Software

The OnePlus 5 has received a fixed OxygenOS 10 update, six months on from the disaster that was OxygenOS 10.0.0. OxygenOS 10.0.1 promises to fix the call recording, de-activated alarm and EIS issues that were present on the original Android 10 update, among other changes. OnePlus states that OxygenOS 10.0.1 will arrive on the OnePlus 5T too, although it has not said when.

Skullcandy has updated its wireless headphones and earbuds with active noise-cancelling (ANC) variants. Both of these new audio products also have an Ambient mode for environmental awareness and in-built Tile technology to avoid their loss. For those uninterested in ANC (and its price), however, the Hesh headphones also have a new Evo variant.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S has received a new MIUI 12 update, this time in Europe. V12.0.2.0.QJWEUXM replaces V12.0.2.0.QJWEUXM and is available as an OTA upgrade.

Huawei has started rolling out EMUI 11 to 10 devices, including to the Mate 30 Pro, P40 Pro and MatePad Pro. The Mate 30 Pro 5G is seemingly the first device to receive EMUI 11 outside of China, but Huawei also plans to have HarmonyOS beta builds ready for next month.

LG's Android 11 testing is underway, according to Max Weinbach. Reputedly undergoing development on the V60 ThinQ, LG UX 10.0 will probably arrive in 2021 for most LG smartphones.

The Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8T have received new MIUI 12 updates, bringing more variants onto Xiaomi's latest OS. The two updates are also based on Android 10 and are rolling out on the Indian and Russian branches of MIUI, respectively.

Timex is a classic watch brand that has also recently waded into the smart wearables arena. Its latest addition to this new series is a fitness band. However, unlike the vast majority of devices in its category, this one comes with a milanese-style stainless-steel strap. It is now on sale in its first market, India, for a price of just over US$60.

Recent leaks have pointed to a "new" Nokia 8000 that may launch soon. The reliable tips site WinFuture has now posted what looks like a real-life promo for this device. The possible marketing image paints the device as a high-end feature phone that might not use Android.

Beta builds tend to include more bugs than stable ones, but few will wipe your data as a new update for the OnePlus 8, and OnePlus 8 Pro, on the Open Beta program has. OnePlus has, to its credit, provided a workaround to prevent data loss, though.

The decade-old Call of Duty: Black Ops has just got modded to run in 4K with ray tracing effects and the result is quite impressive. To record the video posted on YouTube, the game was running on a rig consisting of the following: Intel Core i7-9700K, 32 GB of memory, and a single NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super video card.

An app that allows iOS users to run a Unix shell on their iDevice was under threat of removal from the App Store. However, Apple apparently reversed its decision, allowing the app to stay up. This could open the door for more scripting and shell apps to hit the App Store in the future.

Sony has announced the creation of the Airpeak brand, which is to be applied to a new series of drones developed by this OEM. However, it seems these devices are to be pitched at professional content creators and enterprise customers rather than take on products like the DJI Mavic series. Their first examples may be launched in the spring of 2021.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro has started receiving MIUI 12 globally. The update is called V12.0.1.0.QJZMIXM and is rolling out as an OTA following the arrival of similar updates for other regional variants of the Redmi Note 9 Pro.

OnePlus introduced a range of new always-on display (AOD) options with OxygenOS 11 (this OEM's take on Android 11) on its late-2020 flagship, the 8T. Now, one of these, Canvas, is available to this phone's immediate forebears the 8 and 8 Pro in a new "stable" update. The company has also addressed a serious error with a previous software version.

LG recently added 4K or 4K/UHD LED and laser variants to its high-end CineBeam projector line-up. Now, the OEM has announced that they can now access the Disney+ app directly from their smart-TV-like interface. This means it will now be much easier for them to show The Mandalorian in the home-theater setting they can achieve.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 has received its call to Android 11. The Mi 10 is one of the first Xiaomi handsets to be upgraded to Android 11, albeit only in China for the time being. V12.2.2.0.RJBCNXM is rolling out as an OTA to devices now, but it is available to download manually.

A list of devices that will receive One UI 3.0 has appeared online, suggesting that Samsung may bring Android 11 to up to 90 smartphones and tablets over the next few months. The list includes representatives from Samsung Galaxy A, M, Note, S and Tab series, among others.

Square Enix has published its earnings report for the last 6 months (ending on September 30, 2020). It claims to have made 172.7 billion yen (~US$1.7 billion), or 46% more in sales year-on-year (YoY), for this period. This was attributed to strong performance in areas of its business such as its games (mobile titles including) and merchandising arms.

The One UI 2.5 update has been sent out to a host of Galaxy smartphones across the globe. If you haven't received it, it may be a good idea to not install it even when you do get the OTA—if Google Camera support means anything to you.

The Your Phone facility in Windows 10 is Microsoft's answer to syncing an iPhone with a macOS device. However, it has been rather restrictive in that it only allows 1 Android app open on a given phone to be mirrored on a PC's screen at any one time. A new version now gradually rolling out from the Insider Preview addresses this issue, although there are caveats to the new solution.

When booting up some games that were a pain to load on the existing consoles, the next-gen Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 make the painfully long load times only a memory. However, next-gen patches for the titles used in this comparison should make the whole process even faster for both gamers on both consoles.

Huami has announced that it will release a new version of the Amazfit Bip U smartwatch with its own GPS, mic and geomagnetic sensor. Now that this Pro variant has gone through Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) testing, this event is likely closer than ever. This leak reveals the wearable will have up-to-date wireless specs and confirms one of its extra features.

Another Xiaomi Android 11 update list has been uploaded by the Telegram group Xiaomi & MIUI News that shows a considerable change from the last list published in September. Apparently, the Xiaomi Mi A3, the popular Mi 9 series, and the devices created in cooperation with Black Shark have all moved to the internal testing phase.

A new title to join the Mass Effect universe is now in the making, and BioWare has also just confirmed that Mass Effect Legendary Edition is on its way for a Spring 2021 launch. The game promised to include all content from the first three games in the series, but everything is remastered and optimized for 4k Ultra HD.

The MIUI 12 rollout for the Global variant of the Redmi Note 8 has been stalled. Apparently, there has been an issue reported with the OTA (over the air) process that is preventing the Android 10-based MIUI 12 update from reaching owners of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8. It’s unknown how long a fix for this issue might take.

The 9.7-inch display variant of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 hails from all of five years ago. Nevertheless, its units served by the carrier Verizon have been issued with October 2020 security patches. Therefore, even though it remains on an older version of Android, it is up to date in one respect, at least.

Huawei has reached another milestone in its release of EMUI 10.1, this time finishing its OS rollout in North-Eastern Europe. EMUI 10.1 should now have been delivered to all devices in the region, from the likes of the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro to the new P40 Lite.

Down to one of the less important email service providers from the market leader position, Yahoo Mail continues on its downward spiral. Starting January 1, 2021, those who use free Yahoo Mail accounts will lose the automatic forwarding feature, which will only be available for Pro accounts (US$3.49 per month).

A prominent leaker has asserted that Xiaomi has a new variant of the pre-existing Redmi Note 9 in the works. This device is to have a 6.67-inch display with a refresh rate that can range from 30 to 120 hertz (Hz). It is also apparently certified for low blue light emissions and improved sunlight visibility.

The launch of Realme's first round-faced smartwatch has been predicted for some time through numerous leaks. Now, this wearable has made its debut, albeit in only 1 market (Pakistan). Nevertheless, this event may offer hints as to its pricing and availability in other markets.

After sending the MIUI 12 update to the global models of the Redmi Note 8T and Redmi Note 8, Xiaomi is now bringing the update to Europe. The new OTA finally brings MIUI 12 to the horde of European Redmi Note 8T owners, with new updates also landing on the Mi Note 10 Lite across the board.

WhatsApp is gradually rolling out two new features to iOS and Android users. Disappearing messages brings added privacy to WhatsApp chats by deleting messages automatically within seven days. There's also a new storage management feature that enables deletion of repetitive media in multiple forwarded chats. Future versions of the app may offer a Vacation Mode that does not de-archive chats when new messages arrive.

The OEM Vivo is slated to launch its new X60 flagship smartphone later in November 2020. The rumor mill also has something called OriginOS to launch alongside it. It will be a new UI, at the least, which will apparently allow reverting back to an Android interface on the phones equipped with it.

The global MIUI 12 update for the Redmi Note 8 is now rolling out to all handsets, following its stint as a Stable Beta build. V12.0.1.0.QCOMIXM is rolling out to the global variant as an OTA, while V12.0.1.0.QFGRUXM has reached the Stable Beta stage for the Russian variant of the Redmi Note 7.

While the next-generation release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt still needs to get a release date, the existing Xbox One version, when loaded on the Xbox Series X console, runs incredibly fast already. In addition to the excellent graphics performance, this title has nearly instant loading times.

Razer has already held its first virtual launch event in 2020. Now, it will hold a second to be livestreamed in November of the same year. It apparently consists of a series of "exclusive" product debuts, unboxings and giveaways via the OEM's official YouTube channel.

After successfully completing the internal testing stage, Diablo Immortal is now ready to being the external regional testing. To make it all even better for Blizzard fans, the company's president and COO, Daniel Alegre, has also confirmed that more mobile games are currently in the works.

The PlayStation 5 launch title Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales has been spotted at the Walmart website for a surprisingly low price of just US$21.88. Although it is likely to be a listing error, future owners of the PS5 might want to see if they can snag a bargain while the Miles Morales page is still up.

With a starting price of US$9.99 per month, eligible Google One plans in the US will include the VPN service for free. However, this handy feature will be available only in the Google One application for Android. In the coming months, Google's VPN might become available in other markets as well.

There is a possibility that Xiaomi will reveal details about MIUI 13 in the company’s upcoming Mi Developer Conference (MIDC). There is no official eligibility list for MIUI 13 yet, but it has been predicted it will include the Redmi Note 8 and Note 9 series smartphones, all the Mi 10 range, and the POCO X2 and X3 devices.

Recently, an upcoming OPPO device with a pleasant dark blue finish and quad rear cameras appeared on the Chinese regulator TENAA's website. Subsequent leaks indicate that it is the K7x 5G, a 90Hz display device slated to launch on November 4, 2020 in the same country. It is set to run on the Dimensity 720 SoC, up to 8GB of RAM and a 5000mAh battery.

The OEM Ulefone has launched its new Watch series, which support continuous heart-rate tracking, multiple sports modes and 5ATM water-resistance. There is also a blood-oxygen sensor in the Pro model, whereas the Watch GPS has additional activity-tracking features. They start at US$49.99, or even less with a limited-time introductory offer.

Apple's products have shown themselves as resistant to teardowns and re-assembly in the past. The Australian device-repair YouTuber Hugh Jeffreys has posted a new video that seems to demonstrate that this is also true of the recently-launched iPhone 12. The device's UI and cameras exhibited anomalies in response to a motherboard switch.

A leaked video clip of the PlayStation 5 in action has been amazing fans with its superfast load times. One of the highlights on display is the time it takes to get from the PS5 user interface to the Spider-Man: Miles Morales game save: two seconds. Only a few more seconds of waiting are required for the game to fully load.

Xiaomi has started pushing out the MIUI 12 beta stable ROM for users of the Global variant of the Redmi Note 7. At the present, the Android-based software should start arriving on some selected Redmi Note 7 smartphones as an over-the-air (OTA) update. Devices with the Indonesia or Russia ROM should follow soon.

Huami has released extensive software updates to three of its most popular smartwatches, the Amazfit GTS, GTR and GTR Lite. The update brings an important health feature to the three smartwatches and improves the precision of their GPS modules.

ROCCAT has announced new additions to its gaming peripheral line-up. The new Vulcan keyboard series consists of Pro, Pro TKL and vanilla TKL variants. They are equipped with this OEM's Titan switches and AIMO lighting system, as is the new Burst Pro mouse. Its properties include feet made of pure, heat-treated PTFE to enhance its speed and responsiveness.

The usual dark mode that has been available for a while on the desktop and iOS versions of Facebook is finally ready for a public test, although there is no release date to talk about at this stage. Since Instagram and WhatsApp got this visual theme a long time ago, Facebook for Android will probably go dark for everyone as soon as possible.

The Eve V 2020 is an upcoming Intel Tiger Lake-powered convertible PC that, as its OEM likes to say, was co-designed with its fans. The latest stage in its ongoing production involves finalizing the design of its detachable keyboard. It now apparently combines aspects of a few previous concepts, the custom button functions of which Eve now invites feedback on.

Introduced as a new part of the SmartThings app, SmartThings Find is now available for all Samsung users worldwide. This is a new way to locate a range of select Galaxy smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and earbuds at once thanks to the Bluetooth Low Energy and ultra-wideband technologies.