Jan 13

PUBG: Battlegrounds goes free to play: The big changes explained

Posted in: Today's Chili

<img width="1280" height="720" src="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/drone-pubg-battlegrounds-1280×720.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="PUBG Battlegrounds gear drone" loading="lazy" style="margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%" data-attachment-id="706953" data-permalink="https://www.slashgear.com/pubg-battlegrounds-goes-free-to-play-the-big-changes-explained-12706947/drone-pubg-battlegrounds/" data-orig-file="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/drone-pubg-battlegrounds.jpg" data-orig-size="1440,810" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="drone-pubg-battlegrounds" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="

PUBG Corp/Xbox

” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/drone-pubg-battlegrounds-1280×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/drone-pubg-battlegrounds-1280×720.jpg” />In December 2021 during The Game Awards, it was revealed that tactical battle royale game PUBG: Battleground would switch to a free-to-play business model on January 12, 2021. That day has finally arrived and now anyone can download the game for free, jumping straight into the action on their favorite supported game console, PC, and Google Stadia. Existing players get … Continue reading

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Jan 13

Netflix and Apple lead SAG Award nominations with 'Squid Game' and 'Ted Lasso'

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It’s another good year for streaming at the SAG Awards nominations, but who and what got picked is decidedly different this year. Netflix was still the frontrunner with one or more nominations in nearly every category, including multiple picks for The Power of the Dog (three) and Squid Game (four) as well as individual nods for productions like Don’t Look Up, Passing and Halston. However, Apple also fared particularly well this year — Ted Lasso received five nominations, while The Morning Show racked up four. Coda and the not-quite-released The Tragedy of Macbeth also burnished Apple’s image.

Other services also had their due. Amazon had success with titles like Being the Ricardos and The Tender Bar, while Disney’s empire made its presence felt with nominations for The Handmaid’s Tale and Disney+ series like Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Netflix also broke a cultural boundary — Squid Gameis the first non-English series to receive a SAG nomination, not to mention the first Korean series. This isn’t completely surprising given Netflix’s eagerness to produce worldwide blockbusters, but it’s notable given how difficult it has been for foreign releases to crack these awards.

Theater- and TV-first material still has a significant presence in SAG’s nominations. Nonetheless, it’s evident the partial return to normalcy in entertainment only had a limited effect — streamed shows are still thriving in the current awards landscape.

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Jan 13

Apple Just Lost Another Key Semiconductor Designer To Microsoft

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In order to make the Apple Silicon a reality, Apple obviously needs a team of designers and engineers to help design and make its custom chipset a reality. Recently, one of Apple’s key engineers left the company to go work for Intel, and it looks like the bleeding doesn’t stop there.

According to a report from Bloomberg, they cite people familiar with the matter where it was suggested that Apple just lost another key member of its semiconductor team, this time to Microsoft. The report claims that semiconductor designer Mike Filippo has left Apple to work for Microsoft where he will be helping the company create their own chips that could power the Azure cloud-computing services.

Microsoft faces stiff competition in the cloud computing space from the likes of Google and Amazon, so it makes sense that they’re trying to bolster their own offerings by creating more custom hardware that would help them stand out from the competition. Filippo had worked at Apple from 2019 as a chip architect.

Prior to that, he had a long stint at ARM as one of the company’s top designers. He also held positions at both Intel and AMD. Once again, it’s hard to tell how much Filippo’s decision to leave Apple will affect the company’s plans for its future chipsets, so only time will tell.

Apple Just Lost Another Key Semiconductor Designer To Microsoft

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Jan 13

The Pozio Cradle Charges Your Phone While Blocking It From Listening To You

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Pretty much all our smartphones these days come with always-listening digital assistants. The idea is that by always being on the lookout (or earout) for the trigger phrase, it will save users time from having to press buttons or launch apps to get the digital assistant to do things for the user.

However, given that not everyone needs or wants a digital assistant, we’re sure that some users might be uncomfortable with the idea that their phones are always listening to them. The good news is that if you want a bit of privacy, Pozio could have the answer in the form of the Pozio Cradle.

This is a charger/dock for your phone where when it is placed in the dock, not only does it charge your phone, but it also blocks the phone’s microphone from listening to you. According to Pozio, the company says that it uses “patented technology that works in the background to prevent the always-listening microphones in smart devices from hearing private conversations.”

Basically from what we can tell, it works a bit like noise-cancelling headphones where it emits an inaudible tone that will cancel out sounds that could be picked up by your phone’s microphone. Users can tell the Cradle to stop where it pauses the blocking tech for 30 seconds so that if you need to interact with your phone’s digital assistant, you can in that window of time.

If this sounds intriguing, then head on over to Pozio’s website where you’ll be able to grab the Cradle for $119.

The Pozio Cradle Charges Your Phone While Blocking It From Listening To You

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Jan 13

In-Display Camera Might Only Come To iPhone 15 In 2023

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It was recently suggested that Apple could launch an iPhone with an in-display front-facing camera this year. However, if the tweets of analyst Ross Young are accurate, that may no longer be happening. Instead, it seems that it will most likely come either in 2023 for the iPhone 15 or 2024 for the iPhone 16.

This actually comes on the heels of Young’s earlier tweet where he claimed that the iPhone 14 will instead use a hole and pill cutout that will house the front-facing camera and the TrueDepth system that is used by Apple’s Face ID facial recognition security system.

This is a bit disappointing as we’re sure that many are looking forward to an iPhone that has no notches or cutouts, but based on the mockups we’ve seen, it actually doesn’t look too bad. Apple had reduced the size of the notch in the iPhone 13, but even though it is smaller, it is still pretty obvious.

To be fair to Apple, many Android makers have yet to introduce an in-display camera system. Some have tried, but presumably the reason it hasn’t quite caught on fully is because trying to get the front-facing camera to offer up the same quality as a regular cutout or notch while being hidden under the display is proving to be more challenging than previously thought.

In-Display Camera Might Only Come To iPhone 15 In 2023

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Jan 13

MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell Just Made His Most Bonkers Claim Yet

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…and that’s saying something.

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Jan 13

Keychron Q2 aims to be the perfect starter mechanical keyboard

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<img width="1280" height="720" src="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Keychron-q2-custom-mechanical-keyboard-1280×720.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="Keychron Q2 keyboard on desk" loading="lazy" style="margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%" data-attachment-id="706970" data-permalink="https://www.slashgear.com/keychron-q2-aims-to-be-the-perfect-starter-mechanical-keyboard-12706963/keychron-q2-custom-mechanical-keyboard/" data-orig-file="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Keychron-q2-custom-mechanical-keyboard.jpg" data-orig-size="1440,810" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Keychron-q2-custom-mechanical-keyboard" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="

Keychron

” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Keychron-q2-custom-mechanical-keyboard-1280×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Keychron-q2-custom-mechanical-keyboard-1280×720.jpg” />Hong Kong-based company Keychron has announced a new mechanical keyboard targeting creators and anyone who wants a high-end typing accessory that doesn’t take up too much desk space. The new Keychron Q2 features a 65-percent layout, meaning you won’t get a dedicated numpad, navigation keys (not to be confused with the arrow keys), or function row. According to Keychron, its … Continue reading

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Jan 13

Twitch streamers can now give their followers free emotes

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Starting today, most Twitch partners and affiliates will be able to dole out emotes to community members just for following them. They can set up to five emotes that followers can use for free by uploading new ones, moving them over from subscriber-only tiers or picking from a selection of default emotes created by Twitch. The livestreaming platform started testing follower emotes last June, and now they’re more broadly available.

There’s one caveat: to offer follower emotes, a streamer will need to be eligible for instant emote uploads. That feature allows streamers to add emotes that their communities can access immediately without manual review by Twitch staff. Creators’ accounts need to be in good standing to be eligible (they can’t have been suspended within the previous 60 days, for instance).

If they lose instant upload eligibility, streamers can still rearrange and delete existing follower emotes — they won’t be able to add new ones or reassign emotes from other tiers.

Until now, channel-specific emotes have mostly only been available to subscribers, though some streamers allow viewers to use Channel Points to unlock some emotes. Follower emotes should give streamers another way to make viewers feel as though they’re part of a community, even if they’re unable to subscribe.

Twitch also said affiliates should gain access to subscriber-only animated emotes this month. Partners can already use animated emotes.

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Jan 13

iPhone 14 Could Feature Both A Hole And Pill Cutout For Front-Facing Camera

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Image Credit – 9to5Mac

With the iPhone 13, Apple made the notch on the iPhone smaller. It was still obvious, but it was smaller. However, the iPhone 14 is expected to feature quite a drastic change on the notch front. This is according to analyst Ross Young from Display Supply Chain Consultants who revealed that the iPhone 14 could adopt a hole and a pill cutout.

The hole cutout in the display has been used by various Android handset makers for the past few years as a way to avoid using the notched design, so this isn’t exactly new. However, what’s interesting is that Apple will adopt two different cutouts for the iPhone 14, one of which will house the TrueDepth sensors used for Face ID and presumably ambient sensors as well, while the other will house the front-facing camera.

The end result is an interesting design, as you can see from the mockup above. To be honest we’re actually digging the look, but whether or not the actual unit will end up looking like this remains to be seen. However, this revelation seems to contradict an earlier report which suggested that Apple might adopt an in-display camera system this year.

In-display front-facing cameras is a piece of tech that many phone makers have been chasing for years. Some have put out such devices, but it has yet to be widely adopted. Presumably this is due to the technical hurdles where putting a camera under the display affects the quality of the camera, something that other companies are still trying to fine tune.

iPhone 14 Could Feature Both A Hole And Pill Cutout For Front-Facing Camera

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Jan 13

Apple Refutes T-Mobile’s Claim That iOS 15.2 Bug Is Disabling iCloud Private Relay

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A few days ago, it was reported that T-Mobile was apparently blocking users on its network from using iOS 15’s iCloud Private Relay feature. Given that there are reports of carriers in Europe doing the same, it didn’t seem like a very far-fetched idea, although T-Mobile later said that it was due to a bug in iOS 15.2.

It looks like things are getting more complicated now because Apple has since released a statement to 9to5Mac in which they are refuting T-Mobile’s claims. The company says that none of their carrier partners have blocked the feature, and that they have not made any changes in iOS 15.2 that would prevent the feature from working.

According to Apple, “No changes were made to iCloud Private Relay in iOS 15.2 that would have toggled the feature off. Users are encouraged to check their Settings to see if Private Relay is enabled on their device or for a specific network.”

T-Mobile has also since sent an updated statement where they suggest that the issue could lie with the Limit IP Address feature. “We wanted to update what we shared earlier. Apple doesn’t change customers’ settings when they update to iOS 15.2. Customers may see an error message if they previously toggled iCloud Private Relay or Limit IP Address Tracking off in their Cellular Data Options Settings. Apple has more details on their support page for this feature here.”

For T-Mobile users who might be affected, you can head on over to Apple’s support page to find out how to possibly fix the issue on your end.

Apple Refutes T-Mobile’s Claim That iOS 15.2 Bug Is Disabling iCloud Private Relay

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

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