Technology

The Nintendo Switch’s hardware isn’t quite as powerful compared to the likes of the PS5 Pro or the Xbox One X, and as such, games do not necessarily run at the same settings compared to other consoles, and also as a result, not all games are necessarily compatible as well. This is where cloud gaming comes in handy.

If you’re a fan of IO Interactive’s Hitman franchise, you’ll be pleased to learn that the company will be bringing the game onto the Switch. However, given that the game demands some pretty high-end hardware, the game will not be playable on the Switch either through a cartridge or as a digital copy. Instead, gamers will have to stream it from the cloud.

Given that a lot of speakers these days are going wireless, it doesn’t really come as a surprise to learn that the same can be said for guitar amplifiers too. In fact, Yamaha has been doing that for a while now, and the company is back with their latest model in the form of the Yamaha THR30IIA.

However, unlike some of the company’s other THR series of wireless guitar amplifiers, this one seems to have been created for acoustic guitars in mind. This is a 30W amp with dual 3.5-inch speakers and a built-in D-PRE microphone preamp. There are three microphone modes to choose from, such as dynamic, tube, and condenser, and there are also settings for users to choose if they’re playing a guitar with either flat or nylon strings.

Sony has released its fiscal second quarter results for FY2020, which includes the performance for the three months ending 30 September 2020. Sony shipped 600,000 smartphones during this quarter, and the good news is that this is the same number of phones shipped at this point last year. Whilst in the context of other manufacturers this might be faint praise, it's great to see Sony stem the declines we've seen quarter after quarter for the last three years at least.

Image credit – Design Watch

Lens attachments for smartphones aren’t new, but oddly enough, traditional camera makers have shied away from this particular market segment. However, it seems that maybe, just maybe, Canon could be toying with the idea of creating a lens attachment accessory for smartphones.

Unfortunately unlike PCs where you can easily expand on the storage by inserting a new hard drive, it’s a different story for consoles, and this is why expansion cards are being sold for consoles. Sony’s upcoming PS5 will support SSD expansion cards and now thanks to a sighting at Walmart, it is expected to cost $115.

The version spotted at Walmart is for the 500GB model, so it is possible that if you’re looking to expand to 1TB, you could pay as much as $200 for it, if not more. To give you some context, this is roughly the same price you might pay for the Xbox Series X’s expansion card. We previously reported that a sighting for the card in Australia listed it for about $250 after conversion, so like we said, it’s going to be roughly around that price range.

Earlier this year, it was announced that a Crash Bandicoot game for iOS and Android devices was in development. King, the developer of the game, did not mention when the game would be released at that point in time, but it looks like we now have a timeframe to look forward to and that is in the spring of 2021.

This seems like quite a long wait considering that the game was first announced in July, but we suppose better late than never. The mobile version of Crash Bandicoot will be created in the style of an endless runner kind of game, where gamers will keep running to collect items as well as jumping and sliding to avoid obstacles, so if you’ve ever played an endless runner like Temple Run or Subway Surfers, then the gameplay probably shouldn’t be too alien to you.

Due to the fact that the current Nintendo Switch can be played on your big screen TV, we suppose not many people paid too much attention or cared too much about the display quality on the console itself. While it might not necessarily be the best display we’ve seen, it’s more than adequate for most gamers.

However, Nintendo is hoping to change that with a future new model. There have been talks about Nintendo creating a “Pro” version of the Switch, and according to a report from Economic Daily, they are claiming that the Pro version of the Switch is expected to come with a mini LED display.

When Apple announced the iPhone 12, they revealed that the phone comes with a brand new design. It features flat edges around the phone similar to the design of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5. It’s a welcome change, but could it be detrimental to users? Maybe, maybe not, if the claims on the internet are to be believed.

According to a report from MyDrivers as initially shared by GizChina, it seems that some people in China have taken to Weibo to share their negative experience with the new iPhone 12 where they are alleging that the edges of the phone are too sharp to the extent where it has actually cut into the flesh of some users while they are holding it.

If you wanted to buy a new Joy-Con to replace your current Joy-Con on your Nintendo Switch, you’d typically need to buy them in a pair, which is pretty expensive at $80, especially if you only need one. However, the good news is that according to a tweet by the company, it seems that they will soon start to sell Joy-Cons individually.

The company notes that starting on the 9th of November, they will be selling Joy-Cons individually where they will be priced starting at $40 each. It should be noted that previously, the company did sell individual Joy-Cons, but they were priced at $50 each, not to mention they were pretty hard to come by.

Back in the day, gaming consoles were designed to do just one thing, and that is to play games. These days, consoles are viewed as more than just for gaming, but for entertainment in general, which is why sometimes you can find apps that let you watch videos, chat with friends, and so on.

In fact for the upcoming PS5, Sony has confirmed on its PlayStation Blog that the console will come preloaded with streaming apps. This includes Apple TV+, Disney+, Spotify, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube. For subscription based streaming services like Apple TV+, Disney+, and Netflix, you will of course need a subscription in order to access the contents.

Word on the street has it that Apple is working on a pair of augmented reality based smart glasses. When exactly this will be released remains to be seen, but it seems that Apple could be working on securing suppliers for their device, and a new report is claiming that Apple is looking at Sony as one of them.

According to Japanese publication Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, they claim that Apple and Sony are in talks in which Apple is hoping that Sony can supply them with their OLED microdisplays for use in their AR smart glasses. This has since been corroborated by display industry analyst Ross Young whose sources have told him the same thing.

Sony has released new firmware for a number of devices which adds the October 2020 Android security patches. The 2020 handsets that have been updated include the Xperia 1 II through build number 58.0.A.3.194 and the Xperia 10 II with build number 59.0.A.8.33. There does not appear to be any other big changes to these handsets, outside of the update in security patch.

The Sony Xperia 5 II has only just started hitting customers hands, and the smartphone has already been disassembled. The video below shows the handset being torn down step-by-step, and makes you appreciate the clean engineering design that goes into its manufacture, particularly given the slim and relatively compact design.

Sony has since come forward to clarify the feature in a new post, stating that Sony themselves will not be recording the voice chats of gamers, nor will all voice chats be recorded at all. Instead, gamers who are experiencing harassment or abuse over voice chat while they’re gaming have the option of reporting the other player, in which only the most recent five minutes are being recorded.

According to Sony, “Once the PS5 console launches, if a PS5 player needs to file a harassment report, they will be able to include up to a 40 second-long Voice Chat clip in their report — 20 seconds of the main conversation with the other player, plus an additional 10 seconds before and after the conversation selection. Only the most recent five minutes of a Voice Chat will be available for a player to use for this reporting function.”