Fail

Things are not looking up for Google's Stadia game streaming platform. Users were already disappointed that some features would not be ready by launch, and now hardware issues are popping up, as well. Several Reddit posters are reporting that their Chromecast Ultra devices are overheating and shutting down after only a few hours of playtime.

Want to lose money quickly? Well, the OnePlus 7T trade-in scheme would be a good way to go about it. You can get up to US$370 in credit for trading-in a 256 GB OnePlus 7 Pro, a quite frankly ludicrous amount of money for a six-month-old US$799 handset.

According to multiple outlets, some games on Google's Stadia streaming service are not rendered natively at 4K, like Google advertised them to be. Rather, some titles are rendered at lower resolutions and then upscaled to 4K once the data is sent to a gamer's Chromecast Ultra. This and a myriad of other complaints have left black marks on Stadia's first impression.

Sony sold only 600,000 smartphones in the previous quarter, an all-time low for the Japanese company's smartphone division. The collapse of its smartphone business also has consequences for the services that Sony offers.

Size matters, at least according to the social media team at Fujifilm. While Xiaomi has gained plenty of attention recently for 108 MP camera in the Mi Note 10 and Mi Note 10 Pro, also known as the Mi CC9 Pro in some markets, Fujifilm has sought to poke fun at the Chinese company by welcoming them to the 100 million pixel club.

A supposed mystery smartphone has appeared in new photos taken on a subway train in China. There has been some speculation about what make and model the phone in the pictures is, with many plumping for either the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi K30 or K30 Pro. However, it is probable this could be a case of mistaken identity.

All those Iris Plus-related bug fixes Intel have been releasing over the past three months have yet to arrive on the Surface Pro 7 despite the fact that this is supposed to be Microsoft's latest flagship Windows tablet. Though we don't know when the update will arrive, Microsoft says they are working on a solution.

Despite the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, Huawei received a small reprieve in the way of a general license allowing U.S. firms to transact with the Chinese telecom giant. That license is set to expire on Monday, but sources familiar with the matter claim the U.S. Department of Commerce will extend the license by six months.

The first user reviews for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield have started being posted on Metacritic and it’s not looking good for the latest installments in the beloved franchise. At the time of writing, the user score stood at 3.5 for Sword and 3.4 for Shield. Discontent has already been visible on Twitter thanks to the trending hashtag #GameFreakLied.

Sony has now released its official Android 10 update roadmap. The Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 will receive the OS update before the year runs out, while other phones will follow next year. Sadly, the Xperia XZ1 phones are missing from the list, which means they've been abandoned after getting just one OS update, and that's a shame.

As 5G networks go live in more and more markets with each month, some questions regarding the health hazards that might come with this new technology remain unanswered. However, most 5G dangers that some websites have been warning us about for years are nothing more than myths that can be easily debunked.

YouTube will update its terms of service to more clearly point out that the website can shut down channels that are deemed unprofitable. While this has sparked passionate debate among users and content creators, the law concerning a website's control over its posted content is nuanced and complex. As it stands, it looks like YouTube is well within its rights to shut down channels that it deems conflict with its terms of service.

A promo video from MSI has seemingly shown off AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 3990X by accident. The clip was focusing on the manufacturer’s Creator TRX40 board that is capable of supporting the new 3rd Gen Threadrippers. However, a system clue has apparently given away the fact that it was not a Threadripper 3960X or 3970X behind the scenes.

The latest apparent Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield leak has detailed which Pokémon will be exclusive to each game. Ever since Pokémon Red and Blue were released in 1996, gamers have had to carefully choose which game to buy or just purchase both titles. In the meantime, Nintendo has been wielding its legal sword as some social media sources have been suspended.

Apple release iOS 13.2.2 this week, bringing a fix to the RAM management bug introduced in iOS 13.2. There are a few other bug fixes and patches. Considering Apple's terrible track record with iOS 13, it may be prudent to wait a few days to update your iPhone or iPad.

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has been spotted in Geekbench 4 and Geekbench 5, where it handily beat the Intel Core i9-10980XE and Core i9-9980XE, respectively. Considering the 3950X has beat these same CPUs in other benchmarks, it's likely that AMD's latest HEDT monster is more than capable of beating Intel's HEDT offerings.

Apple released the first developer beta for iOS 13.3 yesterday. While the update seems to fix the RAM management issues discovered in iOS 13.2, it offers little else. In fact, a new bug in the iOS 13.3 beta disallows the use of Beats Solo Pro headphones; an iPhone running iOS 13.3 Beta 1 will not recognize the headphones at all.

A security researcher discovered the first worm to take advantage of the BlueKeep in older versions of Windows exploit disclosed earlier this year. Machine running Windows 7 and below have a critical security flaw that can allow attackers full access. This attack installed a Monero cryptocurrency miner without tripping any flags other than high CPU usage. Considering the number of organizations and government agencies that still rely on legacy Windows machines, BlueKeep could turn out to be a much larger threat than many realize.

Google's new Pixel 4 phones have been faced with numerous challenges since they were launched a few weeks ago. Further compounding issues, the larger Pixel 4 XL just made its way to popular YouTube channel JerryRigEverything, where it failed rather painfully.

The recent Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield leak has been quite astonishing in its enormity and impact. The games themselves are scheduled for release on November 15 but it now seems the entire Pokédex has been revealed, with 400 Pokémon taking part. However, there are claims that the person behind the leak has been discovered by Nintendo.

So, the MIUI 11 rollout is well underway, with Xiaomi now onto the second phase of its release schedule. However, owners of recent Xiaomi flagships are likely to be left disappointed as they find their handsets left on Android 9.0 Pie, like budget devices such as the Redmi 7 have been.

The recent supposed Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield leaks have intensified into a deluge as a generously sized portion of the Pokédex now appears to be online. If the leaked characters turn out to be genuine, then this will be a considerable blow to both developer Game Freak and publisher Nintendo who wanted gamers to find the new Pokémon while playing the games.

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are scheduled to be released on November 15 for the Nintendo Switch; however, many of the characters and their various evolutions have already been leaked online. Gigantamax forms for a number of Pokémon have been revealed and there is a potentially new evolved look for Meowth.

Were you losing hope that LG would ever deliver Android 9.0 Pie to the V20? Well, while being a quarter late, the South Korean company has started rolling out the OS upgrade to handsets. The switch to Android 9.0 Pie may not be a smooth one for LG's former flagship, though.

The Xiaomi Pocophone F1 is one of the first smartphones to receive MIUI 11, but owners may be slightly confused over the version that they have received. While flagship handsets like the Mi 8, Mi Mix 2s and Mi Mix 3 are receiving an Android 10 update in Phase 1 of the MIUI rollout, the Pocophone F1 is stuck on Android 9.0 Pie builds instead.

Do not install iOS 13.2. If you have a HomePod and have installed iOS 13.2, DO NOT RESET YOUR HOMEPOD. Multiple users are reporting that iOS 13.2, released yesterday, bricked their HomePod smart speakers. Apple has since pulled the update.

If you're a user of the Sprint model LG V40 who's been expecting the Pie update...well, look away; today's just not your day. A new OTA update is now rolling out to the last-gen flagship but therein lies disappointment, despair, and misery.

It's a common cost-cutting maneuver for budget gaming laptops that most high-end gaming laptops offer as standard. Retailers and resellers often neglect to mention the mode or how many RAM slots are available on product pages.

Artem Russakovskii of Android Police has posted a video showing his Pixel 4 XL taking ages to open the Settings and Spotify apps. Video recording on the phones also appears to be less than stellar, with obvious stutters at the start of the video. So much for being the smoothest Android device.

Asus had included the Zenfone 4 in its plans to update older phones to Android Pie (9.0). However, this device has just been excluded from this schedule. The OEM claims that this will conserve the 4's system integrity and general function, however.

Wandera, a security research firm, has found malware in 17 apps on the Apple App Store. The apps use a clicker trojan module to generate fraudulent web traffic in the background, likely to pump up ad revenue for specific websites. The apps passed through Apple's stringent review process because they connected to a remote server to execute the fraudulent activity rather than having malware embedded directly in their code.

iPhone owners could be due a hefty slice of compensation following a Court of Appeal judgment against Google. The complainant, Google You Owe Us, is seeking up to £3.2 billion (~US$4.1 billion) to compensate over 4 million iPhone owners for the misuse of their data. There are a few caveats to be eligible for making a claim, though.

Did you buy into the RED HYDROGEN project? Well, founder Jim Jannard has announced that the company is being wound up, effectively canning the HYDROGEN Two. However, there could be some positive news on the horizon for HYDROGEN One owners, with the release a much-anticipated camera accessory imminent, apparently.

A firmware update pushed out to Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers earlier this month has been bricking devices, leaving them completely unresponsive. Google has acknowledged the problem and promised a resolution in the near future. Unfortunately, the tech giant is apparently not replacing out-of-warranty devices.

A Linux user has discovered that Disney+, Disney's new streaming service, doesn't work on his Fedora machine. The problem lies with the DRM used by Disney, which implements the highest possible security level. However, Disney has stated that the streaming service will work with Android devices and Chromebooks, both of which are built upon Linux.

Two UK Banks, National Westminster and Royal Bank of Scotland, have removed their respective mobile banking apps from the Google Play Store for Samsung Galaxy S10 users. Citing security concerns, it's likely the banks' decisions were driven by the recent news that the ultrasonic fingerprint scanner used in the S10 could be fooled with a cheap silicone screen protector.

Samsung has released a software patch to fix a security flaw in the ultrasonic fingerprint readers used in the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 device families. The patch should come as a notification to users who have registered their biometric data.

Sony recently announced the Sony Xperia 1 Professional Edition. The new smartphone is largely the same as the standard Xperia 1, save for a better-calibrated display, support for transferring files from Sony-branded cameras, and support for Ethernet connections via the USB Type-C port. These small features come at a massive price increase: the Xperia 1 Professional Edition will sell for ~US $1300 in Japan only later this month.

A screenshot of some of Walmart’s alleged console offers for the upcoming Black Friday event will have gamers giddy with anticipation if it ends up being the real deal. Those holding out on buying a Nintendo Switch could find themselves saving US$100 on either a neon blue or gray model. There are also impressive discounts on consoles from both Sony and Microsoft.

Multiple users are reporting a failure of the Ultra WideBand U1 chip in their iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max after updating to iOS 13.1.3. While restoring an affected iPhone's firmware has solved the problem for some, others have received replacement devices.

The Honor Play was released just over a year ago and has received one major update: Android Pie. That will apparently be the end of the road for the device, which is unfair to owners of the Kirin 970-powered phone. Even worse, though, is Huawei's justification for the decision.

The Google Pixel 4 phones don't have support for shooting 4K60fps videos even though Android phones have been able to do that for well over a year. Google has now explained the rationale behind the decision but it's woefully unconvincing.

It's been almost a week since Google unveiled the Pixel 4 phones in New York but it's still baffling just how poor the phones are—the smaller Pixel 4, in particular. In fact, some choices by the company were so off the mark that one could almost be led to believe that the entire thing was a joke.

A carrier-provided list of Sony Xperia devices billed to get the Android 10 update has surfaced, and will be sure to leave owners of Sony's older flagships infuriated, as apparently, the Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact will not get Android 10.

If you own a Pixel 3 and were about to use the Pixel 4's trade-in program to get Google's latest device for significantly cheaper, think twice. You see, Google seems to be of the opinion that the 128 GB Pixel 3 XL is worth a measly US$295, and that's a load of nonsense.

At launch, Google's Stadia Controller will not be usable with a PC or compatible mobile device without the use of a USB connection. While the controller will work wirelessly when playing through a Chromecast Ultra, PCs and mobile devices will require a USB HID connection for the Stadia Controller to work properly. This is odd, as the Stadia Controller connects directly to Google's servers over WiFi and sends inputs to the cloud rather than a local device.

The Pixel 4 series only uses face unlock for biometric authentication; it is that secure. Or is it? Well, a video of one device unlocking to closed eyes suggests otherwise, as does the possibility of someone who merely looks "a lot like you" authenticating payments with your face data. Is the face unlock on the Pixel 4 series not so secure after all?

The Surface Book 2 and Surface Book 2 15 may be innovative devices, but they have suffered from two critical problems in recent months. Microsoft now claims to have fixed the NVIDIA dGPU disconnects and BD PROCHOT-related throttling issues that have affected some machines since at least the summer. The fixes should prompt the re-release of Windows 10 version 1903 for the Surface Book 2 series too.

At the turn of this year, LG promised to deliver Android 9.0 Pie to the G6 and V20 by Q3 2019. Has it delivered? If you are a G6 owner then possibly, but many are still awaiting Pie on their handsets as we head ever deeper into Q4. By contrast, LG has offered only the faintest of glimmers for the V20, with all variants missing the self-imposed Q3 deadline.

Rob Wyatt, the lead architect behind the Atari VCS console, officially resigned from the project on Friday, October 4th. Citing non-payment from Atari for six months, Wyatt's company Tin Giant, which was contracted to help design the console, has left the project. Additionally, sources familiar with the Atari VCS have claimed the console is little more than a generic Linux PC, which does not jive with Atari's marketing.