Author Archives: Chris Burns

The OnePlus Nord N10 and OnePlus Nord N100 were revealed by OnePlus today. These devices are exceedingly similar to one-another, with few details making it simple to tell them apart. The OnePlus N10 5G will be released with (as you can probably guess) 5G connectivity, while the OnePlus N100 will be the most budget-friendly unit in the whole line (without 5G as such). The OnePlus N10 has slightly sharper corners and edges, while the OnePlus N100 is a bit more... rounded out.

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Scientists revealed a new white paint that reflects 95.5% of sunlight that reaches its surface. This white paint is otherwise known as CaCO3-acrylic paint, or "Cooling Paint.: The creation of this white is in stark contrast with the material that's been called the "blackest black," AKA Vantablack, the most notorious and "darkest material" on Earth. Vantablack, developed by Surrey NanoSystems in the UK, absorbs up to 99.965% of light*, while CaCO3-acrylic paint reflects nearly that same percentage of (sun)light - imagine a checkerboard painted with the two!

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Xbox and Microsoft gaming head Phil Spencer may've just spilled the beans. In an interview this week, Spencer spoke about a whole lot of plans for the future of Xbox, including plans for "lower priced hardware" that'll work with Microsoft's game streaming service and xCloud. So maybe you won't need an Xbox Series S after all.

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The OnePlus 8T was released in the USA today in two iterations. There's a version you can buy from OnePlus - that's the same version you'll find on Amazon. Then there's a version you can buy from T-Mobile USA, that's slightly different. Today we're going to discuss five details unique to this device that you'll want to know before buying from any source, carrier or otherwise.

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The Shiny Galarian Ponyta is ready to roll in Pokemon GO. Today's update to the app allows the Shiny pony Pokemon to appear in the game wherever you might otherwise find a Galarian Ponyta. This includes Rapidash too, of course. This update to the game allowed the extra-sparkly horse appear right alongside Sirfetchd!

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WhatsApp added an option to chats today that allows the user to mute said chat forever. The Facebook-owned app and ecosystem previously only allowed a chat to be muted for 8 hours, 1 week, or 1 year. This was fine, sure, but what if you wanted to stay in a chat and never, ever hear a notification from the chat ever, ever again? Now that's possible, if you dare.

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This week Google Music will stop working for your devices, if it's not already stopped working today. Over the past year Google's phased out the Google Music ecosystem in favor of YouTube Music, they're alternative to each service offered by the former. The Google Music platform allows switching to a YouTube Music account, and costs are similar, but users will need to actively make the change to download the new app and log in.

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An iPhone 12 teardown revealed the truth about the battery capacity of the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro. Early reviews of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro suggested issues with the battery life and/or potential capacity of the batteries inside. As we were to discover for the first time with some hard evidence in teardown form today, both the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro have precisely the same size (capacity) battery inside.

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This afternoon, NASA revealed they'd discovered something "new" and "exciting" about the Moon. They played a bit coy about said discovery, noting that they'll spill the whole cup of beans from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) at a conference that'll take place at 12PM EDT on Monday, the 26th of October, 2020. We'll be covering that announcement as it happens.

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Another secret weapon of sorts appeared for the Xbox Series X this week. The device and its closest relative, Xbox Series S, both work with an IR receiver hidden in the industrial design of the front of the case. Because this receiver is included, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S console units both have the ability to work with Xbox One Media Remotes.

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Today's entry in our ever-expanding exploration of 5G connectivity checks the most basic question: Do I need 5G? This question can be answered by looking at the world's transfer from 3G to 4G, and 4G LTE. In short: There's a significant amount of time between now and the point at which you'll absolutely NEED your next smartphone to have the ability to connect to 5G data.

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The economic impact payment (stimulus check) deadline for registration is approaching. As talks in DC continue to hint at a second stimulus check for late 2020, those that haven't yet received - or registered for - their Economic Impact Payment have a date to watch. November 21, 2020, 3PM ET is the deadline for you to request your Economic Impact Payment in any of three instances.

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