PUBG: New State is a modern take on the original game, coming soon to Android and iOS

A brand new PUBG mobile game has been announced, expanding the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds universe. PUBG: New State is a modernized version of the famous battle royale shooter set in the year 2051. PUBG Studio, the original creator of PUBG available on PC and consoles, is developing the new mobile game, unlike PUBG Mobile, which Chinese tech giant Tencent developed. The game is currently listed on the Google Play Store for pre-registration.

The most obvious question that you might have is – Will it launch in India? Even though the game is currently listed on the Google Play Store for pre-registration, it remains unavailable for residents in India, most likely due to the ongoing ban on PUBG Mobile. Previous attempts of launching PUBG Mobile India, a dedicated game for the Indian audience, have failed, with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) being firm on its decision to ban any mobile game even closely related to PUBG. Having said that, there appears to be no involvement of any major Chinese entities in this new game, so there is a small probability that we might see the game launch in India sometime in the future. Of course, this is just speculation at this time.

PUBG: New State indeed looks like a new take on the original mobile battle royale game and will continue to have the 100 player lobby. A new trailer for the game gives a glimpse of the brand new battle royale which seems like a cross between Call of Duty and Apex Legends with a dash of Cyberpunk 2077. The game includes improved graphics, enhanced weapons as well as new futuristic tech. There is a new map called Troi, and you can also see some familiar vehicles with revamped looks, new tactical equipment, and of course, the famous cast-iron skillet pan.

Check out the trailer of PUBG: New State below:

PUBG: NEW STATE (To be announced, Google Play) →

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Samsung Galaxy Buds Live receive hearing enhancement feature with latest update

Shortly after launching the Galaxy Buds Pro earlier this year, Samsung rolled out an update for its latest pair of TWS earbuds with a new hearing enhancement feature. The feature allowed users to adjust the L/R sound balance for the earbuds, making it quite useful for people with different levels of hearing loss in each ear. Samsung is now rolling out the hearing enhancement feature to the Galaxy Buds Live with their latest software update.

According to a recent post by Reddit user u/apopheniac01, Samsung has started rolling out a new software update (version: R180XXU0AUB5/R180XXU0AUB5) to the Galaxy Buds Live. The update measures just 2.2MB in size, and it includes a couple of new features and stability improvements. As per the changelog, the new features include Auto Switching support, a Hearing aid feature, and a Buds control menu in Bluetooth settings.

The Hearing aid feature mentioned in the changelog is the same as the hearing enhancement feature that rolled out to the Galaxy Buds Pro earlier this year. It will let you adjust the L/R sound balance on the Galaxy Buds Live. Along with the Hearing Aid feature, the update brings support for Auto Switching, which will let users seamlessly switch between Galaxy smartphones/tablets running One UI 3.1 or above. Finally, the new Buds control menu in Bluetooth settings gives you easy access to a number of Galaxy Buds Live settings right in the Bluetooth menu.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Review: Tasty design with room for improvement

As mentioned earlier, the latest Galaxy Buds Live update with all these new features has already started rolling out to users. In case you haven’t received it yet, it should roll out to your device in the coming days. Do note that some of the new features are only supported on Samsung Galaxy phones running One UI 3.1, and they won’t be available on devices running older versions of the software.

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“OK Google” hotword has been broken for months for Wear OS users, Google says a fix is coming

If your Wear OS smartwatch has suddenly stopped responding to the “OK Google” command, you’re not alone. It appears that the Google Assistant voice commands have been broken for the last few months. Reddit threads and Google Issue Tracker pages are filled with Wear OS users complaining about not being able to use the OK Google hot word to trigger the Assistant.

Although users can still trigger the Assistant manually from their watch, having to navigate to the Assistant app on a tiny screen of a smartwatch or long-pressing the crown is understandably far less convenient than simply saying OK Google or Hey Google. Some users were able to have the functionality restored by downgrading the Google app on their Watch OS to an older version. Some users also report that they’re unable to use the Continued Conversation feature in the manual mode.

It’s unclear exactly when and how this issue popped up. There are reports going as far back as June, so it’s definitely not something that was caused by the last major Wear OS update.

Google has at least acknowledged the issue in a statement to The Verge, saying the company is “aware of the issues some users have been encountering” and will help its partners “address these and improve the overall experience.” However, it remains unclear when it will be rolled out.

Still, it’s disappointing that the Wear OS ecosystem’s fundamental functionality has been broken for this long, and Google has yet to fix it. It also shows the overall hopeless state of Wear OS and Google’s unheeding attitude towards it. Here’s hoping the situation will change for good after Google’s acquisition of Fitbit.

In the meantime, if you own a Wear OS smartwatch and are affected by the issue, consider visiting this Google Issue Tracker page and star the issue.

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Good Lock’s Task Changer now supports Google’s swipe gestures

Samsung rolled out Good Lock 2021 earlier this year for devices running One UI 3.0 based on Android 11. The updated customization suite initially came with a couple of updated modules, which featured a few new changes and improvements. Over the last few weeks, Samsung has updated several more modules to work with the latest Good Lock release. However, Samsung didn’t update the popular Task Changer module for One UI 3.0 and above.

We recently learned that Samsung had integrated the Task Changer module into the Home Up module, giving users the option to customize both One UI Home and the Recent Apps screen with one module. Now, according to a recent post by u/omgitzmo on Reddit, the Task Changer implementation in the Home Up module has received support for Google’s swipe gestures.

Task Changer 2021: The madlads over at Good Lock finally done it!! Task Changer is finally compatible with Google’s swipe gesture animation. It’s kinda buggy rn, it runs at like 30FPS choppy smoothness but this is progress! from r/galaxys10

As you can see in the attached video, you can now use Google’s swipe gestures to access Task Changer’s customized Recent Apps screen. Although the animations are a bit choppy at the moment, it’s great to see that Samsung hasn’t completely given up on the Task Changer module. In case you wish to try out the new implementation on your Samsung device running One UI 3.0 or later, you can follow these steps:

• Install the latest version of the Home Up module by following this link.
• Update to the latest One UI Home release by following this link.
• Enable Google’s swipe gesture implementation by heading over to Settings > Display > Navigation bar.
• Open the Home Up module and enable Task Changer.
• Select your preferred Layout Type.

In case you’re using the stock One UI launcher, you should now be able to access the customized Recent Apps screen using swipe gestures. However, if you’re using a third-party launcher, you’ll need to perform a couple of additional steps:

• Navigate to Settings > Apps > Choose default apps.
• Tap on the Home app option and select One UI Home as the default launcher.
• Follow the steps mentioned above to enable Task Changer.
• Head to the Choose default apps settings again and switch back to the third-party launcher of your choice.

Task Changer should now work as intended with Google’s swipe gestures. Do note that several users in the aforementioned Reddit thread have pointed out that the current implementation isn’t smooth, and you might experience issues while using a third-party launcher. Samsung may address these issues in a future release.

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Best Xbox Series S accessories: Rechargeable Battery Kit, Razer Wolverine V2 and more!

Microsoft’s new gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X and the Series S have started selling worldwide, even though your ability to actually purchase one may remain questionable. Both the new consoles mark a solid leap for the Xbox brand as they bring well-needed upgrades in the hardware as well as software capabilities. While the Xbox Series X is the larger, more powerful console, the Xbox Series S primarily targets gamers who don’t want to spend a lot but still want to play the latest Xbox titles with enhanced visuals. Considering its low price tag of $299, and the fact that we have tested the smaller console, we are confident that you should invest some extra money in accessories. We aren’t saying that you have to, but if you want an overall better experience, then you definitely need to go through our list below:

Xbox Rechargeable Battery + USB-C Cable kit

The new Xbox Series S comes with the same new Xbox wireless controller as the Xbox Series X. It is pretty similar to the last-gen but only with an extra sharing button and enhanced vibration feedback. Sadly, the company bundles the controller with standard AA batteries, which are going to die-out soon. So unless you want to buy a bunch of batteries, you can rely on the Xbox rechargeable battery kit. It comes with its own USB-C cable for charging, in case you don’t have one at home and you can even charge it using the front USB port on the console itself.

Xbox Rechargeable Battery + USB-C Cable

If you don't want to spend money on new AA batteries for your Xbox controller, then you need to get a rechargeable battery pack.

$55 on Amazon

Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S

One of the biggest complaints we have about the Xbox Series S is that it currently only comes in a 512GB storage model. A total of 364GB is available for you to download games. This essentially means that you won’t be able to download and store more than 6-8 games at a time. Microsoft did announce a special storage expansion card for the new Xbox consoles. It does cost you more than a fast external SSD, but it is notable that the proprietary card (also being made by Seagate) comes with the same performance and speed as the internal SSD. This means that it will support the console’s new Quick Resume feature along with faster load times. Currently, the Xbox storage expansion card is available with only a single 1TB option, but we hope more options will arrive in the future.

Seagate Storage Expansion Card

The base storage on the Xbox Series S, and this card will not only expand that, but will also offer the best performance and speeds.

$220 on Amazon

Razer Wolverine V2

Are you into competitive gaming? Then you need to get the Razer Wolverine V2 gaming controller. According to Razer, this controller gives you an edge over the standard controller by offering enhanced features. For instance, the ergonomic L-shaped handgrips offer a better grip. It has a contoured design with non-slip rubber grips for swift and accurate button interaction. It also features the company’s Mecha-Tactile Action Buttons and Mecha-Tactile D-Pad for improved performance and feedback. They are also rated to offer a 3-million tap life cycle and a reduced actuation distance of 0.65mm. Also, this controller has an extra pair of shoulder buttons that can be remapped via an app on the Xbox console.

Razer Wolverine V2 Wired Gaming Controller

One of the best third-party controllers for the new Xbox Series S, this controller comes with state of the are tech to enhance your gaming experience.

$100 on Amazon

Insignia Media Remote for Xbox Series X|S

Now apart from being a great gaming console, the Xbox Series S is an excellent media entertainment device. It supports a bunch of streaming apps including YouTube, Netflix, Apple TV, Spotify, Disney+, and many more. So when you are not cracking shields in Apex Legends, you can sit back and enjoy some quality TV directly streamed from your console. To make this simpler, we have the Insignia Media Remote. This lets you control almost any sort of media playback on the new Xbox as well as change the volume on the TV via HDMI CEC.

Insignia Media Remote for Xbox

If you want to use your Xbox Series S as a media entertainment device, then this remote can help make things easier.

$15 on Best Buy

PowerA Dual Charging Station

As advised above, getting a rechargeable battery for the Xbox wireless controllers is a must. If you have more than one controller, then you should probably think about investing in a charging station like this one. PowerA offers an officially licensed dual charging station that includes two 1,100mAh batteries for your controllers as well as four battery doors (two for Xbox Series X|S / two for Xbox One). To charge simply click the controller down on the Charging Station and the LED at the bottom should change from amber to white. This is a great all-in-one solution especially if you still own an older Xbox One wireless controller.

PowerA Dual Charging Station for Xbox

The PowerA Dual Charging Station lets you charge two wireless controllers at the same time and also comes with two rechargeable batteries.

$25 on Amazon

Razer Kaira Pro for Xbox

We have another slick accessory from Razer, and this one is the newly launched Kaira Pro wireless headset. Built for the Xbox, this headset also features Bluetooth 5.0 when you want to play Xbox games on your smartphone via Game Pass. It features Razer’s “TriForce Titanium” 50mm drivers which include a custom patented design allowing the engineers to custom tune each driver as though there are three, which apparently allows individual replications of high, mid, and low audio frequencies. There is also the ‘Razer Hyperclear Supercardioid’ microphone that includes more noise rejection from the sides as compared to a cardioid mic, along with a sensitive low-frequency response and an open microphone housing designed for minimal obstruction.

Razer Kaira Pro

Having quality audio is a must while gaming, and it can't get any better than Razer's new Kaira Pro wireless gaming headset made for Xbox users.

$150 on Amazon

You can check out our full review of the Xbox Series S to know more about our thoughts on the gaming console. Also, if you are team Sony, we recently got our hands on the new PlayStation 5 for a few days, and hint: it’s really good too.

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DuckStation is the best emulator for your PlayStation 1 games

A testament to how open Android as an operating system can be is the incredible range of software that you can install from the Google Play Store. Emulators are a big part of what makes Android a powerful mobile operating system, as it’s possible to play games from pretty much any console or handheld prior to the Nintendo Wii. The Playstation 1 is one such console, a favorite of many for both, an impressive back catalog of games, and just some plain old nostalgia. While there are emulators on the Google Play Store that already exist for the Playstation 1 (and have done for years), the lesser-known DuckStation is the best emulator you can get.

DuckStation (Free, Google Play) →

Why not just use ePSXe?

ePSXe is a fantastic emulator, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it as such. It has great support, but it’s incredibly old and costs money, with its last update being in December of 2019. DuckStation is free, open-source, and has a lot of modern emulation features and fixes. It supports the Vulkan graphics API, upscaling to 4K, and even upscaling to 8K. There’s even a libretro core that can be used as a backend for PSX emulation in RetroArch. DuckStation has a lot of settings.

One important fix that’s present in DuckStation is PXGP, which fixes a lot of jumping and wobbling in 3D geometry. You can see a pronounced example of that in the video below, which shows the game Silent Hill running with and without PXGP.

DuckStation also runs on Windows 10 (both x86 and ARM64), macOS, and Linux. There is no Android TV support yet, however.

DuckStation’s goal is to be as accurate as possible, while still maintaining suitable performance for low-end devices. The default configuration should support nearly all games, with only some of the enhancements having compatibility issues. You’ll also need your own BIOS, though that’s nothing new in PSX emulation. You can dump one from your own PlayStation, and DuckStation will support a BIOS from any hardware version or region.

Testing DuckStation

I tested DuckStation on the OPPO Find X2 Pro and found the performance excellent with a 4x internal resolution and the only enhancement enabled was PGXP geometry correction. I tested Crash Bandicoot 3 and Spyro the Dragon.

As you can see from both of the videos above, emulation is nearly flawless. You can play all of the PlayStation 1’s top games anywhere that you want, on your smartphone or on your laptop with ease. You might need a slightly more powerful Android smartphone to run DuckStation over ePSXe, but it’s worth it if you can. It’s easy to use and packed full of features. If you want to check it out, you can check out DuckStation on GitHub!

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Google Chat is rolling out support for classic Hangouts users

Google Chat appears to be rolling out a preview of support for Hangouts to some lucky users. Google previously announced that Hangouts users would be migrated to a free version of Google Chat, which is essentially a competitor to Slack, in the first half of 2021.

Are Technica’s Ron Amadeo was among the first to spot a Hangouts “Preview” message when opening Google Chat. We received the same prompt in the Chat app. Google said it will automatically migrate Hangouts conversations during the transition, along with contacts and saved history.

My Google Chat is now showing this Hangouts "Preview" message.

It looks like all my individual contacts work and are accessible via the search bar.

The only missing feature now is group chat. pic.twitter.com/Vf8mLahrbE

— Ron Amadeo (@RonAmadeo) February 24, 2021

There is one big issue with this “Preview,” and it’s that group chats from Hangouts still haven’t been migrated. You can, however, create a “Room” in Chat and invite everyone over. Even better, the Room you create also shows up as a group chat in Hangouts.

Amadeo notes that there also doesn’t seem to be a way to do a 1-on-1 video call. “Google Chat always wants to paste a URL for a corporate ‘video meeting’ into the chat,” Amadeo said. In Hangouts, starting a video call with someone made the recipient’s phone ring.

The Google Chat preview for Hangouts doesn’t appear to be available for all free users just yet, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t see the prompt. Remember, Google previously said the transition would officially happen in the first half of 2021, so there’s still time for a wider rollout to occur.

Once Hangouts users are migrated over to Chat, they’ll be able to access faster search, use emoji reactions, and also share and collaborate on files. The free version of Google Chat will still include extra phishing protections as part of Google’s Safe Browsing initiative.

Speaking of Hangouts, Google recently said that starting March of 2021, Fi users won’t be able to use Hangouts to send or receive text messages, or make or receive voice calls and voicemail.

Google Chat (Free, Google Play) →

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