Latest News - Page 2206

Back in October, Xiaomi announced their most ambitious phone so far - the Mi MIX. The device comes with an incredible 91.3% screen-to-body ratio, which the company says is the world's 1st. Less than four months after the launch, the company's CEO Lei Jun confirmed that they are working on the Mi MIX successor.

The company is reportedly aiming for a 93% screen-to-body ratio this time, and it has been confirmed that Xiaomi is again developing the phone with the help of French designer Philippe Starck, who worked on the design of the original Mi MIX.

A new leak has now appeared showing a prototype of the device, and it looks stunning. The entire front of the phone is almost all-screen. There's only a small bezel on the bottom of the phone, and even this bezel is trimmed compared to the last year's Mi MIX.

Call of Duty: WWII is taking an interesting approach to engaging players and pushing them towards buying monetized supply drops.

Activision's new World War II-themed Call of Duty game features a new online social space called Headquarters that will actively reward players for spectating other users who open supply drop crates. According to Game Informer's latest issue, players who watch others open loot boxes in the Headquarters social hub will boost spectator's overall "social score", which raises a player's chance to find better loot from supply drops.

By rewarding players who watch their friends open up the game's cosmetic-only loot packs, Activision hopes that spectators will then purchase monetized loot boxes in an attempt to recreate similar drops. Activision knows that users who are engaged are much more likely to spend money on microtransactions, and Call of Duty: WWII's social hub is a bona-fide built-in engagement service that will continue to engage players with new content and social events.

Intel is going back to school with its new Ruler design SSDs, something that not only look great - but they're stacking some serious storage, all while running cooler and reducing power consumption.

The new drives from Intel are much slimmer than previous high-end designs, made for server racks, with Intel saying they'll allow data center operators to increase the amount of storage they have, easily. Intel hasn't detailed the new Ruler SSDs just yet, but the company did say that single 1U server racks powered with Intel Ruler SSDs will breach the 1PB mark.

Comparing this to traditional 3.5-inch 10TB HDDs which would need to be packed into a much larger 4U rack, ramping up power requirements and cooling costs.

UPDATE: It appears the permadeath save wipe doesn't actually happen, and Ninja Theory has bluffed gamers.

Ninja Theory adds unique bold and gutsy finality to its new game, adding weight to everything you do.

If you die too much while playing Ninja Theory's new macabre, atmospheric and visually creative new title Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, then the game will wipe your saved data. The adventure is about eight to nine hours long and features a number of challenges that often put you in harms way, and the permadeath system is quite controversial in the gaming sphere.

Google's Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 are among the most anticipated smartphones this year which isn't surprising considering the success of the last year's devices.

Both phones should be unveiled in October, and as we recently learned, the duo will be the first devices featuring Qualcomm's yet-to-be-announced Snapdragon 836.

Read also: Google Pixel and Pixel XL discounted up to $200

Angry Mob Games is bringing its "smash and bash" indie to the Nintendo Switch, where it will fill the noticeable Super Smash Bros.-shaped recess on the console.

Brawlout, the new party fighting game that's very much like Super Smash Bros., is coming to the Nintendo Switch handheld-console hybrid later this year. Brawlout features six characters with unique movesets and abilities that battle in specific stages, with up to 4 players being able to play at once. Gamers can battle in local couch co-op and online sessions across a variety of modes, including timed, stock, or team battles.

Unlike Smash Bros., Brawlout features a unique Rage Meter that allows characters to unleash powerful special attacks. Another major change is that the game does away with shield blocks completely, pushing players into a more aggressive strategy--but there's plenty of air dodges and wavedashes to keep you out of harms way. The devs will update the roster with new characters to keep the battles nice and fresh, including crossovers like Hyper Light Drifter from the acclaimed indie of the same name.

OPPO has long had a good relationship with one of the world's biggest soccer clubs, FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona recently lost one of their star players, Neymar, to Paris Saint-Germain for a hefty sum of money. However, they probably aren't hurting too badly after seeing how amazing this new Barcelona OPPO R11 edition looks.

The OPPO R11 x FC Barcelona Limited Edition (yes, that's the whole name) features an 18 Karat Gold FC Barcelona logo that splits the two-tone Barcelona colored body of the phone. The internal specs of the R11 are the same as the original version of the device, however, this one is remarkably better looking and is sure to get any big FC Barcelona fan excited about owning such a phone.

Obviously, having a case on such a phone is likely out of the question since it is mostly about bragging rights with a gold FCB logo, but it may be work protecting with a clear case. The phone will be available for 3499 Chinese RMB starting August 18th in China and then will be available in Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia as well. That price comes out to approximately $538, however, expect the prices outside of China to be higher due to middleman costs and import taxes.

Nintendo's new rewards scheme gifts in-game items to players when they read news posts and updates.

Nintendo has kicked off a new unique rewards platform that allows Switch users to earn in-game items simply for reading news posts. The initiative was launched with the Zelda tips channel, which will feature a number of articles and updates to show players unique things to do while playing the game. Zelda: Breath of the Wild players that read these posts can also earn free in-game rewards such as ingredients, miscellaneous items, and possibly weapons and armor.

This is a very, very smart move on Nintendo's part. Why? Because it engages players on a whole new level; gamers will--and I repeat will--read over the news posts just to get free goods, and maybe they'll learn something they didn't know about. This will create a natural form of engagement, which is the lifeblood for modern gaming, and it will help pull in lapsed players and incentivize them to return to the game.

Samsung is all set to announce the Galaxy Note8 on August 23rd, but, according to the reports, the company has also prepared a special edition of the device - Emperor Edition.

The Galaxy Note8 Emperor Edition should come with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, expandable up to 512GB with a microSD card. A new leak from a well-known leaker confirms the existence of this device, and it also reveals some more info.

Read also: Samsung Galaxy Note8 press renders leak

Hello Games continues adding content to No Man's Sky a full year after the game's hotly controversial release in an effort to heal gaping wounds and expand upon the sci-fi adventure.

A year ago No Man's Sky was launched on PlayStation 4 and PC as a fully-priced AAA game, kicking off a massive wave of frustration. We've chronicled how No Man's Sky underdelivered in our official review. Instead of a final release, the game was simply the foundation for things to come. Now those things are here.

No Man's Sky is getting its third major overhaul update this week. The free expansion is called Atlas Rises, and adds a bevy of new content to the game including portals that allow players to fast-travel across the galaxy, and more story-based content. Hello Games head Sean Murray confirmed Atlas Rises' content with a mass email blast to No Man's Sky players, saying:

ASUS is expected to announce multiple devices this month, including the ZenFone 4 Pro flagship.

The company recently published a teaser revealing that the phone will come with a dual camera. According to previous leaks, the ZenFone 4 Pro should come with a QHD 1440p display and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor, which powers this year's flagships such as the Galaxy S8 and HTC U11.

But don't expect it to come cheap. According to the latest report, the ZenFone 4 Pro will be priced at $650, for 6GB/64GB configuration.

Blizzard's slate of games is becoming more and more enviable as the company rolls out new content that's attracting millions of players across North America and Europe.

Blizzard games like Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch are among the top 20 most-played PC games in July in North America and Europe, analyst firm Newzoo reports. According to the findings, Blizzard games took five spots in the top 20 list, and three spots in the top 10 list.

Blizzard's massively lucrative and popular card game Hearthstone topped the publisher's other games at #3, with the still-popular World of Warcraft coming in at #6 and the hugely engaging shooter Overwatch ranked at #7. Diablo III jumped onto the list at #12 to dethrone Rainbow Six: Siege thanks to the new Necromancer DLC and free content updates.

We are just two weeks away from the official Note8 launch, and we already have a pretty good image of the highly-anticipated phone.

A new leak has appeared now showing the alleged Galaxy Note8 color options, and it appears that Samsung is ready to introduce some new color choices. According to the leak, accompanied by a photo, the Note8 will be available in Midnight Black, Arctic Silver, Orchid Gray/Violet, Coral Blue, Dark Blue, Deep Sea Blue, Pink, and Gold.

Read also: RED's Hydrogen holographic phone gets shown

Having failed to capture the FPS market with its now free-to-play shooter Battleborn, Gearbox Software is ready to try again...this time making a game that combines two key lucrative industry trends into one.

Borderlands developer Gearbox Software today announced a new experimental game codenamed Project 1v1, a "competitive first-person shooter" which aims to combine "the action of a fast-paced 1v1 first-person combat with the metagame strategy of a collectible card game." Essentially what Gearbox wants to do is hit two birds with one stone by tapping the massively lucrative CCG world of Hearthstone as well as the popular, engaging eSports scope of shooters like Overwatch and CS:GO.

The developer plans to hold a short closed technical test this summer across North American servers, but the test will be open to gamers across the globe.

The iPhone 8 launch should be just around the corner, and as we are getting closer to the day that Apple should launch three new devices, we are getting a better image of what to expect.

So far, we have heard numerous rumors about Apple's premium device, the iPhone 8, but this is the first clear photo of the actual phone that we have. The leaked image shows both front and the back of the phone confirming vertically aligned dual camera setup on the back of the phone.

What's also visible is that there's no fingerprint sensor on the front or the back of the device. Unfortunately, there's no clear image of the phone's sides so we can't know if the fingerprint scanner is embedded into the power button on the side or if Apple has decided to ditch the fingerprint sensor altogether and feature only facial recognition.

Valve aims to rake even more revenues with a new digital DOTA-themed collectible card game.

DOTA 2 remains one of Valve's key breadwinners, and is one of the most lucrative MOBAs on the market today. With strong engagement via eSports tournaments like the ongoing The Invitational DOTA 2 Championships event that engages millions of fans worldwide, and massively lucrative revenues from its in-game DOTA 2 Store that sells in-game cosmetics for real money, Valve has created a titanic franchise that looms over the industry. Now Valve is taking that one step further by creating an online card game based around the franchise in an effort to chase the massive earnings that Blizzard rakes in from Hearthstone.

The new DOTA-themed card is called Artifact, and is slated to release sometime in 2018. That's pretty much all we know about the game, but industry trends give us major clues about Artifact. Digital CCGs work best when they transcend all platforms, typically mobiles, so Artifact should be released on consoles, PCs, as well as tablets and mobile phones. The key here is to reach as many people as possible and engage them with compelling content while making them aware of the core game on Steam. And, of course, Artifact should be monetized by letting players buy randomized card packs with real-world money.

It looks like all eyes should be on the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, as the co-president of the Paris Olympics bid committee said to the Associated Press that there are discussions on whether there should be an eSports tournament.

Tony Estanguet, co-president of France's bid committee told the AP that the gaming community need to be heart. He said: "We have to look at it because we can't say, 'It's not us. It's not about Olympics. The youth, yes they are interested in eSport and this kind of thing. Let's look at it. Let's meet them. Let's try if we can find some bridges".

He continued: "I don't want to say 'no' from the beginning. I think it's interesting to interact with the IOC, with them, the eSports family, to better understand what the process is and why it is such a success".

Disney has announced it will be ending its distribution deal with Netflix, with plans to launch their own streaming service sometime in 2019. This is a tectonic shift for the company, as they own Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and everything in between.

Netflix secured the Disney deal back in 2012 before the streaming giant was the size it is today, but Disney is making a move for the future as it turns into a streaming content provider. This means that Netflix will be losing Disney content, something that will include Marvel content - think Avengers, and MCU movies. It also means Pixar movies (Toy Story, Finding Dory), and even the entire Star Wars universe.

Disney plans to cut Netflix off with their 2019 movies, but have said that Netflix will be able to keep Disney movies through to the end of that year. This means that Netflix will have their hands-on the next two Star Wars movie, but will miss out on the final movie in the end. A spokesperson for Netflix has said: "We continue to do business with the Walt Disney Company on many fronts, including our ongoing deal with Marvel TV".

Qualcomm just gained a big fighter in their corner for the battle against Apple, with the US International Trade Commission announcing that it will be investigating the claims that Apple has infringed on Qualcomm's patents.

Some of the models of Apple's latest iPhone 7 are using an Intel-made modem and not the one from Qualcomm, and while Qualcomm notes that the modem doesn't violate patents, it's the implementation by Apple that does infringe on their patents.

Qualcomm released a statement not too long ago, where they said:

Project CARS 2 will be one of the best looking games of the year, but I think we all knew it would be superior on Microsoft's refreshed Xbox One X console over Sony's limp release of the PS4 Pro.

Stephen Viljoen, Project CARS 2's Game Director, recently spoke with TrustedReviews where he said that the Xbox One X will be the best-looking console version of the game. He said: "I can't tell you exactly what all the various sliders will be at when you're on Xbox One X versus on PS4 Pro, but obviously they'll be higher [on Xbox One X], so there will be a significant, a noticeable improvement, because you have better hardware".

The PC version of Project CARS 2 will be the absolute peak of graphics and performance, but you'll need the GPU and CPU horsepower to drive it. Viljoen said that the Xbox One X is a "great piece of hardware", and the team is going to be "making the most of it".