Fail

RGB lighting is great and all, but it's not very useful if it doesn't light up each and every key symbol. There's no reason why secondary fn key symbols on flagship Gigabyte laptops should be unlit even after two years in the market.

In yet another episode that will go down in the list of embarrassments for Apple, its new-fangled titanium Apple Card credit card can apparently become permanently discolored if it makes contact with fabrics like leather and denim. Given that many users will keep the card in a leather wallet or even slip it into a jeans pocket, the revelation appears to beggar belief that it could be so impractical to carry.

Are you unable to download Android 9.0 Pie to your LG V30? Well, the South Korean has apparently pulled the update from its FOTA and LG Bridge servers. This may prove a temporary measure, but there is no word when LG will continue offering Pie to the V30.

An oversight by Apple caused an old security bug to be reintroduced with iOS 12.4. While the bug had been patched in iOS 12.3, the exploit is present in the latest operating system from Apple and can be used for jailbreaking on compatible devices. On the flip side, the security hole presents new risks; the bug can be used by malicious parties to hack into an iPhone or iPad running 12.4.

According to employees familiar with the practice, Facebook has been hiring outside contractors to listen to and transcribe user audio. While Facebook claims the transcriptions were done to improve the voice-to-text transcription features of its Messenger app, the company's data use policy makes no mention of humans listening to or transcribing audio.

Tumblr is a blogging platform that has been part of Yahoo (or Oath, as it is now) since 2013. However, the parent company in this case - Verizon - has reportedly been trying to palm it off for some time. It has now successfully found a buyer: Automattic Inc, the same company behind WordPress.

A new report by security experts at Check Point Research demonstrates a glaring vulnerability in modern DSLR cameras: Photo Transfer Protocol. Worse yet, the researchers were able to exploit vulnerabilities in PTP/IP, which transfers photos from a DSLR to a computer wirelessly. This allowed the researchers to infect a nearby DSLR wirelessly and encrypt all of the camera's photos.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 10 phones a few days ago and the devices have received mixed reviews, most notably for the lack of a headphone jack and the...well, the general existence of the Note 10.

While the rest of the world still waits, China has become the first country where the long-awaited XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 has gone on sale. Prices start at 12,999 CNY (~US$1,850) for the Core i5-1035G1 model and rise to 16,999 CNY (~US$2,419) for the Core i7-1065G7 version. No Core i7-1068G7 SKU or simultaneous worldwide release as Dell previously promised though.

The ASUS ZenFone 6 won plaudits for its almost stock Android experience, but a recent software update has been causing havoc with some handsets. According to an ASUS engineer, the update has caused some motherboards to malfunction, resulting in crashes, reboots, bootloops or dead devices.

A new publication by Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center points out an increasingly popular avenue used for cyber attacks: the Internet of Things (IoT). The publication states that researchers discovered a new attack that exploited vulnerabilities in simple IoT devices like a printer and a VOIP phone to access an enterprise network.

Dell has once again missed its release date for the new XPS 13 2-in-1, having already delayed it by almost a month. The company only came clean after people online were left wondering why the upcoming convertible had not launched on August 2. Now multiple sources are suggesting an additional delay of at least a few weeks, with the device potentially not shipping in some key markets before the end of the month.

Apple has suspended a controversial Siri grading program that allowed contractors to listen to recordings of customers using the voice recognition software. The purportedly privacy focused company was caught out by a whistleblower who revealed details of the program that raised serious user privacy concerns.

A new video from the popular YouTube channel JerryRigEverything shows that foldables that keep their displays on the outside of their case are at severe risk for damage. Simple items like keys or extreme heat could permanently mar the display of a foldable smartphone.

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.

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.

Microsoft has acknowledged that some Surface Book 2 laptops are experiencing NVIDIA dGPU disconnects following the Windows 10 May 2019 Feature Update. If you have already updated your Surface Book 2 to Windows 10 version 1903 then you are out of luck, as Microsoft currently has no workaround other than to prevent all devices from updating to the latest version of Windows.

Popular teardown and repair website iFixit has taken the new 13-inch MacBook Pro apart, revealing a 7% larger battery, a soldered SSD, a smaller heatsink and modular ports. Unsurprisingly, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro 13 received a woeful 2 out of 10 for repairability.

The internet celebrated the arrival of the Raspberry Pi 4 last month, with its more powerful SoC, USB Type-C port, dual 4K HDMI and up to 4 GB of RAM. However, a few issues are rearing their head, with the Pi Foundation being quick to shut one of the more concerning down.

As impressive as it may be, the US$5 billion fine that Facebook could be subjected to — after the review of this settlement by the Department of Justice — only accounts for 9 percent of the revenue obtained by the company in 2018. According to some senators and Congress members, this is not enough to get Facebook back in line.

A Reddit post describes an incident in which a user's phone, an "S10 5G", exhibited extreme overheating. When the owner in question examined this device, it was apparently non-functional and emitted a strong smell of chemicals. This worrying claim suggests that the most expensive variant of the Galaxy S10 series may have battery integrity issues.

The latest update for the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ locked its users out, requiring them to enter a PIN and restarting repeatedly no matter what they entered. Unfortunately, it looks like performing a Factory data reset is the only solution available for those affected by this issue.

The Galaxy A80 has just gone on sale, but there are already reports of its rotating camera getting stuck or the mechanism sound unusually noisy. A few errant devices or form over function?

Originally scheduled to arrive in 2018, Psychonauts 2 was expected to arrive later this year. This title for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 looks like its predecessor with improved graphics and a few new ideas. Sadly, its launch has been pushed to 2020 and we can only hope that it will not get another delay next year.

The "Camera failure" error is not new to Samsung as its handsets were being hit by such camera-related bugs quite often in the past. Now, the time has come for those who own the high-end Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9 to bump into this issue as well. The bug seems to appear only when shooting in Night mode.

It hasn't been long that Dell's latest XPS 15 7590 flagship have arrived in the hands of consumers, but there already seem to be reports of uneven and unplayable performance when gaming due to thermal issues.

Android Q is nearly upon us, bringing with it a slew of changes and refinements. Beta 5 has started rolling out too, but it seemingly confirms that gesture navigation controls will not work with third-party launchers. The slow-march to a closed-source Android seems upon us.

The triple camera setup of the Galaxy A50 failed to impress on DxOMark, although its specs are impressive. According to DxOMark, the images produced by this Samsung phone lack detail, the autofocus often fails to work in low-light conditions, geometric shift and localized low detail artifacts are also visible quite frequently.

You are going to start seeing articles and videos cleverly implying educated conclusions about Dell's recently released XPS 15 7590. Don't be fooled into thinking they are anything other than first-impressions.

A thread posted by someone purporting to have information on GTA VI from insider sources has gained a lot of attention on Reddit. The post goes into great detail about the locations, development and story arc of the sequel to GTA VI, with the game being set across three cities and decades. Fake? Likely. It makes for great reading though.

The story of a Samsung Galaxy S10 self-destructing has been circulating on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The device apparently caught fire while charging just over a day after it was purchased. An accompanying video shows the bulging battery still smoking, having destroyed the device, in something reminiscent of the Note 7 debacle.

In an interview with a small group of media outlet, Samsung CEO D.J. Koh stated that the Galaxy Fold's flubbed launch was "embarrassing." However, Koh still sees foldable devices as the next logical step in the evolution of personal computing. Koh also stated that he envisions a future of connected devices that will replace even foldable phones in a few years time.

The trade restrictions that Japan has just announced will make it harder for companies such as Samsung and LG to buy various materials used in both chips and smartphones. The list of these materials includes resist, hydrogen fluoride, and fluorinated polyimide. Starting July 4, local companies will need the government's approval to export such materials to South Korea.

The LG V40 started receiving the Android Pie update last month. Since then, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and even unlocked models of the device have all received their taste of Pie. Not Sprint, though, and users of the Sprint model will likely have been annoyed when they received a new OTA that still didn't bring Pie.

June 27 Update: Added comment in response to Razer's communications with NBC. We recently noted in our 2019 Razer Blade Pro review that its AC adapter hit the hottest temperature we've yet to measure on a gaming notebook, 67C. Based on historical evidence from Razer's 2017-2018 chargers melting or catching fire and the fact that the 2019 Razer Blade Pro's adapter is even hotter, I believe it may be prudent for the Singapore-based company to consider a recall — at least perhaps for adapters from their 2017-2018 Blade and Blade Pro systems.

Motorola has indefinitely shelved its plans to release the Pie update to most users of the Moto Z2 Force in the US. The Z2 Force can be said to be Motorola's last true flagship and it's a shame that the company appears to be showing complete disregard for users of the device.

LG does not do itself any favours, does it? The South Korean company has now rowed back on its commitment to bring Android 9.0 Pie to the V30 by the end of Q2. The roll-out has been pushed to Q3 for "essential improvements", with no fixed date for devices outside South Korea. C'mon LG, sort it out.

Canonical has seemingly crippled Ubuntu 19.10 for gamers, having removed all 32-bit support from the upcoming OS. Anything requiring 32-bit libraries or packages will not install, causing Valve to abandon Steam support for all Ubuntu releases going forwards.

According to a U.S. Office of Inspector General report published Tuesday, a cyberattack on NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in April 2018 was due to a severe lack of security oversight. The attack was made possible via an unauthorized Raspberry Pi that was connected to JPL's network without any knowledge of the security team. Additionally, a lack of proper network segmentation allowed the hackers to access NASA's Deep Space Network, which is responsible for managing interplanetary missions.

Tech fans were disappointed to learn that Google has officially killed off any plans for a successor to the Pixel Slate. While there had been suspicions the decision was made some time ago, it looks like the arrival of iPadOS might have been the final nail in the Pixel Slate's coffin.

A high-severity vulnerability has been discovered in Dell’s SupportAssist software that is found on millions of computers sold by the American manufacturer. The problem was highlighted by a company called SafeBreach and was originally reported to both Dell and PC-Doctor in May. Dell has offered a simple resolution to deal with the disconcerting find.

The Tesla Models S or 3 have a feature called Navigate on Autopilot feature, which can allow one of these vehicles to follow a certain route while driving autonomously. The security firm Regulus Cyber has claimed that they are susceptible to GPS-spoofing interventions, which allegedly caused a test car to enact auto-turning behaviors while still 3 miles from an actual exit.

Microsoft is now selling a cheaper version of the Surface Book 2 15. The new model swaps the Core i7 CPU for a Core i5 and drops the dedicated GTX 1060 GPU. However, at $2000, the Core i5 Surface Book 2 15 is hardly a bargain considering the Core i7/GTX 1060 model is a mere $200 more.

The company is still burying its heads in the sand over why some XPS 15 9570 laptops are getting hot and experiencing high battery drain when asleep. The company has added having an outdated BIOS and drivers along with wake on Wi-Fi enabled to the reasons that could cause the behaviour but without recognising that forcing people to use Modern Standby could be the cause. Well done, Dell.

"Shot on OnePlus" is an initiative by which users can upload their shots via a smartphone app or online. This is done via an API, which, when analyzed, was found to be a ready source of user emails and IDs. The company's response to this situation currently includes an overhaul of this interface.

Smach has been showing off its much anticipated and delayed handheld games console at E3 2019, with promises that it will ship at the end of the year. 17 FPS in titles like Monster Hunter World for a starting price of US$699 though? No thanks.

Huawei has indefinitely postponed the launch of its latest MateBooks confirming the rumors Notebookcheck exclusively reported on during Computex. At the time, we learnt that Huawei had cancelled an order for 16-inch notebook panels and the revelation that it has officially cancelled its launch plans for the CES Asia 2019 in Shanghai this week looks to be the outcome.

With Dell starting to blame customers if their XPS 15 9570 overheats when asleep, one getting so hot that it explodes would be rather inconvenient PR. That is the state that one person arrived home to see their XPS 15 in, and Dell customer support has not been forthcoming on helping them resolve the matter.

OnePlus is moving quickly to fix the ghost touch issue that has been affecting some 7 Pro smartphones, less than a week after acknowledging its existence. Thankfully for owners, it does not appear to be a hardware issue.
Update: OnePlus claims that OxygenOS 9.5.7 fixes ghost touch issues.

It seems that Dell has not forgotten about the XPS 15 9570 in the wake of releasing its successor. The company has committed to further reducing the DPC latency issues still affecting some machines beyond the BIOS release that it released in April.