Software

Xiaomi has been teasing the upcoming software update for its Pad 5 tablet. Known as MIUI 13 Pad or MIUI 13 for Pad, the customized operating system promises to bring a couple of useful upgrades for owners of the Xiaomi Pad 5. MIUI 13 is expected to be officially launched in China on December 28.

Nokia launched the X10 approximately 8 months ago with promises of prolonged and comprehensive software support. Now, the HMD Global brand has upheld this pledge with an upgrade to the latest version of Android for the mid-range smartphone. The update includes improved privacy controls and more.

Samsung's early-2019 line of flagship smartphones have had access to the OEM's latest versions of Android, albeit as beta builds. Now, a new leak from an official source allegedly indicates that they will be supplanted by an inaugural stable version of One UI 4. The phones might thus see their new official major upgrade soon.

Motorola sought to build on lingering Razr nostalgia to push the series’ inaugural foldable version, although this world-first did not exactly meet with universal acclaim. Nevertheless, the OEM has just announced that it is not giving up on the renewed, Android-powered line, and will persist with a much-improved third generation.

Xiaomi has confirmed the launch date and time for its latest mobile operating system overlay, MIUI 13. As previously expected, the skin will be launched on December 28 at a Xiaomi event taking place in China. Promo material for MIUI 13 has revealed some big claims in regard to app improvement over MIUI 12.5 Enhanced Edition.

The alleged free games coming to PlayStation Plus (PS+) subscribers in January 2022 have been leaked. The shortlist of three titles is headed by Persona 5 Strikers, which was first released in Japan by publisher Sega in 2020. A racing game and a first-person shooter join Persona 5 Strikers as free games coming to PS4 and PS5 owners.

Lenovo's contenders in the Android gaming flagships have been known as the Legion Phones or Legion Phone Duel devices, depending on their market. Now, however, the company has hinted that it is arranging a new name for the next installment in this series. It may continue to uphold its series' reputation for innovative cooling solutions and speed-focused display tech.

Vivo has now made its Watch 2 official in China. This new smartwatch has a round AMOLED display and a simplified design compared to its predecessor. It is also 4G/LTE-capable by default, which raises its price to some degree. On the other hand, the OEM claims that the user can get up to 7 days' worth of battery life and lots of smart life-admin features for that price.

DuckDuckGo has revealed that it is building a desktop app similar to its mobile app. The desktop app aims to provide increased privacy for users, with features such as the Fire Button, to clear all tabs, browsing history and data at the click of a button.

Huawei has rounded its bumper product event of today (December 23, 2021) out with the introduction of new smart glasses. These accessories are, like their predecessors, equipped with speakers and mics for hands-free use and entertainment. Then again, this new generation also has something of a health-tracking component.

Huawei's latest MateBook X Pro has debuted with the OEM's new Free Touch feature, which consists of a trackpad capable of responding to a variety of gestures, as some phones' screens might. It also offers the company's "finest display yet": a 14-inch 3K touch panel driven by Tiger Lake silicon.

Motorola has confirmed that it plans to update at least 30 smartphones to Android 12. Some older smartphones have missed the cut, including those released in 2019. Motorola's foldable smartphones will receive Android 12, though.

Amazfit launched its third-gen GT-series flagship wearables earlier in 2021, complete with an inaugural Pro variant. This GTR 3 Pro is the only one that has reportedly received a new GoPro app via its latest update. The other 2 have mostly been graced with stability and system upgrades.

The annual Tesla holiday update has begun rolling out, with features including auto-activation of your car's blind spot camera. The software update also has improvements to the infotainment system, such as a streamlined appearance and new games added to the arcade.

The Galaxy A52 series offers some of Samsung's best-selling devices, so it's no surprise that the company is also prioritizing software development for the lineup. According to a new report, the Galaxy A52, A52 5G, A52s 5G, and A72 look set to receive the Android 12 update in the near future.

iQOO's latest smartphones are new variants of its Neo5 series. The 5S has the Snapdragon 888 SoC, paired to an "innovative" thermal management system touted to incorporate rare-earth elements for advanced heat dissipation. The 5 SE has the Snapdragon 870 instead, but also has a 144Hz display and a 50MP main camera.

In addition to ensuring "the best gaming experience in GTFO and Horizon Zero Dawn," the NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Driver 497.29 also comes with support for 10 new GeForce Experience Optimal Playable Settings profiles. The list includes popular titles such as Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, EVE Online, and more.

Realme had hinted at a GT2 series event set for today (December 20, 2021). However, the OEM has not unveiled the flagship smartphones in question as it has confirmed the nature of its 3 industry-first "innovations". This presentation involved more detail on the devices' new build material, ultra-wide cameras and comms array.

Not only is Xiaomi preparing to upgrade numerous devices to MIUI 13 in China, but it is also readying equivalent builds for global audiences. Initially, Xiaomi will upgrade 20 devices to both MIUI 13 and Android 12, including the Mi 10T, POCO F2 Pro and the Redmi Note 10 Pro.

Garmin plans to start its 2022 with a bang, according to a new leak. The OEM allegedly has no less than 7 new smartwatches to show off at the upcoming CES event in Las Vegas, to become the latest additions to 4 product lines. They range from potentially entry-level new Instincts to a possible next-gen Venu flagship with a high-end display.

Reports claim that Xiaomi is geared to debut MIUI 13 on December 28. The company is hard at work on it as well, and is prepared to send out the update to a list of 11 devices at launch, with a number of those already having stable builds.

LG started its Android 11 update program for its higher-end phones, the innovative Wing included, some time ago. However, it seemed sluggish even before the company decided to exit the smartphone market. The Wing on Verizon has only now just started to see what might be one of its last ever updates.

Microsoft's foldable mobile device, the Surface Duo, was debuted as a type of PC with "limitless possibilities". However, its latest software update reportedly confers a basic ability of many up-to-date computers with serious "glitches". It apparently affects numerous apps and may seriously affect productivity on the phablet.

OnePlus has announced the end of its suspension for the build of OxygenOS for the 9 and 9 Pro based on Android 12. The OEM claims that the more prominent of the issues uncovered with the initial version have been removed in this one. Then again, some bugs reportedly still remain.

The Mi A3 may be on its way out but Xiaomi continues to grace owners of the phone with monthly updates. After the November update came rather late, the Mi A3 is now receiving the December patch. It's a rather unusual OTA as well, weighing in at a massive 458 MB.

Microsoft patched a zero-day vulnerability that affected the AppX installer in Windows. The vulnerability allowed hackers to create packages to infect systems with malware. The patch was included in the December Patch Tuesday update.

Huawei has just released some details on another new product for its increasingly large-scale event later in December 2021. It is the OEM's latest generation of smart glasses. They are speaker-enabled wearables like their predecessors, although they will ship with Huawei's own software.

Google rarely sends out destructive updates but when it does, it tends to get rather messy. The December security patch seems to be towing that line, with owners mostly across Europe reporting severe hits to signal reception after installing the OTA.

Microsoft has declared that the Windows Terminal app will be the default command line on Windows 11 PCs during 2022. Other third-party terminals will also have full functionality and users will be able to set them as default more easily. The intended change will begin with Windows Insiders, who, along with other users, can test the Windows Terminal app and provide feedback to Microsoft.

Huawei has announced the launch of what is already being dubbed the "biggest upgrade" in MateBook history. It is to be a new X Pro model, which, according to its new teasers, may have a new feature in which the user can apparently control the laptop by waving their hands in front of the screen. The upcoming PC may also launch with improved cross-device integration.

Google has announced Android 12 (Go Edition). The new version of Android 12 will feature better performance, longer battery life, improved privacy features, and new sharing options. Devices with Android 12 (Go Edition) will make their way to market in 2022.

The Xiaomi 12 series is projected to launch soon, so as to grab that Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 hype while it's hot. A potentially last-minute leak asserts that the new line of smartphones will come with the OEM's under-display camera, heretofore only seen in the ultra-premium Mi Mix 4. Accordingly, it might only be seen in the new line's top-end variant.

Most likely the final step before the arrival of the MIUI 13 firmware, the MIUI 12.5.10 update hits the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro handsets. While this update has only 160 MB and includes the November 2021 security patch alongside the usual tweaks and fixes, there are no new features involved.

The Pixel Watch is tipped to launch next year in what could be Wear OS 3's official debut. Google has published an early build of its Android 11-based OS, providing a taste of what to expect from the company's first smartwatch.

Introduced yesterday, War Thunder 2.13 "Winged Lions" is a major update that brings a wide range of Israeli aircraft (in Closed Beta stage for now, unfortunately) into the game, alongside quite a few new tanks, ships, locations, missions, improved graphics effects (air movement now has an impact on particle effects such as fire and smoke), and more.

Google has started rolling out new features and bug fixes to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro as part of its December 2021 updates. The Pixel Feature Drop is available now as an OTA or a factory image for both devices.

Apple has updated its website to reflect a new approximate release date for Universal Control. The feature, which allows you to bridge your iPad and Mac, will now arrive at some point during spring 2022. Apple still cannot commit to a specific release date, though.

Reportedly, Xiaomi will offer MIUI 13 upgrades to ten smartphones this month. Smartphones as old as the Mi 10S could be upgraded, along with the Mi 11, Mi 11 Ultra and the Redmi K40 series. The Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G could be in line for MIUI 13, too.

A new leak has now revealed MIUI 13 assets and features as seen on an official, signed MIUI 13 app from Xiaomi. Notable takeaways include the MIUI 13 logo and welcome page as well as a handful of features, with fans only having a few weeks left before the next iteration of Xiaomi's OS skin debuts.

Apple has released HomePod 15.2, iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2 and watchOS 8.3. The four updates bring several new features to eligible devices, including the new Apple Music Voice subscription. There is no equivalent update for tvOS, though.

Apple has started distributing macOS 12.1 to all eligible devices. The first major update for Monterey contains numerous bug fixes and some new features, including SharePlay.

Microsoft is offering pirates in certain countries a special discount to purchase an Office 365 subscription, instead of continuing to pirate Office software. The "limited time" offer delivers substantial savings, up to 50 percent off.

A zero-day exploit was recently identified within the Apache log4j logging library, which can potentially be used by hackers to take over entire servers via logging messages. The vulnerability affects a number of online services, from Steam and Twitter to Amazon and Minecraft, among others.

iOS 15.2 is the next upcoming version of Apple's proprietary software for iPhones. According to a prominent industry correspondent, it is the one that will start adding features intended to prevent abusive content reaching a child's device. It might contain measures to help allay well-publicized concerns about its impact on privacy.

Google announced that the company is developing a native app whereby players can play Google Play games natively on their Windows PCs. The app is being built without the input of Microsoft or other platforms and will allow gamers to resume their gameplay across Android and Windows devices. The software is expected to launch in 2022.

The Watch D is projected to be Huawei's first smartwatch marketed as one capable of clinical-grade blood pressure-monitoring. Now, a box presented as the wearable's original packaging may confirm that this is the case. This leak has emerged alongside claims that the Watch Fit Mini will launch alongside it later in December 2021.

The Wemax Go is a DLP projector rated to throw an up to 120-inch image with HDR support and a maximal brightness of 600 ANSI lumens. However, unlike most products with such specs, it is also designed to be just 1 inch in height. Its maker, asserting that it is the thinnest product capable of the ALPD standard, has put it up for crowdfunding on Indiegogo.

OnePlus announced it was ready to roll the stable version of its Android 12-based software upgrade for the 9 and 9 Pro not long ago. Now, however, the OEM has stated it is necessary to "suspend" this process, thanks to user reports of multiple bugs and issues found in this official OS version, which its software team now needs to fix.

The Realme GT2 Pro is touted to match up to the most powerful smartphones in the world with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. Now, it is also said to challenge them in another way, by offering a SKU with the current top end of internal storage the industry can offer. It may be paired to 12GB of RAM in the upcoming flagship.

Lenovo has launched a new projector under the Yoga brand in China. The T500 Play is an FHD variant of its line with a peak brightness of 700 nits. It has a large battery of just over 22,000mAh in capacity, and is thus rated for truly portable use, as well as the ability to connect mobile devices via its USB type-C port.