Technology

Diablo Immortal didn’t make a great first impression. It was announced at Blizzcon in 2018 when most fans were expecting the next mainline Diablo title, not a free-to-play spinoff for smartphones. Since then, Blizzard has been very quiet about Immortal (though Diablo IV was eventually announced). That’s starting to change. Ahead of a technical alpha that’s set to kick off soon, I was able to play through the early stages of the game. And while I can’t speak to every aspect, one thing was immediately clear: this feels like a proper Diablo game. A mobile version of Diablo makes a lot of sense. There are already countless clones and Diablo-inspired titles on smartphones, while the Nintendo Switch version of Diablo III proved just how fun the series is to play on the go. There’s just something...

When it comes to finding a device to use to read your ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or simply use your smartphone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling through Twitter. If you are looking for something to strictly read books, e-readers, while a niche piece of tech, is designed to store all of your books in a virtual library with no other functionality. Amazon has dominated the space for years with its Kindle products. Right now, there are three Kindle models you can choose from, each with pros and cons. Below, we’ve listed each of the current Kindles available for purchase. Sometimes, there isn’t a deal for one or, in some instances, all of the products. In that case, we’v...

The leaks are coming faster as we near 2021, which is when Samsung is expected to announce a new batch of smartphones. We’ve seen glimpses of what the flagship Galaxy S21 might look like, and thanks to serial-leaker OnLeaks / Steve Hemmerstoffer, it seems we have our first look at the top of the budget-friendlier A-series. These alleged renders of the Galaxy A72 5G hint that, at least on the outside, the changes from its A71 predecessor are subtle. The Galaxy A72 5G appears to offer a 6.7-inch display like its predecessor.Photo by Steve Hemmerstoffer / OnLeaks The images show a 6.7-inch display with a centered hole-punch camera, which is consistent with the A71. That device used a very nice 1080 x 2400 pixel Super AMOLED Plus panel. The A72 appears to offer three rear-facing cameras plus a...

If you’re still hoping to secure a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X / S before the end of the year, Walmart is giving you another shot to purchase one of these next-gen consoles. Today, the retailer confirmed that it would restock the consoles at 12PM PT / 3PM ET on December 17th. When you visit the product pages for the PlayStation 5 or the Xbox Series X / Xbox Series S, you should see a message showing that a restock is confirmed for today. Due to these consoles’ high demand, they will likely sell out quickly, so if you want one, don’t hesitate to bite the bullet and hit purchase. PlayStation 5 Prices taken at time of publishing. Sony’s flagship next-gen console, priced at $499.99. Compared to the $399.99 PS5 Digital Edition, this console includes a disc drive, allowing you to play digital...

Instagram is announcing two new features to help combat COVID-19 misinformation: users in areas with surging cases will see a link to their local health authority at the top of their feed and anyone searching for vaccine information will also be directed to credible health sources. These measures will be taken in addition to the social network blocking hashtags that contain vaccine misinformation, which also got a mention in announcement tweets. The features come as many platform companies take steps to keep coronavirus misinformation from spreading at a vital time for the US, as health institutions struggle with record hospitalizations and the first of the approved COVID-19 vaccines start to roll out. Second, in addition to removing widely debunked claims about the COVID-19 vaccines, when...

2020 has been a year, not least because much of the world pivoted to remote work. Industries that typically rely on in-person connections, like fitness and religious institutions, found themselves having to engage their audiences through live streams. Ad revenue disappeared from influencers and YouTubers, who are used to working remotely so long as they make money. Fashion influencers whose livelihoods depend on peddling an image of beauty and aspirational clothing were without events to attend or reasons to get dressed. Everyone needed to adapt. In this piece, we look back on a few people we previously interviewed this year to hear how their remote transition has gone — do they anticipate staying remote? What have they learned from this challenging year? And will we collectively agree to ...

Facebook has reversed a change to its News Feed algorithm that prioritized authoritative news sources, even though some employees asked that the “nicer” News Feed become permanent, according to The New York Times. Following a sharp increase in misinformation on the platform in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 US presidential election, Facebook changed how it weighed the quality of news sources based on a “news ecosystem quality” (NEQ) score. Outlets including the Times, NPR, and CNN saw Facebook traffic rise, while more partisan sites that published incendiary or misleading news about the election saw Facebook traffic decrease. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had authorized the change to the News Feed in the days after the election when it became clear that unverified stories about election fraud a...

I always enjoy this time of the year. Usually, I take some time off of work and use it as a golden opportunity to tackle my ever-growing backlog of games. With the year wrapping up and a ton of great games already available (and even more coming over the next few years), it’s truly a great time to be a gamer. Today’s deals spotlight an incredible deal for PS4 and PS5 owners, a sale on Dell’s 27-inch 1440p gaming monitor, plus a few deals on some great headphones and wireless earbuds. Get two years of PlayStation Plus for less than $60 If you were one of the lucky ones to grab a PS5, I recommend taking advantage of this PlayStation Plus subscription deal at Eneba.com. Normally $60 through Sony, it’s just $32. However, if you want the most bang for your buck, I strongly advise picking up two...

TV was a constant companion in 2020. With most cultural institutions shut down, the small screen still managed to provide us with a deluge of new things to enjoy and talk about — far more than any one person could ever watch. In fact, at times this year, I found it difficult to watch anything — or at least, anything new. My habits were often fickle, and I danced across shows new and old; I started many and finished few on my journey to get lost in something. And so even in this extraordinary year, the usual caveats apply. I am but one person, and I cannot watch all television. Here, in no particular order, are the shows that stayed with me, long after I turned off the set. Dare Me While the show premiered in 2019, the rest of Dare Me’s 10 episodes aired in 2020, and each of them was among ...

Facebook is stepping up its campaign against Apple’s privacy changes with a second full-page newspaper ad today. This new ad claims Apple’s iOS 14 privacy changes “will change the internet as we know it,” and force websites and blogs “to start charging you subscription fees” or add in-app purchases due to a lack of personalized ads. It follows a similar full-page newspaper ad in the The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the Washington Post yesterday. Apple is planning to make changes to iOS 14 early next year that will require developers to ask for permission to gather data and track users across mobile apps and websites on an iPhone or iPad. Apple revealed how iOS 14 users will be prompted to opt into tracking in apps this week, noting that developers like Facebook can explain to u...

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro have leaked again, this time in a full 360-degree animation courtesy of Evan Blass. The latest @Evleaks drop gives us our best look yet at how Samsung’s latest true wireless earbuds will look from every angle. Rumored to arrive alongside the Galaxy S21 in January, Samsung’s followup to the Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Buds Plus has already leaked in three different colors: black, violet, and silver, again courtesy of Blass. All three Galaxy Buds Pro color options.Evan Blass The Galaxy Buds Pro are expected to feature active noise cancellation, that should be much improved over the open-ear design of the Galaxy Buds Live. The Pros will also feature a beefier 500mAh battery according to an FCC filing. Samsung is rumored to be hosting an Galaxy S21 launch event on Jan...

Facebook is notifying Messenger and Instagram users in Europe that some features are temporarily unavailable. A small message has appeared in both the Facebook Messenger and Instagram apps for European users this week, noting that some features aren’t available to “respect new rules for messaging services in Europe.” Facebook doesn’t outline exactly what features will be missing, but the company does reveal on its support pages that polls on both Messenger and Instagram are currently unavailable in Europe, alongside a lack of stickers in Instagram and no personalized replies on Messenger. Other missing features may include a lack of certain file sends on Messenger, missing nicknames, or the ability to share AR effects in DMs on Instagram. Facebook’s warning in Instagram DMs. Facebook has t...