Microsoft Xbox One streaming to Android now available in preview

Microsoft has started allowing Xbox One Testers in the US and UK to try out the Xbox Console Streaming feature. The feature allows users to stream Xbox One games from their console to their mobile device. The feature is available to Xbox Insiders in the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings and is currently only offered on Android smartphones and tablets. 

“Our vision at Xbox is to empower you to play Xbox games where you want, when you want. Whether you’ve got just a few minutes to complete a race in Forza, or find yourself with an hour to get some online multiplayer in before the next train arrives, console streaming allows you to play your games on the go,” writes Jonathan Hildebrandt, Principal Program Manager at Xbox. 

Those eligible for Xbox Console Streaming will need to have a phone or tablet running Android 6.0 or higher with Bluetooth 4.0. They also need a Bluetooth-enabled Xbox One Wireless Controller. Users will then have to download the Xbox Game Streaming (Preview) app from the Google Play Store. A controller mount for the phone is also recommended.  

The app will guide players through the setup process, which will include a test to ensure that the home network, console and controller are ready for Xbox Console Streaming. These include:

Open or Moderate NAT type Upstream bandwidth of at least 4.75 Mbps, although 9 Mbps is preferred Network Latency of 125 ms or less, which 60 ms or less being ideal Power setting needs to be ‘Instant-on’ 

Those who will get to test out the service are asked to stream a range of Xbox One games in order to check how the service can handle different loads. However, they are also informed that backward compatible tiles are not supported as of now.

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Call of Duty: Mobile is offering a free upgrade to an automatic sniper rifle for Halloween

If the DL Q33 sniper rifle is not being useful enough for you in Call of Duty: Mobile, the game is offering a limited-period free upgrade to the Arctic.50 rifle with a bat-themed camo of it. You only have two days to unlock the gun, otherwise the gun unlocks when you reach level 67.

The Arctic.50 rifle’s stats reveal it can deal a one-shot kill damage if you aim right. The rifle has a lesser 85 damage point (can be extended to 95 with the FMJ-SR bullet), while the mobility and fire-rate is much better than the DL Q33's. The accuracy of both the rifles is the same. What this means is that the Arctic.50 has a faster rate of fire, letting you shoot faster than the DL Q33. Because of a higher mobility (largely due to lesser weight), the Arctic.50 also has less recoil.

We played a round of Crossfire with the new rifle and the difference was quite noticeable. The gun comes handy in situations where you have to gun down multiple enemies in one go, especially in maps like Crossfire and Killhouse while playing Team Death Match or Frontline.

The attachments for the gun includes a tactical scope, same as the one you get for the DL Q33, the FMJ-SR bullet, extended mag, fast mag, suppressor and a stock.

Halloween is proving to be quite rewarding for COD: Mobile players. The game is also offering the Sparrow operator skill as part of the event. It’s a bow-and-arrow with the arrows tipped with explosives. You can read up on all the new features that arrived as part of the Halloween update here.

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Samsung unveils Galaxy Book Flex, Ion laptops with Intel 10th Gen CPU, QLED display

With PC manufacturers like Lenovo and Asus bringing in more Thin and Light laptop models each passing year, Samsung appears to be feeling the need to step in and try its hand. At this year’s annual Samsung Developer Conference (SDC19), Samsung unveiled two new Thin and Light laptops under the Galaxy sub-brand. While the Galaxy Ion is a traditional Thin and Light model, the Galaxy Flex is a Thin and Light Convertible with support for the inbuilt S Pen stylus. Both laptops will be available in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch variants. Their pricing and availability are not known at present.

Galaxy Flex comes with an inbuilt S Pen stylus

Both models are powered by Intel’s 10th Gen Core series CPUs and up to 16GB of system RAM. Storage goes up to 1TB on a PCIe NVMe solid-state drive. Both models feature a QLED display panel with a maximum resolution of 1980 x 1080 pixels (Full HD), AKG-tuned stereo speakers, a fingerprint scanner, Wi-Fi 6, and support for Thunderbolt 3. The 15.6-inch variants of both models come with optional discrete graphics in the form of an Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU with 2GB of GDDR5 video RAM.

While the Galaxy Ion is powered by Intel’s 14-nanometre Comet Lake chips, the more flexible Galaxy Flex is powered by Intel’s 10-nanometre Ice Lake chips. According to the spec sheet shared by Samsung, the 13.3-inch variant of the Galaxy Ion weighs less than a kilogramme (970g). The 15.6-inch variant of the same model weighs up to 1.26 kilogrammes. The Galaxy Flex, whose dimensions are similar to the Galaxy Ion’s, weighs a little over the 1-kilogramme mark too (13.3-inch: 1.15 kilogrammes, 15.6-inch: up to 1.57 kilogrammes). The Galaxy Flex is expected to come in a Royal Blue colour option, while the Galaxy Ion will come in an Aura Silver colour option.

The two new Samsung laptops are based on Intel's Project Athena

Samsung says both models were co-engineered with Intel as part of Project Athena to “meet the program’s targets for advanced computing experiences and specifications to enable exceptional responsiveness, high efficiency battery life and instant action.” The QLED panel on both devices is expected to throw out up to 600 nits of brightness. Samsung says the two new Galaxy devices also feature Wireless PowerShare in their touchpad, which can be used to charge Qi-certified smartphones and devices, including Samsung’s own Galaxy Buds.

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PUBG Mobile takes on hackers with new anti-cheat system and real-time detection

PUBG Mobile is one of the most famous battle royale games available for mobile phones. While it is facing stiff competition from other battle royale titles like Call Of Duty: Mobile and Fortnite, it's developers are working hard to add new features and bring new experiences. PUBG Mobile was recently updated with a new payload mode, new weapons and more but the game is still plagued by cheaters who employ unethical means to get a leg up against the competition. To counter this, the company has now introduced a new anti-cheat detection system, which is set to identify and ban in-game cheaters.

This new detection software by PUBG Mobile is said to be the first line of defense against cheaters as it scans for software and modified game data. The company also uses "a massive and ever-expanding library to cross-reference when detecting suspicious software," which helps it keep up with new and evolving hacks and cheating methods. In addition, there are game observation techniques that the game developers leverage to spot players using unfair means for stealing that chicken dinner. Banning players requires considerable deliberation since it is an issue if a genuinely skilled player is kicked out. To ensure only users using hacks and unfair means are banned, PUBG Mobile's security team uses game observation in tandem with its new anti-cheat system and real-time detection software.

As per PUBG Mobile, its observation team can go through gameplay to differentiate between the use of unfair software and player skill, as well as unusual game occurrences due to lag or packet loss. Furthermore, PUBG Mobile developers are able to carry out player bans in real-time, which means hackers can be kicked out even in the midst of an ongoing bout to deliver a better gaming experience for players. It is high time that PUBG Mobile took some major steps in trying to better the in-game environment. The game has been plagued by hackers and cheaters who marr the gaming experience for most players. 

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Xiaomi Mi Note 10 108MP camera zooming capabilities teased ahead of launch

Xiaomi has confirmed that the Mi Note 10 will launch with five cameras at the back. One of those cameras will be a periscope lens with up to 5X optical zoom, 10X hybrid zoom, and 50X digital zoom. To showcase the zooming capabilities, the company has released a video showing the camera in action. It shows Mi Note 10 mounted on a tripod on one side of the road while on the other side of the road, 5 meters away, is an eye chart. The phone zooms in up to 50x in the chart.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 will feature a glossy finish with a jade green colour. It will sport a penta-camera setup. The main sensor will be the 108MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor. The phone is said to sport a 20MP ultrawide angle camera, a 12MP portrait camera, and a 1.5 cm macro camera. Moreover, leaked images also show a curved display, a waterdrop notch, and hint at a tall aspect ratio. 

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 was allegedly spotted on Geekbench where it was spotted to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G chipset, paired with 6GB RAM. It may have a 32MP selfie camera, a 6.47-inch OLED screen, and up to 256GB of storage. The smartphone is tipped to pack a 5170mAh battery.

Xiaomi could also unveil its first smartwatch in the November 5 event. It may be accompanied by Xiaomi's Mi TV 5 series. Mi Watch will have a design similar to that of the Apple Watch. The watch will reportedly offer features like calling, music playback, messaging and more. Xiaomi is all set to reveal the Mi Note 10, Mi Watch and Mi TV 5 series in China on November 5. Price and availability of the products are yet to be known.

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The next Samsung Galaxy Fold could be a flip phone-style foldable smartphone

Samsung kicked off a new smartphone segment with the launch of the Galaxy Fold. With a flexible display, six cameras and a whole new form-factor, the Galaxy Fold ushered in a new era of industrial design for smartphones. Even though it was riddled with design issues, Samsung went ahead and launched in the market. In India, the Galaxy Fold can be grabbed for Rs 1,64,999. Now, it seems like Samsung is planning to continue making foldable smartphones. We have reported that Samsung is working on more foldable devices and the company has just teased a vertically folding smartphone. At the Samsung Developer Conference 2019 in the United States, the Korean giant has unveiled a new design for a smartphone that folds into a square.

The new form factor is a completely different approach from that of Galaxy Fold. It folds vertically, like the old flip phones. The teased device is interesting as instead of unfolding into a tablet, it unfolds into a tall smartphone and folds into an easily pocketable device. The new Galaxy Fold is reported to carry the model number SM-F700F and it could come equipped with 256GB of internal storage.

Going from phone to tablet is handy for specific tasks, but a vertical foldable phone could be a more desirable form factor as it makes the smartphone more pocketable. 

Earlier, it was reported that Samsung is indeed building a foldable smartphone that folds vertically. However, the patent revealed the design to be similar to Huawei Mate X, that is, a display that would fold outwards. The patent published by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) in August showed how the design could possibly work in practice. It said, “in its folded position, the device would fold with the display outwards like the Huawei Mate X – thus taking up a smaller footprint, while still allowing parts of the display to function for other tasks.” However, the teased device seems to be different than this concept.

Nothing can be said on price and availability as of now. However, Samsung is expected to release a foldable flip phone-style smartphone early next year. We may get a glimpse of it during the launch of Galaxy S11.

 

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Netflix explains its new playback speed tests after Hollywood directors rage online

If you were the director of a war drama film that’s streamed on Netflix by hundreds of millions of viewers, would you give your audience the option to speed up that lengthy but poignant scene that tears the protagonist away from their only newborn? That’s exactly why Hollywood directors were tweeting in rage and disappointment a couple of days ago, after reports of Netflix testing a new playback speed feature on mobile devices surfaced online. Netflix has since responded to the uproar in a blog post, explaining why it’s testing such a feature.

The new playback speed feature on Netflix, which was spotted on some mobile devices a few days ago as part of a public feature test, allows the viewer to either speed up or slow down video playback by up to 1.5x/0.5x. YouTube and other online video players have had this feature for as long as we can remember. Netflix appears to be testing it on certain mobile devices along with the option to change the screen brightness and lock the screen without leaving the playback window. Netflix also wants to find an easier way to access language and audio settings during playback.

When initial reports of Netflix testing this playback speed feature popped up on the internet a couple of days ago, Hollywood directors pushed back heavily against Netflix’s decision to implement it, worried that their artistic efforts would be brought to nothing in the process. In the words of Judd Apatow (Bridesmaids, Liar Liar), the directors wanted the films and shows to be seen “as they were intended to be seen”. Actor Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Need for Speed) tweeted, “That would mean they are completely taking control of everyone else’s art and destroying it.”

Netflix has since responded to the backlash in a blog post, clarifying that it will not implement all these features under test (including playback speed) until it sees a positive feedback from its users. “We have no plans to roll any of these tests out in the short term. And whether we introduce these features for everyone at some point will depend on the feedback we receive,” writes Keela Robison, Vice President at Netflix in the blog post. What do you think, reader? Would you be opposed to the idea of Netflix getting a feature that even DVD players have had for decades now?

 

Whelp— another spectacularly bad idea, and another cut to the already bleeding-out cinema experience. Why support & finance filmmakers visions on one hand and then work to destroy the presentation of those films on the other??? https://t.co/T7QdYAQGHU

— Brad Bird (@BradBirdA113) October 28, 2019

 

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