We’re less than a week away from the debut of Huawei’s new P30 and P30 Pro. As we get closer, Huawei has been active at releasing a number of teasers regarding their new lineup of devices. The latest one of which seems to be giving off some major teasers regarding what to expect from Huawei’s upcoming P30 and P30 Pro.
It’s evident that the biggest upgrade on this year’s lineup of Huawei P30 and P30 Pro devices has to be its trio of rear cameras. And apart from taking over DXOMark’s charts, Huawei is seemingly teasing a new camera feature most probably hitting the Huawei P30 series of devices.
The latest teaser reveals what seems to be a show off of what the three cameras on the Huawei P30 series would be capable of. However, it seems like the trailer is teasing another feature that’s reminiscent of Nokia’s Bothie mode. However, that isn’t all. It also seems like the teaser was likely teasing how fast the Huawei P30 Pro is when switching between cameras.
If true, this could be major for the content creators and folks who love to video call their loved ones. Not only that, but seeing all two are three perspectives at the same time would be incredible and meaningful for a ton of people. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, it seems like the Huawei P30 and P30 Pro would be able to switch between cameras in an instant unlike many other smartphones on the market that take a second or two to switch between them.
As these images were all in motion, we would suggest that the feature may also be enabled for video mode too. However, there’s no word on whether Huawei plans to go with a front and back duo as Nokia did with the Nokia 8.
As we move forward towards the launch, we have our eyes set on the Huawei P30 and P30 Pro’s camera improvements this year. After all, keeping their crown on DXOMark’s charts for bragging rights is of Huawei’s utmost importance at this moment in time.
Leaks regarding the upcoming 5G ready Moto Z4 have just surfaced courtesy of 91Mobiles. Despite having the Moto Z3 already supporting the 5G mod, Motorola has started working on their upcoming project and the results are very different than one would expect. The renders showcase the power and volume buttons on the left side of the device with an overall clean and streamlined design language.
Motorola’s Moto Z3 is out and rolling while the manufacturer has gone for an unorthodox approach for the smartphone. Being a mid-ranger with dated internals but a unique exterior the Moto Z3 and a magnetic port for all the fun and crazy Moto Mods.
5G has been the talk of the year recently and with a variety of smartphones from major manufacturers being built around the technology, Motorola decided to take it a step further. Instead of releasing a new 5G ready device, folks over at Motorola have introduced a 5G Mod for the Moto Z3.
Expected to be powered by the latest and greatest Snapdragon 855 SoC, not much is known about the device except the fact that it will act as the brand’s go-to smartphone when it comes to 5G. Featuring a tiny water drop notch and very minute bezels, the design of the moto Z4 seems very relevant to its ancestors and paints a positive picture. As we move towards the back of the device, a 16 pin Pogo connector is visible to support all the Moto mods and no fingerprint sensor is visible. One more thing to notice here is the fact that the Moto Z4 features a single rear-facing camera which is astonishing considering today’s standards.
With such a unique approach by Motorola in a smartphone market this tensed, they have quite a lot on the line. Would Motorola pave its way past mainstream phones throttled by its Moto mods or not?
Samsung has been joining the puzzle to retain its lost glory in 2019. With massive improvements done to the smartphone department and a ton of new innovation underway, Samsung has decided to claim 2019 all for itself. According to a credible tweet by our trusty Ice Universe, Samsung’s smartphone market share has jumped from a mere 1% to 3.6% in 2019.
Samsung’s recent flagship, the Galaxy S10 has acted as a vital force in driving its market share in China. With the Galaxy A series launch just ahead, Samsung’s plans for 2019 have become crystal clear and they all involve domination. As we’ve discussed earlier that the Galaxy A series is no joke when it comes to innovation and would most probably shape up the mid-range market in 2019. With a plethora of leaks about the devices already leaked, we look forward to the launch.
As for Samsung’s stake in China, things are definitely looking interesting. With 2019 only a few weeks in, Samsung has already started gaining ground in the tough Chinese market. Although the increment isn’t huge, yet we mustn’t forget the stakes in China. Chinese smartphone brands have already flooded every major market place and with major brands like Huawei and Xiaomi on the rise, competition is to toughen up even more.
The numbers account for Samsung’s smartphone shares are expected to grow further as 2019 proceeds. With China making up the largest population in the world, having a spot in its market is definitely vital for any brand. The past year proved to be quite tough for all the major smartphone manufacturers with sales not on par with expected figures despite quality innovation brought to consumers.
2019 however seems different and with the new year seems a change of strategy. Samsung’s latest flagship has already started selling well throughout the globe and with the 5G S10 coming out soon the demand for 5G is to increase even more. With the release of updated mid ranged and budget oriented devices by Samsung we hope the precentage to increase in a rapid fashion nevertheless.
Rainbow Six Siege has a new update lined up that shall deal with Toxicity in the game as the devs have written in their blog post. The devs are specifically referring to team killing and griefing in the game when they talk about Toxicity in this new feature. Their solution to this problem is a borderline genius and very creative idea.
Rainbow Six Siege has come a long way since it’s initial release way back in Late 2015. The game received a healthy supply of content and updates ever since. It even got a competitively ranked update soon after it’s release and a decently growing esports scene with its tactical gameplay. Going into its 4th year, the developers have decided to do something about a problem that has been in the game ever since it’s launch, Toxicity.
The devs solution to this problem, Reverse Friendly Fire. By turning the toxic players’ damage upon themselves, they cleverly make quick work of the team killer. When a player would shoot an ally or the hostage, either directly or with their operator’s unique gadget, a warning message appears on the shooter’s screen.
If the player kills a teammate, a message will pop up for the offending player notifying him that Reverse Friendly Fire has been activated. If the player still proceeds to do harm to his teammates or the hostages, he shall only proceed to do damage to himself. All players in the math will also be notified of this change to the offending player’s new status and a teamkiller via the kill feed.
Now, while this new addition will be great for dealing with some of the Toxicity, it will kill the fun for some friends hanging out on the weekend playing Siege and having fun. Fortunately, the developers have thought of that as well.
Whenever the offending player kills his teammate, the teammate shall get a message with the kill cam to validate if the teamkill was intentional or not. If confirmed to be intentional, Reverse Friendly Fire will stay active throughout the rest of the match. If the player confirms it as an unintentional kill, Reverse Friendly Fire will be immediately deactivated. If no decision is made within the given time, Reverse Friend Fire will stay activated.
Penalties will be given out to offending players. The game will track the amount of team kills until the end of the match and shall issue appropriate penalties after multiple offenses have been recorded. However, this will only happen if an intentional team kill is validated, meaning, if the player who was teamkilled did not confirm the kill to be intentional, no penalties will be given out.
Not only Rainbow Six Siege but many other games also suffer from toxicity in their games. Games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and pretty much every other competitive online game with an esports scene. They could definitely take a page from Ubisoft’s page in dealing with teamkillers and griefers.
This update is still under testing and is planned to go live on Test Server’s first. The devs will collect data and feedback from players in both casual and ranked playlists on the Test Server. Changes and improvements will be made according to this data before pushing this update to the main branch of the game.
The PUBG team had been getting tons of feedback from players in certain regions complaining about long matchmaking times. Players were also being put in only one or two specifics maps repeatedly while using Quick Join.
Now, PUBG servers have received an update to improve the matchmaking experience for players based on their feedback. A few changes have been made to both Quick Join and the making system, in general, to improve the over experience of players.
Quick Join has been improved to better distribute players across all maps. This will put more players into a multitude of maps more consistently regardless of what maps are mostly selected by other players. Matchmaking also sees improvements just like Quick Join. Players will have decreased matchmaking times when individual maps are selected. Instances, where users experience infinite matchmaking times on some specific maps, will also be reduced.
Matchmaking systems are not exactly simple, issues should be expected from this update along with the possibility of even more unhappy users. As said by the PUBG team,
This is only one step in our efforts to improve matchmaking and not a final solution, your feedback is crucial as we work to continually improve the PUBG experience for our players.
Everything comes at a price, and so do these changes. To obtain a better variety of maps, longer load times should be expected now. As it is inevitable that most players will choose only a specific selection of maps leaving the remaining maps being deserted. Anyone who then tries to play on these maps will experience long loading times now, before, the player was just put into other maps instead of making them wait.
Qualcomm has just announced major news in the past couple of hours. Qualcomm has just announced a new lineup of SoCs, namely, the QCS407, QCS405, QCS404 and QCS403, dedicated towards smart speakers and digital assistants.
With these new SoCs, Qualcomm is planning to dominate the smart speaker market. Reports from last year suggest that the demand for smart speakers is increasing, with Google and Amazon battling out for the top spot. They went as far as to say that over the next two years, the smart speaker market is expected to grow by more than 2.25 times its current size. And if that doesn’t seem good enough, just remember that the snowball only gets bigger moving forward.
These new SoCs from Qualcomm come in quad-core and dual-core variants. Qualcomm would be adding a ton of audio features on these SoCs to enable hi-fidelity audio paired with technologies such as Dolby’s Atmos. dts-X, Qualcomm’s in-house aptX adaptive engine and DDFA amplifier solution. However, these SoCs wouldn’t solely be dedicated towards smart speakers only as press renders suggest that these SoCs would come with audio, display and camera engines as well for manufacturers who plan to expand their capabilities with their smart speaker, soundbar or device.
Qualcomm is also betting on its AI technology and power efficiency here. And since AI has been a prominent area for Qualcomm to apply their R&D teams at, we would expect some impressive technologies from their Snapdragon lineup of SoCs being ported over here.
Qualcomm hasn’t revealed many details yet or any ongoing developments with the SoCs yet. However, with Qualcomm now officially in the race, OEMs such as Xiaomi and others wouldn’t have to go for custom-built SoCs anymore as AI radically expands over the next few years, making it easier for manufacturers to not online tech space, but the automotive industry to jump in with ease.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or better known as CSGO, has just received a new update that has some minor changes to the game along with some questionable map changes.
Valve has seemingly decided that the map Cobblestone is not fit for competitive play and has removed it altogether from its competitive matchmaking lineup. In its place, Vertigo has been added to competitive matchmaking. The map itself, Vertigo, also receives some updates. Minor gameplay changes have been made, nothing major.
Changes have also been made for casual players. Overpass and Nuke have been moved into the Defusal Delta Group while Cobblestone and Vertigo have been moved into the Defusal Stigma Group. Nuke and Overpass are now considered active duty maps. This means they are to be used at any major valve tournament as they are in the current competition map pool.
This is quite the move by Valve as pretty much no competitive player would prefer to play Cobblestone over Vertigo. Perhaps they want to make changes to Vertigo and make it a viable map. Maybe they are planning to do a cobblestone remake like with other maps in the past. Before, Vertigo was mostly used by players who just wanted to de-rank themselves down the ranks to achieve what is known as ‘smurfing’. They then could play against lower ranked players even though they were players of higher ranks themselves.
Some minor bug fixes and gameplay changes have also been made including a fix for a launch option that they introduced with the 3/6/2019 update. The fix is for Intel iGPU users who got a black screen upon launch when using the launch option. Overall, the launch option has been getting positive feedback from users as some are reporting improved framerates while others are experiencing faster Alt-Tab times. I personally noticed a minor increase in FPS and instant Alt-Tab timings. This was a great addition from Valve. But, it’s fair to say that the same statement does not stand for today’s update.
Leaks regarding Samsung’s upcoming Samsung Galaxy A40 has emerged. Following a long two month wait, the first major signs of the Galaxy A40’s existence is here, suggesting what seems to be an underwhelming set of hardware. The leaks are coming in via a French retailer’s website that has listed the Samsung Galaxy A40 on sale right now.
According to the “allegedly” leaked promo material, courtesy of Slashleaks, the Samsung Galaxy A40 would come with a 5.9-inch AMOLED display, dual rear camera setup and a 25MP selfie camera powered by what seems to be a tiny 3100mAh battery. Other specifications include an Exynos 7904 SoC, 4GB RAM, 64GB of internal storage and a 2340 x 1080 display under the hood.
The device seems to have been leaked in Blanc White at the moment, with more colors most probably coming down the line. The device also borrows a ton of its design cues from the likes of the Galaxy A30 and A50, revealed at MWC 2019. Colors such as Noir Black, Blue and Orange were also spotted on the promo material.
Based on the details revealed so far, the Galaxy A40 sits comfortably between the Galaxy A30 and A50 thanks to its €259 price tag. However, we’re carrying a ton of skepticism over our shoulders at this point.
Given that the Samsung Galaxy A30 and A50 feature a 6.4-inch display paired with a 4000mAh battery. Based on the promo material, it seems to be suggesting that the Galaxy A40 would feature a smaller display and battery compared to the Galaxy A30. For a refresher, here’s a rundown of the hardware on the Galaxy A30 and A50.
REAR / FRONT | Main: 48MP, F2.0
Ultra Wide: 8MP, F2.2 (123°)
3D Depth
.
Rotating Camera
Battery
4,000mAh
4,000mAh
4,500 mAh
3,700mAh
It’s highly unlikely that Samsung would want to degrade the Galaxy A40 past the Galaxy A30, again, taking the pricing into account. But then again, the leaks seem to be too cheesy and credible to overlook.
RAM and storage seem to be in line with what we would expect from a device that sits in between the Galaxy A30 and A50. The same could be said of the Galaxy A40’s rear camera setup too.
As the device remains a mystery as this point, we’re looking forward to the Galaxy A event next month where we’re hoping Samsung to show off the Galaxy A40 alongside a number of other devices. Given what this alleged Galaxy A40 is putting on the table, we would be sad to see if this turns out to be the final device’s hardware.
The iMac lineup by Apple is the company’s go to product when it comes down to raw desktop power. The iMacs have always stood as a symbol of excellence and power with their mighty beastly specs and a very minimalist footprint. Today, Apple has just updated its fleet of iMacs with the latest and greatest hardware options.
The iMac being a powerful desktop option for consumers will now for the first time be available powered by the best 9th generation Intel processors and AMD Vega GPUs. With a very balanced product having an almost perfect retina display, top of the line software improvements and an all in one design, the new hardware refresh would further enhance user experience in 2019. Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac Product Marketing stated that the hardware refresh would not only encourage folks to try out the iMac variants in 2019 but will also witness a better overall experience.
The 21.5-inch iMac – Updated With 8th Gen Intel Processors & AMD Vega GPUs
The desktop variants will now for the first time witness up to 8 cores of Intel excellence that paired with the best in line Vega GPUs. The updated internals would come in two models, a 21. inch Mac and a higher end 27 inch Mac. The 21 inch iMac now features 8th generation quad-core processor and a hexacore i7 processor clocked in at 3.2 GHz, a first for any iMac. Apple claims to have clocked in 60% faster performance than the previous generation which is interesting, to say the least.
The 21.5 inch model is to come with 32 GB of fast DDR4 RAM and come equipped with the latest Radeon Vega Pro 20 graphics with 4GB of VRAM. The graphic performance is expected to boost over 80% than the previous generation which would mean faster rendering, better gaming and an overall faster experience.
The 27-inch Higher End iMac Refreshed With 9th Gen Intel Processors & Vega Graphics
As for the 27 inch model, Apple has for the first time equipped it with top of the line 6-core and 8-core Intel 9th generation processors to deliver even stronger performance. The 27 inch iMac equipped with the Core i9 processor clocked at 3.6 GHz would come with 64 GB of RAM. As for the graphics options of the phone, the 27-inch model is to come equipped with Radeon Pro 580 graphics with 8GB VRAM.
The rest of the specifications are quite standard and similar to the previous iMac but one thing is certain and that is the fact that these new refreshed models would now crush benchmarks. With the higher end model achieving a 50% increment in graphical performance tasks will now be easier and faster than ever before.
Pricing & Availability
Apple has yet once again set the bar pretty high for customers. The lower 21.5-inch iMac starts at $1,299 while the higher end 27-inch model starts off at $1,799. Both the models are equipped with 4k & 5k retina displays while the non retina iMac continues to be available at $1,099.
As for the availability of the desktops, orders start today at Apple.com with additional information about the product available here. Both the desktops still hold the same footprint with the same 4k and 5k retina display while major changes are brought to the internals of the iMacs.
Samsung is expected to reveal a major Galaxy A device at this year’s Galaxy A-series launch event. With the shocking announcement of the event, we were left in awe to see Samsung calling for a dedicated event for their Galaxy A-series of devices, something that Samsung doesn’t do all that often.
Following the announcement, we began speculating what the upcoming Galaxy A event may have in store for us. Samsung’s presence in the mid-range market has shaken its Chinese competitors to its core. For the longest time, Samsung had been failing to gain any traction from the mid-range market due to the fact that Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Huawei had taken over the mid-range market by littering the market with every device and spec sheet you could think of. However, as Samsung transitions into the whole foldable hype, Samsung has hit the mid-range market hard with a number of impressive devices featuring decent price tags.
The first series of shockers hit the Indian market with the launch of the Galaxy M-series of devices, namely, the Galaxy M20 and M30. MWC 2019 introduced us to two new mid-range devices from Samsung, the Galaxy A30 and A50. Following their announcement, four more devices have emerged from the rumor mill, namely, the Galaxy A10, A40, A60 & A90, suggesting the development of all four devices. Now while Samsung hasn’t revealed how many devices they would be revealing at the event, we could definitely hope that the event is at least dedicated to one high-end Galaxy A device.
Samsung Could Release Up To Four Devices
One of the core focuses of Samsung’s new Galaxy A-series of devices is featuring a large battery, a decent spec sheet and a decent set of cameras paired with their incredible displays. Both, the Galaxy A30 and A50 feature 4000mAh batteries. However, only the latter of the two features an under-display fingerprint sensor.
REAR / FRONT | Main: 48MP, F2.0
Ultra Wide: 8MP, F2.2 (123°)
3D Depth
.
Rotating Camera
Battery
4,000mAh
4,000mAh
4,500 mAh
3,700mAh
With the Samsung Galaxy A30 and A50 now set aside, out of the four devices, two of the devices in question, if true, would be better-equipped than the Galaxy A50, namely, the Galaxy A60 and A90. However, based on the teaser image Samsung published for the Galaxy A event, it’s likely that we may see Samsung revealing three devices at the event. Whether that ends up being the case is yet to be seen. Just don’t be shocked if you see the fourth device popping out of nowhere. What those three devices may be is yet to be seen.
Much Beefier Internals
Leaks have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy A60 would pack a larger 6.7-inch display paired with either 6/8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, giving you 128GB of internal storage as its only option. Regarding the SoC behind the A60, the leak suggested that the A60 would feature Qualcomm’s SM6150 SoC, an SoC that emerged from the rumors hill back in December 2018.
Regarding the Samsung Galaxy A90, it seems like the Samsung Galaxy A90 would be a major device. Although the Galaxy A90 has been renamed, it seems like the Galaxy A90 would be a killer of a device, or as we call it in our tamed emotions, an important device that’s actually prompting Samsung to hold a dedicated event for itself.
To keep our speculations within bounds and taking the Galaxy A60 leaks as a reference, we may possibly be looking at a Galaxy A90 packing a 6.7-inch display paired with either 6/8GB of RAM. However, only this time, Samsung may even include an additional storage option for those who care about it. Regarding the SoC, we would hope and speculate to see Samsung utilize their in-house SoCs, more specifically, the Exynos 9810, the same SoC that powered Samsung’s fleet of 2018 flagships. However, we may even get to see a Qualcomm processor. Alongside the Qualcomm SM6150 leak, we also saw the SM7150 lurking alongside it.
A Quadruple Camera Setup
Regarding camera setups, we may get to see Samsung launching either one of these devices with a quad camera setup at its rear. Given that the Samsung Galaxy A50 features a triple-camera setup, we could consider the fact that Samsung’s upcoming device, the A60 at least, would feature a triple camera setup.
Samsung’s meta of triple cameras on their Galaxy A-series of devices has consisted of the main camera, an ultra-wide camera, and a depth sensor. While that is the case with the Galaxy A50, Samsung has made the depth camera a standard, landing the depth camera sensor on the Galaxy A30 as well. Given that neither of these devices features a telephoto camera, we could speculate that there may be a possibility that we may see a telephoto camera on the Galaxy A90. If true, the highest-end Galaxy A device may feature a quadruple rear camera setup just like the Galaxy S10 5G that Samsung teased at their S10 Unpacked event last month, although Samsung may want to save those golden camera sensors for the S10 Plus 5G.
And while we don’t want to throw numbers regarding the Galaxy A90’s megapixel count, we may very well see a 48MP camera sensor on the device if the leaks turn out to be true, allowing Samsung to take on its Chinese rivals hand-in-hand.
Larger Batteries
Rumors have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy A60 would come with a 4500mAh battery. However, with the Galaxy A90, there’s a good chance that the Samsung Galaxy A90 may come with a 5000mAh battery.
Samsung had flexed its muscles with the Samsung Galaxy M30 earlier thanks to its incredible internals and 5000mAh battery. We’d bet that if all the leaks are true, Samsung wouldn’t mind pushing a 5000mAh battery on the A90. However, there are some concerns and reasons why we would doubt our predictions. If Samsung were to offer a 5000mAh battery on the Galaxy A90, the Galaxy A90 may suffer from being too thick of a device. And then given that Samsung’s Galaxy A-series of device target users who want the best of premium features and decent specifications, Samsung may settle for a 4500mAh battery on either device.
Nintendo’s console approach has been quite different ever since the Wii days. The manufacturer has always focussed on exclusive titles, indie games and not to mention fun input methods. The latest console by Nintendo, the Switch.
As 2019 comes to a solid start, Nintendo has just announced to showcase their upcoming indie titles for 2019. The live event would be held 26 hours from now on their live streaming page. The event is set to showcase the future of the Nintendo Switch. The Switch is undoubtedly a wonderful console but pretty underpowered by all standards.
The titles released are never really about the graphics and but their unique gameplay and innovation. The event is set to enlighten folks with 30 minutes of information on indie games and the future of Nintendo in the industry. The indie program is all about the creative ways to bring in joy to gamers just wanting to have fun. Nintendo has been one of the very few catalysts driving the industry forward on a large enough scale. It is worth praising that in today’s age where blockbuster gaming titles are overshadowing classic works of art and fiction.
Moreover, the online multiplayer community has been growing exponentially which seems to set off the demand and value for indie games in today’s age. Nintendo has been doing a wonderful job in this department and we expect quality content to pool out from the stream.
Dirty Unicorns, one of the legendary ROMs that has plagued the internet since my Android KitKat days has officially said good bye in a blog post.
In a blog post posted a while ago, Founder, Alex Cruz, has just announced that Dirty Unicorns would no longer be in operation from now on. Devices that were once supported and updated would no longer receive updates from the team. The founder has announced that the full team backing the project has been released as he plans to pursue Twitch live streams moving forward.
The developer has also announced that they would be keeping the GitHub repository online for folks who plan to update or take notes from the project. However, all of their social media channels, including Discord would be terminated from now on, leading users to switch to other ROMs.
With Dirty Unicorns now out of the scene, Android Q build from the team wouldn’t be coming and it’s time for new ROMs to emerge as we move forward. Over the past few years, we’ve seen many projects from developers emerge. However, Dirty Unicorns was among the first major development projects that contributed to the library of ROMs, keeping enthusiasts running.
With the development team finally released, we could expect these developers to make it some major OEMs over the next few years, such as how Paranoid Android’s team had been recruited by OnePlus during the development of HydrogenOS. Where these developers would end up or who the rest of the team consists of remains a mystery for now. Regardless, we can’t wait to see what happens moving forward.
Broke Protocol: Online City RPG is a massive low-poly open-world RPG game that just blew up out of nowhere on steam garnering over 100K concurrent players. There is no explanation for the massive uptick in numbers at this point in time. But, there always is an explanation for everything and this could potentially be a case of a botting.
The game is currently in Early Access and has been available on steam 26 August of 2017. The fact that this game was released 2 years ago and now it just suddenly rise to the top 10 most played games on steam is just unusual. That too while climbing all the way to the number 4 spot with 100K+ players. The game just received a new Update that released today, could it be the reason for this uptick? There are multiple possibilities for this to happen.
It could be the result of the update itself, which is highly unlikely given its magnitude. It could be because of some popular youtube or streaming personalities promoting the game by just playing it. Upon doing some quick searches on Twitch and Youtube, I found no such evidence of this being the case, at least nothing recent.
A more plausible explanation could be a case of a botting attack. The game website has the tools and a guide available so you can set up your own server. If we go to the games page on steamdb and take a look at the packages tab, you will notice there is a new branch that was last updated 5 hours ago, perhaps even created. The branch has the name Anonymous Dedicated Server Comp with the Billing Type set to No Cost, meaning it’s a branch that is free. Perhaps someone managed to create a Dedicated Server alongside a new branch of the game and then botted the server.
While the above theory could very well be flawed as I am no expert by any means, it’s all we have to go on for now. As the main developer of the game has had no comments about this sudden surge in number. He has noticed the surge himself in a tweet.
Ubisoft has been having a strong start to this year. With successful games launches including Far Cry: New Dawn, Trials Rising, and especially the more recent Tom Clancy’s The Division 2.
While The Division 2 has topped UK charts, the game is still very much behind on the number of launch sales and is struggling to overtake The Division in this regard. Reports suggest that The Division 2’s Launch week sales are only 20 percent of what The Division managed to make in the UK.
The low number of launch sales, when compared to its predecessor, could be attributed to a single factor. That being the launch sale figures only include physical copies sold. The Division 2 is an online game and it is sold on Ubisoft’s own Digital store alongside Ubisoft’s new decision to make use of Epics Digital store as well.
In recent years more and more games copies are being sold digitally on all platforms. The world is turning away from physical media. When The Division came out in 2016, physical media was still somewhat relevant. This could be the single most important factor that is causing these low number of Launch Sales in the UK as per reports. We will have to wait for more reports that include sale figures from all platforms that also include digital sales.
POSITION
TITLE
PUBLISHER
POSITION LAST WEEK
1
TOM CLANCY'S THE DIVISION 2
UBISOFT
-
2
RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2
ROCKSTAR
2
3
GRAND THEFT AUTO V
ROCKSTAR
10
4
FIFA 19
EA SPORTS
5
5
THE LEGO MOVIE 2 VIDEOGAME
WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
7
6
DEVIL MAY CRY 5
CAPCOM
1
7
MARIO KART 8 DELUXE
NINTENDO
3
8
FAR CRY NEW DAWN
UBISOFT
6
9
SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE
NINTENDO
8
10
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. U DELUXE
NINTENDO
11
The Division hasn’t been out for a week and it has overtaken the very successful and popular Devil May Cry 5, pushing Capcom’s game all the way down to the 6th place which was in 1st place last week. Surprisingly, Rockstar seems to be having even more success this year with Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2nd place. Strangely enough, 2015’s Grand Theft Auto V takes 3rd place. Ubisoft’s own Far Cry: New Dawn is at 8th place while it was at a 6th place last week. It is safe to say that Ubisoft has been having quite a decent start to the year with more games on their way.
Regardless, The Division 2 is a well-polished game. It is turning out to be a treat for gamers as the game has built on its past success formula from The Division and improved on it. Critics are giving out positive reviews for the game. It is too soon to decide the success of this game.
ZTE, a Chinese company has just showcased the design of their upcoming Axon S smartphone. The phone definitely looks different and the technology implemented is pretty unique as well. The Axon S offers a mesmerizing 95% screen to body ratio which is desirable considering the trend.
Smartphone designs have come a long way over the course of their existence. From being large, bulky and unresponsive to sleek, premium and powerful hand-held devices the innovation has come a long way. One of the most important trends of smartphones in 2019 is the removal of the notch and to achieve maximum screen to body ratios.
Many manufacturers, as a matter of fact, have produced smartphones trying their best to achieve the goal. The Oppo Find X, Mi MiX 3 and the Galaxy S10 are worthy mentions when it comes to the approach of the manufacturer. The slider mechanism has gained a lot of attention these past few months with the Xiaomi Mi MiX 3 doing exceptionally.
Although the device comes with a slider phone solution to the screen to body ratio problem, the slider is unlike any other ever showcased. The phone offers a horizontal slider from the left side of the screen instead of a vertical top slider. Moreover, the phone is designed to house a 5x optical zoom lens with a 48 MP primary sensor and most probably a 3D depth sensor. The unique slider not only allows more space for more tech to be built but also acts as a full-fledged reverse digital camera. Remember those early digital cameras with a slider to reveal the lens? Well, the Axon S gives the exact same look but with the front.
The display technology and the internals of the phone are yet to be determined but one thing is addressed and that is the inclusion of an under display fingerprint scanner. Ultrasonic or not, nothing yet is confirmed but the design flow of the device and the geometric features of the phone definitely look pleasing. Having a different, new point of view to the notch problem is undeniably welcome and we’d love to hear more about the design in the future.
Xiaomi’s Redmi brand has definitely matured ever since its separation from Xiaomi. Today, Redmi has announced the Redmi 7 powered by the Snapdragon 632 mobile processor focussing on a very budget oriented audience.
The Specifications & Features Of The Phone
Despite being a very budget friendly option, the Redmi 7 offers quality specifications and the phone does not feel cheap or inexpensive in any sort of way. Powered by the Snapdragon 632 SoC and an octa-core Kryo 250 processor the Redmi 7 throttles through daily tasks and offers a very standard and smooth experience for basic users. Consisting for four powersaving cores also enhances the phone’s efficiency and speed which is always welcome.
The display of the phone is one of the highlights of the device. Featuring a 6.26-inch HD+ dot drop display the Redmi 7 rolls out in style with a very modern design which makes the phone look a whole lot more premium. Although the phone does have a little bit of a chin one cannot complain at such an affordable price. As for the camera of the phone, the Redmi 7 comes equipped with a 12MP rear-facing sensor and a depth sensor. Both the rear and front cameras of the device are ready with all sort of modern features and gestures.
Miscelaneous Quirks & Features
Powered by a huge 4000 mAh battery, the Redmi 7 offers up to 400 hours of stand by time which is certainly unbelievable. The geometry of the phone is quite similar to the rest of the Redmi devices but the back of the phone is a little bit more curvaceous. The phone also comes in three different flavours namely Comet Blue, Lunar Red and Eclipse Black.
As for the durability of the smartphone is concerned, the front display is protected under the Gorilla Glass 5 and the phone itself satisfies the P2i splash-proof technology thereby making the device a lot more effective to regular wear and tear.
Pricing & Availability
The Redmi 7 will be available starting March 26, 2019, with a starting price of 699 RMB almost equal to about $110. The phone’s availability is yet confirmed in the Chinese mainland and the international standpoint is yet unknown. The device starts off with a 2GB/16GB storage option which is considered pretty standard for a device which comes in just over a $100.
Overall Redmi phones never cease to impress and the Redmi 7 is one of them. Having such a phone at such an affordable price is undoubtedly a gift and if Redmi somehow manages to take it to international markets then they may have an edge over competitors.
Samsung has just announced the Samsung Galaxy A-series event a few hours ago. And as we get closer to the keynote, it seems like Samsung is making some last-minute decisions with the alleged Samsung Galaxy A90. Rumors regarding Samsung’s Galaxy A60 and A90 poured the internet last month, with the Galaxy A60 receiving a more glamorous shot at the leak trends. The Galaxy A90 though, didn’t seem to make it through the Samsung’s HQ as rumors first touted.
The Galaxy A90 would most probably be the highest-end variant of Samsung’s Galaxy A-series lineup, we would speculate that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A-series event is dedicated to the Galaxy A90.
As we get closer to the events, Ice Universe, one the original leakers of the Galaxy A90 has suggested that Samsung has redone the name of the Samsung Galaxy A90. As for what the name has been changed to remains a mystery for now. His tweet reads…
The Galaxy A90 has been renamed, and the new naming is still unknown.
Ice Universe via Twitter
While the last-minute decision definitely seems to be odd, we could speculate what the reasons for such a change may be. As for what we would speculate, it seems like Samsung could have changed the name of the Galaxy A90 given the fact that they may be a much beefier Galaxy A-series device coming down the line later this year. After all, Samsung releases Galaxy A devices all year long, often a few months apart.
Alleged leaks have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy A60 packs a 6.7-inch display, an even beefier processor, a 4500mAh battery and more. And given that the Galaxy A90 would have been better-equipped, we could only imagine what the device would end up as at the Galaxy A-series launch.
As Samsung continues to get aggressive in the mid-range market, with the latest examples being the Galaxy A50 and the Galaxy M30, we can’t wait to see what Samsung has in store for Xiaomi and other OEMs to fear for.
Apple has just announced the addition of two new iPads to their fleet of iPad tablets. These new iPads compliment the monstrous iPad Pros launched late last year with the introduction of a 7.9-inch compact table as well as a 10.5-inch table for folks who can’t make it to the iPad Pros.
The new iPad Air is powered by Apple’s beastly A12 Bionic SoC. The device features Apple’s new neural engine and comes in a 10.5-inch display flanked by year-old bezels. Both, the iPad Air and iPad Mini re-introduce TouchID sensors to rejunivate Apple’s classy curved design.
Both of the iPads feature support for Apple’s 1st-gen Apple Pencil and do seem to feature last-gen camera hardware. On the front, we’re looking at a 7MP selfie camera. While the back of the tablet houses an 8MP sensor. Both, the iPad Air and iPad Mini shoot video at up to 1080p and do have the capabilities of enabling AR for the curiosity seekers. Nothing else about the iPads have changed since their last launch except for the aforementioned new SoC and feature set.
Both devices would run on the latest version of iOS 12 and thanks to the updates hardware, would continue to get major updates for the years to come.
The iPad Mini is said to retail for $399 in the US and would be sold alongside the iPad Air and iPad Pros on Apple’s website and Apple Store. Cellular options for the iPad Mini are also available, lying in the $529 range if you’re planning to go with 64GB of internal storage. If you’re curious about the new iPad Air, you could pick the iPad Air for as low as $499 along with an addition of a cellular edition for $629. Storage options for both of the devices lie in the 64GB and 256GB range. And in classy Apple fashion, both, the iPad Air and iPad Mini would come in silver, space grey and gold finishes.
Samsung has just announced some major news for the mid-range market. Following the annoucement of the Galaxy A30 and A50 at MWC 2019, Samsung itsetting its sights on the next major Galaxy A device next month.
In a blog post published today, Samsung revealed details regarding their Samsung Galaxy A event set to go down in Bangkok, Milan, and Sao Paulo. In their post, Samsung didn’t mention any names nor tease any features regarding the device. However, given that Samsung is holding yet another dedicated event for their A-series of smartphones seems to suggest that these upcoming devices may play a major role in knocking the mid-range market to its core.
Rumors, renders, and leaks had been suggesting the introduction of new Galaxy A devices. We’ve learned about the likes of the Galaxy A10, A40 and A60 so far, as well as a tidbit of the Galaxy A90. However, there’s no telling what Samsung may drop at the event next month.
Whatever the device may be, it seems like the device may be a device that would hit international markets as soon as it launched. Rumors suggested that the Galaxy A90 may be a Chinese exclusive. However, if the Galaxy A90 is the device Samsung may pull the curtain from, we may see the device hitting the international market.
Given how significant the Galaxy A30 and A50 are, we would suspect that this mysterious Galaxy A device would take that to the next level. Both, the Samsung Galaxy A30 and A50 revealed a major set of staples for the market. From a premium design to a trio of cameras at the back. Both devices also featured Samsung’s new Dynamic AMOLED display, a waterdrop notch, and a 4000mAh battery to make the deal even more enticing. Given that this device may be significant for Samsung, we may these specs take a bigger bump on paper, most probably in the battery and display department.
We’re talking about an even speedier processor, a probable Exynos 9810 SoC from last year, as well as a 5000mAh battery to offer a pat on the Galaxy M30’s back. And given that this would be a much more premium of a device, we could expect an under-display fingerprint sensor, as well as a set of classic Samsung features, to enable Samsung Pay on the device.
Regardless, we can’t wait to see what Samsung has in store for the device.
Razer has been making gaming products ever since the company was founded in 2005. Razers main slogan was and still is ‘built for gamers, by gamers‘. They have made a variety of gaming products ranging from Mice, Keyboards, and Headsets among other stuff. Razer has had some very successful and popular products over the years. Now they have decided to revive their best-selling Keyboard, Mouse, and Headset to form a new budget lineup of their best selling products that are improved on.
The Clickiest Razer Blackwidow
The original Razer Blackwidow was release in late 2010 with Cherry MX Blues and was a huge success. On the contrary, every version of the Blackwidow was quite successful and loved by gamers. But, when Razer decided to switch to their own Razer greens with the Blackwidow Chroma in 2012, users were skeptical of the switch and were hesitant to accept it. Razer made their own Green switch in partnership with Kailh. But, the Green switch turned out to be a treat for gamers as the Green switch had a shorter actuation point than Cherry MX Blue switches. With tenkeyless tournament editions also being available the Blackwidow lineup of Razer keyboards has been the go-to choice for some gamers for quite a while now
Fast forward to today and Razer has revived the Blackwidow lineup with their new and improved Razer Blackwidow. The keyboard uses Razer’s own Green switches that have the benefit of having a shorter actuation point and a more distinct clicky sound than Cherry MX Blue switches. The keyboard also is said to have a minimal key wobble with Razer’s dual-side wall design. This should help with any inaccuracy when typing and miss presses. Each key is rated at 80million keystrokes which should last you quite a while.
You can’t forget the RGB goodness we have come to expect from Razer. The keyboard features Razer Chrome with 16.8 million colors for each individual key. The lighting can be easily controller by the Razer Synapse software. Sadly, there is no hardware shortcuts built in to control the RGB lighting on the keyboard.
The Keyboard only seems to come in Black color. It costs $119.99USD and is available now on the Razer store.
The Comfier Razer Kraken
The Razer Kraken is perhaps the most iconic headset we have seen alongside the Steelseries Siberia V2. The headset could have been seen on many people’s heads. The original Kraken only came as a headset and had no mic by default. To get the mic you had to buy the Pro version of the Kraken. However, The Razer Kraken V2 changed this with the addition of a mic by default. Both the Razer Kraken V1 and V2 versions had 7.1 surround sound support that immersed users into their games even more.
The Razer Kraken Pro didn’t differ much from the apart from a few elements. The Pro version connected via a 3.5mm headphone jack instead of a USB connector, it did not have any surround sound support, the v2 version of the Kraken Pro had 2 mics in the headset instead of just one. Overall, The Razer Kraken lineup of headsets had a lot to give to gamers with 7.1 surround sound, Pro, and Tournament versions available.
Razer has added a new successor to the Kraken Pro V2 with the all-new Razer Kraken. The headset is based on the design elements of their flagship headset the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition. The Razer Kraken is a headset that both looks very comfy and delivers as well. With its large thick cushions and the well-padded headband, you could game for hours on end without having to take your headset off.
Razer has also improved on the main part of the headset maturing their already good 50mm drivers that should make for a crisp and clear listening experience. The headset has inline volume controls and a mute toggle for convenience. The headset comes in the classic Green, Black, Pink, and a Black version with Blue accents. It costs $79.99USD which is the same as the Kraken Pro V2.
The Razer Basilisk Essential
The Razer Basilisk Essential is the same as the original Basilisk in terms of its shape. It still retains the right-handed ergonomic form factor from the original. The mouse features 7 different configurable buttons that use razer’s mechanical mouse switches which can last up to 20 million clicks. One thing this mouse does a bit different is the inclusion of a Multi-Function thumb paddle which was what one of the features that made the original basilisk so great.
We seem to get a sensor upgrade here with a 6400DPI optical sensor. But, any other specifics of the sensor have not yet been revealed. We will have to wait and see whether the sensor has acceleration/jitter problems or not as reviews of the mouse come in. The mouse also features Razer Chroma lighting which should satisfy all of your RGB needs with it’s 16.8 million colours and various effects.
The Razer Basilisk Essential is priced at $49.99USD and is available now on the Razer store.
PUBG or fully known as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was the game that kickstarted the battle royale trend that we see in games today. But, ever since Fortnite came in to steal the show, the numbers have started to decline. The newcomer on the block, Apex Legends, surely hasn’t helped with the situation at all.
When PUBG came out back in early 2017 it didn’t garner much attention right away. But, fast forward to the summer of 2017 and the game spiked in growth thanks to popular twitch streamers that streamed the game 24/7 at the time. The game peaked at over 3 Million players on steam alone. With the PC version gaining so much popularity over the first year Bluehole decided to launch the game on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in late 2018.
Surprisingly, the popular battle royale game also got a mobile version following Fortnite that had a crazy amount of success, especially in some Asian countries. It quickly beat Fortnite to the active number of players on mobile and is still dominating the mobile market. The mobile version of the game is being played soo much that in India they have banned the game outright. If caught playing the game, you will go to jail. Players have also been spending more money on PUBG mobile as found from a report in late 2018
The game has had a consistent decrease in PC players since February of 2018 and it showed no signs of slowing down until recently. PUBG did have a slight uptick in users in Dec 2018 and Jan 2019. unlucky for the game, Apex Legends made a drop in February that quickly gained popularity and players. This lead to yet again another decline in PUBG’s player base.
The decrease is mainly because of Fortnite and Apex Legends. while Fortnite was already making the game suffer in player count, the new popular game on the block Apex Legends made an entry last month and is fastly becoming the most popular game around. Apex legends even beat Fortnite’s time to 50 Million players. This is probably due to the fact that Fortnite and Apex Legends are free-to-play on all platforms which garner’s them more players.
The game seems to have overall streamlined from its decrease and has been pulling in at least 900K players daily. while this has been the case for the past few months there is a good chance that the player count will decrease even further. The game could possibly even die altogether if Bluehole does not do anything about this soon. They should definitely think of making PUBG go free-to-play just like it’s competitors. PUBG’s mobile version of the game is hugely popular, maybe the PC and Consoles version could be too if they go free-to-play.
A Reddit user spotted an EA Access tile on the Brazillian PSN store. The image shows a tile labelled “EA Access Now Available” in Spanish with a very believable picture. Although the leak does not hold any solid evidence yet the appearance does make sense.
Subscription based video game services have gained a lot of traction over the past couple of years. With users leaning more towards subscription services than buying a full fledged title for its full price. Studies show that gamers would rather pay a monthly fee for a select game than pay the full price once.
Sony’s stance in subscription-based services is definitely worth mentioning. The PS Now service is one of many which provides quality titles for users to enjoy for a monthly fee. Just like that EA has come up with EA Access, a service inaugurated a few years ago to bring subscription-based gaming to EA titles. The service has gained popularity on the Xbox One platform but it seems now that EA plans on expanding.
With more and more titles published by EA, the opportunity to enjoy them all for a fraction of the price is undoubtedly a wise option. Having to pay a small fee each month. EA has already covered Xbox and PC with its services and now only the PS4 remains and it seems to be the publisher’s next target.
The talk of EA has definitely stirred the community since the game library is huge and the talk of EA Access on the PS4 is a win-win for enthusiasts. Having literally no competition EA could take advantage of this opportunity and control the entire market according to its needs while keeping the player base happy. Some may be hopeful for EA to make an announcement and others may dislike the thought of another paid service but one thing is for sure and that is the fact that in the future we’ll be seeing more and more subscription-based services. Having to pay a small fee instead of a full $60 price for multiple games is truly a dream come true and PS4 users wouldnt mind having the opportunity.
AMD adds a new family member to its 7th generation A-Series APUs by launching the AMD A6 9400 APU on a German retailers Website. Just like the rest of the 7th generation APUs, this one is also based on the excavator microarchitecture instead of the zen microarchitecture.
AMD’s A6 9400 APU is built on the 28nm process produced by TSMC. The APU is compatible with a wide variety of boards that support AMD’s AM4 Socket. You have the option to choose boards from A, B, and even X series chipsets such as the A320, B350, and X370 chipsets. The APU consists of 2 cores and 2 threads and comes with only 1MB of L2 Cache which is quite low. The APU’s processor cores have a base clock speed of 3.7GHz with no boost option available. You also have dual-channel DDR4 Memory support with speed of up to 2400mhz.
Since this is an APU it comes with AMD graphics integrated into the processor. This specific APU uses AMD Radeon R5 that is based on the Graphics Core Next (GCN) 2.0 microarchitecture. The integrated graphics in this APU comes with 192 shader cores, a base clock of 720MHz, and a boost clock of 1029MHz. The Dual Channel memory will help with the performance of the Integrated Radeon R5 GPU but, since this is a fairly entry-level solution, don’t expect cutting edge performance from this APU.
This APU was found listed on a German retailer’s website going by the name of Mindfactory. The website had this APU listed for US37.63$ with VAT (Value-added Tax) included. After doing away with the VAT tax, we get a price of about US32.50$. It would be safe to say that the chip will end up costing anywhere in the neighborhood of US30-35$. The chip is set to be released on 20th March 2019, at least on the website that is. The specifications for the APU found on the German website can be seen below:
APU
A6-94000
Processor Family
AMD A6
Processor clock frequency
3.7 GHz
Number of CPU cores
2 core 2 threads
Processor socket
AM4
Processor cache
1MB L2
On-board graphic model
AMD Radeon R5
Thermal Design Power (TDP)
65 W
The AMD A6 9400 APU will only be good for general day-to-day use with Its Dual Cores processors and Radeon R5 Graphics. The APU will really only be good enough for some really lightweight indie games without breaking the bank. Some users just want to browse the web and play online web games in their free time instead of becoming a hardcore gamer and they might not want to build the most powerful pc around to do just that.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is undeniably one of the highlight titles of 2018. Being released on the Xbox One and PS4 the title crossed new boundaries of graphical innovation and produced a game pleasing to the eye. Rockstar like most their titles have a habit of perfectionism and Red Dead Redemption 2 radiates that same energy.
The title received a new update just recently with various bug fixes and features but little did fans know, the update brought a downgrade in graphics for the PS4. After the update fans quickly realized the downgrade in graphics and the internet went wild. The user Darealbandicoot was one of the first to notice the play and immediately took the matter to Twitter.
Taking a look at the provided screenshots we notice that the new v1.06 update removes the AO ( Ambient Occlusion) settings down to a minimum. For those of you who are new to the word, Ambient Occlusion or AO is a method widely used in modern titles to enhance the lighting and shadows of the game. The AO feature actually tells the light to react in a natural way according to its surroundings and appear realistic.
Before The 1.06 UpdateAfter The 1.06 Update
Although the update didn’t mention any sort of downgrades but the differences are striking and taking a look at the shots we can notice the differences with ease. The shadows after the patch are reduced down to the minimum and the entire scenery looks pale and very uninviting. From here there could only be two possibilities. Either that this update triggered a bug which would disable AO or that Rockstar purposely downgraded the graphics in order for the game to run smoothly.
Taking the graphics capabilities of the PS4, Red Dead Redemption easily pushes the outdated hardware to the very extreme squeezing out every drop of power and with it, chances are that the game became unbearable and had to be optimized. For now we’d like enthusiasts to not update the game in order to not ruin the visuals and in the meantime Rockstar would definitely have to answer some questions.
