-_-Moltres-_-

Paramount has confirmed that an original Knuckles series is in development, and as in the second Sonic movie, Idris Elba will be the voice of the very serious (checks Google) echidna. Knuckles is an echidna? Talk about burying the lede. But yes, this is happening, and it will premiere in 2023 exclusively on Paramount Plus. That's a streaming service operated by Paramount, and among the company's other newly announced projects is a Dungeons & Dragons movie, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, and a new Star Trek series. No other details have been released, though I think you can safely assume it'll resemble the live action films, only with a focus on Elba's Knuckles, and in a serialised format. Oh, and despite the second Sonic film still being a few months away, a third movie has been confirmed. In a statement issued by the official Sonic Twitter account, SEGA CEO Haruki Satomi expressed his delight with the whole Sonic Cinematic Universe situation (thanks, Geoff Keighley). "We are delighted to announce that the third Sonic theatrical film and the first live action Sonic series for Paramount+ are being actively developed," Satomi said, along with a few other celebratory sentences, and the reminder that the Sonic Frontiers game is coming sometime "this holiday". Sonic Frontiers looks like it could be good, though people have been saying that about Sonic games for years, only for them to turn out bad (Sonic Mania being a notable exception). Still, Frontiers looks set to mess with the formula, at least: its trailer suggests an open world setting, and according to an early rumor, may even have 'Ubisoft towers'. As for that Sonic the Hedgehog film sequel, it's still scheduled to appear in cinemas this April.

OnePlus has started working on OxygenOS 13 as its next custom skin on top of Android. While the details about the new software version are yet to be revealed, OnePlus has announced an Open Ears Forum for February 28 where it will discuss the next-generation OxygenOS with its loyal customers. Last year, OnePlus announced that it will combine OyxgenOS with Oppo's ColorOS to build a unified operating system in 2022. The merger is projected to help “improve” user experience. Some rumours also suggested that the next OxygenOS version would be renamed as the H2OOS. Through a forum post, OnePlus has revealed the development of OxygenOS 13. “This is one of the biggest topics we've brought to Open Ears Forums to date, so don't miss this chance. Your feedback will be instrumental to shape one of our most important OS updates,” the company said in the announcement. The discussion will take place at 7:30pm HKT (5pm IST) on February 28. However, OnePlus has started taking applications from users who are interested in participating in the discussion. The application window for requesting participation in the discussion will be open until February 18, the company said. It has also created a dedicated online form that interested OnePlus users can fill in with their details to take a part in the discussion. Participants will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement if shortlisted to test OxygenOS 13 ahead of its public release. OxygenOS 13 should be based on Google's Android 13 that recently debuted as a developer preview. On top of Android, OnePlus may use its custom tweaks to deliver a distinct experience. For the last few months, OnePlus has been working towards merging OxygenOS with Oppo's ColorOS to build a unified operating system. The naming for the new operating system has not yet been revealed. A recent report claimed that Oppo and OnePlus postponed the release of their unified operating system.

Microsoft has released a new update for its PowerToys utility suite for Windows 10 and Windows 11, which may be one of the least exciting for a while. Microsoft’s PowerToys v0.55.2 is available for download now, but doesn't come with any new features or upgrades. Instead, it packs an important security update that addresses a security flaw discovered in the previous release. That means that even though it doesn't sound particularly interesting, PowerToys users should still install the update immediately to make sure their systems stay protected. "This is a patch release to fix issues in v0.55.1. due to an installer bug and .NET 5 doing an update for the runtime," the official changelog for the release reads. "We deemed (it) important for stability based on incoming rates." PowerToys users can install the update now by going to the Settings menu, then General > Updates > Check for updates. Although perhaps not a commonly-known app for most users, PowerToys allows Windows users the chance to optimize their software for maximum efficiency and productivity. PowerToys is an open source suite of tools for advanced Windows users, designed to help bypass certain settings and perform actions that are unavailable by default. It also offers a wider range of customization options. Since PowerToys was rebooted in 2019, Microsoft has serviced the suite regularly with new tools and features, a pattern extended with the latest release. This includes the recent inclusion of a mouse crosshair tool that lets users quickly identify the location of their cursor using a keyboard shortcut, and two new File Explorer add-ons that dramatically expand the number of file types supported by the preview pane, including support for 3D printers. A further PowerToys update earlier in 2022 also included several useful additions, including an "Always on Top" utility that allows users to toggle a window in focus to be on top with a quick press of Win + Ctrl + T. Microsoft also changed the hotkey to mute your webcam and microphone from Win + N to Win + Shift + Q to avoid conflict with an existing Windows 11 keyboard shortcut. The latest version of PowerToys is available via both the Microsoft Store and the GitHub page. Also check out our lists of the best business computers and best business laptops

In a rare bout of good news, graphics card pricing appears to be heading back down to normal levels. Numbers from 3DCenter.org that track the average of the best prices for the latest Ampere and RDNA2 graphics cards show a downward trend over the last three weeks, and it makes for an encouraging sign of things to come. Could we finally see cards return to normal MSRPs before we enter the summer? In the last three weeks, the average pricing for the best deals on AMD's RDNA 2 cards has fallen from 63% above the MSRP to just 45%, while Nvidia's cards have fallen from 77% above to just 57% above. Drops of 18% and 20% respectively. There are a couple of important caveats with these numbers, but don't let them be a buzz-kill to the idea that everything is going to be alright after all. These numbers were derived from major German and Austrian retailers, so aren't necessarily in line with other retailers around the globe. It's worth pointing out that the PC market in Germany is generally perceived to be in a healthy place, so don't write it off for that. The numbers are also impacted by recent releases. Both the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 were launched in January and are the cheapest cards of this generation for both camps—something that will obviously drive the average prices down. These do join fairly stacked families though, and this reduces their impact on those averages too. Will this trend continue? It's hard to be optimistic here, as prices looked similar to this back in July 2021, just before prices rose again, potentially caused by an increase in the value of ethereum leading to an increased demand for mining cards. Cryptocurrencies did crash towards the end of January, but it was a somewhat short downturn and since then they've bounced back, meaning that demand could be about to increase again. Here's hoping history doesn't repeat itself

Because there's nothing gamers like better than an inscrutable countdown, Capcom has kicked one off that's set to run for a whole week.What's it leading to? Aside from the inevitable server crash, there's no clear sign at this point—but there is speculation. The countdown page indicates days and hours remaining in a large white font on a dark, vaguely hazy background with a slowly pulsating light emanating from the top of the screen. Nothing about the imagery stands out (although die-hard Capcom fans might be able to discern something familiar in the font or color choice), and there are no telltale hints to be found in the page source either. Where does that leave us? As mentioned above, with speculation, which I actually like even more than countdowns. Some people think that a Street Fighter 6 announcement is in the offing, which seems reasonable: The finals for the Street Fighter 5 tournament Capcom Pro Tour are set to conclude on February 20, which is also when the countdown ends—although it'll bleed over into February 21 in some time zones. And it's about time for SF6 to happen. Street Fighter 5 is fully six years old now, and Capcom has indicated previously that it's looking ahead to "the future of Street Fighter." But there's also the possibility of a Resident Evil 4 remake, which fans continue to hold out hope for (and which would seem to be a better fit with the overall visual vibe of the countdown site), or the Resident Evil Village DLC (some of it, anyway) that was revealed last year. More outside bets seen on the Capcom subreddit include news about Dragon's Dogma 2, Pragmata, some Monster Hunter business (although that hardly seems worthy of a countdown), or a rebirth of Deep Down, a PS4-exclusive game announced in 2013 that's been trapped in development hell for years. I don't think any of those options are very likely but the fun thing about countdowns is, you just never know until 10-15 minutes after the clock hits zero. We'll update if Capcom drops any hints about what's in store over the week—or what it turns out to be when the countdown hits zero. (After the inevitable server crash, that is.)

The civil aviation ministry on Friday scrapped the requirement of drone pilot licence for operating drones in the country. The Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC) issued by a DGCA-approved drone school through the single window DigitalSky Platform shall be sufficient for operating a drone in India, according to an official. The official also said that no remote pilot certificate shall be required for operating a drone up to 2kg for non-commercial purposes. A notification amending Drone Rules has been issued by the ministry and the requirement of a drone pilot licence has been abolished with effect from February 11. The latest move comes days after the government banned import of drones with certain exceptions as part of efforts to promote domestic manufacturing of drones in the country. The ministry came out with liberalised drone rules in August 2021. After the rules, the ministry issued the drone airspace map and Product Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in September 2021, UTM policy framework in October 2021. Besides, drone certification scheme and single window DigitalSky Platform were put in place last month. Do Samsung's Galaxy S22 and Tab S8 series have any Android competition? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available

2021 was a fairly muted year for Apple’s wearables, with neither the Apple Watch 7 nor watchOS 8 being massive advances on their predecessors. So this year we’re hoping for bigger things on both the hardware and software front. We’ve detailed our hopes for the Apple Watch 8 elsewhere, but here we’re focused on watchOS 9 – the software that’s set to grace Apple’s next wearable, and that will be available as an update to many of the company’s older ones too. Below you’ll find our wish list for this upcoming update, along with information on when we’re likely to see it, and which Apple Watch models will be eligible to get it. We’ll also be adding watchOS 9 news and rumors to this article just as soon as we hear any. There’s no news yet on when watchOS 9 will launch, but we can take a very good guess. watchOS 8 was announced in June of 2021 at Apple's WWDC developer conference, then finally hit wrists in September, and Apple tends to follow a regular pattern. So we’d expect to get our first official look at watchOS 9 during WWDC 2022, which will probably take place in June. Then the finished version will likely launch in or around September, alongside the Apple Watch 8 and the iPhone 14. There’s no word on which wearables will be updated to watchOS 9 either, but everything from the Apple Watch 3 onwards can get watchOS 8, so we’d assume it will either be the same again, or – perhaps more likely – Apple will drop support for the Apple Watch 3, with only the Apple Watch 4 onwards getting watchOS 9. What we want to see There are a few things we really want to see from watchOS 9. They are as follows. 1. Better sleep tracking Sleep tracking is a fairly recent addition to watchOS, and so far, Apple hasn’t done much with it. The feature gives you very little in terms of insight or details, or tips on how to improve your sleep. It also doesn’t make good use of the Sp02 sensor (on models that have this). We noted in our Apple Watch 7 review that you won’t, for example, get an alert if your blood oxygen drops too much overnight – something which could be extremely useful to know from a health perspective. So we want Apple to make big advances to all its sleep tools with watchOS 9. 2. Improved workouts Apple does much better with workouts than sleep tracking, but the functionality still feels a bit basic on the software side. Take your Apple Watch out running for example and you won’t get things like heart rate alerts or interval sessions. Without these basic features, the Apple Watch can often feel like a more casual fitness companion than something suited to more serious athletes, and that’s a shame, so we want workouts to be improved with watchOS 9 as well. 3. More responsive Siri One issue our reviewer found when using the Apple Watch 7 was that Siri would only respond around 80% of the time when raising their wrist and speaking to it, and that’s just not quite good enough to make it a reliable way of interacting with the wearable. It’s not entirely clear whether this is a hardware or software issue, but we’d think Apple could make it more responsive with changes to the software, and we hope this happens. 4. Third-party faces While there are dedicated apps such as Facer that allow you to stick third-party faces on your Apple Watch, it’s not something the company makes easy. With watchOS 9 we’d like to see full support added for third-party faces, so that lots of creators jump on board, and finding and accessing these faces is as easy as for Apple’s own ones. 5. Support for the Apple Watch 3 It’s likely that Apple will cut off support to the Apple Watch 3 with this new software update, but we hope that it doesn’t. The longer devices get updates for, the longer they feel fresh and viable to use, so we like to see long-lasting support. Apple is actually pretty good on this front, but it can always do better, and with Samsung now promising four years of updates for its wearables, we want to see Apple offer at least five

Shank Mods on YouTube, best known for the project where he turned a GameCube controller into functioning Switch joy cons, has unveiled his latest project: cramming high-end gaming components into an infamous pair of children's computers from the late '90s. Back in 1999, Patriot Computer produced a line of pre-built Hot Wheels and Barbie-branded PCs for kids under license from Mattel. They were funky little machines, boasting colorful paint jobs and distinctly Y2K-era rounded, blobby design language. They also came with matching accessories like a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers. The Patriot Hot Wheels and Barbie PCs were also notoriously poorly designed, with underpowered components crammed into a small plastic enclosure with hardly any airflow to speak of. If that wasn't enough, the power supplies included in the units had a shockingly high failure rate. Despite the brand power at their disposal, production quickly ceased and Patriot went under. These computers have developed a bit of a reputation online since, I'm certainly compelled by their combination of '90s/aughts nostalgia and the absurd little story of their failure. Shank Mods was similarly captured by these weird little relics, and after acquiring both Barbie and Hot Wheels models and many of their accessories, set about turning them into secret gaming titans. The project was almost dead on arrival, with increased attention on the PCs from a Linus Tech Tips video leading eBay sellers to jack up their prices well beyond what these dinky little guys are actually worth. Thankfully, Shank Mods got an assist from PC vendor Microcenter in the form of an expanded budget to do the project justice. And do it justice he did. Shank equipped each PC with a Ryzen 9 5950X processor, and a RTX 3060 GPU. Now, cooling is a big challenge even in modern, well-built small form factor PCs, and all that high-end silicon immediately turned these stuffy plastic cases into sweltering ovens. Shank was able to reach acceptable, non-component-frying temperatures with the help of some massively supercharged case fans that left his rigs sounding like leaf blowers. With the builds sorted out, Shank used them to test out increasingly ludicrous multi-monitor setups on his Hot Wheels and Barbie CRTs, including a 3072x768 ultrawide configuration of Hot Wheels monitors and an astounding nine-CRT arrangement to play Minecraft. Shank Mods truly went above and beyond with this project, cramming a PC most gamers would be envious of into what are two of the least accommodating PC cases ever made. I certainly feel like a wimp for ever complaining about building in my old mini-ITX case. Now, finally, the flames on the side of the Hot Wheels rig accurately reflect just how fast it is.

If you used Cities: Skylines mods from a user known as Chaos or Holy Water, it's probably worth unsubscribing from them, as a post on the Cities: Skylines subreddit explains. Chaos uploaded a redesigned version of Harmony (a patching library originally created for RimWorld that is now a framework relied on by the modding communities of several games), following that with redesigned versions of other mods like Network Extensions and Traffic Manager that required Harmony (Redesigned) also be installed. And that's apparently where the trouble began. As a community moderator told the NME, one of the Chaos mods would set off fake error messages when it detected the original version of Harmony was running as a way of encouraging players to download Harmony (Redesigned). That mod, they went on to explain, contained an automatic updater that could, if players ran the game as an administrator, be used to remotely install "keyloggers, viruses, bitcoin mining software—literally anything." The mod also blocked access from Steam IDs belonging to other modders, well-known community members, and employees of developer Colossal Order, supposedly as a way of preventing its code from being examined. "What's been implemented would let him cryptolock a bunch of machines, create a botnet (and DDoS his enemies?) or mine cryptocurrency," the NME's source added. Valve had previously banned Chaos from Steam for doxxing members of the Cities: Skyline community, but he returned under the name Holy Water. That account has now been banned as well, and several of the mods removed from the Steam Workshop—though not all of them. The Reddit post includes an up-to-date list, as well as a guide to safely uninstalling and replacing the mods. Chaos has since returned to Steam a third time, and is now claiming to be the victim of a hate campaign organized by a Colossal Order community manager he calls the "Queen of the Trolls". He also says he found a keylogger built into Cities: Skylines that is "exfiltrating your data to Paradox Online Publishing Services".

Pro

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Samsung Galaxy A33 and Samsung Galaxy A53 have been spotted on SDPPI certification website in Indonesia, as per a report. These A-series smartphones have been in the news over the past few months because they have got certifications in various countries and leaked in renders. Meanwhile, Galaxy M23 has made it to the Bluetooth SIG website. Reports have suggested that the Galaxy M23 could be a rebranded Galaxy F23 handset that was recently spotted on Geekbench. Furthermore, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 alleged renders have also surfaced online. As per a report by MySmartPrice, Samsung Galaxy A33 and Galaxy A53 were spotted on SDPPI certification website with SM-A336E and SM-A536E model numbers. The certification does not delve out any information about the specifications of the handsets but suggests that they will be launched soon. Smartphones with these model numbers were previously spotted on Bluetooth SIG website tipping that they will come with Bluetooth v5.1. In fact, the Galaxy A33 and Galaxy A53 were also seen on Samsung website. Samsung Galaxy A33 5G specifications (expected) Samsung Galaxy A33 5G is tipped to sport a 6.4-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED display with hole-punch cutout, a 48-megapixel quad rear camera setup, a 13-megapixel selfie camera, a 5,000mAh battery, and an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G specifications (expected) The TENAA listing suggests that Samsung Galaxy A53 5G could sport a 6.46-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,400 pixels) AMOLED display with an under-display fingerprint sensor. The information about the SoC was provided by the alleged Geekbench listing, which suggested that the handset will be powered by an Exynos 1200 SoC paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G may come with a triple rear camera setup, headlined by a 64-megapixel primary camera. There could be a 32-megapixel secondary camera and a 5-megapixel tertiary camera. For selfies, the phone could pack a 32-megapixel camera and may come with a 5,000mAh battery. In another development, Samsung Galaxy M23 5G has reportedly cropped up on Bluetooth SIG platform with model numbers SM-E236B_DS and SM-M236B_DS. The listing suggests the phone will come with a Bluetooth v5. It is also spotted spotted on US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website with model number SM-M236B/DS. The listing suggests that the phone will come with a 25W changer that carries model number EP-TA800, and microSD card support. A previous report hinted that the Galaxy M23 phone could be a rebranded Galaxy F23 5G, which made it to the Geekbench listing last month. The phone is listed with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC, which could be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G SoC. The listing also says that the phone runs on Android 12 and packs 6GB of RAM. Meanwhile, alleged concept renders of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 have surfaced online. While one set of images have been shared by tipster Ben Geskin, the other set is leaked by Apple Lab. The image leaked by Geskin tip a Galaxy S22 Ultra-like quad camera setup. However, the ones shared by Apple Lab suggest a new design, larger screen, and a new camera system.

Google's plan to replace third-party cookies with its new Privacy Sandbox standards is one step closer to becoming a reality after receiving approval from the UK's competition regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that it has formally accepted the search giant's commitments regarding how it will develop its new standards in such a way that they don't impede competition or unfairly benefit Google's advertising business. In a press release, chief executive at the CMA, Andrea Coscelli explained that while the regulator has approved Google's new set of standards, it will still be keeping a 'close eye' on the search giant as it develops these proposals, saying: “The commitments we have obtained from Google will promote competition, help to protect the ability of online publishers to raise money through advertising and safeguard users’ privacy. While this is an important step, we are under no illusions that our work is done. We now move into a new phase where we will keep a close eye on Google as it continues to develop these proposals. We will engage with all market participants in this process, in order to ensure that Google is taking account of concerns and suggestions raised.” After abandoning its original FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) proposal, Google recently introduced a substitute called Google Topics that will serve ads to users based on broad interest categories as opposed to using granular and often more sensitive data collected by third-party cookies. Now that the CMA has formally accepted the company's commitments, they have become legally binding and Google has said that it will apply them globally. As part of these commitments, the company will develop its Privacy Sandbox proposals in a way that's transparent and it will also publish test results. Google has also confirmed that it won't remove third-party cookies from Chrome until the CMA gives the all clear that its new alternatives don't raise any competition concerns. At the same time, the search giant won't share data within its business in a way that is unfair and gives it an edge over its competitors. There is still some time left until Google phases out third-party cookies in Chrome as the company plans to put its Privacy Sandbox standards in place by the end of next year. However, other browsers such as Firefox and Safari have already decided to block third-party cookies outright.

I used to be afraid of wireless gaming mice because of the threat of poor battery life and noticeable input lag, but those aren't an issue anymore, especially not in one of our favorite ones. The Razer Viper Ultimate has a surprisingly long battery life compared to other impressive wireless gaming mice, and it has a super fast 0.2ms latency. The white version (with charging dock) is at a $13 discount right now, which puts it at its lowest price in a month—pick it up while you can save a few bucks. The Razer Viper Ultimate is a lightweight wireless gaming mouse that can last up to 70 hours on a single charge. The included charging dock can bring it to full charge in two hours, which is surprisingly fast. Its 74g chassis puts it in competition with some of our favorite light gaming mice. It's ambidextrous too, if you find other mice uncomfortable. The only downside is that it doesn't have any fancy RGB on it, though the charging dock has a strip on the bottom. Razer Viper Ultimate (White) | Wireless | 20,000 DPI | 70-hour battery life | 8 buttons | Ambidextrous | 74g| $149.99 $85.96 at Amazon (save $64) The Razer Viper Ultimate is one of our favorite wireless gaming mice because of its whopping 70-hour battery life. It comes with a dock that can charge it to full in two hours. This mouse is extremely light weight too. At full price it's a great buy, but it's even better if you can save a few dollars. The worst part of the mouse we found in our review is that its left and right mouse buttons can be kind of flimsy. It's probably because of how the mouse was designed. When you make an ultra-light mouse, you tend to sacrifice the thicker parts and components that give other mice their heft. It's unlikely the mouse will shatter in your hand, but if you're rough with it, you might see issues. The sale price right now puts the mouse down to the usual price it drops to. It tends to go back up to $99.99 and stay there for a few weeks. So if you're in the market for a new gaming mouse or want to upgrade, this is the time to pick one up while you can save a little bit of money.

Lost Ark's launch didn't quite go as planned Friday morning: just 15 minutes before it was meant to go live for everyone, the launch was delayed due to server deployment issues, which ended up stretching throughout much of the day. About six hours after that last-minute pivot Lost Ark's servers finally came online, and there were apparently close to a million people waiting to smash that login button. Within a couple hours of its debut Lost Ark cracked into the top five all-time concurrent playercount hall of fame on Steam with a peak of 984,111. It narrowly beat its Amazon Game Studios sibling New World, which peaked with 913,634 players in October. New World dropped to sixth place on the list, according to the stats collected by SteamDB. It's a hell of a debut for Lost Ark, considering the MMO was originally released in Korea more than two years ago. It certainly helps that it's free-to-play. Considering the launch day server troubles, this may not be all the gas it has in the tank—Lost Ark seems like it has a shot at cracking a million concurrent players over the weekend and passing Cyberpunk 2077 on the record list at 1,054,388. Beyond Cyberpunk, even Valve's own Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 are within striking distance with all-time peaks of around 1.3 million. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is going to be a lot harder to beat, though—it still holds the record with a commanding 3.3 million back in 2018. If you're jumping in yourself, check out our guides to Lost Ark's classes, a complete list of the Lost Ark servers to choose from and some tips for customizing Lost Ark's controls

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Google and Samsung are on a move to take on Apple's SharePlay feature by introducing live sharing to the video-calling app Google Duo. The feature will debut on the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8 series where users will be able to watch videos and view an online whiteboard together. The development was announced by Google as a part of the Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event. Samsung's new flagship phones are also getting YouTube previews support in Messages to deliver an upgraded experience. Using live sharing support, Google said that users on the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8 series will be able to brainstorm ideas on whiteboard app Jamboard as well as share ideas and images in Samsung Notes and Gallery, watch videos on YouTube, or search for locations on Google Maps. Engadget reports that in addition to the latest Samsung devices, Google Pixel phones will also get live sharing support on Google Duo. Exact details about which Pixel models will receive the support are yet to be revealed. Gadgets 360 has reached out to Google for this clarity and will update this space when the company responds. The list of supported apps for live sharing is not long at this moment. However, it certainly shows that Google and Samsung are trying to copy SharePlay that Apple introduced in iOS 15.1 last year. SharePlay works in the FaceTime app to let you watch movies and shows with your friends on the Apple TV app, listen to your favourite album or playlist on Apple Music, or even send what you are watching through the Apple TV integration. Interestingly, Google doesn't have YouTube as a part of the apps being supported by SharePlay. It, thus, makes sense for the Android maker to take on Apple with its own offering on at least Samsung devices at the initial stage. Users who don't own one of the latest Samsung phones or tablets or the eligible Pixel phones will not be able to share their content via Google Duo. However, they will still be able to watch or view the content that has been shared by users on any of the supported devices. For some time, Google Duo has allowed users on Android 8 and up to share their screen to show photos and videos appearing on their devices with others. The new experience, though, comes as an upgrade as users will get a dedicated live sharing menu when they make a new Duo call on a Samsung device. Google is also bringing YouTube previews to Messages for the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8 series. This will allow users to preview YouTube videos directly in their conversations to decide whether they want to watch them now or later. If they want to do so now, the users can tap again to play the video, without leaving the chat. Engadget says that the video preview feature will eventually be available to all Android phones, except the ones based on Android Go. The Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8 series also come preloaded with Voice Access to let users control their devices using voice commands. Voice Access can be set to start by saying, “Hey Google, Voice Access” on the phone. Google is also upgrading Wear OS for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 by improving its setup process and bringing Google Assistant support. Additionally, the Galaxy Watch 4 and other Wear OS devices will be getting Wi-Fi and LTE streaming support to help them listen to new songs even when their phone is not in proximity. Why are Galaxy S21 FE and OnePlus 9RT launching now? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

For many users, the menu bar on their Mac sits there, a little unloved, as a necessary but barely used part of macOS. But Apple wants to make the menu bar a useful part of your productivity workflow. And that’s why developers offer a range of ways that you can use the menu bar as a versatile tool. We’ve looked at one of these options from Apple - shortcuts - before. There’s an enormous variety of apps that you can add to your menu bar. Depending on whether they are for work or personal use, you can usually find a tool to meet your needs. We’ve highlighted a few to get you started, but there are thousands more for you to explore on the App Store. They are a great way to save time and effort and make the most of the customization afforded to you by macOS. The menu bar is much more customizable than some may realize. Found at the top of macOS, it’s the equivalent to parts of the taskbar found in Windows 11. Beyond looking at the time and connecting to your Wi-Fi, menu bar apps offer a wealth of different functions that, by placing them on the menu bar, can cut out additional steps that an app currently does for your needs. Many of these can help with boosting your workflows and productivity. Instead of trawling through the Applications folder to select a single function from one app, you can just click on the app in the menu bar. While it seems incredibly simple, these can transform your workflow on your Mac, while offering you far more control over how you organize your desktop. Free to download on the Mac App Store, Quick View does what it says on the tin. Instead of having to open your desired Calendar app from the dock to check a date, you can go to your menu bar and be greeted with a calendar, ready to browse. Not only does Quick View only give you a monthly view, but it also allows you to display the number of the week if you need that shown. There are no other features here - it displays the date and that’s it, but it's the ease of use here that really shines. You may be browsing in Safari to check for an upcoming event for instance, and with a quick hover over your menubar with your mouse, you can check Quick View for the relevant information, without leaving the web browser. As it’s free on the Mac App Store, you can try it for a week and see if it fits your workflow. So far, Apple hasn’t brought out a feature that allows you to view the battery status of your devices on your Mac. Alongside this, it can be a challenge in connecting your AirPods peripheral to your Mac, as there are moments where they’ll connect to your iPhone without realizing it. This is where AirBuddy 2 comes in. Created by Gui Rambo, the app allows you to easily check the battery status of your AirPods by clicking the AirPods case on your menu bar, which will display the status of your devices. They do need to be connected to your Mac first, but after this one-time requirement, they’ll show. There are also other helpful features once these are connected to your Mac. You can change the noise cancellation setting through a keyboard shortcut or connect them to a nearby device without you doing anything else. Update 2.5 also adds a number of new features; the most significant being the fact that AirBuddy will now work with non-Apple or Beats devices when they are connected to the Mac. For a one-time fee of $9.99 / £10.99 / AU$ 11.99, AirBuddy expands how you can connect your wireless Apple devices to your Mac without simply connecting and disconnecting them from the Bluetooth menu. We live in a world where video calls are everywhere. Whether it’s Zoom, FaceTime, or Skype, video calling happens regularly in our work and social lives. And we’ve probably all been in that situation where we need to join into a video meeting and your hair isn’t done, or the family dog has knocked over a plant in the background. Free to download on the Mac App Store, This is where Hand Mirror comes in, without the additional steps that are often required in many video-conferencing apps. It’s a simple app that doesn’t do much else, but it achieves exactly what it sets out to do. With one click, you can make sure that you and your environment are set up exactly as you want before joining that call. With the numerous distractions of rolling news, social media and other notifications on your Mac, a simple to use timer app is a great productivity tool to give you control of how you use your time more effectively. Flow is based on the Pomodoro Technique, which is where you focus on a discrete task for a set amount of time, before taking a short break. Flow helps this by providing a simple timer in your menu bar, so you can see at a glance how long you have left before your next break. You can set the duration of both your periods of focus and the length of your breaks, to fully customize the balance of work and rest. It also allows you to block apps on your Mac, to further minimize distractions. If you pay for the Pro version at $1 / £1 / AU$1 a month, or a lifetime license for $20 / £20 / AU$20, you can also block specific websites. As productivity apps for the menu bar go, this is a great option. Clean, simple to use, and even has a Dark Mode theme. Most of us have been in that situation where you want to use a particular feature on your Mac, only to find yourself having to navigate through menus and submenus while being fairly sure there is a simple keyboard shortcut. This is where CheatSheet comes in to alleviate that frustration. Free to download, CheatSheet provides you with a list of keyboard shortcuts for whichever app you are using at that particular time. Being able to quickly access a reference sheet can save you enormous amounts of time, especially for repetitive tasks. Perhaps ironically, the more you use it, the less you will need to use it, as you will start to remember the most frequently used shortcuts. And pretty soon, you’ll stop having to switch from keyboard to mouse and back again. Perhaps you’re a power user, or maybe you just love seeing the inner workings of your Mac. Either way, iStat Menus 6 will throw more information than you could ever need at you. As a system monitoring app, this tells you exactly how your computer is performing: CPU and GPU monitoring, memory stats, memory usage, temperatures, disk usage, and battery levels can all be viewed from the menu bar with just a few icons. This level of detail doesn’t come for free, however. But for a one-off cost of £8.99 / $8.99 / AU$8.99 from the Mac App Store, or $14.39 / £13.49 / AU$14.99 directly from iStat, which also includes 6 months of weather data, you're getting an awful lot of information. It’s also highly customizable, so you can choose exactly what information you want to see, and how it looks. Everyone needs a little downtime, and when used in conjunction with the Flow timer, what could be better than five minutes playing Minesweeper as a short break? Minesweeper is a very simple but highly addictive game that involves clearing a grid of mines as quickly as you can. The simplest premise for a game can fit perfectly on your menu bar. Free to download from the Mac App Store, it sits on your menu bar, ready to take your attention away for when you're struggling with ideas. This sits on your menu bar unobtrusively, and with one click, you can start playing. It’s a perfect game when you have a few minutes free for a quick break. Free to download from the Mac App Store, this tool is particularly useful for designers and developers. ColorSlurp allows you to choose the exact colors you need with accuracy and precision, thanks to a quick overview in the menu bar of what color it’s identified, and you can copy this into your photo editing app of choice thanks to the magnifier tool. Being able to have complete control over your color palette is ideal for graphic designers, website developers, and others. Most importantly, it’s an enormous time-saver and a more accurate method for selecting your colors compared to having to use screenshots to pick out colors. With the previous apps we’ve mentioned, your menu bar may be starting to look a little cluttered if you've decided to install them all. With this in mind, we suggest Bartender 4, an award-winning app that allows you to decide which items on your menu bar are displayed. Available to download as a free trial and to buy for £13.91 / $15.99 / AU$16.49, you can customize the spacing between menu bar items, and make use of the bar to access your hidden items, especially if you have a lot of menu bar apps and shortcuts. It also offers a quick search function to allow you to find menu bar apps via your keyboard. It’s a great way to keep your menu bar tidy and organized. It would be remiss of us to compile a list of menu bar apps without mentioning the one that comes pre-installed on macOS. Control Center is the macOS equivalent of the iOS feature of the same name, which first appeared in macOS Big Sur back in 2020. It sits unobtrusively in your menu bar, available for you to control a host of options. This tool gives you control over a number of what might be considered ‘essentials’ such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Airdrop. Brightness and volume levels can also be adjusted from here, as well as media controls for any content you're playing in the background. Finally, there are options for Focus mode and Screen Mirroring. You can also add Accessibility Shortcuts if you wish. This one may be preloaded, but it’s a feature that you’ll find yourself using more often than usual, mainly because it offers many useful functions, all in one location.