After taking a year off, Google is back with its I/O developer conference for 2021. Like most tech events over the past year, this is not an in-person event and will be streamed over the internet instead. Unlike most tech events over the past year, this keynote will actually be live, not prerecorded.
What will Google announce at I/O? It could be anything. It’s a lock that there will be a deeper look at Android 12, but a late surprise is that Wear OS might also get some attention. Google usually has some kind of fancy AI demo, and there are lots of other products that could get some stage time.
Google I/O isn’t usually the place where we expect new hardware, but we know Google is working on the Pixel 5A and low-cost Pixel Buds — so they could be a surprise entry. And there’s also some rumored Nest hardware floating about, too.
Google has had two years now to prepare this keynote, so there’s one thing we’re almost guaranteed to get: a long event. Grab a coffee and watch along with us! We’re live-blogging it all.
Spotify announced multiple updates to make its app more accessible across iOS and Android today, including a beta version of a podcast transcription feature. The company says it’ll start auto-transcribing certain exclusive and original shows over the coming weeks as part of a beta rollout. People will be able to read the transcript with or without audio and can tap on text to jump to that point in the audio. The company says the goal is to eventually “enable transcripts across all podcasts on Spotify.”
This is an especially helpful feature for people who want to scan and move around a podcast, possibly to hear a specific segment, and for people who would rather read than listen to a show. Spotify is one of the first major podcast apps to make this an automated feature.
Along with transcriptions, the app will undergo visual changes, too, starting today, in terms of button colors, text formatting, and size. The idea is to make it easier for people with low vision and visual impairments to navigate and use the app. This should also help with low lighting situations or high screen reflections, the company says. Additionally, iOS users can also make the text size much larger through their settings. To do so, they have to navigate to Settings > Accessibility and then tap “Display and Text Size.” From there, they can tap on “Larger Text” to make the text as large as they want.
Since Google I/O was canceled completely last year due to COVID-19, this year’s festivities — which will be available online to anyone who wants to watch — are sure to be, well, festive. Today’s two-hour event will introduce what is expected to be a full treasure chest of new hardware and software.
Of course, nothing’s for sure when it comes to Google, but it’s very likely we’ll get some information about the latest version of its OS, Android 12. (There have already been some developer previews.) This could be very interesting since rumors have it that there are some major UI changes in the works. We’ll also be looking for the much-anticipated Pixel Buds A-series and a custom processor for Pixel phones. We might even get a preview of the Pixel 5A phone — and who knows? Google may have some other surprises planned.
We’ll be watching live and keeping you updated here with everything Google announces.
It’s been over a year since Google last held I/O thanks to the pandemic, but with the COVID-19 outlook slightly more positive in 2021, the company is making its triumphant return to the (virtual) stage with an entirely online Google I/O developer conference. And with a year and some change between I/O 2019 and now, there’s plenty of room for interesting announcements when everything kicks off at 10AM PT (1PM ET) today.
Android 12 is expected to make its official debut, with rumors swirling that the new update will shake up the visual style of the mobile operating system, among other improvements. We’re also hoping to hear more about a less expensive version of the Pixel Buds and maybe more information about the Pixel 5A, after both products leaked in the lead-up to the event. There’s also a good chance there’ll be improvements to Google Assistant and possibly an introduction to the custom system on a chip Whitechapel that Google is rumored to be developing to compete with Apple’s A-series chips.
To stay on top of I/O’s exciting news, we’ve got all the ways you can watch and read alongside us below.
WHAT TIME IS THE GOOGLE I/O 2021 KEYNOTE?
The live stream starts at 10AM PT / 1PMET on Tuesday May 18th or at the following times outside the US: London: 6PM / Berlin: 7PM / Moscow: 8PM / New Delhi: 10:30PM / Beijing: 1AM (May 19th) / Tokyo: 2AM (May 19th) / Melbourne: 3AM (May 19th)
Google will replay the keynote on its YouTube channel and the Google I/O website. If the last years are any indication, you’ll also be able to watch a recording of the event once it’s ended to catch anything you may have missed.
WHERE CAN I WATCH THE GOOGLE I/O 2021 KEYNOTE?
You’ll be able to watch the keynote live on YouTube and the Google I/O 2021 website. We’ll also embed the live stream at the top of the page if you want to stick around here.
Developer talks and more detailed walkthroughs of everything coming to Android, Chrome, and all of Google’s other products will also be available on the dedicated I/O 2021 site.
Follow @verge on Twitter
Read our live blog for up-to-date commentary and bad puns
Keep an eye on @verge on Instagram for live updates
Astell & Kern’s digital expertise comes good in this entertaining USB-C cable DAC
For
Notable improvement to audio
Clean, precise character
Nicely made
Against
No iOS device compatibility
No MQA support
For a relatively simple product, Astell & Kern’s first portable DAC has a rather convoluted moniker. ‘Astell & Kern AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable’ isn’t something you’d want to say out loud (or type) often but, to the company’s credit, it sums up the product perfectly: it’s a USB-C cable with two DACs inside.
Thankfully, the name doesn’t attempt to further explain its purpose, so let us fill in the gaps.
Features
(Image credit: Astell & Kern)
Portable DACs – compact DACs that don’t rely on mains power – have arrived in force in recent years with the mission of conveniently improving the sound quality between your phone or computer and wired headphones. That’s because the digital-to-analogue converters and analogue output stages of these do-all devices are generally pretty poor.
Though wireless headphones connected to a device may be the portable audio preference of many nowadays, a wired set-up generally still offers the best performance-per-pound value, particularly if you want to play hi-res audio.
Astell & Kern AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable tech specs
(Image credit: Astell & Kern)
Input USB-C
Output 3.5mm
Hi-res audio PCM 32-bit/384kHz, DSD256
Weight 27g
While there are a number of traditional box or USB stick portable DACs in existence, the AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable is one of an increasingly common group of DACs designed to enhance on-the-go or desktop sound quality in cable form. This Astell & Kern, like the Zorloo Ztella and THX Onyx, is essentially an extension of your headphones cable; the discreet middleman between them and your source device.
At one end is a 3.5mm output, and at the other is a USB-C connection for plugging into any device with that output, such as an Android phone, Windows 10 PC, tablet or MacOS computer. For the bulk of our testing, we use it with a Samsung Galaxy S21 and Apple MacBook Pro.
Some portable DACs, such as the multi-Award-winning Audioquest DragonFly Red, have a USB-A connection instead, but now that USB-C is becoming more prevalent it makes sense for a portable DAC like this one to adopt it. You can always buy a USB-C-to-USB-A adapter to cater for devices with such ports.
Portable DACs can often be used with Apple’s camera adapter to make them compatible with iPhones and iPads, but Astell & Kern says that isn’t the case here “due to the dual DAC incompatibility and power restrictions of iOS devices”. So iPhone users will have to look elsewhere.
The dual DACs (specifically, two Cirrus Logic CS43198 MasterHIFi chips) support native high-resolution audio playback of PCM files up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256. However, due to the AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable’s lack of MQA file support, Tidal HiFi subscribers won’t be able to benefit from the (MQA-encoded) hi-res Tidal Masters that are part of the tier’s offering. It’s also worth noting that the DAC has been built for sound output only, so it won’t work with headphones with an in-line remote.
A portable cable DAC is new territory for Astell & Kern – the company is most renowned for its portable music players but also makes headphones and desktop audio systems. But digital-to-analogue conversion technology is something the company is well versed in. And that shows.
For the AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable, Astell & Kern says it developed a circuit chip on a six-layer PCB just 14 x 41mm in size, featuring bespoke capacitors found in its music players, and optimised to prevent power fluctuations. The analogue amplifier (with a 2Vrms output level), meanwhile, is designed to drive even power-hungry and high-impedance headphones.
Sound
(Image credit: Astell & Kern)
We use a range of headphones, from high-end Grados to more modest Beyerdynamic on-ears and Sennheiser Momentum earbuds – and the Astell & Kern doesn’t struggle to power any of them. However, we would be wary of your playback device’s volume output level when you first connect the DAC and plug in your headphones (especially if you’re using more than one pair) to avoid getting an unexpected earful. It’s something Astell & Kern advises in the manual, too.
Adding the AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable between these headphones and our source devices (which provide power to the DAC) makes the world of difference. As the likes of the Zorloo Ztella and Audioquest DragonFly Black have shown, even a modest outlay can make a significant improvement to your portable sound.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 is by no means the worst-sounding smartphone out there, and yet the Astell & Kern makes music come through our wired headphones much clearer, cleaner and punchier than with just a standard USB-C-to-3.5mm dongle. This little DAC doesn’t just do the basics by amplifying the sound and beefing up its tone, it also goes the extra mile to open up music and let you in on more of its detail.
Considering the increasing competition in the portable DAC market, you could say it’s a necessary mile. One of our favourite portable DACs, the Audioquest DragonFly Red, proves to be a notably more insightful and rhythmically entertaining performer – but then it is significantly pricier at £169 ($200, AU$280). For this modest amount of money, the AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable is a very attractive proposition indeed.
We play Lesley by Dave ft Ruelle and the rapper’s poignant storytelling is all the more compelling for the boost in clarity and vocal insight delivered by the DAC. The melodious synth chords, which twinkle with clarity against the contrasting backdrop, are planted with precision on either side.
It’s a similar story as we plug the Astell & Kern into our MacBook Pro and settle into Big Thief’s Shoulder, the presentation pleasantly opened up and generously populated with definition aplenty around Adrianne Lenker’s pleading vocal delivery and the warm textures of the band’s hallmark folksy guitar licks.
Build
(Image credit: Astell & Kern)
So, it sounds good. But what’s it like to live with? After all, this is an everyday device that’s likely to sit in your pocket or on your desktop during the 9 to 5. Perhaps most crucially for a device of this nature, the AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable is compact, lightweight (27g) and well made – to the extent that we feel comfortable tossing it in a bag or shoving it down trouser pockets before long.
The twisted cable between the USB-C output and main body – made up of Technora aramid fibre at its core, wrapped by copper layers and finished with shielding treatment – makes it easy to manipulate the device into a jeans pocket when connected to a phone, and feels built to last. It also helps absorb the shock of accidental knocks, unlike USB stick designs.
While we would expect a device like this to last years, in the weeks we spend in its company we feel confident of its durability. Even when we accidentally yank the device out of our playback source with the cable a number of times, it proves hardy enough to withstand it.
While made to fit nicely into a pocket, some consideration has also clearly been taken to make the AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable look nice when it’s not hidden away – when it’s on a desktop, for example.
The metal casing at the end of the cable – comparable with one of the more compact USB sticks in our collection – has a polished finish and angled surface that resonate with the aesthetic of the company’s premium music players. Design niceties on products like these are only ever going to be the small touches, but they’re here at least.
Verdict
Before Astell & Kern announced its AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to imagine the company making such a product. It has been in the portable digital audio game for years and enjoyed much success.
That know-how has been put to good use in offering USB-C device owners an affordable, practical way to soup up their smartphone or desktop sound through wired headphones. It’s such an appealing option that we can almost forgive the unwieldy name.
Facebook’s vice president of AR and VR Hugo Barra is leaving the company, he announced (where else) on Facebook Monday.
“Today is my last day at Facebook Reality Labs, after 4 years working on projects that have been more exciting and more challenging than anything I’ve encountered in my career, with some of the brightest minds and kindest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet,” Barra wrote in the post. He said he planned to “explore the healthcare technology space,” so he could apply what he had learned in consumer tech to solve problems in health care. “I believe society is still poorly equipped with the tools people need to really understand our health and gain control over our health outcomes,” he wrote.
After serving as Google’s vice president of Android product management and then several years at Xiaomi, Barra joined Facebook in 2017 to run its Oculus VR team. In 2019, he moved to his current role, tasked with “building a global AR/VR partner ecosystem” based in New York City, which eventually became part of Facebook Reality Labs.
Barra is leaving Facebook before the company launches its first pair of consumer “smart glasses,” which it said last year would be a branded Ray-Ban product. He touted the project on Twitter last September and mentioned the launch in his farewell note (but didn’t provide details about a release date other than “this year”). Barra said development of the smart glasses became “his main focus at Facebook.”
Beyond thrilled to finally share a sneak peek of our Facebook partnership with Ray-Ban! Our first smart glasses will launch next year, and that’s just the beginning… The future will be a classic and it’s coming in 2021 pic.twitter.com/l9992ZQGoy
— Hugo Barra (@hbarra) September 16, 2020
But after announcing in September that the smart glasses were coming sometime in 2021, Facebook tried to temper expectations about the smart glasses; in March, CFO David Wehner said at a conference that the glasses wouldn’t be close to the technology Facebook eventually hopes to achieve in AR.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg thanked Barra for his work in a comment on Barra’s Facebook post: “Thanks for everything you’ve done to help build the next computing platform and the whole ecosystem around it,” Zuckerberg wrote. “I’ve learned so much working with you, and I’m excited to see what you build next.”
Oculus will soon roll out its v29 software for Quest and Quest 2 headsets, and this one adds more features and functionality to the lineup. The most exciting one is a new Live Overlay casting feature that will give you an easy way to capture a mixed reality view of you using VR superimposed over the content displayed in your headset. Any VR app that supports casting and recording will work with this feature, according to Oculus.
All you’ll need is at least an iPhone XS or newer, a Quest headset, and the Oculus app for iOS updated to a new version that’s coming to “a subset of users.” Then you turn on the feature and have someone aim the camera at you (or aim it at yourself).
There are other highlights to mention in this software version, but I want to focus a moment longer on how big of a technical achievement Live Overlay seems to be. The company’s previous solution, its Mixed Reality Capture Tool on PC for Quest and Rift S, required a bunch of expensive hardware, including a rig with 16GB of RAM, a decent graphics card, your own 1080p webcam, a 5GHz Wi-Fi router, and — of course — your own green screen. But for lucky iOS users who get the app update, Oculus’ improved feature has eliminated the need for almost all of those gadgets. You just need your headset and your phone.
In other casting news, Oculus is allowing you to capture what you’re saying into your headset’s built-in microphone during casting sessions or when you’re recording a video clip. It’s also extending multi-user support and the app sharing feature to owners of the original Quest, so multiple people can share games on a single headset. These features were originally limited to the Quest 2, but Oculus is making good on its pledge to bring them to the Quest.
There’s a Files app coming with this update, and it’ll be located within your app library. Oculus says in its blog post that you’ll be able to download and upload media files “to and from your favorite websites” through the browser built into the headset. In other words, it should be a lot easier to upload content to social media sites other than Facebook.
The last couple of additions include an Infinite Office update that lets iOS users (using an iPhone 7 and newer, with Android support coming soon) see lock screen notifications from within a Quest headset. Oculus is also adding a shortcut for its Passthrough command to the user interface in the Quick Settings menu, giving you an alternative method of triggering it instead of physically double-tapping the side of your headset.
Lastly, Oculus will begin showing ads for VR experiences within the mobile app with the intent to broaden discovery for both developers looking for an audience and users to find new content. This could be useful for smaller developers who have built quality experiences but don’t have the awareness of more popular apps. That said, if you’re a curious Quest owner looking for new experiences, I suggest checking out SideQuest on PC or from an Android phone.
Faced with new competition from Apple, Amazon today announced that it will no longer charge an added fee for the “HD” tier of Amazon Music that lets customers stream audio at CD quality and above. From now on, lossless audio will be available to all Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers at no extra charge. Billboard was first to report the development.
This makes Amazon the first company to offer lossless music at the industry’s standard $9.99 subscription rate. Amazon Music Unlimited is even cheaper ($7.99 per month) for Prime customers. And yes, the high-quality audio will also now be available for customers paying that price. Family plans are eligible for Amazon Music HD at no added cost, but student plans are exempt. Before Amazon entered the picture, the going rate for a lossless music subscription was $19.99; that’s what Tidal continues to charge.
What’s making this change possible? Well, as Billboard points out, with all the music streaming heavyweights now going in on lossless audio, music labels care more about pushing up subscriber count totals across these services than the higher subscription premiums that they previously demanded for hi-res audio.
The price drop for Amazon Music HD comes on the very same day Apple announced the launch of lossless audio on Apple Music. Apple teased significant news over the weekend after rumors began swirling late last week about the possibility. The company’s Apple Music Android app spilled the details a bit early and signaled that an announcement could be imminent.
Amazon Music HD has been performing strongly for Amazon. A previous Billboard report said the service is up 100 percent year over year. The service offers over 70 million songs in CD quality, with over 7 million exceeding that and available in “ultra HD” quality.
The iOS app for conservative-leaning social media platform Parler is back in the Apple App Store today, after what the company says were “months of productive dialogue with Apple.”
“The entire Parler team has worked hard to address Apple’s concerns without compromising our core mission,” Parler interim CEO Mark Meckler said in a statement emailed to The Verge on Monday. “Anything allowed on the Parler network but not in the iOS app will remain accessible through our web-based and Android versions. This is a win-win for Parler, its users, and free speech.”
Parler, which bills itself as a free speech alternative to Facebook or Twitter, was banned by Apple, Google, and Amazon following the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol. The companies said Parler had not adequately handled violent threats and hateful content on its platform that encouraged the riot.
Apple reaccepted Parler last month, after initially rejecting its application for re-entry in March; Apple said at the time Parler still had “highly objectionable content,” including Nazi imagery and other hate symbols. Parler says its algorithm can now “automatically detect violent or inciting content, while still preserving user privacy. Such content has always violated Parler’s guidelines.”
Parler remains banned in Google’s Play Store, although users can still sideload the app on Android. Parler sued Amazon, which had provided the site’s web hosting, but the suit has so far not fared well in court.
As Meckler noted in his statement, Parler’s iOS app adheres to Apple’s requirements and “excludes some content that Parler otherwise allows,” the company said in a press release. “However, that content is still visible, at the user’s discretion, on the web-based and Android versions of the platform.”
After the January deplatforming, Parler struggled to resurface on the web. Former CEO John Matze said at one point even the company’s vendors and lawyers had “ditched” him. Matze was fired in February, he said, by a board that included Rebekah Mercer, of the prominent conservative Mercer family.
Microsoft is launching the personal version of Microsoft Teams today. After previewing the service nearly a year ago, Microsoft Teams is now available for free personal use amongst friends and families. The service itself is almost identical to the Microsoft Teams that businesses use, and it will allow people to chat, video call, and share calendars, locations, and files easily.
Microsoft is also continuing to offer everyone free 24-hour video calls that it introduced in the preview version in November. You’ll be able to meet up with up to 300 people in video calls that can last for 24 hours. Microsoft will eventually enforce limits of 60 minutes for group calls of up to 100 people after the pandemic, but keep 24 hours for 1:1 calls.
Microsoft Teams’ Together mode feature.Image: Microsoft
While the preview initially launched on iOS and Android, Microsoft Teams for personal use now works across the web, mobile, and desktop apps. Microsoft is also allowing Teams personal users to enable its Together mode — a feature that uses AI to segment your face and shoulders and place you together with other people in a virtual space. Skype got this same feature back in December.
Speaking of Skype, Microsoft hasn’t announced any plans to replace Skype with Microsoft Teams on the consumer side yet. Microsoft said it was “fully committed to Skype” last year when it launched the preview of this personal version of Microsoft Teams, but the rise of Zoom during the pandemic certainly highlighted Skype’s irrelevance amongst consumers.
As we noted last year, the personal version of Microsoft Teams is part of a broader effort by Microsoft to remain relevant with consumers after a series of exits from consumer-friendly services. Microsoft isn’t looking to compete with iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or other chat apps, but it’s clear Zoom is in the company’s sights after its huge rise with consumers during the pandemic.
If you’re interested in trying out Microsoft Teams for personal use, you can download the iOS, Android, or desktop apps, or simply head to Teams on the web and avoid downloading anything at all.
Barely two weeks after strong suggestions of an Apple Music Hi-Fi tier began circulating – an Apple offering to combat the hotly-anticipated Spotify HiFi – it seems we may not have to wait much longer.
Apple is said to be planning a new HiFi tier for its Apple Music streaming service (which some sources claim will coincide with the launch of its AirPods 3 true wireless earbuds) and a few clues have now been spotted within the Apple Music source code.
As noted by 9to5Mac, new references to ‘Lossless’ and ‘Hi Res Lossless’ have appeared within the source code of the Apple Music web app, as have the words ‘Dolby Audio’ and ‘Dolby Atmos’.
(Image credit: 9to5Mac (via Apple) )
These new mentions presumably indicate that tracks in Apple Music will soon be available in two higher-quality lossless formats. This corresponds with a report from 9to5Google, which claims that Apple Music for Android is readying support for two ‘lossless’ bit rates: 24-bit/48kHz and 24-bit/192kHz.
The strings in the Android app suggest that the highest quality lossless stream will consume up to 36MB of data for a single three-minute track – but there’s apparently no mention of Dolby Atmos or Dolby Audio in the code of Apple Music 3.6 for Android. To clarify: Apple had made a reference to both, in iOS 14.6 beta 1, but then removed any mention of a high-fidelity service in beta 2.
The mentions of ‘Dolby Atmos’ and ‘Dolby Audio’ in the Apple Music web app could mean that some songs will be labelled in this way and may support Apple’s Spatial Audio feature found in AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.
If high-quality streaming does indeed arrive with iOS 14.6 (set to drop in late May or early June) there’s every chance the Cupertino giant will beat arch rival Spotify to the punch.
MORE:
Try 30 Apple Music tips, tricks and features
Need new music? 10 Apple Music playlists to listen to right now
It seems Spotify HiFi is missing something – but will it matter?
Read up on the best music streaming services 2021: free streams to hi-res audio
Apple is teasing a major Apple Music announcement. “Get ready,” a post in the service’s Browse tab reads, “music is about to change forever.” Tapping the image reveals an animated video, though it just consists of the music streaming service’s logo spinning in place. The teaser, first reported by MacRumors, is believed to refer to Apple Music’s rumored lossless and hi-res music streaming features.
A launch of the new higher quality streaming is believed to be imminent after code referencing “Lossless” and “Hi Res Lossless” streaming tiers appeared in the service’s Android and web apps. According to code in the Android app, the lossless tier will support music streaming at 24-bit/48Hz (a small step up from regular CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz), while the hi-res lossless tier will stream at 24-bit/192 kHz.
Code in the Android app warns that these higher quality tiers will required more storage space and data to stream compared to existing quality. Apple Music’s current high quality tier consumes 6 MB of data for a 3-minute song, but this could rise to 36 MB with lossless, and 145 MB with hi-res lossless.
The benefit, of course, should be better sounding audio, similar to what’s already offered by the likes of Tidal, Amazon Music HD, and Deezer. Spotify has also announced its own lossless HiFi tier which is due to launch later this year.
As well as lossless and hi-res streaming, code snippets also include mentions of “Dolby Audio” and “Dolby Atmos,” 9to5Mac reports. The speculation is that the AirPods’ Spatial Audio features could be used in conjunction with Dolby’s surround sound technology.
Apple’s teaser doesn’t say when we should expect an official announcement, but some rumors suggest an announcement as early as Tuesday.
It appears that Leica has found a new mobile camera partner, following Huawei’s sanctions-induced retreat from the international smartphone market. Sharp just announced the Aquos R6 in Japan, and its Leica-branded lens sits in front of what is now the largest camera sensor on any phone.
The 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor is similar in specs to what you’d find in Sony’s high-end RX100 compact cameras. It’s only the second 1-inch sensor ever to make its way into a smartphone, and the first to make its way into a phone from an traditional phone manufacturer — Panasonic released the Android-powered CM1 back in 2014, but it wasn’t exactly a mainstream device. The closest any current phone gets to a 1-inch sensor is Xiaomi’s new Mi 11 Ultra, which has a 1/1.12-inch component behind the lens.
The f/1.9 “Summicron” lens is also much wider than on other phones’ primary cameras, with an equivalent focal length of 19mm — that’s in ultrawide territory. Oddly, it’s the only outward-facing camera on the R6, so you’ll need to use digital zoom for more conventional focal lengths. The camera bump also houses an LED flash and a time-of-flight sensor.
The Aquos R6’s other big feature is its display, which Sharp calls a Pro IGZO OLED. It’s a 6.6-inch 2,730 x 1,260 panel with a peak brightness of 2,000 nits and a variable refresh rate of 1 to 240Hz. Most Android phones to date haven’t been able to offer OLED displays with truly variable refresh rates that adapt to content in real time — this panel sounds like the most advanced available on any phone right now.
Elsewhere the R6’s specs are standard for a 2021 flagship: a Snapdragon 888, 12GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery. It’ll go on sale in June in Japan through carriers NTT Docomo and SoftBank. Pricing isn’t yet available.
The first project from Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata’s new studio JP Games will finally be released next month, the company has announced. The Pegasus Dream Tour is a mobile RPG themed around the Paralympic Games, the first game ever to carry the official Paralympics license. It was initially announced more than two years ago, but the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there’d been radio silence on the project ever since.
JP Games describes The Pegasus Dream Tour as an “avatar RPG” set in Pegasus City. You can create a character based on a selfie from your phone, and train them in various para-sports. The game features illustrated versions of nine real-world para-athletes who compete in sports like javelin, athletics, and wheelchair basketball. Popular Japanese robot cat mascot Doraemon is also included as a guide to Pegasus City.
Badminton player Rie Ogura, who is featured in The Pegasus Dream Tour. The athletes are illustrated by Japanese artist Godtail.
The teaser trailer doesn’t give too much information away about how The Pegasus Dream Tour will actually play, with very brief glimpses at the in-game action. The style and scope of the game appear to have changed quite a bit since its initial announcement, and Tabata suggests the Games’ delay altered the focus of the project.
“The format of The Pegasus Dream Tour, which was originally planned to be a “Para-Sports RPG” was switched to that of an “Avatar RPG” in the wake of the global pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Games,” Tabata says in a statement. “This is because I felt that the Tokyo Paralympics, which would be held after the postponement, could allow humanity to overcome their divisions and help bring our spirits together. No matter what the outcome of the Tokyo 2020 Games is, it is my wish that people everywhere will come and receive the positive energy that is abundant inside Pegasus City.”
The Pegasus Dream Tour will be available for iOS and Android on June 24th. It’s a free download with in-app purchases; JP Games says some of the profits will go to the Agitos Foundation, an organization that helps people with disabilities get involved in sports. Pre-launch registration for the game will open today.
After launching its Android app a week ago, social audio platform Clubhouse said Sunday it will roll out to more countries in the coming week. The Android app will be available in Brazil, Japan, and Russia on Tuesday, India and Nigeria by Friday, and the “rest of the world” throughout the week.
Android rollout continues!
Japan, Brazil & Russia coming Tuesday Nigeria & India on Friday AM Rest of world throughout the week, and available worldwide by Friday afternoon
— Clubhouse (@Clubhouse) May 16, 2021
For the first year, Clubhouse was only available on iOS devices. Despite its early limited access Clubhouse grew to 10 million users in its inaugural year, and was recently valued at $4 billion after a new funding round. Whether it can keep up that momentum remains to be seen, as competitors— Twitter’s Spaces, Discord’s Stage Channels, and other better-known social media platforms—enter the audio market.
Clubhouse remains invite-only and has been criticized for not providing automatic captions for Deaf and hard-of-hearing users. The platform has lately focused on creators, and recently announced the results of an accelerator program which will fund 50 audio Clubhouse shows. CEO Paul Davison said during the weekly Clubhouse town hall that next on the company’s roadmap are in-room tipping for creators, paid events, and subscriptions.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
