Welcome to Tech Bytes! In this series, we bring the biggest news hitting the Tech and Gaming fields, getting them into a simple brief for you to quickly catch up on, so you’re up to speed over dinner and drinks.
As the precursor to June’s WWDC and E3-centric showcases, May 2023 brings big news from Google and PlayStation as they reveal what is coming up within their slate. See what has been announced in our Tech Bytes for May 2023!
Google reveals Pixel Fold
While Google I/O is meant to be a developer conference, their keynotes usually have news that consumers can get excited about. This year is no different, with the Pixel 7a announced as well as the Pixel tablet finally getting a price and release date. But the biggest reveal would have to go to the new Pixel Fold.
The Pixel Fold is Google’s first foray into the foldable phone scene. Their device starts as a 5.8-inch phone with a 120 Hz refresh rate and OLED screen, but you can unfold it to reveal the larger 7.6-inch display — also with the same features. It has five cameras in total, with the front two 8.3MP cameras primarily for selfies and video calls. Meanwhile, the back has a triple camera setup; a 48MP primary camera, a 10.8MP ultrawide, and a 10.8MP 5x telephoto. These should have performance capabilities similar to the Pixel 7 Pro.
Its processor carries the Tensor 2 chip that is also featured on the Pixel 7 line and is equipped with 12GBs of RAM, which should handle multitasking aptly. Meanwhile, the 4,800mAh battery is claimed to provide over 24 hours of use and supports 30W fast charge.
The new phone will be available in June for US$1,799, aiming to compete with Samsung’s Fold line.
NVIDIA brings the RTX 4060 and 4060 TI
The RTX 40-series family grows as NVIDIA announces the new RTX 4060 line — consisting of the 4060 and the more powerful 4060 TI.
The RTX 4060 will come with 8GB of VRAM, which is strangely less than the older RTX 3060, but it uses a lower power average of 10 watts. It will also be priced lower than the 3060, coming in at US$299 in July 2023.
Meanwhile, the RTX 4060 Ti has already arrived this month, though this is just one variation. This version also has 8GB of VRAM and will cost US$399, with a 16GB model planned to launch in July at US$499.
NVIDIA looks to be framing the RTX 4060 line as the de facto GPU to get for 1080p gaming, though its lack of VRAM will be something to keep in mind.
AMD announces AMD Radeon RX 7600
On the side of AMD, they also have a new graphics card for consumers as they announced the AMD Radeon RX 7600.
This graphics card is stated to provide high-performance 1080p gaming at an affordable price point. It will feature 32 compute units, 8GB of GDDR6 RAM, a 2.25GHz base clock, a 2.66GHz boosted clock, and a drawing power of 165W. The card will also support DisplayPort 2.1, and users can also take advantage of AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) to upscale gameplay.
Built on the company’s RDNA 3 architecture, AMD claims that it will be able to hit 60fps on games like Resident Evil 4 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor with high graphics settings. Meanwhile, competitive titles like Fortnite and Valorant will enjoy over 100+ and 400+ fps respectively, even on maxed-out graphics settings.
The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is available now and will cost just S$419, allowing users to upgrade their ageing GPUs for 1080p gaming.
Metal Gear Solid 3 gets a remake
The much-hyped PlayStation showcase from Sony ultimately did not live up to the high expectations of fans, but it did have a few notable announcements during the hour-long live stream.
We got peeks at what the PlayStation’s new first-party developers have been up to with Haven Studios’ Fairgame$ and Firewalk Studios’ Concord. At the same time, we were treated to a meaty look at Insomniac Games’ upcoming Spider-Man 2 — set to release this fall. Third-party also had some stars, as Capcom brought Dragon’s Dogma 2, but the biggest one will be Konami’s showing, the reveal of a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake.
Officially, it will be called Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater), but it will remain faithful to the story and game design of the original. Additionally, fans will also get to hear the original voice cast, with David Hayter expected to return as Snake.
The game is being made with the support of developer Virtuos, and while no gameplay has been shown just yet, Konami says it will have “unprecedented graphics and immersive sound.”. In addition to PlayStation 5, it will be available for Xbox Series X / S, and PC via Steam.
PlayStation announces new hardware accessories
While the focus of the showcase may have been the games, the PlayStation Showcase for 2023 also had a few things to say about their upcoming hardware.
The first is Project Q, a handheld gaming device. No, this isn’t the successor to the PlayStation Vita; it instead streams games from your PS5 using Remote Play via Wi-Fi. The device comes as an 8-inch LCD screen wedged in between a DualSense controller. Designed as a companion piece to the console, Project Q will run games at up to 1080p and 60fps and will also come with DualSense features like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers equipped.
The other accessory is their first wireless earbuds. It shares the same design style as the PS5, and PlayStation touts it to deliver lossless audio with low latency, which you can use while gaming on the console or your PC.
No further details were revealed at the showcase, but PlayStation promises that more information will come in the months ahead.
Mortal Kombat 1 announced
It’s the 30th anniversary of the Mortal Kombat series, and for this special occasion, they are going back to the start — in a sense.
The newest game was revealed as part of the anniversary and will be called Mortal Kombat 1. There is a reason for the unusual name, Fire God Liu Kang has rebooted the universe to create a peaceful timeline for his friends, but this new world still holds a threat that awaits them.
In addition to the new story, the series’ iconic characters have been reimagined; now having new roles and relationships. These characters include Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Kung Lao, Kitana, Mileena, Shang Tsung, and Johnny Cage, with more to be announced as the game nears launch. Mortal Kombat 1 will also feature a new fighting system, which will go hand-in-hand with the return of fatalities.
Mortal Kombat 1 will be released on 19 September 2023, and it will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC through Steam and Epic Games Store.
This marks May 2023’s edition of Tech Bytes, and we hope this round-up gives you insight into tech to be excited about. Check with us again in June 2023, as we bring you more byte-sized news every month!
Visuals courtesy of NVIDIA, Konami, PlayStation, and Warner Bros. Games.
