TikTok beats Facebook, Whatsapp to become the most downloaded app in 2020

TikTok has overtaken Facebook to become the most downloaded app in 2020. Despite facing a hard time in its key markets India and the USA, the viral short video app has shown immense growth number in the last two years. TikTok also leapt 15 spots to become the second-highest revenue-generating app for “consumer spend” behind Tinder. The app is expected to hit 130 billion iOS and Android downloads with global spending forecasted to hit $112 billion this year iOS.

As per App Annie's annual trend report, TikTok has earned the most downloaded app followed by Facebook at the second spot. Compared to last year's ranking, TikTok has moved three positions upwards taking over WhatsApp, Facebook and Facebook Messenger. In 2019, four of the top five most downloaded Facebook-owned apps dominated the rankings, with TikTok finding a place at number four. 

This year, though, Zoom has surprised everyone with its entry at number four, jumping 219 positions up the list. Last year's most downloaded app Facebook Messenger moved at number six where Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram held to their spots at number two, three and five respectively. However, Facebook’s apps still make up the top four apps in terms of monthly active users.

The report is based on combined results from App Store and Google Play till November 2020, with the iOS results only reflecting for China.

A roller coaster year for TikTok

TikTok has shown immense growth in the last two years, but it has not come as easy for the Chinese company. While users around the world went berserk over the short video app, its country of origin has irked the state, especially in India and the US, the two key markets.

While the Indian government has banned TikTok in the country concerning national security, the Trump administration has put several hurdles citing privacy issues, which is now halted after Biden took over the presidency. TikTok's future in these countries look murky, but the report suggests that the app is still growing at a rapid pace globally.

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Heres how you can watch The Game Awards 2020 live

Buckle up as the Game Awards 2020 are heading your way tonight! The only drawback is that the show will air at about 4:45 AM IST. So those early birds will get a good look at which game takes home the grand prize of Game of the Year! As the tagline of the event goes, this is the biggest night in gaming as developers and the people behind the scenes truly get to shine. 

Also, do remember that The Game Awards, is all set to air on multiple Indian networks, this year. Alongside the usual Twitch and YouTube official livestreams, this year, the event is set to be broadcasted in over 45 different video platforms/networks, for free, in up to 4K UHD resolution. Of which, there are some Indian networks as well, as revealed by Geoff Keighley on Twitter, resulting from a partnership with Nodwin Gaming. The networks include MTV India, Disney+ Hotstar, JioTV, MX Player, Voot and Airtel India. Additionally, there will also be a Hindi livestream over at YouTube Gaming.

This year @thegameawards airs LIVE Dec 10 on more networks in India than ever before: - @MTVIndia - @DisneyPlusHS - @OfficialJioTV - @MXPlayer - @justvoot - @airtelindia Plus a live Hindi stream on @YouTubeGaming Thanks to our India partners @NodwinGaming pic.twitter.com/b3zEURZkNX

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) October 29, 2020

Check out the livestream of the event below!

As a result of the ongoing pandemic, unlike in previous years, this time, the ceremony will not be entertaining an in-person audience. And will be broadcasted live from three different studio locations - Los Angeles, London and Tokyo. As usual, the show will be hosted by Geoff himself, and will be continuing the trend of showcasing world premieres, huge announcements and musical performances from various artists, all while honouring the winners in each category. The award nominees will be updated on the official website sometime in November, letting you vote, for your favourite picks. Just launched last year, “The Game Festival” will also be returning, with a weekend of playable demos and exclusive in-game reward drops.

 

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Google Pixel 2 and 2XL receive their end of life update

In 2017, Google launched the second generation pure Google Phones dubbed as Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL after the discontinuation of the Nexus line-up. Google strengthened the release of the phone with coupling features such as unlimited Google Photos storage and a 3-year update guarantee for these devices.

Coming to 2020, the devices have reached their end of the cycle for the updates and will receive their final updates in December with the November security patch. As per Google’s device support schedule, the official support for Pixel 2 and 2XL had ended in October 2020, but as it seems the company has decided to extend one last security update for the devices coming in December.

The Pixel 2 series was infamous for its screen burn-in issue and blue colour tint when viewed at a certain angle which required hardware replacements on certain devices. Nonetheless, the devices since then have been known for their superior computational photography with their groundbreaking single camera that was way ahead of its time.

This update comes in line with the Pixel Feature Drop update that will come to Pixel 3 devices and above. This features an extended battery saver and the “hold for me feature” borrowed from the Pixel 5. The Pixel 2 devices will not get these new features and only the November security patch will come in the update. The Pixel 2 and 2 XL does support features like the ability to schedule dark themes and access credit cards, tickets, and other wallet contents by pressing and holding the power button with the Android 11 update.

The Pixel 2 family of devices will be remembered as the phones which truly reimagined the image processing capabilities of the photographs you click with the device in your pocket. ,

The current Pixel devices will receive the December security patch along with the Pixel Drop feature. 

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Heres your first look at Cristiano Ronaldo as Chrono in Free Fire

Garena Free Fire recently announced its collaboration with Cristiano Ronaldo as its global brand ambassador. With the collaboration, Garena also revealed that it is bringing a new in-game character based on Ronaldo and will enable players to play as the global football icon in Free Fire. Garena partnering with one of the most popular sports icons is significant as it also brings about a change with tons of new features and elements for Operation Chrono.

          View this post on Instagram                      

A post shared by Free Fire India Official (@indiaofficialfreefire)

The developers have revealed the first look of how Ronaldo will look as Chrono in Free Fire by releasing a teaser video on its social media handles. The new Free Fire season is currently underway and Chrono will arrive in the game on December 13.

          View this post on Instagram                      

A post shared by Free Fire India Official (@indiaofficialfreefire)

Apart from this, the developers have also announced that the game will be getting vending machines for players to interact and use tokens to purchase in-game items. The new character and features are a part of the Operation Chrono event that is set to begin later this week.

Speaking about the partnership, Harold Teo, Free Fire Producer said, “This is a really significant partnership for Free Fire. Cristiano Ronaldo is a role model for many of us, and being able to collaborate with him and present him to hundreds of millions of people around the world is truly exciting. Our partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo offers even more ways for our communities all over the world to enjoy Free Fire".

Ronaldo also added by saying, “It’s a great feeling having not only a character in Free Fire modelled after me, but also having the whole universe within the game-changing along with it. The Garena team has worked into the game tons of new features and elements for Operation Chrono. I hope Free Fire players all over the world are just as excited as I am!”.

Garena has also announced two final Free Fire tournaments for 2020 earlier this week. The Free Fire Battle Arena Season 2 is currently underway while the Total Gaming tournament is slated to begin from December 12 and will continue for five weekends with the Grand Finals scheduled for December 26.

Garena Free Fire’s next update will buff up M4A1 and P90, introduce akimbo Vector and more and you can read more about that here. Garena Free Fire’s Endless Oblivion Elite Pass is also now available for purchase and has been detailed in this post.

 

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xCloud coming to iOS and PC in Spring 2021

On Wednesday, Microsoft announced the timeline to release the xCloud gaming service on their official blog post. The blog included the service being extended to more devices in Spring 2021. The devices include the iPhone, iPad, and PC starting from spring 2021. The PC version of xCloud would be delivered through the Xbox app for Windows 10 and web browser.

iPhone and iPad users would also be able to access the xCloud gaming service through their mobile web browsers. “In Spring 2021, we will take the next step in our journey to reach more players around the world by making cloud gaming as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate available on Windows PCs through the Xbox app and browser, and iOS devices through mobile web browser,” writes Jerret West, Microsoft’s Xbox marketing chief, in the blog post. “By adding over a billion devices as a path to playing in the Xbox ecosystem, we envision a seamless experience for all types of players.”

The xCloud subscription would be bundled as a part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription at the cost of $15 in the US. Game Pass is priced at Rs 699 plus tax in India per month. xCloud is going to expand in the following regions: Australia, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico, and is currently available in 22 countries including the US, UK, Ireland, South Korea, and Sweden.

The beta was set to debut on iOS in September along with the Android but hit a snag because the service violates Apple’s App store guidelines. The same is the issue with Stadia on iOS. Apple has been strict about other gaming services on its platform and it looks like Apple is doing this to protect its own gaming subscription service, Apple Arcade.

Now that Microsoft has announced the mobile web browser experience, Google and Nvidia followed announcing similar web browser-based experience for their respective streaming services. Nvidia’s GeForce now is available on iOS in beta and Google is planning to announce their iOS version of Stadia by the end of the year.

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Call of Duty: Mobile upcoming weapons leaked as Season 13 gets delayed

Call of Duty: Mobile is set to receive new weapons and maps in the upcoming Season 13. Amidst reports of Season 13 being delayed, the maps have already been teased as a new version of Nuketown and Raid- Holiday map. The developers have also teased the next season of the game will bring a new assault rifle and an SMG to the game.

According to a leak, the next COD: Mobile update is slated to bring the Peacekeeper AR and the MP7 SMG. The Peacekeeper functional assault rifle has been a part of the Black Ops 4 while the MP7 was previously seen in Modern Warfare.

 Can you guess the weapon!⁣ ⁣ Coming to #CODMobile in the next season! pic.twitter.com/uaMzXDNOCS

— Call of Duty: Mobile (@PlayCODMobile) December 6, 2020

Apart from this, there are reports that the Season 13 Battle Pass of Call of Duty: Mobile has been delayed by four days. The Season 12 was expected to conclude on December 16 but the countdown timer has now been extended by four days and now ends on December 20. Call of Duty: Mobile Season 13 is now expected to go live on December 21.

 Yet ANOTHER new weapon coming soon!  Can you guess what it is?  New functional weapon coming to the next season of #CODMobile! pic.twitter.com/w9vyfGVTA9

— Call of Duty: Mobile (@PlayCODMobile) December 7, 2020

The Peacekeeper is a fully automatic assault rifle with a high rate of fire and can be used in close to medium range combats. The MP7, on the other hand, is a submachine gun that is designed for close-quarters combat and has high damage and rate of fire. The Season 13 update for Call of Duty: Mobile should be released within a few weeks with new weapons, skins, characters and more. 

As per reports, the reason for the delay in releasing Season 13 is because Activision wants to run a test build of the game before released it formally for all players. However, the ongoing Season 12 is now expected to conclude by December 20 or December 21. The next season usually begins after 24 hours.

Call of Duty: Mobile Season 12 is themed ‘Going Dark’ and brings night mode on popular maps including Crash, Summit and Hackney Yard. Two new weapons, an SMG and a Pistol were also added with the Season 12 update. You can read more about the new version of the Nuketown map that is set to arrive with Season 13 update here and about the Raid Holiday map here.  

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You can now watch HDR Livestreams on YouTube: Here are the compatible devices

YouTube is the largest repository of videos on the internet. From funny cat videos to news, movie trailers, music videos, gameplay walkthroughs and city tours, you can find it all on Google’s video streaming platform. Google has, of course, made steady improvements to the video quality and compression available on the platform. In 2015 YouTube started supporting playback in 4K and in 2016, the service added the ability to play content in HDR. However, HDR content was limited to playback of content which was uploaded on the platform. It wasn’t available for those streaming live to YouTube. 

Streaming HDR content on YouTube

Those looking to stream content on YouTube in HDR will need to use a compatible encoder. 

For gamers looking to stream HDR gameplay will need to adhere to the following:

Play a game that supports HDR output. Turn on HDR in the game’s settings. Use a monitor or TV that supports HDR. Use a compatible encoder.

To live stream other HDR content streamers will have to 

Use a compatible encoder. Use a camera that supports HDR video with either the PQ or HLG colour standards. Check your camera’s manual to see if these standards are supported.

You can learn more about streaming to YouTube in HDR here. 

Viewing HDR live streams on YouTube

Viewers will be able to see the stream in HDR automatically. They just need to be watching it on a supported device. If your device does not support HDR playback, you will watch the stream in SDR. Supported HDR devices include:

The YouTube app on HDR TVs. Casting to Chromecast Ultra devices connected to HDR TVs. Android-based mobile devices with an HDR display. Windows and Mac PCs with HDR graphics support and an HDR display. Viewers will see your stream in HDR if they have HDR enabled in their computer’s settings.

Note: The preview in the Live Control Room will not show HDR colours.

How to know if you’re watching in HDR

HDR streams will show “HDR” in the video quality settings menu, usually found at the bottom right of the screen. If your device doesn’t support HDR, you won’t see the HDR badge, and your stream will be shown in SDR.

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