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Report: Apple Watch Ultra with microLED display not coming until 2027
1:22 am | February 7, 2024
Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Comments: Off

We've heard a lot about Apple's upcoming Watch Ultra with microLED display but each time a report goes out, it paints a more pessimistic picture. The latest analysis comes from The Elec and it suggests Apple's high-end smartwatch with microLED tech will arrive in 2027 at the earliest. Supply chain analysts believe that Apple won't be able to secure a enough microLED displays at a reasonable price before that. The current Watch Ultra's display reportedly costs $40 for Apple to assemble, while the microLED screens will likely cost around $150. That's a huge cost for Apple to...

OnePlus explains why it’s only promising 5 years of Android updates, not more
11:58 pm | February 6, 2024
Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Comments: Off

Google has promised 7 years of software updates for its Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, and Samsung followed suit with the exact same promise for the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra. OnePlus, on the other hand, is only promising four major Android updates and five years of security patches for its flagships. If you were expecting OnePlus to pivot to reach the same position as Google and Samsung, you're in for a disappointment. The company is very happy with its decision not to offer more than five years of support for its devices, and now it's decided to explain why. It turns out it all has to do...

Samsung Galaxy Fit3 spotted in a store, price revealed
9:44 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Comments: Off

It has been over three years since the last Galaxy Fit smart band was released, but Samsung has decided to resurrect the line with with Galaxy Fit3. This has leaked extensively recently and now someone managed to snap a photo of the retail box for the band and even took a peek at the price. The boxes were spotted in a store in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, featuring both the black and the silver colorways. There should be a pink gold one too, based on previous leaks. Samsung Galaxy Fit3 retail package Anyway, the Samsung Galaxy Fit3 is reportedly priced TZS 250,000, which converts to...

PDFgear review
9:10 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Software & Services | Tags: , | Comments: Off

PDFgear is a multi-platform app whose Singapore-based developers claim offers everything you need to do to a PDF, all under one roof, and all for free. We’ve tested plenty of the best free PDF editors, and when you consider some of these hide more advanced features behind a subscription, or lack specific tools altogether, this is certainly an attractive proposition. 

Like all the best PDF editors, this one is available on desktop, mobile, and the web - so, we took a look at each app to see what it can do.  

PDFgear: Pricing & plans

PDFgear free PDF editor as we test out each app

The desktop version of PDFgear lets you alter the actual existing text of a PDF for free (Image credit: PDFgear)
  • No charge whether you use the service offline or online, no watermark, no need to create an account. 

OK, the advertising says it’s free, but there’s got to be a catch, right? Apparently not. We’ve looked around and tried various features, but it looks like the developers are true to their word: not only is PDFgear totally free to use, it won’t watermark your work, nor will you need to create an online account. 

We contacted the company about this, and their response hinted at the possibility this might not be the case in the future: “PDFgear is free to use at the current stage, and there are no other versions that contain more functions.” So for right now, everything is free, and that’s worth celebrating. 

PDFgear is available to try by clicking here. 

  • Pricing & plans: 5/5 

PDFgear: Desktop app

PDFgear free PDF editor as we test out each app

The desktop app’s main window showcases all of its one-click tools prominently. If you need to perform more intricate work, use the 'open file’ button on the left  (Image credit: PDFgear)
  • So many features and possibilities - PDFgear lets you edit, annotate, fill in and sign, as well as offering numerous conversion tools

We tested out version 2.1. You’ll find the interface clean and simple. Most of the welcome page is dedicated to various shortcuts which will allow you to perform quick, one-step functions, such as rotating a PDF, taking a screenshot and using the OCR software. As you[‘d expect, there’s also conversion tools and a PDF merger.  

You can display the ‘hottest’ tools, narrow down the results to merely ‘convert’ from or to PDFs, or simply focus on the ‘split & merge’ tools, or just display everything. Click on the tool you need, locate the file you wish to alter, use fields to input your instructions, and save the results. It’s simple, but it’s not drag-and-drop-simple. 

For instance, when splitting a PDF, you need to state which pages you wish to split and put that information in a field. You don’t have a visual representation of the file, or thumbnails of the pages, so no way to just click on the ones you need. Most of the conversion tools don’t need much input, so when it comes to them, such a basic interface works great. 

But these are just the appetisers. To the left is a simple sidebar with a single button: ‘Open File’. This enables you to load a PDF into PDFgear, and gain access to all of its tools. This is where editing the text contained within PDFs is possible. Highlighting text, adding shapes, overlaying images, inserting new URL links, notes, it’s all there for you to use. 

You’ll find some tabs at the top of the page. This is from where you can access the signing and form filling options for instance. There’s even a way to set a password to access your document, or redact certain sensitive sections of it. PDFgear covers pretty much all the bases. 

  • Desktop app: 4.5/5

PDFgear: Mobile app

PDFgear free PDF editor as we test out each app

You can easily annotate and manipulate a PDF on the go, and best of all, the app works in either orientation  (Image credit: PDFgear)
  • A good number of options while you’re on the go, but the potential privacy issue when it comes to accessing your camera from within the app could be a concern for some. 

On Android and iOS, PDFgear lacks the shortcut feature that is so prominently displayed in the desktop version. We also couldn’t find a way to edit the text already present in a PDF. However, the annotation options are vast. The interface works in either landscape or portrait orientation, you can highlight and underline text in multiple colours, draw, add shapes and notes, pretty much the same as what you can do with the Desktop version. 

There’s a cool feature when adding a Text Box: you can turn on your phone’s camera and grab any text it sees. PDFgear will automatically OCR said text and insert it into your document as a moveable and resizable text box. The character recognition isn’t perfect, but thankfully, you'll be able to edit the content, font size and colour. 

There is however a privacy concern when using an iPhone (we couldn’t check this on an Android device). Usually, when you choose to access your camera for the first time from a new app, your iPhone asks you for permission for it to do so, but here, no such permission was requested. Maybe something Apple should look into? 

Additional features include organising pages, creating new ones, and splitting pages from a PDF, as well as built-in eSignature software. It’s a great tool to have when you need to annotate a PDF on the go, and you get to import documents directly from your iPhone, iCloud Drive or Dropbox.  

  • Mobile app: 3.5/5

PDFgear: Web app

PDFgear free PDF editor as we test out each app

You can use PDFgear through your web browser, and although it works fine, it’s not as elegant as the other options open to you  (Image credit: PDFgear)
  • If you need to annotate or fill in a PDF and you’re nowhere near your computer or phone, this would be a godsend.

If you don’t have your computer or mobile device handy, but still need to work on some documents, you can do this without having to download an app onto the machine you’re borrowing: just use PDFgear straight from the developers’ website under the ‘Products’ menu, then select the online tool you’d like to use. 

When it comes to annotation, form building, conversation, splitting and merging, and more, the online tools are very similar to the Desktop version. The only drawback is an interface that isn’t ideally suited for the purpose: you constantly have to visit a dropdown menu to choose the tool you need, and doing so overwrites whatever document you might’ve had on the page at the time. 

The service’s forte lies in its desktop app, so it isn’t too surprising the online version isn’t as polished. PDFgear even quietly urges you to download their app, with a prominent red button, top right of the page. Despite this, you can do everything you’d expect, aside from editing the text of a PDF. We weren’t able to find a tool that does that. The ‘Edit PDF’ option is actually the annotation tool. 

The biggest drawback is of course having to be online to use the service, which isn’t surprising, but it’s worth noting that if your internet drops, so will your ability to work in PDFgear, and if you’re not comfortable uploading a document in order to work on it, then this version is a no-go for you. 

PDFgear works best and is the most feature-rich on a desktop (or laptop), but it’s good to have options, as the mobile version can be fantastic when you’re on the go, while the online version could save your bacon if you’ve got no other option. The fact this app is free and so feature rich is most impressive, just as long as it remains that way. 

  • Web app: 3.5/5

PDFgear: Scorecard

Should I buy?

PDFgear free PDF editor as we test out each app

The various manipulating and conversion tools are easy to access, but lack the visual element that would make them truly easy to use  (Image credit: PDFgear)

Buy it if...

You’re in the market for a powerful and versatile PDF editor, that works on any device you happen to be in front of when you need it.  

Don't buy it if...

You don’t need to edit, annotate or fill in a PDF, or you view free services with deep suspicion. 

PDFgear: Alternatives

If PDFgear doesn't do what you need, check out Adobe Acrobat. Soda PDF Online, Nitro PDF Pro, and Foxit PDF Editor. If you’re on a Mac, give Apple Preview a look. It's fairly basic, but contains many common features for free 

I saw the new LG G4 OLED TV – and the brighter picture is just the beginning
8:47 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Televisions | Comments: Off

LG had its full lineup of new OLED TVs on display at CES 2024 in Las Vegas last month. Although the company’s booth on the show floor always has a carnival-like quality that makes it a fun walk-through (intense crowds aside), at this year's CES I was glad to be invited to a private briefing that let me get an up-close look at the new TVs, the LG G4 OLED included.

The LG G3 was one of the best OLED TVs to arrive in 2023 due to its combination of high peak brightness, powerful gaming features and premium design. Naturally, I was eager to get a look at its successor, which adds a number of features to enhance both performance and usability. Let’s first cover those, and then we’ll move on to my subjective impressions of the LG G4’s picture.

Starting out with performance, the LG G4 features a next-gen MLA (Micro Lens Array) OLED panel that LG Display (the business segment of LG that supplies OLED panels to the LG Electronics division) claims to be capable of 3,000 nits peak brightness. And while it’s unlikely that actual OLED TVs arriving in 2024 will achieve that level of peak light output, LG Electronics has announced that the new G4 TVs will be up to 70% brighter than “conventional” OLED TVs, such as the company’s forthcoming B4 series.

MLA, which is just one of LG’s Brightness Booster Max picture enhancement features, will be featured in the 55-, 65-, 77-inch G4 series models, along with the 83-inch model, a size that lacked MLA in last year’s G3 series. The G4 series will also have a new 97-inch screen size, and that specific model will omit MLA, proving that bigger isn’t always better.

LG G4 OLED TV mounted on wall showing Foundation

The LG G4 OLED did appear to have a brighter picture than the LG G3, and it also did a great job fleshing out shadows in our demo (Image credit: Future)

The new Alpha 11 processor found in both the G4 and M4 (a wireless TV series that is otherwise identical to the G4) provides four times the power of the Alpha 9 processor found in the new LG C4 OLED TVs. That power boost makes possible a Max Peak Highlighter feature that enhances brightness levels by 150% compared to conventional OLED TVs (such as the forthcoming LG B4) for HDR highlights, according to the company.

LG ‘s new processor for its top OLEDs also enables an AI Picture Pro mode with a suite of new features. These include ‘object enhancement by visual perception' to better define objects appearing on-screen, and AI Director Processing, which analyzes the picture to determine the director’s intent and enhance colors accordingly. 

If that all sounds like a bit too much AI for your liking, the AI Picture Pro mode can also be switched off. Another new picture mode making its debut in LG’s 2024 TVs, the G4 series included, is Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode. LG’s TVs will be the first to feature the new mode, which will allow for movies and shows with Dolby Vision HDR to be viewed with the same minimal processing level found in regular Filmmaker Mode.

LG G4 OLED TV showing spaceship on screen

The 65-inch LG G4 (shown) comes with a pedestal stand (Image credit: Future)

Audio, Gaming and Smart TV 

The performance of both audio and gaming will also see improvements in the LG G4. Specifically, the Alpha 11 AI processor will deliver virtual 11.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos sound (the previous LG G3 maxed out at 9.1.2 channels), while a new voice remastering feature isolates and enhances dialogue for greater clarity. Wireless lossless Dolby Atmos and DTS audio output will also be supported when the TVs are paired with higher-end offerings in LG’s soundbar range. On the gaming front, the LG G4 series will join other LG 2024 OLED models in being the first 144Hz Validated TVs, with the validation carried out by Nvidia.

As for usability, the new version of LG’s webOS for its 2024 TVs features smaller Quick Cards, which are hubs on the TV’s home screen for app categories such as sports, games, smart home and more. Quick Cards are now dynamic, with a drop down option so you don’t have to exit the main screen. LG has also added a Voice ID recognition feature to switch between multiple viewer profiles via voice commands, quad-screen multi-view to view up to four video sources onscreen at once, and Chromecast built-in support.

We took issue with LG in our LG G3 review for not including a stand with the TV, but that situation is addressed in the new LG G4, which will ship with a two-position stand for the 55- and 65-inch models (other screen sizes will include a wall mount accessory). One feature we did like in the LG G3 was its ATSC 3.0 tuner, but that has been switched to the older ATSC 1.0 standard in the new LG G4 due to a dispute between the company and an ATSC 3.0 'NextGen TV' tech patent holder.

LG G4 OLED TV

Some screen glare was visible in a brighter section of the space during our demo (Image credit: Future)

LG G4 OLED: how does it look? 

I didn’t get a chance at CES to evaluate the G4 using my own reference 4K Blu-ray discs, but I can say that the new TV’s picture looked very good in the demos LG had set up. It had more than ample brightness, and when viewed in the room’s somewhat dimmed lighting conditions, images popped in a dynamic manner.

While watching clips from the Apple TV Plus show Foundation, I noticed that the blacks were deep as the G4 showed an ability to flesh out a high level of shadow detail in both dark and bright scenes. HDR highlights were also detailed and appeared to have almost the same degree of punch I’ve seen on mini-LED TVs, which are capable of very high peak brightness.

One thing I did note during my demo was that the G4’s screen was somewhat reflective in brighter lighting conditions (see the pic above). In our review of the LG G3, we noted that it had an anti-glare screen and that its picture held up well with room lights on, so we’ll have to investigate this situation further when we get a chance to do a full LG G4 review.

Last year’s LG G3 was priced at launch from $2,099 / £1,999 / AU$4,195 for the 55-inch model and up to $5,799 / £5,999 / AU$10,995 for the 83-inch model, so we expect the new LG G4 to be equally pricey. But if owning LG’s brightest and most design-savvy OLED TV for 2024 is important to you, the G4 may be worth it. We’ll have more to say about that soon, but in the meantime, you should also investigate the new LG C4, which looked to be a serious upgrade over last year’s LG C3 when we did a hands-on LG C4 review at CES.

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TCL 505 announced with 90Hz NxtVision display and Helio G35 chipset
8:14 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: | Comments: Off

TCL tends to announce a plethora of new phones at CES - point in case the 7-member TCL 50 series which debuted back in January. However the company isn't stopping there as it listed the TCL 505 on its website. The phone features a familiar design in line with the rest of the 50-series devices. TCL 505 is built around a 6.75-inch IPS LCD with HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. The panel also features TCL’s NxtVision reflection-free coating which filters blue light and maxes out at 400 nits of brightness. The phone is equipped with a Helio G35 chipset paired with 4GB RAM and...

Spotify surpasses 600 million active users for the first time
7:01 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Comments: Off

Spotify posted its quarterly report, and the numbers look promising. During the last three months, the streaming platform increased its MAU (monthly active users) by 28 million, surpassing its expectations and reaching 600 million, a new high for the Swedish company. Revenue for the full 2023 was €3.7 billion (about $4 billion), which is 16% more than 2022. Operating income did slip into the red with a loss of €75 million, but the company boasted that its ad revenues reached an all-time high of €501 million. The 602 million active users include 236 million Premium subscribers. The...

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League review – friendship isn’t so magic
6:24 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming | Tags: | Comments: Off
Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: February 2, 2024

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League has a confusing opening. The superhero shooter’s tutorial starts you in medias res, leaping around with a full suite of abilities. It’s disorientating, and I found myself wondering if I’d accidentally been thrown further into the game by some sort of glitch. 

Finish that tutorial, which gives you the basics on how each character controls as you guide them through the half-destroyed city of Metropolis, and you’ll be sent back to the actual start of the game, with your antiheroes stuck in prison and recruited for a secret mission. Brainiac has taken control of Metropolis, and you guys are the advance team, set to pave the way for a shadowy government agency to roll in and save the day. 

The kicker? Brainiac has subverted the Justice League itself. And your collection of unpowered dweebs is going to have to go toe to toe with the biggest and best in the DC Comics universe to try and survive.

What follows is several hours of live service nonsense, punctuated with flashes of brilliance that don’t quite justify the investment. The end result is that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a dissatisfying experience, but, not to get too “release the Ayer cut” about it, will also make you wish that developer Rocksteady Studios had just been able to make the game they clearly wanted to make, rather than the slightly messy game that exists.  

Jumping the (King) Shark 

King shark in a hovercraft

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Interactive )

The primary problem with Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is that most of the time is spent in an undercooked but overstimulating open world. At several points while playing co-op with another player, neither of us was entirely sure whether what we were doing was a main mission, a side activity, or just battling some of the Brainiac’s uninspiring purple minions hanging out in the open world.

The shooting itself is fine, but if you’re playing any character that isn’t my beloved King Shark, movement feels frustrating. Every character that isn’t King Shark also has a tiny health pool too, making the chaotic fights that much harder to survive.

Best Bit

Suicide Squad standing together

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Interactive )

Your first encounter with Batman plays out like a horror segment. Each of your characters gets picked off one by one as Batman strikes from the shadows or tricks you. If this is how all of the criminals feel when they encounter The Dark Knight, I’m pro-crime now, poor guys.  

The problem is that every character genuinely is completely different: the four heroes lift a collection of gadgets from the Justice League’s Hall of Justice headquarters in the prologue giving them different travel abilities. Harley can swing around using Batman’s suite of traversal tools, Captain Boomerang can teleport using some knockoff Flash tech, Deadshot has a jetpack and King Shark can… just jump really high. However, he can jump higher than the man with a literal jetpack, travel further than the person who can teleport, and just all around he has a much easier time getting from place to place than the other characters. 

The characters also have their own strengths and weaknesses. Deadshot is a marksman, King Shark is happy leathering people with a pair of giant cleavers and a shotgun. There’s some variance in the game’s loot which is doled out after each mission and, like everything else in the game, is full to bursting with numbers that will overwhelm most players. However, there’s a good chance you’ll find a weapon class that works for you and just plug away with that.  

In the storyline the characters also feel well-sketched out. King Shark gets a lot of the best lines, channeling James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad movie and just being wonderfully earnest even as the entire DC universe comes apart around him. The rest of the characters also get great lines (an early moment where Amanda Waller, wonderfully portrayed by Debra Wilson, declares that she’s the daddy now should get a Golden Joystick of some description), and the moment-to-moment beats are genuinely excellent, even if I’m not really into the rest of the story. 

In blackest night 

King Shark standing next to frozen people

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Interactive )

I wince a little at the somewhat complicated canon, as Rocksteady and Warner Bros. have both been clear that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League sits within the timeline established by Arkham Asylum and its sequels. This means that the Batman lots of us bought into in those games is the same Batman that’s here massacring the innocent people of Metropolis. It’s a bold choice, but one that leaves me feeling a little uneasy. I wouldn’t be surprised if a late story addition introduced as part of the game’s live service roadmap rolls things back a bit, but I also recognize it’s just that I liked the Arkham games so much it’s a shame to watch them do Batman dirty like this. 

Accessibility features

Accessibility features for suicide squad kill the justice league

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Interactive )

There’s a host of different controller options that include sensitivity adjustments, aim assists, input settings to allow you to auto-run, toggle aiming, and other tweaks. Three colour blind options and a custom option for you to tweak colours as you see fit and options to alter fullscreen effects make this a fairly comprehensive package on the graphics side, while detailed audio sliders allow you to alter things there too. Subtitles can be adjusted and there are text-to-speech options, too.  

This is just me being a bit squeamish of characters that I have some affection for though, because this is the sort of superheroic deconstruction that we’ve seen with The Boys and even unsuccessfully in Jupiter’s Legacy Ascending. Here it’s done fairly well and the tentpole moments sing. An early encounter with Batman is legitimately terrifying, while seeing a lot of the heroes descend into unhinged madness is a treat with some inventive use of powers. However, outside of these moments, the game is done a disservice by the need to have a big open world filled with things to do. It feels like there are two different games squabbling here: the tightly scripted Suicide Squad; and the open-world live service Suicide Squad, and a lot of the friction comes from the games crashing into each other awkwardly. 

You’re dragged from a tense situation where you try to remove the bombs jabbed into your neck and chucked into a quick section where you pilot a flying car around to try and blow up some of Brainiac’s crystals or something. Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is consistently overwhelming, whether that’s the on screen UI, the loot you’re constantly faffing with or the byzantine skill trees. 

It’s exhausting and hard to recommend when the flashes of brilliance in the game are so well obscured by everything else. So, in a way Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’s disjointed opening is emblematic of the whole game: an overstimulating exercise in confusion that has solid ideas you’ll have to dive deep to find. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble.  

If you're still searching for some thrilling games, check out the best multiplayer PC games as well as the best FPS games, which are available to play now. 

Our Samsung Galaxy S24+ video review is out
5:49 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Comments: Off

Samsung's Galaxy S24 series just went on sale last week and we are now ready with our video review of the S24+ smartphone. It is an obvious improvement over the S24 with its bigger footprint but is also a solid update over its predecessor. In our video review, Will takes you on a synthesized trip around the Samsung Galaxy S24+, revealing how it performed in our tests. Our unit is powered by Exynos 2400 and we found out the device is not handling heat as good as we would've wanted. Thermal throttling is quick to kick in, but it would be unfair to compare it to anything else, before...

Xiaomi 14 global debut set for February 25
4:57 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Comments: Off

Xiaomi just confirmed it will bring its flagship Xiaomi 14 series smartphones outside of China later this month. The Xiaomi 14 series will have its global premiere on Sunday, February 25 in Barcelona just ahead of MWC Barcelona which starts a day later. Based on the teasers we can expect to see the debut of the long-awaited Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Based on the teaser we’re expecting Xiaomi to introduce its top-tier Xiaomi 14 Ultra alongside the more compact Xiaomi 14. We’ve seen reports indicate that the 14 Pro will, unfortunately, not make its way outside of China. The landing page on...

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