Top news this week: New iPhones, Galaxy Note 3 pre-booking, PS Vita TV, Twitter IPO and more!

We understand that it is a busy week and it’s really hard to keep track of everything that goes on in the tech world. So here’s a handy recap of the top news stories this week.

Apple iPhone 5S with new A7 chip and fingerprint sensor announced
Apple has officially announced the iPhone 5S, which the company calls the “most forward-thinking iPhone yet”. There’s some case for such a claim too as the iPhone 5S features an all-new A7 chip, making it the world’s first smartphone with 64-bit desktop-class architecture for highly improved performance.

Apple’s budget iPhone 5C with A6 processor and Retina display announced
Apple has finally unveiled its latest iPhone in a range of colours, including blue, green, pink, yellow and white. And the features seem good, with the latest iPhone addition coming with a 4-inch Retina display. Internally the iPhone comes with an A6 chip and also straps on an 8-megapixel iSight camera.

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The new iPhone 5S

Nokia reportedly considered switching to Android before Microsoft deal
Smartphone manufacturer Nokia recently sold its devices and services unit to Microsoft for $7.2 billion. Before that deal, though, it seems like the Finnish company may have thought of crossing the fence to Google’s Android operating system sometime after late 2014. While Microsoft and Nokia have had a long, well-knit bond over the Windows Phone-based Lumia series, new evidence now shows that a Nokia Lumia Android phone was being considered, and prototypes were also reportedly made by the company.

Rumours about the much-anticipated LG Google Nexus 5 have been doing the rounds for some time now. A new leak is now hinting at the smartphone possibly making its debut on October 14. The most exciting part about the new smartphone is that it is expected to come packing the new Android 4.4 KitKat mobile operating system.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Gear smartwatch, up for pre-booking at Rs 2,000
Electronic giant Samsung has announced that its latest phablet offering, the Galaxy Note 3, will be launching in India on September 17. And we already got our hands on the price tag of the device. Now the Note 3, along with the Galaxy Gear smartwatch, is up for pre-booking on the company’s official India online store.

Dual-SIM version of Nokia Lumia 720 could be in the works
A new Nokia smartphone is in the news today and this time it’s not a phablet, but a dual-SIM Windows Phone smartphone. A new leak from prolific tipster @evleaks says the Finnish company is possibly working on a dual-SIM variant of the Lumia 720.

The Galaxy Note 3 is up for pre-booking

LG G2 slated for a late September launch in India
LG officially took the wraps off the G2 last month. While it plans to launch the G2 in the US and Germany starting September, the smartphone is expected to reach Indian shores soon. LG India has already started teasing its flagship smartphone on its official social media channels.

HTC going for gold with new colour for One
After Apple announced its most recent iPhone 5S in a gold hue, it looks like HTC has decided to follow suit. Leaked images of the HTC One show the device housed in a champagne gold shade.

Government approves silicon wafer fabrication in India
The Government of India has finally approved silicon wafer fabrication (fab) in the country. According to a press release by the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), the move is a highly strategic one on India’s part.

Windows Phone 8.1 to have Siri-like voice assistant named Cortana
With iOS users being helped out with the smooth-talking Siri and Android users having Google Now to fall back upon, Windows Phone seemed to be missing being on the bandwagon. Not anymore. According to reports that have emerged, Microsoft seems to be prepping a new digital assistant.

Halo-inspired voice assistant Cortana for Windows Phone 8.1

Twitter files for IPO confidentially, company set to go public within months
The rumours had some merit after all. Twitter has announced that it has filed for an IPO in order to go public.

Tablet shipments to surpass PCs by Q4 2013
The research firm IDC has now published its first Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker report and it makes very grim reading if you are a PC manufacturer. The report, which estimates future shipments of PCs, tablets and smartphones based on current trends and various other factors, says tablet shipments will surpass PCs by Q4 2013.

Desis lobby to name next Android version Ladoo or Lassi
Wishful thinking, but there’s a chance the next version of Android will be named Android Ladoo or Android Lassi, if these ingenious desis have their way. After a failed attempt at trying to convince Google to name version 4.3 of the operating system Kaju Katli, Indians are back in action to try and convince the OS’ chief Sundar Pichai to look towards the motherland to name the next Android.

Intel unveils new Bay Trail SoCs for tablets, laptops and all-in-ones
Intel has launched its new low-power mobile SoCs in the Bay Trail series. The SoCs will be powering many upcoming devices, including Dell’s new attempt at reviving the Venue brand. Other hardware partners building with the SoC include AAVA, Acer, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba.

Intel claims that the Bay Trail chips are a major improvement over earlier ones

Samsung takes on Apple’s A7 with promises of new 64-bit chip in next smartphones
Samsung seems to have taken notice of the 64 bit-processing inside Apple’s new A7 chip for the iPhone 5S. Not willing to let Apple get away with something, Samsung has announced that it is working on its own 64-bit chip for its next smartphone.

Valve brings beta of shared game libraries to digital distribution platform Steam
Valve is adding a new feature to its digital distribution platform, Steam. The feature, called Steam Family Sharing, will allow users to share games with those who share your computer but have their own Steam account. Essentially, if you want to share your Steam game library with someone you share a computer with, you can authorise the computer, which will allow others to play the game on the computer using their own Steam accounts, giving them their own achievements and Steam Cloud saves.

ARM demonstrates efficiency of Samsung’s new Exynos 5 Octa chip
Samsung has been touting its Exynos 5 Octa chip for quite some time now. However, earlier implementations of the chip left something to be desired in the way the chip managed power. The Korean company has been working on an enhanced edition of the chip recently, and ARM has released some videos that show us the new chip in action.

Intel shows Quark series processor along with Haswell-Y and 14nm Broadwell
New Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced Intel’s plans to progress in the ultra-mobile devices space, with new products over the next year and beyond, including a new low-power product family. He announced the Intel Quark processor family which is expected to be a fraction of the Atom family in terms of power consumption and targeted mainly at lower power products such as embedded devices or wearables.

The new PlayStation Vita TV

Ubisoft announces two Assassin’s Creed games
Ubisoft has announced a couple of new games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. One is simply a port and the other is going to be more-or-less a marketing tool. The first is Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD, which is a console and PC port of the PlayStation Vita game that was released last year alongside Assassin’s Creed 3. The other is Assassin’s Creed Pirates, which is a mobile game featuring the stellar naval combat we saw in Assassin’s Creed 3.

Sony’s PlayStation Vita TV brings handheld games to the big screen
Sony has unveiled a new product with the PlayStation label, dubbed the PlayStation Vita TV. The system uses the same hardware and software of the PlayStation Vita and can be hooked up to the TV. This lets users play their Vita games on a TV without having to plug it into a PlayStation 3 or 4.