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Due to new customer complaints, HP is expanding its battery recall program with a 78,500 battery batch, and the affected models now include 2018 models such as ProBook 400 G4 and Pavilion x360 (11-inch), ZBook Studio G4, ProBook 430/440/450/455/470 G5, Envy 15 and Mobile Thin Client mt21/22/31.

Xiaomi had planned a sales event for the Mi 9 Transparent Edition, as well as the Mi 9 SE, for today (March 14, 2019) in China. However, reports that it has been abruptly cancelled have come in from that country. The OEM cited unit supply issues while apologizing for this move.

It may have taken over 7 months, but HTC has finally confirmed in which quarter it plans to release Android 9 Pie for the U11, U11+ and the U12+. The three devices should receive the update in Q2 this year, which could by the end of June at the latest. Do not hold your breath though, because HTC has thrown in some caveats too.

Microsoft has recommended that Windows 10 users suffering from problems with graphics or mouse performance degradation in certain games should uninstall the latest update for the ubiquitous operating system. KB4482887 was rolled out for “quality improvements” but has ironically affected quality in a number of crucial areas.

After the March security update, users of the Pixel 3 phones are reporting stability issues with their camera apps. The app apparently lags heavily and tends to completely glitch out during use. This, of course, begs the question of what exactly the Pixels are good for if their cameras are unreliable.

Anthem, the new action RPG game from BioWare, is apparently causing hard crashes on PlayStation 4 consoles. A growing number of gamers are taking to both Reddit and Electronic Arts’ Answers HQ to complain about issues with PS4 shutdowns while playing the game. Apparently, the critical bug is also affecting PC users and Xbox owners, too.

Some renders of a game controller based on a patent application made by Google have been met with considerable derision by the online community. Although the renders themselves have been expertly created, the majority of the negative comments have been aimed at Google’s actual design. The tiny analog sticks, the wide handles, and the ergonomics have all been singled out for criticism.

The popular tech YouTuber Lewis Hilsenteger has posted a video to his channel claiming that the new Samsung Galaxy S10 series' Face Unlock security can be hacked. Hilsenteger demonstrated this by holding his Galaxy S10+ up to a 2nd phone playing a video of his face, which appeared to successfully unlock the former's screen.

Eve-Tech has just had another flash sale for its Eve V device, with potential customers likely enticed by discounts ranging from US$300 all the way to US$600 for the i7-7Y75 variant. However, there seems to be a growing number of disgruntled buyers venting their frustration online over the company’s extreme tardiness in regard to shipping the crowdfunded convertible.

The US Department of Justice, in conjunction with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, has announced the arrest of Konstantin Ignatov, the so-called “leader” of the supposedly fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency. Ignatov has been detained on a charge of wire fraud, and he is accused of cheating investors out of billions of dollars.

The end may be in sight for those who have been experiencing DPC latency-related audio issues with their XPS 15 9570 laptops. Dell has been providing steady updates on Twitter about its progress in resolving the issues, and now an update is on the cards.

During an American Workforce Policy Advisory Board Meeting held on March 6, President Donald Trump made a faux pas by calling the CEO of one of the world’s most famous technology companies “Tim Apple.” To his credit, Apple boss Tim Cook seemed to react to the error with nothing but a stoic countenance while the US President went on to talk about border control.

The Meizu Zero was a novel prospect for the smartphone world: a device with no ports or buttons whatsoever. Its maker had been assessing the demand for this idea via a campaign on Indiegogo. However, it has failed to achieve its goal of US$100,000, securing only about 45% of this figure.

A map for Apex Legends was leaked on Reddit 11 months ago but was quickly dismissed by the community. A redditor called hiticonic uploaded the map image along with the caption “alleged minimap for rumored Titanfall battle royale game.” Another redditor has now created a new subreddit about the leak, allowing hiticonic to receive some belated upvotes.

Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything fame has been putting a brand-new Samsung Galaxy S10 flagship smartphone through his brutal durability tests. The S10 had to face blades, flames, picks, and bends as it was verbally critiqued by the surprisingly mellifluous tones of the famous YouTuber. The ultrasonic fingerprint scanner was eventually put out of action.

When buying a new laptop, it's undeniably important that the model both performs well and looks great. Nevertheless, these lesser-known aspects are just as important to the user experience even though they are almost never mentioned by most publications and YouTubers.

For those parents desperate to find a new catchy song to entertain children bored of watching “Baby Shark”, look no further. Not only is “Huawei Beauty” sung by a bunch of cute kids, the video also features a nifty dance routine and gives some handy advice about what brand smartphone you should own. Just try to ignore the unsubtle propaganda and occasional iffy imagery.

The Redmi Note 7 is a phone that is sold at US$150, yet has a 48MP camera to sweeten its budget deal. It arrived in the JerryRigEverything YouTube studio to undergo the by-now famous durability test. Unfortunately, the Redmi device fell at the final hurdle.

Skybound Games has announced that it has terminated its contract with Starbreeze Studios for Overkill’s The Walking Dead, effectively cancelling further progress on the first-person shooter. Skybound Games is part of Skybound Entertainment, which was cofounded by the creator of The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman.

According to a report, people are taking to social media to share their concerns about the Nokia 9 PureView and its potential to trigger symptoms in those who suffer from trypophobia. In simple terms, trypophobia is a fear (or disgust) of groups of holes or bumps. The Nokia 9 PureView’s rear penta-lens setup has a pattern that could have trypophobic effects.

Almost four months on since Dell announced that it would soon fix the DPC latency issues that have caused audio problems for some XPS 15 9570 laptops, Frank Azor has conceded that there is no end in sight for beleaguered owners. While he claims that Dell is making progress, he still cannot give a timeline for when the company hopes to release a fix.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 line introduces the Infinity-O display to the international market. Unfortunately, it seems that some app elements are being occluded or otherwise disrupted by the 'punch-hole' found in the upper right corner of this screen type. This highlights the increasing need to account for and adapt to this new display tech in the future.

Razer has had to cut around 2% of its workforce due to “realignment.” It’s believed many of the staff that have been let go were involved with the company’s smartphone products. The cuts could mean that any progress on the Razer Phone 3 device has been halted while the manufacturer streamlines its operations.

The Galaxy S10 and S10+ are here one day early, sort of. Norwegian TV channel TV 2 has aired the launch advert for the Galaxy S10 and S10+ before tomorrow's Galaxy UNPACKED event in San Francisco. The advert confirms many of the S10 and S10+'s features including its Infinity-O display, its in-screen fingerprint sensor and the now rare headphone jack.

Polish e-retailer X-Kom ran a promotion this past weekend that offered a free copy of Fallout 76 with four sets of PlayStation 4 thumbstick covers, all for POL 19 zl (~US $5). This discount is not out of the norm for retailers selling Fallout 76, a title that has had trouble selling copies and satisfying gamers.

Razer is shutting down the Razer Game Store, its own online retail space for PC games. The store will close in the early morning of February 28th. Any games purchased through the Razer Game Store will continue to work, though keys purchased via the store will need to be redeemed before the end of February. Additionally, Razer will honor any pre-orders made through the Game Store and will continue its Razer Gold and Razer Silver rewards programs.

Vox Media, the parent company of tech news outlet The Verge, has issued multiple copyright claims on videos criticizing its widely maligned PC building tutorial video. Using YouTube's copyright claim system, Vox lodged copyright strikes against several different channels that made criticism or parody videos of the tutorial. YouTube issued a copyright strike against some of the channels in question before reversing the decision, citing fair use under the DMCA.

Amazon has been the focus of considerable political opposition in the state of New York due to its plans to build one of its two new headquarters (HQ) in Long Island. New Yorkers have voiced their discontent with the proposals over the amount it would reportedly cost the state, among other issues. Amazon may now continue its HQ plans with other US locationa in mind.

A press release from Dell published in early January stated that the Dell XPS 15, Alienware m15, and Dell G7 15 laptops would be offered with OLED panel options starting in March. Unfortunately for those waiting to snap up a Dell laptop with this type of display, company executive Frank Azor has now stated that April is the current target.

Working with all major internet providers in the country, Russian authorities are planning an interesting - and quite disturbing - experiment that involves disconnecting all local users from the internet. The purpose of this experiment is to get feedback and maybe provide modifications to a law proposed back in December 2018.

Dell has had to recall certain versions of its portable charging device, the Hybrid Adapter + Power Bank, because of the risk of electric shock. Apparently, the casing of the black adapter part of the accessory can break, which in turn exposes metal components that could pose a hazard. Dell has already received 11 reports of this occurring.

Apple was supposed to completely fix the eavesdropping vulnerability triggered via the Group feature in the FaceTime app last week, but it looks like the company found a few more bugs and fixed them as well. One bug is related to the Live Photos feature in FaceTime, while the other two are related to memory corruption flaws occurring in the IOKit and Foundation.

Everything was normal until our glass display suddenly cracked. If you're planning on getting a cheap Android from a Chinese OEM, then hopefully you won't be unlucky as we are. We're just glad that nothing caught on fire.

Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything has done it again and disassembled another smartphone, this time the Vivo NEX Dual Display. The teardown is not without its issues though.

It has been reported that around 7.3 million units of Battlefield V have been sold since it was released in November last year. EA’s stock price fell after the company announced a cut in its revenue outlook, but the price rose later in the day and closed at a higher price than the previous day. For Q3 FY19, EA reported total net revenue of US$1.289 billion.

It has been reported that a former Apple employee has been charged with stealing information about self-driving cars from the Cupertino company. The worker, named as Jizhong Chen, has been accused of taking photos in sensitive areas and obtaining detailed information about the secret project with the intention of passing the details on to a rival Chinese firm.

TSMC confirmed that around 10,000 wafers were compromised, but the Taiwanese company has yet to make an official statement about the full extent of the damages and the exact circumstances of the incident. The unfortunate event could create AMD / Nvidia GPU shortages and artificial MSRP increases in the coming months.

Some alarming reports of a serious error in Group FaceTime associated with iOS 12.1 or later, have emerged. This bug allows an iPhone user to activate the call microphone of a second iPhone, whether its own user is aware of this or not. Apple has announced that they are working on a solution, and has also addressed it in the interim by shutting the video-call service down on their end.

The iPhone has had a bumpy couple of months. iOS 12.1.2, released last month, broke cellular connectivity for some users. The problem got so bad that Sprint issued a warning to its customers to wait on updating. There doesn't seem to be any relief in sight; not only does iOS 12.1.3 not bring a fix for the cellular issues, but the latest update has actually broken WiFi for several users in addition to cellular connectivity.

A 13-count indictment has been announced against Huawei and the company’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou, mostly in relation to fraud. Two of the Chinese manufacturer’s affiliates, Huawei Device USA and Skycom Tech, have also been included in the charges. A separate 10-count indictment against the same firm was also unsealed, charging Huawei with theft of trade secrets among other things.

Nintendo has been mum on the development of Metroid Prime 4 since its announcement at E3 2017, but it looks like development has not been going well. In a video announcement, Shinya Takahashi stated that Nintendo has decided to restart development of Metroid Prime 4 and hand over the reins to Retro Studios, the development house behind the first three Metroid Prime games.

Nvidia has announced that the financial guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019 has been lowered. A forecast revenue figure of US$2.70 billion had previously been given, but this has now been reduced to US$2.20 billion. One of the reasons given for the disappointing update was the apparent sales figures for the RTX series based on Turing microarchitecture, which were weaker than expected.

XPS 15 9570 owners rejoice. We can confirm that Dell has finally fixed the NVIDIA GPU issue that has been plaguing some 9570 laptops for months with BIOS 1.7. Unfortunately, the update has introduced some fan peculiarities though.
Update: Dell has commented on the fan behaviour in BIOS 1.7.

Motorola released the Moto G4 Plus back in 2016 and promised it would receive two major updates. A while later, the company went back on its word and claimed the mid-range phone would not get the update, prompting a media outcry which forced it to once again promise to deliver Oreo. It's been 16 months since then, though, and the G4 Plus is still on Nougat.

Xiaomi sent out the January update to the Android One Mi A2 earlier this week, and there have now been multiple reports of bricked devices after installing the OTA. Unpolished updates may be becoming a theme of Xiaomi's Android One phones.

DeepMind Technologies will be celebrating after its AlphaStar AI managed to defeat two human opponents in the popular RTS game StarCraft II. Five versions of AlphaStar were created to compete against each other, with the AI winner taking on highly ranked professional players. DeepMind, which is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has already managed to create a program that beat some of the world’s best players at Go.

Several users have complained of a 'stage light' anomaly in their MacBook Pro displays. iFixit wrote in a blog post that it has identified the cause of the issue and attributes it to the manner in which the display cables connect to the display controller beneath the Touch Bar. This design causes the cables to tear overtime giving the uneven backlighting effect when the display is opened beyond a certain angle. More worrisome, however, is the fact that getting it repaired can prove to be a costly affair.

The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) has imposed a fine of €50 million (~US$56.8 million) on Google for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The huge penalty has been justified by the regulatory body based on the severity of the violations, Google’s popularity with French users, and the fact that the infringements were ongoing.

A few recent bad decisions by the Indian government might force Samsung to stop the local manufacturing of Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9 flagships. Even worse, the company might drop its plans to increase the exports of mobile phones made in India, which were supposed to hit 40 percent of the production for 2019.