While PUBG Mobile may be banned in India, it still earned a LOT of money. According to a report by Sensor Tower, PUBG Mobile (along with its Chinese localized version, Game for Peace) topped the list for the most revenue generated in 2020. This amounts to about $2.6 billion. The report notes that this includes revenue generated across the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and was an increase of 64.3% from 2019. Another game developed by Tencent, Honor of Kings, generated $2.5 billion this year.
Interestingly, the third spot was taken by Niantic’s Pokemon Go, a game that pretty much required players to travel as much as possible. Something that became quite difficult in 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic. However, the game rose up to the challenge and added a string of updates to make it playable during quarantines and restrictions. Sensor Tower notes that the game earned $1.2 billion this year, and increase of 31.5% from 2019. Rounding out the top 5 was Coin Master and Roblox, both of which generated close to $1.1 billion.
Sensor Tower notes last year three games managed to reach the billion dollar mark in 2019, namely PUBG Mobile, Honor of Kings and Fate/Grand Order. The report notes that this year’s success was due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which saw many people staying at home. Sensor Tower also notes that as a while, the global mobile games market generated $75.4 billion, which is a 19.5% increase from 2019. Sensor Tower notes that while 2021 may not be able to match 2020 in terms of mobile games revenue growth, it should build upon the year.
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While LG has already become the first manufacturer to sell a rollable OLED TV commercially, looks like its rollable smartphone dream isn't far either. Rumoured suggest that the company could launch a smartphone with a rollable display by the first half of 2021. The phone will be reportedly called LG Rollable or LG Slide and is being developed under LG's Explorer project.
While the launch still seems afar, tipster Tron (@cozyplanes) has poured tons of details about the highly-anticipated smartphone, and this time he's revealed the price. As per the tipster, the LG Rollable smartphone could be priced at $2,359 (approx Rs 1,73,400). That doesn't come as a surprise as we've seen more such first-generation of such innovative handsets to be priced on the higher side. To put things in perspective, the iPhone 12 Pro Max 256GB costs $1099 in the US and Rs 1,39,000 in India.
#LG #Rollable possible price: 2359 USD Launch scheduled for March, may be delayed to Junehttps://t.co/WYhMRZAwCu
— Tron (@cozyplanes) December 17, 2020
What would make it stand out is its side-rolling display that will transform into a tablet when the screen is stretched on the sides. As per previous leaks, LG Rollable could feature a 7.4-inch rollable display with 2428×1080p resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio in the phone mode. Also, the device is said to have a video mode with 16:9 aspect ratio and 2428 x 1366p resolution and in the productivity mode, LG Rollable will have 2428 x 1600p resolution with 3:2 aspect ratio.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage is said to power the smartphone. It is said to be backed by a 4,200mAh battery.
The rollable phone will be the second phone under LG Explorer project. The first one being the LG Wing with a swivel-screen that was launched recently at Rs 69,900 in India.
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Apple has put Taiwan-based Wistron Corporation on probation after last week's riot at its Narasapura facility near Bengaluru. Apple has asked the contract manufacturer to halt operations in all its factories in India. All of this befalls after some agitated workers got violent at Wistron's facility complaining of being underpaid and not being paid for overtime hours.
Wistron admits to payment inconsistencies
As per reports and videos shared on social media, violence at Wistron's Narasapura facility erupted after around 2000 of its employees ransacked the facility and allegedly carried out "arson, loot and violence". They damaged some parts of the facility, set vehicles on fire, destroyed costly equipment.
Wistron then filed a police complaint reporting office equipment, production lines, smartphones and more worth Rs 412.5 crores ($57 million) were stolen, missing or damaged due to the violence. It was later found out that the damage was not as huge as the company reported but around Rs 51.5 crores ($7 million).
Karnataka Labour Minister, Shivaram Hebbar, told the print that the government is actively involved and trying to investigate the issue. He told The Print that the incident had happened early on December 12 and on December 14 a meeting was held with company and labour department senior officers. He said the company has 8,490 contractual employees through outsourcing arrangement with five-six companies and about 1,343 permanent workers at the facility.
Wistron later accepted that it did have payment irregularities. “Since the unfortunate events at our Narasapura facility we have been investigating and have found that some workers were not paid correctly, or on time. We deeply regret this and apologize to all of our workers,” a Wistron spokesperson told ET. Wistron has also fired its VP and head of its business in India.
On Saturday, Apple said that it has decided to place Wistron on probation and it will no longer sign new contracts until the firm makes corrections to ensure that it will adhere to Apple's policies. Reuter reports that the statement from Apple has come after an audit conducted by the company revealed violations of its 'Supplier Code of Conduct' by Wistron. Apple said that its supplier failed to use proper working hour management processes. This "led to payment delays for some workers in October and November." Apple will continue to monitor Wistron’s progress on corrective action. As per a Times of India report, Wistron had promised engineering graduates Rs 21,000 ($285) per month, but instead, they had paid them only Rs 16,000 ($217) at first.
Apple has a strict supplier code of conduct for its contractors. In its supplier code of conduct, Apple states that suppliers must meet all legal requirements relating to wages and benefits, including paying accurate wages on time.
A major setback for Wistron
Apple's decision to halt its contract with Wistron for iPhone production will harm its manufacturing push in India. It had committed to invest around 1300 crore ($177 million) over the next five years. Wistron also had plans to hire 20,000 more workers by next year.
The Karnataka state officials also investigated the factory and found that the Narasapura facility broke several laws to increase the number of workers. The investigation found that the number of workers at the factory rose quickly from 5,000 to 10,500.
Wistron is one of three Taiwan based companies that are paid by Apple to assemble the iPhone. In India, it was the first contract manufacturer to get a green flag to assemble iPhone models in the country back in 2017.
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The Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 4K brings with it a good panel for consuming content. Its SDR and Dolby Vision content performance is good, with HDR 10 content seeing some hiccups. The TV brings with it HDMI 2.1 features like ALLM and eARC, making it future proof and an attractive proposition for gamers on a budget. It has a good build, fluid UI and easy to use remote control. If you are looking for a 55-inch TV for a budget of 50-60K, you can definitely consider it.
The budget TV space took a dramatic turn in 2018 when Xiaomi launched the Mi TV 4 (review). The TV boasted 4K and HDR on a 55-inch panel in a super slim form factor for a price of Rs 50,000. It shook the TV market and since then we have seen an influx of budget TVs aiming to give users a flagship experience at a fraction of the price. While in some cases you get a lacklustre experience, in others, you get a more value for money proposition when purchasing a budget 55-inch 4K HDR TV. Today we have with us the Xiaomi Mi QLED T 4K priced at Rs 54,999. The closest competitor that we have reviewed is the TCL QLED TV C715 (review). While we reviewed the 65-inch variant of the TCL TV, it is available in 55-inches as well.
The Mi QLED TV brings with it some interesting features. To begin with, it supports HDR 10+, a feature we have seen on limited flagship TVs. It also supports eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) both of which are features of HDMI 2.1. The TV does not support VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and we’ll get to that when we talk about gaming. With a QLED display, some flagship features and some Xiaomi special sauce thrown into the mix, has Xiaomi redefined the 50K TV once again? Let's find out.
Let's start with the most important thing about the TV - the display. As the name suggests, the Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 4K brings with it a quantum dot layer between the backlighting and the display to give you richer colours - QLED display. It supports a 4K resolution with support for HDR 10, HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision. We don't know the peak brightness of the TV. One of the unique things about the Xiaomi TV is that in addition to traditional picture modes and picture controls like brightness, contrast, hue, colour temperature, gamma, etc. it also lets you choose the colour space such as DCI-P3, BT 2020, BT709, etc. giving you more customization control over what you are watching. So, let dive in and see how the TV performs in our tests.
4K and HDR performance
Let’s break this up into HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision content to see how the TV performs. Starting with the new HDR 10+, Amazon Prime Video is a source of HDR 10+ content and in our experience, it is a mixed bag. We saw the Grand Tour Season 1, Episode 1 with all the fancy cars driving in the desert and there is a hint of green tint in the desert sand and in some parts of the sky. This green tint isn’t visible in the same content on other TVs like the Sony W950D and the LG B9, both of which were there for reference. The colours also looked slightly muted. While the muted colour isn't a bad thing, there is no option to change to a Vivid preset for those that want punchier colours or want the colours to pop. The same green tint issue is noticed on shows like Jack Ryan (again HDR 10+) and Assassin's Creed Valhalla (more on this in the gaming section). We hope Xiaomi can fix this via an update.
HDR 10 content found on platforms like YouTube looked good. From movie trailers to city landscapes and other demo HDR videos on YouTube were enjoyable, giving you a glimpse into the performance of the TV.
Moving over to Dolby Vision content, here we have a few test clips. We have Our Planet and Altered Carbon on Netflix, Wonder Woman and The Dark Knight in Dolby Vision via the Apple TV app on a Fire TV Stick 4K. Let's start with what we enjoyed. The end fight sequence in Wonder Woman which is not only a special effects galore but also full of bright fire and lightning. This sequence looked very enjoyable and we switched between Dolby Vision bright and dark, based on the lighting in the room. Keeping Dynamic Backlighting on or off can be a personal choice. During the day time, we felt keeping dynamic backlighting on reduced the backlighting lower than we liked while keeping it on at night dimmed it enough to try and make the blacks look deep, rather than grey, which was nice. Remember, the panel doesn’t have dimming zones.
Same for The Dark Knight where we have Batman infiltrating a Hong Kong skyscraper sequence. This is a relatively dark sequence and the details were well noticeable. The same goes for the warehouse fight in Altered Carbon Season 1 and the day-night cycle in Our Planet. Dolby Vision content looks good. You may want to switch between the 'dark' and 'standard' setting for gamma, based on your preference and the lighting in your room. Overall, even though HDR 10+ content has some hiccups, Dolby Vision content is enjoyable on the Mi QLED TV 4K.
FHD performance
Moving over to SDR content and FHD content, we watched Mission: Impossible Fallout and Spider-Man: Homecoming on the TV via Netflix and the motorcycle chase sequence in Fallout on the highway is most definitely enjoyable. From skin tones to the desert backdrop and the fast-paced movement, it all looks good on this TV. We switched off Motion flow (personal preference), and the content was quite immersive.
Even the reds and blues in Spider-Man's suit looked punchy and the Washington Tower rescue sequence looked vivid with punchy colours.
A show like Young Sheldon, which has a vibrant colour pallet, is a treat on this TV. The colours pop, and the content is vibrant without switching to the Vivid preset. Switching to vivid does add some more “oomph” to the colours and I liked it this way. Safe to say, if you will watch SDR content off streaming services or a set-top-box, you should have a good time on this TV.
Gaming performance
Moving over to gaming, we played 4 games on the TV - Spider-Man: Miles Morales (review), Dirt 5 on the PS5 and Gears 5 (review), Assassins Creed Valhalla on the Xbox Series X. In short, gaming is a treat on this TV but before we get into performance let's talk about HDMI 2.1.
The Mi QLED TV 4K supports HDMI 2.1. Since the TV has a native refresh-rate of 60Hz, it doesn't support VRR (Variable Refresh Rate). It does, however, support ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and while we can't measure the exact ms response time of the TV, Xiaomi says the TV has a 5ms response time when gaming in 4K at 60Hz, which is impressive.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales in the performance + RT mode looked impressive with the PS5 connected to this TV. When you plug in the gaming console to the TV for the first time, it doesn't switch to HDMI 2.1 automatically. You need to navigate the settings and switch to HDMI 2.1. The TV gives you the option of HDMI 1.4, 2.0 and 2.1, giving you the flexibility to consume content the way you want from an external source.
The gaming performance on this TV was detailed, rich and immersive. However, as we mentioned above, the green tint issue presented itself when playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla. But in other games, be it Gears 5, or Dirt 5, we got punchy colours and swift response time that gave us an immersive gaming experience.
Audio performance
The Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 4K has 30W of sound output divided into 6 drivers - 4 full-range drivers and 2 tweeters. While you won't get room-shaking bass from this TV, what you will get is clarity. The vocals are clear on this TV. So, if you watch content like TV shows or documentaries, you should be fine with the TV speakers.
Even for mixed performance in an action movie with a background score, bangs and swishes and some dialogue, there was a clear distinction between the sounds. If you are looking at this TV as a bedroom TV and don't want to invest in a soundbar, know that you can get by with the audio performance. At about 40-45% volume the speakers on this TV delivered room-filling sound.
Mi QLED TV 4K: UI
Xiaomi has given users the convenience of Android TV and its own PatchWall UI for a long time now and the tradition continues here as well. With a single click on the remote control, you can get access to the Android TV UI and PatchWall, based on your preference.
PatchWall has come a long way since it was first introduced. Xiaomi has more than 20 content partners populating the home screen with content. PatchWall aims to put content before the service. So, if you see content on the home page, be it The Boys, or the Mandalorian or even The Scam of 1992, you don't need to worry about which service provider has this content. As long as you are logged into the streaming service, you can jump straight into the content without navigating the particular streaming app.
PatchWall also helps with discovering content with lists such as “India Top 10 Today”, “Top 20 in 2020”, “Recently added”, “Collections” and more. This UI is great if you are subscribed to a number of services and simply want to consume a lot of content without worrying about navigating the apps.
If there is any problem I have with the UI, it is just one and this me nitpicking here. When consuming content on Prime Video, when I pause the movie or TV show and go into the picture settings to change them and when I press 'back', rather than exiting the settings and going back to the show, the UI exits the show. This can get annoying. Since this doesn't happen on other TVs, I'm sure it can be fixed via an update. As I said, it's small and may be inconsequential to most.
Remote control
The remote control you get with the Mi QLED TV 4K, is the same one we’ve seen on other MI TVs and even the Mi Box 4K (review). It's quite a minimalistic remote with a power button, Google Assistant button, hotkeys for Netflix and Prime Video and dedicated buttons for Android and PatchWall UI. There is no dedicated mute button on the remote control but you can double-tap the volume down button to quickly mute the TV.
Call me old-fashioned, but I am the kind of person that taps the volume down button to reduce the volume of the TV rather than hold it and in this case, all I ended up doing is muting and unmuting the TV. Again, this is just me. Maybe you like the double-tap to mute option. Overall, the remote control is familiar, functional and gets the job done.
Build and design
Moving over to the design of the Mi QLED TV 4K, the TV has an aluminium alloy frame with sandblast coating, giving it a premium finish. The bezels surrounding the TV are also very slim on three sides much like the Horizon Edition Mi TVs Xiaomi launched earlier this year. The TV has a 96% screen to body ratio and at the back, the TV has a carbon finish. The TV isn't as slim as the Mi TV 4, but it is slimmer than what we saw on the Hisense A71F (review) we reviewed earlier this year.
For connectivity, the TV has 3 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports and the 3.5mm port on the right while the AV, antenna, LAN and Optical port are downward facing. All 3 HDMI ports support ALLM with HDMI 2 supporting eARC and ALLM.
You can wall-mount the TV but if you decide to keep it on a table, it stands firm with 2 metal feet. There is enough place below the TV to place a soundbar or set-top-box without hampering the viewing experience. Overall, the TV has a good build and premium finish.
Bottom Line
The Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 4K brings with it a good panel for consuming content albeit with a few hiccups. Its SDR and Dolby Vision content performance is good with HDR 10 content seeing some issues. The TV brings with it HDMI 2.1 features like ALLM and eARC making it future proof and an attractive proposition for gamers on a budget. It has a good build, fluid UI and easy to use remote control. If you are looking for a 55-inch TV for a budget of 50-60K, you can definitely consider it.
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It seems like the folks over at YouTube may be planning to introduce a new feature that will make it easier to share offline downloads. According to a report by Android Police, a cross device offline setting entry appeared and then suddenly disappeared in the recent Android app. The report notes that the new feature would allow users to download videos on their phone, and then make them appear automatically on other devices.
The publication notes that the option appears in the Background & Downloads settings for some YouTube Premium subscribers. This was apparently in the stable and beta v15.49.34, and v 15.50.32. Android Police also notes that they actually spotted it way back during an app teardown in 2018. When the option was selected, it asked users which devices should be synced as well as a toggle that read, “Allow downloading to this device.”
In related news, YouTube, along with multiple other Google services such as Gmail, Drive, Maps, and more saw an issue that made them unavailable to users. The services were down for almost 45 minutes. The company then released a statement, “Today, at 3.47AM PT Google experienced an authentication system outage for approximately 45 minutes due to an internal storage quota issue. Services requiring users to log in experienced high error rates during this period. The authentication system issue was resolved at 4:32AM PT. All services are now restored. We apologise to everyone affected, and we will conduct a thorough follow up review to ensure this problem cannot recur in the future.”
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The guys over all Call of Duty: Mobile confirmed that the Season 13 of the game will start to roll out from 4:00PM on December 21 (5:30AM on December 22). The new season will be called Winter War and will include a bunch of winter-themed additions like maps. The developers have also confirmed a bunch of features that will be a part of the upcoming season.
Nuketown Russia
The classic Nuketown map will get a Russian-themed version in the aptly named Nuketown Russia. The map was first seen in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and is set in a nuclear site snowy Chernobyl. The overall layout is pretty much the same as always, but with a twist, This includes train cars in the middle and a fresh layer of snow over pretty much everything.
Holiday Raid
The Raid map is even decked out with a holiday theme with snow as well snowmen, presents and more. Overall though, the layout of the map will remain the same.
New Multiplayer Mode - Find
The new Grind game mode for multiplayer was first introduced in Modern Warfare and combines gameplay from Kill Confirmed and Hardpoint. The mode tasks players with picking up dog tags from fallen players and dropping those tags.
Battle Royale gets a new vehicle
The Ski Town area in battle royale will spawn a new rocket-powered snowboard. The snowboard can be stowed in the player’s backpack. The snowboard can also be used outside of the area. The snowboard can also be used to perform tricks such as 360-degree and 720-degree grabs. Besides this, the Ski Town will see a traversable cable car and a ski trail
Battle Pass
The free tier of the Battle Pass will give players a chance to earn the new scorestreaks and a new assault rifle. Upon reaching Tier 14, players will unlock the EMP System. This will disorientate the opposing teams and disable enemy electronics, select attachments, tacticals and scorestreaks. However, opposing players with the Hard Wired perk will not be disorientated.
At Tier 21, players will unlock the Peacekeeper MK2 assault rifle. This weapon is said to feature a unique double-row magazine.
The Premium Pass Tier will include new winter-themed character skins. It also includes weapon blueprints like the GKS - Pack Warrior.
Seasonal Challenges and Events
As always, the new season will feature a bunch of new challenges and events giving you a chance to pick up anything from new weapons, perks and more. This includes the QXE SMG and a new Restock perk. The new perk recharges lethal and tactical grenades over a 25-second period. This includes the Combat Axe.
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Cyberpunk 2077 has consistently been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The developers have now released a new patch to make the experience better for console players.
