It looks like Xbox Series X is going to be launching without its biggest franchise in tow. Today, Microsoft and 343 Industries announced that Halo Infinite has been delayed. Originally slated to be a launch title for the Xbox Series X (and release on the Xbox One simultaneously, for that matter), Halo Infinite now won't be launching until sometime in 2021.
Today Microsoft made a sort of promise - more like a statement of intent - for the games that'll be available to play on Xbox Series X at launch. They've suggested that "you will be able to play four generations of games on Xbox Series X on day one." They went on to say that "it's our intent for all Xbox One games that do not require Kinect to play on Xbox Series X at the launch of the console." Notice there that it's not a promise, but a statement of intent - there's a little wiggle room there just in case a weird game or two do not work on Xbox Series X.
Today Google announced that the Pixel 4a and Google Pixel 4 (and XL) were the first Android smartphones "to go through ioXt certification against the Android Profile." That makes the Google Pixel 4a the first smartphone to be certified as such as a "newly launched" smartphone. The Internet of Secure Things Alliance (ioXt) assesses a baseline set of requirements for security, upgradability, and transparency.
Google has introduced its new Android Earthquake Alerts System, a crowdsourced method that uses smartphones to detect earthquakes before they happen. The new feature builds upon the earthquake alerts Android users in California receive, alerting them to a budding earthquake based on data from seismometers installed throughout the quake-prone state. Google is starting with detection and will move on to alerts.
Back in May, Twitter started testing a new feature that allowed users to define who could and could not reply to their tweets. These changes were made in attempt to help people feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts on their own Twitter profiles. After a few months of testing, those features are now rolling out to everyone on the platform.
![Cadillac is about to discover if Super Cruise early-adopters like it enough to pay for it again [Updated]](https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cadillac-super-cruise-1280x720.jpg)
The earliest adopters of Cadillac's Super Cruise look set to get some bad news they might not have expected, with the bundled subscription to the hands-free cruise control system soon coming to an end. While Cadillac made little mention of it when it first offered the Level 2 technology on the model year 2018 CT6 - first sold in 2017 - Super Cruise was actually designed to be a subscription-based system.
Naughty Dog today announced a sizable update for The Last of Us Part II. Those looking for a challenge will definitely want to take the content in this update for a spin, as it'll be adding Grounded difficulty mode. In addition, we'll see the arrival of a permadeath mode, potentially giving the game an entirely new layer of realism.
HMD Global just closed a $230-million dollar investment round with investments from Google, Qualcomm, and Nokia. This makes a whole lot of sense as HMD Global works with Foxconn to create Nokia-branded (brand licensed) Android smartphones with Qualcomm Snapdragon processors inside. They've made some pretty decent smartphones over the past few years, and they're on the verge of becoming a premiere player in the "highly affordable smartphones with 5G connectivity" market.
A new study warns that one of the go-to types of face covering for those complying with mask-wearing rules may not, in fact, be sufficient to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infected droplets. Masks have become a contentious fact of life in recent months, as public health authorities increasingly mandate their wearing in an attempt to cut down on community spread of the coronavirus.
Researchers have revealed this week that they've been successful in gene-editing a squid for the first time in human history. Cephalopods are used to study Alzheimer's and Parkinson's due to their significantly large brains. Using the DNA editing tool CRISPR, a genetically altered squid will potentially jump-start major advances in the study of neurodegenterative diseases of many sorts.
Some things take a little time to reach their very best. Wine, for example, or fine leather, or balsamic vinegar. Well, we can add the 2021 Bentley Bentayga to that list. It has fine leather too, in fact, but it's the automaker's finessing elsewhere in this refreshed version that elevates it so well.
If you were looking forward to the release of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, it looks like you'll have to wait quite a bit longer. Bloodlines 2 has been hit with another delay, this one pushing it back into 2021. Of course, given the COVID-19 pandemic, the delay should come as little surprise at this point, as many other games have been delayed as developers adjust to working on and even finishing their games remotely.