While we’d just heard a rumor that the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will be revealed on September 13, potentially launching ahead of the iPhone 13, a new rumor claims Google will unveil both phones in mid-October, with a Google Pixel 6 release date on October 28.
The new dates were announced by leaker Jon Prosser via Front Page Tech; he cited his own sources for both the Google Pixel 6 release date of October 28 when the phone is available in stores and when both are open for pre-order on October 19. While he wasn’t sure when the expected #MadeByGoogle launch event would be, he guessed that the latter date would be a good guess.
EXCLUSIVE: NO. The Google Pixel 6 is NOT launching the day before the iPhone 13 event 😂Here’s when it’s actually coming 👇https://t.co/1vitXLfLMTAugust 31, 2021
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In the post, Prosser admonished media (and by inclusion, TechRadar) for repeating the previous claim of a September 13 launch date, which came from leaker Bald Panda on Weibo. Per Prosser, it makes little sense for Google to try to beat Apple to market, especially since it goes against both companies’ typical launch windows.
Analysis: Google Pixel 6, reclaiming the October launch window?
Yes, it would make sense for Google to keep its usual October launch window, especially if Apple is rumored to launch on September 14. Google has launched every flagship Pixel phone in October, though it bounced between both months when releasing its later Nexus phones.
While Apple has consistently launched iPhones in September, last year’s Covid-related delays resulted in the larger iPhone 12 Pro Max and smaller iPhone 12 mini releasing later in October. We haven’t heard much about whether Apple’s expecting the same supply issues this year, but either way, Google would have an uphill battle trying to steal the spotlight from the latest iPhone.
We wouldn’t sell the Pixel 6 short, though: the new Google-built Tensor chipset bundled with its eye-catching new (officially revealed) design and Android 12 features will probably make it a contender among flagship phones – but we’ll have to wait and see how they all combine for a top phone.
South Korea has passed a new bill that forces app stores to let developers use payment systems of their choice. Essentially, this means app devs can sidestep Apple and Google’s up to 30% cuts by transacting directly with consumers or using a service that takes a smaller cut.
The Telecommunications Business Act bill passed by South Korea’s National Assembly will become law when it’s signed by President Moon Jae-in, Bloomberg reported, which could be as early as next month.
The bill has obvious implications for Apple and Google’s businesses, as well as the ongoing legal suits Epic Studios brought against both companies. Epic would now be able to secure payments from users directly by using its own pay system and avoid giving Apple or Google any cut of the revenue.
Apple has used its App Store as a gatekeeper for software, requiring developers to run through its approval process to release apps intended to run on iPhones (on iOS) and iPads (on iPadOS). Google permits ‘side-loading’ apps for phones and tablets running its Android operating system, but both it and Apple have forced apps to pay through first-party stores: if you’re making money on your app, the tech giant that owns the OS and associated app store will take its cut.
While this rigid control hasn’t been popular with app developers, it’s gone largely unchallenged until Epic engaged in simultaneous legal battles with both Apple and Google. Epic wants to put its own software store on iOS and Android devices, presumably but not officially to pay less or none of the revenue cuts to both tech giants.
But the South Korean bill wasn’t passed specifically to advocate for expanding software availability on mobile platforms – it only frees up developers to use a different payment service if they choose. Korean lawmakers reportedly passed this legislation to get ahead of Google closing a loophole that exempted the country from needing to use its payment system (and apply its 30% revenue cut) to non-gaming apps, per Bloomberg.
Should Apple, Google or other companies fail to comply, they could be fined up to 3% of revenue made in South Korea, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Analysis: the first domino to opening up app store payments worldwide?
Both Apple and Google have claimed that restricting software through their app stores has kept users safe, with Apple claiming its efforts prevented a supposed $1.5 billion in fraud. But maintaining their hold on iOS, iPadOS and Android revenue is very lucrative: the Apple App Store and Google Play Store brought in a combined $64.9 billion in revenue in the first half of 2021, per a June report by analyst firm Sensor Tower.
The big question is: what does this mean for app markets outside South Korea? While we knew that South Korean lawmakers were going to make a decision about Apple and Google’s app stores, other countries have not introduced similar legislation – at least on a national level.
The US state of Arizona’s lawmakers proposed a bill in March similar to South Korea’s that would free developers from being forced to use Apple and Google’s payment systems. While the bill died in committee before the month’s end, reportedly due to heavy lobbying by both tech giants just before the votes according to The Verge, it shows that some legislators elsewhere in the world are interested in the issue.
That interest could reignite now that South Korea’s efforts have become law – especially showing that legislation can succeed despite pushback from Apple and Google. We’ll have to see whether laws succeed where Epic’s legal trials have not.
As the pandemic has left SMBs short on funds at a time when cyber threats are increasing, Kaspersky has unveiled a new free platform with tips and tricks to help them quickly improve their organization's security posture.
According to the cybersecurity firm's “How small businesses got through 2020-2021” report, more than half (52%) of all businesses surveyed said that financial difficulties seen during the past 12 months will likely become permanent. At the same time, 47 percent of SMBs said they struggle with funding cybersecurity improvements even if they realize the importance of protection from cyber threats.
As a result, organizations are less likely to spend more on cybersecurity going forward despite increased risks from malware and ransomware.
This is why Kaspersky has created its new Kaspersky Cybersecurity On a Budget platform that provides a set of short but actionable recommendations that are relevant for any company as well as specific tips for different verticals and business needs.
Kaspersky Cybersecurity On a Budget
In the main three sections of Kaspersky Cybersecurity On a Budget, visitors can learn best practices around most general routines and processes in any business like how to safeguard client databases, reports and other important data, how to spend less on IT and how to organize a company's internal and external communication.
The platform also includes guidelines for specific business needs such as organizations operating in the healthcare sector, those working with intellectual property and businesses that hire freelancers. These 'to-dos' are presented in an interactive format where a user must answer a short question before getting a tip to help them quickly receive the recommendations they need.
All of the advice including on the Kaspersky Cybersecurity On a Budget platform is short but actionable with instructions that can be implemented quickly and don't require difficult IT or cybersecurity skills.
EVP of corporate business at Kaspersky, Evgeniya Naumova provided further insight on how SMBs can benefit from the company's new free cybersecurity-focused platform in a press release, saying:
“At Kaspersky, we are confident that by following basic rules, organizations can achieve an essential level of cyber protection in a short time and without additional resources. Be it a small construction company, a cafe or a marketing agency, the platform works for anyone. The pandemic hit small businesses hard so finance and resources may be limited today. This is one more argument towards investing a few minutes to read and a few hours to implement recommendations that will then help to keep your business protected."
In just the past few years, 4K TVs plowed through the market with a ton of features and technologies that made them almost irresistible. The best 4K TVs for gaming are offering high refresh rates and adaptive sync technologies to contend with gaming monitors, but the wide color gamuts and staggering peak brightness levels for HDR on these TVs put most gaming monitors to shame — even our favorite one, the LG UltraGear 38GN950.
A select few gaming monitors borrow TV tech like 10-bit color depths and full-array local dimming to keep up, but these “monitors” are just as large as the TVs they’re competing with. And even smaller monitors do boast HDR specs to compete with TVs, they often cost as much or more than those TVs. This leaves PC gamers who want the best visuals at their desk in a pickle: stick to a smaller monitor without the latest TV tech, pay big-screen prices for a smaller monitor, or just go big. But, how practical is it really to use a TV-sized display as a PC gaming monitor? We decided to find out the hard way.
(Image credit: Future)
The setup
We didn’t want to let a poor choice of panel or features skew the results of our experiment against the big display, so we picked up a 55-inch LG CX OLED TV to get one of the most compelling, large gaming screens on the market. The display offers a 120Hz variable refresh rate at 4K with a wide color gamut, high peak brightness, and a contrast ratio no gaming monitor can match. This left its size as the main variable as to how well it worked in our setup.
We mounted the LG CX on our 52-inch wide desk, of which it took up almost the entire width, but we still had space for a desk-size mouse pad for our mouse and keyboard in front of the display. That’ll be a warning flag for some – not every desk is going to be able to hold such a large display.
Setting up a desk space with such a large display is also harder. It’s not easy reaching around to the back of such a big display to plug in HDMI cables or to route USB cables for peripherals. And, of course, hoisting the TV onto the desk can present its own difficulties. If you’re regularly changing things around in your setup, a big screen just makes it harder.
With the TV in position, we were able to use our gaming PC either seated up close at the desk or we could roll our chair back and play at a distance. Since our focus here is how well a large display can serve in place of a gaming monitor and not for couch gaming, though, the ability to play at a distance is just a perk to note.
(Image credit: LG)
The experience
The presence of a 55-inch display on our desk was almost immediately overwhelming and took some getting used to. It effectively fills the majority of our field of view. A 34-inch ultrawide gaming monitor might seem fairly expansive, but it pales in comparison to the scale of a 55-inch TV sitting the same distance from our eyes.
As a workspace, it’s almost magical. The ability to move windows to just about anywhere and fit plenty on the display at once can’t be overlooked. But, we quickly found the drawbacks adding up.
4K is for farther away
For one thing, the much-praised 4K resolution that has become ubiquitous in TVs doesn’t hold up so well from the usual viewing distance at a desk. To put things into perspective, a 55-inch 4K TV is akin four 27-inch 1080p monitors, which isn’t the paramount of sharpness. At even arms length, we noticed individual pixels clearly enough. This would be less of an issue on a 48-inch display or 43-inch like Gigabyte’s Aorus FV43U. But even in the case of a 43-inch display, you’re looking at a pixel density of 102 PPI that falls short of the 27-inch 1440p monitors that are almost a staple in PC gaming.
The ability to peep pixels on that granular level hurts the gaming experience some, too. Though having a lot of graphics in motion helps distract from each pixel, it still stands out when we stop to appreciate the fine details in games. If you hate seeing jagged edges because of weak anti-aliasing, you won’t stand for this.
Bright for our eyesight
While there’s no knocking a wider color gamut, the high peak brightnesses of big screens is also a different experience up close. The LG CX isn’t the brightest TV you can get, as OLEDs are more about contrast ratio where QLED TVs are doing more for peak brightness, but the display is still a lot brighter than the many VESA DisplayHDR 400 monitors popping up on the market. Despite not being the brightest, the LG CX can be a strain on our eyes, and we even went as far as dialing down the brightness levels, which definitely helped with usability.
But, limiting the brightness may defeat the purpose for some. The main thing smaller PC monitors fall behind on (besides size, of course) is brightness — just have a look at how few monitors below 43 inches earned the DisplayHDR 1000 certification. If the reason for buying a massive display for your PC gaming setup is so you can enjoy higher peak brightnesses but the actual brightness is so high you have to turn it down, is there actually a point in buying that bigger display?
Framing things differently
It’s not all bad, though. We found some perks to the massive size of the display. Playing shooters, the area for scoped fire was so huge, it was incredibly easy to make out targets and keep them in the crosshairs. What might have been a 2X scope gave us the viability of a 4X scope. Similarly, distant details were easier to perceive. That said, the size of the display also meant some part of the scene would be out in our peripheral vision, making those bits harder to see in the heat of the moment.
Since our field of view was so full, the experience was almost like VR — but the motion sickness-inducing kind. Running animations that bring a lot of camera movement were dizzying.
There are some options to tweak the display, though. If the full expanse of the display is useful in some games and a hindrance in others, you don’t have to use the whole display. It’s possible to output video at a different resolution and aspect ratio from the display’s native specs, such as going for a 21:9 or 32:9 area. This could still take full advantage of the display width without expanding so much into the vertical area, and it can be a lot cheaper than ultra-wide options like the Samsung Odyssey G9. It will result in letterboxing, but on a premium display with a high contrast ratio or local dimming, those black bars may not be too distracting (or will be pure black, in the case of an OLED display like the LG CX).
(Image credit: Future)
Is it practical or worth it?
While it was an interesting experiment, the up-close-and-personal nature of gaming made a TV-size display feel more absurd than anything. For the few cases where it showed utility, it wasn’t achieved practically. For example, setting up a bunch of windows to work on was still held back by the low sharpness and the reality that only one or two of them would be anywhere close to ergonomically centered. And running at a different aspect ratio and resolution just illustrates that the screen is too large otherwise.
Price comes into the practicality equation, too. The bigger displays that offer high-end features tend to cost a lot. Gigabyte’s Aorus FV43U is on the smaller side and costs $1,100 (£1,000 / AU$1,699), and our review still found it too big for up-close use. The best gaming TVs don’t come cheap either.
None of this is to say you can’t go for a big screen to enjoy PC games on. If you’re setting up your gaming PC in the living room or plan to play at some distance, it can be a great setup. But, for traditional PC gaming at a desk, you’re better off waiting for some of these premium features to eventually make it to the gaming monitor market rather than opting for a big TV or a display acting like a monitor despite having the proportions of a TV.
Welcome toTechRadar’s PC Gaming Week 2021, our celebration of the greatest gaming platform on Earth. Despite the global pandemic and ongoing GPU shortages, PC gaming has never been more vibrant and exciting, and throughout the week we’ll be reflecting this with a selection of in-depth articles, interviews and essential buying guides.
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