PS5 Game Streaming Will Be Just as Important as Physical Discs and Digital Downloads - Push Square

Off the back of its recent partnership with Microsoft that will see the two companies come together on future cloud streaming solutions, Sony has revealed in an investor relation meeting that streaming a PS5 game will be just as important as its physical disc and digital download counterparts.

It's something everyone has assumed due to the way the industry is going, but this announcement sets the streaming method in stone for PlayStation 5. This type of content delivery is set to become the norm alongside purchasing a physical copy at a store or downloading it from the PlayStation Store, meaning that a streamable option may be available for most, if not all, games from launch.

This is a fairly major shift in role for PlayStation Now, which adds games to its library monthly well after those titles have hit the market. On the PS5, it looks like you'll be able to stream a game the moment it's available. Would you like to embrace the streaming future and play a PS5 title as soon as it becomes available, without any prior download? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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2019-05-21 08:45:00Z
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Google reverses decision to cut ties with Huawei after US eases trade restrictions - CNBC

Visitors try out the Huawei Mate S smartphone.

Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Alphabet Inc's Google said Tuesday that it plans to work with China's Huawei over the next 90 days, shortly after the U.S. temporarily eased some trade restrictions on the world's second-largest smartphone maker.

The move marks a sudden and dramatic turnabout for the U.S. tech conglomerate. On Sunday, Google said it would cut ties with Huawei in order to comply with Washington's decision to put China's telecom giant on the so-called Entity List.

However, shortly thereafter, the U.S. Commerce Department announced it had granted a 90-day license for mobile phone companies and internet broadband providers to work with Huawei to keep existing networks online and protect users from security risks.

The exemption allows Google to send software updates to Huawei phones which use its Android operating system through to August 19.

"Keeping phones up to date and secure is in everyone's best interests and this temporary license allows us to continue to provide software updates and security patches to existing models for the next 90 days," a Google spokesperson told CNBC in an email on Tuesday.

Temporary general license

The U.S. Commerce Department said it would assess whether to extend the temporary exemptions beyond 90 days.

Late last week, the Commerce Department added Huawei and 68 other entities to an export blacklist, rendering it practically impossible for the Chinese company to purchase goods made in the U.S.

The companies placed on the Entity List are deemed to be engaged in activities that threaten the national security or the foreign policy interests of the U.S.

Monday's announcement explained the latest authorization had been created as a temporary general license. It allows disclosures of security vulnerabilities and for Huawei to engage in the development of standards for future 5G networks.

A spokesperson for Huawei declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

Huawei was the second-largest smartphone maker by global market share in the first quarter. The company has previously laid out its ambitions to become the top player in smartphones by 2020.

Out of the $70 billion Huawei spent buying components in 2018, some $11 billion went to U.S. firms including Qualcomm, Intel and Micron Technology.

Just over 49% of Huawei's smartphone shipments went to international markets outside of mainland China in the first quarter of 2019, according to Canalys.

— CNBC's Penny Chen and Reuters contributed to this article.

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2019-05-21 08:38:42Z
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Huawei's biggest problem is now uncertainty, analysts say - CNBC

In this photo illustration, the Huawei logo and Chinese flag is seen displayed on an Android mobile phone.

Omar Marques | LightRocket | Getty Images

The U.S. government's temporary easing of restrictions on Huawei may bring little respite for the Chinese telecommunications giant, according to analysts.

On Monday, the U.S. government announced that it will allow Huawei to purchase American-made goods in order to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to its existing handsets, though the company is still barred from purchasing American parts and components to manufacture new products without license approvals that likely will be denied.

That development wasn't game-changing news, experts told CNBC.

"This is not going to ... change overnight again in terms of the fortune for Huawei," said Nicole Peng, vice president of mobility at independent analyst company Canalys.

"The biggest problem for them right now is the uncertainty," Peng said, adding that Huawei's suppliers are concerned about business continuity given their increasing reliance on the Chinese tech giant over the past year.

The latest development came on the back of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration adding Huawei last week to a list that mandated a license for stateside companies if they want to do business with the Chinese company.

That led Alphabet's Google to suspend business with Huawei that involves transferring hardware, software and other technical services. Bloomberg News also reported that companies like Intel, Qualcomm and Broadcom will not supply Huawei until further notice.

The "snowball effect" started by Google likely "forced" the Trump administration to pull back from its stance, said Anshel Sag, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. He added that the current situation "looks clearly political and related to the trade war."

For its part, Huawei has stood defiant. The company's founder, Ren Zhengfei, told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday that "the U.S. government's actions at the moment underestimate our capabilities," according to a transcript published by the outlet.

Ren said Huawei was at odds with the U.S. government, not U.S. firms, and that Huawei is capable of making the chips it buys from the United States — though that does not mean it will stop buying American chips.

"I don't necessarily see Huawei changing course," Sag said. "Ultimately, Huawei knows that what's best for their business is to act as if this 90-day pause is not a pause at all."

Google, for its part, said in a statement that the temporary pause allows the U.S. tech giant "to continue to provide software updates and security patches to existing (Huawei) models for the next 90 days."

Who stands to gain

As Huawei's fortunes hit a roadblock, the discussion has shifted to who may stand to benefit the most from the situation.

"(The) biggest winner in the long run will be US IT companies, but in the short term, tension between two countries raises opportunity for Korea," Daniel Yoo, head of global strategy and research at Kiwoom Securities, told CNBC in an email.

In the smartphone segment, where Huawei was among the few companies seeing annual growth in shipments at a time of slowing sales, South Korea's Samsung Electronics would be a beneficiary, Yoo said. Data from Canalys showed Samsung's annual growth in worldwide smartphone shipments declining 10% in the first quarter of 2019, while Huawei surged 50.2%. In the same period, American technology giant Apple smartphone growth slid 23.2%.

Canalys' Peng agreed, saying that Samsung has "the most overlap" in terms of product and segments with Huawei.

Sag offered a different take, saying that Huawei's domestic competitors Vivo and Oppo could have the biggest upside from the telecommunications giant's vulnerability.

Huawei is growing the most in Europe, he said, a region where the two Chinese brands are becoming "more aggressive" and consumers are more dependent on the Google ecosystem.

— CNBC's Fred Imbert, along with Reuters, contributed to this report.

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2019-05-21 08:15:02Z
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Sony Shows PS5's Fast Loading Time In New Video - Game Rant

Ever since last month’s unexpected unveiling of the PS5, Sony hasn’t really shared any new information about the next-gen console. Now, a video from Wall Street Journalist Takashi Mochizuki surfaces online, giving players a first look of the potential performance power of PlayStation 4’s successor.

During the demonstration at what appears to be Sony’s corporate strategy meeting, the company discussed the upcoming console’s hardware specifications, which are said to offer an “immersive experience created by dramatically increased graphics rendering speeds.” At last month’s reveal, Sony’s Mark Cerny unveiled the beefier technology under the PS5’s hood, which will include a customized SSD.

Cerny previously revealed that the addition of the SSD will dramatically improve rendering and loading times of games as compared to the PS4. To prove his point, Cerny said that he tried loading Insomniac’s Spider-Man using a PS5 dev kit and was able to load the game 15 times faster than the PS4. The latest video that was uploaded by Mochizuki showed identical results to Cerny’s claim and showed a side-by-side comparison of a PS4 Pro and the PS5 loading the same game. It is worth noting that the video did not make any mentions of the PS5 but it used the phrase “Next Generation (Under Development)” to differentiate the old from the new.

Sony's official video comparing performance of PS4 Pro vs next-gen PlayStation pic.twitter.com/2eUROxKFLq

— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) May 21, 2019

Aside from the faster loading time of the new console, Sony also discussed how the PS5 will have a seamless PlayStation Now online performance thanks to an improved cloud infrastructure. Of course, it is no longer a secret that Sony’s cloud infrastructure will be powered by Microsoft Azure after it was revealed that the two rivals will be partnering up in a joint venture for future cloud solutions. 

However, a few days after the news of the newfound partnership between Microsoft and Sony was announced, it has been reported that the latter’s PlayStation sub-unit was “blindsided” by the news. According to a Bloomberg report, Sony’s higher-ups have been negotiating with Microsoft on the partnership without the involvement of the PlayStation team. As of the moment, no one knows how the latest partnership between Sony and Microsoft will pan out, but sources that spoke to Bloomberg revealed that managers had to calm down employees at PlayStation and assure them that the deal with Microsoft won’t have an effect on the plans for the next-generation console.

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2019-05-21 06:39:42Z
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Contact Info for Millions of Instagram Influencers, Celebrities, and Brand Accounts Leaked Online - Mac Rumors

A database that contained contact information for millions of Instagram influencers, celebrities, and brand accounts was recently leaked online, reports TechCrunch.

The database, which was hosted by Amazon Web Services and contains more than 49 million records, was accessible without a password or other credentials according to the security researcher who informed TechCrunch about the leak.

Records include public data pulled from Instagram, such as profile picture, biography, and follower numbers, but also private contact information like phone numbers and email addresses.

Records also calculated the "worth" of each account based on follower count, engagement, reach, likes, and shares.

The database was initially uploaded and shared by Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox, a company that pays Instagram influencers to share sponsored content. Though uploaded by Chtrbox, the database includes info from influencers who have never worked with the company.

TechCrunch found several high-profile influencers in the exposed database, including prominent food bloggers, celebrities and other social media influencers.

We contacted several people at random whose information was found in the database and provided them their phone numbers. Two of the people responded and confirmed their email address and phone number found in the database was used to set up their Instagram accounts. Neither had any involvement with Chtrbox, they said.

After hearing from TechCrunch, Chtrbox took the database offline, but the company's CEO did not respond to a request for comment on how the data was obtained.

Instagram parent company Facebook said that it was looking into the issue and aiming to determine whether the data was from Instagram or other sources. "We're also inquiring with Chtrbox to understand where this data came from and how it became publicly available," said Facebook.

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2019-05-20 20:52:00Z
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Google's next-gen Glass eyewear lasts longer and runs on Android - Engadget

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The third generation of Google Glass has arrived for tech-savvy workers. Google has introduced Glass Enterprise Edition 2 eyewear that largely sticks to the familiar formula on the outside, but should be far more powerful both in hardware and software. For one, it's "built on Android" -- it should be easier for developers to write Glass-friendly apps, and you can even enroll it in Android's enterprise device management to help IT maintain control. Creators might want to write apps for it, too, since there are some big changes under the hood.

The new version is running on Qualcomm's headset-oriented Snapdragon XR1 processor. That brings faster performance, particularly for AI, but it also promises "significant power savings" that lead to longer battery life -- important when you might need Glass for hours at a time. Google also touts "improved" camera quality for video streaming and collaboration. True to earlier reports, there's also a USB-C port that can charge faster.

Warehouse workers and others in dangerous situations will also be happy to hear that Google has teamed with Smith Optics to create Glass-ready safety frames (shown above) for a range of work conditions.

Google hasn't mentioned pricing, although that's more likely to depend on companies. You're not about to buy one for personal use. The Android switch and upgraded hardware could do wonders for adoption, though. Earlier models relied on a custom platform and old hardware that might have put off companies faced with the challenge of writing (or rewriting) apps. Now, the experience should be closer to writing an app for a phone. You still aren't going to see these on the street, but you may see more uptake from corporate customers who want smart eyepieces without splurging on a mixed reality headset like Microsoft's HoloLens 2.

In this article: android, augmented reality, gear, glass, glass enterprise edition, glass enterprise edition 2, glasses, google, google glass, snapdragon xr1, wearable, wearables

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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2019-05-20 16:00:59Z
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Apple Stores Quietly Carrying New LG 23.7-Inch UltraFine Display - Mac Rumors

Over the past few months, supplies of the LG UltraFine 4K and 5K displays have dried up at Apple's retail and online stores, leading to speculation on the future of Apple-approved displays beyond a rumored ultra high-end 6K display perhaps coming alongside a revamped Mac Pro later this year.

As shared by TidBITS, however, Apple retail stores are now quietly carrying a new $700 23.7-inch UltraFine display from LG. TidBITS' Julio Ojeda-Zapata was able to locate the new display in two different Apple retail stores, but it is not currently listed in the company's online store.

To my surprise, an employee told me I should consider forgoing the 21.5-inch model. Why? “Because we have a larger LG display for the same price.” Laid out for me on the floor were boxes for the two monitors—including the 23.7-inch version that had seemingly come from nowhere.

At 23.7 inches, the new UltraFine display sits between the original 21.5-inch 4K and 27-inch 5K display, but there is some confusion over the resolution of the display. Ojeda-Zapata claims that it only offers a resolution of 3360x1890, which would not reasonably allow it to serve as a Retina-quality display, but a user manual (PDF) for the display indicates that its native resolution is in fact 3840x2160. That's still less than that 4096x2304 resolution of the smaller 21.5-inch UltraFine 4K, but it would at least qualify as an Ultra HD resolution that is typically marketed as being 4K.

Ojeda-Zapata purchased the new display and shares a brief overview of it, noting that it carries the same design as the previous UltraFine 4K/5K displays sold by Apple and offers a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports and three regular USB-C ports on the rear. The original UltraFine 4K/5K displays only offered a single Thunderbolt 3 port in addition to the three USB-C ports, so the extra Thunderbolt 3 port on the new display allows for daisy-chaining additional Thunderbolt 3 accessories over a single connection.

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2019-05-20 15:02:00Z
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