Software

Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of China with an economy best known for cheap power. It has thus reportedly become a magnet for cryptocurrency miners. Apparently, the region does not appreciate this attention, having just outlawed the practice.

Oukitel has announced that its latest rugged phone is the first of its kind to ship with Android 11 out of the box. The device is also touted as "lightweight", which, given its MediaTek Helio A22 SoC and 4GB of RAM, might be meant in more ways than one. It will start at ~US$90 on its March 8, 2021 release.

Laser TVs are devices much more like ultra-short-throw projectors than conventional big screens. Therefore, they can deliver larger display sizes with less harmful blue light, which is what customers want these days - according to Hisense, at least. This OEM claims that it sold over three times more laser TVs in 2020 internationally compared to 2019.

OnePlus has finally released the stable OxygenOS 11 update for the OnePlus Nord. Some of its features include a new UI, gallery, Ambient Display features, and more. Only a few users will receive it initially starting today (March 1), as it is a staged rollout.

Without bringing any major changes to the gameplay or interface, World of Tanks 1.12 is now live and comes with (only four, unfortunately) rebalanced tier VIII premium tanks, interface improvements inspired by popular mods, a sneak preview of the reworked Steel Hunter mode, and more.

The discovery of a Xiaomi phone with a model number rumored to be that of the Mi 11 Pro on Geekbench might normally be welcome news. However, the report proved more alarming in this case, as it alleged the device had the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ SoC instead of the expected Snapdragon 888. However, it has since been debunked by another popular name in tech leaks.

Huami is a wearables OEM that has built a market leadership worldwide, mainly through the popularity of its Amazfit devices. Now, the company has announced that it will be known as Zepp Health from now on. This wholesale re-brand is intended to consolidate its position across all its businesses going forward

The Vivo X60 and X60 Pro are premium mid-range smartphones that are only available in China at present. However, a new leak may suggest the OEM is preparing to bring them to additional markets. Furthermore, they may be new variants of the phones with the Snapdragon 870 SoC in place of their current Exynos 1080.

The LG V60 has started receiving its first wave of Android 11 updates. Currently, the update, packaged as LG UX 10.0, has reached devices in the US locked to T-Mobile and Verizon.

The smartphone brand iQOO has finally acknowledged the successor to its Neo3 flagship, following a slew of leaks hinting at its high-end specs. It will now launch on March 16, 2021 in China. There is now more evidence the allegedly Snapdragon 870-powered phone might be seen outside this country soon as well, thanks to a new Geekbench leak.

Newer smartwatches may have superseded the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch Active, but that does not mean that Samsung has forgotten about them. On the contrary, the two smartwatches have received features that were previously found on the Galaxy Watch 3.

Sony is reportedly going to activate the PS5’s SSD expansion slot at some point this summer, allowing owners to store more games onto an additional drive. At the same time, the firmware update for the PlayStation 5 will also enable higher speeds for the cooling fan to help deal with the extra heat brought by potentially pricey third-party SSDs.

Huawei has begun pushing EMUI 11 to more devices globally, including the Mate 20 and P30 series. The Nova 7 and Nova 5T are now eligible for EMUI 11 in some regions too.

Realme has confirmed that it will make a leap to phones with 108MP sensors in 2021. The phone most likely to be the first with this top-end spec is currently rumored to be one of the upcoming 8 series. Therefore, it might be unveiled at the OEM's Camera Innovation Event, set for March 2, 2021.

The leaker RODENT950 has made some heavy allusions to an image sensor which, despite being intended for mobile devices, is exactly 1 inch in size. This would make the alleged Sony IMX 800 unprecedentedly large for its category. It is predicted to launch in April 2021, and is touted to debut in the Huawei P50 flagship series.

The Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro already has many compelling features, including a SpO2 sensor and up to two weeks of battery life, to name but a few. However, the smartwatch can now reply to SMS, thanks to a new app.

Recent leaks have supplied possible evidence of a successor to the popular, affordable Mi Band 5. Now, a new tip asserts that the wearable has been registered with Indonesian and Indian authorities, suggesting it may debut soon in those markets, at least. It also seems to spill the 6's model number, if no additional specs for the putative fitness tracker.

The Xiaomi Mi A3 has received another software update, following the release of V12.0.4.0.RFQMIXM last month. V12.0.6.0.RFQMIXM brings the Mi A3 onto the February security patch, which addresses 23 high or critical CVEs.

More evidence of Samsung's foray into the augmented reality (AR) market has emerged, in the form of a new video that might be marketing material for its first-gen Glasses. They are apparently pitched at use-cases such as gaming and content consumption as well as virtual conferencing and presentations. They may also work as sunglasses and have a virtual DeX modes.

Samsung has announced that (almost) every Galaxy-branded smartphone will receive at least four years worth of software support. The list includes several devices from the Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy A, Galaxy Tab, and Galaxy Fold series of smartphones.

Huawei has introduced its latest TWS earbuds alongside its new Mate X2 foldable. The accessories are definitely the more affordable of the two; nevertheless, they have high-end specs such as active noise cancellation (ANC), wearer detection and up to 10 hours of battery life. They have an AirPod-clone look, albeit with a new style of charging case and 3 color choices.

Rumors from early last year on the ResetEra forum appear to have been lent further credence by a forum moderator stating that tipster MarsipanRumpan's claim of a Sony's upcoming Bluepoint acquisition is accurate and "only a matter of when."

After sending out the Android 11 update to the Mi 10T Lite and Redmi 10X 5G last week, Xiaomi is now blessing owners of the Mi Note 10 and Mi Note 10 Pro with the latest version of the OS. The update is currently rolling out to the European models of the devices.

The iQOO Neo5 has been touted as something of a flagship killer, as it has been rumored to launch with 88W charging and a punch-hole display in addition to its Snapdragon 870 SoC. Then again, its newest leaks hint that those specs might not be quite that great, although it will still have the same near-premium processor, not to mention a decently fast charging brick in the box.

Realme has recently confirmed that its next flagship smartphone will be called the GT and will launch on March 3, 2021. Now, one of its executives has posted what is claimed as an AnTuTu benchmarking score for the device. It apparently shows that the GT's Snapdragon 888 SoC has boosted it just past the 770,000 mark in this test.

Rollme has just launched the Hero, its latest smartwatch with a completely bezel-free display. This is joined by a nano-SIM card slot for 4G/LTE connectivity in this wearable, not to mention up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Not only that, but it boasts an unusually large 1,600mAh battery rated for up to 10 days on power-save mode.

After sending out the Android 11 update to phones like the Mi Note 10 Lite, Mi 10 Lite, and Mi 10T series, Xiaomi is now seeding the stable beta update to the ever-relevant Redmi Note 8, albeit only in China at the moment. The update should be expanded to other regions in the coming weeks, though.

Realme has announced that its second-gen Buds Air will launch in India on February 24, 2021. It has also confirmed multiple leaks about these TWS earbuds in teasing their specs prior to this event. They include the (expected) ANC, as well as the fact that they will have 10mm "Diamond class" drivers, improved battery life and a low-latency Gaming Mode.

Microsoft's FPS Boost for Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X consoles uses Direct3D-level adjustments to deliver improved framerates, according to a new report. Digital Foundry has also shown that FPS Boost can improve framerates by up to 4x in some cases, with the Xbox Series consoles able to maintain these higher framerates consistently, too.

Google SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer has tweeted his excitement at the Chrome OS and Chromebook pipeline for 2021. It comes in the context of an IDC report showing that Chrome OS device sales surpassed macOS device sales in 2020 for the first time.

OPPO is slated to launch its 2021 flagship Find X3 smartphone series, in accordance with a slew of leaks that have proceeded in the mystifying absence of a vanilla variant. However, it may have just emerged in a recent tip that suggests it will have the Snapdragon 870 processor rather than the 888. New Geekbench listings appear to confirm this.

The Asus ROG Phone has arguably been the benchmark for Android gaming-focused powerhouses since the debut of its series in 2018. Therefore, it will see its fourth generation in 2021. Despite this, the OEM has confirmed rumors that it will be called the 5 rather than the 4.

Samsung has started the roll-out of the One UI 3.1 update for the Galaxy S20 phones, Galaxy Note20 devices, and the Galaxy Z range. While these Samsung Galaxy smartphones will receive many of the features Samsung One UI 3.1 has to offer, there will be no support for Google Discover, which is available on the Galaxy S21 series.

Apple M1-native malware has been discovered by an independent macOS security researcher. The GoSearch22 Safari browser extension, which is linked to the infamous Pirrit adware family, can run on any M1 silicon-based device, such as the late 2020 models of the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini.

Google made its acquisition of the health-tracking household name Fitbit official in January 2021. As if to provide more evidence of this, the Mountain View's online shop now lists products from this brand alongside those of Nest, which it has also absorbed. Therefore, consumers can now buy devices such as the Charge 4 through this Store.

Epic Games has stepped its dispute with Apple over developer remuneration by filing an official antitrust complaint with the European Commission (EC). It alleges that competition in the app-distribution and payment markets has been "completely eliminated" by Apple's practices of insisting that these activities are carried out through its App Store for all software intended for use on iOS.

It looks like Google has borrowed heavily from the likes of Huawei, Samsung, Xiaomi and even Sony with some of the features that it has integrated into Android 12. From scrolling screenshots to a Game Mode and a one-handed mode, Android 12 may feel familiar in some respects to those who have used EMUI, One UI or MIUI in the last few years.

LineageOS is one of the most popular custom ROMs out there, bringing newer versions of Android to devices that OEMs have abandoned. Unfortunately, support does not last forever with LineageOS either, as the company has dropped support for LineageOS 16.0 and Android 9.0 Pie. As a result, 24 devices will no longer receive security patch updates, including the Huawei P20 Pro.

Realme is rumored to launch its second-gen Buds Air in India soon, in partnership with the Chainsmokers EDM group. These upcoming TWS earbuds have allegedly popped up on an OEM's app early, inadvertently revealing that they have active noise cancellation (ANC). They may also boast features such as Transparency and a Game Mode.

Earlier leaks have seemed to confirm the existence of OPPO's upcoming Find X3 Pro, but not that of its vanilla variant. Now, a new SlashLeaks post alleges that, not only does the X3 exist after all, but that it will have the new Snapdragon 870 processor. If true, this might presage an interesting and different approach to a flagship launch by an established company.

Google has effectively given up on making first-party games for its streaming service Stadia. However, it has committed to bringing more titles from external studios to the platform in the course of 2021. They are slated to include Far Cry 6, FIFA 21 and Hello Engineer, although not all of those will form part of the first wave of these new games.

The next Pro-grade iPhones are currently tipped to get LTPO displays. They are also rumored to finally upgrade to 120Hz refresh rates – and to always-on displays, according to the latest leak. The successors to the 12 series are also now believed to benefit from a new, possibly textured matte finish.

The WhatsApp privacy policy change, in which the company will oblige users to agree to hand the data they have given it to Facebook, has caused controversy and virtual boycotts worldwide. However, the EU market is effectively immune to these changes. The Indian Supreme Court has argued that this should apply to all markets in which the messaging service is used.

Raspberry Pi users can now enjoy coding with Microsoft Visual Studio Code on their single-board computers. Microsoft's free open source developer text editor was released for Windows, macOS, and x64 Linux. The Redmond giant is also offering plenty of tutorials on using VS Code with multiple languages and development tools.

Lenovo offers a balance between high-end materials and mid-range internals in the Tab P11 Pro. Nevertheless, the OEM asserts that the user can get their work or gaming done on this 11.5-inch Android tablet in the manner suggested by its suffix. It has now been released on platforms such as Amazon.in and Flipkart for INR 44,999.

Samsung and Microsoft's efforts to form a joint Android/Windows ecosystem to rival that of Apple's has reached a potentially critical stage. The OEMs are working to bring Quick Share (an AirDrop counterpart found on Galaxy-series smartphones) to PCs. Samsung's Free service is also to arrive on Windows 10 soon, as is a new app called "O".

The RPCS3 PlayStation 3 emulator has improved considerably over the years. A recent YouTube videos shows an updated version of the emulator running Uncharted: Drake's Fortune at roughly 40 FPS on a Comet Lake i5: Ryzen chips like the 3600X and the newer Ryzen 5000 lineup should do even better.

Descendant is the only custom ROM to have a COVID-19 information area accessible from Settings as Descendant Health that also includes screen on and sleep notifications, not to mention the heart-shaped icon settings, and much more. The software package includes Google Apps, Kiwi Browser, and Metro.

HBO Max is an upcoming streaming service from the TV studio in question, but also offers content from partners that range from DC to New Line. It will replace the existing Go product in many Latin and South America in June 2021, migrating its existing users to the new platform as it does. A similar transition is planned for European customers, although this lacks a concrete roll-out schedule at present.

US consumers looking for an ultra-cheap, ultra-simple phone with some modern features such as 4G/LTE and Google Assistant now have a new option, courtesy of Nokia. It now sells its 6300 comeback at a price of US$69.99. This buys all that the world's most prominent "alternative" mobile system KaiOS has to offer, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.