Events

What to expect for the CONQuest Festival 2023

An invitation for a three day trip to the skies!

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Image taken from CONQuest's Official Twitter

Last year, AcadArena took their yearly shindig to the next level as the CONQuest Festival 2022 went face-to-face. Of course, it’s safe to say that the team did not disappoint by bringing an entire community together and in full strength. The question now is how do you top 2022’s massive success? As they say, “nowhere to go but up”, and that’s exactly what the CONQuest Festival 2023 is going to do!

Prominent Guest Lineup + a Music Night!

After many months of teasing, the team behind CONQuest unveiled the full list of content creators that will be gracing the three-day convention. The headliners for this year include some of the most well-known personalities in both gaming and Esports, such as Pokimane, Valkyrae, Fuslie, and several members of the renowned content house, OfflineTV. Also, the popular VALORANT streamer-turned-one-time-pro Kyedae was announced to return for this year.

See: CONQuest 2023 guests, performers revealed

Apart from these lovely creators, some of Southeast Asia’s most popular content creators, streamers, and cosplayers will grace the convention once more. On top of this, the CONQuest Festival 2023 will also have its own Music Night with a lineup of musical acts that will surely bring the beat!

The Activity Zones

Similar to last year’s event, several zones and activities return to the main stage of CONQuest. On the gaming side of things, there are zones for freeplay and retro arcade games for you to play with friends. Also, the team will be providing a full Expo Floor dedicated to tech brands and game developers to let you in on their latest projects.

On the Esports side of things, AcadArena’s Alliance Games will once again culminate during CONQuest’s main set of activities. Apart from this, there will be opportunities for you to see your favorite streamers in Celebrity Showmatches and even visit the StreamZone.

Finally, no gaming convention is complete without the MeetZone, an avenue for everyone to see their beloved creators and interact with them face-to-face. This zone will also host some of the different panels and workshops lined up for those who are interested in taking them. Also, for those who applied and were granted the CONQuest-sponsored scholarships, these will be awarded by Rae and Leslie during their MeetZone timeslots.

See: AcadArena unveils two new scholarships for young gamers

Event Details and Accommodation Discounts

This year’s CONQuest Festival, aptly named “Sky Islands” will return to the SMX Convention Center for the main festivities. Unlike last year, the team has expanded the event to other nearby venues such as the Conrad Hotel within the SM Mall of Asia complex. Also, this year’s CONQuest will be three days (last year was just two days), running from June 2-4, 2023.

Tickets for the event are PhP 800 for each day of the festival, with a Three-Day Pass worth PhP 2,000. To attend Music Night, you will need to purchase this as an add-on for Day 2 worth PhP 5,000. If you’re after the full experience, Premium Passes are available for PhP 20,000. Each Premium Pass gives you entry for all three days and Music Night, a Merch Package, and priority in all MeetZone events.

If you fear the venue is too far from where you live, don’t worry: the team also arranged for special discounts you can avail when booking a stay in their partnered hotels. You can enjoy 15% off your stay within the Conrad Hotel or a 50% discount for Hotel 101 – Manila, which is not too far from the venue.

So better hurry and grab your passes, secure your stay, and we’ll #SeeYouInTheSkies!

Computex 2026

The Surface Laptop Ultra wants to bring “unmetered intelligence” to you

Microsoft’s Mark Linton wants you to get excited.

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Earlier this week, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the RTX Spark, an all-new revolution of the PC industry built together with Microsoft. Naturally, Huang shared the perspectives of NVIDIA, but what about Microsoft and the Surface Laptop Ultra?

Two days into COMPUTEX 2026, Mark Linton, Microsoft’s VP for Windows and device sales, shared his side of the RTX Reflex equation, particularly how AI will affect over 240 million devices running Windows. With so many people using the platform, Linton believes that Windows’s success will depend on a four-pronged approach, tackling the different audiences of Windows: consumers, gamers, creators, and developers.

This all centers around the RTX Spark laptops launching sometime in the fall this year. With RTX Spark, Windows plans to deliver unmetered intelligence to every desk and home. Though it will certainly offer more, Windows can confirm that it will have on-device small language models (or SLM), video super resolution, and speech recognition.

As described by NVIDIA, the RTX Spark will come from a variety of manufacturers including ASUS, MSI, and Lenovo. However, Microsoft has its own entry: the Surface Laptop Ultra.

Much like its other contemporaries releasing an RTX Spark laptop this year, Microsoft did not explain what we can expect from its own laptop. Either way, the Surface Laptop Ultra should make for an interesting option for AI enthusiasts.

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Computex 2026

Samsung Display unveils world’s first 4K 360Hz QD-OLED

4K+360Hz QD-OLED

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Samsung Display has unveiled what it says is the world’s first 31.5-inch QD-OLED monitor panel that combines 4K resolution with a 360Hz refresh rate.

The company is showcasing the new panel at Computex 2026 in Taipei. Samsung Display says the product represents a major step forward for gaming monitors by combining two specifications that have traditionally required compromises.

Until now, manufacturers typically had to lower refresh rates when using 4K resolution or reduce resolution to achieve refresh rates above 360Hz.

Samsung Display says it solved that challenge by optimizing the panel’s circuitry and driving system.

A new flagship for gaming

The 31.5-inch panel targets gamers who want both image quality and speed.

The combination of 4K resolution and a 360Hz refresh rate allows the display to deliver sharp visuals while maintaining smooth motion during fast-paced gameplay.

Samsung Display also equipped the panel with Dual Mode support.

This feature lets users switch operating modes depending on their needs. When set to Full HD resolution, the monitor can increase its refresh rate to as high as 680Hz.

That could appeal to competitive players who prioritize responsiveness in esports and first-person shooters.

Beyond refresh rates

The new panel also introduces several technologies designed to improve everyday use.

Samsung Display says the monitor carries VESA DisplayHDR True Black 600 certification. The standard measures both brightness and black-level performance, allowing the display to deliver brighter highlights while preserving OLED’s deep black levels.

The panel also uses Samsung Display’s new V-Stripe pixel structure.

Instead of focusing solely on gaming, the company says the design improves text clarity. That could benefit users who spend time coding, editing documents, creating content, or working with graphics.

The addition helps position the display as more than just a gaming product.

Mass production planned

Samsung Display says it is currently in discussions with more than 10 global customers regarding the new panel.

The company plans to begin mass production during the second half of the year.

While Samsung Display itself does not sell finished monitors, its panels are used by many of the industry’s biggest monitor brands.

That means consumers may not have to wait long before seeing 4K 360Hz QD-OLED monitors arrive from manufacturers later this year.

As gaming hardware continues to improve, monitor makers are increasingly trying to remove bottlenecks between what graphics cards can produce and what displays can show.

Samsung Display believes its newest panel is a step toward that goal.

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Computex 2026

Samsung Display makes its case for OLED at Computex 2026

Different flavors of OLED

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Display technology rarely gets the spotlight at gaming events. At Computex 2026, Samsung Display wanted to change that.

The company invited media on a guided tour that explained how OLED and QD-OLED technologies continue to evolve. The experience covered everything from pixel structures and image quality comparisons to gaming demos powered by NVIDIA’s latest graphics cards.

The tour ended with Samsung Display’s newest showcase piece: what it calls the world’s first 31.5-inch 4K 360Hz QD-OLED monitor panel.

Why OLED still stands out

The tour began with a closer look at how Samsung’s OLED technology produces color. From there, visitors moved through a series of side-by-side comparisons between LCD and OLED displays.

The differences became easier to spot in dark scenes.

OLED panels can turn off individual pixels completely, allowing them to produce deeper blacks and stronger contrast. LCD displays still rely on a backlight, which can lead to blooming and reduced contrast in certain situations.

Samsung also highlighted the advantages of QD-OLED. By combining OLED technology with quantum dots, QD-OLED panels can deliver richer colors while maintaining OLED’s contrast and black-level performance.

The company positioned these advantages as increasingly important as games and content become more visually complex.

Gaming takes center stage

Gaming was a major focus throughout the tour.

Several stations demonstrated the differences between LCD and OLED panels during fast-moving scenes. Samsung Display highlighted OLED’s faster response times and reduced motion blur, especially in competitive titles and high-frame-rate content.

One of the featured experiences centered on Capcom’s upcoming sci-fi action-adventure game PRAGMATA. The game ran on systems powered by NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 graphics.

Samsung Display used the demo to show how OLED and QD-OLED panels can better showcase advanced rendering technologies such as path tracing and AI-enhanced image processing.

The dark environments, reflective surfaces, and dramatic lighting effects in PRAGMATA served as a practical example of how modern display technologies and modern GPUs can work together.

The future of display technology

Beyond gaming, Samsung Display also showcased several experimental concepts.

These included AI-powered display experiences, interactive demonstrations, and prototype displays designed to explore future applications of OLED technology.

Some concepts focused on user interaction while others highlighted the flexibility and versatility of next-generation display panels.

While many of these projects remain experimental, they offered a glimpse into how displays could evolve beyond traditional monitors and laptops.

A world’s first finale

The final stop was Samsung Display’s newest flagship monitor panel.

The company unveiled what it describes as the world’s first 31.5-inch QD-OLED monitor that combines 4K resolution with a 360Hz refresh rate.

Both specifications exist separately in today’s monitor market. Combining them into a single panel has traditionally been difficult due to the amount of data that must be processed and displayed in real time.

Samsung says it overcame those limitations through improvements to panel circuitry and driving technology.

The panel also supports Dual Mode, allowing users to switch to Full HD resolution and boost refresh rates up to 680Hz.

For gamers, that means the flexibility to prioritize either visual fidelity or maximum responsiveness depending on the game.

Whether the biggest takeaway was OLED’s image quality, NVIDIA-powered gaming demonstrations, or the impressive 4K 360Hz monitor itself, Samsung Display’s message was clear.

The race for better gaming experiences is no longer just about faster GPUs. Displays have become just as important.

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