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The use of video conferencing and chat apps is booming around the world as people are forced to work and learn from home. Some of the software seeing massive increases in user numbers are Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, and Zoom. Zoom has been under fire during its rapid growth in part because of security issues. Zoom is now under fire again for offering up numbers that were misleading when it came to users.

Microsoft's chief marketing officer Chris Capossela was among the first to call zoom's numbers into question. He stated in a tweet that he believed Zoom's 300 million figure was not daily active users or monthly active users, but a number representing meeting participants. Capossela noted in the tweet that Microsoft Teams had seen more than 200 million meeting participants in a single day this month that generated over 4.1 billion meeting minutes.

Rather than admit someone had quoted an incorrect number, Zoom simply, and quietly, updated the blog post that bragged about the 300 million user figure. The blog post was edited to read that Zoom has over "300 million daily Zoom meeting participants." The difference between "users" and "participants" is massive and can't be understated. Anyone looking at the figures that Microsoft is quoting can see the significant difference between those two numbers with Microsoft seeing over 200 million meeting participants in a single day while boasting 75 million daily active users.

The coronavirus pandemic may have a greater impact on software production instead of hardware, and could lead to some first-party Xbox Series X games being delayed.

Will the Xbox Series X be delayed? The games are more likely to get pushed back instead of the console. In an interview with CNBC, Xbox head Phil Spencer reiterated previous comments on the next-gen system's launch. Spencer says hardware is on track, but he's less confident in games production. Dev teams are working remotely in an industry built on a tight flow and synergy of office-based mutualism, and key things like motion capture and sound recording have been particularly disrupted.

"The teams are doing a really good job on keeping our hardware on track. I'd say the bigger unknown is is probably the game production. Game production is a large-scale entertainment activity now. You have hundreds of people coming together, building assets," Spencer told CNBC.

Coronavirus has put a real beating on just about every industry from automotive manufacturers to smartphone makers and everything in between. Research from IDC looking at the global smartphone market was published recently and shows that the smartphone market around the world suffered the worst annual decline ever in Q1 2020. IDC shows smartphone makers shipped 275.8 million devices during Q1, which was an 11.7% decline from the same quarter of 2019.

That decline marks the most significant annual decline ever, according to the research firm. The reason for the decline has to do with the uncertainty facing many consumers with work and with discretionary income. Many consumers are holding onto their devices and avoiding any discretionary purchases. Analysts say that replacement cycles are likely to become longer in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic.

Data from China offered by research firm Canalys shows that shipments in China, which is one of the biggest smartphone markets in the world, declined by 18 % year-over-year. IDC shows an even sharper decline for China, with its numbers showing a 20.3% year-over-year decline. IDC says that significant decline had an impact on the overall market because China accounts for nearly 25% of the global smartphone market.

One of the most challenging things for a lot of people trying to work or learn from home when the entire family is there is finding a little peace and quiet to concentrate. For many people, one product that can help concentration is a high-quality set of noise-canceling headphones that block external sounds and let you listen to music so you can focus. Amazon has a big sale going right now on a popular set of wireless headphones from Bose.

The Bose Noise Canceling Wireless Bluetooth Headphones 700 in Arctic White are on sale for $299. That is a discount of $100 off the regular $399 price tag. Those who want the silver or black color will have to pay an extra $50 with those on sale for $349.

As of writing, Amazon shows that the white headphones are in stock and can be to you as early as two days. The headphones ship and are sold by Amazon. For those unfamiliar with the Bose 700 headphones, they have up to 11 levels of noise-canceling control to block the outside world or let noise in when it's important. They support Google Assistant and Alexa voice control.

One of the many challenges that smartphone users are facing during the coronavirus pandemic is having to use their device while wearing a mask or gloves. For iPhone users who take advantage of Face ID to unlock their smartphone, having to wear a mask due to coronavirus means that the phone won't unlock. As it stands now, users have the option of waiting until their device times out to be able to swipe up to enter a passcode or remove their mask.

Apple has released updated software that allows users to unlock their iPhones more quickly without using Face ID. With the new software, there is no need to wait for the device to timeout to enter the passcode. All the user needs to do with the software installed is swipe up to enter their passcode without having to wait for a Face ID error and timeout.

While this beta software is ready, Apple hasn't yet said when the final version will launch. The Face ID solution is one of two fixes that are said to be coming aimed at addressing issues that have surfaced during the coronavirus pandemic. In iOS 13.5 beta 3, the software will be introduced that is necessary for applications to develop contact tracing.

Microsoft is currently gearing up to release a new set of noise-canceling headphones as a follow-up to the Surface Headphones that launched about 18 months ago. The headphones were initially launched to battle Sony and Bose in the high-end noise-canceling headphones market. Bose released a new set of noise-canceling headphones not long ago, and Sony has a new model coming.

Microsoft is now gearing up to combat the new offerings with a new offering of its own crossing the FCC. The headphones are expected to land with the name Surface Headphones 2 and are supposed to look identical to the existing model on the outside. FCC documents confirm that no changes have been made to the layout of the antennas.

While the antennas remain the same, several updates are coming to the Surface Headphone 2 product. Microsoft added IMU sensors for better head detection and tracking. The Bluetooth version was updated, and the new headphones will have higher antenna again. Headphones will also have aptX support along with the Bluetooth 5.0.

Respawn Entertainment has revealed who the next Apex Legends character will be and when she will be released into the live game.

As you might've expected, Respawn will be adding the new character into the mayhem-filled battle royale when the next season drops. According to a video released onto the official Apex Legends YouTube Channel, the new character we can expect to see in Season 5 will be Loba, the daughter of Marcos Andrade, who was murdered by Revenant in his reveal trailer.

Loba is out for revenge on Revenant, but as she grew up, she became an adept thief, which will no doubt coincide with her abilities in-game. At the moment, we don't know how Loba will play in-game, but Respawn does plan on giving the character a full reveal, as well as a Season 5 breakdown on May 5th. Courtesy of WCCFtech, we have some dot points below showing off what Season 5 will have. Apex Legends Season 5 will be fully released on May 12th. Prepare your weapons for the mayhem, see you in the arena.

A team of international astronomers has managed to capture 15 rare images of the inner rims of planet-forming disks that are located hundreds of light-years away.

The images were published in the journal of Astronomy & Astrophysics, and shed some new light on how planetary systems are eventually born over. Planet-forming, or protoplanetary disks are formed in unison with their neighboring star. Dust particles are pulled together through gravity and eventually form into small rocks that then pull more dust particles together to eventually become what we know as planets.

According to the lead author on the study, Jacques Kluska from KU Leuven in Belgium, "In these pictures, the regions close to the star, where rocky planets form, are covered by only few pixels. We needed to visualize these details to be able to identify patterns that might betray planet formation and to characterize the properties of the disks." The images were created at the European Southern Observatory in Chile, and astronomers used a technique called infrared interferometry using the ESO's PIONIER instrument.

Battlefield 6 is on the way in 2021, and it could be exclusive to the PS5 and Xbox Series X and push next-gen consoles the same way Battlefield 4 did in 2013.

EA and DICE are planning something big with Battlefield 6. The devs are retiring both Battlefield V and Battlefront II to free up teams for the next-gen Battlefield game, and we should expect DICE to push PS5 and Xbox Series X to their limits with a newly enhanced Frostbite engine. Thanks to this focus on high-level optimization, DICE might actually skip current-gen systems altogether. The underpowered Jaguar SoCs and mechanical HDDs will significantly hinder the explosive next-gen craziness that's made possible by the new Navi GPU and Zen 2 CPU-powered systems.

After the recent BFV and BFII announcements, we dug up some older comments that made us curious whether or not Battlefield 6 is coming to today's consoles. In an October earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said DICE is "targeting new innovation that will be enabled by next-gen platforms and a growing install base on the new consoles."

iPhone 12 rumors have been making their way around the Internet for a while now. The latest rumor comes from Jon Prosser, an Apple leaker with a history of accuracy. Prosser says in a tweet that he saw speculation on iPhone 12 prices and decided to go to his sources to see what sort of pricing was expected for the iPhone 12 models.

According to sources, the cheapest iPhone model will start at $649 and feature a 5.4-inch OLED screen, two cameras, and 5G capability. Next up the list is a 6.1-inch iPhone 12 with OLED screen, 5G support, and dual cameras for $749. The first step into the iPhone 12 Pro range will be the 6.1-inch OLED 5G packing model that features three cameras and a LiDAR sensor for $999.

The most expensive device in the iPhone 12 range will be the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. The high-end smartphone will feature an OLED screen, 5G, and three cameras along with a LiDAR sensor for $1099. These prices are essentially the same that they are for the current iPhone 11 range.

Canon is one of the biggest makers of DSLR cameras in the world, and it currently has a new app that launched called the EOS Webcam Utility Beta app. Anyone who has a Canon DSLR camera and needs a webcam for business or keeping in touch with family and friends can use the app to turn their DSLR into a very high-quality webcam. The new app is particularly welcome during the coronavirus pandemic as webcams can be hard to find.

The new EOS Webcam Utility Beta app will be appealing to owners of both new and old Canon DSLR cameras. While the newer cameras have HDMI outputs, additional software is still required to capture and stream live video. In some instances, capture cards are also needed.

The EOS Webcam Utility Beta eliminates the need for any additional hardware for compatible cameras. Only certain cameras are supported but the list is long. Supported cameras include the following:

Microsoft is hosting an Xbox Series X games live stream event on May 7 at 8AM PST, but don't expect Halo: Infinite to be there.

Today Microsoft announced a big game reveal event set for next week. The show is centered around third-party partner games, though, and won't include first-party heavy-hitters like Halo: Infinite, the rumored new Fable game, The Coalition's mystery project, and the assortment of titles in development at the new Microsoft Studios banner. "So pumped to see our partners showing us a first look at Xbox Series X gameplay next week! Also know the Xbox Game Studios teams are hard at work on some big summer plans. More details soon," Aaron Greenberg said on Twitter.

So what can we expect from the show?

Raspberry Pi has a new product for tinkerers to integrate into their builds called the Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera. The camera add-on uses a 12.3-megapixel Sony IMX477 sensor. The camera is designed to accept CS-mount lenses, and with the supplied adapter, it will also fit C-mount lenses.

Raspberry Pi notes that the CGL 6 mm CS-mount and the 16mm C-mount lenses are examples of third-party products that are compatible with the High Quality Camera. The lens mount is made from milled aluminum for durability, and the camera has an optional tripod mount. The sensor is 7.9 mm diagonal and can output RAW/12/10/8 and COMP8 formats.

The focus is adjustable between 12.5 mm and 22.4 mm. The High Quality Camera has an integrated IR cut filter and a 200 mm long ribbon cable to connect to the Raspberry Pi developer board. The IR filter is removable to enable IR sensitivity, but that modification is irreversible. The camera should provide users with a new way to get high-quality photos using various Raspberry Pi build possibilities.

Curious what Ubisoft's next Assassin's Creed game will feature? Don't have the time to read 10 articles to piece together information? We compile all the info currently known about Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

Today Ubisoft revealed an amazing cinematic trailer for Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, the long-rumored Viking-themed game with the "Kingdom" project codename. The game will be a next-gen launch release and stands as Ubisoft's most ambitious game to date, complete with dazzling graphics, brutal combat, a deep and robust RPG system, and a story arc set in the tumultuous 9th century when Vikings conquered Anglo-Saxon England.

There's a lot to dive into here, so let's get right to it.

TikTok has proven very popular with people during Q1 2020 as millions are stuck at home around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic. The latest data from Sensor Tower shows that the TikTok app has been downloaded more than 2 billion times globally via the Apple App Store and Google Play. The 2 billion download milestone comes only five months after the app hit the 1.5 billion download mark.

Sensor Tower shows that the app had the most downloads for any app in history in a single quarter racking up more than 315 million downloads between Apple and Android users during Q1 2020. The app was popular and was being pushed hard by the developers before the coronavirus pandemic around the world. However, people stuck at home looking for ways to connect with others and to pass the time certainly helped downloads across the App Store and Google Play.

Prior to Q1 2020, the biggest month of downloads for TikTok, according to Sensor Tower, was Q4 2018, when the app had 205.7 million downloads for the quarter. The country where TikTok is the most popular is India, with that country generating 611 million lifetime downloads so far, totaling 30.3% of the overall downloads. The second most popular country for the app is China, with 196.6 million downloads so far, accounting for 9.7% of all downloads.

Certainly, one of the best parts of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphone is the camera system. We got a closer look at that camera system last month during the teardown of the Ultra. Not everything with the launch of the Galaxy S20 Ultra has gone according to Samsung's plan. The latest complaint from users of the smartphone are issues with cracks.

Several users have reported cracking in the glass around the rear camera. Some users have seen a fracture that runs across the entire camera area. Some have reported that the glass shatters suddenly and for no reason. At least one user has reported a crack in the glass that runs directly across the main lens, making the camera useless.

One man says his Galaxy S20 Ultra, and the one belonging to his wife, both have cracked glass on the cameras, and neither device has been dropped. Both of their smartphones were kept in cases, and the cracks occurred when they were being carried in pockets. Samsung has a history of problems with its high-end smartphones over the last several years, with the worst being devices that spontaneously caught on fire.

Ubisoft confirmed what we already predicted: The big new Viking-themed Assassin's Creed will be a next-gen launch game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in holiday 2020.

Today Ubisoft revealed the official cinematic story trailer for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, confirming a ton of details like launch timing and what we should expect. Valhalla should look and play insanely well to say the least. This is Ubisoft's premiere next-gen console launch game so we should expect insane dazzling visuals in native 4K with HDR, insane lighting effects with raytracing, high FPS thanks to Zen 2 CPU power and VRS, and ultra-fast loading times with next-gen PCIe 4.0 SSDs.

Ubisoft also confirmed the game will be singleplayer (but with live services, similar to Odyssey and Origins), and a nifty build-your-own-settlement feature that allows you to slowly create a village over time. There's also dual-wielding, connections to Norse mythology (you see Odin throughout the game), the return of the hidden blade, and your bird companion is a raven. Players can go on raids to gather resources for their own settlements, and can foster new relationships with their clans--there's some sim management here, but Ubisoft says it'll be dynamic, evolving, and organic the overall third-person action feel. RPG aspects like randomized armor and weapons are included, too.

It appears Dell has a couple of new laptop computers in the works that will slide into the XPS lineup. Details on both machines were leaked by Dell France when it published full details of the machines early. The Dell XPS 17 can be had with up to an Intel Core i9-10885H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory.

The machine can also be fitted with up to 64 GB of RAM and 4 TB of PCIe NVMe storage. The XPS 17 will have a pair of display options, including a 17-inch FHD+ display and an anti-glare coating. That display has no touch control and 100% sRGB coverage with a brightness of 500 nits.

Buyers wanting a better screen can get a 17-inch UHD+ display at 60 Hz. The machine will lack traditional USB-A ports but will include four USB 3.1 Gen 2 Thunderbolt 3 with DisplayPort ports. Onboard sound will include a pair of woofers and a pair of tweeters. One aspect of the high-end computer that Dell has focused on is cooling. The notebook will include Dual Opposite Outlet fan and vapor chamber cooling.

With the official announcement and release of the new Comet Lake CPU's, we can now showcase all of the new Z490 boards made for the new up to 10 Core mainstream platforms from Intel. Today we look at the offerings from Supermicro and what they have to offer.

The Supermicro C9Z490 series of boards only consists of two boards at the time of launch. The two boards are functionally and visually identical, except for Wi-Fi. The two models are C9Z490-PG, and C9Z490-PGW, where the W suffix denotes Wi-Fi inclusion.

First up, we have the C9Z490-PGW, which is the version of the Supermicro board with Wi-Fi. Being Supermicro, you know they have a history of building rock stable server platforms and proper component integration for high density and heavy workload servers and workstations. Now entering the consumer space, we expect the same level of build quality as we have seen before, along with a UEFI that is maturing to a less server and more consumer level. Unfortunately, information on this board pair is limited, so many areas will be TBD until we get the board in hands, at which point we will share all fo the details with you in a full review.

With the official announcement and release of the new Comet Lake CPU's, we can now showcase all of the new Z490 boards made for the new up to 10 Core mainstream platforms from Intel. Today we look at the offerings from MSI and what they have to offer.

The MEG or MSI Enthusiast Gaming line is the top end or upper echelon of board offerings from MSI. This means that these will be the highest featured and best overclocking motherboards of the MSI lineup.

The MEG Z490 Godlike is the top dog or the king of the hill for the MSI lineup. It is not the only board bearing the MEG name, but it is by far the highest featured, and the best for potential overclocks, with some minor caveats such as memory, where a 1DPC (DIMM per Channel) board will dominate.