Twitch Adds 'Transgender' Tag as Big Tech Vies to Be Inclusive

Twitch said that players will be able to add a transgender label to their videos — a move the company said would aid inclusion among its 30 million daily gamers.

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iQOO 7 Legend Review: Gaming phone for the masses

iQOO 7 Legend is a well-balanced smartphone for daily use and is a supremely powerful gaming smartphone packed with features that help you stand out in games like COD: Mobile. The cameras perform surprisingly well and can take some bright pictures with natural colours. Even though it starts at Rs 39,999, it offers a premium metal-glass build, with a subtle matte finish. The fast-charging support is a great feature to have since it completely chargers the phone in under half an hour.

The iQOO 7 Legend is the company’s second outing in India after the iQOO 3 (review) that launched in March 2020 as one of the first 5G phones. iQOO, short for I Quest On and On is a sub-brand of Vivo and uses the latter’s services for providing after-sales support. At its asking price that starts at Rs 39,990, the iQOO 7 Legend is one of the most affordable flagship phones available in India right now and is powered by the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor. The smartphone goes head-to-head with Xiaomi’s Mi 11X Pro in India. With its subtle design sans any RGB or any other bells and whistles, the iQOO 7 Legend is also a gaming phone in disguise with a large vapour cooling chamber, pressure-sensitive screen and strong haptics. Here’s how the iQOO 7 Legend performed in our daily use and why it is a strong contender for anyone looking to buy a flagship phone in 2021.

iQOO 7 Legend Performance Review

The iQOO 7 Legend is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor that will be nearly seen on most flagship phones that launch this year. The Snapdragon 888 has an octa-core CPU where a prime core is running at 2.84GHz, three performance cores clocked at 2.42GHz and four power-efficient cores running at 1.80GHz. This is backed by the Adreno 660 GPU along with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. 

In our daily use, the iQOO 7 Legend showed no signs of stress and we did not encounter any lags when switching between different apps or games. On the AnTuTu benchmark tests, the iQOO 7 Legend scored 827163 points, while Geekbench awarded it 1136 points in single-core tests and 3694 points in multi-core tests. These are some of the highest scores we have seen both on AnTuTu and Geekbench overshadowing phones such as the Asus ROG Phone 5 and OnePlus 9. 

The iQOO 7 Legend also scored high points in PCMark work 2.0 and GFX Bench tests, only eclipsed by the scores of ROG Phone 5. However, for some reason, Gamebench just refused to run on our unit of the iQOO 7 Legend. We will be updating this review with the Gamebench scores as soon as we can get it working. That being said, the iQOO 7 does perform flawlessly when it comes to games such as Call of Duty: Mobile, Asphalt 9, Free Fire, Injustice 2 and more. 

Unlike the ROG Phone 5 (review) or even the iQOO 3, the iQOO 7 does not have trigger buttons on the side edge. Instead, the display of the phone is pressure sensitive and allows users to map in-game controls in different games. While in the game, players can just hard press the left or right side of the screen to perform selected actions. There are two sensors each on the left and right side of the display that detect pressure sensitivity allowing players to tune it as per their choice. The haptic feedback of the phone is generally good and there is a 4D game vibration mode as well which boosts the feedback when playing games. Furthermore, the dual speakers on the iQOO 7 are just resounding and can get loud enough which more than makes up for a great gaming experience. 

It is able to run popular games effortlessly and moving around the phone's UI and between the apps was easy. The phone runs FunTouch OS 11.1 which is based on Android 11. The UI is snappy, easy to use and offers tons of personalization features but it is no OxygenOS or One UI. It came preloaded with third-party apps like Dailyhunt, Moj, Netflix, PhonePe and Snapchat, which are just unnecessary and can be uninstalled. Overall, the iQOO 7 Legend performs perfectly for its asking price and there were no major issues we faced apart from the Gamebench app not running. 

iQOO 7 Legend Battery Review

The iQOO 7 Legend is equipped with a 4000mAh battery that supports 66W fast charging out-of-the-box. We were easily able to get over a day’s worth of usage from the phone in a single charge. Our usage consisted of playing games, watching videos and checking out social media apps with the phone set to a 120Hz refresh rate at all times. The battery of the iQOO 7 Legend should be good for most people and if it starts running out of juice, you can always top it up in 25 minutes from 0-100% using the 66W fast charging adapter.

iQOO 7 Legend Design and Display Review

The iQOO 7 Legend is one solidly built smartphone that looks very elegant in the hand. It has a soft-touch matte finish that is highlighted by three coloured stripes running across the back in red, black and blue and the words “Fascination Meets Innovation”. For the iQOO 7 Legend, the company partnered with BMW M Motorsport and created this “track design” on the back.

The iQOO 7 Legend has a metal chassis and measures 8.7mm in thickness. It weighs 209gm and is a bit on the heftier side of things. It is only available in this Satin White colourway that does not give it an impression of a gaming smartphone. There is a rectangular camera module on the back attached to a metal strip that has the brand’s name. The power button has a blue accent, but other than that the iQOO 7 Legend has got a clean design even though it's a powerful gaming-centric device.

Due to the matte finish on the back, it is resistant to fingerprints and smudges. But you may want to use the special edition silicone cover that comes in the box for added protection against drops. As per the official information, the iQOO 7 does not have Gorilla Glass protection and neither has it received an IP rating. It has a flat edge on the top and the bottom along with the Type-C port and dual stereo speakers. Though it does misses out on the 3.5mm audio jack. 

The iQOO 7 features a 6.62-inch Full HD+ (2400x1080 pixels) resolution display that uses an AMOLED panel with support for a 120Hz refresh rate. The phone’s display is certified for HDR10+ playback and has Widevine L1 support. The display does not have a protective layer of Gorilla Glass and comes with a pre-applied screen protector. The display on the iQOO 7 offers 1300 nits peak brightness and can get really bright with good sunlight legibility.

The screen of the iQOO 7 is perfect for consuming content as it produces pictures and videos with greater colour accuracy and crisp details. The high 120Hz refresh rate helps make the animations smoother and it shows when using the phone daily. Having said that, we found that even after setting the refresh rate to 120Hz, it goes back to 60Hz whenever the screen is left idle. 

The iQOO 7 has a MEMC chip that oversamples frame rates in games like Call of Duty: Mobile and Free Fire. There is an option in the game assistant menu to boost the frame rates of the two games to 120Hz even though they are natively 60Hz. What’s more is that the screen on the iQOO 7 offers a 300Hz touch sampling rate which does affect your gaming performance as it can quickly detect finger movements when playing, giving your character a slight edge as commands is registered faster.

Another issue that we faced was that even though the display is HDR10+ certified, it does not support HDR content from Netflix and Prime Video. Though this is nothing that cannot be fixed via a software patch. 

iQOO 7 Legend Camera Review

The iQOO 7 Legend is equipped with a triple camera array on the back that is headlined by a 48MP camera that uses Sony IMX 589 with f/1.8 aperture with OIS, a 13MP telephoto camera with upto 2x optical zoom and a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera that brings a 120-degree wide view. The ultra-wide camera also doubles up as a macro camera and there is a 16MP selfie camera up front. The rear cameras can record in 4K UHD and 1080p videos at upto 60FPS with features like ultra-stabilization and more.

The iQOO 7 Legend produces great pictures in daylight that have crisp details, a balanced colour profile and just look very close to the natural imagery. This is something that we did not expect from a phone that’s primarily meant for gaming. Even though the iQOO 7 Legend uses the same sensor for its primary camera like the Vivo X60 Pro, the optimizations on the iQOO 7 Legend help it in capturing more lifelike pictures with deep natural bokeh in the background. 

The telephoto camera on the iQOO 7 Legend has slightly cooler tones than the primary camera but produces well-detailed images with its 2x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom. The phone manages to keep the highlights and details sharp when zooming in, which is great for situations where you have to go up close to a subject without moving from your place. 

As for the wide-angle camera, the iQOO 7 takes decent and usable wide shots but does suffer from barrel distortion at times. The pictures are detailed with slightly warm tones. 

The images from the macro mode also came out pretty well although zeroing in the focus was a bit of a hassle. Having said that, the macro pictures are well detailed and has a bit of warmer tones. 

In a low-light environment or at night, the camera can pick up details well and the night mode boosts the highlights, brightens the frame and smoothens the textures in the picture. Having said that, details near the edges do not come out as detailed as in the normal mode.

Overall, the camera performance of the iQOO 7 Legend remains decent and users will find little issue especially when capturing a frame in daylight. The software optimizations in place do help the phone in producing well-lit and detailed pictures though it can do better in night mode.

iQOO 7 Legend Verdict

iQOO has come afar in just a matter of a year and the iQOO 7 Legend is a supremely powerful smartphone that offers a smooth and lag-free gaming experience. It is well-built, looks great in the hand and the matte finish is just the cherry on top. With the Snapdragon 888, we saw some of the top scores in benchmarking tests and in our day-to-day use. The phone did not show any signs of slowdowns at all. It has some of the best-in-class hardware powering it, providing a good mix of balanced and sustained performance. 

The iQOO 7 Legend surprised us with its camera performance and can take some great pictures as far as gaming smartphones go. It is also one of the fastest charging phones available in India right now and can top up the phone in a matter of minutes. 

The iQOO 7 Legend chooses a middle space between gaming and regular run-of-the-mill smartphones. Its soul is still that of a gaming phone, but it is neatly packed in a swanky body. If you’re someone who is looking to buy a gaming phone under a budget, the iQOO 7 Legend should be at the top of your list. Even for those looking for a good offering in the sub-Rs 40,000 segment, the iQOO 7 Legend is right up there rocking the charts.

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PS5 India Restock: How to Pre-Order PlayStation 5 on Flipkart, Amazon, Croma, More

PS5 is back in stock on Amazon, Croma, Flipkart, Games The Shop, Prepaid Gamer Card, Reliance Digital, Sony Center, and Vijay Sales. Here's how to pre-order PlayStation 5 restocks in India.

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New USB-C 240W Power Delivery can support powerful laptops

USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced a new USB-C 240W Power Delivery standard that more than doubles the existing power capacity of standard USB ports. The existing USB PD maxes out at 100W, which is enough for most laptops and phones, but the new standard will be able to cater to more power-hungry machines like gaming laptops, printers, and large monitors. 

USB-IF is calling the new standard (v2.1) as Extended Power Range (EPR) and you will understandably need new EPR labeled USB-C cables for your machine to be able to make use of the full 240W power. 

“USB-IF will require the cables to bear specific icons so that end-users will be able to confirm visually that the cable supports up to 240W,” USB-IF said in the specification document as noted by CNET. The cables will need to support 5A and 50V to be compliant. 

While the universal USB PD standard getting more capable is good news, the requirement of specific cables further complicates things for common consumers. Non-compliant cables will not offer desired charging speeds and may also end up damaging the USB port. 

USB-C isn’t the only specification that governs communication and compatibility with devices. Standards like USB 3.2 or the latest USB 4.0 govern how data is transferred over cables and USB Power Delivery takes responsibility for appropriate charging speed based on device, adaptor, and cable in use. 

On laptops, USB still competes with Intel’s Thunderbolt. USB 4 matches the 40Gbps Thunderbolt data transfer speed, but it does so by embedding Thunderbolt technology. 

Either way, USB-C PD is swiftly gaining prominence as a charging standard that works with both phones and laptops. On the smartphone side of things, many proprietary charging solutions like Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 directly leverage USB PD charging. Others proprietary solutions like Oppo's Super VOOC and Vivo's Super Flashcharge also have support for USB PD, even if the respective phones don’t ship with a compatible USB PD charger. 

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Unreal Engine 5 Early Access Build Now Available for Game Developers

Unreal Engine 5 early access build is now available for game developers. New features include World Partition, Control Rig, Pose Browser, Full-Body IK solver, Motion Warping, and MetaSounds. Full Unreal Engine 5 build expected in early 2022, Epic Games said.

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Xiaomi is formally off the US Department of Defense Blacklist

At the start of this year, nine Chinese companies including Xiaomi were put on the US Department of Defense blacklist for allegedly being controlled by the Chinese military. Well, one of those companies, Xiaomi, is now off the hook. This implies US citizens no longer have any restrictions on buying or holding stocks in the company. 

The sanction was one of the decisions taken under the Donald Trump administration against China. The Joe Biden administration has admitted to lack of sufficient reasons to put Xiaomi on the list and has agreed to not challenge the ruling. 

Xiaomi had filed a legal complaint challenging its designation as Communist Chinese Military Company (CCMC)  as “unlawful and unconstitutional”. It argued that its CCMC designation would do ‘irreparable harm’ to its business. 

Shares of the company fell by over 20 percent since January when it was blacklisted. Its formal removal from the list is likely to turn the tides. 

A court filing earlier in May revealed that the US Defense Department would vacate Xiaomi’s designation as CCMC. The filling stated that Washington and Xiaomi would resolve the litigation without any further contest. 

"The company reiterates that it is an open, transparent, publicly traded, independently operated and managed corporation," Xiaomi Chairman Lei Jun said in the statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. 

Xiaomi isn’t the only company to get off the list. China’s Luokung Technology, a big data provider that had also challenged its CCMC designation, was also removed from the list. It’s likely that this victory will inspire other Chinese companies on the DoD blacklist to pursue the legal route. 

Trump administration also put China's Huawei Technologies on an export blacklist in 2019, which barred it from accessing critical U.S. technology including access to Qualcomm and AMD Chipset technology and Google Mobile Services. The decision destroyed Huawei’s pretty much global presence and was a massive blow to its smartphone division. Huawei’s former sub-brand Honor will soon attempt a comeback on the global stage with Honor 50 series smartphones.

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Microsoft teases Next generation of Windows during Build 2021 Keynote

Microsoft’s annual developer conference, Build, kickstarted with a keynote from CEO, Satya Nadela. He teased the “next generation of Windows” and claimed it to be the biggest update to Windows “in over a decade”. Microsoft didn’t specify these upcoming changes and plans to detail them in a separate event very soon. 

“Soon we will share one of the most significant updates to Windows of the past decade to unlock greater economic opportunity for developers and creators. I’ve been self-hosting it over the past several months, and I’m incredibly excited about the next generation of Windows. Our promise to you is this: we will create more opportunity for every Windows developer today and welcome every creator who is looking for the most innovative, new, open platform to build and distribute and monetize applications. We look forward to sharing more very soon,” said Satya Nadela in his keynote address. 

Microsoft is clearly laying more focus on enticing developers and is reportedly bringing in some significant changes to its Microsoft Store. Rumours suggest that it could even allow companies to use their own payment systems or third-party options. This would mean that developers will be able to avoid sharing 15 percent revenue on in-app purchases and 12 percent revenue on games with Microsoft. Developers will allegedly also be able to channel apps and updates through their own content delivery network. 

The new announcement comes just a week after Microsoft shut down development for Windows 10X, a lightweight version of its PC OS built for dual-screen devices. It plans on integrating key 10x learnings and technology into other parts of Windows and products and these changes will hopefully reflect in Windows 10 with the 'Sun Valley' update later this year. 

The next major update for Windows 10 is scheduled for October 2021. It will include new, modernized system icons, improve Bluetooth audio support, add Xbox Auto HDR feature, and more.

Via

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