Sony to Bring In-Game Ads in Free-to-Play PlayStation Games, Just Like Microsoft: Report

Sony is reportedly working on adding in-game ads to free-to-play games, to encourage developers to build free titles that grew in popularity during the pandemic. Rival Microsoft is also working on a similar plan to bring ads to free-to-play titles. The promotions could be located in the games, and help publishers and developers earn more revenue from these titles. Son...

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Oppo Enco Air2 Review: Struggles to stand out

Priced at Rs 2,499, the Oppo Enco Air2 looks like a pretty sweet deal on paper with 13.4mm drivers, HeyMelody app support, and IPX4 rating. However, when faced with competing products such as the Realme Buds Q2 and the DIZO Buds Z Pro, the earbuds do fall behind in terms of features and battery life.

The Oppo Enco Air2 is the company’s latest entry-level TWS pair of earphones complete with 13.4mm drivers, Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, touch controls and HeyMelody app support. The device is priced competitively at Rs 2,499, but it does face its fair share of competitors including the Realme Buds Q2 and DIZO Buds Z Pro. Budget TWS have progressively been getting better, both quality and feature-set wise. In fact, it is not odd to even see manufacturers provide features such as Active Noise Cancellation at this price point these days. Alas, the Oppo Enco Air2 doesn’t boast of this feature. But does it do well in other areas such as sound quality, fit, and battery life? Read through as we put Oppo’s entry-level TWS to the test to know if these earbuds are worth your money or if you should look elsewhere.

Build and comfort

The Oppo Enco Air2 sports the half in-ear design that Apple popularised with its AirPods lineup. In fact, the earbuds look eerily similar to the older AirPods, so they don’t really stand out when in your ears. The case, on the other hand, does stand out with its half-translucent design. The lid of the case is translucent allowing you to peek at your earbuds from outside. The case is also extremely sleek and compact. So much so, that you can easily pocket these even when wearing skinny jeans. The front of the case sports an LED battery indicator and the bottom houses the USB Type-C charging port.

Circling back to the earbuds, while they may not be anything special to look at, these earbuds are incredibly lightweight. The earbuds have a half in-ear design so you don’t get silicone eartips. So despite their lightweight, some users may not get an adequate fit, especially if they have smaller ears. Even if you manage to get them to sit in your ears reasonably securely, they may pop out when exercising or running. For this reason, we prefer earphones with silicone eartips since they provide a much more snug fit. The half in-ear design also hampers passive isolation, so you can hear your surroundings pretty easily if you don’t listen to music at ridiculously loud levels. 

All in all, we’re not too impressed with the Oppo Enco Air2’s build or fit, since they are pretty run of the mill to look at and the fit isn’t the most secure you can get at this price.

Features

Priced at Rs 2,499, the new Oppo Enco Air2 come with a decent number of features, but they do get bested in this department by the Realme Buds Q2 and DIZO Buds Z Pro that you can purchase on e-commerce platforms for around the same price. The Realme Buds Q2 come equipped with a plethora of features; including some such as Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode which aren’t available on the Oppo Enco Air2.

What the Oppo Enco Air2 does have though is excellent app support. The HeyMelody app allows users to access multiple features such as Game Mode, EQ presets, and earbud controls. EQ presets, which OPPO has dubbed the Enco Live sound effects, include Original sound, Bass Boost and Clear vocals. The Original Sound preset sounds the most natural and is one by default. 

The app also allows users to customise earbud controls including the double tap, triple tap and touch and hold commands. You can choose between seeking tracks, pausing and playing music, Game Mode, Voice Assistant, and even volume level controls. There’s also a toggle for Game Mode within the app that reduces the latency down to 80ms, according to the company. In our testing, there was a slight difference in latency when Game Mode was turned on. Additionally, you can also check battery levels and perform firmware updates via the app. However, app support is not available for iOS users. 

The earphones also have other features such as IPX4 sweat and splash resistance on the earbuds and mono earbud usage. The earphones are powered by Bluetooth v5.2 with stable connectivity for the most part. Some Oppo phone models support additional features such as double-tap to click a photo and Flash Connect (similar to Google Fast Pair). Overall, these earbuds are pretty feature-rich for their price point but the Realme Buds Q2 and the DIZO Buds Z Pro definitely beat them out in this regard with ANC and Transparency Mode support as well.

Performance

Sporting 13.4mm composite titanized diaphragm drivers, the Oppo Enco Air2 produces loud sound with decent bass and mids. They’re overemphasised, but that’s necessary with half in-ear buds since they don’t have a snug fit. The resulting sound is pretty warm and thumpy, although we wish that the highs were a bit more balanced.

The highs can sound slightly muffled in the mix at times since they are underemphasised in the mix. So, genres such as rock and classic don’t sound as detailed. However, for most modern-day music, the Oppo Enco Air2 produces serviceable sound that doesn’t lag behind competition such as the Realme Buds Q2. The Buds Q2 has slightly more exaggerated bass which may please bass lovers more. 

The form factor of the earphones does pose some problems though. The half in-ear design leads to a lot of leakage, so when you’re travelling, your fellow passengers will be able to hear the tunes you’re rocking out to. Additionally, the earbuds also have lacklustre passive isolation. This coupled with the missing ANC means that these earphones are not ideal to use when travelling. You can easily hear car horns or the sounds of train tracks, so you will need to increase the volume levels which may cause hearing damage.

The Oppo Enco Air2 comes with AI Noise Cancellation for calls. The microphone picks up the caller’s voice pretty clearly, however, it does pick up ambient sounds as well. So, if you’re in a noisy environment, the call may be riddled with disturbances. However, indoors, the microphone is more than capable of clear calls.

Battery life

The Oppo Enco Air2 doesn't particularly impress when it comes to battery life. While it provides a day’s worth of battery life with the earbuds and charging case combined, the earbuds alone only provide 4 hours of continuous wireless playback. This is on the lower side when it comes to competition. Both the Realme Buds Q2 and the DIZO Buds Z Pro provide 7 hours of continuous playback with ANC turned off. The earphones lasted for 3 hours and 45 minutes in our tests with the volume levels set to 80 per cent, which is not at all impressive.

The Enco Air2 also doesn’t support fast charging, which is supported on both the Realme Buds Q2 and the DIZO Buds Z Pro. Charging the earbuds up to full from empty takes approximately 1.5 hours.

Verdict

Priced at Rs 2,499, the Oppo Enco Air2 looks like a pretty sweet deal on paper with 13.4mm drivers, HeyMelody app support, and IPX4 rating. However, when faced with competing products such as the Realme Buds Q2 and the DIZO Buds Z Pro, the earbuds do fall behind in terms of features and battery life. Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode being absent may not seem like a big deal at this price point, but when competing products offer these features and better battery life, it becomes hard to recommend this product.

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World of Warcraft: Dragonflight expansion pack lets you ride dragons and explore the Dragon Isles

Activision Blizzard has introduced a live expansion pack called Dragonflight on World of Warcraft (WoW) which brings the game’s biggest UI overhaul in 18 years. It also adds several new things like Dragon Isles (a location spread across four new zones), Dragon Aspects (leaders of the five dragonflights), Dracthyr Evokers (a combination of a new race and class), and Wrath of the Lich King (a classic expansion pack).

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Features Explore the Dragon Isles

Whilst on your way to the new level cap of 70, you will get to explore the 4 new zones of Dragon Isles called—the Waking Shores, the Ohn’ahran Plains; the Azure Span; and Thaldraszus.

Play the Dracthyr Evoker Race/Class Combo

You will be able to play as a Dracthyr Evoker, “WoW’s first-ever race/class combo”. Dracathyr is the race and Evoker is the class. These new characters will have both humanoid visages and draconic avatars. While playing as them, you will be able to both inflict damage or heal as you choose. The Dracthyr Evoker will be accessible at level 58 of the game and you can join either  the Alliance or the Horde faction.

Dragon riding

You can take part in Dragonriding, which is described as “an all-new skill-based method of aerial movement that allows players to take to the skies on the back of their personal Dragon Isles Drake”. You will get to customize the appearance and ability of this dragon named drake as you progress through the expansion.

Improved Talent System and Professions

You get new options to enhance your talent in creative and meaningful ways. You will even come across new goodies, professional gears and equipments, player-driven work orders, and an all-new specialization program. 

UI Facelift 

Dragonflight enhances the aesthetics and ambience of the minimap and endows new elements and options for customizing different aspects of the UI. 

So, besides getting to enjoy a journey through Dragon Isles and ride Dragons, the new expansion packs have a lot to experience. You can watch the full reveal trailer of Dragonflight below.

As for other news, reviews, feature stories, buying guides and everything else tech-related, keep reading Digit.in.

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The Sony PlayStation 5 will once again be up for pre-order in India on April 22 at 12PM

It has been over a year since the Sony PlayStation 5 was released. However, stock shortages continue to plague the system. As such, prospective buyers of the system have little option but to either wait for the system to be in stock or bite the bullet and pay an exorbitant amount of money to a scalper.

Thankfully, gamers have another chance to get their hands on the system legitimately. Amazon India has listed the PS5 as being available for pre-booking from April 22, 12:00 pm onwards. As is usually the case, expect other retailers such as ShopatSC, Flipkart, Vijay Sales, Games the Shop and more to offer the same. 

Sony PS5 Restock: April 22, 2022 - 12:00pm

Getting any next gen-console has been quite tough the world over thanks to a global chip shortage. The Sony PS5 (review), as well as the Xbox Series X (review), have been tough to come by. Both the consoles offer gamers something special when it comes to exclusives. Sony offers games such as Spider-Man Miles Morales (review), Sackboy: A Big Adventure and, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (review). It will also offer God of War: Ragnarok, which is a sequel to 2018’s God of War.  

But don’t count out the Xbox just yet. The console’s Game Pass subscription service is one of the best deals in gaming. Not only that, but Microsoft has been on a bit of a spending spree of late. The company has already acquired Zenimax Media, which owns Bethesda, Arkane Studios and id Software. It was recently purchased by Activision Blizzard. As such, Microsoft now holds the keys to some of the biggest franchises in gaming. This includes the likes of Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Dishonored, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and many more. 

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Redmi 10A launched in India with up to 4+64GB memory and a 5000 mAh battery

Redmi India has launched a new budget smartphone in the country called the Redmi 10A. The phone has two RAM and storage combinations priced in the Sub-10K segment. The internals also includes a MediaTek Helio G96 chipset, a 5000mAh battery, and an expandable storage slot. Redmi has outfitted the 10A with a 13MP primary camera on the back and an HD+ IPS LCD panel on the front. 

Redmi 10A Specs and Features

You get a 6.53-inch IPS LCD screen with HD+ resolution and a dewdrop notch up top. The selfie snapper is a 5MP sensor. The back camera, meanwhile, is a 13MP snapper with a LED flash right beside it. The camera panel is also home to a fingerprint scanner. 

Tap on it to unlock the phone and you will be welcomed by Android 11-based MIUI 12.5 software.

At the heart, there is MediaTek Helio G25 along with up to 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. 

Other goodies in the package are a 5000mAh battery with a 10W charger, a 3.5mm headphone jack, WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, 4G LTE, and a micro-USB port.

You can purchase the device in Black, Grey, and Blue shades.

Redmi 10A, Redmi 10 Power Price in India and Availability

Redmi 10 Power

Redmi 10A is priced at ₹8,999 for the 3+32GB variant and ₹9499 for the 4+64GB variant. You can purchase the device through Amazon India starting April 26.

The Redmi 10 Power is essentially a slightly tweaked edition of the Redmi 10. The changes include 8GB of RAM (with 3GB of RAM expansion) and 128GB of storage, as well as a leather finish on the back. The rest of the specs are similar and it costs ₹8,499 for the 3+32GB variant and ₹9,499 for the 4+64GB model. The available colours are Black, Blue, and Grey only.

As for other news, reviews, feature stories, buying guides and everything else tech-related, keep reading Digit.in.

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OnePlus Nord N20 5G has launched with Snapdragon 695 SoC, 64MP triple rear camera setup, and an AMOLED display

The OnePlus Nord lineup has introduced a new member to the US crowd named the OnePlus Nord N20 5G. It is an entry-grade phone but rocks 5G support and performance from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695 processor. However, the software it ships with is still Android 11. OnePlus has also cut corners in the screen refresh rate which is only 60Hz. This is an AMOLED panel with 1080p resolution. The rest of the Nord N20 features include a 64MP triple camera arrangement on the back, a 4500 milliamp battery and a 33W charging support.

Here’s the complete repertoire:

OnePlus Nord N20 5G Specs and Features

OnePlus Nord N20 has a 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate and a left-cornered punch hole. The sensor within this cutout is yet to be revealed.

As for the back, there is a 64MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultrawide snapper and a 2MP depth-sensing module. There is no enclosing camera panel here rather the camera rings are placed separately on the rear surface. 

Besides the cameras, you can see the OnePlus logo and a narrow shimmering band at the bottom giving the phone a dual-tone finish at the back.

Coming to the innards, you get a Snapdragon 695 chip coupled with 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a 4,500mAh battery with 33W fast charging (adapter included in the box). 

As mentioned in the beginning, the phone boots with Android 11 based Oxygen OS 11 software.  

Lastly, among other things, Nord N20 5G also comes with a USB-C port, a microSD card slot (up to 512GB), and an under-display fingerprint reader. 

OnePlus Nord N20 5G Price and Availability

OnePlus Nord N20 5G will be available to T-Mobile users in North America from April 28, 2022. The price of the phone is set at $282 (approx. ₹21,570) for the solo 6+128GB model.

As for other news, reviews, feature stories, buying guides and everything else tech-related, keep reading Digit.in.

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Logitech Unveils Lift Vertical Wireless Ergonomic Mouse: Price, Features

Logitech has launched the Lift vertical wireless ergonomic mouse at Rs. 6,995 in India — $69.99 (roughly Rs. 5,400) in the US. The mouse runs off of a single AA battery and is rated to last up to two years.

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