Apple could have a new version of its iPhone MagSafe charging puck on the way. A new FCC listing for a “Magnetic Charger” first spotted by blogger Dave Zatz shows an accessory with a new model name (A2548) that looks otherwise identical to Apple’s existing charger (A2140). The new charger has been tested with a variety of devices including four marked as “New Phone,” which almost certainly correspond to Apple’s anticipated iPhone 13 models.
There aren’t too many hints about what’s new in the official FCC documents. 9to5Mac notes that it’s been tested with all four existing iPhone 12 models (marked as “Legacy Phone”) as well as the four unannounced devices, which suggests this new MagSafe charger should be compatible with both generations. And there’s also a diagram showing the puck being used to charge a pair of AirPods. That’s something the existing MagSafe charger can technically already do, although it won’t magnetically attach to the AirPods case like it will with the latest iPhones.
So what’s new? Well, previous rumors have suggested that this year’s iPhones could have stronger magnets built into their backs, which could perhaps benefit from a tweaked MagSafe charger design. There’s also been talk of a larger wireless charging coil, and speculation that this could allow for higher wattages and hence faster charging, which again might require an updated charging puck.
Or maybe this is a minor revision that’s functionally identical to what’s already on the market, something that 9to5Mac notes that Apple has done in the past. Either way, we likely won’t have long to wait to find out, as Apple is widely expected to announce its new iPhones this month, perhaps as soon as next week.
Reports that the iPhone 13 would allow users to text and call even when they don’t have cell coverage by connecting to satellites caused quite a stir last week, especially considering that Apple’s fall reveal event is right around the corner. Yet, another rumor now says that’s baloney, which means you shouldn’t get your wallet ready just yet.
Bloomberg reported on Sunday that Apple has no plans “now, next year or anytime in the near future” to create a satellite iPhone. According to the outlet, Apple’s hardware isn’t ready to support calling and texting without cell coverage yet. It would also be expensive and could make the mobile carriers the company works with very, very angry.
Although there is no satellite iPhone in the works right now, that doesn’t mean Apple isn’t working on satellite features. Bloomberg explains that these features are reportedly designed for emergency situations in remote areas. In these scenarios, the phone would connect to satellite networks to allow users to send texts to first responders or report an accident, such as a plane crash or a ship that’s sinking.
That doesn’t sound as cool as “call and text anyone, anywhere,” but they are still very useful features! Heck, it would definitely make me feel better about going hiking in the mountains (which I have done before, only to end up off the trail with a couple of cows).
However, it appears to be unlikely we’ll see these emergency satellite features in the iPhone 13 expected later this month. Bloomberg states that the hardware to support these features might be embedded in the iPhone this year, but the features themselves wouldn’t go live until 2022. Additionally, these features will only be available in “select,” but not all, countries.
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In other Apple rumors, it’s possible you may not be able to get an Apple Watch Series 7 right away. The outlet reports that the Series 7—which will purportedly feature 41 and 45-millimeter screens and a new design with flat edges—will be announced alongside the new iPhone, but some models will be shipping in small quantities at first while others will be shipping later on.
We still don’t have a date for the September Apple event, but it could come as early as this week.
One jobGoogle’s actually has two “jobs”. To engage in the prolific act of data trafficking, and to shunt ads on all electronic devices.
Selling Pixel phones, and the development of Android and Chrome are merely vehicles to spread their wings far and wide to maximise the volume of data harvesting, whilst duping users in Google’s cash-for-clicks for itself.
Google is a bar stirred.
r213
While not a common issue, one more reason to always have a duplicate/backup device. Running a 4xl now. Sweet device
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Anonymous, 2 hours agoWho ever thought macaulay culkin could be such a tech enthusiast. Nice to see you in american … moreI don’t think that’s the real Macaulay Culkin.
I hate midrange phones, I d rather save up 4 months buy fl… moreThe Pixel3 was a flagship, lol. The midrange phone was the Pixel3a.
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Anonymous, 12 hours agoPlease provide a source why the Nexus 6 lasts exactly four years, because I once wanted to buy… moreCareful, those are outlawed on Earth.
This is going to tick off some people planning to buy the Pixel 6 Pro. Imagine the Pixel Fold getting released only a month later and no heads up? So I suggest to follow Pixel Fold news closely. It’s going to be the biggest surprise of the year.
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Anonymous, 2 hours agoIt’s happening to people like you who are obsessed with updates and having the latest sec… moreWell said
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Anonymous
Dpc
RejZoR, 13 hours agoThat’s just hilarious. One would expect Google as primarily software company would be on … moreIt’s happening to people like you who are obsessed with updates and having the latest security patches.
Let this be a lesson to all those who blame manufacturers when they release August security patch in Oct-Nov (basically a few months late).
Here’s your up to date pixel with latest security patch bricking devices.
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Anonymous
Dpc
Anonymous, 11 hours agoAlso, it‘s probably less buggy than every Redmi and less laggy than a Samsung with Exynos 9611… moreFlies through what? While operating a lightweight operating system?
Let’s see if it can fly through android on that hardware..
I’m still on February update on my s21ultra, I tried the August July… moreThis is why people shouldn’t update to new software irrespective of the brand.
There were some phones from Samsung that also got bricked with new update few months back.
I always tell my customers to wait 2-3 months before updating. Get feedback from people who did update to latest version, only then proceed.
SwiftKey is … moreIt also took a lot of years to arrive on ios.
They were stuck with that terrible stock keyboard for years
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Anonymous
802
Anonymous, 11 hours agoLol apple fanboy trigerred…u wont even have a battery to begin with…it will be dead already IPhone SE users already required 2-3 times charging per day because of poor battery life. After 6-7 months, Battery starts screaming for replacement
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Anonymous
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Anonymous, 13 hours agoiOS gets buggy after a half year of updates.It’s buggy to begin with every new update installed.
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Anonymous
vaQ
Who ever thought macaulay culkin could be such a tech enthusiast. Nice to see you in american horror story
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Blackkk Mamba
8tH
Google must have pushed an update that is making custom ROM development more difficult
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I would be very sad if the Pixel line ended. No other Android OEM matches the fluidity of that Pixel software experience and touches Google’s computational photography.
I have my doubts they go defunct knowing how deep pockets that Alphabet Inc. has. Google will keep making Pixels for years to come. Pixels don’t even sell well and Google is still releasing them. Pixel won’t go away because Google’s pockets are much deeper than HTC and LG combined. Much deeper than Sony’s.
I really only have two options with phones. Google or Samsung. Between them, I still prefer Google. Prefer software experience more than hardware. Not buying another iPhone again and don’t want to touch Chinese brands. This is why I’m hoping for Google and Samsung to open more retail stores. A place to go to if the phone breaks.
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MzSunShine, 5 hours agoAnyone surprised? At least they fail after a couple of years, the xiaomi phones barely come out, they already have problems and bugs
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The Pixel 3 series has been affected by Rona. Y’all are gonna need to get your phones jabbed!
George Mawle, a former gameplay engineer at Sony Santa Monica Studio who is credited with the handling behind God of War’s Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos, sadly passed away last Thursday. Tributes have been paid across social media since, with combat design lead Mihir Sheth crediting him with playing a large part in the engineering behind the feel of the two iconic weapons.
“At SMS he worked on Kratos’ weaponry, navigation, RPG systems, a myriad of combat behaviors, improvements to the scripting system to empower designers, and SO much more. He was a veteran on the team who played a huge role in closing out the game and squashing bugs.” George picked up the nickname “Furious George” thanks to his commitment to seeing an idea through to fruition, as Sheth explains how would pursue side projects in cooking, carpentry, and homemade movies.
It appears George considered God of War the peak of his working career, as Sheth explains how “he never thought he’d work on a game and feature so beloved in his career of ups and downs. He would repeat this out of the blue, two years after. “We really did alright didn’t we”.” George’s career in game development spanned more than 20 years, but left Sony Santa Monica Studio some months ago.
An internal survey conducted by Paradox Interactive’s unions has revealed an alleged culture of mistreatment at the company, who’re known for developing grand strategy games such as Crusader Kings. Of the 133 Paradox employees who responded to the survey, 44% claimed to have experienced mistreatment, from bullying to gender discrimination.
This comes from a leaked document made public by the Swedish tech website Breakit, though RPS have seen a copy of the results summary, and a union representative has verified the document’s authenticity for us.
It appears that for many people out there, the scheduled alarms feature on the Google Clock app is flat-out broken with the bug preventing preset alarms from going off. On the back of this issue, the Play Store listing has now seen a deluge of 1-star ratings from disgruntled users.
[Update 09/06]: Google has issued a statement via a thread over on /r/GooglePixel, with the broken Google Clock problem likely a result of Spotify integration. A temporary solution is to just switch to one of the on-device default alarm sounds to ensure that your scheduled alarms go off on time:
We’re sorry you’ve been experiencing this issue, and thank you for reporting it. We’ve identified a fix and will roll it out soon. In the meantime, you can change the alarm sound setting to a selection within Device sound.
A growing thread over on the /r/GooglePixel subreddit noted that many devices have been skipping their morning alarms or haven’t shown as “upcoming” on their Pixel devices. The problem also shows any previously scheduled alarms as “missed” shortly after said alarm was pre-programmed to go off (via Android Authority).
According to the large volume of negative and 1-star reviews left on the Google Clock app Play Store listing, these broken alarms have been affecting people for a little while already. However, the problem doesn’t appear to be limited to just Pixel devices. Complaints come from owners of devices from all the biggest OEMs, including OnePlus, Samsung, and Xiaomi.
Most complaints are from people frustrated that Google Clock alarms are broken and won’t go off, leading to late wake-ups and scorn of employers. While anecdotal, in the original thread on the Pixel subreddit, some have mentioned that when putting their phone face down in “Flip to Shh” mode this appears to be the culprit for missed alarms. This does hint that it could be related to the on-device Do Not Disturb mode and Google Clock not overriding any system settings. It’s not clear if this is what is affecting devices from other OEMs though.
Luckily, Google is aware of the broken Clock app with an IssueTracker thread (h/t XDA) noting that the problem has been “shared with our product and engineering teams.” Updates will be shared “as more information becomes available.” At least until a solution is forthcoming, it may be worthwhile trying out a different alarm app to be 100% certain that you wake up on time.
Last updated: September 6th, 2021 at 11:43 UTC+02:00
You can now check the Galaxy S21 off the list of smartphones to have received the September 2021 security patch. Samsung began rolling out the new firmware for the flagship trio in Europe, though as usual, the update will reach more regions gradually.
Samsung hasn’t revealed the September 2021 security patch changelog yet, and the latest firmware update doesn’t seem to include any extra features. It’s a routine security patch, and Galaxy S21 smartphone users in Europe can identify it by firmware number G99xBXXS3AUHD.
The Galaxy S21 series isn’t the first to get the September security update, but the rollout began less than a week ago. The Galaxy S20 FE was the first to receive the update and was followed by the Galaxy Z Flip, the Galaxy 10 Lite, and the Galaxy S20 series.
Samsung is bound to detail this month’s security fixes in the coming days, so stay tuned for that. And let’s not forget that the company intends to open the One UI 4.0 beta program to Galaxy S21 users in Europe “soon.” Until then, you can go ahead and download the new security patch via the Settings app on your Galaxy S21 by accessing Software update and tapping Download and install. Or you can download the September 2021 security update for your particular Galaxy S21 variant from our firmware database.
Next week is a busy one! A total of 22 games are making their way to Xbox, and it’s not just low-to-mid-tier releases either. We have a few heavy hitters like NBA 2K22, Sonic Colors, Tales of Arise, Life is Strange: True Colors, The Artful Escape, and more.
NBA fans will no doubt be looking forward to the latest iteration of the 2K Games’ basketball sim, which launches on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One on September 10th. We’ve also got the next entry into the Life is Strange series, Life is Strange: True Colors, which features the all-new protagonist Alex Chen, who has been cursed with the power of empathy. Launching into Xbox Game Pass on day one is The Artful Escape, an adventure game where you play as the teenage guitar prodigy Francis Vendetti who sets out on a journey to find his own stage persona.
From this page, you can view a game’s achievement list if it’s been released, subscribe to a game for news updates, add them to your wishlist, and even click through to the Microsoft Store to preorder or purchase. Here’s a breakdown of everything coming to the world of Xbox next week. Let us know which of these you’re planning on picking up in the comments!
September 7th
Bus Simulator 21 — Xbox One
Crown Trick — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows
Enter a labyrinth that moves as you move, where mastering the elements is key to defeating enemies and uncovering the mysteries of this underground world.
Sonic Colors Ultimate — Xbox One
The evil Dr. Eggman has built an interstellar amusement park – but he’s powering it with a captured alien race called “Wisps.” Use Sonic’s speed to free the Wisps and gain their amazing powers as you explore six colorful unique worlds.
Tormented Souls — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Tormented Souls is a return to classic survival horror inspired by the original Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark series. With a fresh twist on the fixed perspective adventure, Tormented Souls modernises for a new generation – as Caroline Walker investigates the mysterious disappearance of twin girls in a terrifying mansion-turned-hospital.
WRC 10 — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Hailed by reviewers and professional drivers, the standard-setting off-road racing simulation has been reinvented! Reach the 2021 season podium, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the competition, relive the highlights at the wheel of legendary cars. Never has the WRC experience been this intense! Rise to the challenge!
September 8th
Alphaset by POWGI — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
This new word puzzle is a mix of crosswords and sudoku, challenging both your vocabulary and your deduction skills.
There are 26 blank squares. Each letter of the alphabet must be placed exactly once in order to fill the grid with valid English words.
Reveal a terrible joke each time you solve a puzzle!
Struggling — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Struggling is a physics-based co-op platformer with a twisted spin on teamwork. Control the arms of a squishy abomination and lead it through a deranged world.
September 9th
BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Original developer WayForward upgrades its 2011 classic with new voice acting by Laura Bailey and Troy Baker, sharpened visuals, and rebalanced gameplay. Run, jump, cut, and feed your way through a massive underground castle to confront Rayne’s father at the behest of the Brimstone Society.
Boulder Dash Deluxe — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of the Raakshasa — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of the Raakshasa is a 3D third-person action RPG with morality decisions created by BioWare and Sucker Punch veterans. Carve out your destiny with choices and actions that truly matter.
Residual — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
The Artful Escape — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Toy Soldiers HD — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
September 10th
A Day Without Me — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Main character wakes up as the only person left in the whole city. Now he has to find out what’s happened, where has everyone gone and how to overcome a series of strange events happening in front of his own eyes.
From Earth to Heaven — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
In this game, you follow the protagonist who initially fell from heaven back into the sky. Many obstacles, cliffs, and small environmental puzzles are waiting. Are you ready for a beautiful surreal adventure?
Inked: A Tale of Love — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Life is Strange: True Colors — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Alex Chen hides her ‘curse’: the psychic power of Empathy, the ability to absorb the strong emotions of others. When her brother dies in a so-called accident, Alex must embrace her power to find the truth. Pre-order now to get 4 additional in-game outfits.
Lost In Random — Xbox One
LoveChoice — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
It’s the beginning of a new relationship. Will this one result in joy or sorrow?
In LoveChoice, you choose the actions that determine how the relationship unfolds. With 3 short stories, pick your responses to each of the situations.
These endearing and bittersweet stories are surprisingly realistic and easy to relate to. Whether you’re single, in a relationship, or just looking for a memorable new gameplay experience, LoveChoice will always be the right choice!
Features * 3 short love stories with multiple endings * Sweet, bittersweet, and realistic relationship experiences * Variety of mechanics * Cute art style and soothing music * Mixture of visual novel and point and click gameplay * Indie Prize Asia 2019 “best narrative” winner
NBA 2K22 — Xbox Series X|S
A WORLD OF BASKETBALL NBA 2K22 puts the entire basketball universe in your hands. PLAY NOW in real NBA and WNBA environments against authentic teams and players. Build your own dream team in MyTEAM with today’s stars and yesterday’s legends. Live out your own pro journey in MyCAREER and experience your personal rise to the NBA. Flex your management skills as a powerful Executive in MyGM and MyLEAGUE. Anyone, anywhere can hoop in NBA 2K22.
NBA 2K22 — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
A WORLD OF BASKETBALL NBA 2K22 puts the entire basketball universe in your hands. PLAY NOW in real NBA and WNBA environments against authentic teams and players. Build your own dream team in MyTEAM with today’s stars and yesterday’s legends. Live out your own pro journey in MyCAREER and experience your personal rise to the NBA. Flex your management skills as a powerful Executive in MyGM and MyLEAGUE. Anyone, anywhere can hoop in NBA 2K22.
Tales of Arise — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the “Tales of” series with this latest installment and pre-order today! Includes the following pre-order bonus content: Pre-Order Bonus Pack which includes Alphen and Shionne customization items, 4 Attachments, 4 Exclusive Cooking Recipes, and 16 Food Items.
Breaking Down Barriers Lost memories and pain. An irremovable mask. The mystery behind Rena’s tyranny. Cut free the truth with the Blazing Sword. 300 years ago, Rena invaded Dahna. Now, Dahna is under Rena’s domain. There, one chance encounter with a mysterious girl leads a young man to take up the sword. Experience a tale of liberation, featuring characters with next-gen graphical expressiveness!
Will you be picking up any of these games next week? Let us know in the comments what you’re most looking forward to!
In a recent update, Summers shared the grim news that the books would no longer go into production.
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“Tonight I pulled the plug on the Hand-Drawn Game Guides Kickstarter. Yes, for exactly the reason you think it’s for,” he said in an update on Kickstarter. “I had hoped that I could successfully navigate any legal trouble, but alas I wasn’t able to do so.”
For fans of the project, it’s a major bummer — but Summers says he’s still grateful for the experience.
“Of course I’m disappointed, but I completely understand why this happened,” he explained. “It’s okay. I’m not mad.”
For now, all orders for the game guides will be cancelled, although Summers says he’ll find out whether the project is truly dead in the water “in the coming days”. Backers can expect a cancellation email shortly if they don’t already have one, and all money will be refunded via your payment method.
Here’s to hoping Summers is still able to produce these guides in some capacity, whether that be through official channels or an entire rework of the project.
These Hand-Drawn Game Guides deserve their time in the sun, and a place on all our shelves, regardless of Nintendo’s efforts to nuke the project.
It has almost a meme at this point, so predictable and tragic has the process become. A fan makes something cool, everyone gets excited, then in comes Nintendo to shut the whole thing down.
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