Software

Although Yahoo's most severe data breach apparently involved more accounts than Collection #1, this new major security incident involves almost 2.7 billion records, including almost 773 million unique email addresses alongside passwords associated with those addresses on various breached services.

YouTube has amended its policies in regard to content that depicts dangerous challenges and pranks. Videos that encourage or show activities that could lead to physical harm, make people think they are in danger, or show pranks that could be upsetting to children, have all been banned. The recent popularity of the so-called “Bird Box Challenge” is believed to have been a contributing factor to the updated policy.

Pandora users — including those using the free version of the streaming service — can enjoy the new capabilities provided by the in-app Voice Mode. This voice assistant can be used to accomplish multiple music-related tasks by using various phrases and is activated using the "Hey Pandora" command.

The first benchmarks using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 reference device have started to roll in. This new processor has done impressively well compared to its predecessor in two separate tests. It has also outdone devices with the Kirin 980 and A12 Bionic chipsets, albeit mostly in terms of graphics performance

Netflix has announced plans to inflate its prices by up to 18%. However, this will only affect new and existing customers who use US dollars to pay for their subscriptions. This move resulted in a 6.5% increase in its stock price yesterday (January 15, 2019).

Recently, Twitter revamped its platform with the 'Interesting Tweets' feature. However, some users have asserted that the tweets chosen by its algorithm persisted in timelines regardless of whether they turned it off in Settings or not. Now, a new option to return to a completely chronological order of tweets is being rolled out.

Realme (OPPO's increasingly popular sub-brand) has decided to release a tool enabling owners of its 2 Pro device to unlock their bootloaders. However, it involves rather more steps than the average adb-command process for many Android phones. Realme also claims that bootloader-unlocking in this case increases the risks to user personal data and security.

Some users of the Samsung Galaxy S8, 8+ and Note 8 have seen a new stock beta OS for their phones. This ROM, which is installed by way of joining the OEM's Beta Program, updates the 2017 devices to Android 9.0 (Pie) and the new One UI. This may be an important milestone to official stable Pie on this generation of flagships.

Powered by a HiSilicon Kirin 960 processor, the Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro also comes with an active stylus and features 4 GB of memory and up to 128 GB of internal storage space. Thanks to these attributes, this slate remains a worthy choice for content creators about one year after its release. This week, it has also been spotted running Android Pie, so a major firmware update should arrive shortly.

Not long after its early December 2018 unveil, Mortal Kombat 11 is now ready to be fully revealed. However, this new installment in the 25-year old fighting game series will only be launched on April 23, 2019. Mortal Kombat 11 will be available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One.

OnePlus has released the latest Android Pie-based Open Beta (OB) ROM for its latest flagship series. It is known as the OB3 and OB11 for the 6T and 6 respectively. These OBs claim to bring increased detail to the stock weather app, as well as the January 2019 security patch. Finally, it may improve on Google Duo integration on these phones.

Analytics platform has revealed its projected shipment figures for the big players in the smartphone market this year. Samsung and Apple are expected to see declines in sales, while Huawei and Xiaomi could see even more growth.

The Redmi Note 5 was launched a year ago and received the update to Oreo in some parts of the world. The device has now been confirmed to also be set to receive the Android Pie update, with a Q1 rollout on the cards.

Although the game itself is free, Fortnite also features virtual coins that can be used to purchase various in-game items. Scammers use stolen credit cards to buy V-bucks and then sell them for good rates to legitimate players. Just as expected, these transactions are being done via the Dark Web.

The possibility of mid-range counterparts for the Pixel 3 and 3 XL is the subject of much rumor and speculation at present. It is thought that these new Google phones may be powered by the Snapdragon 670 and 710 respectively. A new listing on Geekbench may have confirmed this in part.

Huawei might be on its way to becoming the world's second-largest smartphone maker, but the latest move made by the Chinese brand might be a costly one in the long run. The EMUI 9.0 update will come without access to third-party launchers, although this limitation will only be applied in China in the beginning.

Although mainstream support for Windows 7 SP1 ended on January 13, 2015, those still using this operating system have one year of free support and updates ahead. Unfortunately, once the extended support period will end, they have to upgrade, use a system that is no longer secure, or purchase extended security updates.

The new version of MIUI, Xiaomi's skin for Android, is officially open for development, according to an OEM executive. This announcement was made recently at the Xiaomi MIUI Core Experience Annual Meeting. Therefore, this new OS, MIUI 11, is likely to be installed on new Xiaomi flagships when they are released later this year.

27 months after the LG V20 was released, LG appears to have finally ended all software support for it. The device ran on Android Nougat out of the box and only received the Oreo update almost a year after launch. This marks a sad end for a device widely regarded as the last truly great Android flagship.

A device with the model number SM-G970U has shown up on Geekbench. Despite its decent specs (Android 9.0, 6GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 855 under its own codename msmnile), it has posted a score of less than 2000 in single-core terms. The speculation revolving around this new listing points to an S10 Lite on un-optimized software.

Amazon's subsidiary has just released a free video streaming service that offers a rich collection of ad-supported TV shows like Fringe and Heroes, as well as various Hollywood movies like The Last Samurai, True Romance, Run Lola Run, and so on. IMDb Freedrive content can be enjoyed on mobiles, laptops/desktop PCs, as well as on big screens via Amazon Fire TV devices.

Although it should receive the Android Pie update in April according to the official update roadmap, the Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) has recently surfaced on Geekbench running Android 9. This happened quite a few times already, so Samsung might update this handset earlier than expected.

Released only for the Xbox 360 (2008 in Japan and North America, 2009 in Europe and Australia) and PlayStation 3 (2009, just in Japan), Tales of Vesperia is now back in a remastered version that can be enjoyed on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam (Microsoft Windows only).

The smart TV market was worth US$143 billion by the end of 2017. However, a new report has indicated that this value will grow by $110 billion in the next four years. This rate will be driven by a sustained downward trend in smart TV prices and the increased uptake of 4K, according to a new report.

The latest version of WhatsApp Beta adds an option to the Privacy menu for authentication via a saved fingerprint. Unfortunately, this function is not actually live yet; however, it clearly indicates that the messaging app's developers will make it available in a future version. Reports suggest that it will be compatible with Android devices with version 6.0 or later and working fingerprint sensors.

The next major Windows 10 release will reserve 7 GB of your device's storage space to avoid failing big updates due to a Windows Update bug. Due to this bug, the system is not checking for enough space before launching after an update. While 7 GB might not be much for most Windows PCs, cheap devices with 32 GB of internal storage will get in trouble.

Panasonic has launched its new GZ2000 TV at CES 2019. The company calls this product "the world's most cinematic TV" as it has been tuned by Hollywood colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld. Panasonic also claims that the GZ2000 is the world's first to have HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and the new HLG photo format in a TV.

Samsung had previously released its Notebook Flash in South Korea, as part of a campaign to highlight its next-generation connectivity capabilities. Accordingly, the Flash has Gigabit WiFi, which can deliver speeds of up to 1.7Gb/s. This 13.3-inch laptop, which also has a retro typewriter keyboard, will be available in other countries soon.

Sony has even more than CES launches to crow about these days. The company has released its latest sales figures, which encompass the years 2013 to 2018 in general and the 2018 holiday season in particular. They show that nearly 92 million PlayStation 4 (PS4) units were sold during its lifespan, as well as just under 880 million games for the platform.

Intel and Alibaba are now working together on AI-driven athlete tracking solutions for the Olympic Games 2020 and beyond. The technology uses both existing and upcoming Intel hardware and the Alibaba Cloud infrastructure and will improve both the training process and the audience experience during the actual events.

Huawei has released Android Pie kernel sources for its devices running on the Kirin 970 and Kirin 980 SoCs. This will enable community developers to work on the devices more effectively, although the lack of official bootloader support makes the whole thing almost pointless.

Jabra is one of many prominent audio companies at CES this year. It has come to present its new 85h headphones, which, as Jabra claims, can allow playback with active noise-cancelling (ANC) for as long as 32 hours. These new audio devices are also AI-enhanced and support Amazon Alexa for hands-free virtual assistant interactions.

TVs that can curl up and store themselves in a box are becoming a staple of CES. This technology, introduced by its maker LG in 2017, has yet to appear in stores. However, this year, the company has brought them to the event again - as well as the news that they will go on sale in 2019.

At one point, Belkin was the go-to brand for third-party Apple accessories, not to mention USB power banks and cables. However, it had gone quiet for a good while following its amalgamation with Foxconn. This year, Belkin and its current international brands (Linksys, Wemo and Phyn) have made a comeback to CES this year to showcase their new products.

D-Link has announced a new product it is calling a 5G-NR broadband gateway (or the DWR-2010) at CES. It is intended to use 5G in order to set up home WiFi networks that, as D-Link claims, deliver download speeds that are over 40 times faster than that of the current average US fixed broadband solution. The 'gateway' is powered by the Qualcomm SDX55 and is sub-6GHz- or mmWave frequency-compatible.

Apple may not be at CES this year; however, that hasn’t stopped them poking fun at other companies who are likely to present at the show. A billboard that was almost certainly commissioned by the Cupertino giant had appeared on an exterior face of the Marriott Hotel in Las Vegas on January 5, 2019. It reads: “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone”, alongside a black-and-white outline of a 2018 Apple flagship mobile device.

Traces of a new Android One device have been discovered in Xiaomi's MIUI 10 firmware. The phone could be the Mi A3—or something completely unexpected. It will apparently also have support for NFC, which would make it the first Xiaomi Android One phone to do so.

Resident Evil fans will no doubt be chomping at the bit to get their hands on the upcoming Resident Evil 2 remaster that’s being released by Capcom on January 25. The developers have taken the classic 1998 survival horror hit and completely updated the visuals for a 21st century audience. In addition, the popular character Ada Wong has received a new look.

Project Soli is a Google initiative that wants to make in-air, screen-less gestures to control technology a reality. In other words, the user should be able to control their devices through certain hand gestures, which are converted into workable commands by innovative little radar sensors. Google has reportedtly secured FCC approval for this form of hardware.

An official Huawei Twitter account (@Huawei) has been caught sending its celebratory New Year's message from an iPhone. It was quickly picked up by the vlogger MKBHD on his own Twitter feed. A Reuters report claims that the employees responsible for this mishap had been fined and sanctioned by the company, as it "damaged the Huawei brand".

The Xiaomi Mi 9 is likely to be the OEM's 2019 flagship. Earlier leaks indicated that it will incorporate a triple-camera set-up, as well as the Snapdragon 855. Gizchina claims to have access to an exclusive 'report' that shares more details on the Mi 9. They include an in-display fingerprint sensor, a waterdrop notch and a starting RAM SKU of 6GB.

The G013A - or international Pixel 3 - will get access to a new LTE band with an upcoming software upgrade. Support for this band (48) on the device was approved by the FCC recently, which means Pixel 3s on Verizon will be able to use it soon. This band's recent integration into the commercial carrier spectrum is intended to boost LTE access in the United States.

The Pocophone F2 may be the second device to come from the popular Xiaomi brand POCO. A new concept illustration for this smartphone suggests that it may upgrade to a newer, more waterdrop-like notch rather than the larger, iPhone-esque one of last year. It seems that this device has also made it onto Geekbench; according to these listings, it will stick with the Snapdragon 845 of yesteryear.

Yesterday, a device that could have been the Sony Xperia XZ4 apparently made it through Antutu Benchmark. Now, a second rumor claims that it has done the same with Geekbench 4, with equally impressive results. On the other hand, this 'listing' is nowhere to be found on the actual Geekbench website

Back in May 2015, a serious flaw in Chrome for Android that exposed various bits of sensitive information was discovered. This security issue was ignored by Google for more than three years, but now the tech giant is finally taking care of it. Unfortunately, a final fix for this vulnerability is not available yet.

Bethesda has announced that it will push another new updated to Fallout 76 in order to fix the numerous issues players have highlighted in the past. This new patch also apparently includes new features for the game itself, which include the ability to set up a player-run store. Fallout 76 will also gain new PvP functions and vaults.

The fourth official beta for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is now available, albeit mainly to those users already on beta 3. This new update fixes touchscreen and keyboard bugs left in the preceding version. Therefore, it is not the best indication that an official update to Pie for the device will be here soon.

Do you still enjoy Steam on your Windows XP machine? Seems that's just too bad for you, then. Valve's prior announcement that it will cease support for Windows XP and Vista comes into effect today. Users still on these platforms were still able to play games, but lost access to all other Steam features, in 2018; now, they are losing access to the client as a whole.

Motorola has officially confirmed the start of the Android Pie update rollout to its Moto G6 Plus mid-ranger. There’s no word on when the cheaper G6 phones, the G6 and G6 Play, will receive their own updates, though.

A recent study by Privacy International found that at least 20 Android apps with install bases in excess of 10 million users automatically send user data to Facebook within one second of opening. This data is sent without user knowledge or user consent and ranges from innocuous to personal. This practice obviously raises some questions of legality, although it is difficult to say who is to blame for the violation of user privacy.