Software

Released back in August 2016, Worms W.M.D is closely related to Worms Armageddon in terms of gameplay, adding new features such as tanks and buildings that can be used for protection. Available for multiple platforms, Worms W.M.D is available for free on Steam until Sunday, but those interested can buy it for 66 percent off until the end of the month.

Huawei sent out its new EMUI 9.1 update to current-gen flagships like the P30 and Mate 20 phones a while ago. Older Huawei and Honor phones got the beta a few weeks ago and are now receiving the stable version of the software.

Some XDA contributors have posted on new mods that increase the display refresh rate of the Redmi K20 (or Xiaomi Mi 9T) and K20 Pro to 75 hertz (Hz). This mirrors earlier unofficial development work on the Mi 9. By all accounts, these mods work well, but may be detrimental to battery life.

Honor released its current flagship, the 20 Pro, in a May 2019 event. However, it has not been available to buy outside of China since. This will change soon, as the company has announced that it will release this phone to other markets, starting with Russia.

With up to 60 auto-focus (AF) or auto-exposure (AE) calculations per second and 20fps shooting, Sony claims to have packed flagship speeds into its latest compact camera. The RX100 VII has a 20.1MP Exmor RS sensor and the latest generation BIONZ X image processor. It also has native 4K recording and real-time Eye AF capabilities.

As with last year, Xiaomi is projected to update its gaming phone with a mid-year upgraded variant. It is likely to be called the Black Shark 2 Pro in 2019. It already has a reservations page on the retailer JD.com, which has let a heretofore-unknown detail slip: the phone's display will come with "DC dimming 2.0".

The renowned leaker Ishan Agarwal claims to have heard that Nokia will release its first phone with a pop-up selfie camera soon, and that it will be the 8.2. The sensor to be housed in this module may be a 32MP shooter. The 8.2 is now also said to come in an 8GB RAM/256 storage variant, and to run Android Q out of the box.

Some new trademarking applications associated with the OEM Samsung have reportedly been filed with UK and EU authorities. They are for "Smart ISO" and "AI ISO", and apply to Class 9 equipment. This suggests a new dimension of control over light sensitivity in upcoming smartphone cameras.

Netflix has announced a new price-tier for its subscription plans in the Indian market. It goes for just INR 199 (about US$2.88) per month. For this, the user can only use the app on 1 device, which could be either a smartphone or a tablet.

The Moto E series has often been a compelling option for those in the market for a budget smartphones. It seems, however, that its next upcoming generation may fail this promise in 2019 somewhat. The Moto E6 is now listed on an official Google database as a 2GB RAM device without NFC or a fingerprint scanner.

The CHUWI MiniBook is the focus of an extremely successful campaign on Indiegogo. The device in question is a UMPC with an 8-inch screen, a Lenovo Yoga-like hinge and as much as 16GB in RAM. The OEM is celebrating an important milestone in its funding by offering its backers a 45-watt (W) charger.

The result of a recent partnership between DeNA and The Pokemon Company, Pokemon Masters is a new strategy game that throws into 3-on-3 real battles sync pairs that consist of a Trainer and a Pokemon. Those interested can pre-register for this free-to-play mobile game on both the App Store and Google Play.

Gallery Go was introduced earlier today during a special event held by Google Nigeria. This app is optimized for Android Go devices and focuses on offline capabilities while offering some machine learning-based capabilities already present in Google Photos. Gallery Go has only 10 MB in size and works on devices powered by Android 8.1 Oreo or later.

According to a new report, Google has released a new feature for the Assistant to a select group of users. This function allows them to compose and send texts directly from their phone's lockscreens. This sounds convenient, but also problematic from certain standpoints.

Since launch, the Asus Zenfone 6 has received a number of OTAs geared towards smoothening out the kinks in the phone's software and improving the overall user experience. Yesterday, the flagship received another one such update, making the Zenfone 6 even more attractive right before it hits the US officially.

The Xiaomi Mi 6 is now over 2 years old; nevertheless, its maker has been working on an update to Android Pie for this former flagship. This project is now complete, and has resulted in an OS called MIUI 10.4.1.0. Those who still have the Mi 6 can download it from Xiaomi's official global ROM repository.

Motorola has released a phone called the P50 in China. This device is nearly identical to the One Vision, except that it runs ZUI 11 rather than stock Android 9.0 (Pie). It also comes in a 6GB RAM flavor, whereas its alternative version only has 4.

According to a new report, a Canadian citizen was able to call for help for himself and his island-hopping fellow tourists using his Samsung Galaxy S8, the only device that apparently survived when their boat capsized off the coast of the Phillippines. The victims of this event were also able to signal their location using the phone's GPS.

Microsoft has marked an important NASA anniversary by taking part in Project Egress, in which engineering teams were challenged to re-make a component of the Apollo 11's landing module. The Redmond cohort were charged with making the craft's hatch, a small but complicated part that required advanced CNC to replicate.

Good news LG V20 owners, it looks like your handset will receive Android 9.0 Pie in the not too distant future after all. While the South Korean company pushed the roll-out of Pie to its successor from Q2 to Q3, there is promise of the V20 receiving its last OS update this quarter with LG reportedly testing a beta build internally.

Three months since the release of the Alpha 3.5 update, Star Citizen Alpha 3.6 comes with a complete overhaul of the law and crime systems, hover mode for ships and vehicles, a few new vehicles/ships and weapons, as well as illegal style delivery missions for prohibited and stolen goods. The 3.7 update is expected to arrive in September.

Six years since the release of Plants vs Zombies 2 for phones and tablets, Plants vs Zombies 3 is now ready for Android users ready to take it for a spin in a very early stage. A pre-Alpha version has just surfaced on Google Play, but only a limited number of downloads is available — and it looks like the first wave of testers is already full.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G sold by Sprint is reportedly the Exynos-powered variant of this phone, and not the Qualcomm Snapdragon variant that may be sold elsewhere in the United States. Therefore, the former may be OEM-unlockable, whereas the latter may not. This could be an advantage in terms of custom development for the Sprint version of this super-expensive phone.

A leak pointing to a new mobile device with an in-display fingerprint scanner, a 4150mAh battery and rear triple cameras from UMIDIGI ha sprung online. As one of its cameras is allegedly a 48MP sensor, it is likely that this phone, apparently to be called the X, may be an OEM flagship at launch.

Huawei has reportedly developed a whole new operating system known as HongMeng. It has been speculated that this software exists as a contingency for the OEM's uncertain position with respect to the use of Android. However, the company's senior vice president (SVP) has just shot this idea down in no uncertain terms.

The Eve V was once hailed as a 'Surface Pro killer', as it offered a worthy alternative to this 2-in-1 (on paper at least) at a low price compared to that of the Microsoft product. However, its manufacturer (also called Eve) ran into difficulty due to supply issues that delayed shipments for many users. This OEM now claims to have resolved these problems.

OnePlus has just posted download links for its latest Developer Preview (DP3) for the next upcoming major Android update. It contains the latest features of both this OS and OxygenOS, the OEM's custom skin for the same. This build of DP3 is compatible with the OnePlus 7 Pro, 7, 6T and 6.

Android 9.0 Pie is here for the LG V30, sort of. The OS update has reared its head online as a Beta, just like the one for the G6 recently did. The upgrade process is not for the faint-hearted though and comes with some prerequisites.
Update: Beta software for the US unlocked version of the LG V30 has surfaced online too.

Google's Director of Product for Stadia, Andrey Doronichev, completed an AMA on Reddit yesterday (July 18, 2019) to shed more light on the company's new streaming-based gaming platform. The executive took pains to liken it to Xbox Live Gold, as opposed to a gamer Netflix. It was also revealed that the system's proprietary controller will not support Bluetooth.

The One Action is now almost certainly Motorola's next Android One device. A phone of this name has reportedly been found on the Google databases that pertain to this program. Its entries appear to confirm a 21:9 aspect ratio and a punch-hole in its display.

Playmaji, Inc. and extreme Co., Ltd. have announced the release of their new product: the Polymega. This new kind of console supports various classic CD-gaming platforms, including Neo Geo, PS1 and Sega Saturn. However, it also allows the user to slot in a number of modules that take cartridges from other legacy systems, including NES and SNES.

DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused search engine, has added a few new features to its mapping service. These include improved local searches, support for a Dark Mode, and more. The features were added through Apple's MapKit JS framework, which DuckDuckGo started using in January of this year. DuckDuckGo stated that it remains committed to protecting user privacy and has put into place practices to prevent the sharing of personal information with Apple Maps or any other service.

After countless delays, LG Pay is now finally available for the US market. This mobile payment service will be supported by the LG G8 ThinQ at launch and will reach the LG V50, V40, V35, and G7 ThinQ in the coming months. LG Pay supports both NFC and WMC payments, working in all locations where Mastercard and Visa are accepted.

The new Netflix plan only allows its users to watch the content on a single device — smartphone/phablet or tablet — at a time. It does not work on streaming devices such as Roku or Chromecast, PCs/laptops, or smart TVs. In India, the new plan will be available for the equivalent of US$3.63 per month.

WhatsApp and Telegram are popular secure messaging apps that feature end-to-end encryption to keep messages safe. Even still, the apps have a glaring backdoor that could allow attackers to alter media files sent through the apps. Both apps can store media to publicly accessible file directories, which leaves them vulnerable to manipulation.

Xiaomi has finally confirmed the Mi A3's specs in the course of this new Android One device's launch. As this event took place in Spain, this is also the first market in which it is being sold at present. The phone starts at €250 (about US$281).

The latest study from the cellular-data research body Opensignal reports that Verizon has the most widespread 4G services in the US (at 94.8% coverage). However, T-Mobile was associated with the best upload and download experiences on the same network. This new report also claims that all carriers included are improving in terms of these mobile download speeds.

Samsung is now thought to have a successor for the Galaxy Watch Active in the works. The latest leaks on the subject claims that one variant of this putative wearable will be produced in collaboration with the sportswear company Under Armour. It may come with an exclusive band and 6 months' worth of free MapMyRun access.

Huawei and Honor have announced the roll-out of EMUI 9.1 (or Magic UI 2.1) for various phones released in or around 2018. This new OS version is probably best known for GPU Turbo 3.0, which optimizes performance when various compatible game apps are opened. The update also adds a new file-system to Magic UI devices.

Sony has launched the Alpha 7R IV (or a7R IV), its latest 35-millimeter full-frame camera. It is the first such product to feature the new, back-illuminated, Exmor R CMOS sensor with a 61.0MP resolution. The a7R IV is also capable of professional-grade 4K video, an APS-C mode and USB 3.1 Gen 2 transfer speeds via a type C port.

Google has decided to focus its efforts on the AdSense mobile web interface and discontinue the mobile apps. Those using AdSense on mobile devices were probably expecting this, since the Android app has not been updated since December 2017 and the iOS AdSense app received its latest refresh on November 2017.

The V1921A is a new device from Vivo that has triple cameras and an in-display fingerprint scanner. It has been certified by TENAA, and has now also appeared on the benchmarking site Geekbench. Its results show that it is powered by the Snapdragon 710 SoC, runs Android 9.0 and has an 8GB RAM SKU.

A SamMobile source claims to have spotted a working unit of the Samsung Galaxy Fold in the hands of someone on the New Delhi metro recently. It is likely that this device has the updated design it needs to secure a re-do of its planned April 2019 launch.

The G6 is LG's flagship smartphone for 2017. Despite this, it is yet to be officially updated to the latest version of Android. A Redditor claims to have found a beta for this very upgrade - albeit for just 1 region-specific variant of the phone.

Smart glasses are useful in many contexts, most of them enterprise-related. However, it is also possible to replicate the smartphone experience to some degree using some of these devices, Vuzix-brand ones included. This company claims that a new development will bring peer-to-peer video calling to its Blade devices.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 phones have received a number of updates, with most improving on the few flaws the devices had at launch. The June OTA appears to be doing the opposite, however, as a number of users have reported a new focusing bug after installing the update.

The Asus Zenfone 6 was released a few months ago and is widely considered to be one of the best value flagships on the market right now, competing against the Mi 9 and OnePlus 7. Asus appears to have gotten the gist of the matter, as the Zenfone 6 is seeing some really good community development support right now, with major pros for the device including a Google Camera port, LineageOS 16 ROM, and a custom kernel.

Square Enix has released Dragon Quest Builders 2 for the PlayStation 4. This title builds on its predecessor with a unique setting within the relevant universe, and all the new crafting and battle opportunities that come with it. The game has a recommended price of US$59.99, or $79.99 for a Digital Deluxe version.

Huawei is now linked to multiple different possible names for its well-publicized in-house OS, which may replace Android on its phones in the near future. A new possible leak has turned up another new such term for this system: Harmony. It has allegedly been trademarked in the EU for this purpose.

Counterpoint Research's latest study of the 5G market in the US has found that sales of mobile devices that can use these new bands have been detected in more than 10 cities. However, some of the areas in question still do not have an actual next-gen service. This phenomenon has been attributed to consumer interest in future-proofing.