Sci-tech / 148

What to Expect in 2019 iPhones

May 09, 2019

That's believed to be a combination of intentional patience, as the Cupertino company waits for 5G networks to build-out and service to become more commonplace, but also a practical one. But all this seems to be a temporary move by Apple. The switch will be a stopgap measure, mind. Kuo says those devices will have flexible circuit boards using LCP.

US Senator Introduces Bill to Ban Loot Boxes & P2W Microtransactions

May 09, 2019

Along with outlawing loot boxes, these video games also would be banned from offering "pay to win" schemes, where players must spend money to access additional content or gain digital advantages over rival players. These games are popular among both children and adults alike, and the games make huge profits off of their own microtransaction systems. "We look forward to sharing with the senator the tools and information the industry already provides that keeps the control of in-game spending ...

Forget spell check: Microsoft Word uses AI to improve writing style

May 08, 2019

But AI can - and already is - helping us do things like make sure we spell words correctly and use correct grammar. Microsoft announced the changes at its Microsoft Build developer showcase in Seattle on Monday. By essentially writing yourself a note, Word will add a note to your To-Do list, assuming you have it enabled. A test version of Ideas will go live in June, becoming more widely available in the autumn.

Google updates Android Auto design with new default dark mode

May 08, 2019

Previewing the new version just ahead of its big I/O 2019 keynote, Google's updated interface also adds a dark theme for better visibility. Stay on top of your apps: With the new navigation bar , you'll be able to see your turn-by-turn directions and control your apps and phone on the same screen.

Apple releases new Warren Buffett's Paper Wizard iPhone game

May 08, 2019

It's no secret that billionaire Warren Buffett holds a considerable number of shares in Apple. Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc owns or invests in many companies that do business in China , including Apple Inc, in which it has a more than $50 billion stake, and Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Co.

EA revenue beats estimates on 'Apex Legends' boost, shares jump

May 08, 2019

EA's battle royale game had 50 million sign ups in just a month, suggesting that the company could withstand competition from " Fortnite ", a free-to-play game where up to 100 players fight to be the last person standing. What this ultimately means is that we can expect more and more EA games to feature microtransactions and live services in the future (as EA is making a lot of money thanks to them), despite the fact that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will not have any microtransactions or ...

Google Pixel 3a hands-on: The one you should get!

May 08, 2019

Alphabet Inc's Google launched more affordable versions of its Pixel smartphone on Tuesday at about half the price of its current models, and dropped an exclusive USA distribution deal with Verizon Communications Inc, signalling a major shift in the tech giant's hardware strategy.

Google I/O: Foldable phone support is coming in Android Q

May 08, 2019

Samsung can be credited for having singularly excited the market over foldable phones and then killed the mood. Google has been working to optimize Android for the upcoming wave of devices, adding in new multitasking features and the ability to begin apps on the smaller screen and transfer them seamlessly to the larger tablet display when the device is opened up.

Google officially unveils its brand new Pixel 3a lineup

May 08, 2019

By matching dish names with the relevant photos and restaurant reviews in Google Maps, it can also tell you the most popular dishes on a menu that your camera is pointed at. Considering how cheap it is with a killer camera, it looks like Pixel 3a could be the first Google phone to give iPhone some serious competition. The question is, will you be buying one? No word on when we can get it overseas, but it bodes well as a time-saver.

Google updates Android Auto with new look, interface

May 08, 2019

Look for these updates to roll out to compatible Android Auto infotainment systems later this summer. Google listed some of the new features coming to the 10th version of Android and also announced partner devices that will be able to run a beta version before the stable version is released.

Android Q leaked beta shows system-wide dark mode, privacy controls

May 08, 2019

What's more, users will be able to either set the dark mode to automatically activate and deactivate based on the time of day (similar to how "Nigh light" now works), or opt to leave the dark mode enabled indefinitely. You can see when an app is actively using location permissions by pulling down the status bar and tapping on the top-right hand location icon that appears.

FCC Issues Warning After Flood of ‘One Ring’ Scam Robocalls

May 08, 2019

Scammers target certain area codes in "bursts", usually phoning one # numerous times to create concern. Hoping that you'll have heard it, and your curiosity will overtake you enough to want to call back and ask whether someone just called you from this number.

New OnePlus 7 Pro colors revealed

May 08, 2019

OnePlus 7 Pro benchmarks just leaked: Is it as fast as the iPhone XS? Previous rumors actually suggested that only the OnePlus 7 Pro will include UFS 3.0 , while we were in the dark regarding the regular OnePlus 7 ... From all the marketing and announcements made, it's clear OnePlus is very keen for us to know that this 7 Pro is all about that screen. It will also come with the powerful Snapdragon 855 SoC, triple rear cameras, and a Quad HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ ...

Flagship Redmi Smartphone to Sport Snapdragon 855 SoC & 48MP Triple Cameras

May 08, 2019

It sports 6.39-inch full-screen display with no notch or bezels. With this upcoming smartphone, we will be seeing both these features for the first time on a Redmi smartphone. The company also mentioned it to support wireless charging. The device will be running on Android 9.0 Pie based MIUI 10 out of the box. Apart from that he also confirms the Snapdragon 855 chipset on the device along with a 3.5mm headphone jack and NFC capabilities.

Android Auto is Getting a New Design this Summer

May 08, 2019

The first and most noticeable change is the darker colour palette, which makes it easier to look at during nighttime and keeps it from being too distracting while driving. In fact, even the Home Hub uses some Flutter. Developers have also improved Android Auto's notification system and human interactions, streamlining how drivers receive and respond to messages and calls.

Google slashes prices on its Home Max, Nest Hub and Google Home

May 08, 2019

It leaked earlier in March when Google accidentally put it in its own store . This is ideal for those situations where the noise in the room is so loud that Google Assistant can't hear you (this happens to me a TON with my Google Home ).

EA Access PS4 Release Confirmed For Summer

May 08, 2019

Additionally, EA Access provides "First Play Trials" with the publisher's newest releases, granting players up to 10 hours of game time with its newest games. Perhaps it was recognizing the success of EA Access on rival platforms that caused Sony to do an about-face on its unpopular decision, similar to what happened with their approach to cross-platform support.

Samsung Galaxy Fold has no official release date yet

May 08, 2019

If you do not want your order automatically cancelled on May 31st you may request that we keep your order and fulfil it later. Time will tell, with Samsung to unveil the Galaxy Note 10 later this year and expect not just a larger battery but a big emphasis on 5G to be included, I'm sure.

Nokia 4.2 with dedicated Google Assistant key, 5.71-inch HD

May 07, 2019

HMD Global on Tuesday announced the launch of a new Android One-based phone, Nokia 4.2. This consists of a 13-megapixel f/2.2 primary camera and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor with f/2.2 aperture. It is built on the 12nm FinFET node and comes coupled with Adreno 505 GPU. Running on Android Pie out-of-the-box, Nokia 4.2 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 processor with 3GB of RAM.

Gearbox CEO calls Claptrap voice actor ‘bitter and disgruntled’

May 07, 2019

After Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software, called him " bitter and disgruntled ", Eddings spoke up again today. Eddings also brought up a significant claim against Pitchford: that Pitchford assaulted him in 2017.

Fortnite Season 9 Teaser 2 Revealed

May 07, 2019

Epic is expected to be release Season 9 on Thursday this week, and has started teasing the upcoming Season on its social media channels. The image, which was unveiled on the official Fortnite Battle Royale Twitter account, shows shows a female character wear a helmet, with a visor obscuring part of her face.

Mozilla releasing fix for Firefox extensions bug

May 07, 2019

The original "armagadd-on" happened nearly exactly three years ago, on May 2, 2016, when an expired certificate caused signature verification errors for add-ons. The current version of Firefox is 66, but some users intentionally stick to older versions for various reasons, often because a particular add-on stopped being updated after that version, or because they're using older operating systems.

May 2019 security patch now rolling out to Pixel and Essential devices

May 07, 2019

As per leaks , The Pixel 3a and 3a XL are expected to launch with a 5.6-inch and 6-inch FHD+ OLED screen respectively. The Pixel 3a will reportedly be powered by the Snapdragon 670 SoC paired with 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of onboard storage .

OnePlus 7 Pro display to camera: Everything we know about the phone

May 07, 2019

The contest that will be ending tomorrow will allow users to win exciting prizes including the OnePlus 7 Pro smartphone. The display is said to be the same size as the 6T (6.41 inches), but the resolution has reportedly been upgraded from 1080 x 2200 to 1080 x 2340, with an AMOLED screen on board this time.

Microsoft teases mobile Minecraft augmented reality game

May 07, 2019

The video in question shows Minecraft creative director Saxs Persson leaves a phone on a bench outside the Washington State Convention Center, the site of BUILD 2019. There are no details on how it will play or how it will differ from the main game at the moment, but as with Pokemon GO , we can probably expect the AR version of Minecraft to play quite a bit differently than the game that spawned it.

Together at last: Microsoft will ship a Linux kernel with Windows

May 07, 2019

And because Microsoft is all about productivity these days, Windows Terminal will come with a series of benefits versus the other command line apps in Windows 10, including even support for emoji. Microsoft says that the WSL2 implementation is based on a "Linux 4.19" kernel. Additionally, it'll also bring along full Unicode support, including East Asian fonts.

Android Auto redesigned with improved navigation bar and notification center

May 06, 2019

As you can see in the animation above, Android Auto is going to look completely different very soon. The primary focus of this refreshed look is to help you get on the road faster , show more useful information at a glance, and simplify common tasks while driving.

Edge with Chromium to get valuable new privacy and productivity features

May 06, 2019

Unfortunately, there are still organizations that stuck with the old browser due to the legacy issue but as it turns out, Microsoft has a solution for them in the next iteration of its Edge internet browser. Finally, and most vaguely, Microsoft intends to add a feature it's calling Collections . Working in hand with Microsoft Office, it apparently allows users to collect, organize, share, and export contents from the web in a more efficient manner.

Google brings auto-delete option for location history, activity data

May 05, 2019

With location and search activity information, Google's services can recommend a restaurant or continue a Web search right where a user left off, the company said. There appears to be some positive news-Google is adding the ability to let you auto-delete your activity logs in its latest updated. Due to its inability to clearly state that turning off Location History tracking doesn't mean that it stops collecting all location data, Google has been sued by private individuals and has ...

‘Apex Legends’ Bans 770,000 Alleged Cheaters

May 05, 2019

These bans and new anti-cheat measures have reportedly decreased the number of matches affected by cheats by over half. As a controlling measure, player bans are becoming increasingly common on online platforms. EA is working very hard behind the scenes to improve Apex Legends , and part of the way it is working to improve is by catching and kicking cheaters off the game.

Firefox disabled all add-ons because a certificate expired

May 05, 2019

Users should expect to see versions Mozilla Firefox 66.0.4 release either today or tomorrow. "Deleting an add-on removes any data associated with it, where disabling and re-enabling does not", Mozilla said. Studies can be disabled again after the add-ons have been re-enabled. You can check if you have studies enabled by going to Firefox Preferences - Privacy & Security - Allow Firefox to install and run studies.

Fortnite Overtime challenges: How to complete them and unlock new cosmetics

May 05, 2019

For now, let's proceed with our guide for this week's challenges. You can find them near Lazy Lagoon, Salty Springs, near the Volcano and a few other places around the map. The fourth week 10 challenge requires players to deal 500 damage with an Infantry Rifle or Heavy Assault Rifle. When you've found one, grab the nearest cannon and line up your shot.

Life is odd 2 gets the launch trailer of Episode 3

May 05, 2019

The new Life is unusual trailer shows the Diaz brothers working on an illegal farm in order to gather up enough money to start their new life. Sean and Daniel's resolve is put to the test once again, as new relationships create friction between them and they both learn much about who they are as individuals.

Spotify and Pandora want you talking to ads

May 05, 2019

When a voice ad runs, it will "encourage" users to explore the content by saying "Play Now" and gives the listener time to respond. Right now it's just advertising its own products, like original podcasts and branded playlists. That voice command activates the playlist or podcast, which also contain additional ads. There's also an option to disable microphone access entirely in Settings.

Honor 20 Pro Flagship to Feature Fortnite Support & Punch-hole Display

May 05, 2019

May 21 is when Huawei sub-brand Honor will announce the Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro . This image also confirms that the phone will have extremely thin bezels, as expected, while you can see EMUI running on the device. Interestingly, the smartphone is quite similar to the previously launched Honor View 20. The flagship from Huawei is tipped to sport a 40-megapixel primary camera utilizing the custom Sony IMX600 image sensor with RGGB filter.

Samsung Galaxy M40 spotted on Geekbench with Snapdragon 675 and 6GB RAM

May 05, 2019

Customers who buy the Galaxy A10 will get an instant discount of Rs 500, bringing down the effective price of the smartphone to Rs 7,990 from Rs 8,490 earlier. For selfies, there is a 32-megapixel camera on the front. Under the hood, the Galaxy A20 houses a 4,000mAh battery and runs Android Pie-based One UI out-of-the-box.

Bezel-Less ASUS Zenfone 6 Flagship Confirmed For This Month

May 05, 2019

The ASUS ZenFone 5 was launched back in February 2018, and now ASUS is ready to launch its next ZenFone with the tagline "Defy Ordinary". Shared on the official Asus Twitter account , the teaser includes the outline of a phone with seemingly no bezels at all, and no notch or punch-hole either.

New Xbox One Backward Compatibility Games Out Now

May 05, 2019

Ninja Gaiden 2 was an Xbox 360-exclusive and Razor's Edge wasn't, so that makes sense. Trials Evolution represents the fourth installment of the popular Trials series of dirtbike games. Currently, the list of Xbox 360 and Xbox backward compatible Xbox games has exceeded five hundred. The list totals at a little over 500 now, and more games are being added weekly.

Global smartwatch shipments increased 48 percent year-over-year in Q1

May 05, 2019

According to Counterpoint's Global Smartwatch Tracker , there was a 48% increase in smartwatch shipments for the 1st quarter of 2019. Samsung , Fitbit and Huawei have recorded significant growth, but the sector is still literally dominated by Apple Watch, which boasts a 35.