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Now we’re done being drip-fed the Pixel 4a (oh, and it arrived), we move on to the Pixel 5 and a 5G variant. A briefly visible Reddit photo, spotted by 9to5Google, appeared to show both Pixel phones in the wild, along with specifications.

Pixel leak

Reddit

It suggests that the Pixel 4a 5G (on the right) would have an extra camera over the standard Pixel 4a, not to mention an even larger screen — the Pixel 4a wasn’t petite to begin with. It looks like it’ll be notably bigger than the flagship Pixel 5, which is rather unusual. Following on from Samsung’s Note 20, big phones aren’t going anywhere.

—Mat

BTS racks up 101 million YouTube views in 24 hours

The K-pop stars smashed the existing viewing record.

Morning After

Another K-Pop release, another smashed internet record. BTS, last seen on Engadget hawking Samsung wares for a few seconds during the Galaxy Note press event, racked up 101.1 million views in 24 hours for its new “Dynamite” music video, not only breaking Blackpink’s record (86.3 million) but making it the first to cross 100 million views in such a short time frame.
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Windows 10 can run apps from your Samsung phone

Android–Windows multitasking, of sorts.

Morning After

Samsung

Microsoft is rolling out a Windows 10 Your Phone update with support for running mobile apps on your desktop, as promised when Samsung revealed the Galaxy Note 20. Apps run in separate windows to allow for multitasking, and you can pin them to your Start menu or Taskbar if you use them often enough. You can even use a mouse, keyboard and touch to interact.

As well as demanding the latest iteration of the Your Phone software on Windows 10, it needs a phone with the latest Link to Windows integration — and for now, that means a Samsung running Android 9.0 or later. The computer and phone need to be on the same WiFi network, so this won’t be an option for checking the device you forgot at home.
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Rocksteady’s new ‘Suicide Squad’ game is all about killing Superman

Everyone likes a challenge.

Morning After

Warner Bros.

Most of DC Fandome’s big reveals over the weekend focused on movies, but there was still time to squeeze in a video game announcement or two. And we got a look at Warner Bros. Montreal’s Gotham Knights.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a continuation of Rocksteady’s previous trilogy of Batman games: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight. But a larger cast of playable characters means more powers and abilities to toy with. Oh and less Batman, presumably. You’ll be able to swap between characters, and each will have different skills and abilities to traverse Gotham itself. Intrigued? Check out the trailer here. 

Tesla thwarts performance hacks for its electric cars

You might want to think twice about using unofficial mods.

Tesla is quashing unsanctioned performance hacks. The latest software for Tesla’s Model 3 thwarts a third-party Ingenext mod that unlocks features like an extra 50HP and Drive Mode. In the future, if you have the requisite device plugged in, you’ll get an “incompatible vehicle modification detected” warning that stays while you’re driving.

These features typically cost thousands of dollars to unlock through Tesla (such as a $2,000 Acceleration Boost), so there’s a strong incentive for buyers willing to take the risk. Ingenext is planning to counter the update in a week or two with a solution that allows its mod to run unimpeded. Continue reading.

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It looks like Fall Guys is coming to mobile

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It’s not unusual for Chinese companies to take popular platform games like PUBG and make separate mobile versions. Fall Guys in particular seemed destined for smartphones, as the controls are relatively simple and the sessions short — ideal for gaming on the move.

In fact, rumors of a mobile version popped up recently, complete with gameplay, but Mediatonic squashed it with an amusing tweet. “a) They’re literally playing a video and pretending to play it b) There’s literally a mouse cursor on the screen,” the company noted. At the same time, Mediatonic has said that “we’d love to bring the game to other platforms” down the road. It has yet to confirm the news, however, and there’s no word yet on when a mobile version of Fall Guys might arrive in China or elsewhere.



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WSJ: Mark Zuckerberg used a private Trump meeting to hurt TikTok

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Mark Zuckerberg may have used a private meeting with Donald Trump to push for the US to attack TikTok, writes the Wall Street Journal. During his visit to Washington DC late last year, the Facebook CEO made both public speeches and private exhortations about the threat posted by its rival. The paper notes that it was after meeting Zuckerberg that senators began raising concerns about TikTok’s safety.

A spokesperson for senator Josh Hawley implies that TikTok is being used to distract from Facebook’s own regulatory concerns and to get lawmakers to crush a rival. Kelli Ford is quoted as saying that Facebook’s alarmism is a “PR tactic to boost its own reputation.” The report adds that Facebook spends record amounts on lobbying, and has launched an advocacy group, American Edge, to boost US tech firms in DC.

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Apple is opening its first ‘floating’ store in Singapore

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Apple has hundreds of physical stores dotted around the world, serving as stores, repair centers and community hubs where people can learn to be more creative. Until now, though, none of these glistening Apple meccas have been built on water. As The Straits Times reports, the company has confirmed plans to open a dome-shaped store near the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore. We don’t know when the doors will open, but a spokesperson said it’s “coming soon.” “It will be a space for you to explore, connect and create something new,” an official teaser site explains.

As Archigardner reports, the store is replacing a shard-shaped Crystal Pavilion that once housed a nightclub called Avalon. Apple has rebuilt the structure with glass panels that will reflect Singapore’s skyline during the day and, according to materials published by 9to5Mac, glow like a lantern at night. “The structure’s shape informs an entirely new store layout,” the company teased, and will be partly lit by a circular window at the top of the dome. Like the original Crystal Pavilion, it will be connected by a boardwalk and an underwater tunnel that connects to a nearby mall.

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Twitter hides another Trump tweet for potentially discouraging voting

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Mail-in or drop-box voter fraud is exceedingly rare because of system checks and balances, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. However, there’s a big partisan gap in such voting, as 48 percent of Democrats compared to 27 percent of Republicans said they intend to vote that way (Trump himself voted by mail in the Republican primary elections).

While fraud might be rare, mail-in ballot delays could be a huge problem. During the Republican and Democrat primaries, over 550,000 mail-in ballots were rejected, compared to 319,000 during the entire 2016 general election. Many of those ballots were refused because they were late.

Since then, the USPS has cut back even further on services and taken hundreds of voting machines out of commission. Voters in Michigan and elsewhere cited those as a reason for voting by drop-box instead, according to NPR. Drop-box ballots are collected directly by election officials and thus can’t be delayed. (Also, COVID-19 is much less likely to be spread by a touching a virus-infected surface than by other means, according to the CDC.)

Twitter has placed warnings on Trump’s tweets about voting before, but hiding one is a more noticeable action that’s bound to draw the President’s attention. After he was fact-checked for a false tweet and “manipulated media” earlier this year, the President signed an executive order designed to limit protections for social media companies. Facebook, meanwhile, has left Trump’s Sunday “voter security disaster” post intact, with merely a label about voting information that it puts on all its election posts.



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Jeep’s monster all-terrain e-bike will start shipping in September

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Jeep’s full-suspension off-road e-bike with insane amounts of power and an equally ludicrous price tag will finally start shipping in “early September,” according to manufacturer QuietKat. The company also released a climb performance video, showing that you’ll be able to mount steep hills without breaking much of a sweat — the dream of every Sunday mountain biker.

The Jeep e-bike comes with a 750 watt “Bafang Ultra” motor that can peak at 1,500 watts and go for 30-60 miles thanks to the 48 volt, 14.5aH battery. It has a RockHox Monarch RL rear shock and front air suspension fork with 150mm of travel, 10 speeds, 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes and 4.8-inch fat-tires. It weighs in at 79 pounds, over double the weight of a normal competition downhill bike, but it’s not bad considering it also gives you a ride up the hill.

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Tesla thwarts performance hacks for its electric cars

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Ingenext is planning to counter the update in a week or two with a solution that allows its mod to run unimpeded. It said that only three customers are known to have updated their cars with Tesla code before trying the update.

Even so, this suggests would-be performance hackers could be in for a challenge if they want to maximize the potential of Tesla’s EVs without the company’s blessing — they might not have more than a small window of time before Tesla clamps down again. It’s not surprising that Tesla would take swift action when its business model revolves around software-locking features, but this does suggest that the market for unofficial upgrades may be relatively limited.

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BTS is the first to rack up 100 million YouTube views in 24 hours

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Like with Blackpink’s achievement, this should represent real, organic views. YouTube stopped counting paid ad views toward 24-hour tallies in September 2019, reducing the chances that labels will artificially inflate figures.

This probably won’t end the quest for short-term YouTube domination. Labels like to brag about 24-hour view counts, and there will likely be more ways to drum up hype for a new music video. However, the achievement does show that YouTube still has plenty of room to grow — even if it’s limited to South Korean megastars.

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Google’s Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 may have surfaced in the wild

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You might not have to wonder what Google’s Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 are like in person — you could be looking at them right now. The 9to5Google team spotted a briefly visible Reddit photo that appeared to show both Pixel phones in the wild, along with specifications. The image by itself hinted that the Pixel 4a 5G (shown at right) would have an extra camera over the standard Pixel 4a, not to mention a considerably larger screen. It appears to eclipse the Pixel 5 you see on the left.

The included specs suggested both new Pixels would offer significant performance improvements over the 4a. On top of the added wide-angle camera, the phones would supposedly share a faster Snapdragon 765G chip — we’re a bit skeptical this will reach the 4a 5G, but we wouldn’t rule it out. You’d get much larger batteries, too, with a 3,800mAh unit in the Pixel 4a 5G and a 4,000mAh power pack in the Pixel 5. The Pixel 5 wouldn’t have a headphone jack, but it would have a speedy 90Hz display and 8GB of RAM versus 60Hz and 6GB in the 4a 5G.

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WeChat user alliance sues Trump administration over threatened ban

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Attorneys also argued that many messaging app users were well aware of the potential for surveillance, including from the US. It was up to them to decide whether or not to use an app, not the government.

The plaintiffs in the case hope to get a preliminary injunction that would block the order while the lawsuit is in progress.

The lawsuit isn’t guaranteed to work. The White House and others have insisted that Chinese-made social apps like WeChat and TikTok are national security threats over concerns the Chinese government might force them to hand over sensitive user data. That belief could play heavily into the government’s case.

There’s no publicly available evidence these data raids are happening, however, and the claimed constitutional violations would be significant if true. For that matter, a temporary injunction would be helpful by itself — it would buy time that would allow for a stronger defense, or even a different administration that might be less inclined toward an outright ban.

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