyone complaining about poor lighting, you'd think they'd finally give it up.

BUT there's the whole fact that (certain) special effects are generally easier to pull off when the viewer can't see enough to detect any flaws. They require less care and thus are cheaper and faster to produce. Any studio's wet dream.

Less notably, it's easier to work "down" on colorimetry than it is to work "up." Taking away light from a shot is easier than "creating more light", the latter sometimes leading to very "digitally broken" results. It looks bad. Just grab any video and crank the exposure. It looks horrible.

"But what does exposure have to do with color?" Everything!!! Color IS light!!!

Which leads me to the last reason, HDR. Which leads me to one of the reasons why everything looks so dull.

- Why are movies less vibrant?

So. What is HDR? High Dynamic Range refers to technologies that achieve a much wider light variation. And as we established earlier color IS light, okay? So. More light, more color, brought to you at the hand of display technologies such as OLED and microdimming.

These technologies ramp up the price of domestic screens exponentially. This is why you see domestic televisions that are way above the 2000 dollar mark. And then people will say "oh but my low end television supports HDR, so that's not the issue". Yes. Supports. As in supports files encoded in HDR. Doesn't mean that they have the necessary technology to take advantage of it. Yet they get to put the HDR10 label on their product and get in on the newest marketing fad (it's the new 4k dude. Which is the new 3D. You get what I mean)

And since it is the newest fad, then of course filmmakers HAVE to get in on it. I mean, it's more quality, who doesn't want more quality?

me!!! please stop. not everything has to be aimed at high end equipment (more on this when we get to the audio aspect, aren't you excited?). HDR looks like DOGSHIT if your tv isn't actually OLED. And most consumer TV's aren't OLED.

Tech rant over, I assure you that there is a cultural aspect to this. Don't worry, you're not insane. And it probably is related to the clean girl minimalist iOS style UX modest and demure mentality that is advancing on the 2020s. But it is also related to an art medium shift that we've been undergoing since wayy back when. The sixties.

Yes. I'm gonna go there. I'm gonna talk about Star Trek. I'm going to elaborate on my previous slight outrage.

So. Star Trek marks the beginning of a transition from black and white television into color. It also lands on that weird spot where the whole medium of film and television was still figuring out which elements to import from the ancient medium of theater and which were best left behind.

As a result, Star Trek is very theatrical. And color is a good friend of theater, a medium where everything has to be maximized so that the people in row fifty could appreciate the show almost as well as the people on the first row. Color is a good friend of theater: in wardrobe it helps the performers stand out, boosts up the characters' personality traits, etc. And in lighting, it amplifies moods, conveys emotions and atmospheres related to particular scenes.

The version of Star Trek that you can find on streaming these days is considerably altered from the original product, remastered to make it more palatable to our contemporary brains. As a result, many scenes have been visually altered. The following example shows the original master on the left and the remaster on the right

And while at first I held my head in my hands and asked "why, god, why??" The answer is probably that this reads as unserious as fuck. Having the technology now to desaturate scenes and make certain settings look "cloudy", "gritty", "dark and grim," and so on changed the way we perceive colors in regards to mood on modern film and television. This primary color ass setting in today's context reads as goofy, on a scene that is actually meant to impose concern on the viewers. This wouldn't read this way on theater, but it does on television, because we see them as completely separate mediums.

(however I insist that, star trek being a culturally significant show, making these type of creative decisions strips it of its original intent and shits on its cultural value as a window into how they did television in the sixties. so like. fuck you paramount)

Now, television has been getting thematically darker this century (some call it the post-9/11 effect. I wouldn't know. I am latinoamerican) and our palate as viewers has grown more used to these desaturated settings, to the point where seeing something vibrant like the original star trek makes us feel like we're watching a kids show. And not even a modern kids show, more like teletubbies or barney, because have you guys even seen bluey?? It's so... pastel-y.

It's not just HDR. Movies have gotten less vibrant because we're miserable. Sort of. And television and film have grown obsessed with appearing more serious. (Not that sitcoms and comedy movies have ceased to exist, I'm generalizing.)

- But why is dialogue less intelligible?

Official Answer? Technology. Nowadays we are able to capture subtleties in dialogue, so actors don't have to project their voice 24/7, and we can get more intimate dialogue, something almost intended to be a secret that you shouldn't be listening to, making you feel like an intruder. It's the intent.

Unofficially? Technology (marketing fad edition). It's surround audio!!! That's the real culprit!!! And listen, I love surround audio, I have two 5.1 systems at home that we bought secondhand and work like a charm. All that being said: why is star trek tos in 5.1? (YES I'm still on star trek). Why is everything natively encoded in surround audio on streaming these days, left to be down-mixed in real time by your tv?

I'm going to quickly explain surround to y'all using 5.1 as an example. On stereo (which is how most consumers watch film and television) you have two audio channels: your left and right speakers. 5.1 has six: front-left, center, front-right, rear-left, rear-right, and subwoofer. Most dialogue goes through the center speaker. Downmixing is when your tv takes all these channels and mushes them into two: left channel (containing left-front, left rear, center and subwoofer) and right channel (right front, right rear, center and subwoofer). So your center channel is suddenly competing with all these other frequencies and gets a bit muffled.

But wait! It gets worse! 5.1 is now ancient by technology fad standards. For a while there was 7.1 and now the newest, incredibly expensive marketing fad is Dolby Atmos (you might have seen it as a badge on streaming services such as Disney plus). This protocol supports up to 64 channels. You know, if you're crazy and rich enough.

Dolby Atmos was originally developed for cinemas but it's now being sold to direct consumers. According to Dolby, the ideal sound configuration in your home in order to listen to this material the way it was intended from the comfort of your living room is of at least eight (very fancy) speakers and up to 12 speakers.

So. Even with a 5.1 system your audio is still down-mixed.

In conclusion:

Film and television did not get shittier (well, they have, but that's not the sole culprit of this crisis), it just became less accessible and overall uninterested in catering to the average consumer.

[netscapenavigator-official]

Not to give the iPhone 16 Pro too much praise, but I’m so glad Apple decided to double the frame rate on their cameras instead of the resolution.

Like, Google’s 8K30 video on the Pixel 9 Pro is impressive, but… to put it quite bluntly: who cares. 8K will one day be relevant. I don’t wanna sound like one of people who tries implying “good enough” will ever be an endgame. 8K video and photo will takeover one day… but that day is not today.

4K TVs are just now becoming the norm, with 8K still being seen as an ultra-luxury. 4K PC monitors have barely entered the market. Hell, even Apple’s own computer lineup has never exceeded 6K, and their primary advertisement for displays larger than 4K is “you can edit 4K video without scaling it down to fit the UI on screen!”

Not to mention, 4K displays on phones are still rather unheard of. Also, most people don’t even view photos with their phones in landscape mode.

But you know what has penetrated the market substantially? 120 Hz displays!

Almost every phone, tablets, and laptop these days has a 120 Hz display. Hell, 240+ Hz has been standard in the PC gaming space for quite some time.

I’ve long held the belief that we need to make 120 fps, full speed video a thing, and I’m so glad Apple made the iPhone 16 Pro able to shoot in 4K120 instead the Pixel 9’s ridiculously gimmicky 8K30.

[waycaseuk]

The **evolution of the iPhone** since its introduction in 2007 has been a defining journey in the world of smartphones, with significant advancements in design, performance, and features. Here's a brief overview of key milestones in iPhone evolution:

### 1. **iPhone (2007)**

- **Notable Features**: 3.5" touchscreen, 2 MP camera, 4GB/8GB storage.

- **Innovation**: The first touchscreen-only smartphone, removing the physical keyboard seen in other phones at the time. It introduced multi-touch technology and mobile internet.

### 2. **iPhone 3G (2008)**

- **Notable Features**: 3G network support, App Store.

- **Innovation**: Faster internet browsing with 3G connectivity and the launch of the App Store, which opened the door to third-party apps.

### 3. **iPhone 3GS (2009)**

- **Notable Features**: Faster processor, video recording, voice control.

- **Innovation**: Significant speed improvements ("S" stands for speed) and better camera capabilities, including video recording.

### 4. **iPhone 4 (2010)**

- **Notable Features**: Retina Display, FaceTime, 5 MP camera, glass design.

- **Innovation**: A major redesign with a stainless steel frame and glass front/back, and the introduction of the Retina Display, which had higher pixel density for crisper visuals.

### 5. **iPhone 4S (2011)**

- **Notable Features**: Siri, 8 MP camera, A5 chip.

- **Innovation**: Siri, the first virtual assistant on an iPhone, was introduced, along with significant camera and processor upgrades.

### 6. **iPhone 5 (2012)**

- **Notable Features**: 4" display, Lightning connector, LTE support.

- **Innovation**: The iPhone grew in size to a 4-inch screen and introduced the Lightning connector, replacing the 30-pin dock.

### 7. **iPhone 5S & 5C (2013)**

- **Notable Features (5S)**: Touch ID, 64-bit architecture.

- **Notable Features (5C)**: Colorful plastic body.

- **Innovation**: The iPhone 5S brought Touch ID for fingerprint authentication and a powerful 64-bit A7 chip. The 5C was a more affordable model with colorful designs.

### 8. **iPhone 6 & 6 Plus (2014)**

- **Notable Features**: 4.7" & 5.5" displays, Apple Pay.

- **Innovation**: Apple entered the "phablet" market with larger displays, along with introducing Apple Pay, the company's mobile payment system.

### 9. **iPhone 6S & 6S Plus (2015)**

- **Notable Features**: 3D Touch, 12 MP camera, 4K video.

- **Innovation**: The introduction of 3D Touch, which allowed the screen to detect varying levels of pressure, creating new ways to interact with the phone.

### 10. **iPhone SE (2016)**

- **Notable Features**: 4" screen, A9 chip (same as iPhone 6S).

- **Innovation**: A smaller, more affordable model, resembling the iPhone 5S but with the internal power of the iPhone 6S.

### 11. **iPhone 7 & 7 Plus (2016)**

- **Notable Features**: Dual cameras (7 Plus), no headphone jack, water resistance.

- **Innovation**: The removal of the headphone jack was controversial, and Apple also introduced dual cameras on the 7 Plus for improved zoom and portrait photography.

### 12. **iPhone 8 & 8 Plus (2017)**

- **Notable Features**: Wireless charging, glass back, True Tone display.

- **Innovation**: While similar to the iPhone 7, the 8 series introduced wireless charging through the glass back and enhanced display technology with True Tone.

### 13. **iPhone X (2017)**

- **Notable Features**: Edge-to-edge OLED display, Face ID, no home button.

- **Innovation**: A radical redesign that removed the home button and Touch ID, replacing it with Face ID, Apple’s facial recognition technology. It also introduced the first OLED display in an iPhone.

### 14. **iPhone XS, XS Max, & XR (2018)**

- **Notable Features**: Larger OLED display (XS Max), Liquid Retina display (XR), A12 chip.

- **Innovation**: The XS Max brought a massive 6.5" screen, while the XR offered a more affordable option with an LCD display but the same powerful internals.

### 15. **iPhone 11, 11 Pro, & 11 Pro Max (2019)**

- **Notable Features**: Ultra-wide camera, night mode, A13 chip.

- **Innovation**: A triple-camera system on the Pro models enhanced photography, including better low-light performance with night mode.

### 16. **iPhone SE (2nd Gen) (2020)**

- **Notable Features**: A13 chip, 4.7" display, Touch ID.

- **Innovation**: Like the original SE, this model combined older iPhone design (resembling the iPhone 8) with powerful internals from newer models, offering a budget-friendly option.

### 17. **iPhone 12 Mini, 12, 12 Pro, & 12 Pro Max (2020)**

- **Notable Features**: 5G support, MagSafe, Ceramic Shield.

- **Innovation**: The iPhone 12 series introduced 5G connectivity and the MagSafe system for attaching accessories. Ceramic Shield provided increased drop protection.

### 18. **iPhone 13 Mini, 13, 13 Pro, & 13 Pro Max (2021)**

- **Notable Features**: Smaller notch, ProMotion 120Hz display (Pro models), Cinematic Mode.

- **Innovation**: Focused on camera improvements, including Cinematic Mode for video recording, and higher refresh rate displays on the Pro models for smoother performance.

### 19. **iPhone SE (3rd Gen) (2022)**

- **Notable Features**: A15 chip, 5G, improved battery life.

- **Innovation**: Continuation of the budget-friendly SE line with more powerful internals.

### 20. **iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, & 14 Pro Max (2022)**

- **Notable Features**: Dynamic Island (Pro models), 48 MP camera (Pro), Always-On Display (Pro), satellite SOS.

- **Innovation**: The Pro models introduced the Dynamic Island, a new interactive notification area, along with the powerful 48 MP main camera and satellite communication for emergencies.

### 21. **iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, & 15 Pro Max (2023)**

- **Notable Features**: USB-C port, A17 Pro chip, Action Button (Pro models).

- **Innovation**: The transition from Lightning to USB-C for universal charging, along with enhanced performance and camera upgrades.

The iPhone's journey reflects major technological strides and design shifts, focusing on improving usability, camera quality, and processing power with each iteration.

[govindhtech]

Dimensity 7300 : Unbelievable Speed and Power Unleashed

MediaTek launched the 4nm Dimensity 7300 and Dimensity 7300X high-end mobile device processors today. Best-in-class power economy and performance make Dimensity 7300 chipsets ideal for AI-enhanced computing, faster gaming, better photography, and effortless multitasking. Dimensity 7300X supports twin displays for flip-style foldable devices.

Both MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipsets have 2.5GHz octa-core CPUs with 4X Arm Cortex-A78 and A55 cores. 4nm reduces A78 core power consumption by 25% over Dimensity 7050. To speed up gaming, the CPU combines the most recent Arm Mali-G615 GPU with a number of MediaTek HyperEngine optimisations. The Dimensity 7300 series provides 20% quicker FPS and 20% more energy efficiency than competing options. The new chips optimise 5G and Wi-Fi game connections, use clever resource optimisation, support Dual-Link True Wireless Stereo Audio and Bluetooth LE Audio technology to significantly improve gaming experiences.

According to MediaTek’s Wireless Communications Business Deputy General Manager Dr. According to Yenchi Lee, “The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chips will help integrate the newest AI and connectivity technologies consumers can stream and game seamlessly. “Furthermore, the dual display capability of the Dimensity 7300X allows OEMs to create creative new form factors.”

With compatibility for a 200MP primary camera and a premium-grade 12-bit HDR-ISP, the MediaTek Imagiq 950 is another enhanced photographic feature available with the Dimensity 7300 chipsets. New hardware engines provide accurate noise reduction (MCNR), face detection (HWFD), and video HDR in the Dimensity 7300. This allows users to take beautiful pictures and videos in any kind of lighting. Compared to the Dimensity 7050, live focus and photo remastering are 1.3X and 1.5X faster, respectively. In addition, 4K HDR video may be recorded with a dynamic range that is more than 50% broader than competing solutions, allowing users to capture more detail in their recordings.

The MediaTek APU 655 doubles the performance of the Dimensity 7050 while also greatly increasing the efficiency of AI tasks. Also, in order to reduce memory requirements for larger AI models and more effectively use memory bandwidth, the Dimensity 7300 chips support new mixed precision data types.

The Dimensity 7300 SoCs enable global HDR standards and remarkably detailed WFHD+ displays with 10-bit true colour thanks to MediaTek’s built-in MiraVision 955. This improves media streaming and playing. Additionally, OEMs find it simpler to satisfy the expanding market demand for cutting-edge form factors thanks to the Dimensity 7300X’s specialised support for dual display flip phones.

Dimensity 7300 and Dimensity 7300X important features

With MediaTek’s own optimisations and a full suite of R16 power-saving advancements, MediaTek 5G UltraSave 3.0+ technology offers 13–30% more power efficiency than competing options in typical 5G sub-6GHz connectivity settings.

Supporting 3CC carrier aggregation up to 3.27Gb/s 5G downstream speed, which enables better downlink rates in suburban and urban settings.

Support for multi-band Wi-Fi 6E allows for dependable and quick multi-gigabit wireless access.

Users will have more options with dual 5G SIM capability and dual VoNR.

This was addressed by MediaTek’s Dimensity 7300 series in May 2024. The Dimensity 7300 and 7300X chipset series boosts high-end to smartphone and foldable device performance, energy efficiency, and AI.

Constructed for Rapidity and Effectiveness

A powerful octa-core CPU powers the Dimensity 7300. This combo is ideal for gaming and multitasking with four 2.5 GHz Arm Cortex-A78 cores. Four Arm Cortex-A55 cores, which are energy-efficient, complement these and guarantee dependable performance for daily use. In comparison to the Dimensity 7050, this combination represents a major advancement.

The advanced 4nm manufacturing process is a feature of the 7300 series. This corresponds to a 25% decrease in power usage over the 6nm technique utilised in earlier generations. Users will benefit from longer battery life as a result, while manufacturers can create sleeker devices without compromising functionality.

Superpower in Graphics

Immersive mobile experiences require strong visuals. The Dimensity 7300 has an Arm Mali-G615 GPU to fix this. This graphics processor runs even the most demanding games smoothly, and MediaTek’s HyperEngine technology stabilises the network and efficiently manages resources. MediaTek says the 7300 series is appealing to mobile gamers due to its 20% higher frame rates (FPS) and energy economy.

AI Gains Strength

AI is increasingly changing the smartphone experience, enabling intelligent assistants, better photography, and facial recognition. The Dimensity 7300 uses the MediaTek APU 655, following this trend. This AI processing unit doubles the efficiency of the Dimensity 7050, resulting in a notable performance boost. New mixed precision data types, which enable more effective memory bandwidth utilisation and lower memory requirements for larger AI models, are also supported by the 7300 series. Future smartphones will be able to incorporate even more advanced AI features thanks to this.

Gorgeous Images

For a fascinating mobile experience, a stunning display is essential; a strong processor is only half the story. This demand is met by the Dimensity 7300 series, which supports powerful screens. With the ability to support WFHD+ resolutions at frame rates of up to 120 Hz, these chipsets guarantee fluid and visually spectacular images. For an even smoother user experience, the 7300 series also supports Full HD+ screens at an even higher refresh rate of 144Hz.

Concentrate on Take Pictures

Users now place a greater value on mobile photography, and the Dimensity 7300 series delivers. The chip has MediaTek’s Imagiq 950 image signal processor (ISP), which provides sophisticated photographic features. With the 12-bit HDR pipeline supported by this ISP, detailed information and brilliant colours may be captured. Furthermore, the Imagiq 950 enables features like video HDR, face detection, and precise noise reduction, guaranteeing beautiful images and movies in a range of lighting scenarios. The 7300 series stands out for its ability to enable dual simultaneous video capture, which allows for the development of more imaginative content.

A Set of Chips for Foldables

A 7300 variation called the Dimensity 7300X goes one step farther by being designed with foldable cellphones in mind. One essential component of these cutting-edge gadgets is dual display compatibility, which this chipset provides. Manufacturers may design foldable phones with seamless experiences on both the cover and main displays thanks to the 7300X.

Mobile’s Future

Mobile processing power has advanced significantly with the release of the Dimensity 7300 series. This chipset family, with its emphasis on efficiency, performance, AI capabilities, and support for cutting-edge technologies like foldable devices and high refresh rate screens, is positioned to have a significant impact on the direction of mobile technology. The Dimensity 7300 series offers makers a strong and adaptable foundation to develop next-generation smartphones that offer outstanding user experiences as smartphones continue to advance.

Read more on govindhtech.com

[bugslaststraw]

Overwatch: the art of writing bad stories on purpose

Clocking in at just over 4k words: a semi-coordinated rant on the topic of Blizzard's history of lawsuits, Overwatch'es history of canonical queerness, and the strange marketing techniques that tie the two topics together. Written by someone who got into the game less than a week ago and likes it in a hatewatch "I love garbage" sort of way, intended for those less familiar with the topic at hand. I tried to source claims but it didn't work so let it be known that I did actual research but I'll probably get stuff wrong anyway so I tried to be funny about it here we go:

Section 1: Frat Boy Snowstorm and it's attempts at being progressive.

Try to focus. This is the most boring part.

So as I hope you all know by now, Blizzard is a pretty shit company. I say shit, because controversial sounds too unbiased. Most of us are familiar with the lawsuits against the company relating to sexual assault charges, unsafe working conditions for female employees and a quote "frat boy environment," of which they've been under fire for since 2018, but recently (early April '23 to be precise) they've also faced a lawsuit for sneakily coming up with a way to underpay their eSports champions. (Both of these are easy to look up if you want more info.) However, the company is a giant, that along with Overwatch released Call of Duty and a bunch of other games I don't recognise (fuck me I'm not an FPS person,) and, aside from the money they easily paid out, they really haven't faced any major consequences for their scummy behaviour.

This is exactly what they want, of course: for the whole thing to blow over as quickly as possible. Keep this in mind as we move on. That's the whole reason Section 1 exists: to remind you that Blizzard, like Disney, is a Big Corporate Company that will go to ridiculous lengths to make sure that the actually relevant controversies are forgotten in favour of smaller stupider shit.

If there's one thing Blizzard loves to do more than make their female employees uncomfortable, it's to tote around their progressiveness. Of course, this usually doesn't extend to Call of Duty or any of their more "grounded" "gritty" and generally masculine domains, but Overwatch specifically is a testing ground for all kinds of bullshit and we can't go a season without one billion articles about "Overwatch first game to have character of xxx nationality on playable roster" etc etc etc. People absolutely shit their pants every time the game announces a new queer hero or whatever, because since it's a Big Corporate Company and it's just barely achieving the bare minimum of inclusivity, of course, that's got to be a big deal right? Except of course that like Disney, Blizzard will do literally fucking anything to make sure their games stay relevant and that more people buy and play them, and these attempts at inclusivity can be assumed to be preformed mainly out of a desire to make money and cover up their scandals, and not because the people who call shots actually care. It becomes incredibly clear how Blizzard sees inclusivity as an idea when you consider their viral invention from last year, the Diversity Space Method.

To some of you this may look like a good thing at first, and originally I think it was, as the idea was to keep track of how many of their characters weren't any of these things displayed above so that they could keep that number down, but as soon as someone came up with the idea to assign a certain number of points to each character, the whole concept crashes and burns. You see, according to this chart here, (and as another Tumblr user famously put it), Torbjörn (3) is older than Lucio (2) is black. And I'm pretty damn sure that's not how that works.

No doubt a percentage of the artists and writes for the game had some sort of passion. After all, there is genuine treasure to be found in the character designs, animations and even some of the voice acting. But you know how it is when it comes to inclusivity; the artists so often never get to do more than drop hints and leave people guessing. Which leads us neatly into the next section.

Section 2: This game's kinda shit!

And I don't mean the game itself. Idk about that, I never played it (and my friends who do all have wildly varying opinions.) I am talking about the stories. When I first started "researching" (hatewatching) the shorts and comics for this game, I was angrily wondering why they all felt so hollow. It was like looking at AI generated art, it was like looking into the eyes of what you thought was a person and seeing two camera lenses staring back, it felt empty, it felt bland despite all the good character designs and the lore and the concepts and the colors and the nice clean lines. Something was missing, and it was uncanny as hell! Eventually though, I managed to narrow it down to a few key issues:

A lot of comics and shorts feel like ads above eveyrthing else, they're made to sell the game rather than be good, and they therefore lack passion.

Possibly as a result of this, they operate almost entirely on "tell don't show" rules, thereby feeling even more empty.

These stories still manage to lack substance and they don't really canonise a lot about the world or characters, especially regarding relations between characters, and,

the really interesting storylines are usually left uncontinued or unexplored, possibly due to aformentioned lack of passion and an egotistical but sadly fulfilled hope that people will download the game or at least read the rest of the comics to find out more.

All this put together make for a very strange experience in which you can, if you squint, see the fuzzy outline of a good story, good worldbuilding and interesting characters, and imagine that the details make sense. Which, granted, is usually what people do. If you use your brain or have experience in writing, however, it all falls apart.

Section 3A: Overwatch is a knock-off

Well, not exactly. But it does have a strange habit of borrowing from other games. For example, did you know I'm a TF2 fan? Probably. Did you know each individual TF2 class has an Overwatch equivalent? Me neither, until now. Scout and Tracer, Medic and Mercy, Sniper and Widowmaker, Spy and Sombra, hmm I'm sensing a pattern here, Demo and Junkrat (we'll get back to him later,) and so on.

"That's a coincidence," you say. "They're similar games, of course there are equivalents," you say. To that I says: you may be right. We may all collectively be overthinking this. We may all also collectively be overthinking the Omnic crisis as a whole and why it's so damn similar to Fallout's synths, they've both got robot racism and violent groups who want to kill the robots one of which is in Australia, which is a plot point in TF2 as well oh look at that, but again I'm sure it's all a big fucking coincidence right and sorry sorry I'll stop now.

It is actually genuinely possible that those are coincidences, no sass intended, but considering how Blizzard operates on the whole, I doubt it. They've already proven to be rather lazy with their stories. There's nothing wrong with having similar ideas or being inspired, but when it's as noticeable as this, along with everything else, I just can't help but feel disappointed.

Section 3B: Overwatch is also a porn category

Oh yeah, speaking of never properly canonizing relationships between the characters (and aging their underage characters up to eighteen for hitherto mysterious reasons, and releasing all those horny fanservice skins,) here's an utterly ridiculous fact: when Overwatch dropped in 2016, quite a lot of people didn't know it was a game because there was so much (animated, drawn etc) porn of it that it flooded and quickly rose to the top of the "games" category on most popular sites (hard to source for obvious reasons, but I've had a friend check for me.) It still sits up there, by the way, surpassed only by funny space bean game (I'm not kidding.) Why? Two reasons. One: all the game's female characters are impossibly beautiful and (in every case but like two post-launch releases) skinny and generally conventional as well. No surprise there. Two: the game models are well rigged, high quality and incredibly easy to get at, making it so that people can tank them down and use them for whatever they like without issue. Rumour has it that this is on purpose.

My question is, what has this influx of smut done to the game? You see, if there's one thing Blizzard loves more than making their female employees uncomfortable, bragging about inclusivity, and copying other games, it's pandering. And they pander to everybody, or at least to as many people as possible, usually all at the same time if they can get away with it. This, I have to theorise, is why all the characters seem to be flirting with one another, but only one or two actual relationships are canon. They simply don't want to piss off any part of their demographic, which they force as wide open as possible because money money money money money. This means embracing the porn and making sly references to that part of the fanbase with skins, voice lines, and odd comments in interviews.

Anyway, back to the lawsuits, or rather the consequences of them. You see, canon queerness in Overwatch comes in threefold. This is the story of two thirds of it.

Section 4: Toy Soldier and Knock-off Scout Adventures

This is Soldier 76. And he's gay.

Everybody clap for Blizzard now. It's coyly canonised in a short story titled Bastet. 76 here was never a very popular Overwatch character, lore wise, so I guess this move makes sense. I can see why, too. He's very plain and simple design wise, almost grounded, but not enough that you notice it at a glance. He looks like a plastic toy. Anyway, his queerness wont piss off too many dudebros long-term, since fewer people play him, but it gives everybody else something to chew on, so everybody wins right?. When was Bastet released again? Oh, January of 2019? What else happened around that time? The settling and aftermath of the first lawsuit? Great. That totally wasn't a cover-up for anything. Definitely not.

It's not like 76 is the first character to be confirmed as queer though. Blizzard's favourite Overwatch character Tracer is too, being confirmed as having a girlfriend named Emily all the way back in 2016.

That's good right? I mean, that was before the controversy even started! Surely they did this for normal, innocent reasons and oh who the fuck am I kidding she's a conventionally attractive female character kissing another conventionally attractive female character in a game dominated by male players with male devs and a porn category more expansive than the Bible and we know damn well why that happened.

We can but pray that someone who was in on this gave a shit. Maybe the artist. The writer. Somebody. But this is a barren and cold world and I dare not hope even for that.

Not to mention, both of these things were distinctly one-off notes. It's mentioned once, and then never again, and after 2019 there was a four year radio silence on the whole subject of queer characters that didn't change until the release of OW2. And yet, Blizzard loved to brag about how inclusive they are at every turn even back then. "Look at us," they say, as the characters stare at you from the computer screen with their dead, hollow eyes, "look at how good we are! Please buy our game."

The status quo would change significantly in 2023, however, with the introduction of their latest addition to the roster; Lightweaver. Lifeweaver. Lightweaver? Wait hold on

Section 5: The most annoying twunk to ever grace the earth flings you into the stratosphere

This is Niran "Bua" Pruksamanee, also known as Lifweaver.

He debuted on the 11th of April, 2023, and he's The First at a lot of things, which, of course, made headlines. "First Thai character in a major FPS game" was probably the most common one. I'd feel better about that if I didn't know it's most likely the result of Blizzard trying to cash in inclusivity points. The second First he has is the more controversial one, however: First Overwatch character to be confirmed queer on launch. That's right, after four years of Jack Shit, they're back on it! And, well.

You see, to fully understand my emotions about this you need to know who Lifeweaver is. Despite Overwatch being a game with Mr black-hole-head toes-out "yet another poor-taste representation of DID" Sigma and a football-sized foul-mouthed hamster in a mechsuit in it, neither of them manage to be very funny. Lifeweaver, however, is objectively fucking hilarious, for these main reasons:

His amicable, light hearted healer-character personality clashes with his backstory, in a way that actually works. Lifweaver is a scientist who dropped out of a prestigious academy to stop people from trying to A: steal and B: jail him for his invention: biolight (which is exactly what it sounds: light that grows like plants, or vice versa.) Because of this biolight stuff, he is canonically wanted in seventeen countries and counting. And yet he's so glad to be here, you can hear the smile in his voice, he's kind, he's carefree. And he flirts.

With, like, everybody. Notably Mercy, and apparently he was roomates with Symmetra and speaks very fondly of her. On top of that he's (very) low-key implied to at least want to flirt with Roadhog of all people (can't say I blame him, anyway I'll get back to him,) and, uuh. Baptiste? Who's Baptiste? Nope, never heard of him. Ex-mercenary who regrets his actions and now plays support to make up for all the murder he did? Is what you may be asking yourself. Seriously, nobody talks about Bap. Maybe that's why he's being brought back into semi-relevance now, as Lifeweaver canonically (and smoothly) asks him on a date at a nice restaurant, to which he, unsurprisingly, says yes. He's always been very flirty himself. That should technically make it four canon queer characters in the game, but Baptiste still has some plausible deniability because of his personality, so arguments can still be argued, as they say.

Back to Lifeweaver. More specifically his playstyle. This bright pink healer wants nothing but to help people and further science! His players, however, will gladly ruin your day for shits and giggles. You see, it's become a bit of a gimmick of Overwatch as a whole to let you move your enemies around the battlefield. Junker Queen has her magnetic gauntlet thing, Roadhog has a hook, everybody and their mom have knockback, etc. Lifeweaver, however, can move his friends around. He has an ability to pull his teammates towards himself which he can also use to sling some of them across the map if they cooperate and/or move wrong. He can also raise a platform under any player that tosses them (or their lifeless corpse) into the air. This is incredibly useful in a coordinated team where everybody's using voice chat, eg. the way Overwatch is actually meant to be played. Overwatch is, however, never played how it's meant to be played. Hilarity ensues.

The circumstances of Lifeweaver's release. Here's the thing. On the 4th of April 2023, exactly one week before his release, Blizzard was sued again, this time for underpayment and mistreatment of their eSports champions. Although it's impossible to create a whole character in a week, it's fully possible that at least some parts of Lifeweaver's personality and some of the stuff he calls to canon (we'll get to The Thing later I promise, be patient,) were influenced by this. It's comically well timed that such a controversial character dropped so soon after that scandal, and while the model and animations were definitely finalized before that, any given set of voice lines could've been phoned in on the night of April 4th for all we know.

Put together, all of this is either infuriating or ridiculous. Some days it's one, some days the other, and some days, I'm just not sure. Originally I hated Lifeweaver. He felt predictable to me, a cheap coverup, a stereotype, and an annoying one at that. But eventually I sort of came around, because he got so annoying that I kind of had to respect him for it. From there, I eventually ended up here. And I think a lot of other people, notably the players themselves, felt the same. Go figure.

Section 6A: No scummy marketing tactic is complete without queerbait!

Valuable life lesson: it is very, very hard to tell wether or not something is queerbait by looking at the media itself. The possibilities that the perceived homoerotic tension is an accident, or a hint that's left vague for stylistic reasons, or simply a slow burn, are all present and impossible to rule out. The real way you find out if something is queerbait is by looking at the actual marketing. Listen to what devs say in interviews. Look at promotional material. Et cetera. Because I don't have the patience to watch those interviews, I can't actually say wether what I'm about to discuss is queerbait or a series of unfortunate accidents made as a result of Blizzard's bad habit of pandering, so I'll let you form your own conclusions and possibly go look it up on your own. (And then come back here and tell me about it because I'm so so curious.) I am probably going to go into excruciating detail on this next part. I am so sorry. I can't help but have favourites. So without further ado;

This is Jamison "Junkrat" Fawkes.

Or at least, it was back in OW1. (I promise the full body transparent background image is crucial.)

Anyway, this absolute bastard is a favorite of mine. (Having favourite OW characters? I am cringe but I am free.) He was in the game from launch, and remains one of the more interesting and, shall we say, least soulless characters in the game to this day. Not that there's that much to him. He never shuts up, he's clinically insane as a result of several concussions and a lot of radiation, and he really really likes blowing things up. Together with Roadhog, he's a freelance mercenary with little to no morals whatsoever, taking on whatever job gets them both cash, action, and buildings to explode.

Oh yeah, right. Mako "Roadhog" Rutledge, the quiet, stoic and occasionally terrifying two meter tall shit brickhouse with a stitched gas mask shaped like a pig snout and a massive hook on a chain. Sadly, although he's crucial to the segment, I can't really discuss him as much as I would like to because he has like five voice lines in total (an exaggeration) and half of them are just him telling Junkrat to shut the fuck up (not an exaggeration.) "Stoic, silent characters can be interesting without speaking," I hear you say. Yes, I reply, if they're well written. But this is Overwatch. Never ever get your hopes up about Overwatch.

Anyway, the trash rat and Mr Whole Hog here have an interesting history. Originally, they were simply friends, running around and doing Hilarious Antics™ (that were never very funny, other than in concept.) They feature in several comics together (none of which are very good,) they chat a lot in game and they have their own animated short called The Plan (which is the first Overwatch thing I ever consumed, also not very good, but hey, it landed me here.) And before I get into the queerbait part of this segment, let me just say that studying just this small part of Overwatch tells volumes about the writing all on its own. The tell-don't-show, the inconsistencies, the rampant ludonarrative dissonance... Stars, the comics want you to take Roadhog so seriously. They're leaning super hard into the edge with a brutal backstory and focus on making him as menacing as possible. Meanwhile, in game he, and I cannot stress this enough, walks around ass out the entire time. Google at your own risk. Don't say I didn't warn you!

There is this one voice line, triggered when interacting with one another, where Junkrat says somthn' like "You'll hook 'em, I'll cook 'em!" and Roadhog just sighs in frustration, but then there's another line, triggered the same way, where HE begins the saying, "I'll hook 'em..." "And I'll cook 'em!" In short, fuck you consistency, and this contrast could be really interesting if it was well written. But of course Overwatch will Never Ever elaborate on this, as per usual.

As the years went by, however, things got... A bit weird. Junkrat has always been friendly. According to him, he and Hoggie (he calls him that, not me) are the bestest of friends. And although Roadhog acts as though he hates Junkrat a lot of the time, this is very obviously just tsundere behaviour used to mask the fact that he does really like him quite a lot. But in what way? "Gayass," said half the fandom. "No, fuck you," said the other half, "this is clearly a father-son dynamic." "You're all homophobic," said the first half. "Maybe we are," said the second, "what are you gonna do about it?"

And Blizzard... Did nothing. Well, they did canonise their ages at some point, and there is about two decades inbetween the two (Junkrat is allegedly 25 although I find that hard to believe, I mean look at him, and RH is in his late forties) which one would assume suggests their support of the father-son thing, right? Man, if only it were that easy. First of all, the writing is so nondescript and vague that their actual dynamic doesn't resemble a parental one even in the slightest, especially not on Junkrat's tounge, and seeing as he's both more affectionate and more talkative I'll lend that it's appropriate weight. Predictably, there is also one line that is inexplicable, unexplainable and clearly an innuendo, where if you run Junkrat and eliminate an enemy RH, he'll say something like "I guess we know who's on top now, don't we?" This doesn't appear to be a reference to anything, trust me, I've tried to check. Excuse me while I take a sledgehammer to Blizzard's servers. Again, we can't assume anything's ever on purpose, but c'mon. Who greenlit that?

So, unsurprisingly, Blizzard is being annoyingly non-commital again, so as not to piss off either half of their fanbase. Things went kinda quiet after that. Anything released was, again, purposely vague.

And then OW2 happened.

Section 6B: Subtlety, lack thereof, and the art of applying a metallic texture to a default Blender orb

This is Junkrat, as his current in game model. Sad, right? How they forced him to take a bath before letting him into OW2? How they regrew his hair and ripped off his cooler patches? It's a fucking travesty. People are calling him "Cluttermouse" as a joke now. Why would they do this? They massacred my boy.

Anyway, if you're observant you'll notice he's got an earring now. Yeah, on his right ear. Yeah. What's that? You were on Tumblr in 2016? You remember all the circling posts about "earring on the right ear means person wearing it is gay" posts? You grew up a bit and assumed that was made up or blown out of proportion? You asked your mom one day and she confirms it was a very widely known symbol until around the century change? Some fans must've noticed. Most of them didn't, though, because most of them are twelve. Anyway, I tell myself (and you) that it doesn't actually have to mean anything. If you look at the design again you'll see Rattie here is very asymmetrical, and leaned to his-right-your-left, both of his prosthetics being on that side. (He even walks unevenly, which I love.) It's likely that the modellers simply had no clue about the earring symbolism thing, and just wanted to play into that asymmetry. Right?

...and then Lifeweaver dropped.

And then everyone lost their fucking minds.

Ya see, dearest readers (thank you for making it this far,) Lifweaver, Pink Petal Supporthero McGoodguy, has not one, but two conversations with Junkrat in game. One of them feels fairly normal, with them discussing the price on Lifeweaver's "noggin" and laughing about it a bit. The other one, oh boy, the other one goes like this:

🌸"Are you and Roadhog together?"

🐀"Do~ you ever see us apart?

🌸"No. I meant: are you couple?"

🐀"Yes!! A couple of dashing rouges! Not sure... What you're missing here."

Yeah. I'd lose my shit too. I guess I kind of did, but not for the reason you think. You see, this right here, in terms of pure writing talent, is fucking genius, because it manages to be controversial without actually confirming anything. By that I mean, that because Fawkes said "yes" quite enthusiastically, the half of the fandom that said "gayass" think he meant yes, but because he noped out of that yes with the "couple of dashing rouges" bit, the other half of the fandom think he meant no! This is where I really start to wonder if they called Junkrat's voice actor at 2 in the morning and went "hey bud take a few extra grand and help us record another few lines will you? We just got sued again."

This shit is simultaneously funny as hell, sad, and absolutely infuriating. In reality, Junkrat has approximately two braincells rattling around in his skull, of which he is constantly frying, due to all the concussions. He probably doesn't even know what his relationship to Mako is. That might've been the case, and it would've been a good joke, had Overwatch been a well-written game. Sadly, it's all shitfuck at worst and boring at best, and this latest little oddity just makes me even more convinced that Junkrat and his partner have been banished to Queerbait Limbo for the foreseeable future.

Section 7: In conclusion,

Blizzard is shitfuck company, Overwatch is shitfuck game, I spent at least three hours writing this up and probably more editing it together and in less than a month, it's June and Overwatch'es first in-game pride event drops. Needless to say, I'm scared.

How much time did you waste reading? Did I state fake news? Do you have additional trivia? Do tell. I'm so curious. This has been four thousand words of nothing. Goodbye.

[blazehedgehog]

Well, what do you think of all the Switch 2 hooplah recently?

Everything we know sounds like Nintendo was very close to announcing a Switch Pro to supplement the Switch Lite. From what I remember (and maybe I'm getting some of this wrong, it's just from memory):

In the big Nvidia leak, a second driver branch was discovered for the Switch's specific brand of Tegra chip that included a new version of DLSS, the tech that upscales low resolution displays up to 4K. It was assumed this was for the Switch Pro.

It's not just that the Nvidia leak was for the Switch's Tegra chip, I believe it was for, like, a "version 2" (or even version 3) of that same chip.

Bloomberg ran a report that a dozen or so developers had Switch Pro development kits and were targeting their games for it. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume something like Mortal Kombat One and the Batman Collection were probably including the Switch Pro in their targets, and the performance problems people reported in Link's Awakening HD were probably meant to be cleaned up by the Pro. Digital Foundry also has noted that Nintendo's own trailer footage of Tears of the Kingdom appeared to be running on hardware much better than a stock Switch.

Some reports of the Switch 2 are "more evolution than revolution" and it feels to me like Nintendo is just taking the Switch Pro and maybe just bumping it up a little more. After all, they have all this work done on development for the Pro, so why not just extend the capabilities a little more?

The current target is said to be "in the same range as the PS4", right? For a portable, I think that's about right. The ignorant will moan at how behind the curve Nintendo is on hardware, but one, that's how Nintendo actually remains profitable, and two, that's kind of the limit of what a portable system is capable of.

Because we have the Steam Deck now, right. And the Steam Deck has created a market of Steam Deck competitors -- stuff like the ROG Ally and the Ayaneo. And for the current price point ($400-$700), we generally seem to have hit a limit of what's possible in portable hardware, and it's right around that "about as powerful as a PS4" spec.

The ROG Ally and Ayaneo can push things beyond that a little bit, but the added power consumption basically makes the battery on these things worthless. Which is to say nothing about system heat; the ROG Ally was famous for having an emergency ejector function that would suddenly launch the SD card from the slot like a missile under the danger that it was getting so hot it might melt.

We're simply at the boundary of what's possible in that form factor, doubly confirmed by Valve stating last year that we wouldn't see a Steam Deck 2 "for at least a couple years." For something this light, this thin, this is as stable and as usable as it gets.

I imagine the Switch 2 will be somewhat competitive in this arena, but not quite as powerful or versatile as a Steam Deck. But it won't exactly be a slouch, either. I imagine it'll be the sort of thing where a $300 Switch 2 will be "good enough" but a $400 Steam Deck will still edge it out in performance.

Will Nintendo announce the Switch 2 this year? Maybe, I guess. I always got the impression that they didn't announce the Switch Pro because sales on the vanilla Switch were way too strong and they didn't want to water down the market with too many alternate SKUs. But now vanilla Switch sales seem to be falling pretty fast and they're in a position to get this thing to market quickly, so I think they will.

[electronalytics]

4K Display Market Analysis 2023 Dynamics, Players, Type, Applications, Trends, Regional Segmented, Outlook & Forecast till 2033

4K Display Market size was valued at USD 114.44 Billion in 2023, and the market is projected to be worth USD 907.05 Billion by 2033. Registering a CAGR of 23% during the forecast period 2024-2033.

The competitive analysis of the 4K Display Market offers a comprehensive examination of key market players. It encompasses detailed company profiles, insights into revenue distribution, innovations within their product portfolios, regional market presence, strategic development plans, pricing strategies, identified target markets, and immediate future initiatives of industry leaders. This section serves as a valuable resource for readers to understand the driving forces behind competition and what strategies can set them apart in capturing new target markets.

Market projections and forecasts are underpinned by extensive primary research, further validated through precise secondary research specific to the 4K Display Market. Our research analysts have dedicated substantial time and effort to curate essential industry insights from key industry participants, including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), top-tier suppliers, distributors, and relevant government entities.

Receive the FREE Sample Report of 4K Display Market Research Insights @ https://stringentdatalytics.com/sample-request/4k-display-market/12726/

Market Segmentations:

Global 4K Display Market: By Company • Sharp Corporation • LG Electronics • AU Optronics Corporation • Samsung Electronics • Red Digital Cinema Camera Company • Sony Corporation • AJA Video Systems • Planar Systems • Canon • EIZO Corporation • Panasonic Corporation Global 4K Display Market: By Type • Smartphones &Tablets • Digital Cameras • Monitors & Smart Tvs • Cameras • Projectors Global 4K Display Market: By Application • Retail & Advertisement • Business & Education • Aerospace & Defense • Media & Entertainment • Consumer Electronics

Regional Analysis of Global 4K Display Market

All the regional segmentation has been studied based on recent and future trends, and the market is forecasted throughout the prediction period. The countries covered in the regional analysis of the Global 4K Display market report are U.S., Canada, and Mexico in North America, Germany, France, U.K., Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Rest of Europe in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Argentina, Brazil, and Rest of South America as part of South America.

Click to Purchase 4K Display Market Research Report @ https://stringentdatalytics.com/purchase/4k-display-market/12726/

Key Report Highlights:

Key Market Participants: The report delves into the major stakeholders in the market, encompassing market players, suppliers of raw materials and equipment, end-users, traders, distributors, and more.

Comprehensive Company Profiles: Detailed company profiles are provided, offering insights into various aspects including production capacity, pricing, revenue, costs, gross margin, sales volume, sales revenue, consumption patterns, growth rates, import-export dynamics, supply chains, future strategic plans, and technological advancements. This comprehensive analysis draws from a dataset spanning 12 years and includes forecasts.

Market Growth Drivers: The report extensively examines the factors contributing to market growth, with a specific focus on elucidating the diverse categories of end-users within the market.

Data Segmentation: The data and information are presented in a structured manner, allowing for easy access by market player, geographical region, product type, application, and more. Furthermore, the report can be tailored to accommodate specific research requirements.

SWOT Analysis: A SWOT analysis of the market is included, offering an insightful evaluation of its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Expert Insights: Concluding the report, it features insights and opinions from industry experts, providing valuable perspectives on the market landscape.

Report includes Competitor's Landscape:

➊ Major trends and growth projections by region and country ➋ Key winning strategies followed by the competitors ➌ Who are the key competitors in this industry? ➍ What shall be the potential of this industry over the forecast tenure? ➎ What are the factors propelling the demand for the 4K Display? ➏ What are the opportunities that shall aid in significant proliferation of the market growth? ➐ What are the regional and country wise regulations that shall either hamper or boost the demand for 4K Display? ➑ How has the covid-19 impacted the growth of the market? ➒ Has the supply chain disruption caused changes in the entire value chain? Customization of the Report:

This report can be customized to meet the client’s requirements. Please connect with our sales team (sales@stringentdatalytics.com), who will ensure that you get a report that suits your needs. You can also get in touch with our executives on +1 346 666 6655 to share your research requirements.

About Stringent Datalytics

Stringent Datalytics offers both custom and syndicated market research reports. Custom market research reports are tailored to a specific client's needs and requirements. These reports provide unique insights into a particular industry or market segment and can help businesses make informed decisions about their strategies and operations.

Syndicated market research reports, on the other hand, are pre-existing reports that are available for purchase by multiple clients. These reports are often produced on a regular basis, such as annually or quarterly, and cover a broad range of industries and market segments. Syndicated reports provide clients with insights into industry trends, market sizes, and competitive landscapes. By offering both custom and syndicated reports, Stringent Datalytics can provide clients with a range of market research solutions that can be customized to their specific needs.

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[eziovo]

Best Android TV Boxes For Streaming in 2023

In the ever-evolving realm of home entertainment, Android TV boxes have emerged as versatile juggernauts of contemporary streaming. These devices have transcended their basic media conduit origins to become multi-functional hubs for immersive content experiences. Picture this: a single device seamlessly blending HD IPTV viewing, gaming thrills, and immersive entertainment. Welcome to the cutting edge of TV streaming, where Android TV boxes redefine how we engage with content.

The days of TV boxes confined to rudimentary functions are long gone. Modern Android TV boxes epitomize versatility. Once connected to your TV, they open portals to a multitude of streaming services, turning your screen into a smart entertainment hub. Services like Netflix and Disney Plus are at your fingertips.

So, you’ve decided to elevate your TV experience with an Android TV box, tapping into the power of the beloved Android operating system. However, navigating through a sea of options can be daunting. With countless Android TV boxes flaunting slight variations in specifications, how do you choose the perfect fit for your needs?

Worry not, as we have meticulously scrutinized the cream of the crop among Android TV boxes, ensuring that you embark on your streaming journey armed with the right information. Whether you’re a cinema buff, a gaming enthusiast, or someone with unique streaming preferences, we have categorized the best options for every taste. Our mission is to guide you not only to the best Android TV box but also to the ideal companion tailored perfectly to your entertainment aspirations.

1.NVIDIA Shield TV Pro

NVIDIA’s Shield TV has reigned as the undisputed king of Android TV boxes, and the Shield TV Pro takes this legacy to new heights. Despite its age, the Tegra X1+ processor delivers exceptional performance, driving AI-enhanced 4K upscaling that genuinely enhances HD picture clarity and color vibrancy on a 4K display. This powerhouse chip also adeptly handles real-time transcoding, allowing seamless streaming of various file formats from a NAS drive. With support for Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos, and DTS-X surround sound, it solidifies its reputation as an AV powerhouse.

Running on NVIDIA’s customized Google TV OS, you have access to the full array of software on the Google Play store. Plex comes pre-installed, and if you wish to expand beyond the usual suspects like Netflix and Amazon Prime, adding Kodi is a breeze. While the onboard 16GB storage might feel limiting, a simple USB 3.0 external drive upgrade resolves this concern.

Gaming is another forte of the Shield TV Pro. The Tegra X1+ not only handles a plethora of major titles from the Google Play store but also directly streams games from Nvidia’s GeForce Now service. This ingenious feature lets you access your PC games library on your TV, provided the service supports the titles. For those seeking a more streamlined setup, the new Shield TV “stick” might be appealing, as it mirrors the software and wields the same Tegra X1+ chip. Nevertheless, the Shield TV Pro embodies the quintessential Android TV experience.

Pros:

Reliable performance

Excellent remote

Wide variety of native 4K content

Supports Nvidia’s GeForce NOW cloud gaming

Cons:

AI upscaling can be overly aggressive

Controller not included

2.Magabox MG4

The Magabox-MG4 stands as the latest iteration in the Magabox series, pushing the boundaries of convenience and performance. Packed with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, it transforms into a multimedia powerhouse. Its integrated voice command feature ushers in a superior streaming experience, redefining the market. Connect it to your TV and the internet, and witness your standard TV evolve into a smart wonder.

This exceptionally user-friendly Android TV box redefines its predecessor, the MG4, with a revamped design and interface. While its hardware remains steadfast, the revamped design and interface, coupled with superior streaming and DVR capabilities, make it an irresistible choice for streaming enthusiasts. Constant system updates ensure access to the latest features and security enhancements, cementing its place as a dynamic entertainment companion.

Remarkably, the Magabox MG4 remains budget-friendly, maintaining the same price point as the MG4. This commitment to affordability ensures that users can access its advanced streaming capabilities without breaking the bank, making it an even more compelling choice for budget-conscious consumers.

Pros:

User-friendly interface

Built-in apps with voice search support

Stable streaming, especially for sports gaming

Maintains the same price as the previous version

Cons:

Batteries not included in the package

3.Amazon Fire TV Stick (3rd generation)

The base-level Fire TV Stick offers respectable functionality but may leave some users craving more due to its modest 1GB of RAM, quad-core CPU, and limited 8GB of storage. In terms of both hardware and software, the third-generation Fire Stick closely mirrors its predecessor. The primary distinction lies in its slightly updated remote, featuring a Channel Guide button and four app shortcuts for convenient access to region-specific apps like Amazon Prime and Netflix. Impressively, it supports various HDR standards, including Dolby Atmos, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG, making it a solid choice for modern HDR 4K televisions.

For ardent Kodi enthusiasts and those seeking an extra performance boost, investing an additional £10 in the Fire TV Stick 4K Max might be worthwhile. This upgraded version boasts a faster CPU, more RAM, and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, along with robust 4K video support and compatibility with Dolby Vision HDR.

Pros:

Good hardware

Excellent HD antenna

Stunning 4K resolution

Cons:

Non-expandable storage space

4.MINIX NEO U9-H

The MINIX NEO U9-H 64-bit Media Hub for Android delivers swift video playback at an impressive 60fps, enhancing your viewing experience with seamless and razor-sharp 4K visuals. What’s more, it excels in picture quality, thanks to comprehensive HDR10 compatibility.

Leveraging HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology, this media hub broadens the color spectrum, rendering whites brighter and blacks deeper, thereby intensifying contrast for a lifelike and vibrant visual journey. All of these features come in an affordable package, priced under $50 / £50 / AUD$80, making it a budget-friendly choice for value-conscious users.

Pros:

Excellent streaming performance

Versatile

Micro SD slot

Cons:

Lacks a USB 3.0 port

5.Google Chromecast with Google TV (4K)

The Chromecast with Google TV 4K undoubtedly stands among the finest media streaming devices available, a viewpoint we firmly endorse. However, when compared to Android TV boxes, it gracefully concedes the top spot to the NVIDIA Shield TV, known for delivering superior performance across the board. Nevertheless, Google’s Chromecast with Google TV 4K offers an exceptional value proposition, priced at just $49.99.

It’s important to note that when we mention “Google TV,” we are referring to Google’s revamped user interface, while the Chromecast with Google TV continues to operate on the robust Android TV platform, providing access to a comprehensive array of streaming services. Furthermore, it comes complete with Google’s popular Chromecast remote right in the box.

Pros

Affordable price tag

Google TV interface with Google Assistant

dedicated compact remote

Cons

Limited storage

No AV1 codec support

In conclusion, the world of Android TV boxes has evolved to redefine how we experience home entertainment. From the powerhouse NVIDIA Shield TV Pro to the user-friendly Magabox MG4, and the budget-friendly Amazon Fire TV Stick to the vivid visual experiences offered by the MINIX NEO U9-H and the value-packed Google Chromecast with Google TV 4K, there’s a streaming companion tailored to every preference and budget. These devices not only grant access to an array of streaming services but also open doors to gaming thrills and immersive content. The future of streaming is here, and it’s a world of limitless possibilities, all at your fingertips. Whether you seek performance, affordability, or versatility, these Android TV boxes are your gateway to a dynamic and personalized entertainment journey.

[charleneadam]

Remarkable Features of the iPhone 15 Pro Max

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is Apple's latest flagship smartphone, and it's packed with impressive features. Here's a closer look at some of the most notable ones:

Design and Build

The iPhone 15 Pro Max features a sleek and modern design with a titanium frame and Corning-made glass on both the front and back. It's also IP68-rated, making it water and dust-resistant.

The titanium frame is stronger and more durable than aluminum, and it also gives the phone a more premium look and feel. The Corning-made glass is also very durable, and it's resistant to scratches and cracks.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is also slightly thinner and lighter than its predecessor, the iPhone 14 Pro Max. This makes it more comfortable to hold and use, even for extended periods of time.

Display

The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a stunning 6.7-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and a peak brightness of 2000 nits. This means that you can enjoy your favorite content in stunning clarity and detail.

The 120Hz refresh rate makes animations look incredibly smooth and fluid. HDR10 and Dolby Vision provide a wider range of colors and brighter contrast, resulting in more realistic and immersive visuals.

The peak brightness of 2000 nits makes the display easy to see, even in bright sunlight. This is especially useful when you're using your phone outdoors or in other well-lit environments.

Performance

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is powered by the latest A17 Pro chip, which is built on a 3nm process. This makes it one of the fastest smartphones on the market, capable of handling even the most demanding tasks with ease.

The A17 Pro chip is also very efficient, so you can expect to get long battery life from the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Camera System

The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a triple-lens camera system on the back, consisting of a 48MP wide-angle lens, a 12MP periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. This system takes stunning photos and videos in any lighting condition.

The 48MP wide-angle lens captures more detail than ever before, and it also performs better in low light. The 12MP periscope telephoto lens provides 5x optical zoom, which is the most on any iPhone to date. This makes it possible to zoom in on distant objects without losing any detail.

The 12MP ultrawide lens captures a wide field of view, making it perfect for capturing landscapes and group photos.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max also has a new ProMotion camera system that features a faster autofocus system and improved low-light performance.

Video Recording

The iPhone 15 Pro Max can record 4K video at up to 60 frames per second. It also supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR recording.

The new ProMotion camera system also features improved video stabilization, making it easier to capture smooth and steady videos.

Battery Life

The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a large 4422mAh battery that can easily last a full day on a single charge. It also supports fast wired and wireless charging, so you can quickly top it up when needed.

Price

The iPhone 15 Pro Max officially hit the market in September 2023, with an initial price point of 230,000 BDT in Bangladesh. This price applies to the 8GB 256GB variant, while the higher-storage variants are expected to command higher prices. It caters to a wide range of preferences and needs.

[johnrudyproofreading]

"Latest Tech and Gadgets"

The world of technology is constantly evolving and advancing, with new gadgets and devices being released almost every day. In this article, we will take a look at some of the latest and most exciting technology and gadgets that are currently available on the market.

Smartwatches are becoming increasingly popular and more advanced. The latest models, such as the Apple Watch Series 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, offer a range of features including fitness tracking, health monitoring, and smartphone notifications. Some models even allow you to make phone calls and send texts directly from your wrist.

Foldable phones are another new and innovative technology that has recently hit the market. These phones offer the convenience of a tablet with the portability of a smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 and the Huawei Mate X2 are two of the best foldable phones currently available, offering large and flexible displays that can be easily carried in your pocket or bag.

In the world of gaming, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are becoming more popular and accessible. VR headsets, such as the Oculus Quest 2 and the HTC Vive Pro, allow you to fully immerse yourself in a virtual world, while AR devices, such as the Microsoft Hololens 2, superimpose digital information onto the real world.

Smart home technology is also rapidly advancing. Devices such as smart speakers, smart lights, and smart thermostats can be controlled using voice commands or a smartphone app, allowing you to easily control and automate your home. The Amazon Echo and the Google Nest Hub are two popular examples of smart speakers that offer a range of features, including voice-controlled music playback and home automation.

Finally, drone technology has also advanced significantly in recent years. Drones are now equipped with high-quality cameras, allowing you to capture stunning aerial footage. The DJI Mavic Air 2 and the Parrot Anafi are two of the best consumer drones available, offering advanced features such as obstacle avoidance and 4K video recording.

In conclusion, these are just a few examples of the latest and most exciting technology and gadgets that are currently available on the market. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or simply looking to upgrade your gadgets, there are plenty of options to choose from that can make your life easier and more enjoyable.

[anavatazes]

GenXer here, and there are times when I have to stop myself from wondering some of these things. But then I remind myself, a decade ago, we bought this house for 86k on a short sale. The same house in the current market is now worth over 220k. We have contract phones, but that is mostly because of the insurance and ability to get newer phones at better deals. Phones are paid off, so that bill is real low. Could be lower if we went prepaid, but the insurance is too valuable to us when (not if) something happens to the phones. It's cheaper than footing the bill for a new phone. And no landline. We have a TV in almost every room in the house. We got them all on sale, or open box display. We paid no more than one car payment for them. All flat-screen. One is even 4k. We use them for more than entertainment, just like the phones are for more than just communication.

This is why I try my best to be as understanding and lenient with my kids as I can be and help where I can. It's a bitch, but with the COL so high all around and no COLA in sight, we need to stick together and help each other. Same with friends and other family members.

[onlineshopping-123]

"Best Laptops in Qatar for Every Budget and Need" 

"Best Laptops in Qatar for Every Budget and Need" 

Laptops are becoming a vital device for business, education, entertainment, and communication inside the contemporary digital technology. It is crucial to choose the proper computer at the ideal charge, irrespective of whether you're an expert, student, or informal person. The pc marketplace in Qatar has a big choice, starting from high-quit models to greater cheap versions. This weblog discusses pc prices in Qatar, wherein to shop for, what affects prices, and a way to get the best good buy.

An overview of Qatar's laptop prices

Depending on the brand, specifications, and features, laptop prices in Qatar vary significantly. The major functionality of entry-level laptops, which typically start from QAR 1,000 to QAR 2,000, is for everyday chores like browsing, streaming, and document modification. Customers who require higher performance for multitasking, picture layout, or mild gaming are served by mid-variety laptops, which variety in fee from QAR 2,500 to QAR 5,000. High-cease laptops that provide pinnacle-tier overall performance and better abelites, such as gaming laptops or premium ultrabooks, can value everywhere from QAR 5,000 to QAR 15,000 or more.

Brand Factors Affecting Laptop Prices: Known manufacturers inclusive of Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Asus are regarded for his or her dependability and elegance, which often consequences in better expenses.

Specifications: The charge is greatly encouraged via vital factors consisting of the processor (CPU), RAM, garage (SSD or HDD), and pictures card (GPU). For example, it expenses more to buy a laptop with an AMD Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7 processor than one with an AMD Ryzen three or Intel Core i3 processor.

Display Quality: More pricey laptops are normally people with touchscreens or excessive-definition shows (such 4K).

Portability: Ultrabooks and lightweight laptops which might be made to be transportable are frequently greater luxurious due to their small size and wonderful additives.

Gaming Features: More steeply-priced than modern laptops are gaming laptops with devoted GPUs, excessive refresh rates, and sophisticated cooling systems.

Where to Buy Laptops in Qatar

Local Electronics Stores: Retailers like Jarir Bookstore, Lulu Hypermarket, and Sharaf DG provide a wide selection of laptops from various manufacturers. These shops often have in-store promotions and reductions.

Online Retailers: E-commerce systems like Amazon.Qa, Noon, and AliExpress offer a handy way to compare expenses and study patron critiques. Many online outlets also offer extraordinary offers and speedy shipping alternatives.

Brand Outlets: Apple, Dell, and HP have professional shops and licensed resellers in Qatar, where you could find the present day fashions and get hold of professional recommendation.

Second-Hand Market: Platforms like Mzad Qatar and Qatar Living are notable for locating used laptops at lower expenses. However, customers need to work out warnings and verify the situation of the tool before buying.

Tips for Getting the Best Deal

Compare Prices: Check more than one outlet, each online and offline, to discover the satisfactory charge for the computer you want.

Seek Discounts: As many stores provide significant reductions around Ramadan, Black Friday, or Qatar National Day, maintain a watch out for seasonal bargains.

Consider Refurbished Models: Refurbished laptops are a value-powerful replacement because they are able to cost substantially less than new ones and are protected by way of warranties.

Prioritise your needs: Focus intently at the matters which can be most essential to you. Choose a laptop that is more transportable or has a longer battery life, for example, if you do not require a powerful GPU for gaming.

In precise, in case you're purchasing an excessive-quit version, make sure the computer has a guarantee and dependable purchaser care.

In summary

The pc market in Qatar gives an extensive range of merchandise, from expensive fashions to more moderately priced options. Finding a computer that fits your demands and finances may be made simpler if you are aware about the elements that affect costs and recognise wherein to preserve them. Whether you are purchasing for entertainment, paintings, or other items, make the effort to analyze and compare your options if you want to attain the excellent price to your money. By the usage of the proper approach, you could revel in the precise laptop without breaking the financial institution!