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Fantasian is a new JRPG headed for Apple Arcade. Written by Hironobu Sakaguchi and featuring a soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu, Fantasian throws players into a multi-dimensional world constructed from over 150 hand-made dioramas. Gameplay features a unique mechanic for monster management and traditional JRPG tropes.

A new research note allegedly issued by the legendary analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states that the iPhones launched in 2022 will have punch-hole displays in place of the notches that have come to define these flagships. The third-gen SE is now also thought to launch in that year, and just might come with the same new kind of screen.

Apple has re-worked the MagSafe brand as a new type of ultra-thin and (theoretically) extra-strong wireless charger that enables a user to hold up and use an iPhone 12 as normal while juicing it back up. Now, ESR has "re-imagined" this technology, mainly through the inclusion of a useful flip-out stand.

Apple has dominated a list of the most-shipped smartphones in 2020, with the iPhone 11 alone shipping 64.8 million units with an estimated value of around US$48.9 billion. Five iPhone models are in the top 10 list, joined by four Samsung Galaxy smartphones and a sole representative from Xiaomi in the form of the Redmi Note 9 Pro.

The rumored new PUBG title is real and it is called PUBG: New State. The game features everything gamers have loved about the original title, but is set in 2051 with more advanced weapons and technology necessitating new tactics to survive.

Apple is reportedly planning to shift some of its iPad production to India and is lobbying to increase the budget for the Indian Government's performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. This report comes in the wake of the Cupertino-giant plans to offload some of its contract manufacturing to Vietnam and reduce dependence on China due to ongoing US-China trade tensions.

Apple has been working on at least two different foldable iPhone prototypes or concepts with a view to potentially bringing one of the designs to market. However, a new report suggests that the company is only lukewarm on the idea and it is still some years away from being launched, if at all.

New Redmi Note 10 teasers have claimed that the upcoming potential midrange smartphone champion will have a display that is as bright as the screen of the iPhone 12 Pro and certainly way beyond that of the Redmi Note 9. The teasers have sparked renewed speculation that the Redmi Note 10 will feature an OLED screen instead of an LCD like its predecessor.

Epic Games has stepped its dispute with Apple over developer remuneration by filing an official antitrust complaint with the European Commission (EC). It alleges that competition in the app-distribution and payment markets has been "completely eliminated" by Apple's practices of insisting that these activities are carried out through its App Store for all software intended for use on iOS.

Apple is working on a new yet to be announced external battery pack for the iPhone 12 range. The accessory will use Apple’s MagSafe magnetic adapter tech to attach to the rear of an iPhone and charge wirelessly over the Qi protocol.

Apple is thought to have a foldable iPhone in the works. However, according to a new report, the market analyst group Omdia claims that its launch has been pushed back to 2023. Then again, it might share the feature of Apple Pencil compatibility with many iPads by that time.

The next Pro-grade iPhones are currently tipped to get LTPO displays. They are also rumored to finally upgrade to 120Hz refresh rates – and to always-on displays, according to the latest leak. The successors to the 12 series are also now believed to benefit from a new, possibly textured matte finish.

The WhatsApp privacy policy change, in which the company will oblige users to agree to hand the data they have given it to Facebook, has caused controversy and virtual boycotts worldwide. However, the EU market is effectively immune to these changes. The Indian Supreme Court has argued that this should apply to all markets in which the messaging service is used.

Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei continues to gush about Apple and its products. In his latest interview, Zhengfei has said that Apple makes the best 5G iPhones in the world and that they are the perfect compliment for his company’s 5G network technologies.

Despite low sales of the iPhone 12 Mini, sources have told noted tipster Jon Prosser that Apple will launch an iPhone 13 Mini. According to these sources, the main reason the iPhone 12 Mini floundered was the success of the iPhone SE (2020). Since no iPhone SE will launch in 2021, the iPhone 13 Mini will do markedly better.

The market research group Above Avalon has studied the fortunes of the Apple Watch series up to 2020, and has put the number of its adopters at 100 million. This would make it the OEM's fourth biggest product, with iPhones, iPads and Macs the only lines to sell better than these wearables. Should this trend continue, they may in fact be able to overtake the PCs by 2022.

A proposed North Dakota law will force Apple and Google to allow developers alternative options for distributing iOS and Android apps, respectively. The bill will also allow developers to receive in-app payments through any method they choose, not just through the app's respective app platform.

A new report from prolific Apple leaker Jon Prosser suggests that Apple could go the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip route with its upcoming foldable iPhone. The clamshell-shaped iPhone could come in several colourways and marketed as an 'entry-level' iPhone of sorts.

The next gen X65 5G modems are expected to power all Android and iPhone flagship devices launching in 2022. Prominent features for the upcoming "5G phase 2" modem include 10 Gbps speeds, improved antenna module with support for the newly introduced n259 (41 GHz) band and AI-powered efficiency boost, plus compatibility with Qualcomm's second gen Fixed Wireless Access platform.

Apple could be set to end production of the iPhone 12 mini as soon as the end of the second quarter this year. While it seems Apple will continue to market and sell the iPhone 12 mini, at least until its inventory runs dry, it doesn’t look good for the future of small iPhones.

A Counterpoint report has stated that Apple managed to sell over 9.5 million iPhones in the US market alone in December 2020. This gave the iPhone 12 maker a huge 64% of the market share, leaving Samsung in second on 20%. Google managed to claw back some share thanks to the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5, but Motorola and Alcatel are firmly in ZTE territory.

Telegram was #9 on SensorTower's list of most downloaded (non-game) mobile app in December 2020. Fast forward one month, however, and it had jumped up to #1. WhatsApp and Instagram were #3 and #4 at the end of 2020, but fell to #5 and #6 respectively at the start of 2021.

A tech tipster has claimed that Apple is preparing four new SoCs and has shared the alleged internal identifiers for the processors. Unsurprisingly, this has led to considerable speculation about their eventual product names, with Apple M1X, M2, A14X, A15, and A15 Bionic heading the suggestions. 2021’s 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models could feature a new SoC.

Apple has accepted a ruling from South Korea's national Fair Trade Commission that it has abused its dominance of the smartphone market in that country to skew conditions in its favor when it came to selling and supporting iPhones through carriers. Therefore, Apple has "volunteered" to fund facilities and education for small business in the IT sector.

Flagship iPhones have been unlockable through Face ID only since 2017. Now, however, there are hints that Apple might bring its only real alternative, Touch ID, back in 2021. It will apparently be an in-display version for the first time, with the company leaving the Home button in the dust with the putative new technology.

The latest version of iOS (14.4) is now available as a stable update. Installing it causes a new kind of "important hardware message" to pop up should an iPhone detect that its rear camera module has been unofficially replaced. Apple has also noted that the software includes patches for potentially actionable vulnerabilities.

The leaker @MauriQHD has posted claims that Apple has finally produced an edge-to-edge iPhone display. Unfortunately, it is also apparently a prototype, and may not be intended for the upcoming 13 (or possibly 12s) series. In other rumors, the Cupertino giant might see fit to "invent" 1TB internal storage options in 2021.

Apple is rumoured to announce the third-generation of the iPhone SE in a few months, with April targeted as a release date for the budget handset. Concept renders have shown what the device might look like too, but only if Apple decides to give an affordable iPhone a modern design.

Apple has updated some product safety material found in the Support section of its website to clarify the potential of its new MagSafe feature to interfere with pacemakers. It notes that, while the extra magnetism involved should not make the technology more dangerous than the average wireless-charging device or accessory, a user with a medical device should keep it a certain distance away from the relevant devices.

A recent Cowen analysts' reports paints a rosy picture for Apple iPhone sales this year. The complete iPhone 12 lineup is expected to sell over 55 million units by the end of Q1 2021. The iPhone 12 Mini, however, Apple's budget play, continued to disappoint with lower-than-expected sales volume.

A shortlist of smartphones either already with or expected to feature LTPO screens in 2021 has revealed some interesting entrants and a notable absence. There is mention of an Apple iPhone 12s Pro, Huawei Mate 50 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and even the Xiaomi Mi 12, but there seems to be no room for a Galaxy Note 21 here.

The days of LCD-only iPhones are numbered; however, a handful of these models are still in production. However, it now seems they will have to do without screens from LG for the rest of their manufacturing runs. The company has dropped Apple as a customer for mobile LCD panels, leaving it scrambling for other suppliers to complete new SE (2020) units.

Apple's TV+ is its answer to other streaming platforms such as Netflix. One year's worth of free access to the service was bundled with compatible hardware bought at its September 2019 launch. That offer was then extended so as to end in February 2021 - however, the OEM has now prolonged it again until July.

Can smartwatches help to diagnose cases of Covid-19? According to a couple of new studies, they can. The research applies to the Apple Watch and other wearables associated with heart-rate monitoring, as they might record the variations in this metric that might indicate the presence of the virus, even in asymptomatic patients.

After launching the Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra today, Samsung has also opened its trade-in program for the series. It's pretty good, actually, with Galaxy S10 series owners being able to trade in their phones for a massive US$550, for example.

Redditor newhacker1746 managed to get Ubuntu up and running on an A10-powered Apple iPhone 7, after using the Checkra1n jailbreak exploit.

Mac Otakara is quick on the draw in 2021 with its Apple rumors. The latest concerns the next generation of iPhones and how they will look. These devices will apparently still have a notch, although it will shrink somewhat in this new generation. They may also turn out not to be as slim as the 12 series, although this might well be no bad thing.

According to a report by the Japan-based publication, Apple suppliers in China are already working on a new iPhone SE version, alongside the AirPods Pro 2. While further details about the devices aren’t, we expect to hear more in the months to come.

Apple App Store users spent a record US$540 million on New Year's Day, capping off a week that saw total App Store spending of $1.8 billion. The App Store continues to be one of Apple's most successful lines of business; since its inception, developers have earned over $200 billion and Apple has earned an estimated $85 billion over the past 12 years.

Apple is thought to finally introduce iPhones with 120 hertz (Hz) refresh rates with the successors to the 12 series. However, only their highest-end variants are thought to get LTPO OLED displays, which, according to the latest word on this subject, are to be made by Samsung. However, LG might take over in this department in 2022.

Apple may very well introduce the much anticipated AirTags and other AR accessories such as an AR headset and/or AR glasses this year, according to Ming-Chi Kuo's latest research note. Kuo also notes that Apple will launch new Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Pros with mini-LED displays. Another report from DigiTimes speculates that all iPhone 13 models this year will be equipped with a LiDAR sensor.

The Mi AX6000 router is a powerful new source of home Wi-Fi that Xiaomi will release for the first time on January 8, 2021. The OEM has hyped this cutting-edge product by seeing which device could use its up-to-800Mb/s signal first: an iPhone 12 Pro Max or a brand-new Mi 11.

Foxconn is said to have successfully completed durability testing for two different Apple iPhone foldable prototypes. According to Taiwanese supply chain rag, Money UDN, the two prototypes are said to resemble the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip respectively in design approach.

A leaked image of an alleged Xiaomi Mi 11 box being compared to the iPhone 12 packaging has led to mounting speculation that Xiaomi has “done an Apple” and decided to not include a charger in the box for the Mi 11. Additionally, it is believed the Chinese OEM might offer a “with charger” option – at an extra cost, of course.
Update: Xiaomi has confirmed there will be no in-box charger.

Apple's top supplier of chips for multiple purposes, TSMC, will reserve no less than 80 percent of its 5 nm production capacity to the tech giant headquartered in Cupertino. In addition to the existing chips, TSMC is also going to make the upcoming A15 Bionic that will power the upcoming iPhone 13 series.

With Google Stadia available on iPhones and iPads via a web app, people have been seeing how well Cyberpunk 2077 runs. It turns out the likes of the iPhone 12 Pro do a better job of playing CD Projekt Red's latest triple-A title than the last-generation PlayStation 4 or Xbox One do.

Google's game streaming platform Stadia is now available on iOS. It is not on the App Store, however, having taken NVIDIA GeForce NOW's route as a web app onto iPhones. Therefore, users with these devices can now log into the sevice on its latest compatible hardware, should they want to.

Only Apple currently sells a compact flagship smartphone, but new research suggests that the iPhone 12 mini has not been a success so far. Based on the initial uptake of the iPhone 12 mini, it seems that spending US$100 more on an iPhone 12 is a more attractive proposition for people in the US.