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Windows 20H1, not 19H2, is being tested now. (Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft starts developing Windows 20H1 ahead of 19H2

Microsoft's next probable major software release is 19H2, the April 2019 update. However, a build associated with a release in 2020 is the one that has most recently popped up for users in the Skip Ahead program. Despite this, the...

Deirdre O Donnell, 22 Feb 2019 15:56

Panhard EBR 75 FL 10 premium tank in World of Tanks available via The Challenge on Wheels event

Wargaming is giving the premium EBR 75 FL 10 for free, but you have to fight to get it

"The Challenge on Wheels" special event that has begun today will last until March 7 and comes with the chance to obtain the Panhard EBR 75 FL 10 for free — or at least a good discount when purchasing it. This is the first premium...

Codrut Nistor, 21 Feb 2019 15:22

Bixby now supports a wider range of languages. (Source: News4C)

Update | Bixby 2.0 adds support for more languages

Samsung's in-house virtual assistant, Bixby, has been historically linked to many limitations over its life. One of them is the inability to work in certain languages, German and Italian included. However, support for these langua...

Deirdre O Donnell, 20 Feb 2019 20:18

Opera for Android 50 sports PiP mode and publisher-friendly ad blocking (Source: Opera Blogs)

Opera for Android 50 comes with publisher-friendly ad blocking and picture-in-picture mode

The version labeled 50 of the Opera browser for Android comes with an improved ad blocker that features a site-specific setting, picture-in-picture support for videos on Android Oreo (and later), support for dark CSS themes, as we...

Codrut Nistor, 20 Feb 2019 12:50

ML Kit helps developers work with AI applications. (Source: Google Developers)

MediaTek announces collaboration with Google to enhance the Helio P90 SoC's AI features

The Helio P90 is an SoC that could bring augmented and mixed reality to some mid-range devices in the future. Today, MediaTek added AI to that list of possibilities. It has announced support for Google's ML Kit in conjunction with...

Deirdre O Donnell, 19 Feb 2019 19:09

GDC 2019 | Google to hold event at GDC next month, possibly related to its Project Stream game streaming service

Google announced today that it would be holding a special event at the Game Developer Conference (GDC) next month on March 19th. The announcement offers few details, but many are guessing that Google will announce something relate...

Sam Medley, 19 Feb 2019 18:49

PullString (ToyTalk) joins Apple to improve Siri (Source: TechCrunch)

Apple acquires AI startup PullString

The latest corporate acquisition in the AI field for Apple is San Francisco-based PullString, a company that was founded in 2011 by former Pixar executives and has been working on "shaping the future of voice applications" ever si...

Codrut Nistor, 19 Feb 2019 16:55

Xiaomi may release a smartwatch that has nothing to do with Amazfit or Huami. (Source: Amazfit)

Xiaomi's first own-brand sports watch may be launched via crowdfunding

MyDrivers has reported that Xiaomi intends to announce a crowdfunding project for a new product: a smart sports watch. This device will apparently support real-time GPS tracking, so that a user can generate and maintain maps of th...

Deirdre O Donnell, 18 Feb 2019 17:40

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Blue Coral Android phablet gets February 2019 security patch

Samsung releases February security patch for the Galaxy S7 flagship

The February 2019-dated Android security patch comes with the software version G930FXXS4ESAE and seems to be only available for Samsung Galaxy S7 users in the United Kingdom and Austria for now. The Galaxy S7 lineup receives this ...

Codrut Nistor, 18 Feb 2019 09:29

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8. (Source: BGR)

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is now receiving the stable One UI Android Pie update

Samsung rolled out the Android Pie-based One UI update to the Galaxy S9, S9 Plus, and Note 9 a while ago. The latest device to receive the update is the Galaxy Note 8, the company's last-gen flagship.

Ricci Rox, 17 Feb 2019 13:50

Facebook publishes apps such as Messenger and Facebook Lite. (Source: Newsweek)

Facebook was the world's most popular app publisher in Q4 2018

According to data from Sensor Tower, Facebook was the top app publisher in the world for Q4 2018, with over 800 million app installations. It was also the number one publisher on Google Play, amassing nearly 700 million installs. ...

Daniel R Deakin, 16 Feb 2019 06:47

LG may also launch the enterprise-focused K40 at MWC 2019

The LG K40 is one 2019 device that may launch at MWC 2019. However, this exciting attribute is somewhat tempered by its direction at the budget end of the OEM's business-to-business devices. Then again, it may be supported for 3 y...

Deirdre O Donnell, 15 Feb 2019 18:09

Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 official launch website, April 2 event details

Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 coming on April 2

Microsoft's Visual Studio 2019 will launch on April 2 during an all-day event and comes with quite a few changes. The most noticeable one is the new start screen that has been redesigned to work with Git repositories, but there ar...

Codrut Nistor, 15 Feb 2019 13:55

MIUI 10 beta dark-themed areas (Source: FoneArena)

MIUI 10 beta comes with native dark mode

The native dark mode in the latest MIUI 10 beta covers most areas of the operating system — Phone, Contacts, Gallery, Screen recorder, Updater, Messaging — as well as the notification shade, volume slider, and the Recents menu. Xi...

Codrut Nistor, 15 Feb 2019 12:35

JPMorgan Chase will be trialing a digital currency called the JPM Coin. (Source: MarketWatch)

JPMorgan Chase embraces blockchain and creates a cryptocurrency called JPM Coin

CNBC has reported that JPMorgan Chase has developed a new cryptocurrency that will be called JPM Coin. The digital currency will apparently be used in the banking company’s “wholesale payments business.” The JPM Coin will adopt th...

Daniel R Deakin, 15 Feb 2019 05:36

The hacker stole account information from the dating website/app Coffee Meets Bagel. (Source: Coffee Meets Bagel/VentureBeat)

Remember to have protection on Valentine's Day - for your data

A popular dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel, has revealed that it has suffered from a major data breach. Apparently, over 6.1 million accounts were affected by the hacks, which took place in late 2017 and again in May 2018. Coffee Me...

Daniel R Deakin, 15 Feb 2019 02:17

The Samsung Galaxy S6. (Source: GSMArena)

Galaxy S6 receives yet another new security update from Samsung

SamMobile has reportedly spotted security updates for the Samsung Galaxy S6, which should bring its patch level up to January 2019. This is not hugely unusual, except for the fact that this phone is now nearly 4 years old. It join...

Deirdre O Donnell, 14 Feb 2019 19:27

Three non-Wear OS-based brands dominated the US smartwatch market in 2018. (Source: Wareable)

Is Wear OS in trouble? About 88% of smartwatches sold in 2018 ran proprietary software

A new report from the NBD Group shows that smartwatch sales in the US increased by 51% from November 2017 to November 2018. Wear OS only accounted for a maximum of 12% of all of these wearables sold. The rest of the sales were tho...

Deirdre O Donnell, 14 Feb 2019 18:41

The Facebook group blocks 2 million WhatsApp accounts per month

How WhatsApp discovers spam without reading messages

How can spam messages be detected in end-to-end encryption? WhatsApp uses other tools and can already track 75% automatically using AI. Through this process, two million WhatsApp accounts are blocked per month.

Daniel Puschina, 13 Feb 2019 21:37

Galaxy S8 units may already be receiving their new security update. (Source: Walmart)

Samsung Galaxy S8 series will get new security patch this month, but no major OS updates

Samsung had been rumored to be preparing a February security patch for the Galaxy S8, sparking speculation that it would also come with the official update to Android 9.0 (Pie) for the 2017 flagship. This patch is now reportedly a...

Deirdre O Donnell, 13 Feb 2019 19:19

The Microsoft Surface Pen. (Credit: Neowin)

New Microsoft patent may reduce inadequacies in next-gen Surface Pen

The Surface Pen is Microsoft's answer to the Apple Pencil. It has been described as an effective stylus, albeit one that could produce more accurate digital writing. A new patent may help improve on this with changes to both the P...

Deirdre O Donnell, 13 Feb 2019 18:27

The Division 2 open beta official flyer (Source: Ubisoft)

The Division 2 open beta will start on March 1

Those who missed the private beta stage of Ubisoft's upcoming title The Division 2 can join the open beta, which is scheduled to begin on March 1. Sadly, the open beta will only run for three days and the trial will end on March 4...

Codrut Nistor, 13 Feb 2019 10:10

Walmart slashes price on PlayStation Classic down to $40

Despite its critical and commercial failure, the PlayStation Classic may be an attractive retro gaming device, especially given Walmart's latest price cut. The PlayStation Classic can be found at Walmart for a mere $40, 60% less t...

Sam Medley, 12 Feb 2019 23:57

The Xiaomi M365 electric scooter. (Source: GearBest)

Update | Security researchers claim to have hacked and remotely controlled Xiaomi electric scooters

The Xiaomi M365 electric scooters is popular with ride-sharing companies such as Bird in the US. They can hire out such vehicles online thanks to the ability to remotely lock rental units as and when they need to. The research gro...

Deirdre O Donnell, 12 Feb 2019 19:11

Reddit has accepted a sizeable investment from Tencent. (Source: Reddit)

Tencent has invested US$150 million in Reddit

Reddit has just secured a large-scale investment in the form of round D funding to the tune of US$300 million. Tencent - a company whose home nation has blocked the social media platform - has contributed 50% of this figure. The m...

Deirdre O Donnell, 12 Feb 2019 18:13

New Razer Blade Stealth BIOS update addresses battery charging and electronic noise issues (Source: Razer)

New Blade Stealth having charging issues? Razer says to contact them directly for a BIOS update

Razer has notified us that it has investigated a number of issues impacting a limited number of retail Blade Stealth units. If you're experiencing any of the following, then this new BIOS and EC update should do the trick.

Allen Ngo, 12 Feb 2019 06:39

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau spoke about the Snapdragon 855 earlier this year. (Source: Qualcomm)

The 5G OnePlus phone's unveiling at MWC 2019 is reportedly confirmed

The OEM OnePlus had previously announced that it would release a 5G phone this year. Today (February 11, 2019), the company has apparently released a confirmation that this device would feature at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) t...

Deirdre O Donnell, 11 Feb 2019 19:59

The iPad Mini 4's successor may not have many new features. (Source: Apple)

Apple will cut costs by re-using an old SoC in the new iPad Mini: new rumor

According to some recent leaks, Apple may resurrect the iPad Mini name this year. A new post on MacOtakara has suggested that this tablet may be even more budget-friendly than usual. It claims that the 5th generation of the device...

Deirdre O Donnell, 11 Feb 2019 18:51

Google Maps AR navigation in action (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Google Maps AR navigation now available, but only for some users

A few good months after its introduction, the Augmented Reality navigation feature is finally rolling out for Google Maps users in the wild. However, this is only a test run that includes a limited number of users and there is no ...

Codrut Nistor, 11 Feb 2019 17:45

Red Square - Moscow, Russia, Russia planning to disconnect from the world wide web (Source: World for Travel)

Russia planning to go internet-free, for now as an experiment

Working with all major internet providers in the country, Russian authorities are planning an interesting - and quite disturbing - experiment that involves disconnecting all local users from the internet. The purpose of this exper...

Codrut Nistor, 11 Feb 2019 07:55

Fortnite players can currently enjoy a Valentine's Day theme. (Source: Epic Games)

Fortnite rakes in US$500 million on iOS in less than a year

Market intelligence analyst Sensor Tower has estimated that Fortnite has amassed over US$500 million in revenue in less than a year on iOS alone. The battle royale smash hit from Epic Games has been making about US$1.53 million a ...

Daniel R Deakin, 11 Feb 2019 06:02

The LG G7's successor may also be very expensive at launch. (Source: LG)

New leak alleges the LG G8 ThinQ could cost as much as US$900

A Redditor claims to have access to a Canadian database in which the upcoming LG G8 ThinQ is shown alongside the number 1199. Assuming this figure is its price in the country, this means the phone could cost about US$900 at launch...

Deirdre O Donnell, 10 Feb 2019 15:09

The Assistant's new position in Chrome OS 72. (Source: 9to5Google)

Chrome OS 72 updates devices to Pie. revamps Assistant integration and adds PiP to websites

The latest stable version of Chrome OS (72) brings a considerable re-design for the Assistant interface on this platform. It also updates the version of Android used within it to 9.0 (Pie), which adds the ability to search for app...

Deirdre O Donnell, 09 Feb 2019 15:12

PUBG got the Game of the Year Award from Steam (Source: Own)

PUBG receives 2018's Game of the Year Award on Steam

Thanks to the votes of The Steam Community members, PUBG is now holding the Game of the Year Award for 2018. However, CD PROJEKT RED, the Polish company behind the successful Witcher franchise, was crowned as The Best Developer. P...

Codrut Nistor, 09 Feb 2019 09:39

The latest version of the Opera for Android beta has introduced a VPN function. (Source: Opera)

A free VPN is baked into the latest Opera for Android beta

Opera has introduced a new beta version of its Android mobile browser with a built-in VPN. Even better, it is a free feature inclusion that doesn’t log user data that travels through Opera’s servers.

Sanjiv Sathiah, 08 Feb 2019 23:42

Apex Legends is still a long way from challenging Fortnite and PUBG. (Source: Electronic Arts)

10 million gamers try Apex Legends in its first 72 hours of release

Respawn Entertainment’s Vince Zampella has posted some news on the Electronic Arts website to share information about how the new battle royale game Apex Legends is doing. Apparently, over 10 million people have now tried the game...

Daniel R Deakin, 08 Feb 2019 22:18

Skype users can now blur their backgrounds during video calls. (Source: Skype)

Skype now offers the option to blur out a video caller's background

Many Skype users may be reluctant to take a call due to how messy or inappropriate their surroundings may be. Now, however, the app's latest update adds a toggle that blurs everything but the caller out of a camera's shot. This ne...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Feb 2019 18:38

A German federal office has placed restrictions on Facebook's message-merger. (Source: Fast Company)

A German authority has moved to prevent Facebook's messenger-app merger

Recently, Facebook had gone public with its intentions to merge user data from its own Messenger app with that of WhatsApp and Instagram. Yesterday, the German federal corporate trust-monitoring office ruled against Facebook's lic...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Feb 2019 18:09

Jensen Huang will speak at this year's GTC. (Source: Wikipedia)

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang will give a keynote at the 2019 GPU Technology Conference

Jensen Huang, NVIDIA's chief executive officer (CEO), will deliver the keynote speech at this year's GPU Technology Conference (GTC). This event will take place in several locations in San José, California, from March 17 to 21, 20...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Feb 2019 17:31

Samsung Galaxy J2 Core Android Go handset certified with Android Pie

Samsung Galaxy J4 (2018) with Android Pie gets certified alongside the Galaxy J2 Core

The Android Go handsets Samsung Galaxy J2 Core and Galaxy J4 have recently been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance with Android Pie firmware onboard. However, the arrival of the update might take a while. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Not...

Codrut Nistor, 08 Feb 2019 10:55

Some apps on Apple's Store have been found to be able to see screen-recordings of user behavior. (Source: Apple)

Apple tells developers to either get transparent about screen-recording in their apps or get out of the App Store

A recent report in TechCrunch has revealed that a number of companies use a service that allows 'session replay', which can effectively translate into recordings of what users do on their iOS apps. This data can include on-screen ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Feb 2019 00:40

The original Oculus Rift. (Source: Oculus)

Next-generation Oculus Rift is rumored to have adjustable room lighting and inbuilt tracking sensors

The next Oculus VR headset to be released is rumored to be called the Rift S. The latest leaks on this device suggests that it will come with its own onboard tracking cameras, rather than rely on USB-connected sensors. It may also...

Deirdre O Donnell, 07 Feb 2019 19:29

OPPO releases the K1, a mid-ranger with an in-display fingerprint scanner, in India

The OPPO K1 is now available on the Indian market. This phone may compete with others such as the Redmi Note 7, as it has many specs in common with this device, but also has an in-display fingerprint reader. The K1 is exclusive to...

Deirdre O Donnell, 07 Feb 2019 18:51

Expensive Windows 7 support: In 2022, Microsoft will charge US$200

Windows 7 is far from dead; with around a third of the market share, the operating system is primarily used by businesses. Official support will end next year, but can be extended for another three years – at a price.

Daniel Puschina, 07 Feb 2019 11:58

Sony will be at SXSW this year. (Source: Sony)

Sony is to have a presence at SXSW this year

Sony will host a panel of events at this year's South by South West (SXSW) festival. It will apparently consist of talks and presentations that integrate into the regular creators' conference in Austin, Texas. Sony's contribution ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Feb 2019 18:26

A diagram from the patent for the new kind of S Pen. (Source: Patently Mobile)

Samsung Galaxy Note: New patent hints at inbuilt camera for next-gen S Pen

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9's S Pen gained interesting new Bluetooth capabilities over previous versions of the same stylus last year. Now, the OEM has obtained a patent to pack a whole camera into a version of the same component. T...

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Feb 2019 17:40

VLC will get a new update soon. (Source: VLC)

VLC 4.0 will support uninterrupible music playback and Apple AirPlay, but also drop support for multiple older platforms

The latest update to the VLC media player (4.0) will bring more features, especially for iOS. However, it will also no longer support older versions of the same platform, along with some others (e.g. Windows XP). It also now offer...

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Feb 2019 16:55

World of Tanks 1.4 now live with wheeled vehicles added to the French tree, AMD 178B tier 6

World of Tanks 1.4 brings wheeled vehicles to the game, starts a new World War

Unleashed upon Windows and macOS gamers earlier today, World of Tanks 1.4 brings a few wheeled vehicles to the French tech tree, a reworked map (Ghost Town), new tweaks to the Personal Missions, a few buffs to the Object 279 Early...

Codrut Nistor, 06 Feb 2019 16:25

Firefox 66 content blocking options (Source: Mozilla Hacks)

Firefox will block media autoplay starting next month

Mozilla's Firefox 66 will come with audible autoplay blocking enabled by default, and the Android version will get a new implementation of this feature. The update is scheduled for general release on March 19. However, Firefox 66 ...

Codrut Nistor, 05 Feb 2019 22:21

We test out Nvidia DLSS on the Razer Blade 15 and results are impressive

A 47 percent boost in performance with no loss in image quality seems almost too good to be true. Nvidia DLSS puts deep learning and AI to good use for gamers who may not yet be sold on the capabilities of ray-tracing.

Allen Ngo, 05 Feb 2019 20:38