HBO is making a TV Show out of The Last of Us, helmed by Chernobyl creator

Naughty Dog, the studio behind the popular PlayStation title “The Last of Us” has partnered with HBO to create a TV series around the game. The TV show is being made by Craig Mazin, the creator of Chernobyl, a mini-series based on the nuclear disaster that shook the world in 1986. On top of that, Naughty Dog’s own Neil Druckmann will help write and executive produce the series. Sony PlayStation Productions as well as Naughty Dog president Evan Wells are also part of the project.

The show will follow the plot of the first game where jaded survivor Joel has to smuggle a teenage girl Ellie out of a quarantine zone. The game sees the duo team up to fight off the Infected, which are basically zombies as well as rogue citizens on a cross-country tour. There is also a chance that the plot will touch upon events expected in the sequel of the first game, called “The Last of Us Part II”. The release date of the sequel is set for May 29.

Naughty Dog’s game has been acclaimed for its mature storytelling and character development and, while TV show adaptations of popular games are still a rarity (Netflix’s Witcher must have started a trend), HBO won’t have to work too hard to turn this into a gritty tale of survival that can be enjoyed by non-gamers.

The Last of Us TV show also marks a new inning for Sony. Chris Parnell, the co-president of Sony TV studios had said that this is the first of many shows that the company plans to develop with PlayStation Productions. How many of them actually make out of the pilot remains to be seen. A lot is also riding on the success of the TV show currently under making.

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TCL showcases two outrageous foldable concept devices that look straight out of the future

We’re already in the second year of foldable smartphones and OEMs are still experimenting with various form factors. We saw two design variations from Samsung while Huawei simply iterated its previous design with the new Mate XS. Even Motorola pitched in with a nostalgic form factor, while Xiaomi simply wrapped a flexible screen around a body. But trust TCL to come up with a slick concept that might just be one of the better implementations we have seen so far.

TCL showcased two prototypes around a flexible display. The first is a trifold device that goes from a 6.65-inch smartphone to a full-sized 10-inch tablet by unfolding in three parts. The prototype, as experienced by the western media, is reportedly functional with a display that unfolds like a large sheet of paper, and runs Android. This is still very much a proof of concept, not ready for production. But it does showcase the initial purpose of a foldable smartphone. To turn it into a large-screen tablet, and not just a wider smartphone.

The second concept device shows a rollable and sliding prototype. This looks even further from the future and is aimed to solve some of the issues around sliding and folding form factors. The prototype on display, according to multiple reports, was a nonfunctional unit with a paper screen with TCL only showing a video to the assembled reviewers. The company is working on the device in a lab in Japan.

The display in the second device, when folded, curves around the side of the device with some part of the screen hidden inside the phone. When you need a bigger display, press a button and the motors inside will roll it out for you.

While we’re not sure how robust this form factor really will be, it does share resemblance to the rollable TV that LG unveiled last year at CES. Since this is meant to be used on the go and subjected to wear and tear of our daily lives, TCL still has to iron out possible issues.

The two concepts are not going into mass production any time soon, so if you got your interests piqued reading this, you may have to hold your horses for longer. TCL anyway does not release its smartphones in India, and this one is far from becoming a commercially viable unit right now. But it also happens to be a clear glimpse of what the future holds for smartphones.

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Moto G8 goes official with Snapdragon 665 SoC, triple rear cameras and more

Months after launching the Moto G8 Plus, the company has introduced its younger sibling, the Moto G8. The Moto G7 successor brings more versatile camera hardware, a 25 percent larger battery, and upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset. It packs modest specs for a budget device. For reference, the Moto G8 Plus is also powered by the Snapdragon 665 SoC. The handset comes in Pearl White and Neon Blue colours. 

Motorola has launched the Moto G8 in Brazil. It is listed on the official site with a price tag of BLR 1,299 (approx Rs 21,500). Motorola says in an official blog post that the Moto G8 will soon be available in more markets across Asia, Australia, Europe, and Latin America. However, we expect a lower price tag for the device in India.

The Moto G8 features a 6.4-inch Max Vision HD+ (720x1,560 pixels) display with a 19:9 aspect ratio, pixel density of 269 PPI, and an Active Area-Touch Panel measurement of 88 percent. It comes with a punch-hole design at the top left corner. The handset is powered by Snapdragon 665 SoC clocked at 2.0GHz, paired with 4GB of RAM. It runs Android 10.

As for the optics, the smartphone sports a triple rear camera setup: a 16MP main camera that has an f/1.7 aperture + an 8MP wide-angle camera with an f/2.2 lens and a 118-degree field of view + a 2MP macro camera with an f/2.2 lens. On the front lies an 8MP selfie shooter. 

The Moto G8 comes with 64GB of internal storage that can be further expanded via a microSD card (up to 512GB). It packs a 400mAh battery with support for 10W charging. 

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Google Assistant can now read out your web pages for you

If you’re in the habit of reading online articles but have a busy schedule at work, then Google’s new solution might just be of immense help to you. Google Assistant for Android can now read out web pages word by word when you say, ‘OK Google, read this page’ or ‘OK Google, read aloud’. This new text-to-speech feature is currently available in as many as 42 languages, including indic ones such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

Named ‘Read It’, Google’s new text-to-speech feature works on web pages that are open in the Chrome browser. It cleverly skips elements such as ads and tables. It also works on Google Search screens and in the News app. It does not support other browsers and apps such as Firefox and Opera at the moment. According to Google, the new feature accesses the cloud to achieve natural human intonation. Therefore, it won’t work if your device is not connected to the internet. 

The new text-to-speech feature comes with a few inbuilt options, including reading speed and translation to other languages. Clicking on the overflow menu icon on the top right corner during article playback will allow you to change the voice of the reader. Google has thrown in four different voice options with varying accents, namely ‘Lime’, ‘Jungle’, ‘Royal’, and ‘Sapphire’. You can also rewind or skip ahead during playback, like you would with audiobooks.

“This new feature is our attempt to make the Google Assistant even more helpful for all kinds of users across the globe,” commented Yossi Matias, Vice President of Engineering at Google in the official press release. When we asked him if the new feature would work offline or any better on the lighter, faster second-generation Google Assistant that was rolled out in a few countries such as Canada, Australia, Ireland, and Singapore late last year, he said there would be no difference. Read more about the second-gen Google Assistant here.

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Redmi Note 9 Pro memory variants, colour options appear online ahead of launch

The Redmi Note 9 Pro will be launched at the company’s online-only March 12 event. However, ahead of the launch, a bunch of information has appeared online. Recently, it was also spotted on Geekbench. A live image had also appeared online. Now, a new report reveals the storage variants of the device. Further, Amazon micro-site has confirmed that the handset will be made available in a blue colour option. 

According to the tipster Ishan Agarwal, Xiaomi will offer the Redmi Note 9 Pro in two variants in India – 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, and 6GB RAM with 128GB storage. It is expected to feature expandable storage as well. Further, he claims that the phone will come in Aurora Blue, Glacier White, and Interstellar Black colour options. However, he didn’t reveal any specifications of the device. 

Previously, the Redmi Note 9 Pro has been spotted on Geekbench. It scored 569 in the single-core test and 1755 in the multi-core test. There is “curtana” mentioned in the motherboard field which could be the codename of the smartphone or the CPU. It will be powered by a Qualcomm chipset that includes an octa-core processor with 1.80GHz base frequency. It could be the Snapdragon 720G. For reference, its predecessor, the Redmi Note 8 Pro was fueled by a MediaTek chipset, namely, the Helio G90T SoC.

According to the listing, the handset will come pre-installed with Android 10. The other expected features of the Note 9 Pro are 22.5W fast charging, and gaming capabilities. As for the design, the leaked render shows a punch-hole cutout in the top-left corner for housing the front-facing shooter. Moreover, no fingerprint scanner visible on the phone’s back panel which could mean that the company may opt to integrate it with the power button.

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Upcoming Motorola flagship, Edge+ renders leaked, tip waterfall display and triple rear cameras

Motorola is expected to launch its next flagship device, the Motorola Edge+ at an upcoming event. However, the smartphone has appeared online, giving us our full-fledged look at the handset. The leaked images showcase a small hole-punch in the top left corner at the front. Further, the display wraps around the edges. Hence, giving it the name of the waterfall display. At the back, we can see the three cameras arranged in a vertical stack and an LED ring around the Motorola logo.

The latest images come from Pricebaba. As for the bottom of the device, it features a USB-C port and a speaker grill. Moreover, it appears to have a 3.5mm headphone jack. There is said to be an under-display fingerprint scanner as well. Further, it is also seen to have physical volume and power buttons, unlike some previous phones we have seen with waterfall displays. However, the report doesn’t mention any new leaked specifications.

Previously, the company has already confirmed that it will be launching phones powered by Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 865 SoC and the mid-range Snapdragon 765 SoC. The Motorola Edge+ is tipped to be powered by the Snapdragon 865 chipset. It is said to come in 8GB and 12GB RAM variants. It may pack a 5170mAh battery. However, there is no word on fast charging yet. 

The Edge+ is tipped to feature a 6.67-inch full-HD+ (1080 x 2340 pixels) display with a punch-hole notch. In the images, the size of the hole-punch is noticeably smaller than the one on the Motorola One Vision. The device was also spotted on Geekbench. It scored 4106 in the single-core test and recorded a score of 12823 in the multi-core test. Motorola Edge+ is likely to run Android 10.

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The Last of Us HBO Series Set With Chernobyl Creator Craig Mazin, Game Writer Neil Druckmann

After spending years in development hell, the live-action adaptation of the hit survival horror video game The Last of Us is now in the works at HBO as a series, with Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and The Last of Us co-director and writer Neil Druckmann set to script it together.

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