Software

Warframe is scheduled to launch on iOS next week, while cross-platform save will purportedly be available for mobile versions of the game from the outset. The launch trailer reveals some surprisingly-detailed graphics, even if there is a lot less eye-candy present than on the PC and console versions.

Apple has released a new version of visionOS, its equivalent of iOS or iPadOS for the new Vision Pro. It fixes the ultra-premium headset's famous passcode bug, by which a unit might have even required a trip back to the Apple Store to be unlocked. Nevertheless, its new ability does not compromise its security.

Audacity has added AI audio editing capabilities thanks to Intel’s free OpenVINO plugins. These plugins add AI-powered noise suppression, speech transcription, music generation and remixing, and music separation to the freeware sound editor and are available for download today.

Researchers will be pleased about Unicode 16.0, which introduces a very high number of Egyptian hieroglyphs into the standard. But there are also numerous new features for retrogamers in the first alpha version.

Garmin has released yet another update for its current-generation flagship smartwatches. Rolling out as Beta Version 16.16, the update introduces a dozen refinements to all eligible models, albeit not for 'Pro' SKUs.

Per the latest Windows 11 Canary build, Copilot’s functionality now cuts across text and images copied from any window, and Notepad is on its way to becoming the first system app to directly integrate with Copilot. Clearly, Microsoft is trying its hardest to make Copilot the face of AI on Windows.

Valve has offered up several new updates for SteamOS, which remains on SteamOS 3 builds. Now up to SteamOS 3.5.15, the changes bring numerous bug fixes and refinements to the Steam Deck platform, including for Steam Deck OLED models.

CheckMag The Mig Switch is real and it works. Or at least it does according to the YouTubers that have all received pre-release versions. While the Mig Switch is currently up for pre-order and hasn’t yet made it into the hands of the public at large, the big unanswered question about this device is whether it does anything else except pirate games.

Google has renamed its AI chatbot Bard to Google Gemini and also added new functions and improvements to its most powerful artificial intelligence: 40 languages supported, Gemini app for Android and iPhone (in the Google app for iOS) is available in the USA.

Honor has pushed its first update to global versions of the Magic V2, its OnePlus Open, Galaxy Z Fold5 and Pixel Fold rival. Distributed as MagicOS 7.2.0.124, the over 500 MB update keeps the Honor Magic V2 on Android 13 but upgrades to it last month's Android security patch and adds some more bloatware for good measure.

MangoHud version 0.7.1 has been released, adding minor features and bug fixes to the performance overlay for Linux. Here is an overview of the changes.

Signify has released a new update for the Philips Hue app. Version 5.10.0 is now available to download for Android and iOS devices, bringing two new features to your smart home gadgets. The first tool relates to the brand’s newer home security products, while the second is linked to Valentine’s Day.

Valve has released an update for Proton Experimental for Linux and the Steam Deck, adding support for Tekken 8, The Finals and Black Desert. There are also bug fixes for Diablo 4, Resident Evil 2 and more.

There were a good number of reports on Microsoft bringing a command line tool that's similar to the sudo in Linux. Well, it seems like the reports were correct, as the company has officially introduced Sudo for Windows. What's more interesting is that it's open-source, with a GitHub repository available for the project.

Now out of preview, a state in which it was available since 2023, the Apple-branded app trio for Windows 10 and Windows 11 is available for download via the Microsoft Store. While Apple Music and Apple TV provide access to media content, Apple Devices allows users to update or back up their iPhones to Windows PCs.

Apple's latest AI model is hailed as "revolutionary" due to its ability to perform tasks such as "Photoshop-style modifications" based on prompts processed using multimodal large language models (MLLMs). Accordingly, it is called MLLM-Guided Image Editing (MGIE), and is rated to "manipulate" images at the pixel level.

GoPro has announced that it has rebranded its current subscription to Premium, which has also now sprouted a new Plus variant. The latter offers all of the same features as the former, with an added 'pro-grade' video stabilization tool and extra added cloud storage. The action-cam OEM's Quik for Macs has finally been released alongside it.

Google has issued its February 2024 update to numerous Pixel devices. While not a Feature Drop, UQ1A.240205 is designed to resolve outstanding issues like Wi-Fi stability and performance, plus display corruption problems on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

Google has pushed a new update to two of its handsets. While the pair are officially out of software support, Google has still sought to patch various outstanding issues with UP1A.231105.001.B2 based on Android 14.

In a recent interview, the CEO of System76, the company that makes the Pop!_OS Linux distribution, talks about what prompted the move away from Ubuntu and provides some insights into the end-goal of Pop!_OS.

Rocket Homes and Wayfair have announced that they see the Vision Pro's (astronomical) value as the ideal new platform for their respective sales apps. Accordingly, those with Apple's first-gen headset can now view their next dream home in virtual and/or augmented reality (VR/AR) with Real Estate Search, then make it their own with the Decorify app.

Samsung has now revealed which Galaxy AI features it plans to bring to older flagships. Not only has the Galaxy S23 series made the cut, but so has the Galaxy Tab S9 series, plus the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5.

The decentralised social network Bluesky can now be used without an invite code. Alongside Mastodon and Metas Threads, the public now has another alternative to X/Twitter.

Due to inconsistencies in the release cycle of Ubuntu 24.04 and Plasma 6, Kubuntu 24.04 LTS must be released with KDE Plasma 5 instead of the new Plasma 6 desktop. The switch to Plasma 6 for the Ubuntu flavour Kubuntu will not take place until the 24.10 release in October 2024.

The latest PlayStation 5 beta firmware update is rolling out to a limited number of consoles in a few markets (Canada, Japan, Germany, France, the US, and the UK). Its highlights include enhanced noise cancellation and controller speaker audio, as well as the improved visual interaction with the host in Share Screen.

Two insiders familiar with Atlus revealed yesterday that Persona 4 and Persona 2 will return soon. The first will get a remake while the latter will be remastered for all consoles, including the next-gen Xbox and the Nintendo Switch 2. Sadly, there no release date was mentioned.

LG has announced that its smart displays come with complimentary access to Apple's TV Plus (or TV+) content for a limited time. The offer is open to all new and existing owners of eligible 4K or 8K TVs released over the past seven years, as well as the StanbyME series of "lifestyle screens".

In an interview with Tom’s Guide, OnePlus president and COO Kinder Liu explained why the company chose four to five years of software support for the OnePlus 12 and 12R. Liu says the seven-year update policy of Google Pixel 8 and Samsung Galaxy S24 devices “misses the point” because the hardware may not keep up.

Ulefone has announced that its new Note 17 Pro Android smartphone has the most premium screen of its line to date. It is available for just under $280 with its introductory discounts right now - then again, the OEM could have chosen a less indifferent platform for its relatively high-end display.

Almost all Amazon Fire devices run on Fire OS. But that might change soon, as the company has recently listed a job for a role that's for the transition from the Android-based operating system to the new Vega OS that's reportedly based on Linux.

With more than 2 million unique users last year, the AI-powered video creation service Pictory is now available as a powerful feature for ChatGPT users. Only available to Plus subscribers, it can quickly turn simple ideas into videos. Later this year, Pictory will also reshape PowerPoint presentations into professional videos.

ASUS has added even more features to the ROG Ally, not long after it enabled gyroscope controls. This time, the ROG Ally has gained a quick access TDP slider, among other improvements.

Unlike more recent Samsung Android-driven handsets and tablets, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in Europe is already receiving the February 2024 security update. There is no official statement regarding the changes that come with this software refresh yet, but no new features are in the cards this time.

OnePlus 12 has made its global debut at the end of last month. While it runs on the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 as some of the devices in the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, it didn’t introduce any fancy AI features at launch. But OnePlus is changing that, at least in China, by releasing a new update of ColorOS.

Incovenient: A new update for the Fitbit Charge 5 not only brings new features, but also massive problems that are said to be severely limiting the usability of the watch, according to numerous user reports.

CheckMag Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices will give you remote access to all your files from any device both at home and away. Just add your drives and off you go, but they aren’t cheap. However there are some compelling software solutions that can turn any old PC and a few drives into a potent NAS which can compete with even the most expensive off the shelf solutions.

Google has announced that its chatbot is now able to work with text in many more languages besides English, and can also be made to double-check the results of its responses. Bard also now supports AI-generated images thanks to one of the Mountain View giant's latest models.

Starting yesterday, Copilot for Sales and Copilot for Service are available to those in need of adding enterprise-grade AI capabilities to their Microsoft 365 applications. Copilot's power can also be seamlessly integrated into CRM solutions and contact center systems for sales and support professionals.

Xiaomi has opened a new beta program for HyperOS, its replacement for MIUI. Available globally, the Beta Tester Recruitment scheme is free to join and seemingly offered without restrictions.

The MediaTek Dimensity 9300 is a flagship-grade chipset for mobile devices backed for impressive performance with models such as Stable Diffusion or Llama 2. However, its alleged successor the 9400 is now touted to be even more powerful in these terms, generating images up to ~17% faster and text up to 50% faster in 2024.

Samsung's latest update to its Quick Share file-sharing service brings integration with Google's native Android Nearby Share. The update is now rolling out to a number of Samsung devices but it's not all good news.

The EndeavorOS team has released "Galileo Neo", which updates the Live USB version for installing the Arch Linux-based rolling distribution. In addition to bug fixes, it includes the latest Linux 6.7 kernel.

After numerous promises and a few false starts, Digital Extremes has finally successfully implemented cross-platform save in Warframe. Players will now be able to use one account across their Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox devices — but at great cost for accounts created after November 24.

CheckMag For those of us still holding Windows 7 close to our hearts, let's see if the OS is really worth holding on to by testing how well it copes with Web browsing, content creation, media playback and gaming.

OM System has announced the OM-1 Mark II, confirming previous rumours of an identical sensor with nifty AI-powered autofocus enhancements. The OM System OM-1 II will be available starting February 26 for $2,399.

A popular Garmin smartwatch has now received a new beta update. Rolling out at Beta 9.19, the update contains a curious set of changes and alleged battery drain-related bugs.

As Warcraft will celebrate its 30th anniversary late this year, it's not surprising to see Blizzard bring back the two games alongside another classic, namely Diablo. These titles are now available on Battle.net for $9.99 (Diablo and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness) and $5.99 (Warcraft: Orcs & Humans).

Garmin continues to release odd updates to one of its latest smartwatches. Distributed as Beta 9.18, the update makes no obvious improvements over previous Beta Program builds. Garmin has now advised owners how to re-enable ECG functionality that earlier beta updates disabled, though.

The Smart 8 Pro has a 50MP main shooter for its suspiciously iPhone 15 Pro-like camera hump, which just happens to go well with the elongated "Magic Ring" software-simulated selfie camera cut-out for its 90Hz display. Then again, there is little enough evidence as to whether the new Infinix smartphone really deserves its "Pro" moniker.

Tecno has announced that its latest affordable-class Pova-series Android smartphones will make a global debut at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) of 2024 in Barcelona. Furthermore, it will feature brand-first Dolby Atmos support, rated to confer a more "immersive" audio experience on the devices certified to use it.