Saturday, January 26, 2019

Apple : Super Bowl TV deals: the best sales from Amazon, Walmart and more

Apple : Super Bowl TV deals: the best sales from Amazon, Walmart and more

Super Bowl TV deals: the best sales from Amazon, Walmart and more

Posted: 26 Jan 2019 12:21 PM PST

Super Bowl 2019 is now just one week away, and that means you still have time to take advantage of all the fantastic TV sales that are going on right now. You can find Black Friday like prices on a variety of best-selling TVs from brands such as Sony, LG, Samsung and more.

Our top Super Bowl TV deals include everything from a mid-size 49-inch TV to a massive 75-inch TV, with features and prices to fit any and all football viewing needs.

A standout deal from Walmart is the Vizio 65-inch 4K Smart TV that's on sale for $898. That's a whopping $500 price drop and the best price we've seen for this Vizio P-Series UHD TV.

Shop more of our Super Bowl 2019 TV deals below and make sure to check back as we will be updating and adding more deals as we get closer to the big game.

Super Bowl TV deals:

If you've missed your chance to check out the Super Bowl TV sales and prices have gone back up, there's no need to worry, we cover the latest cheap TV deals throughout the year. You can find more offers with these direct to retailer links below if you want to browse their full range.

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Hints in the latest iOS code point to new iPads, iPad Mini, iPod Touch

Posted: 26 Jan 2019 06:30 AM PST

If newly unearthed code in iOS 12.2 is to be believed, Apple has quite the hardware roadmap for 2019: new iPad models are apparently on the way (maybe including a new iPad Mini model), and we might even see a new iPod Touch as well.

A lot of this is still speculation, and trying to fit what iOS 12.2 says with earlier rumors, but what we know for sure (via Steve Troughton-Smith) is that the code makes reference to four iPads that don't seem to match any current models. The "iPod9,1" reference is the one that might point to a new iPod Touch.

Interestingly, none of these listed models appear to support Face ID – that suggests that the old Touch ID design might be in line for one last hurrah in 2019, before Apple moves all its devices over to the new face recognition system.

Apple's forgotten devices

Add in some regulatory filings that appeared earlier in the day, and it seems a good bet that Apple does indeed have a new batch of iPads on the way. The iPad Mini is long overdue a refresh, but Apple's entry-level 9.7-inch iPad is less than a year old.

If Touch ID is going to stay in place, it's likely that these will be lower cost iPads that don't trouble the iPad Pros (most recently refreshed last October). When it comes to the new iPad Mini, we've already seen leaked images that suggest the iPad Mini 5 is going to look a lot like the iPad Mini 4 – though hopefully with upgraded internals.

As for the iPod Touch, it's been four years since Apple launched a new model – it could be one way the company is looking to make up for slowing sales of the iPhone. Expect more rumors and leaks to appear in the coming months.

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Slave to the rhythm: the developers banging a drum for music gaming

Posted: 26 Jan 2019 05:00 AM PST

Games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Dance Revolution are way behind us, but developers haven’t stopped experimenting with rhythm games.

Long gone are the days of watching Activision and Harmonix trying to improve on the design of their plastic instruments or looking for the best exclusivity deal (Aerosmith? What were they thinking?) almost on a yearly basis, becoming pieces of nostalgia meant only for occasional parties.

In Japan, games like DJMax Respect and Taiko no Tatsujin are a huge success in home consoles, whilst Bang Dream!, The Idolmaster, and Love Live (the latter published by Bandai Namco) have the upper hand in mobile devices, earning millions through microtransactions thanks to gacha systems. Luckily, most of them have arrived in this side of the world, and their longevity is proof that there are still people who love the rhythm game genre and are waiting for the next musical iteration.

But the majority of rhythm games end up being just that, iterations of the classic railroad UI where notes approach the screen at varying paces. Instead, it’s in the indie games scene that the genre has been thriving, fighting for recognition and building communities around them for years. Audiosurf, Beat Hazard, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Thumper, and the recent Beat Saber have proved that there was a potential for experimentation all along, and it’s thanks to independent studios risking themselves chasing a unique ideas that they’ve managed to come together and blessed the rhythm games genre with a resurgence.

In the wake of this resurgence, the need for improvements and variety with the genre has increased even further, with studios working hard to intertwine rhythm in new genres, asking themselves questions such as whether or not staying on beat should be mandatory, and how they can work towards accessibility to prevent newcomers to feel intimidated or unable to play entirely.

Beats and bobs

Just Shapes & Beats is a minimalistic co-op bullet hell in which all enemies and obstacles that are thrown at players are built entirely by the music. For developer Simon 'Lachhh’ LaChance, condensing all the information on the screen while focusing on keeping the game simple and easy to learn was the main challenge.

“I didn't want the player to shoot at all,” LaChance explained to TechRadar. “Removing (that) aspect actually gives more liberties on the level design, and also makes you feel even more vulnerable. 

“You have only one thing to do: avoid. If you can teach the rules of the game by saying ‘avoid pink’, that makes it very accessible.”

To LaChance, tapping on the beats has been done a bit too much already, and whilst he understands the interest of echoing the design of Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution, he didn’t want to go that way. 

“A lot of people cannot play that kind of game because they lack rhythm,” LaChance continued. “I always think: ‘can I play this game with my 5 year old boy?’. Having to tap on the beat did not fit in that rule.”

Spinning plates

Spin Rhythm lives up to its name by presenting a colored wheel that you have to rotate in order to match notes and follow the rhythm of each song, with a particular twist that involves hardware equipment such as DJ gear. It started out as a puzzle game initially and, according to the developer, integrating a rhythm element was kind of an accident. 

“When the concept changed camera angles to be more like your typical ‘note track’ rhythm game, the idea to sync with music popped up, and there was no looking back,” developer Super Entertainment told us.

The wheel mechanic allowed them to present the game on PC, consoles, and mobile devices almost equally, ranging from using a mouse, a Wacom or motion controls, but working with different audiences is the biggest challenge. 

“Hardcore PC and console players might look at mobile games as too casual, and mobile players will drop a game that requires too much learning or isn't instantly rewarding,” the developer explained. 

Stick ‘em up

Drastic Games has been experimenting with rhythm in a twin-stick shooter game, Soundfall, which influences from roguelike titles such as Enter The Gungeon but introduces dungeons that are procedurally generated based upon the music. Whilst staying on beat in Soundfall grants players a number of abilities like unlimited dodge or higher damage, it’s not mandatory. 

“It didn't give players the right sense of feedback, it was very punishing”, Drastic Games co-founder Julian Trutmann told TechRadar. “We ended up with an optional approach: if you want to be offbeat, no big deal, but as designers, we should be giving you something even cooler if you get on the beat.”

The community is a big part of Soundfall. The studio is looking forward to seeing how they could experiment with speedrunning or even custom songs in the future, and accessibility is also a big part of the experience, working on feedback through the gamepad’s rumble. 

“We should be able to build a product that even if you can't hear it, you should be able to play it,” fellow co-founder Nick Cooper added.

Groove is in the heart

Sayonara Wild Hearts introduced itself to the world as a “pop album video game” during last year’s The Game Awards 2018 conference. Under development by Simogo and Annapurna Interactive as publisher, the upcoming Nintendo Switch exclusive showcases motorcycles, a massive three-headed wolf, and women gangs like the ‘Dancing Devils’ or the ‘Stereo Lovers’.

“Every song in Sayonara Wild Hearts is a level. Whilst some elements follow the rhythm, the game itself is not precisely rhythm-based,” Simogo co-founder Simon Flesser told us. “Levels are designed to follow the flow of custom written pop soundtrack. For example, in a boss level when an explosive chorus starts, there are equally explosive visuals and happenings on the screen to match.”

At its core, the gameplay is always a semi-on-rails level that flows with the song, and there are winks and homages to the many gaming influences that inspired the idea for Simogo. The game is meant to play and feel like the arcade era, using just a couple of buttons and focusing on the game’s retro magic. All these elements are packed in a vibrant and colorful experience influenced by tarot arcana, arcade games and, of course, music.

“I think the beautiful thing about games as a medium is that it can be so many things, both new and old,” Flesser added. ”I’m happy for all these things to co-exist, and also for them to keep influencing each other.”

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Possible Pixel 4 benchmark appears, with Snapdragon 855 and 6GB of RAM

Posted: 26 Jan 2019 02:30 AM PST

Is that you, Google Pixel 4? Sharp-eyed web watchers have spotted scores posted to Geekbench that might just be from the next flagship phone in the line – and they reveal some of the internal specs we can expect from the as-yet-unannounced handset.

Specifically, the benchmarks reveal the device is almost certainly running the Snapdragon 855 processor – likely to be in many an Android flagship this year – and comes packed with 6GB of RAM, an upgrade on the 4GB that the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have on board. No surprises in the software installed on the phone: Android Q.

Android Q is no doubt still in the testing phase and probably won't even be teased until the Google I/O developer conference scheduled for May 7-9 this year. That said, we already know the OS includes Face ID-style logins and purchases.

More Pixels on the way

As for the benchmarks themselves, the supposed Pixel 4 hits 3,296 for its single-core score (pretty good) and 9,235 for its multi-core score (a little disappointing). It's early days yet though – the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL aren't expected until October 2019.

That means plenty of tweaking and refining in Google's labs, both with the hardware and the software that make up the Pixel 4 phones. You can expect those scores to get higher before the phones are officially unveiled. In the meantime, Google is rumored to be prepping a Pixel 3 Lite phone for launch before then.

As 9to5Google points out, the "Coral" codename of this device might refer to a Chrome OS device rather than the Pixel 4, but the specs we've mentioned do sound a lot like what's expected from Google's flagship range. We'll no doubt hear more in the coming months.

Via Wccftech

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Honor explains why it's not making a foldable phone just yet

Posted: 26 Jan 2019 02:00 AM PST

Honor just announced the first truly exciting phone of what we expect to be a huge year in the mobile phone space, with breakthroughs that could transform the device you keep in your pocket.

Long talked about innovations of 5G and foldable displays are on the cusp of becoming a reality on a phone you can buy - you can even buy the foldable Royole FlexPai right now - but Honor has taken a different direction to kick off 2019.

The Honor View 20 sports a punch-hole camera on its front (it's the first mainstream phone to do that), great battery life and a more affordable price than a lot of the rest of the top-end competition.

So why did the company avoid the game-changing innovations we are expecting?

"We are looking into foldable phones deeply, but for us it is all about experience" said George Zhao, President of Honor. "From a technology point of view, it’s good but why do we need a foldable phone? What can the experience offer the user?

"Maybe it’s two phones together? But that’s too thick and not convenient. From my point of view the technology needs to bring the better experience, to improve the service. That’s more important."

"It is all about experience"

George Zhao, President of Honor

TechRadar spoke to Zhao at the worldwide launch of the Honor View 20. The device has generally garnered positive reviews, including a 4.5 star rating from us here at TechRadar.

Zhao's comments around the state of foldable phones seems to be a different tack to sister brand Huawei. Honor and Huawei share a research and development center, which is why you often see similar technology across the two brands.

Huawei CEO Richard Yu has now confirmed its plans to launch a foldable device that’s capable of a 5G connection at MWC 2019. 

Whether that's set to be the Huawei P30 Pro or perhaps an even higher end device that's more designed to show off tech rather than be a device that sells well to the public remains to be seen.

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro sports an in-display fingerprint scanner

Nevertheless, Yu has confirmed that Huawei is interested in the tech as Zhao says he is as well - it's just Honor doesn't think it's ready yet. What Zhao does believe is the near future for phone tech, or at least phones released by Honor, is the recess of the notch.

"In the future for Honor there will be [fewer] notches on the smartphone, we will be going with the better solution" said Zhao. "Notches are too big."

"We spent quite a long time studying this technology [punch-hole cameras]. 

"Honor is a brand for young people and they use smartphones for games and video. So we considered the best way to serve the selfie user and not impact the user experience. The notch really impacts the experience, most of the time the pinhole is invisible and it doesn’t impact on what you are doing."

Making this technology work wasn't easy for Honor, according to Zhao. 

The company is taking the selfie camera that usually has a lot of space within a notch and shrinking it down to a small piece of transparent glass that's 4.5mm in diameter.

"We faced a challenge, the industry capability meant the hole sizes were big," said Zhao. "For the most part, hole sizes were 5.5mm to 6mm and that is too obvious. It’s an acceptable level but not the best level.

Honor View 20

"We tried our best to reduce the hole size. You can see that the crystal layer remains; the assembling and the camera need a special design. For example, other smartphones are too big but we wanted to make the hole as small as possible and that’s why we worked with Sony. 

"We started to cooperate with Sony with the sensor quite a long time ago. Others don’t have this type of cooperation with Sony. Both teams worked very closely and you can see the picture quality compares with the iPhone XS Max. 

"It’s very good - our effort is comparable or even better."

You may think all of that innovation has meant the company didn't have time to include an in-display fingerprint scanner like sister brand Huawei's Mate 20 Pro or the OnePlus 6T.

It seems opting for a physical sensor on the rear of the phone was instead a decision made for other reasons. "To be frank" Zhao said, "the unlock ratio experience is not as good as the sensor on the back.

"Secondly, we use an LCD solution and it [doesn’t] support [in-display fingerprint scanners], only the flexible AMOLED screen can support it. 

"We put the pinhole in the corner and if we used the AMOLED then there would have been distortion on the selfie camera. So putting it all together for us, we decided it best to have the fingerprint solution on the back and [have] the punch hole."

One of the secondary announcements at the View 20 launch was Honor is soon to support 60 frames-per-second in Fortnite on the phone. That's a feat that was achieved on iPhone by developer Epic Games late in 2018, but so far we've yet to see the Android app support the higher frame rate.

How did Honor become the first Android manufacturer to support 60fps? It's through communicating directly with Epic Games, and Zhao believes the company's internal tech is a big reason why the partnership happened.

"[Epic Games] review and study the Honor product performance. After the GPU Turbo and the Kirin [chipset], they think this is a very good level. They see our product plan and portfolio... they know that we make a lot of effort on the game part."

When will we be able to play Fortnite in 60fps on the Honor View 20? The wait continues, but Zhao promised TechRadar that the View 20 is ready and the update will be coming out "very soon".

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Naomi Osaka vs Petra Kvitova live stream: how to watch Australian Open final 2019 online

Posted: 25 Jan 2019 11:30 PM PST

We'd be lying if we tried to claim that this was the 2019 Australian Open women's final that we were expecting. Despite Naomi Osaka taking the ultimate Grand Slam of last year and Petra Kvitova's two previous Wimbledon wins, this year's field was just so strong.

Not that that matters now, and we've compiled this handy guide for watching the 2019 Australian Open final on TV or by live stream online, no matter where you are in the world - you can even watch it for FREE in some areas. 

For some people, Naomi Osaka's US Open win in September was a fluke, particularly defeating the mighty Serena Williams in the final after her opponent suffered an on-court meltdown. But getting to two consecutive Grand Slam finals is absolutely no accident and the 21-year-old world number 4 will want to reinforce why she should be a force to be reckoned with in women's tennis for the foreseeable future.

And Petra Kvitová's story is equally as enchanting, after the veteran champion was horribly attacked with a knife in a burglary just over two years ago. The Czech will be looking for her first major win in five years after a comeback to tennis worthy of a film script. Will it be a happy Hollywood ending?

Whatever happens, it's sure to be an exciting crescendo to the tournament so make sure you're tuned into an Osaka vs Kvitova live stream by following one of the options below.  

Live stream the Osaka vs Kvitova Australian Open final from anywhere in the world

For your tennis watching options in the Australia, the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, we have more details below - just scroll down the page.

How to live stream the Australian Open tennis for FREE in Australia

How to watch the Australian Open 2019: US live stream

How to live stream the Australian Open in the UK

The best way to stream the Australian Open 2019 in Canada

 How to watch Osaka vs Kvitova in New Zealand 

Image courtesy of ausopen.com

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Google might bring Face ID-style logins and purchases to Android Q

Posted: 25 Jan 2019 02:38 PM PST

Details are still pretty scarce on what Android Q will bring to phones running Google’s mobile OS, but it might finally get something iOS users have been bragging about for years: Face ID. There’s evidence that the next Android build could natively support phones with the hardware for facial authentication.

XDA Developers allegedly got a hold of an early build of Android Q earlier this month and started sharing new features as they uncovered them. The latest reveal includes code strongly suggesting that Google is baking in support for phones with the hardware to run facial recognition, in the way that Apple’s top phones use multiple sensors to authenticate people via Face ID.

Specifically, XDA Developers dug up lines of code in multiple parts of the Android Q build, all referencing facial recognition. Error codes in Android Q’s framework-res APK tell users to move the phone closer or look directly at sensors while the phone is assumedly trying to authenticate or alert the user that their device doesn’t have the right hardware.

The site found another code string in the Android Q build’s settings that’s particularly interesting: 

<string name="security_settings_face_enroll_introduction_message">Use your face to unlock your phone, authorize purchases, or sign in to apps.</string>

In other words, this assumed facial authentication would be used to sign into apps and authorize purchases, much like Apple’s Face ID.

There’s also code allowing the device administrator to disable this supposed face authentication feature.

Which phones would it come to?

Unfortunately, XDA Developers wasn’t able to get said face unlock activities running on a Google Pixel 3 XL loaded up with their Android Q build; according to them, they’re missing a necessary hardware abstraction layer (HAL) and the phone lacks the hardware to properly use facial recognition (some undisclosed combination of sensors, like what the iPhone X and XS use for Face ID) anyway.

This doesn’t automatically mean the Google Pixel 4 will have that hardware either, XDA Developers pointed out. Only phones with the right equipment and software will be able to harness the native Android facial recognition-and-authentication: the Huawei Mate 20 Pro may be able to, especially since updates have been released to improve its existing facial recognition.

Not to mention all the other new Android-powered phones coming out this year like, say, the Samsung Galaxy S10. 

  • Here's what we want to see from iOS 13

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