Watch Microsoft’s Panos Panay make a case for the Surface Duo

At the Surface event in October last year, Microsoft first unveiled the Surface Duo — a dual-screen Android smartphone. The company had originally planned on launching the device during the Holiday season later this year, but the launch timeline was sped up and the device was officially announced earlier this week. The device features flagship hardware from early 2019, including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 chip, 6GB of RAM, up to 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage, and two 5.6-inch AMOLED displays, which have the chunkiest bezels that I’ve seen in quite a while.

On the surface, Microsoft’s first foldable Android device looks a bit dated and might turn away a lot of potential buyers. This is why Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay, has released a new video making a case for the unique software experience offered with the Surface Duo and how it may change the way you use your smartphone.

In the video, Panay highlights all of the unique features that set the Surface Duo apart and how the software experience seamlessly adapts to your needs. The video addresses some of the major customizations Microsoft has made on its Android skin for the Surface Duo, like a gesture which lets you span an app across the two screens, the device’s ability to open links/other apps on the second screen to maintain the flow, app groups that let you open two apps simultaneously, keyboard customizations for different orientations, and much more. Check out the full video linked above to see how the Surface Duo aims to change the game, despite the older hardware.

In case the video manages to convince you to purchase the Microsoft Surface Duo, you can go ahead and pre-order it from the Microsoft Store, Best Buy or AT&T in the US. The device will set you back $1,399 for the 6GB/128GB base variant, and it will go on open sale starting September 10th.

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Civilization VI releases on Android with Gathering Storm and Rise and Fall expansions and a 60-turn free demo

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is a very popular turn-based strategy game that is available on a wide variety of platforms, starting off with Microsoft Windows and macOS back in 2016, and then carrying over to Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and even iOS later on. The game has now finally made its official entry onto Android through the Google Play Store. But there’s a catch — the game is not cheap if you ignore the free demo.

Civilization VI, as the name might hint, requires the player to develop a civilization from an early settlement. Winning the game can be done by achieving one of the several victory criteria, such as military domination, technological superiority, or cultural influence. Players explore for resources, establish cities, build up improvements, deploy military, research new technologies, and engage in negotiation with other AI-based leaders. At least on other platforms, the game is praised for its depth and the ability to force players to strategize on their feet.

Civilization VI’s arrival on Android comes about three years after it arrived on iOS. The iOS port was a decent touch conversion of the desktop experience, and the Android port is similar to what you can experience on iOS.

On Android, Civilization VI is adopting a free-to-start model. Players can try out the game for free for 60 turns, after which they can purchase the game for $19.99. Play Store suggests that the game is about 4.22GB in size, so keep that in mind if you want to experience the demo. Further, expansions and scenario packs are sold separately in-game:

• Rise and Fall expansion – $29.99
• Gathering Storm expansion – $39.99
• Civilization and Scenario packs – $4.99-$8.99

If you’re keeping track of the math, the core game and two of its expansions will set you back by $90, and you’d still lack the scenario packs. That is an expensive purchase, but if you have experienced Civilization VI on other platforms, you might not find it all that unreasonable, especially since the core game is pretty fun by itself and does not necessarily need the expansions. You can easily pour in hours with just the core game. If you’re looking for something beyond the usual PUBGM, CODM, and Fortnite, this could be a decent option.

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Civilization VI (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Story Via: IGN

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Fortnite circumvents Google Play fees with direct payment option

Epic Games on Thursday announced the Fortnite Mega Drop, a permanent discount on V-bucks and other purchases of up to 20% off. The developer said these changes are permanent and available on every platform where you can download Fortnite.

The bigger news, however, is the fact that Epic Games has introduced direct payments on mobile. The change means that Fortnite is circumventing the app store fees associated with Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store. If you don’t go with the direct payment option, the newly implemented discounts won’t apply. “Currently, when using Apple and Google payment options, Apple and Google collect a 30% fee, and the up to 20% price drop does not apply,” Epic Games said in a blog post. “If Apple and Google lower their fees on payments in the future, Epic will pass along the savings to you.”

If you choose the direct payment option, you’ll be brought to a screen where you can enter your credit card or PayPal information. With the discount, 1,000 V-bucks cost $7.99 — otherwise, the price is $9.99 due to the fees associated with Google and Apple payment options. If you recently purchased V-bucks in the last 30 days, players will be granted a V-bucks bonus by August 17. Epic also said that all active players will get the Shooting Starstaff Pickaxe for free.

Epic Games said that direct payments are perfectly safe and that many commonly used apps, including Grubhub, Fandango, McDonald’s, and many others, accept direct payments. “We think all developers should be free to support direct payments in all apps,” Epic Games said. “In operating Fortnite in open platforms and operating the Epic Games Store, Epic has processed over $1,600,000,000 of direct payments successfully, and uses industry trusted encryption and security measures to protect customer transactions.”

Epic Games has had a fraught relationship with Google Play from the beginning. When Fortnite originally launched on Android, you could only download it from Epic’s website or Samsung’s Galaxy Store. Eventually, however, Fortnite was put on Google Play, but not without Epic first blasting Google, saying the search giant puts software downloaded outside of Google Play at an unfair disadvantage.

Today’s announcement feels almost like a dare to Apple and Google to pull Fortnite from their respective app stores. With both Apple and Google under scrutiny from antitrust regulators and politicians, such a move would bring even more attention to both companies’ app store policies. We will be keeping an eye on this news to see how Apple and Google respond to Epic Games.

Fortnite (Free⁺, Google Play) →

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Samsung Galaxy Buds Live teardown showcases easy repairability and Bean references

Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds Live have scored an 8 out of 10 for repairability in iFixit’s recent teardown of the TWS earphones, higher than both the Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds+. Although the new earbuds are smaller and feature an atypical design, the Galaxy Buds Live aren’t difficult to pry open, and their wireless charging case is also easy to repair with the right set of tools.

The teardown reveals that the Galaxy Buds Live are powered by a rechargeable Varta CP1254 A3 battery, which is the same battery found within the original Galaxy Buds. iFixit notes that the button cell battery can be found online if you ever feel the need to replace the ones on your Galaxy Buds Live, however, they’re not as easy to find as they were previously.

The wireless charging case, on the other hand, features a 1.81Wh battery, which is substantially larger than the batteries found in the wireless charging cases for the older Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds+. Furthermore, the teardown reveals that most of the internal components are relatively modular and can be replaced independently.

iFixit also found that the ribbon cable connecting the two halves of each earbud states “bean left” and “bean right,” which suggests that Samsung internally referred to the earbuds as Beans before settling with the Galaxy Buds Live moniker. Check out the video linked above for a detailed look at the insides of the Galaxy Buds Live and its wireless charging case. As of now, iFixit hasn’t posted a repair guide for the Galaxy Buds Live, but it should go live on this page in the coming days.

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Google announces a new version of Wear OS based on Android 11 with Snapdragon Wear 4100 support

Wear OS by Google, or Android Wear as some of us still keep calling it despite the rebranding years ago, does not see as much attention in the daily news, but the wearable OS is still alive and kicking. New watches from Suunto, OPPO, and Xiaomi, as well as the launch of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 SoC for wearables, have rekindled interest in Wear OS to a degree. Now, as part of its #11WeeksOfAndroid announcements, Google has announced a new version of Wear OS that is based on Android 11 and supports Snapdragon Wear 4100.

Wear OS based on Android 11

Google is not explicitly announcing “Wear OS on Android 11” on their blog post, but they do mention that several Android 11 features will be arriving on Wear OS. We asked Google for a confirmation on this, and a  Google spokesperson has informed us that the new Wear OS version is based on Android 11. For reference, the current version of the wearable OS by Google is still based on Android 9 Pie, so this jump was needed.

The new Wear OS OTA update that will arrive in the fall brings along a fair few changes, which are summarized below:

• Faster access to info
• Simplified pairing process to make onboarding easier
• Improvements to the SysUI for more intuitive controls for managing different watch modes and workouts
• CPU Core improvements promising up to 20% speed improvements in startup times for apps
• Improved support for LTE
• Support for Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 and 4100+ platforms

In addition to these changes, a few more changes are coming, which we have already previewed in the past. For instance, Google has built a handwashing timer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging users to practice good hygiene.

The new update will also come along with the new Weather Tile design that was spotted earlier this month. This new design makes it easier to read information while on the move, and still retains access to an hourly breakdown of the day’s weather to help users plan ahead and provide information about the important weather alerts in the area.

Further, Google is also promising to make it easier for developers to build wearable apps. You can expect to see wearable-focused improvements and changes on Android Studio, Kotlin, and Jetpack libraries. Androidx.wear 1.1.0 Release Candidate build has also been released, making it easier to build and test wearable apps.

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What are your thoughts on Wear OS based on Android 11? Let us know in the comments below!

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NVIDIA GeForce NOW adds 12 new games and a Founders bundle with Hyper Scape

NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW game-streaming service enjoys its share in the now-crowded game streaming market on the fact that it was one of the first to appear for end consumers. The service started beta testing for Android last year and opened up for everyone in February. NVIDIA had pledged to announce new games for GeForce NOW every week, and over the past months, it has kept to that promise. This week, NVIDIA is giving GeForce NOW 11 new additions, including titles like Hyper Scape, Anno 2205, Neon Abyss, alongside Two Point Hospital as a returning title. Further, GeForce NOW is also adding in a Founders Bundle with Hyper Scape Season 1 battle pass.

These are the titles that have made their way to NVIDIA GeForce NOW this week:

• Steam:
  • Company of Crime
  • Ageless
  • Granado Espada
  • Neon Abyss
  • STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town
  • The Escapists
  • Warface
• Uplay:
  • Hyper Scape
  • Anno 2205
• Epic Games Store:
  • Remnant: From The Ashes
  • South Park: The Fracture But Whole
• Returning:
  • Two Point Hospital

Of these, Hyper Scape and Company of Crime are new game launches, having launched on August 11 and August 8 respectively on their platforms. Further, Remnant: From The Ashes is also available for free on the Epic Games Store from today till August 19.

In addition to the new titles available on GeForce Now, NVIDIA also said that it’s adding Highlights support to Hyper Scape. NVIDIA Highlights allows users to record exciting gameplay moments that can be shared later.

Further, NVIDIA is also offering new as well as existing members to sign up for a limited time, 6-month GeForce NOW Membership for $24.95, packing in additional content for Hyper Scape such as:

• Season One Battle Pass Token
• Exclusive Adi Volta Champion Skin (Rare)
• Exclusive Volta Drop Pod (Rare)
• Citric Dragonfly Weapon Skin (Rare)
• Boxer Shuffle Emote (Epic)

Existing Founders members will be able to stack this offer with their existing membership, meaning they will continue to receive their locked-in rate of $4.99 per month for 12 months, plus the 6-month membership from this Hyper Scape Bundle.

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NVIDIA GeForce NOW (Free, Google Play) →

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Microsoft Surface Duo will get 3 years of OS and security updates, will have an unlockable bootloader

Yesterday, Microsoft officially announced the Surface Duo, their latest attempt at a mobile smartphone. It is a super cool looking dual-screen device running Android, which will also be known as the first Android device from Microsoft. With Android devices, one of the most important questions has been how many years of Android updates the device will receive, as this is crucial to the overall experience. Until recently, most Android OEMs only provided 2 years of updates. Now, Google and Samsung have promised 3 years of Android updates for their flagship devices. Microsoft is now also joining that three-years-of-update group with the Surface Duo.

Microsoft Surface Duo XDA Forums

Earlier today, a Microsoft representative confirmed to us that the Surface Duo would be receiving 3 years of both OS and security updates. The device is launching with Android 10, which means it should receive up to Android 13 in OS updates. Microsoft did not specify the frequency of security updates, but for the first year, they are required to provide quarterly security updates. In comparison, the most competitive dual screen to the Surface Duo is the LG Velvet, and LG has only committed to 2 years of updates which will historically take years to get released.

Further, Microsoft also confirmed to us that the Surface Duo will have an unlockable bootloader. This means you will be able to easily root it, mod it, or throw a custom ROM on there. Personally, I am waiting for a stereo speaker mod since the device only has a mono speaker. The interest from the community will dictate what custom works are available, which is where the $1,399 price tag might hurt a little. There is no information on whether unlocking the bootloader would void the warranty — but if we had to take a guess, we would say that it would void the warranty. We’ll update the article when we get more information in this regard.

All around, Microsoft is showing it is serious about the Surface Duo and the product line. Committing to three years of updates is a big deal, and is starting to become the standard for flagship Android devices. Hopefully, Microsoft won’t become the next LG in delayed updates Committing to providing the updates is a good first step, and bootloader unlockability will help it gain favor among the enthusiasts and meta-influencers.

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