Amazon Prime Membership price hike to start from December 14

As we reported earlier in October, Amazon’s Prime membership is about to receive a price hike. The hike will start tomorrow, December 14. Amazon had previously confirmed that the price for the Amazon Prime Membership in India would be increasing by up to 50%, which translates to roughly Rs 500 for the annual package. The rate hike will apply to all the different types of memberships the company offers. Amazon will continue to offer access to Prime Video, Amazon Music, Prime Reading, and Prime Gaming under the same membership package. So, keeping that in mind, the annual package will now cost Rs 1,499. 

For now, the hike in price will not affect existing Prime members as they will still continue with their current membership. Again, just to reiterate, no other services will be added to the existing ones with the price hike. The original plan was introduced for Rs 499, with a later increase to Rs 999. This marks the second time Amazon has hiked the price of its Prime Membership. The price hike will start at 12 AM on December 14, i.e. tomorrow. Between now and then, you can still purchase the membership at the original price, so do keep that in mind. 

Amazon Prime Membership price hike starts tomorrow

Amazon’s affordable pricing in India is what has helped the platform maintain an edge over Netflix. With other OTT platforms such as Disney+ Hotstar, Voot, Zee5, and others offering annual plans that don’t exceed Rs 999, Amazon may end up seeing a dip in their subscriber base. To combat this, the platform is probably working behind the scenes on increasing its content offerings. Hopefully, this means we’ll see a surge in content, and Family Man Season 3 launches sooner than later! 

Also Read: Amazon finally announces dedicated Prime Video app for macOS

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Battleground Mobile India Series 2021 The Grind tournament: Team XP emerges victorious

The iQOO Battleground Mobile India Series 2021 The Grind tournament is now over and Team XO has emerged victorious. To recall, the tournament was an invite-only tournament that saw 32 teams battle it out to emerge victorious. As winners, Team XO received Rs 1,00,000 as prize money. Meanwhile, TSM and GodLike Esports were the runners-up and received Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively. Further, Savitar01 from Team Forever was the MVP of the tournament and took home Rs 25,000.

In related news, Krafton recently announced that it will soon suspend the option to transfer data between Battlegrounds Mobile India and PUBG: Mobile. To recall, data transfer allowed players to transfer their data between their old PUBG: Mobile account and their new Battlegrounds Mobile India account. This would include any purchases they made when they were playing PUBG: Mobile. Krafton notes that data transfer between PUBG: Mobile and Battlegrounds Mobile India will no longer be available after December 31, 2021, 23:59:59 (UTC). This is roughly January 1, 2022, 5:30am IST. As such, any players that did make any purchases are advised to link their accounts as soon as they can so that they can continue to enjoy any in-game items they purchased.

Of course, the whole reason why this has to be implemented is that PUBG: Mobile was banned in India. In order to ensure that Battlegrounds Mobile India’s isn’t banned. Kraftion implemented a number of changes to ensure the violence is toned down, while also addressing the alleged addictive nature of the game. Recently, Krafton added a bunch of new features aimed at ensuring minors do not play the game unsupervised. Every under-18 player that wants to play BGMI will now need to register a parent or guardian before they can play. An OTP will first be sent to the parent or guardian’s phone number, and only then can the minor start playing. Further, minors will also not be able to play for over three hours a day. On top of this, all players will not be allowed to spend over Rs 7,000 per day. 

Also read: Indian Government Releases An Important Advisory On Children's Gaming Habits

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Prime Minister Narendra Modis Twitter account briefly compromised by hackers

As talk of security around social media platforms is amplified, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account was briefly compromised by hackers on Sunday. In the brief period of time that the account was hacked, a tweet regarding the legal nature of Bitcoin in India was posted. Along with that, another message that stated that India had bought 500 bitcoins, asked users to jump on the crypto bandwagon and even shared a link with the tweet. It seems that India’s flip-flopping on cryptocurrency has caused this mishap. The process is complicated and required a more deft touch when it comes to cryptocurrency. 

The Twitter handle of PM @narendramodi was very briefly compromised. The matter was escalated to Twitter and the account has been immediately secured. In the brief period that the account was compromised, any Tweet shared must be ignored.

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) December 11, 2021

In a response to the controversy, Twitter stated, “We have 24×7 open lines of communication with the PM’s Office and our teams took necessary steps to secure the compromised account as soon as we became aware of this activity.” The social media giant has sin investigated the matter and has come to the conclusion that no other government accounts in India were impacted. It’s not like this is this was the first time this happened as many other political figures and celebrities from around the world have had their Twitter accounts hacked. 

In fact, Twitter itself is facing a bit of flak since the resignation of ex-CEO Jack Dorsey with some going as far as to say that the platform has become ‘drunk with power’ when it comes to policing free speech. In a stunning move, Twitter has decided to lean into its image as bullies and released new rules that will prohibit the sharing of private images without consent. Of course, surprising no one, major news organisations will be spared the rod while any independent media and the like will be subject to these rules. 

Also read: Twitter goes mad with power, announces new vague and unclear rules

 

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Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra shows up on Samsungs South Korean website

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to launch sometime early next year but the phone was just spotted on the company’s South Korean website. There have been several leaks in the past giving us a glimpse of what to expect from the upcoming Samsung Galaxy flagship lineup. 

According to a report by Gizmochina, a Samsung phone bearing the model number SM-S908U has been spotted on a support page on Samsung’s South Korean website. The support page in question reveals very little about the phone but a Twitter user has revealed that the production of the Galaxy S22 series is in full swing.

According to my Info, Samsung is producing and shipping thousands of parts per day for the S22 Series. So the production is in “full swing”. Mostly Pet-Sheets and Flex-Cables, 10-20k per Week. Tab S8 Production also started, but only a few hundred parts were made last week. https://t.co/b6XPwPIrYT

— Snoopy (@_snoopytech_) December 11, 2021

A purported Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was recently spotted on Geekbench with the model number SM-S908N which is likely associated with the South Korean market while the model number S908U could be the SKU for the global market.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra leaked specifications

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is rumoured to feature a 6.8-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and is likely topped with Gorilla Glass. The phone is expected to draw inspiration from the design and profile of the Galaxy Note series. Moreover, it's also expected to support the S Pen like last year but there are rumours that the S22 Ultra also has a dedicated stylus holder like the Galaxy Note phones.

The cameras on the S22 Ultra are said to be generational upgrades featuring the same resolutions as last year. We are expecting a 108MP main camera based on the HM3 sensor along with a 12MP ultra-wide camera, a 10MP periscope telephoto camera and a 10MP telephoto lens. On the front, there is likely a 40MP selfie camera.

We will know more about the Samsung Galaxy S22 series as we near the launch date which is expected to be held in February.

Also Read: Qualcomm and Microsoft’s exclusivity deal set to expire soon: Here’s what it means for Windows on ARM

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Garena Free Fire introduces new interactive backpack

Garena Free Fire has announced that it will be introducing a new type of backpack to the game. The new interactive backpack will add a dash of pizzaz to the standard backpack by adding new animations to it. The first of the lot is the Beaston Backpack. This backpack features the Beaston pet and the teaser video shows players what they can expect. 

Garena has not mentioned how players will be able to get their hands on the interactive backpack. One can assume it will require players to spend Diamonds, which is the game’s in-game currency. The Beaston Backpack will either be available to purchase outright, or players will have to go through a draw. 

To recall, Beaston was a new pet that was added to the game earlier this year. As with almost all pets, Beaston allows for certain abilities. He comes with the Helping Hand skill which increases the throwing distance of Grenades, Gloo Walls, Flashbangs, and Smoke Grenades. The percentage increase that players can expect will change depending on the level that Beaston is at.

Beaston also has three available actions that can be performed. The first is a ‘Celebration’ that occurs when the player kills an enemy or takes a medkit. The second is a ‘Play’ action that can be manually triggered via the command wheel, while the third is called ‘Show’ which is also triggered via the command wheel. These are unlocked when Beaston reaches level two, three and four, respectively.

Also read: Garena Free Fire: A Guide To Pets

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WhatsApp blocks third-party apps that intrude on your privacy

WhatsApp is essentially the messaging app of choice for a large portion of the world. Countries like India run on the messaging service and thus there is an onus to keep the app safe in terms of privacy. And, WhatsApp has done just that. The company has just announced that it will be blocking apps that allow users to monitor ‘Last Seen’ and ‘Online’ statuses. These apps were used by people to harass others and even monitor time logs. As more and more sensitive material is passed through its servers, WhatsApp has to take extra precautions to keep things safe for its users. 

WhatsApp has banned third-party stalker-ish apps on its platform

In fact, as we reported earlier, Whatsapp was already working on numerous updates that increase one’s privacy. The company had begun working on what could be one of the most important updates for working professionals - hiding the Last Seen information from specific people. WhatsApp had begun testing this feature in its Beta version, and it seems to be rolling out for all users now.  The feature was first spotted on WhatsApp beta version 2.21.23.14 and will work in a similar fashion to new features that let you hide your profile pictures from specific contacts, and hide your status updates from specific contacts.

The option to hide the Last Seen timestamp will be offered with the following parameters - everyone, user’s contacts, user’s contacts except a list of specific people and nobody. Do note that if you disallow someone from viewing your Last Seen, you won’t be able to view theirs either. Now, the company has gone a step feather and even blocked apps that allow users to access these features. It’s a smart and positive step by the company and will only serve to make WhatsApp a safer platform to communicate on. 

Also Read: WhatsApp’s disappearing messages receive new updates and renewed timelines

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Activision teases the addition of Icebreaker map in Call of Duty: Mobiles Season 11 update

Activision has started teasing its upcoming Season 11 update and as always, there will be a brand new map that will be added to the game. While the developers haven’t explicitly mentioned the name of the map, eagle-eyed gamers have already identified the map as Icebreaker.

Call of Duty: Mobile - Season 11 Icebreaker map

The Icebreaker map was first added to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. As the name of the map would suggest, the map features an icy setting with an abandoned nuclear submarine as its primary feature. Aside from the large open spaces around the submarine, players can also encounter tight spaces on the inside.

Aside from the new map, leaks suggest that the holiday version of the Raid map will be making a comeback. To recall, this version of the map adds some festive cheer to the map by adding things like snow, Christmas trees, and presents. 

It is not yet confirmed if Nuketown Russia will also make a comeback in the Season 11 update to Call of Duty: Mobile. This version of the popular Nuketown map was given a Soviet-style makeover with train cars, and tanks. 

The current season of Call of Duty: Mobile is almost over and players are advised to ensure that they reach at least Tier 21 of the current free Battle Pass. That should ensure that players get two of the new additions to the game. This includes the Orbital Laser Scorestreak and the SVD Sniper Rifle. This season also saw a new multiplayer map in the form of Vacant. This map was first introduced in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot and is set around an abandoned office building. Players can expect close-quarters combat, but there will be areas that will suit long-range weapons. There is also a new MVP Replay system that players can check out at the end of the match. This will showcase the player’s best eliminations at the end of the match. 

Also read: All You Need To Know About Call Of Duty: Mobile - Season 10 Shadows Return Battle Pass

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