Galaxy A23 5G & Galaxy F23 grab Samsung’s Android 14 update

0
[ad_1]

Samsung‘s Android 14 update has reached a couple more Galaxy devices, the Galaxy A23 5G and Galaxy F23 5G. The two mid-range phones are receiving the new Android version with One UI 6.0 on top. The latter is also getting the latest security patch. It’s a month-old patch for the former.

The Galaxy A23 5G gets the Android 14 update

The Galaxy A23 5G is a popular mid-range phone from 2022. Samsung launched it with Android 12 in August last year. The device received Android 13 at the end of 2022 (early 2023 in some regions). It is now picking up its second major firmware upgrade in the form of Android 14-based One UI 6.0.

The new update comes with the build number A236BXXU4DWKA in Europe. Users in the US and some other markets may receive a different build number but that won’t affect the content of the update. It’s a major OS upgrade, after all. From UI changes and improved system animations to new features, functional improvements, bug fixes, and system optimizations, there are a lot of changes to look forward to.

Additionally, Samsung has bundled the November security patch with the big update. It may not be the latest security release but still fixes plenty of vulnerabilities—more than 60 of them. The Galaxy A23 5G will get a newer patch with a separate update later. In fact, Android 14 may come with the December patch in some markets if the company delays the release for a long.

If you are using this mid-range 5G phone from Samsung, you can expect to receive Android 14 and One UI 6.0 in the coming days. The update should also soon be available for the 4G model. Both models will get at least one more big update (Android 15) if not two. Their successor, the Galaxy A24, is eligible for four major Android OS upgrades, so you never know. Samsung has been improving its software support for low-cost devices lately.

The Galaxy F23 5G is also receiving this update

The Galaxy F23 5G is mostly a rebadged Galaxy A23 5G with minor changes. Unlike the A-series phone, it was only sold in India and a few neighboring countries—the F series is limited to the region. It is picking up the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update with the firmware build number E236BXXU5DWL2. The December security patch is part of the package for this phone. As usual, you can check for updates from the Settings app.


[ad_2]
Source link

Leaked SIM trays reveal three new color options for the Galaxy S24 and S24+

0
[ad_1]

Leaks and rumors have left nothing to the imagination about what to expect from the Samsung Galaxy S24 series. The next-generation flagship devices from the South Korean brand are expected to debut on January 17. In a new development, the leaked SIM trays of the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus hint at three new colors.

Leaked SIM trays suggest three new color options for the Galaxy S24, S24+

Tipster Roland Quandt came across a spare parts store that offers products specifically, SIM trays for the upcoming Galaxy S24 series. The images of the SIM trays reveal new color options for the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus. The frame colors point towards orange, green, and blue. The official name of those color options could be different.

The full list of colors on the vendor’s website includes black, orange, green, purple, blue, gold, and white. We had previously shared renders of the Samsung Galaxy S24 in black, grey, violet, and yellow hues. The Galaxy S24+ will also come in the same hues as the standard variant. It could be possible that gold and white could potentially replace yellow and grey shades respectively spotted in the press renders. That leaves us with orange, green, and blue as the new color variants. These will be exclusive variants of the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus that will be available to purchase only from Samsung.com

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard the Galaxy S24, and S24+ in orange, green, and blue colors

SIM Tray colors Galaxy S24
Leaked SIM tray colors Galaxy S24

The latest development about the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus’s new color options has been echoed in the past by DSCC’s Ross Young and Ice Universe. This year’s Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus are available in Graphite and Lime Green exclusive colors. Leaked renders have revealed that the forthcoming Galaxy S24 duo will sport a boxy design with a compact form factor. It will have polished edges, three vertically stacked camera sensors, and an ultra-wide-band antenna on the side frame.


[ad_2]
Source link

Android 14 update broke Android Auto for some Galaxy users

0
[ad_1]

Samsung pushed the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update to quite a handful of Galaxy phones. It is now available across the Galaxy S23 series, S22 series, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and even plenty of A series handsets. In total, over 60 Galaxy devices have received One UI 6.0 update. However, the latest update brings some issues along, according to reports across Google forums. A bunch of Galaxy users are experiencing issues with Android Auto after updating to One UI 6.0.

Samsung’s One UI 6 may have broken wireless Android Auto for some users

For some Samsung Galaxy owners, the recent upgrade to Android 14 brought more than just new features. An unwelcome guest crashed the party: a bug that cripples wireless Android Auto. The first complaints started rising in late November as Samsung’s rollout of Android 14 gained momentum. More importantly, it isn’t just limited to a specific series or model. It has affected a range of phones, from the Galaxy S23 series to the A series smartphones.

The affected users on the Google support forum mostly described two scenarios: either wireless completely refusing to work, or flickering in and out like a dying lightbulb. If the issue lies within the app itself, we can expect a fix to arrive sooner than expected.

A fix could be on its way, but try this meanwhile

Thankfully, Google hasn’t turned a blind eye. It acknowledged the issue on its “Known Issues” list this week, and a community specialist has offered their support. However, a concrete fix is yet to arrive. Meanwhile, users could solely rely on connecting to Android Auto using a cable i.e. wired connection.

9to5Google noted that several Google Pixel users are experiencing similar connectivity woes after the December update, albeit to a much lesser extent. It is similar to the previous issues. The issues reported by Pixel users mirror those plaguing Galaxy phones: wireless connections dropping completely or sputtering out after brief moments of functionality.


[ad_2]
Source link

Judge spanks Musk and “X”, refuses to toss lawsuit after employees fail to receive promised bonuses

0
[ad_1]

If Elon Musk had to do it all over again, would he still have shelled out $44 billion to buy that constant migraine he calls “X?” Of course he would. You don’t become one of the richest men in the world if you’re not an egotistical narcissist who thinks that he has never made a mistake. The latest “X” issue ripped from the headlines revolves around a lawsuit filed by an “X” employee who says that Musk failed to deliver millions of dollars in promised bonuses to employees.

According to The New York Post, US District Court Judge Vince Chhabria said on Friday that he will allow a lawsuit against the company to proceed. The suit was filed by Mark Schobinger, Twitter’s former senior director of compensation; Schobinger left the company in May but not before he filed a lawsuit against “X” accusing the social media firm of  breach of contract.

Schobinger’s suit claims that senior company officials made verbal promises both before and after Musk acquired Twitter. Employees were told that they would be paid half of their 2022 bonuses as long as they stayed with the company through the first quarter of this year. The payments were never made as Schobinger claims in his suit which was filed on behalf of himself as well as 2,000 current and former “X” employees.

The suit seeks $5 million and with Judge Chhabria denying Twitter’s request to toss out the case, the judge said that Schobinger’s complaint met the requirements for a breach of contract claim under California law. The judge also agreed that Schobinger was covered by a bonus plan. “Once Schobinger did what Twitter asked, Twitter’s offer to pay him a bonus in return became a binding contract under California law,” said the judge. “And by allegedly refusing to pay Schobinger his promised bonus, Twitter violated that contract.”

Twitter argued that the oral agreement should not be valid and that Texas law should apply. Judge Chharbria said that California law applies to the case and added that “Twitter’s contrary arguments all fail.” 

[ad_2]
Source link

Nintendo’s shutting down Wii U and 3DS online play sooner than expected

0
[ad_1]

Earlier this year, the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS were dealt a pretty big blow when the Kyoto-based company discontinued both systems’ online shops (the Switch’s successor is expected to come out next year, so it makes sense). While that was the case, you were allowed to play games online using those systems. Well, we have more bad news; Nintendo is shutting down the Wii U and 3DS’ online Play months ahead of schedule.

It wasn’t supposed to happen for another four months

Nintendo agreed to keep the servers on for a while longer so that people could get some more rounds of Super Smash Bros. in. When Nintendo said when it was planning on shutting online play down, players thought that they had a while to keep playing. The company stated that it’d keep things going until April 2024, but it didn’t say that it was a definite thing. In fact, the company did say that it could shut them down before the date.

Nintendo’s shutting down Wiiu and 3DS online play a while ahead of schedule

Well, the company said that it could shut it down before April, but we didn’t think that the company was going to start this soon. We’re at the end of December, and people are already starting to see their games go offline. This is a major blow, as these are folks thinking that they had another four months to play their games online.

While this is starting to happen now, it’s not happening all at once. We believe that Nintendo is doing a gradual shutdown of this service. So, it’s possible that more people will start to see it go offline as time goes on. We don’t know which regions will lose connectivity next, so it’s anyone’s guess.

It’s unfortunate, as many people took Nintendo’s April forecast to heart and planned on playing this deep into the Spring of 2024. If you still have access to Nintendo online play, then you’ll want to enjoy it for as long as you can.


[ad_2]
Source link

ASUS GeForce RTX 4070 Super GPU leaks showing shorter design

0
[ad_1]

Images have leaked of a new ASUS Custom Dual GeForce RTX 4070 Super GPU. The design of this graphics card showcases that it comes with two fans (hence the Custom Dual in the name) and the ‘Super’ label can be seen clearly on the front of the packaging in one of the renders.

The images of ASUS’s upcoming RTX 4070 refresh were shared by user momomo_us on X. No details or specs for the card accompany the images. But there are a few things that can be picked up on based on the leaks alone. For one, the size. This is a compact card. If you’re someone who runs a smaller PC case or has considered putting together a smaller form factor gaming PC, this is the kind of graphics card you’d want to consider.

According to wccftech, the ASUS Dual RTX 4070 Super is shorter than the regular model. So it should more easily fit into smaller cases. The card is designed with a 2.46 slot form factor and uses the new 12V-2×6 connector design. NVIDIA began rolling this connector standard out after issues with the 12VHPWR connector melting in consumers’ cards. And it looks like ASUS is set to refresh its 40-series with this new connector layout in the Super variants of each card.

ASUS will launch OC and non-OC variants of the RTX 4070 Super

Launch dates haven’t been confirmed yet but the cards are expected to make an appearance at CES in early January. They may also end up seeing a release later in the month. Prices are also not confirmed yet but it’s expected that the cards will retail for more than $500. Pricing will also vary slightly depending on the model of the card. The ASUS Dual RTX 4070 Super will reportedly come in an OC variant and a non-OC variant. This is in addition to two variants of the TUF Gaming model of the same card. All four of these are likely to have different pricing however they should be close in cost.

You’ll have to work out whether or not that’s worth the money. But if it comes with the 14% performance boost it’s suspected to have, then the answer to that is probably yes if you’re not already on a regular RTX 4070 GPU.

Rumors of 40-series Super GPUs started popping up around mid-October. But this would be the first time that leaked images of the card itself have surfaced along with the leak.


[ad_2]
Source link

Ads come to Amazon Prime Video at the end of January

0
[ad_1]

Amazon’s Prime Video will begin to show ads at the end of next month. A move that will either convince people to pay the $3 price increase to avoid ads or consider dropping Prime Video altogether.

The latter will be considerably harder to do if you use Prime for any other reason. For example, if you shop on Amazon and often enjoy the service’s free two-day or same-day shipping. But there’s no doubt that some are likely going to re-evaluate how much Prime is worth the monthly cost.

Ads coming to Prime Video aren’t a surprise since Amazon announced in September that it would begin showing them. But in the initial announcement, it didn’t mention anything other than a general time frame. The company said ads would come to the platform sometime in early 2024. The company has begun sending out emails to alert customers of the upcoming change and this time it includes an exact date. At the end of January subscribers who watch Prime Video content will have to deal with ads. That is if you’re not willing to pay the additional $2.99.

Ads will begin showing in Prime Video content on January 29

According to emails sent out by Amazon (via The Verge), the official date that ads will start playing in Prime Video content is January 29. So you have one month to enjoy Prime Video without ads or pay the $2.99 to enjoy it long after the start date next month. Prime Video was one of the few services left that wasn’t showing ads on its platform.

Netflix began offering an ad-supported tier for $6.99 a month last year. Which no one seemed to want to pay for. Hulu has been showing ads for years. Both Disney+ and Max have started offering ads in 2022 and 2021 respectively. Prime Video has been one of the last bastions of a completely ad-free video streaming platform. But even that had to end sometime.


[ad_2]
Source link

Leaked Galaxy S24 Ultra camera module reveals a key change

0
[ad_1]

The frequency and intensity of Samsung Galaxy S24 leaks continue to grow as we approach the official launch. After official renders and key specs, internal components have started appearing in leaks. An image posted on X allegedly shows the camera module of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. A close inspection of the image reveals a few interesting details.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a redesigned zoom camera

The leaked photo appears to be captured in a manufacturing facility. The camera modules are in a tray with a label denoting the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s model number (SM-S928U), SKU, and some other info. We can see that the module has four cameras attached to it—three in a column and a fourth unit next to them.

The camera that sits in the middle of the vertical array is the biggest. It should be the 200MP primary shooter, with the 12MP ultrawide lens above it. The bottom one should be the periscope zoom camera (5x) while the second zoom camera (3x) sits separately on the right side of the vertical array. The LED flash unit and a laser autofocus sensor should be above it.

Overall, the camera module is identical to that of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, the periscope zoom camera appears slightly smaller. This is likely because of Samsung switching from 10x optical zoom to 5x. The company is prioritizing software features over raw hardware capability. It’s upgrading the sensor to a 50MP resolution from 10MP for enhanced details in photos.

We can also see that the zoom camera has a circular lens on top, rather than a rectangular or square-shaped lens. Noted X tipster Ice Universe says Samsung opted for this design, which is also seen on the Vivo X100 Pro, because it has “certain benefits”. If you look closely, there is still a square prism under the round lens at the top. Hopefully, the firm will get the results it is hoping for.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra camera module leaked

The Galaxy S24 series debuts in just about three weeks

If the leaks are accurate, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S24 series on January 17, 2024. That is just about three weeks away now. The launch event will take place in San Jose, California. The Ultra model will be accompanied by the vanilla Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+. The latter two models lack a 5x periscope zoom camera and feature a 50MP primary shooter at the back. The rest of the camera setup is unchanged.


[ad_2]
Source link

Ubisoft reportedly falls prey to about 900GB data breach

0
[ad_1]

French video game publisher Ubisoft is currently probing a potential data breach. Reports say it could contain about 900GB of confidential data. It came to light after vx-underground posted leaked images on X purportedly showing the company’s internal software and developer tools.

Ubisoft confirmed the same while speaking to BleepingComputer. It said that the company is “aware of an alleged data security incident.” It comes after research group vx-underground shared screenshots on X. They claim to have obtained screenshots originating from Ubisoft’s internal services. While the extent of the breach remains hazy, the leaked screenshots, believed to originate from Ubisoft’s internal network, paint a worrisome picture.

Ubisoft’s data may have been compromised, suggests research group

Vx-underground revealed that an unidentified actor informed them of a breach into Ubisoft’s systems on December 20th. They had access for about 48 hours, however, failed to steal around 900GB of data from the company’s computer systems. Pictures shared suggested that they could have gained unauthorized access to various company platforms, including Ubisoft’s file storage, Microsoft chat, and other important tools.

Notably, Ubisoft has a name for developing video games in the industry. It has come up with some blockbuster franchises like Assassin’s Creed, FarCry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. However, it’s undeniable that this isn’t Ubisoft’s first tryst with cybersecurity concerns. In 2020, the company fell victim to the Egregor ransomware group. This led to the unauthorized release of segments from the Ubisoft Watch Dogs game source code. Later in 2022, Ubisoft faced another security challenge that disrupted various aspects of its games, systems, and broader services.

Insomniac Games, the developer behind Ratchet & Clank, also suffered a recent data breach that exposed sensitive employee information and details about upcoming titles. While Ubisoft is currently investigating a potential security incident, there’s no indication that any sensitive data or information about their games was accessed or disclosed.


[ad_2]
Source link

The At a Glance widget is getting train information in more places

0
[ad_1]

The At A Glance widget is one of the most useful features in the Google Pixel launcher, and it’s getting more useful as time goes on. It shows you important information that you can access at a glance. If you’re a traveler, then you’ll be glad to know that the At a Glance widget is getting train information in more places globally.

The At a Glance widget shows you all sorts of information like the current weather, a rough forecast, the AQI (Air Quality Index), upcoming alarms, upcoming calendar events, and more. Now, Google is working on showing you upcoming train trips on the widget. With this, you’ll be able to see information on your upcoming train rides. This feature is still very much in the roll-out stage, so there’s a chance that most people won’t see it.

The At a Glance widget is getting train notifications globally

Right now, it’s hard to know what the company’s roll-out schedule for this feature is. Not everyone globally can see their train notifications on the At a Glance widget, and this is rather unfortunate. It’s still the holiday season, and people are still doing holiday shopping.

In any case, some people are starting to see this new feature already. One user in Germany was able to see their train trip when they booked through Deutsche Bahn.

One thing noted in the report was that this could be the result of a change to how Deutsche Bahn handles its confirmation emails. When you book through that company, you get a confirmation email, as is standard practice. However, they recently switched their format. Rather than loading all of the trip details onto a PDF file, the company displays all of the information in the body of the email itself.

Because of this, supposedly, Google is able to read through the details of the email and extract the important information. This is probably how the At a Glance widget is able to know your trip details. That’s yet to be confirmed. Regardless, it’s nice to know that this feature is making its way to more places around the world.


[ad_2]
Source link