WhatsApp on Thursday announced the launch of proxy server support, meant to help connect people to WhatsApp in countries where access is currently blocked — with Iran in particular getting a mention by WhatsApp head Will Cathcart.
What’s happening
WhatsApp adds proxy support for people to access the chat service in countries where it’s blocked.
Why it matters
WhatsApp has over 2 billion active users worldwide, and is an essential communication tool in many countries. Adding proxy support allows a way for users to get around geographic restrictions in countries that choose to block the service.
“While many of us celebrated [the new year] by texting our loved ones on WhatsApp, there are millions of people in Iran and elsewhere who continue to be denied the right to communicate freely and privately,” Cathcart said on Twitter.
WhatsApp head Will Cathcart tweeted the announcement of proxy support Thursday.
Screenshot of Twitter
Iran blocked access to Meta’s WhatsApp and Instagram in September following protests that erupted from the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. A WhatsApp blog post explains that the new proxy feature will allow people who cannot directly connect to the chat app to instead connect to a server set up by a volunteer or an organization. Access to these proxy servers can be provided on social media, search engines or other private means, and WhatsApp’s blog post links to instructions on how to connect to such servers using the app’s settings menu.
Instructions are also available for anyone hoping to set up a WhatsApp proxy server for others to connect to the service through. WhatsApp’s post says that messages sent using a proxy server maintain end-to-end encryption, meaning texts should not be visible to the proxy server or to WhatsApp.
While proxy servers were already available to connect to through a phone’s settings menu, the new feature should allow for people to set WhatsApp to connect to a specific server for the chat app. Other chat apps like Signal also offer proxy server support for people that need it to access the texting service.
To give you a shortcut to all the best gaming laptops coming out of CES 2023, we’ve rounded them up for you below. Interested in the other cool gaming gear being announced at the annual tech conference? You’ll find those just past the laptops so scroll on down.
Gaming laptops from CES 2023
Josh Goldman/CNET
Dell G-series gaming laptops
It’s weird to write this, but a couple of the most exciting gaming laptops at CES are budget models. Dell’s new G15 and 16-inch G16 have chunky, angular bodies with two-tone designs. The G15 features a choice of a 15.6-inch 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate and 250-nit brightness, or 165Hz with sRGB 100% color coverage and 300-nit brightness. The 16-inch G16 changes to a 16:10 aspect ratio with a 2,560×1,600 resolution and either a 165Hz (100% sRGB) display panel or an optional 240Hz (100% DCI-P3) display. And they’ll be loaded with the latest components from Intel and Nvidia.
Over the last several years, laptop makers have whittled down the frames, aka bezels, around laptop displays. That, along with internal components getting smaller and cooling systems getting better, has allowed them to use larger displays in smaller bodies. That means you can now get a 16-inch laptop in a body size that once housed a 15-inch display. And now you’ll be able to get an 18-inch display in a body that’s roughly the same size as an older 17.3-inch laptop. For the ROG Strix Scar 18 (it also comes in a 16-inch size), that extra size gave Asus more room for higher-performance components.
Like the ROG Strix Scar, The Predator Helios gaming laptops come in 16- and 18-inch sizes and feature the latest 13th-gen Intel Core processors, Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series graphics, enhanced cooling and beautiful big displays, plus a whole lot of lights.
Included among its three panel options is a Mini LED panel with a 250Hz refresh rate, 100% P3 color gamut and a peak brightness of over 1,000 nits. The new designs also use mini-LEDs for the backlit keyboard with deep 1.8-millimeter key travel. The per-key lighting uses less power while giving the keys bright, uniform color. A customizable RGB light bar also runs across the top of the back vents.
While Alienware will also have an impressive 18-inch laptop, the m18, the standout from its announcements is the sleek little Alienware x14. The company has updated its product ID again, called Legend, flattening the back to make it more comfortable to carry as well as an updated nose so it’s easier to open. It has a new foot design to allow for better cooling and greater comfort when used on your lap. The x14 has a taller 16:10 display, Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision support, a full-HD webcam and a thermal material on the CPU and GPU for optimized heat dissipation. But overall, it just looks amazing — right down to its RGB touchpad.
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Asus
Asus Chromebook Vibe CX34 Flip
Asus was one of the first to launch a Chromebook made for cloud gaming, and now it’s launched its second, the CX34 Flip. It’s an all-white two-in-one Chromebook with color-blocked WASD keys and RGB backlit keyboard. It has a 16:10, 144Hz, 1,920×1,200-pixel display and fast Wi-Fi 6E wireless. Paired with a garaged stylus, this Chromebook should be good for work, school or play. It’ll be available with up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of memory. It’s expected to be available later in Q1.
Gaming gear from CES 2023
Gaming laptops aren’t the only PC gaming devices being announced at CES. Here’s a quick rundown of the best peripherals and accessories we’ve seen from the show so far.
Alienware
Alienware’s 25-inch AW2524H gaming monitor
Alienware’s display isn’t the first to hit 500Hz refresh rate, the speed at which the screen can completely redraw — that honor went to the Asus ROG Swift 500Hz in May 2022. But that model’s screen is based on TN, a technology renowned for its speed but not much else. Alienware’s model is based on IPS, which has better color, better viewing angles and higher brightness, and it’s the first time we’ve seen IPS pushed this hard. It’s also a rarefied speed that only a pro esports player would appreciate.
The new 540Hz ROG Swift PG248QP, a 24-incher unveiled at CES, uses E-TN (the “E” is for “esports”) technology Asus used in its previous 500Hz speed champion. Twisted nematic LCDs can hit high refresh rates but don’t have the color, brightness or viewing angles of other display types like OLED and IPS. But if you need smooth, fast, low-latency performance more than other monitor qualities, this ROG Swift might be worth it.
CES is when gaming-monitor companies bring out the big guns — and few are bigger than the new 57-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, a curved, DisplayHDR 1000 model. Teased by AMD during its RX 7000-series GPU launch in November as the first monitor announced with DisplayPort 2.1 support, the Neo G9 has 7,680×2,160-pixel resolution. The high resolution plus HDR and fast 240Hz refresh rate make the high-bandwidth DP 2.1 essential, even though it’s not a full 8K (it’s a 32:9 aspect ratio).
HP announced a series of 3D-printed add-ons at CES to customize and personalize the HyperX’s keyboards, mice and headsets. What makes this line interesting is that the keycaps and headphone stands are all produced on HP’s industrial color 3D printers. Using powdered nylon, they’re more advanced than the basic PLA plastic material used by most home 3D printers, but still nontoxic and environmentally friendly.
Roku has surpassed 70 million active users, the streaming platform said Thursday. It reached the milestone shortly after the close of 2022, during which Roku users streamed 87.4 billion hours of content on the platform. That was a 19% increase from 2021 and the most hours streamed on any platform in Canada, the US and Mexico, the company said.
The release didn’t claim that Roku had the most active users, a distinction that almost certainly falls to Amazon’s Fire TV, which last reported 50 million active users in 2020.
Roku’s full report on active users and streaming hours is due out in February.
Lenovo’s popular ThinkPad laptop line is finally getting a mobile sidekick. The ThinkPhone by Motorola, announced at CES, will have a similar aesthetic to that of the ThinkPad computers, down to their signature red button. Motorola, which is owned by Lenovo, appears to have focused on three specific areas for the business-focused ThinkPhone: security, durability and productivity. Motorola has not said how much the device will cost.
Among the ThinkPhone’s most interesting features is its customizable red key, which can be used to launch certain apps or features, such as the Walkie Talkie functionality in Microsoft Teams. It sounds similar to the programmable button on Samsung’s XCover6Pro, a phone that was also developed for enterprise and industrial uses.
It’s a work-oriented device, so the ThinkPhone unsurprisingly includes a variety of productivity features that make it easier to connect the phone to your PC. Many of these features are already available through Motorola’s existing Ready For software, which you can find on previously launched phones like the Motorola Edge 20 and Edge 20 Plus. These include the ability to use the ThinkPhone as your laptop’s webcam for video calls, automatic connectivity to your Windows laptop via Wi-Fi when it’s nearby, drag-and-drop file transfers between the ThinkPhone and your Windows computer and a unified clipboard. The difference, however, is that some of these features can be accessed with the ThinkPhone’s red key, making it stand out from Motorola’s other devices.
ThinkPhone by Motorola next to a ThinkPad laptop
Motorola
Motorola is also positioning the ThinkPhone as ideal for storing sensitive work-related information. The device has a separate processor called Moto KeySafe, which isolates PINs, passwords and other sensitive data. Lenovo and Motorola’s ThinkShield and Moto Threat Defense software can also be found on the device. The ThinkPhone also has tools that allow IT departments to manage aspects like lock screen settings and network alerts.
As for durability, the ThinkPhone is MIL STD 810H certified and is constructed from an aramid fiber that Motorola says is stronger than steel. It also has Gorilla Glass Victus and should be able to withstand drops from up to 1.25 meters. Like most modern phones, the ThinkPhone has IP68 water resistance.
Many of the ThinkPhone’s other specifications are similar to the ones found on standard flagship smartphones. The phone has a 6.6-inch display, Android 13 and runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor. There’s a 50-megapixel main camera and a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera along with a 32-megapixel selfie camera.
The announcement comes as there’s been more emphasis on cross-platform compatibility between smartphones and laptops throughout the industry. Apple’s MacOS Ventura update, for example, introduced the ability to use your iPhone as a Mac webcam and seamlessly move FaceTime calls between your iPhone and Mac computer. Google’s Phone Hub feature lets you do things like check your phone’s signal or battery status, sync notifications and access photos from the camera roll on your Chromebook.
With so many screens flashing at CES 2023, it can be hard to find one that causes stops and swivels heads. Well, ViewSonic’s VX16-OLED portable 4K monitor did just that with its slim profile and striking metal chassis.
Now, there are plenty of portable monitors on the market. Most tend to be IPS LCD displays that run thicker and require more juice. The VX16-OLED sips power, only requiring 6 to 7 watts. That means it can easily run off a battery bank or a laptop USB port.
All the components are housed in the stand, allowing for a thin screen profile. It’s clever design that removes the weight from the screen and shifts the center of gravity to the pivot point.
ViewSonic’s VX16-OLED portable 4K monitor being shown off at CES 2023.
CNET
It’s thin enough to easily fit in a backpack. I can also see it being a solid monitor for gaming on the go. Attaching it to a PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch at tournaments could be a welcome alternative to lugging around a more traditional monitor. Unfortunately, its 60Hz refresh rate means it’ll be better suited for fighting games or standard computer tasks. First-person shooter fans might want something with a 144Hz refresh rate.
ViewSonic’s Ray Hedrick said that making a gaming version of the VX16-OLED isn’t out of the question.
Image “burn-in” is a point of concern with OLED computer screens: This is what happens when certain colored pixels die out from being overused. Considering there are many static elements on a screen when computing, OLED tend to not be the best option. Hedrick said the company feels pixel shifting should prevent burn-in and that the company’s testing shows that it will hold up through a standard three-year or extended five-year warranty period.
The $400 price suggests ViewSonic is gearing this towards professionals, who demand strong color accuracy and resolution. Either way, the portable monitor space will be worth watching.
Sony has a new gaming controller designed to be customizable for people with disabilities.
Project Leonardo, unveiled Wednesday at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, is the codename for a new PlayStation 5 accessibility kit that Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said “will allow players with disabilities to play more easily, more comfortably and for longer periods.”
Like Microsoft’s similar Xbox Adaptive Controller, Project Leonardo is designed to work right out of the box. The circular hub features swappable components such as an analog joystick and eight buttons, as well as a suite of software options for PS5. It can be used as a standalone controller or paired with another Project Leonardo controller or DualSense wireless controller.
Sony said it collaborated on the project with accessibility groups AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and Stack Up to ensure it’s highly configurable to range of players with challenges such as limited motor control, difficulty holding a controller for long periods and difficulty pressing small clusters of buttons accurately.
“Our team tested over a dozen designs with accessibility experts, looking for approaches that would help address key challenges to effective controller use,” Sony designer So Morimoto said in a blog post. “We finally settled on a ‘split controller’ design that allows near free-form left/right thumbstick repositionability, can be used without needing to be held, and features very flexible button and stick cap swapping. The controller can also flexibly accept combinations of accessibility accessories to create a unique aesthetic.”
Sony didn’t announce a price or when the controller would be available.
This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.
An iPhone is an amazing little device, letting you fit a flashlight, camera and computer in your pocket. It gives you access to the entire worldwide web on the go, letting you browse through page after page of information online at high speeds. But even the latest iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models might start to feel sluggish over time. One of the simplest New Year’s resolutions you can make is to start clearing your iPhone cache every month.
Whether you’re browsing in Chrome, Safari or elsewhere on your iPhone, your cache builds up digital clutter over time. Clearing your cache gives your browser a new start, which can speed up your browsing whether you’re using iOS 15 or iOS 16. (And if you’re trying to get your phone to run faster, try managing your iPhone’s storage.)
Think of your browser cache like a digital refrigerator. It helps you store leftovers like website data so those pages can load faster the next time you visit them. The problem, though, is that those leftovers eventually go bad, in the sense that they no longer match the data the sites actually need to load. That’s the equivalent of your fridge being full of stale or outright moldy food. At that point, pages will actually load slower and formatting might look wrong.
That’s why clearing your cache can help: It gives sites a fresh start in your browser and frees up some space in your storage. Your phone no longer has to spend time searching through fuzzy fruit and chunky milk to find what it needs.
Note that clearing your cache will sign you out of sites you’re currently logged into. Still, it’s generally worth that mild inconvenience every month or so to keep things moving quickly.
Here are step-by-step guides on how to clear your cache on your iPhone based on the browser you use.
How to clear your iPhone cache in Safari
Safari is the default browser on iPhones, and you can clear your Safari cache in a few short steps. Starting with iOS 11, following this process will affect all devices signed in to your iCloud account. As a result, all your devices’ caches will be cleared, and you’ll need to sign in to everything the next time you use them. Here’s what to do.
1.Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Select Safari from the list of apps.
3. Go to Clear History and Website Data.
4. Choose Clear History and Data in the pop-up box.
Chrome is another popular browser for iPhone users. The overall process for clearing your Chrome cache requires a few more steps, and you’ll need to do things through the Chrome browser itself. Here’s how.
1. Open the Chrome app.
2. Select the three dots in the bottom right to open more options.
3. Scroll across the top and select Settings.
4. Select Privacy and Security in the next menu.
5. Then select Clear Browsing Data to open up one last menu.
6. Select the intended time range at the top of the menu (anywhere from Last Hour to All Time).
7.Make sure that Cookies, Site Data is selected, along with Cached Images and Files. Finally, hit Clear Browsing Data at the bottom of the screen.
If you’re a Firefox devotee, don’t worry. Clearing the cache on your iPhone is pretty straightforward. Just follow these steps.
1. Click the hamburger menu in the bottom right corner to open up options.
2. Choose Settings at the bottom of the menu.
3. Select Data Management in the Privacy section.
4. You can select Website Data to clear data for individual sites, or select Clear Private Data at the bottom of the screen to clear data from all selected fields.
Clearing your cache removes the website data your phone stored locally to prevent having to download that data upon each new visit. The data in your cache builds over time and can end up slowing things down if it becomes too bulky or out of date. (My phone had about 150MB of data stored in Chrome when I checked.) Clearing that data gives sites a fresh start, which may fix some loading errors and speed up your browser. However, clearing your cache also signs you out of pages, so be prepared to sign in to everything again.
How often do I need to clear my cache?
Most people only need to clear their caches once every month or two. That’s generally the point when your browser will build up a cache large enough to start slowing things down. If you frequent a large number of sites, you should err on the side of clearing your cache more often.
