Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Won't Be Getting a New Game+ Feature, Ubisoft Confirms

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will not be getting the highly requested New Game+ mode, Ubisoft has confirmed. Turns out, when investigating the implementation of New Game+, the title offered limited options to make replayability “unique and rewarding,” urging the team to cancel it whole. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be receiving a final DLC update on December 6,...

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Sony WF-LS900N Review: A hit and a miss

As a package, the Sony WF-LS900N, makes for a decent purchase. If you like Sony as a brand, and want a budget alternative to WF-1000XM4, then these are the buds you could go for. These buds are not flawless. When you weigh the pros and cons, these make for a decent pair of TWS earbuds.

If you are comparing these to the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, the flaws in these buds come to surface. They retail at a slightly higher price than these earbuds, but still outperform the LS900N in almost every aspect. What we suspect here is that Sony did not want to step directly into the territory of their flagship buds. That is why they held back in making these as great as Samsung’s offering. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are the company’s flagship earbuds. So, Samsung did not hold back at all.

All in all, if seen in an isolated bubble, these buds are decent. But, given the current situation of the earphones market, there are some better alternatives for sure. 

Sony has been actively working to increase its strong hold in the Indian audio market. Its lineup offers earphones from the lower end of the pricing spectrum to the other extreme. With one of the best ANC tech and sound quality packed into their iconic Sony WF-1000XM4, the brand has established itself as a known entity in the market. 

To plug the gap that was there in their lineup, between the 1000XM4 and the mid range price bracket, they have come out with the Sony WF-LS900N, priced at ₹16,990. With the design and specs similar to the flagship 1000XM4s, will the WF-LS900N be able to match up to the expectations set in the minds of consumers? To answer this question, we put the Sony WF-LS900N through our rigorous testing process when they showed up at the Digit Test Centre. Here’s what we found out.

Sony WF-LS900N: Build and Design

When it comes to the build quality of products, Sony has been a brand that has never let us down. Apart from an odd product here and there, Sony’s earphones tend to have great build quality. And, when it comes to their latest launch, there are no compromises either.

Sony’s environmentally friendly recycled materials featured on their recently launched line of earphones have proven to be surprisingly durable. In the seven odd days where we were daily driving the earphones, the case picked up minimal scratches and scuffs. The reviewer is known in the Digit Test Centre to be tough on the gadgets that he uses. So, the fact that the LS900N stood the test of time in his custody, means something.

As for the buds themselves, they carry over the same material as the cases and underwent minimal wear and tear. They were lightweight, and comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. The four different varieties of eartips that were included in the box ensured that the buds had a snug fit in the ears of the folks at the Test Centre. 

The earbuds snapped in place in the case thanks to the magnets that were fitted in. The case featured an easy to open lid and was pocketable. We would have preferred a metal hinge on the lid of the case. But, the plastic contraption connecting the lid to the case does the job well enough. The overall look and feel of the LS900N is worth the money that you are shelling out. They fit well and from whatever we could gauge in the week-long testing of these buds, would last you a decent amount of time. The buds that we got were in our personal favourite beige colour, with the other available options being black and white.

Sony WF-LS900N: Features

The Sony WF-LS900N TWS earbuds come packed with plenty of features. Everything from ANC to the app worked flawlessly during our testing process. Let us start with talking about the Active Noise Cancellation that is baked into these buds. Sony’s ANC in their flagship earbuds has become a benchmark for other players in the market to match up to. Their ANC processor is something that other brands try their best to match up to. So, when you are using the LS900N, you can feel that it is from the same family of products. 

When in office, the buds cancelled out ambient sounds like that of the AC, and people’s chatter in the background relatively easily. When we stepped out, the results were the same. Sounds of heavy traffic during auto rides was cancelled out pretty decently. While it is not at the same level as that of the AirPods Pro (Gen 2) [review coming out soon] or Sony’s own WF-1000XM4, it is definitely serviceable. 

When earbuds come equipped with ANC, their ambient mode also becomes important, and is something that people are on the lookout for when making their buying decisions. In the WF-LS900N, the ambient mode matches up the ANC that is baked into these earbuds. With these earbuds, Sony has made some changes to the design, which allows for natural sound from your surroundings to seep in, along with the audio that is being captured by the microphones. While we did not notice a drastic change, in some situations, this change in design did register its presence.

However, when looking at the price of the buds, the quality of the ANC and the ambient mode is something that we would have wanted to better than what it is. In day to day use, it might not make that big of a difference. But, looking at other buds at this price, we were expecting them to perform better. 

Now, let us talk about the other features, like the touch control and the app that accompanies these buds. 

The controls on these earbuds are basic and well executed. If you are someone who is coming from a different brand of earphones, then you might take some time to get acclimatised to the controls. But, once you get a hang of it, it is smooth sailing for you. The touch sensitive area on both these buds was wide and sensitive enough to register our inputs. There were occasional misses, but that can be forgiven when looking at the larger picture.

Coming to the app, it is the same as the one before. The Sony headphones connect app provides plenty of customisation options, along with an EQ that helps users customise the sound quality of the buds to their liking. The multi point connect and the swift pairing features of these buds were also flawless. Even when connected to an iOS device, almost all the features worked well, without any glitches.

Sony WF-LS900N: Performance

If you are spending ₹16,990, you would expect your earbuds to have an excellent sound signature, right? Well in the case of Sony WF-LS900N, it does not seem to be the case. We noticed the boosted bass and the underemphasized high mids during our daily use. So, to verify this, we put the Sonys through our test rig.

Uncompensated frequency response of Sony WF-LS900N (Light Blue) vs Flat Response (Green)

As you can see in the graph, the bass is on the higher end on these earbuds. Especially, when compared to the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2, the bass frequencies are much higher. And, when it comes to the higher mids, our suspicions came out to be true. The mids were a place where the Sony’s performed beyond our expectations. The boosted bass might not be a problem for the bass lovers. But, for anyone else, it can get a bit overwhelming. It is fairly hard to come by any pair of TWS earbuds that would satisfy the demands of audiophiles at this price. However, there are some options out there.

Uncompensated frequency response of Sony WF-LS900N (Light Blue) vs Flat Response (Green) vs Sony WF-1000XM4 (Dark Blue)

Same is the case with the underemphasized high mids. When these frequencies are underemphasized, what tends to happen is that the female vocals get suppressed. This also affects the day to day listening experience as well. 

Uncompensated frequency response of Sony WF-LS900N (Light Blue) vs Flat Response (Green) vs Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 (Pink)

For anyone looking for a decent overall audio experience, these buds are adequate. In songs like Uptown Funk that are known to put the bass response of the best earbuds in the market to test, the Sonys come out with flying colours. This might be a pain point for you if you are someone who does not like bass a lot. If you are planning to rock out to the tunes of songs like Centuries by Fall Out Boy, you will experience almost no distortion at 100 percent volume. 

Sony WF-LS900N: Battery Life

When talking about the battery life, Sony WF-LS900N came fairly close to the claims made by Sony. With ANC turned on, and the volume set to 50 per cent, the battery on the buds lasted about five hours and ten minutes. And, with the case, the total went up to 19 hours, with some juice still left in the case.

As for the charging port, we get a USB-C port, which as per Sony’s claims can provide 60 minutes of playback with just five minutes of charging time. This can come in handy if you are in a rush. With ANC turned off, you can safely assume that these buds will last longer. So, you shouldn’t be worried about battery life as much.

Sony WF-LS900N: Verdict

As a package, the Sony WF-LS900N, makes for a decent purchase. If you like Sony as a brand, and want a budget alternative to WF-1000XM4, then these are the buds you could go for. These buds are not flawless. When you weigh the pros and cons, these make for a decent pair of TWS earbuds.

If you are comparing these to the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, the flaws in these buds come to surface. They retail at a slightly higher price than these earbuds, but still outperform the LS900N in almost every aspect. What we suspect here is that Sony did not want to step directly into the territory of their flagship buds. That is why they held back in making these as great as Samsung’s offering. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are the company’s flagship earbuds. So, Samsung did not hold back at all.

All in all, if seen in an isolated bubble, these buds are decent. But, given the current situation of the earphones market, there are some better alternatives for sure. 

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Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides will get a material you upgrade

It’s been a little over a year since Google launched its Material You update, and now, the tech giant has announced that the new Material You M3 design will soon be incorporated into Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for a more uniform experience. 

The roll-out has already begun, and according to a report by 9to5Google, the pill-shaped toggle is larger than the original one, making the design more prominent. Users can also expect to see new colour trappings, the capacity to hold an icon in the switch thumb, and a taller and broader track. 

How to use the Material You toggle design?

The new toggle is available in the Editor’s Overflow Menu in the Star, Suggested Changes, Print Layout, and Available Offline sections. You can access the new toggle by navigating to these sections once the roll-out is complete.

Other Material You changes

The new toggle isn’t the only Material You change that Google has recently announced. The new Chrome Canary has also been equipped with the Material You colour changes. Chrome Canary is a new, experimental version of the browser that will offer enhanced features. 

For instance, the Customise Chrome Colour Extraction feature lets users select specific shades on the wallpaper that is displayed when they open Chrome. The shade is then applied to the browser, thereby creating a custom colour scheme. 

Google has stated that this new feature "enables setting theme colour based on background image colour when the background image is changed in New Tab Page".

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WhatsApp Web may soon see a screen lock feature for better privacy

A recent report by WABetaInfo indicates that Whatsapp may be working on a brand-new privacy feature aimed at those who use WhatsApp Web. This screen lock feature will allow users to set up a password to block access to the WhatsApp Web tab. 

Users can then leave their desktops unattended without worrying about any privacy breach. The report states that this feature is already under development and may become available to beta testers soon. 

How will the Whatsapp Web screen lock feature work? 

The Whatsapp Web screen lock will not be automatically enabled on your desktop once the rollouts commence. Since this is an optional feature, users will have to manually enable it, set a password of their choosing, and, of course, remember to occasionally update their passwords to be on the safe side. 

Users can also change their passwords in case they forget the same by scanning a QR code using the app on their smartphones to log in again. 

It is unclear whether the feature will kick into action each time a user switches tabs, or when manually locked. However, once enabled, users can rest assured knowing that there won’t be any unauthorised access to their chat. 

WhatsApp’s other privacy features

The Whatsapp Web screen lock feature is a part of a series of features we’ve seen Whatsapp roll out to enhance user privacy. Amongst these are the screen lock feature on Whatsapp’s mobile interface, which allows users to lock access to the app with the help of a numerical code or fingerprint. 

Additionally, users can now leave chat groups silently, ensuring a private exit that isn’t followed up with intrusive questions. Users can also control who sees them online, who sees their status updates, and whether others can take screenshots of their view-once messages. 

WhatsApp has also recently begun displaying a privacy disclaimer during voice and video calls, assuring users of its end-to-end encryption.

With WhatsApp set to release its Companion mode for Android (which allows users to link up to 4 different devices at once), this new lock screen feature comes at a welcome time. 

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Vivo X90 teased ahead of the official launch, will feature 120W fast wired charging

Vivo is going to unveil the X90 series on November 22, 2022, and head of the official launch, the specifications of the Vivo X90 have surfaced on the internet. Interestingly, the upcoming smartphone will come with two display options: the Samsung E6 and the BOE Q9 display panel. The smartphone is also said to feature a triple rear camera setup. Overall, it looks like a decent smartphone, but the company has yet to reveal its price. Nevertheless, here is everything we know about the upcoming Vivo X90. 

Vivo X90 to feature 120W fast charging

As mentioned earlier, the smartphone is supposed to come out of the curtains on November 22, 2022. To create hype around the device, Vivo has officially teased some details. To begin with, the vanilla Vivo X90 will come with 120W fast charging support. 

Compared to popular flagships such as Galaxy S22 Ultra, Pixel 7 Pro, or even the iPhone 14 Pro, 120W wired charging is in its own league. Although a couple of OnePlus models support such a rapid charging speed, Vivo X90 could possibly charge from zero to a hundred per cent in less than thirty minutes. 

To achieve such a fast charging speed, the smartphone is said to come with two small batteries instead of one large unit. The two small batteries might have a capacity of 2,345 mAh, which makes up for a total battery capacity of 4,800 mAh. More details about the charging speed and the battery capacity should be revealed at the launch. 

The smartphone will have a 50Mp triple-rear camera

Second, the Vivo X90 will come with a 50MP primary sensor and two 12MP sensors, one of which could be an ultra-wide shooter. Additionally, the smartphone is said to house a 32MP selfie shooter in the front. Per previous reports, the Vivo X90 will have a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a high refresh rate. It will also run on MediaTek Dimensity 9200 SoC, a mid-premium chipset. 

Last but not least, the smartphone could come in multiple storage models, including 8GB, 12GB or 16GB of RAM. In terms of storage, there might be various models ranging from 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. 

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page. 

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Want to set up an Apple ecosystem Here are the most affordable Apple devices that you can purchase in India

Have you been thinking about getting a new iPhone, or a new Apple Watch? Or do any of your friends have a birthday in the coming days? Well, whatever the reason be, we have compiled a list of the most affordable Apple products you can purchase to form an entire ecosystem. Here are the devices that you can purchase or add to your wish list. 

iPhone 11 or iPhone 12: Which one should you choose?

First, let's talk about the iPhone. The most affordable iPhone that one can buy in India is the iPhone 11. Although Apple does not sell the model through its official website, the 64GB variant is available on Flipkart for Rs. 39,999. Released in 2019, the iPhone 11 comes with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, runs on Apple's A13 Bionic chipset and has a dual-rear camera setup. 

In comparison with Android devices in the segment, the iPhone 11 not only provides faster performance but a superior camera setup as well. In addition, the model should receive iOS updates for another two to three years, making it a wise investment. However, as a downside, the smartphone does not support 5G networks. For those who can spare more bucks, the 5G-compatible iPhone 12, at Rs. 48,999, could also be a wise option. 

The iPad (9th Gen) happens to be an excellent tablet

As far as the iPad is concerned, users can go with the iPad (9th gen), which is currently available for Rs. 29,900 on Croma for the 64GB Wi-Fi-only model. The iPad supports iPadOS 16.1 and runs on Apple's A13 Bionic chipset. With the iPad, users can also get the Apple Pencil if they want to take notes, edit images or design graphics. 

One can also go for the iPad Air (5th Gen) if they want a powerful tablet and the features that come along with the second generation of Apple Pencil. The model is available on Croma at Rs. 52,490 for the 64GB Wi-Fi model. In general, iPads are known for their durability and functionality as multimedia devices.

Get an Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) to accompany your iPhone

At the September 2022 launch event, Apple released the Watch SE (2nd Gen), and it happens to be an excellent smartwatch to accompany an iPhone. While the device provides all the fitness-tracking features like the expensive Apple Watch models, it also has the latest features, including Fall Detection, Emergency SOS and Crash Detection. 

Currently, the Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen), with GPS, is available on Amazon for Rs. 29,899. Additionally, one can purchase the smartwatch using HDFC Bank's credit card to get a flat Rs. 2,000 discount, bringing down the effective price of the Apple Watch to Rs. 27,899. Further, the Apple Watch Series 7 at Rs. 34,000 at Reliance Digital is an excellent option for those who want blood oxygen tracking. 

Want to buy AirPods? Here are the most affordable options

Next, one would need a nice pair of AirPods to connect with their iPhone and the Apple Watch. The AirPods (2nd generation) can be a great device for those looking for an inexpensive option. They offer seamless connectivity with iPhone, produce decent sound and can last up to five hours of listening time on a single charge. The AirPods (2nd Gen) are available on Amazon for Rs. 10,999. 

However, the primitive AirPods lack active noise cancellation, a feature introduced with AirPods Pro. The AirPods Pro also offer Spatial Audio and Transparency Mode for listening to ambient sounds. Although the device is a couple of years old, one can get it for Rs. 19,999 on Flipkart, or even less if there is a bank offer. 

The MacBook Air is available at an attractive price

Last but not least, the Apple MacBook Air 2020, with an M1 chipset and 256GB of internal storage, can be purchased on Croma for Rs. 87,090. The notebook runs on macOS Big Sur and is good enough for someone who wants to invest in an entry-level Apple MacBook. On the other hand, the latest MacBook Air is available on Apple's official website for Rs. 1,19,900. It comes with the latest M2 chip and the iconic notch on the top of the display. 

That was it for the most affordable Apple products out there. By purchasing them together, one can create an advanced ecosystem of devices that can connect and interact with each other. 

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page. 

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Nothing Phone 1 gets a price cut on Flipkart: Heres how much it costs now

The Nothing Phone (1) has received a price cut on Flipkart. The first smartphone from Carl Pei's new company is selling on Flipkart with a significant discount of Rs 27,499, which is Rs 6,500 less than the smartphone's Rs 33,999 sticker price. The Nothing Phone (1) was launched in July, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ chipset and a 6.55-inch OLED display. 

The Nothing Phone (1) was also priced at Rs 32,999 onwards. The smartphone's price was later hiked by Rs 1,000. Now, the smartphone is listed at a price of Rs 27,499 on Flipkart for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. The 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant of the Nothing Phone (1) is priced at Rs 29,499 on Flipkart, while the top-spec 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant is priced at Rs 32,499 on the Walmart-owned e-commerce platform.

Apart from this, there is also an exchange offer on the Nothing Phone (1) on Flipkart, where buyers can avail of up to Rs 17,500 off by exchanging their old smartphone. The exchange value, however, will depend on the make, model, and condition of the old smartphone.

Nothing Phone (1) specifications

The Nothing Phone (1) comes with a 6.55-inch FHD+ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ chipset paired with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. The Nothing Phone (1) comes with a 4,500mAh battery paired with 33W fast charging and 15W fast wireless charging. 

In terms of optics, the Nothing Phone (1) comes with a 50-megapixel dual rear camera setup that includes a primary 50-megapixel shooter, and a 50-megapixel ultra wide-angle lens. Up front, the Nothing Phone (1) comes with a 16-megapixel selfie snapper. 

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page. 

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