Software

As Sony promised last month, the Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 are now receiving stable Android 10 updates. The Japanese company is distributing the 725 MB updates globally via its over the air (OTA) servers. Sony may be releasing the update in batches, though.

The Huawei Nova 6 is a device that has been anticipated for a long time. Now, it has finally been launched, alongside a 5G and SE variant. The first 2 of these are powered by the Kirin 990, whereas the last has the Kirin 810 instead. The new line also features high-res cameras, Android 10 and 8GB of RAM.

Oxygen OS 10.0.1 is live, and it is here to upgrade your OnePlus 6 or 6T to Android 10. Following the arrival of a stable Hydrogen OS Android 10 build last week, OnePlus has now started quietly rolling out Oxygen OS 10.0.1 globally. The update comes in two forms and is available OTA now.

Google Photos is probably one of the biggest platforms for personal image management. However, sharing via the same app has always been of a public nature. Now, the app is to gain a new update in which this content can apparently be sent directly to those known to the user in a more one-to-one manner.

T-Mobile has unveiled its branded version of the highest-end Galaxy Note 10+. This device has Qualcomm's 2nd-gen 5G modem, which makes it compatible with the US carrier's new sub-6GHz network. It is also Samsung's first phone to ship with One UI 2.0 out of the box.

Some images of a new Motorola phone with the legend "64MP Quad Pixel" embossed on its main camera module have emerged. Rumored to be called the One Hyper, this device also has a single pop-up selfie shooter that leaves its front panel with a minimal chin and bezels on 3 sides. It is also thought to be powered by the Snapdragon 675 SoC.

Airplane mode is an ever-present setting on mobile devices that is effectively an instant kill switch for all radios, those for wireless connectivity included. However, this setting can be considerably less convenient for those who depend on Bluetooth for audio. There are now signs that an Android 10 successor may allow more granular control over what it does.

Star Citizen has now crossed the $250 million mark on its Kickstarter campaign. CitizenCon—the game's annual player convention—was host to a plethora of new in-game content such as a new planet, star system, game mode and more.

Huawei has sent out the EMUI 10 update to its Kirin 980-powered premium phones, and is now setting its sights on the mid-range. Owners of the Huawei P Smart (2019) are now receiving the Android 10-based EMUI 10 update, and we expect other Kirin 710-powered devices like the Honor 8X and P30 Lite to get the update in the near future.

Those who use treadmills might want to keep track of their speed, incline and other metrics as they work out. The Runn is a new gadget that captures this data and sends it right to a compatible fitness app. It is up for pre-order now, and is slated to ship in mid-December

The Chinese OEM ZTE has revealed that it has a version of Android 10 ready to go. This MiFavor 10 OS is slated to confer numerous UI and system improvements on the devices that will update to it. They include a dark mode, an AI engine upgrade and new dynamic wallpapers.

Still waiting for Android 10 on your OnePlus 6 or 6T? Well, OnePlus has started releasing the OS upgrade again, but only to handsets in China. You could install the build on any OnePlus 6 or 6T, though.

Some subscription-based streaming platforms have become huge for a number of reasons, the total lack of ads being one of them. However, there are emerging alternatives that reinstate this potential disadvantage back in return for no monthly fee. Research has shown that their uptake in the United States has increased by nearly 10% over the last 12 months.

The Realme 1, 2, C1 and U1 were all released at various points in 2018. Despite this, their maker has just announced that they will not receive an update to ColorOS 7. This is an upcoming software skin based on Android 10 that the company shares with OPPO.

Huawei has announced that it will introduce its Watch GT 2 to Indian customers on December 5, 2019. This will be the first device with the new Kirin A1 processor for wearables released to this market. This smartwatch also boasts a 2-week battery life and a bezel-less display.

The Galaxy S10 series may have already started receiving Android 10 in some regions, but Galaxy Fold owners are not so fortunate. One UI 2.0 roadmaps state that the device still has another four months to wait before it sees an OS upgrade, despite being Samsung's most expensive smartphone. The Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note 8 are unlikely ever to see Android 10, either.

Google is pushing a new update in which its SMS app will gain the ability to tell between 'real' and 'fake' corporate messages. This will be done in line with the search giant's new "Verified" initative, by which businesses register with Google so as to prevent their communiques being automatically labelled as a form of spam and never reaching their customers.

Mobvoi's Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale has started. It includes a 25% discount on its Ticwatch Pro and Pro 4G/LTE models, which are normally US$249.99 and $299 respectively. The OEM is also offering other smartwatches at up to $50 off.

OnePlus' Android 10 rollout to the 6 and 6T has been beset by issues, but things could be on the up. Having pulled the update earlier this month, the company has now pushed out a new beta build to both handsets. OnePlus was hopeful that it would re-release Android 10 to the 6 and 6T this week, but that timeline has slipped once again.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro has now started receiving Android 10-based builds of MIUI 11, having been spotted on Geekbench running Android 10 earlier this month. The 1.9 GB update contains the November 2019 set of security patches too, along with a few MIUI 11-related optimisations.

The Google Pixel 4 series started at US$799 at launch. However, the OEM's Black Friday event brings it down to $200 off each variant. Their predecessors are also included in this sale, as are the Pixel 3a and 3a XL.

The leaker Ishan Agarwal claims to have heard that the Samsung Galaxy A11, A31 and A41 are definitely in the works. Furthermore, these low- to mid-range smartphones will have more internal memory compared to their first generations. They are all thought to launch in 2020.

Huawei is finalising EMUI 10 for the Mate 20 Lite, and has now made the OS update available to download via its HiCare app. The build has a few minor bugs, but that it is to be expected from a release preview.

Aside from the obvious input latency, Stadia has a long list of other issues ranging from its pay-per-title business model and quality of service. What can Google do to make Stadia a success?

Popular diagnostic tool AIDA64 has been updated for the arrival of 2020 processors, namely AMD Ryzen 4000 "Vermeer" and "Renoir" processors. The desktop and mobile chips are due to arrive in Q3 and Q1 2020 respectively. Only the former will be making the jump to AMD's new Zen 3 architecture though, with Renoir being based on its existing Zen 2 architecture.

A series of official Samsung Android 10 rollout roadmaps all cite the Galaxy S10 phones as billed to receive the stable Android 10 update in January. That isn't the case for all regions, though, as some owners of the S10, S10+, and S10e are already confirming receipt of the OTA.

Over a year after going on sale, the first-gen Asus ROG Phone is now receiving the Android Pie update. Yes, you read that correctly; Pie, not Android 10. The rollout is a staged one and the OTA will get to all users of the device over the next few days.

Google will issue refunds to Stadia Pro users who bought Tomb Raider and Farming Simulator 2019. Both games will be free starting December 1st as a part of the Stadia Pro subscription.

Huami is a smartwatch OEM that has developed a habit of releasing titanium-cased variants of its products. Now, it has given one of its latest releases, the GTS, the same treatment. Its new edition costs about US$185, or about $58 more than the original.

Recently, reports of Twitter's intentions to delete inactive accounts, starting December 2019, came to light. However, the company has come up against resistance to this idea from more vocal users. Their main objection appears to be that the move would result in the removal of the timelines of the dead.

Recently, Asus released an Android 10 beta for the ZenFone 5z. Now, the phone has a stable build that will be rolled out to users in general. This update adds a dark theme and a more streamlined UI to the 2018 flagship.

The Samsung SM-N770F has shown up on the Geekbench 5 database. This phone is thought to become the latest addition to the Galaxy Note 10 family. Its new leak shows that it is a 6GB device with the Exynos 9810 SoC.

Honor India has announced a new beta program for the 8X. It allows participants to test a new version of EMUI based on Android 10, on their devices. However, it is only open to the phone's 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage variant at present.

YI is a home security brand with some Black Friday deals that have already been added to its own online store. However, it has announced that its weather-proof outdoor variant will be up to 40% through the chain Home Depot on the day itself. The camera comes with a 6-month subscription to a cloud service for video through this retailer.

Samsung has sent out a ton of One UI 2.0 beta updates to the Galaxy S10 phones, so it makes sense that the phone will be the first to get the stable Android 10 update. The complete, official update roadmap for Samsung's Android 10-based One UI 2.0 rollout is here.

Huawei and Honor began sending out the Android 10-based EMUI 10 and Magic UI 3.0 updates to their current-gen flagships. At the Honor V30 launch yesterday, Honor revealed its release roadmap for the Android 10 update and there are a few surprises in store, with just 13 devices billed to get the update.

Google introduced Ambient Mode for the Assistant at I/O 2019. It is a kind of alternative interface for Android devices that makes them take on the functions of a smart display. This can involve a revolving series of screens showing calendar information, photos or other content.

1.2 billion people have been affected by a data breach that was unveiled by the security research firm Dataviper. Sensitive information such as names, email addresses and phone numbers were reportedly stored on an unsecured server.

Reolink has announced its Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale. It includes 31% off the Argus 2, which has been named the best 2019 home security camera (outdoor) by PCMag. There is also 25% off the 355-degree-panning E1 Pro Wi-Fi camera, and 30% off the 4G-capable Go.

North Pole Engineering has launched heartbeatz, a new device that acts as a bridge between an Apple Watch and any exercise bike or treadmill with ANT+. This enables the machine in question to display heart rate information directly from the wearable while in use. No more checking your wrist during a workout!

Huawei has unveiled the MatePad Pro today (November 25, 2019). It is a 10.8 tablet with a resolution of 2560x1600 and a punch-hole selfie camera. This new slate comes in 6GB or 8GB RAM SKUs and has LTE or Wi-Fi only options. It can be pre-ordered from today, but only in its home country.

Intel has reportedly patented its own game controller. It is liberally provisioned with joysticks, buttons, a D-pad and what could be shoulder triggers. Furthermore, its design also includes a touchpad, which is apparently associated with a patent of its own. This new in-house controller could be related to this company's cloud-gaming partnership with Tencent.

The Google Pay app has been updated so as to display a message should a given phone be ineligible to conduct transactions using this method. This notification would apply to users who have rooted or otherwise modified their devices in a way that causes it to fail SafetyNet requirements. In addition, upcoming updates to this app will also be able to PIN-protect online shopping done through it.

Canon has unveiled its Black Friday 2019 week deals, which include a number of high-end cameras, on its own website. This store also offers discounts on some lenses, as does Amazon at present. These listings also include Tamron or Sigma attachments.

NVIDIA has a new driver update for its more recent GPUs. This version (Game Ready Driver 441.20 WHQL) makes 1 more Asus monitor and 2 more Acer displays G-SYNC compatible. It may also improve gameplay in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the VR title Stormland.

Microsoft has announced that it has secured a license from the US government that allows it to sell its products to Huawei again. This will, for example, enable the OEM to put Windows on future generations of its MateBooks. The Redmond giant is among the 25% of the companies who have had their applications to work with the Chinese company approved.

OnePlus has released its Open Beta 6 software update for the 7 and 7 Pro. This version of OxygenOS confers the latest security patch levels on the 2 phones. It also introduces a setting to disable Zen Mode, as well as some fixes for the series' in-display fingerprint scanner.

Prompted by the botched and buggy release of iOS 13, Apple has changed its internal development and testing processes for future operating system releases. The new changes will disable new or in-development features by default in OS versions under testing, allowing testers to better pinpoint problematic software.

Nvidia's latest set of Studio Drivers bring RTX support to Chaos Group's V-Ray software and Blender's Cycles rendering engine. Through RTX, both engines should see a significant bump in performance in GPU-based rendering. A slew of other content-creation software will also benefit from new features in the latest Studio Drivers.

Huawei has officially acknowledged the MatePad Pro product name in full. Its latest Weibo video shows this tablet in action, showcasing some features such as split-screen apps and M-Pen support. The new promo also reveals that the first MatePad has dual rear cameras and will have a keyboard cover accessory.