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Review: Resident Evil 4 VR is an amazing remake of an all-time classic

20 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

You’ve played Resident Evil 4 before, but never quite like this.

When Resident Evil 7 came to PSVR, its first-person gameplay and up-in-your-face jumpscares translated seamlessly into VR — even if you had to use a traditional controller. By comparison, Resident Evil 4’s over-the-shoulder shooting and QTE-heavy cutscenes didn’t seem like they would translate well to VR. Worse, its graphics appeared to lack the polish of the recent RE4 HD ports.

Thankfully, my concerns have mostly been laid to rest: Resident Evil 4 is an absolute joy to play on the Oculus Quest 2. Developer Armature Studios rebuilt the game to work in first-person, with seamless shooting mechanics, UI changes, new mechanics for interacting with the world, and even changed how Ashley (your notorious companion) behaves. It lacks the high-res visuals of more contemporary titles like Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, but fans of this classic will feel fully immersed.

You’re paying $40 for a 16-year-old game that you’v…

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Apple Music’s Siri-exclusive sub is iOS only, but expect Android imitators

20 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

Trusting AI to know you better than you know yourself.

Apple made a big splash during Monday’s MacBook Pro event. Whatever you think of Apple, its upgraded M1 Pro/ Max silicon looks stunningly powerful, and its 3rd-gen AirPods will be a hit with audiophiles. But the weirdest announcement came right at the start when Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a new, Siri-dependant music streaming option.

Apple Music Voice is a $4.99/month subscription that gives you access to the service’s full 90-million-song catalog, ad-free. However, unlike standard Apple Music, you can’t use a touchscreen to select or search for songs. Instead, you have to ask Siri to find a song or playlist for you.

You’ll get access to “tens of thousands of playlists, including hundreds of brand new mood and activity playlists, personalized mixes, and genre stations; as well as the award-winning Apple Music Radio.” But unlike with standard Apple Music, you can’t create your own playlists, download music for offline listeni…

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The OnePlus 9RT will take the 9T’s place this year. Here’s what we know

18 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

OnePlus’s latest smartphone combines power with surprising affordability.

The OnePlus 9R

OnePlus has no plans to release a mainstream T phone this year. Instead, it has launched the OnePlus 9RT, a slight variation on the mid-range OnePlus 9R that shipped earlier this year. Likely OnePlus’s final major phone of 2021, the 9RT is worth considering — if you live somewhere where it’s available.

OnePlus has released a T-model phone every fall from 2016 to 2020, offering similar specs to that year’s main flagship, plus some slight variations that often ended up in next year’s flagship. OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei chose the naming scheme to emulate the iPhone S-series, except that S + One(Plus) = T.

But recently, OnePlus started shipping its phones in more markets, therefore making its lineup more complicated. “Pro” phones appeared in 2019, followed by a surge of mid-range phones like the OnePlus Nord 2 and budget handsets like the OnePlus Nord N200 5G. Then, of course, there was the 9R,…

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Pixel Pass could beat Apple One, but doesn’t play to Google’s strengths

17 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

The Pixel 6 may last for five years, but Pixel Pass proves Google would rather you move on.

Google will officially unveil the Pixel 6 in just a couple of days. At this point, just about everything that can be leaked about the phone has been leaked, with enough info remaining consistent across the rumors that there should few surprises in store on Tuesday. But one recent leak about an upcoming “Pixel Pass” subscription had the Android Central Slack buzzing.

Assuming it’s real — and the marketing materials found by Brandon Lee of This is Tech Today look authentic — Pixel Pass will be like an Apple One subscription, a Samsung Access subscription, and a carrier plan all rolled into one. It will give you a “Pixel phone with the promise of regular upgrades,” plus access to a Google Fi network plan, YouTube Premium, Google One cloud storage, Play Pass games and apps, and an extended phone warranty.

Pixel Pass: This appears to be a blend of the iPhone upgrade plan where you can get a …

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Why Google Assistant and Alexa have an unbeatable lead on Siri

15 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

Voice assistants follow the Sith Rule of Two, apparently.

When people compare iOS vs. Android, Siri is a consistent thorn in Apple’s side, paling in comparison to the competence and utility of Google Assistant. Siri’s limitations seemingly haven’t hurt iPhone or Apple Watch sales, but they certainly ensure that HomeKit isn’t a particularly popular smart home platform. Meanwhile, Assistant makes searches or activating smart devices easy on any Android phone regardless of the manufacturer.

Given its reputation now, it’s easy to forget that Siri blew away tech reporters at launch in 2011 and that other companies like Google scrambled to put out their own competitors for years afterward. The Verge recently published an interesting expose into what went wrong with Siri and how Apple squandered its lead in the voice assistant sphere.

What interests me — more than dunking on Apple (or Samsung and Microsoft for that matter) for any voice assistant failings — is determining what Google…

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Worried about iPad mini 6 display defects? Here are some alternatives.

11 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

The iPad mini 6 (2021) was one of the most promising devices to emerge from the September Apple Event, but recent iPad mini display distortions and jelly scrolling issues have made us uncertain of its long-term durability. So if you’re looking for the best iPad mini alternatives, look no further. We’ll help you find your best iOS or Android substitutes, from tablets to foldables.

Best overall iPad Mini alternative: iPad Air 2020

While we have plenty of great Android tablets to recommend as alternatives, the best surrogate for an iPadOS tablet is obviously another iPad. And in most areas, the iPad Air 2020 will check the boxes you looked for in the iPad mini.

The latest iPad Air is less than a year old and still holds its own as one of the best mid-range tablets today. Compared to the mini, its lightning-fast A14 Bionic chip (only one gen behind the iPad mini’s) performs as fast as any tablet we’ve tested. Its retina display has fewer pixels per inch (264 vs. 326), but it has the…

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What is Alexa Together and how is it different from Alexa Care Hub?

11 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

Best answer: Alexa Together is a $20 per month subscription (with a six-month free trial) that uses Echo devices to monitor and check in on elderly loved ones, including access to a 24/7 Urgent Response team. It replaces and incorporates Alexa Care Hub, a free service with Alexa-based monitoring but fewer professional tools.

Alexa Care Hub: (Formerly) free peace of mind

In November 2020, Amazon launched Alexa Care Hub, a service meant “to help aging customers maintain independence and provide assurance to family members.” In essence, it tied two Echo Dots, Echo Shows, or other Echos together so that children of elderly parents could check in on them at any time.

Once connected, the parent’s Echo device would track their activities during the day, alerting the remote caregiver when it first receives a request or if it doesn’t detect any action by a certain time. When a loved one uses Alexa, the caregiver will have access to their activity feed, but not specific requests. For instan…

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Pixel 6 Pro leak shows how the phone is made in reverse teardown video

8 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

At this point, what hasn’t been leaked about the Pixel 6?

What you need to know

A leaked YouTube video shows the painstaking process of how a factory worker constructs a Pixel 6 Pro.
The video shows the internal components of the Pixel 6 Pro, including the camera module and battery.
A second video shows how to safely tear down the Pixel 6 Pro, which third-party repairers could try to emulate.

Now that we know that Google will announce the Pixel 6 on October 19, you can wait patiently to find out its official specs and design…or check out any of the huge number of Pixel 6 leaks that keep appearing.

The latest leak gives us a break from the endless specs speculation. Instead, it appears to show how the Pixel 6 is actually made. Presumably filmed by a factory worker who took a Pixel 6 Pro and his assembly tools home, the video shows a step-by-step process for how someone could put a Pixel together, given the right tools. 9to5Google first spotted the video.

With cutesy music…

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S8: Everything we know so far

7 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

Can Samsung’s upcoming Ultra tablet compete against the iPad Pro?

Among the best Android tablets available today, the only real toss-up is between the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and its upgrade, the Galaxy Tab S7+. But considering both tablets are about a year old with aging chipsets, we’re eagerly anticipating when the new Galaxy Tab S8 will arrive.

The last few Galaxy Tab S tablets were announced and launched in late summer, but Samsung is taking its time with the S8 series. This could be due to recent chip shortages, or because Samsung allegedly plans to release three new tablets this round, including a Tab S8 “Ultra” version that could go toe-to-toe with the iPad Pro in size and performance.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 likely won’t arrive until next year, around the launch of the Galaxy S22. Is the S8 worth waiting for, or should you snatch up an S7 on sale now? To help you decide, here’s everything we know about its potential release date, price, specs, and software.

Jump to:

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Android 12 is coming: Here’s the latest info on when your phone will get it

6 10 月, 2021 Michael L Hicks 0

We break down which phones will get Android 12 and our best-educated guesses as to when.

Android 12 is here … sort of. The Android team released the final Android 12 source code. But for the first time in recent memory, the Android 12 build didn’t release same-day on Pixels, so we have longer to wait than expected.

Other manufacturers are using the final source code to go full steam ahead with their own betas. The first Samsung One UI 4 beta has begun, as has the initial OxygenOS 12 beta. But because Android 12 took longer than any other software release before it, your flagship phone could take longer than average to get a non-beta update.

You’re here to determine which of the best Android phones will get Android 12 — and when. Unfortunately, companies haven’t officially announced this information yet, and it will depend on how long it takes to iron out bugs in their respective betas. But we can extrapolate from previous years what to expect. Generally speaking, recent fl…