Technology News for Monday 13th September 2021

1. iOS 15 is coming soon: Release date, rumors and everything we know before Apple's next event

We've got all the buzz about Apple's latest OS, from new features to how to download the update. ... Apple could use facial recognition to validate digital ID cards for the Wallet app in iOS 15.

2. Fortnite's 'Operation: Sky Fire' event just crashed a massive UFO mothership to end Chapter 2, Season 7

Chapter 2, Season 7 ended Sunday (Sept. 17) with the spaceship appearing to break up into pieces and starting to crash into the island below, although participating players were literally left falling in mid-air before three words flashed on the screen: " ...

3. Fortnite season 8 is all about the cubes

Season 8 of the battle royale's second chapter just launched and it's called, simply, “Cubed.” The premise is pretty strange: according to developer Epic, the cubes that used to power the giant alien mothership have now been set free to wreak havoc on the ...

4. How to enable Dark Mode for Google Search on desktops

With its minimal contrast ratio for readability, the darker version of Google Search will help users reduce eye strain. Similar to Dark Mode implementations on smartphone apps, Google Search users on desktop will now be able to switch between three modes.

5. Carriers will drive iPhone 13 sales, but deals won't last forever

The WSJ reports. iPhone sales have been booming since it launched models last year with ultrafast 5G cellular capability—boosted in large part by wireless companies' attractive offers to get customers using the new technology ...

6. Nintendo lowers Switch price across Europe ahead of OLED model

Nintendo is lowering the price of its base Switch model across Europe ahead of the OLED version's launch next month. The Nintendo Switch is now priced at €299.99 in Europe, down €30 from the previous €329.99 pricing. In the UK, Nintendo has adjusted ...

7. Total War: Warhammer 3 has been delayed until “early 2022?

The news was announced on Creative Assembly's social media channels via message from the studio's chief product officer, Rob Bartholomew. While he doesn't cite a specific reason for the delay, he does expand a bit ...

8. What to expect from Apple's iPhone 13 event

Rumors suggest a potentially less dramatic set of announcements compared to the iPhone 12's radical flat-edged design. It does seem like the Apple Watch and AirPods could get some serious attention, though, even if the iPhone 13 looks more or less the same ...

9. Deathloop review: The best reason to buy a PS5 yet

Developed by Arkane Studios, of Dishonored fame, Deathloop is a murder-puzzle inspired by psychadelic '60s culture. You play as Colt, waking up on the shores of Blackreef Island only to discover you're stuck in a time loop -- don't you hate it when that ...

10. Why SpaceX's private Inspiration4 mission to Earth orbit is so important

This isn't a cause for alarm. The Inspiration4 crew will fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, a highly advanced and automated spacecraft that has showcased its abilities on multiple crewed missions to the ISS for NASA.

11. A fix for the 'ghosts' breaking Rainbow Six Siege has been deployed

An image of a bug preventing Ranked play in Rainbow Six Siege. (Image credit: Ubisoft via Morgan Park). This article was updated at ...

12. iPhone 13 has a lot to live up to: After 5G, Apple needs to find the next big thing

The tech giant is expected to offer new iPhones on Tuesday that could include technology for making emergency phone calls even without a cellular signal. The new feature, which reportedly will rely on a chip designed to talk to low-orbit satellites, may ...

13. AirPods 3: Apple's new earbuds could debut with the iPhone 13

PT? The new and improved earbuds may make their debut alongside the iPhone 13 and Apple Watch 7 on Tuesday, according to a recent investor note from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The AirPods 3 are said to look similar to the AirPods Pro, and feature spatial ...

14. Respawn delaying Apex Legends tap-strafing changes due to 'unexpected side effects'

Respawn's plans to remove tap-strafing from Apex Legends are being put on hold. Tap-strafing, a mechanic that allows PC players to quickly change directions after a slide jump, was initially slated to be axed in Apex's Patch 10.1.

15. YouTube Kills Two Big Discord Music Bots, And That Sucks

Today, the popular video streaming service YouTube committed a murder most foul. Two stalwart members of any Discord server worth its salt, stolen away from us in the night. Groovy and Rythm are dead, and I will mourn my beautiful robot companions with ...

16. Epic Games appeals last week's ruling in antitrust battle with Apple

Apple immediately declared the court battle a victory, as the judge had agreed with its position that the company was “not in violation of antitrust law” and had also deemed Apple's success in the app and gaming ecosystem as “not illegal.” ...

17. iPhone 13's major rumored upgrade: Why ProRes is such a big deal

It's a video codec Apple made in 2007. ProRes can compress a video into a small file while retaining a lot of the image quality and color. It's a widely used codec optimized for editing software like Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro and Davinci Resolve.

18. You Should Be Hyped About This New God of War Character

Santa Monica Studio already had my axe even before it revealed the new trailer for God of War Ragnarok during the PlayStation Showcase. But now it also has my curiosity after showing a character named Angrboda at the end of its first gameplay trailer.

19. Android 12 is reportedly due out on October 4

XDA says it has an internal Google document detailing the "tentative" release date for Android 12. The document actually only lists when the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) source code will be released, but the developer source code release and the ...

20. Zoom is adding live translation services, more hybrid work features

Zoom is adding new features including live translation services -- but they may come at an extra cost. Sarah Tew/CNET. At its annual Zoomtopia conference on Monday, Zoom unveiled several new features for the video chat platform, aiming to help its ...

21. Windows 11 release date is October 5

After testing Windows 11 for a couple of months, Microsoft is confident enough that it has announced that it will release the operating system on October 5. The OS will ship to new and existing PCs on this date. This is something that has been known ...

22. Deathloop is an intricate mystery that also happens to be an amazing action game

And Deathloop most certainly fits into that lineage, with its stealth-focused exploration, supernatural abilities, and open-ended gameplay that almost always gives you a handful of ways to tackle a problem. On a moment-to-moment basis it's as tense, ...

23. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak launches space company following Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos

Steve Wozniak is co-founder of a new space company called Privateer Space. James Martin/CNET. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak tweeted on Sunday about a "private space company" he's launching that's "unlike the others." Called Privateer Space ...

24. Twitch sues two users for harassing streamers with hate raids

Twitch filed a lawsuit late last week against two people on its own platform for running automated hate and harassment campaigns. The harassment, often targeted at Black and LGBTQ streamers, manifests in a unique Twitch phenomenon as a “hate raid.

25. Where to find color bottles and rainbow ink in Fortnite to customize Toona Fish

Fortnite season 8 introduces a new character that players can customize over the next couple months. Instead of an alien, it's something much more horrifying: A toon version of Fishsticks, much like Meowscles' cel-shaded toon skin.

26. Paradox CEO apologizes for 'inappropriate behavior' with employee in 2018

Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester has issued a statement apologizing for his "inappropriate behavior" with another Paradox employee during a company conference held in 2018. "Beginning of 2018, we held a company-wide conference, and during this ...

27. Apple Issues Emergency Security Updates to Close a Spyware Flaw

Researchers at Citizen Lab found that NSO Group, an Israeli spyware company, had infected Apple products without so much as a click.

28. Apple patches a NSO zero-day flaw affecting all devices

Apple has released security updates for a newly discovered zero-day vulnerability that affects every iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Citizen Lab, which discovered the vulnerability and was credited with the find, urges users to immediately update ...

29. iOS 15: Watch out for these 7 bugs after downloading the beta on your iPhone

We never recommend downloading a beta version of any software on your primary device due to bugs. In the case of iOS 15, you should only download this public beta if you have a second iPhone that you can use for testing -- not on your main device.

30. LinkedIn is rolling out dark mode globally. Here's how to turn it on

LinkedIn is rolling out dark mode worldwide on Monday, giving its more than 774 million members the option to browse the business-oriented social network with white text on a dark background.

31. Amazon gives the Kindle's interface a refresh

Amazon has announced that most recent Kindles will be getting a new simpler UI through a software update (via Ars Technica). The update mainly focuses on navigation, adding a bar to the bottom of the screen that lets you jump between the Home screen, ...

32. Instagram is building a 'Favorites' feature so you don't miss important posts

The Instagram Favorites feature was recently spotted in development by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who found a new pushpin icon for Favorites in the Instagram Settings menu, and other details about how the feature may work.

33. Everything we expect at tomorrow's Apple event: iPhone 13, Apple Watch 7 and more

Apple's next launch event is only a day away, and rumors are already gearing up for a fourth event later in 2021. ... Apple will host its next 2021 event on Sept. 14. Angela ...

34. Cross into the Sideways in Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 8: Cubed

The Island was defended from the Alien Invasion… but at what cost? The Alien threat has been vanquished as a result of Operation: Sky Fire, but it turns out the Mothership was being powered by the faceless and speechless yet sentient and malicious ...

35. Android 12 may be released on October 4th

September 8th, 2020, the day Google says was the AOSP release of Android 11, was also the same day the software was released to the public. That's not hard confirmation, but it does make October 4th, 2021 seem a lot more likely as an Android 12 release ...