Software

A recent survey run by Blind shed some light on what various tech employees think of Apple and the App Store. Apple's own employees largely believe the company doesn't hold a monopoly on iOS app distribution, but other companies (namely Qualcomm and Spotify) believe that Apple's App Store constitutes a monopoly. The survey comes as a response to a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the validity of a lawsuit filed against Apple for monopolistic practices.

Google is currently optimizing some of its core apps in order to comply with Android Q's system-wide dark mode. The latest of these spotted with such an update is Keep, a handy source of memos. Its new theme, while not available to all users, may appeal with its ease on the eyes and new custom colors.

The latest version of AIDA64 - v6.00 - has been released. It adds benchmarks for the Zen2-based Matisse processors. In addition, it now also has a SHA3-512 cryptographic hash benchmark.

Today (May 22, 2019), the carrier EE announced the launch of its 5G network in the UK, the first of its kind in this country. EE has also made some devices that are compatible with this network available. They include the OnePlus 7 Pro and the LG ThinQ V50.

Microsoft has just begun to roll out the feature update for Windows 10 with the version number 1903. The list of changes is quite long and includes the "reserved storage" feature, a new light desktop theme option, Windows Sandbox (it does exactly what the name says), the long-awaited unified Search box, and much more.

Adobe Premiere Rush is now fully optimized for the Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 9, and Galaxy S10 devices. This piece of code provides multiple features such as AI-powered audio clean up, graphics creation and audio mixing, customizable Motion Graphics templates, HDR10+ and Samsung DeX support, and more.

The full gamut of Honor 20 and 20 Pro details is now available. The brand's new flagships are quad-camera devices, although only the 20 Pro has a telephoto lens among its sensors. They will start at about US$557 on their release for sale.

The OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro have only been official since May 14, 2019. Despite this, the OEM has already rolled a new Android Q beta out for the phones. The build may offer insights as to what software updates of the future will be like on the 2 devices, but not much else at this point.

The Quest is Oculus' first all-in-one virtual reality (VR) headset. It is available for sale from today (May 21, 2019). It is also a truly wireless VR set, and uses the company's imaging and touch-sensor technology to deliver this. The Quest starts at US$399 for a model with 64GB of on-board memory.

Although apparently not available in this moment, Firefox 67 is scheduled to arrive today all over the world. The new release of Mozilla's browser comes with private browsing mode extension controls, WebRender enabled for 5 percent of compatible systems, as well as various performance improvements and fixes.

A recently discovered hack has exposed the personal contact information of millions of Instagram users, including some prominent influencers and celebrities. The hackers attacked an Amazon Web Services-hosted database owned by Chtrbox, a Mumbai-based marketing firm. Chtrbox had built out the database to broaden their network of potential contract marketers on Instagram. The worst part? The database didn't even have a password.

Given the trouble that Huawei has been having lately, it is not surprising to find out that the Chinese giant is already working on a Google Android replacement. Media reports confirm that HongMeng OS is in the trial phase already and if the Android ban stays in place, this will become the firmware of choice for new Huawei handsets.

A new report by SAI Global shows that the number of consumers aware of issues such as privacy, and who value them in their buying choices, is on the rise. It indicates that 2/3 of these individuals surveyed would make a trade-off in favor of a brand known for user-privacy protection over another offering a lower price.

The trailer of F1 2019 — the official videogame of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship — is now live. The trailer shows a "stunning visual uplift" and features the official F1 theme music written by Brian Tyler. The list of cars present in the game starts with the 1972 Lotus 72D and goes all the way to the 2010 Red Bull RB6, McLaren MP4-25, and Ferrari F10.

Cherubi, Gible, Hippopotas, and other Pokemon originally discovered in the Sinnoh region are now coming to other areas. The latest Pokemon GO update also comes with a new Ground-type move (Earth Power), as well as Glacial Lure Modules, Mossy Lure Modules, and Magnetic Lure Modules.

The Honor 20 line is (still) set to launch tomorrow (May 21, 2019) in London. A new poster showing the brand's logo alongside a treatment for the next upcoming X-Men movie, "Dark Phoenix" has been released via official Weibo channels. It shows the probable outline of at least one new phone.

The latest software update for the Galaxy Watch, Gear S3, and Gear Sport is now rolling out over-the-air. The new One UI firmware comes with improved sleep and workout tracking, an updated settings menu, the ability to turn on and off the sleeping mode, as well as various minor tweaks and fixes.

The recently unveiled Minecraft Earth is a free-to-play, augmented reality Minecraft title to be added to the Minecraft universe. However, those interested can only sign up for a chance to play the limited beta — which is scheduled to arrive this summer — for now. Signing up will also get them a free Earth skin for Minecraft Bedrock.

The BV9700 Pro is a phone described as "beyond rugged" by its manufacturer, Blackview. This OEM has put its new device on Indiegogo, as part of a campaign in which it was looking for about US$20,000 to help make it. However, its backers have contributed $119,275 - in the first day alone.

The Reolink Go is a possibly worthwhile innovation in the security-cam industry: it is a truly stand-alone product that does not require external power or cables of any sort. Therefore, it can be installed so as to surveil anything the user wants. However, its need for 4G connectivity could be a drawback in some circumstances.

WeChat claims to have over 1.1 billion users per month, 800 million of who also use WeChat Pay. Now, the company intends to make the use of this aspect of the service easier to use abroad. This involves improving on its existing payments systems in Europe.

Nikon announces a new firmware update for the mirrorless Z 7 and Z 6 full-frame cameras. It upgrades the products with eye-detection autofocus (AF) for still-image shooting. The update also enhances the cameras' low-light AF detection range, and adds an auto-exposure tracking capability to their 'burst' modes.

Today (May 17, 2019), Sprint has begun taking pre-orders for its first 5g devices. They are the LG V50 ThinQ and HTC's 5G hub. These products are only available in certain regional markets, however.

A flaw discovered in Google's Bluetooth Low Energy Titan Security Keys leaves a hole open for potential attackers. Under certain circumstances and with proper timing, an attacker could potentially hijack the Bluetooth pairing process used by the Titan to log into a user's account. Google has offered to replace affected Titan Security Keys free of charge.

The OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro were recently released alongside some new features for their Android skin, OxygenOS. They include new camera modes, including a second-generation NightScape for low-light shots. However, the OEM has indicated that older flagships may not be in line for the same.

According to a new report, the virtual reality (VR) gaming market will grow from its most recent US$10.3 billion valuation to one of $40.2 billion in 2024. This is likely to be driven by advancements in VR equipment design and function. However, the cost of the same is also thought to be what is holding this market back at present.

Today (May 16, 2019), the corporations Microsoft and Sony unveiled plans to collaborate on the development of new technology. This partnership will see the 2 electronics giants team up on new image sensors and cloud computing applications. This may enhance platforms such as PlayStation and Azure AI in the future.

During the OnePlus 7 Series launch event (on May 14, 2019), the OEM announced that the flagship of this line scored 111 in its DxOMark review. This puts it behind just 2 other premium devices in the benchmark's rankings.

A Huawei device with the model number YAL-L21 has arrived on Geekbench. As it rocks the Kirin 980 processor, it is possible that this phone is the Honor 20 or 20 Pro. The phone has 6GB of RAM, which is consistent with the middle-road Honor 10 SKUs of last year.

The OnePlus 7 series has just been announced today (May 14, 2019). The marquee device of this event was decidedly not the 7, as it is a direct upgrade for 2018-looking hardware. The Pro variant, on the other hand, may be a quantum leap in terms of screen quality produced by the OEM.

OnePlus has launched its latest flagship series. As expected, it includes the 7 Pro and the base 7. The 4G variant will go on sale on May 21, 2019; however, there will be some special events prior to that.

We already know that the Huawei Mate 20 Pro will be updated to Android Q. Now, its maker has announced that 5 more of its fellow flagships, in addition to 2 from Honor, will join it. However, these phones will have to wait until the stable form of this OS is released.

Google's head and director of its Android and Chrome division took part in a media outlet's podcast during the I/O event this year. In the course of the interview in question, the two executives confirmed openly for the first time that Fuchsia OS does in fact exist. However, it was also subsequently dismissed as an 'experiment'.

The Australian smartphone market could benefit from more choices as much as any other. Accordingly, the OEM UMIDIGI is now selling its devices in this country, via its eBay and Amazon sites. They will include the new A5 Pro, a budget option with a triple camera.

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is one of 21 devices certified for the latest beta for Android Q. The OEM has now made places on a program to test it available to users of the 2018 flagship. It appears that this program is best suited to developers or those used to testing potentially unstable ROMs.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reportedly launched a full-scale probe into Google's business practices. It is doing so based on allegations of anti-trust behaviors on the part of the Mountain View giant. Should the CCI find a basis for these complaints, the target could be liable for potentially sizable penalties.

The HTC U11+ was released over eighteen months ago and has yet to receive a single major OS update. In fact, the company's 2018 flagship, the U12+, hasn't received a major update either. The Taiwanese company has finally published concrete information on its plans to update those devices, though.

Intel's Raja Koduri laid out the position of the company in key markets such as PC, CPU, GPU, FPGA, data center, interconnect, and memory compared to the competition. During the presentation, Raja felt that AMD has no meaningful software ecosystem without Intel and that the 'Red' team lacks a memory and interconnect strategy. He also dwelt upon Intel's OneAPI strategy to make it easy for developers to code for multiple Intel architectures.

Google has unveiled its latest Nest product at I/O 2019. It is called the Nest Hub Max: a possibly more extensive, useful and powerful version of the Google Home Hub released earlier. It will retail for US$229, or its regional equivalent.

Recently, a Vivo phone with the model number V1901A (or V1901T) has surfaced on Geekbench. With its 4GB of RAM, Android 9 ROM and 2.3GHz SoC, its specs hint at a new solid budget option waiting in the wings. Its TENAA listing supports this, as it states that this phone (possibly the Y3) has 3 cameras on its rear panel.

A new entry into the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may show where Samsung may think foldable displays and their use in the future are headed. It depicts an electronic product that can lay flat, but can also be folded...into a 3D rectangle. This "display device", therefore, may be a new kind of convertible, although it does not really seem that portable.

The popular audio company Skullcandy has unveiled Indy, a pair of truly wireless earbuds aimed at those wishing to get into this product category at a decent price. They offer IP55 ingress protection, Bluetooth 5.0 and a combined battery life of 16 hours for US$79.99.

The latest driver update for NVIDIA GeForce cards, labeled 430.64, brings a performance boost of up to 18 percent in World War Z, as well as day-one support for Rage 2 and Total War: Three Kingdoms. However, the HD Audio Driver and PhysX System Software components have not been updated this time around.

Google announced that the newest preview for the next version of Android would be made available on a total of 21 devices, including the more recent Pixel phones. Therefore, a relatively large number of users may have gained access to it already. Unfortunately, some of them now report that using Google Pay as normal is impossible while running this beta.

A number of 'new brands' are emerging rapidly in the US smart TV market, despite being less than readily associated with this product category. Prominent examples include Hisense, TCL and Vizio. Recent research indicates that, of these, Hisense is regarded as the superior option among US customers.

Microsoft has unveiled ElectionGuard, a software development kit (SDK) intended to make e-voting technology more secure. This open-source, encryption-enabled kit is intended to improve the polling systems to which it is applied. It will become available to polling officials via GitHub from the summer of 2019.

Today (May 9, 2019), Qualcomm unveils support for Google Fast Pair and for Google Assistant on its current Smart Headset hardware platform. It incorporates the most up-to-date low-power Bluetooth audio SoCs the chip-maker has to offer. The new levels of support may enhance the advanced mobile-device audio experience consumers may expect these days.

Crytek explained about the process that went into making of ray tracing effects in the Neon Noir demo and said that most modern GPUs have enough computational power for implementing ray tracing (to various degrees). The demo showed an AMD Vega 56 being able to easily render ray tracing effects at 1080p 30 fps with the possibility of higher framerates with reduced reflection resolutions.

The video game John Wick Hex has appeared in an interesting announcement trailer that gives gamers a brief insight into what the title holds for the grizzled hitman. The strategy game is being created by Bithell Games in collaboration with Good Shepherd Entertainment and Lionsgate. John Wick Hex will initially be available for the PC and Mac.

There are those who prefer their home cinema with the accent on the 'cinema'. To this end, Epson has made the Pro Cinema 6050UB 4K PRO-UHD projector. The OEM claims that its HDR10 rating, strong brightness and proprietary UltraBlack tech give the best and most accurate domestic theater experience possible.