Software

Redmi launched a special Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1-themed edition of its K50 Gaming phone alongside its vanilla counterpart in China recently. The Xiaomi subsidiary has released the phone with a 120W power brick in the box, rated to run on advanced gallium nitride (GaN) technology provided by the OEM's industry partner Navitas.

HTC's VIVE is at SXSW 2022 to introduce its latest initiatives and projects in its main space, virtual reality (VR). This includes the announcement of its new metaverse platform for concerts, BEATDAY, to launch via the new Focus 3 headset. VIVE will also outline how it sees its VR tech fitting into other industries such as healthcare and smart-car UX going forward.

Realme has launched the TechLife Watch S100 alongside its new 9 5G and 5G SE smartphones today (March 10, 2022). It appears to be a new version of an existing smartwatch from this OEM, with a potentially crucial upgrade in the form of a user body-temperature tracker. Its estimated battery life is also improved over its apparent predecessor.

Volkswagen has now completed its event for the long-anticipated all-electric adaptation of its iconic mini-bus, although the actual global launch onto the market of the ID. Buzz and Buzz Cargo has understandably been delayed. However, we do now know more about their specs and features, their charging and battery capacities included.

Tronsmart has launched its latest portable wireless speaker with a Bang, which is good as that is also its product name. It contains an array of different driver types rated for 60W of audio power, which can travel well thanks to its in-built handle and IPX6 waterproof rating. Its inbuilt battery can also power its tunable LEDs as well as the user's other devices.

Fiido touts its next upcoming product, the Beast, as a cross between an electric scooter and a go-kart. This is because the vehicle has a seat as well as a footboard. It is powered by a sizeable, removable battery and runs on "professional" off-road tires. The OEM is previewing its imminent launch via Indiegogo at present.

A new AI-focused software company, Inflection, has been co-founded by Mustafa Suleyman, Reid Hoffman and Karén Simonyan. The company aims to use AI to make human commands to devices more conversational.

Volkswagen has teased the interior of its long-awaited electric bus ahead of its imminent debut. The ID. Buzz is thus revealed as a vehicle finished with a selection of sustainable upholstery and material choices with "intelligent" Easter eggs and features.

The famous leaker Evan Blass has posted a picture of what seems to be Carl Pei with Nothing to show current Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. However, the Nothing in question is now slated to be an upcoming inaugural smartphone from the start-up of the same name. Accordingly, it just might contain one or two on-trend design features detectable from this image.

A short 20 minute stop at a Tesla Supercharger ended with a shock for a Chinese Model 3 owner who was suddenly confronted with a preposterous charge of more than half a million dollars.

OPPO has announced an interesting new feature upgrade for its phones, intended to allow users to scan their surroundings to detect concealed cameras. The OEM suggests that it might be increasingly relevant and vital, especially as consumers start travelling again. However, it might only be available on the company's latest and highest-end Android smartphones at first.

The Galaxy A33 is thought to be one of the next smartphones to launch from Samsung in 2022. New renders of this device have now appeared, based on the latest rumors on its specs and design. They include hints that the upcoming One UI 4.1-powered device might launch with the supposedly upcoming Exynos 1280 SoC, as well as the 1200 pointed to earlier.

150W SuperVOOC flash charging is one of the 2 brands for BBK Electronics' cutting-edge power standards unveiled at MWC 2022. It has been presented as such by OPPO; however, the OEM executive Pete Lau has announced that the first device to get it will launch as a new OnePlus smartphone instead. It will apparently be pitched at the middle of the market and launch in 2022.

Twitch has announced new measures to ensure the safety of its service by barring individuals who frequently post harmful misinformation on the site. The company argues that these posts can be very dangerous. However, the platform remains committed to adapt the policy according to its experts.

Disney is now said to have a new, more affordable price-tier for its Plus streaming app in the works - however, there is a catch: there will be ads. The allegedly upcoming subscription option may roll out in the United States to start off with, and might cost about as much as those of its increasingly numerous counterparts from other content firms.

It has emerged that Samsung's Game Optimizing Service is limiting the performance of more than just games. In fact, the service could be holding back the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+ and Galaxy S22 Ultra in over 10,000 applications. Samsung has now commented on the matter in an attempt to explain its reasoning.

Autonomous driving technology, AutoMode, has been unveiled by Kia. The company plans to launch this software in the EV9 SUV, which will launch in 2023, with a planned roll out to other vehicles later.

After seeding the first MIUI 13 update to the Poco F3, Poco is now gracing the Poco X3 Pro with its own taste of MIUI 13. While the Poco F3's update was for Mi Pilots, the Poco X3 Pro's appears to be a stable build.

Samsung has released bug fixes to the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic. Apparently, last month's major firmware update for the pair caused a few problems, despite being aimed at introduced new features to Samsung's first One UI Watch smartwatches.

Sony has started upgrading the Xperia 1 II and Xperia Pro to Android 12, the second OS update for the pair. Android 12 will arrive through an OTA update, 58.2.A.0.899, and is currently eligible for US handsets.

The South American hacker collective allegedly put the confidential data that was stolen in a recent cyber attack to good use and has developed a bypass tool for Nvidia's cryptomining hashrate limiter that is integrated in most GeForce RTX GPUs.

The Poco F3 is now receiving its first-ever MIUI 13 build. This update brings Android 12-based MIUI 13 to the popular phone and weighs in at a whopping 3.2 GB. The Xiaomi 11T Pro also receives a similar Android 12-based OTA that looks to be in stable form.

The Shortcuts app can help you unleash new capabilities and enhance existing workflows on your iPhone. Not everyone has the time or patience to configure such complex automations. Check out these breakthrough shortcuts that you can install in just a few taps!

LG has committed to upgrading the LG Velvet to Android 12 by the end of this month. LG's Android 12 rollout will begin in South Korea and could take a while before it reaches other markets. The likes of the LG Wing should be in line for Android 12 too.

Xiaomi has updated the Mi A3 to the February 2022 security patch on its global software channel. The soon-to-be-replaced security patch arrives as V12.0.20.0.RFQMIXM, a 13 MB OTA file that is also available as a fastboot or recovery file.

Yet again, it appears owners of the Exynos model of Samsung's newest flagship phone, the Galaxy S22 Ultra, get the short end of the stick. Going by side-by-side comparisons, the Exynos 2200-powered phones display both worse battery life and video recording.

Microsoft PowerToys is an open-source, free utility developed by Microsoft that allows users the ability to greatly alter their Windows experience and truly make the most out of their machine. Let's have a look at some of the best features that can be found in the v0.55.2 release.

At its launch event today, Realme announced the debuts of the Realme GT 2 and GT 2 Pro for the global market, as well as updating its software update policy to match Google's on the major OS upgrade front.

iOS 15.4 is the next major software upgrade for iPhones. It is already available to preview in the form of developer betas. Apple has released four of these thus far, the latest of which add the latest updates to the AirTag system intended to avoid their use for malicious purposes. One new beta also reportedly addresses a user-privacy lapse left in an earlier stable version.

Samsung has brought a few new features to the Galaxy Fit 2, one of its older smartwatches. R220XXU1AVB8 is available to download now as an over-the-air (OTA) update and breathes more life into the ageing device.

Nvidia has reportedly been the victim of a ransomware attack, with the hackers successfully making off with over 1 TB of sensitive date from Team Green’s servers. In a surprising twist of events, the graphics card company, headed by Jensen Huang, has allegedly attempted to hack the attackers back to encrypt the stolen data.

The Exynos 2200-powered Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was reported to suffer from a rather pesky display bug. After acknowledging the issue, it appears Samsung has now fixed it with the first OTA to the phones, landing with the March security patch.

Discord has announced new guidelines to combat health and Covid-19 misinformation on its platform. The policy intends to avert harm to individuals due to health falsehoods such as anti-vaccination content and erroneous cures. The company reassures users that legitimate discussions that are based on facts as well as satire will still be allowed.

Sony's premium OLED TVs like the Bravia XR A80J and A90J and other 2021 models like the X90J and X95J will supposedly start receiving the much anticipated VRR firmware update next month.

Microsoft is testing displaying a watermark on the desktop and in the Settings app if run on unsupported hardware. Microsoft is doing A/B testing of the watermark in Dev channel Build 22557. It remains to be seen whether such messaging will eventually start appearing in upcoming public builds as well.

The Kone XP is the latest mouse from ROCCAT, complete with its series' signature shape and Owl-Eye 19K DPI optical sensor. However, it boasts 15 buttons, which have up to 29 possible functions, and more extensive, tunable RGB lighting. The NVIDIA Reflex-compatible Kone XP also benefits from a Titan optical switch with a 100 million-click life cycle.

OPPO has now rounded its new product showcase off with the new, second-gen Enco X earbuds. These new flagship TWS peripherals are rated for Bluetooth 5.2, a new coaxial dual driver system and the LHDC 4.0 codec. The OEM also touts them as accessories with improved active noise cancellation (ANC) thanks to a new chipset.

Introduced at the end of 2017, the Marketplace app that allowed drivers to order and pay for various goods and services is now ready to leave the scene. According to General Motors, the service will be discontinued next month, but it might be replaced by a similar in-car shopping solution soon enough.

Your iPhone is more capable than you think. Tap, swipe, and long press your way through these tips to get the most out of your favorite Apple smartphone. Remember to use these shortcuts to trim down your workflow and boost your productivity in ways you never imagined.

Digital Foundry has determined that Cyberpunk 2077 does not play at 4K on either the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, despite CD Projekt Red claiming that this was now the case. The company's lauded ray-tracing features only introduce minimal visual improvements to Cyberpunk 2077 on Patch 1.5 too.

(Update: Malware warning) A public beta of the nifty little piece of software for cryptominers will be released in the coming few days, and it could possibly impact the prices of all Nvidia's RTX GPUs with the infamous hashrate limiter.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra leads Samsung's latest smartphone lineup as a replacement for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Some owners of the flagship in Exynos regions aren't too thrilled, though, as their phones appear to suffer from a weird display issue.

Xiaomi is set to continue its MIUI 13 rollout with two devices, the Xiaomi 11T and Poco X3 GT. A deep look at Mi code has revealed the existence of Android 12-based MIUI 13 builds for the Global and European models of the Xiaomi 11T after the Mi 11T Pro received an Mi Pilot build days ago.

Lenovo's Vantage software is included from the factory in most of the OEM's laptops nowadays. While it provides the usual warranty and diagnostic information, here are some extra-neat features that may prevent you from uninstalling it immediately.

AV1 is an emerging video codec increasingly adopted by companies in the content-streaming and entertainment space. They range from Samsung to Broadcom - but not Qualcomm, an OEM that has failed to support this form of decoding even in its top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. Now, the company is touted to fix this - in the processor's successor.

OmniVision claims to have broken the world record for pixel size for the CMOS found in smartphone cameras. The new ultra-tiny component is now thus touted to drive ever higher resolution in the field of mobile device imaging, not to mention enhanced technical specs such as quantum efficiency and quad phase-detection autofocus performance, not to mention energy savings.

Park Chan-wook, director of the modern classic Oldboy, has partnered with Apple to post a 21-minute big-production-value video, albeit apparently shot using nothing more than several units of the iPhone 13 Pro. The project is ostensibly intended to showcase the 2021 flagship's upgraded cameras, previously touted as capable of shooting entire features as in this instance.

Without any date for the arrival of the Android 12-based MIUI 13 update for their handsets to talk about yet, Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro owners are now receiving a new piece of code based on Android 11. Sadly, MIUI 12.5.12 Enhanced Edition only includes the January 2022 security patch and nothing else.

Xiaomi has released V13.0.1.0.SKDMIXM to the Xiaomi 11T Pro, the device's first MIUI 13 build globally. Also packing Android 12, V13.0.1.0.SKDMIXM is available to Mi Pilot testers, a program that remains open to join.

Xiaomi may be busy updating smartphones to Android 12, but Xiaomiui is already thinking about Android 13. Purportedly, dozens of Xiaomi, POCO and Redmi smartphones will receive Android 13, including the Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 11 series.