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Sony's next premium true wireless earbuds could feature faster charging
The upcoming Sony WF-1000XM4, Sony's upcoming next true wireless earbuds, have leaked again, showcasing some key specifications.
There's a lot of reasons to love Sony's latest true wireless earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM3. They're one of the most expensive options out there, but that premium price also gets you one of the best true wireless earbuds you can grab right now, with best-in-class active noise cancellation, 24-bit audio signal processing, up to 24 hours of battery life with the carrying case, and more. But if you've been paying attention to the rumor mill these past few weeks, you'd know that a successor, which will presumably be called the Sony WF-1000XM4 following their naming cycle, is coming very soon. A new leak surfaced showing the WF-1000XM4's external design as well as some specifications.
OPPO now offers 3 years of updates but only to Find X3 users
OPPO has committed to 3 years of security updates, but only for their Find X3 smartphones as of this moment. Read on to know more!
When it comes to Android updates, providing 3 years of updates for flagship smartphones is probably the sweet spot, as this is also what companies like Google, OnePlus, and Samsung offer for their devices, with the former two giving 3 years of major updates and 3 years of security updates (OnePlus in particular only doing it for their flagships) while the latter bumps security update support up to 4 years. But while you'd think that this would be commonplace among the industry, it's really not, as most companies only offer at most 2 years of updates, and that's it. OPPO is one of those companies. But good news! OPPO recently joined the list of Android OEMs that have committed to providing 3 years of updates. The catch? It's only for the Find X3 series.
Google brings its Gboard keyboard app to Wear OS smartwatches
Gboard is coming to Wear OS, as officially announced by Google, aiming to improve the typing experience on smartwatches. Check it out!
Google is giving some much-needed attention to Wear OS. The smartwatch platform isn't really in its best shape right now, with some reviewers even telling people to outright avoid them and go instead for something like the Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch. Wear OS also hasn't seen a new major update since Android 9 Pie. Nonetheless, with word that a major spring update is coming soon and hype building around Google I/O 2021, it's always good to see the smartwatch OS get some love. Now, it has received its first major app release from Google in some time. Gboard is now available on Wear OS watches.
Samsung quietly launches a new 4G version of the Galaxy S20 FE
A new version of the Galaxy S20 FE has quietly launched with a Snapdragon 865 processor and 4G, not 5G, support. Read on to know more!
One of the most noteworthy devices from Samsung from last year was the Galaxy S20 FE. While the standard S20 lineup commanded prices that started at $1,000, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE undercut those other phones by quite a big margin while offering the same basic set of overall features: the same flagship processor, the same software, the same 120Hz display... Cutting on some of the less important corners allowed Samsung to come up with a phone on a way cheaper price point, and some of the changes they applied were actually carried over to the Galaxy S21 lineup this year in order to slash the price of all S21 smartphones across the board by $200.
Apple pushes iOS 14.5.1 security update after WebKit flaws were found
Apple has started to roll out iOS 14.5.1, bringing fixes to two zero-day vulnerabilities in WebKit, as well as other bug fixes.
It's a given that pretty much no device is completely exempt from security flaws. It's a constant cat and mouse game where software developers keep patching bugs and hackers keep finding new gaps and flaws to exploit. No code is perfect, and Apple's certainly isn't. Last week, Apple started rolling out iOS and iPadOS 14.5 to compatible devices far and wide around the world, but they had two gaping zero-day vulnerabilities that allowed hackers to execute malicious code on devices that are fully updated. Now, Apple has released iOS 14.5.1, fixing these vulnerabilities.
Yet another key Stadia executive has left Google
Yet another key Stadia executive, John Justice, has left Google, as confirmed by a new report and a statement by a company spokesperson.
By the time 2021 began, it became clear that Google's ambitions for Stadia weren't materializing the way they wanted them to do so. By February, they had announced their intentions to close down their in-house Stadia game studios, which were to produce unique games as Google Stadia exclusives. While Google announced that this didn't change a thing regarding their commitment to Stadia, something started to smell bad, as executives started to leave. Today, yet another key Stadia executive made the decision to leave Google.
LG's latest financial report shows why they had to stop making smartphones
LG is out of the smartphone game, but if you're wondering if that actually makes sense for them, their latest finantial report is the answer.
LG recently left the smartphone market, and while many in the tech community were saddened to see one of the most iconic Android OEMs go away at its worst moment, it was also a long time coming, as LG smartphones have been consistently generating losses for LG even though they've tried everything to turn the situation around. The phone maker that put out hits such as the Nexus 5 and the LG G2 wasn't the same anymore, and LG's phone division was in a permanent downhill. With LG even attempting and failing to sell off their business, closing shop was imminent. Now, we have an even bigger picture of why that is thanks to LG publishing their Q1 2021 results.
The Mi Band 6 is available to pre-order in the US on Amazon
The Mi Band 6, Xiaomi's latest fitness band, is now available for pre-ordering on Amazon in the United States. Read on to know more!
Xiaomi's wearables, particularly the Mi Band lineup, have, for a long time, sold like hotcakes since the first Mi Band was introduced in 2014. Back then, the first Mi Band featured barely 3 LED lights and no heart sensor. Fast forward 7 years later, and we have a full-fledged, edge-to-edge AMOLED display that goes up to 450 nits, several sensors, and much more in the Mi Band 6. While more costly than the first version, the result is one of the best fitness bands available in the market. Now, the device is available for pre-order in the United States.
GeForce NOW adds in-game overlay to Chrome, lays groundwork for Epic Games account linking
GeForce NOW's new update adds new features, like an in-game overlay to Chrome. It also lays the groundwork for Epic Games account linking.
Out of all the currently available cloud gaming services, perhaps one of the most compelling ones is NVIDIA's GeForce NOW. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the continued lack of gaming hardware, whether it's new consoles or PC parts, in-store shelves, game streaming becomes more and more compelling in order to even be able to play the latest games. By contrast, all you need to play games over streaming services is a decently fast Internet connection. And GeForce NOW shines in a sea of options because of both its wide catalog of games and because they leverage their GeForce technology to enhance your gaming experience. Now, GeForce NOW is getting in-game overlay to Chrome, as well as laying the groundwork for supporting Epic Games account linking.
The ASUS ZenFone 8 may have a higher refresh rate than the ZenFone 7
The ASUS ZenFone 8 is set to carry a 120Hz display, as per a new ASUS teaser about the phone flaunting the "smoothness" of the device.
ASUS is no stranger to making phones with high refresh rate displays. You just need to have a look at the ROG line of smartphones to see what I'm talking about. The ROG Phone 2 from 2019 made headlines for being one of the very first phones to launch with a 120Hz AMOLED display, the year that high refresh rate displays started to become trendy. And then, we saw the ASUS ROG Phone 3 with an absurdly smooth 144Hz display last year. While this year's ROG Phone 5 didn't see any further improvements in refresh rates, their ZenFone lineup has also been going up slow but steady steps: last year's ZenFone 7 had a 90Hz panel. Now, the upcoming ZenFone 8 might bring it up one step further.
Windows 10 will finally stop re-arranging apps on multi-monitor setups
Windows 10 will finally get a fix to one of the most annoying issues that plague multi-monitor setups: apps randomly re-arranging themselves.
As time has passed, our workflow has evolved significantly, and so has the way we manage it. Nowadays, there are a lot of usages where you could benefit from having multiple monitors on your computer. And the ability to actually use multiple monitors on Windows has actually been around for a long time---since Windows 98, in fact, as long as your graphics card had adequate drivers to support it. But even then, there are still some quirks and issues that can arise from using multiple monitors, which, while far from being deal-breakers, are just a little bit annoying. Now, Microsoft has gotten around to fixing one of the most annoying ones by far: the system unnecessarily re-arranging your apps on multiple monitor setups on Windows 10.
Google Stadia is adding a search bar, teases more features coming soon
Google Stadia is finally adding a search bar. A new UI with library sorting is also rolling out, and new features have also been teased.
Google Stadia as a service has matured a lot since it first launched by the end of 2019, and their catalog has also grown immensely. Cloud gaming hasn't made the ripple that companies have expected, but it remains a compelling option nonetheless for users that want to play the latest AAA titles, or maybe some casual games, without actually needing to own a console or powerful PC hardware as long as they have a decent Internet connection. They have also seen a resurgence during the ongoing chip shortage as users have not been able to get new PC parts like GPUs, CPUs, and power supplies. Google Stadia is getting an update that brings an updated UI along with a search bar.
OnePlus is doing surprisingly well in Europe
A spokesperson for OnePlus Europe shared some hard data regarding the company's growth in Europe, and they're doing surprisingly alright.
Over the years, OnePlus has shown unprecedented growth. From being an underground OEM selling phones with invites to being a larger-scale phone manufacturer with carrier contracts and worldwide availability, they've grown their brand and company a lot, even if they're not quite a household name just yet. The company has diversified from just smartphones and has gotten into wearables and even TVs. But 2020 was a particularly good year for OnePlus, at least in Europe.
The Samsung Galaxy Book Odyssey is the first RTX 3050 Ti laptop
Samsung has announced the Galaxy Book Odyssey, the first laptop to ship with the elusive RTX 3050 Ti GPU. Read on to know more!
Today, Samsung unveiled a series of new laptops, including the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro series. Coming in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch configurations and sporting Intel 11th gen Tiger Lake UP3 CPUs and Intel Iris Xe graphics, they're as good as they get for thin and light laptops. Let's rewind into the graphics for a moment, though. While Intel's Xe graphics look promising and Intel has more ambitious plans than just providing decent graphics on thin and light laptops, you might want a proper gaming product if you're looking into more than just playing a couple of games, as this particular lineup only goes up to an NVIDIA GeForce MX450. Luckily, Samsung has just that as well: the Samsung Galaxy Book Odyssey, which was announced today right next to a regular, non-Pro, Galaxy Book sporting the yet-unseen RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti graphics cards.
Telegram is taking on Zoom with its video conferencing feature
Telegram is adding a new video conferencing feature on top of their Voice Chats as yet another Zoom competitor. Read on to know more!
Telegram has gone from being a simple, security-focused messaging app to a jack-of-all-trades social media app through the last few years, with the introduction of features such as supergroups, channels, and, more recently, they have started to introduce features such as voice chatting a la Clubhouse. The developers of Telegram love adding new features to the app, whether it's useful things that users have clamored for or unnecessary things nobody asked for. Now, they're adding a video element to the voice chat feature---which, essentially, turns it from a Clubhouse clone to a Zoom clone. At least in theory.
Apple's upcoming M2 chip enters mass production
The upcoming Apple M2 chipset has gone into mass production, as per sources in the industry, paving the way for new devices later this year.
The release of devices powered by Apple's M1 chip marked a before and after in the tech ecosystem. The x86 architecture has been standard in the PC space since the introduction of Intel's 8086 CPU in 1978, and Apple themselves made the switch to Intel CPUs over from PowerPC in 2005. But Apple's latest transition, from x86 to their own in-house ARM CPUs last year, was far more interesting. Not only is this the first time Apple has full control over their computers' software and hardware like with their smartphones and tablets, but the CPU itself, the Apple M1, manages to trade bouts with the most powerful Intel Core and AMD Ryzen CPUs out there in terms of performance.
Roku warns it could lose YouTube TV over spat with Google
Roku is currently involved in a spat with Google that could result in Roku devices being cut off from access to the YouTube TV service.
Roku devices are among the most popular streaming devices in the United States, just ever so slightly behind Amazon's Fire TV devices. So it's pretty much a given that Roku offers support for many of the most popular services, including YouTube TV, a streaming service from Google that provides live TV and on-demand video over the Internet. But if you're a YouTube TV user watching TV over a Roku device, there's the chance that you could lose access to the service, as Roku is currently involved in a spat with Google over what Roku considers anticompetitive behavior from Google.
Galaxy Buds Pro update brings back "Double Tap Edge" functionality
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro are getting an update bringing back a feature that was beloved by Galaxy Buds+ users: double tap edge for volume.
The Galaxy Buds lineup of truly wireless earbuds, since it was originally introduced with the original Galaxy Buds in 2019, has always been about extending the Samsung experience to your ears, with features like AKG tuning making them stand out from a pack of otherwise mostly identical-looking earbuds, and Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro represents the absolute best true wireless earbuds from Samsung in a while. But one feature that didn't make the cut from the Galaxy Buds+ over to the Pro was "Double Tap Edge", a feature available in the Labs settings of the Galaxy Wearable app that lets you double-tap the edge of your earbuds to increase or decrease volume.
The Redmi Note 10 gets its first AOSP-based custom ROM
The Redmi Note 10 is getting its first AOSP-based custom ROM, an official build of Pixel Experience. Read on to know more!
Xiaomi recently unveiled the 10th iteration of the Redmi Note series, the Redmi Note 10 lineup, consisting of the Redmi Note 10 and the Redmi Note 10 Pro/Pro Max. Confusing naming aside, the Redmi Note series always brings innovation in the mid-range space, and this year is no different, as we're getting AMOLED displays across the board, beefy batteries, and in the case of the Pro/Pro Max, a 108MP camera for ultra-crisp 9-in-1 pixel binning.
TWRP is now available for the Samsung Galaxy A20/A30, 2019 SHIELD TV, and Realme 6/7
The TWRP recovery is now officially available for a handful of new devices: the Galaxy A20/A30, the NVIDIA SHIELD TV, and the Realme 6/7.
It's always good news when a new device gets official support for the TWRP custom recovery. While the rise of GSIs and projects like Magisk has made recoveries not as essential as they were in the past as you can now successfully root or even change operating systems without flashing a custom recovery on newer devices, having one does streamline the process and make things way easier, not to mention that you also get several handy features to streamline the flashing process. TWRP is now officially available for a handful of devices: the Galaxy A20, the Galaxy A30, the Realme 6, the Realme 7, and the 2019 NVIDIA SHIELD TV.