Global Tech Roundup; Google unveils Pixel smartphones powered by its own chip

Hi there. It’s another beautiful week coming to an end. As usual, this week was filled with a lot of amazing stories in the world of tech. 

Without wasting much time, let’s quickly go over some stories from this week that you probably have missed. 

Google unveils smartphones powered by its own chip

Google announced the release of its newest Pixel smartphones, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, at its virtual Pixel Fall Launch event on Tuesday.

This will be the first of its Pixel range of smartphones that will be running on Google’s Tensor chip announced in August instead of the regular Qualcomm’s the phones are known for. 

This new chip feature is Google’s attempt at luring new customers once more, and it is hoping that its new CPU, as well as some unique software features and pricing, will be enough to entice them.

Google’s Android operating system is installed on more than 3 billion devices worldwide, yet the company’s proprietary phones have yet to earn a significant share of the market.

The tensor chip will allow for a feature called Magic Eraser that will allow users to delete unwanted elements such as a photobomber or an object in the background from images. Its Face Unblur functionality will also reduce blurring from moving subjects and deliver more accurate skin-tone features, which is another camera upgrade.

The Pixel 6 smartphones run on the new Android 12 operating system. It has a feature called “Material You’ that automatically customizes the icon colours, menu text and other aspects of the phone to match the phone’s background wallpaper. 

Apple unveils new computer chips amid a shortage

In the midst of a global chip shortage, California-based Apple Inc. has announced a new set of computer chips that will power its upcoming Macbook Pro Laptops.

The M1Pro and M1Max CPUs are the two new chips announced by Apple during its live event on Monday. These chips will power the new MacBook Pro 14in and 16in laptops, as well as macOS Monterey, a new operating system for the Mac.

For years, Apple has been using chips designed by Intel. But it has now made a move to design its own silicon. With 57 billion transistors, Apple claims the M1 Max chip is the most powerful it has ever created.

The company is announcing these new processor chips nearly a year after revealing the first of its Mac computers that will be powered by silicon designed by the company.

This announcement comes after reports that Apple is planning to lower its iPhone 13 production targets due to a global computer chip scarcity.

According to the tech company, the new chips will deliver performance comparable to an 8-core PC laptop chip running at full speed while consuming 70% less power.

The processor is also expected to be up to 1.7 times faster than an 8-core PC chip when running at full speed. 

Microsoft now lets users test Android apps on Windows 11

Microsoft has announced that it is now making it possible for users who wish to test Android apps on its Windows 11 platform to do so. 

According to the company, it has now rolled out a Windows subsystem for Android. This subsystem will allow Windows 11 beta testers to preview and access Android apps from the Amazon app store.

This Android app feature will run on Windows 11 for testers with Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm processors.

Microsoft has collaborated with Amazon to create a list of 50 Android apps that users can test on Windows 11. They include apps like Amazon’s kindle, Lords Mobile, June’s Journey, and Coin Master, to mention a few. 

The apps can be downloaded via the Microsoft Store, which will display a selection of available apps before directing users to the Amazon Appstore to download and install them. 

Microsoft claims that with this functionality, Android apps will be able to coexist with Windows apps. They can also be integrated into Alt + Tab and Task view, as well as being pinned to the Start menu or taskbar.