Xiaomi Master Series 86-Inch Mini LED TV with Improved Picture Quality 2023

Xiaomi has formally announced the release of its new television product, the Xiaomi Master 86-inch Mini LED TV, which boasts “carefully calibrated picture quality.” As a new addition to Xiaomi’s “Master” series, the 86-inch screen utilizes Mini LED technology, which offers significant hardware advantages over conventional LED backlighting, including a wide color gamut, high contrast, and refined dynamic partitioning.

Xiaomi will Introduce an 86-Inch Mini LED TV from the Master Series with Improved Picture Quality

Simultaneously, Xiaomi has integrated a brand-new, self-developed engine into this television, rewriting the algorithm for determining image quality and delivering color accuracy at the professional level. In terms of color fidelity and picture quality, the Master 86-inch Mini LED TV represents the apogee of Xiaomi’s television lineup.

As part of Xiaomi’s ecosystem, the television also features the company’s proprietary “multi-screen color consistency” technology, which ensures uniform color displays across televisions, smartphones, and tablets. This fundamentally remedies the display issues caused by color inconsistencies when mirroring a smartphone or tablet’s screen.

According to the information presently available, the Xiaomi Master 86 inch Mini LED TV, as a new product in Xiaomi’s premium “Master” television series, has undergone significant hardware and software enhancements. Obviously, as a premium television product, sound quality and response time are also essential.

Although Xiaomi has not yet disclosed the TV’s efficacy in these areas, it is anticipated that it will be impressive. In addition to the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and the Xiaomi Mi Band 8, the Xiaomi Master 86-inch Mini LED TV will be unveiled at a launch event on April 18.

Review: The SmartThings Station wireless charger manages your house with one button 2023

Matter has reinvented the smart home, giving the industry an opportunity to improve on existing ideas and explore new ones. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been able to use one of those new concepts in Samsung’s SmartThings Station, a Matter hub that can wirelessly charge your phone and manage smart home gadgets with a button.

The tiny Samsung SmartThings Station has three functions. It’s a Matter and SmartThings hub. The station can connect to your phone or voice assistant and control Matter smart home gadgets.

Setup is easy. When the station goes on, a Galaxy phone will show you how to set it up, or you may use the SmartThings app on other Android or iOS devices.

However, you’re not buying this product to use as a Matter hub. Google’s Nest speakers, routers, and other smart home devices may now act as Matter hubs. The station connects Zigbee devices.

You’ll want this for its other two uses.

This charges wirelessly. Any Qi-enabled phone can be wirelessly charged with a power brick above 25W. All of the phones I tried charged easily on the station’s little tabletop. Placement is straightforward, but your phone needs a cover. A smooth gadget on top slides. The SmartThings Station is finicky about charging bricks. It takes USB-C input, however certain bricks didn’t function for no apparent reason. If you buy this product alone, remember that Samsung generally offers it with a charging brick for $20 extra.

This solution is smart for integrating a Matter hub into a wireless charger. Smart home hubs are usually buried in cabinets or corners, which limits signal range. It works, but centralized is better. This product is more likely to be placed near Matter signal-using items.

The SmartThings Station’s one-button management of Matter and other smart home devices sold me.

Routines are linked to the station’s top button. Samsung’s SmartThings app on Android or iOS is required for regular setup. Sign in with a Samsung account to integrate smart home gadgets to the app. It’s unfortunate that Google Home and Apple HomeKit users must start over, but it’s just once. I could quickly link Philips Hue lighting and TP-Link smart outlets. SmartThings supports most major brands and Matter-compatible devices.

After adding smart home devices, utilize the SmartThings app to establish up to three station routines. Single-press, double-press, and long-press. These can switch lights on and off, change colors, make scenarios, regulate a thermostat, and more.

This smart home gadget allows me one-click access to easy functions without using my phone or screaming. Few devices are as adaptable as the SmartThings Station, which is also a wireless charger and fits better in my house.

SmartThings Station is a wireless charger with a single switch that regulates your household.

The station controls my workplace lights. My photography lighting and workplace Philips Hue lights may be turned on with a simple tap or long push. I previously had to use my phone or Google Assistant to turn those lights on. These procedures are also fast. Great, gadgets answer in seconds.

Smart home devices can accomplish that. You may also use the SmartThings app to find your phone via button pushes. That function works great, and I’ve mapped it to my Station’s double-press to find my Fold 4. With the ringer on and a full-screen pop-up for two minutes, it works. Sadly, this only works on Galaxy phones.

Samsung’s SmartThings Station is a triumph for $80 with a power brick or $60 without. The station is distinctive and affordable. I bought another device for rapid lighting controls in the living room. The station may improve with time. Matter’s claim to unify the smart home will simplify setup and make this device more useful.

ZTE Axon 50 Ultra with two-way satellite messaging and Axon Pad 2023

ZTE hosted a significant launch event in China earlier today, during which it introduced its newest Axon flagship smartphone and tablet, respectively referred to as the Axon 50 Ultra and the Axon Tab. Both of these smartphones are powered by ZTE’s MyOS 13 and come with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor as its central processing unit.

ZTE Axon 50 Ultra

In locations where there is no reliable network connection, users of the Axon 50 Ultra will be able to send and receive SMS messages thanks to the Axon 50 Ultra’s built-in two-way satellite messaging service, which is powered by the BeiDou satellite (BDS) infrastructure. The security chip was built by ZTE and offers hardware-level encryption in addition to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU, the LPDDR5X RAM, and the UFS 3.1 storage space that are included in the phone.

The display of the Axon 50 Ultra is a curved 6.67-inch AMOLED display that has a resolution of FHD+ and a refresh rate of 144Hz. On the rear is a 50MP ultrawide camera, a 50MP telephoto module that has a 3x optical zoom, and a 64MP Sony IMX787 primary sensor with optical image stabilization. The battery in the phone is rated at 5,000 mAh, and it supports 80W quick charging. The phone boots ZTE’s MyOS 13 on top of Android 13. There was no information given on pricing or availability.

ZTE Axon Pad

The ZTE Axon Pad is a 12.1-inch Android tablet that features an IPS LCD with a resolution of 1,600 by 2,560 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 hertz. The ZTE security chip and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor are also included in the slate’s hardware package. The tablet has capability for networking at 5G speeds, can accept input from a pen, and can be paired with a smart magnetic keyboard (available separately).

The Axon Pad has a huge battery that can hold 10,000 mAh and can charge at 80W. It boots MyOS 13, which is based on Android 13. It has a thickness of just 6.5 millimeters and weighs a total of 605 grams. ZTE did not disclose any information on the cost or availability of the Axon Pad.

At Martinsville Speedway, the 2024 Ford Mustang GT will make its debut as a NASCAR pace car.

The 2024 Ford Mustang GT will serve as the event’s pace car this weekend during the NASCAR races that will be hosted at Martinsville Speedway. These races will take place this coming weekend. It prepares drivers for competitiveness in future series like as the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series.

The pony vehicle has a distinctive appearance, but it is not modified in any way mechanically.

Grabber Blue was used to paint the Mustang pace car’s body, and there are stripes painted in a darker shade of blue over the hood. An insignia that is based on a horse and is rendered in a stylized shape is attached to each of the rear fenders.

All of the exterior components, including the front grille, the rear spoiler, the roof, and the wheels, are colored black. Blue brake calipers lend an additional splash of color to the otherwise all-black vehicle. A light bar that has a relatively low profile is mounted on the very top of the vehicle.

LG TVs will have K GeForce Now in 2023.

GeForce Now subscribers have been treated to update after upgrade throughout this year. The most recent update to GeForce Now is the availability of native 4K streaming on LG smart TVs. This feature does not need the use of a console or any extra gear.

GeForce Now has been experimenting with 4K streaming for the better part of a year at this point, with the first deployment taking place in May of last year. Since that time, the cloud gaming service has continued to expand, with the most recent improvement being the addition of graphics at the level of an RTX 4080, as well as special consideration given to users of ultrawide monitors who wish to broadcast.

GeForce Now announced that Ultimate subscribers will get 4K streaming on LG Smart TVs in 2023.

This basically indicates that consumers may switch on their televisions and log into GeForce Now without the requirement of any additional gear. This eliminates the requirement for an additional component, such as a Shield TV Pro or Chromecast with Google TV, and streamlines the procedure. In addition to this, Nvidia mentions that the deployment will take place in “over 80 supported countries.”

We have observed an increase in the number of people using this service, and the most current native streaming option is Samsung’s Gaming Hub, which brings together three different cloud gaming services: GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Users are also able to select a session directly from the operating system of the TV when using this option.

GeForce Now is also looking at the possibility of adding a few additional games, including a number of titles published by Bandai Namco Europe, in light of the recent news regarding LG TVs. The most significant of these is the Enhanced Edition of Little Nightmares II, which includes RTX ON to add an additional touch of horrifying realism to the experience.

This one comes with a total of six different games to play:

• MORDHAU (New release on Epic Games Store, free on April 13)
• DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters (New release on Steam, April 14)
• 11-11 Memories Retold (Steam)
• canVERSE (Steam)
• Get Even (Steam)
• Little Nightmares (Steam)

Creating a Reliable WhatsApp 2023

WhatsApp’s private messaging relies on end-to-end encryption to keep your messages secret. Public key cryptography from the 1970s underpins this popular end-to-end encryption method. Technically, both “ends” of a discussion must trust each other’s encryption keys to use end-to-end encryption.

Our most security-conscious users have always had access to our security code verification option via contact information. A QR code or 60-digit code can validate keys.

It’s one of the best ways to check a connection’s security. In reality, double-checking a long code is time-consuming, and our team has been hunting for a solution.

We are glad to present a new cryptographic security feature that instantly validates a secure connection without this long code. We are creating a new Auditable Key Directory (AKD) using an open-source tool to do this. The AKD lets WhatsApp clients automatically verify a user’s encryption key and check the directory’s audit proofs.

Our two-pronged key transparency strategy adds two additional elements:

• WhatsApp stores user public keys in an append-only AKD.
• A third-party audit record of server directory changes that safeguards privacy.

WhatsApp users may automatically check chat secrecy with these two enhancements. Security-conscious visitors who visit the page to verify their security code will see that the verification procedure happens quickly and automatically.

This new WhatsApp service uses public auditing to verify private chat end-to-end encryption. This approach provides easy and convenient verification tools, however users who want to verify their end-to-end encrypted connections without WhatsApp servers should utilize the old security code verification method in addition to this new automated process.

Encrypting messages using public keys is all they do. Private keys decode messages on user devices. These credentials are confidential, even to WhatsApp. Public keys alone cannot access content.

“Verify Security Code” functionality

Encrypted communication requires public/private key pairs. The private key never leaves your device and decrypts third-party conversations. To encrypt messages, you share the public key. WhatsApp will store and distribute the key to users who want to message you.

End-to-end encryption was designed to protect against a person-in-the-middle attack, in which a middleman attacker provides an incorrect public key so they can read your messages using the private key. The attacker can then re-encrypt and send the communication to the user.

Now what? Each WhatsApp contact has a Security Page with a QR code and 60-digit number that can be confirmed outside of WhatsApp to ensure it matches their device. If any of you enters the wrong value, the hashes will not match. They confirm a safe, end-to-end encrypted interaction.

Key transparency solves what?

The QR code scanning/number matching tool provides excellent security, but you must speak with your contacts outside of WhatsApp—via video call, in person, etc. That is:

• Difficult in 1:1 interactions, especially if users change devices and encryption keys.
• Small groups are harder since each member dyad has a unique code (there are no “group” codes);
• Large numbers make performing tough. This must be done again if a person enrolls a new companion device, switches phones, etc. 4,950 security checks would occur in 100 people.

This should be confirmed automatically.

Key transparency: a WhatsApp AKD that tracks public key changes. When the directory expands, we update a third-party public repository of auditable change logs. Transparency and end-to-end encryption depend on this. This confirms that everyone uses the same public keys to interact with a recipient.

Key transparency complements QR code scanning:

Out-of-band QR code verification requires two people. However, key transparency only requires a single client to start and perform a directory check, making it more accessible.
Key transparency provides public key consistency when manual QR code verification is impractical (such as in a large group communication scenario) and a lightweight first check of end-to-end encryption, which increases user adoption and messaging security.
We propose manual security verification if the automated check detects a potentially insecure connection.

Critical openness history

“Key transparency” is a technique where the server keeps an append-only record of a user’s account and public identification key. This lets inclusion proofs prove that a mapping was in the directory at the last update.

WhatsApp’s core transparency is based on scholarly papers CONIKS, SEEMless, and Parakeet. The Rust AKD crate supports key transparency and directory inclusion and key history proofs. WhatsApp hosts this AKD directory for public use.

Public keys cannot decode or identify a user’s contacts. They must encrypt communications that only the private key owner may decipher to assure delivery.

As their key changes, users may have many entries. WhatsApp’s billions of entries are expanding. When a user deletes their account, we erase all public keys, but the knowledge that a key existed at some point in time is immutable (we can’t specify what the key was).

Key transparency—how?

Principled assurance

A basic design decision led us to increase this project’s accessibility and safety. First, all AKD proof creation and verification logic is open-source. This Rust crate (library) allows any party to maintain an append-only directory with a publicly verifiable log, validate audit proofs, and audit WhatsApp’s key transparency solution. Public keys alone cannot access content.

This module guarantees directory entry validity without exposing the system to memory-based attacks. We also kept Rust in most core components.

WhatsApp AKD High-volume key changes

WhatsApp handles tens of thousands of key changes (registration, re-registration) each minute. Inserting this volume into an append-only log is difficult.

Thus, we implemented a distributed, high-throughput queue for “pending changes” to be bundled and merged into the following epoch. This allows bigger group insertion and greatly decreases database operations.

We must limit updates to one as AKD adjustments are cumulative depending on the previous era. A single processor processing each update sequentially could not keep up with WhatsApp’s rate of change, regardless of database technology. This delays “publishing” a key in the directory.

Due to many common routes in the database-stored Merkle Tree, we may optimize queries by grouping keys and defining an epoch as a set of atomically committed updates. New epochs are published and emitted at a variable rate.

Massive public auditing

All transparency solutions must be publicly auditable, so anybody may verify transactions on the directory.

No historical records have been changed.

Append only.

Audit evidence of AKD modifications is created and kept in a public repository. These audit records ensure the directory’s history’s immutability and verifiability while protecting users’ privacy.

No user data or activity patterns are disclosed. SEEMless and Parakeet, scholarly studies that underpin crucial openness, explain this privacy guarantee.

Key WhatsApp transparency launch

Key transparency solutions enhance end-to-end encryption’s transparency for private instant messaging services. This technique reinforces WhatsApp’s security leadership.

WhatsApp hosts an AKD for all users, independent of application version or platform. Android users who check security codes will see automated verification in the coming months. This vital method lets security-conscious users quickly authenticate an end-to-end encrypted private chat.

A technical whitepaper will cover potential threats, data flows and formats, and more.