Android users could soon gain access to Tidal’s Early Access Program

Tidal isn’t the most popular music streaming service, but it offers things that are not available on other platforms. The most popular lure for most users is its high-quality audio. With its highest subscription tier, users can experience Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) music up to 9612kbps. It’s impressive, to say the least. If you’re a Tidal user on Android, the company is preparing to roll out its Early Access Program.

Andrew Romero of 9to5Google states that the service is inviting users through email, and those that are willing to opt in will get “a sneak peek at the latest features.” Those that go forward and register for the program will be able to provide feedback to the app’s developers. If this sounds like something you want to be a part of and you have not received an email, you can join. But, there is one catch, and that is you must be subscribed to Tidal’s “HiFi Plus” tier.

Tidal currently offers three tiers of service. The free tier gives users access to 90 million songs with audio quality up to 160kbps with limited interruptions and curated playlists. The next tier up is “HiFi,” costing $9.99 a month and features everything the free tier offers, plus access to songs ad-free with audio quality up to 1411kbps. The paid tier will also grant access to over 450,000 videos, offline listening, playlists, and more. The HiFi Plus tier costs $19.99 and includes everything that the HiFi tier offers, but it will deliver the best fidelity audio (MQA music up to 9612kbps) with support for Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio. Furthermore, part of your subscription fee will go directly to the artist.

Checking the Tidal website and the Early Access page, it states that the Early Access Program is currently only available to iOS users. But, looking through the FAQ, there is a sliver of hope that says, “Stay tuned for an opportunity to join the Early Access Program if you’re an Android user!” If interested, you can download the app and be sure to sign up for the HiFi Plus tier so you can gain access.

Are you a Tidal HiFi Plus tier member? Have you received an email for the Android Early Access Program? Let us know.

TIDAL Music (Free, Google Play) →

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Source: 9to5Google

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Valve updates its shipping windows for Steam Decks again

Valve has been doing an excellent job of getting its Steam Deck console into the hands of more people. If you’ve been patiently waiting, there could be some good news. The company announced changes through its OnDeck Twitter account, letting everyone know that deliveries that were previously estimated for Q4 might now be fulfilled in Q3.

This means that if you were previously scheduled to get your Steam Deck from October through December, you could now potentially expect it to arrive by the end of next month. With that said, there is a small catch with the newly updated timeline. Unfortunately, not everyone will be bumped up to the Q3 timeframe. It will be completely dependent on when you reserved your console.

Great news! We are making more Steam Decks than ever, and have just updated shipping window estimates for reservation holders. If you were previously in the Q4 (Oct-Dec) window, take a look – you might be in Q3 now!https://t.co/AcuGmUy8LN pic.twitter.com/KinXBnFMSb

— Steam Deck (@OnDeck) August 24, 2022

Valve has continued to impress, continuously pushing up reservation windows for those patiently waiting. While shipments felt like they were being delivered at a snail’s pace at one point, Valve seemed to really turn the corner in June, announcing that it had completed its order for Q2 and was moving on to reservations in Q3. The company would add that it would be more than doubling shipments for the next round.

Last month, Valve issued a new update, stating that it was ramping up production and that it would be able to fulfill orders sooner due to improvements in the supply chain. It even boldly claimed that it would fulfill all existing pre-orders by the end of the year. Because of this, many folks who were previously in the “Q4 or later” category were bumped up to Q3. Those in the “later” part were bumped up to Q4.

While it has done an impressive job with shipments, it has also done an excellent job of improving the console through software. The firm has released several updates, improving the console’s performance and reliability. It has even managed to offer proper support for Windows through updated drivers, despite stating that it wouldn’t. If you are curious about the status of your order, you can head to the Steam Store to check to see whether your position in the queue has been changed.

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Source: Steam Deck (Twitter)

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Will there be a Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Ultra?

Samsung recently unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 along with a new lineup of Wear OS smartwatches during its mid-year Galaxy Unpacked event. Ahead of the launch, we saw various leaks about the new smartwatches, suggesting that the Galaxy Watch 5 lineup would include a new top-of-the-line variant with a titanium case and sapphire glass. Some speculated that this could be the Galaxy Watch 5 Ultra, but that wasn’t the case. Although the Galaxy Watch 5 lineup includes a new flagship model with a titanium case and sapphire glass, Samsung did not go with the ‘Ultra’ moniker for this variant.

The all-new Wear OS smartwatch lineup from Samsung includes three models — the Galaxy Watch 5 (40mm), the Galaxy Watch 5 (44mm), and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro (45mm). Since we haven’t seen any leaks about a fourth Galaxy Watch for this year, it’s safe to say that there won’t be a Galaxy Watch 5 Ultra. If you eagerly waited for one, you can go with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro instead. It’s a rugged version of the regular Galaxy Watch 5, featuring a larger 1.4-inch display and a bigger 590mAh battery pack.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the top-of-the-line Wear OS smartwatch from Samsung for this year.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro also features an improved D-Buckle Sports Band, which is more durable than the silicone strap on the non-Pro variant. In terms of features, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro offers everything you get with the regular model, along with GPX support that allows you to record and share your hikes with fellow-trail lovers on the Samsung Health app. If you’re into hiking or cycling, you can also use the smartwatch to track download hiking and cycling routes for offline use and utilize its Track Back feature to get back home safely.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the latest flagship Wear OS smartwatch from Samsung and, while it doesn't have the 'Ultra' moniker, it still offers some improvement over the regular Galaxy Watch 5.

Pre-order at Samsung.com

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will go on sale in the U.S. starting August 26. It will be available in two standard colorways — Gray Titanium and Black Titanium. The Gray Titanium variant features a matching gray strap, while the Black Titanium model comes with a black band. Samsung is also offering the watch in a special Golf Edition model, which has a black case and a white strap. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro comes in Bluetooth and LTE variants priced at $449.99 and $499.99, respectively.

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Google Play Games on Windows comes to more countries with lower system requirements

Google has announced that Google Play Games beta on Windows is available in a couple more countries starting today. The service originally launched back in March in South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and now it’s also expanding to everyone in Thailand and Australia. The service is still in beta, but Google has also made some improvements to make Play Games more accessible on Windows.

Now, the app has lower system requirements, so more hardware configurations should support it. For one thing, you no longer need a dedicated GPU in order to run Google Play Games, so devices with integrated GPUs should be just fine. Google recommends at least Intel UHD Graphics 630 (or equivalent), which is an integrated GPU that’s already a few years old, so most PCs should be fine.

Google has also changed the CPU requirements, so instead of eight logical cores, it now requires four physical cores. This will enable support for processors that only have one thread per processor, which could include some lower-end CPUs, and even some older mid-range processors like the AMD Ryzen 5 4500U, which has six physical cores but only one thread per core (thus, only six logical cores).

Finally, Google has also lowered the storage requirements, so you should be able to use Google Play Games with just 10GB of free internal storage, as opposed to the 20GB that were required previously.

As Google continues to work towards a full release of Google Play Games on Windows, this will ensure many more people are able to play these games on their PC, in addition to their phones. Since its initial launch, Google says it has more than doubled the catalog of Android games available on PC, with over 50 titles now supported. These include some popular games such as Summoners War, Cookie Run: Kingdom, and Last Fortress: Underground.

If you’re in any of the supported regions, you can sign up for the Google Play Games for Windows beta here. You can also register your interest for when the service launches in other markets in the future,

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Can the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 series measure your blood pressure?

Believe it or not, your shiny new Galaxy Watch 5 can measure your blood pressure, a feature it borrows from its predecessor Galaxy Watch 4. As you might have guessed, it’s not as accurate as a traditional blood pressure cuff. And it’s intended for personal reference only and not for medical diagnosis or detecting or monitoring of any disease. So how do you take a blood pressure measurement with your Galaxy Watch 5? Well, it’s a bit tricky.

You can’t start measuring blood pressure on your Galaxy Watch 5 right out of the box. You’ll need to download the Samsung Health Monitor app on your watch and smartphone. In addition, you’ll also have to calibrate the watch using a blood pressure cuff. That means you’ll have to shell out money on a medical-grade cuff if you don’t have one already. Moreover, you’ll have to calibrate the watch every four weeks.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

The Galaxy Watch 5 comes with a wide range of health and wellness tools including blood pressure monitoring and ECG.

Buy from Samsung

There is a long list of limitations associated with blood pressure monitoring and ECG. For one, these features are only available in select markets. And secondly, both blood pressure measurement and ECG features are exclusive to Samsung Galaxy smartphones. While it was possible to bypass these restrictions on the Galaxy Watch 4 using modded apps, we can’t confirm at the moment if the same apps work on the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro offers a big battery and a wide range of health and wellness tools including blood pressure monitoring and ECG.

Buy from Samsung

The new Galaxy Watch 5 series brings several important upgrades over the last lineup, including a bigger battery, faster charging, stronger design, and new wellness features. In addition to the 3-in-1 BioActive sensor, the new watches come equipped with a new temperature sensor that allows users to measure their body temperature right from their wrist. The Galaxy Watch 5 series now also provides recovery, including post-cardio heart rate after a workout and personalized recommendations on water consumption based on sweat loss. Both smartwatches run the brand new Wear OS 3.5 out of the box with Samsung’s One UI for Watch on top.

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Acer announces the sustainability-focused Chromebook Vero 514

Acer has announced the latest member of its sustainability-focused brand, the Chromebook Vero 514, which is also the first Vero-branded Chromebook in the company’s lineup. Acer introduced the first Vero laptop with the Acer Aspire Vero in 2021, and a few more models have been introduced since then, but this is the first one powered by Google’s Chrome OS.

In line with its environmentally-conscious design, the laptop uses 30% post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) in the chassis, 50% PCR in the keycaps, and 100% ocean-bound plastics for the surface of the touchpad, plus the cardboard packaging uses 90% recycled paper. The exterior of the laptop also uses a paint-free chassis, and the display panel is 99% recyclable, so sustainability is definitely a big focus here.

The Acer Chromebook Vero 514 also doesn’t skimp out on specs, though. It’ll be available with up to an Intel Core i7-1255U, so it’s packing the latest and greatest on that front Plus, it has up to 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The first configuration available in the US isn’t quite that powerful, though. It will be powered by an Intel Core i3-1215U, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD, which is still a solid combination for a mid-range Chromebook. It also has a 14-inch display with Full HD resolution, and in some markets (not the US), touch support.

It even includes niceties like a fingerprint reader for biometric authentication, as well as a Full HD webcam for video calls. Plus, the chassis still meets MIL-STD-810H military standards for durability, so there aren’t a ton of compromises being made here.

The US configuration of the Acer Chromebook Vero 514 will be available starting in mid-October at Best Buy, and it will cost $499.99, which is frankly not a terrible price for a laptop with these specs. You’re not paying a huge premium for the sustainable design, which makes this device all the more interesting.

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How many software updates will the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 get?

Samsung has consistently proved that it’s the best in the business when it comes to delivering software updates to its devices. A lot of the Samsung flagships, as you probably already know, are eligible for four major Android updates and up to five years of security updates. Well, you can now add the company’s new foldable devices to this list as well. That’s right, the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 will get four years of Android OS updates.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, in case you’re wondering, ships with Android 12L out of the box. It’s the first Samsung phone to launch with Android 12L, making it that much better than the Galaxy Z Flip 4 in terms of productivity and handling other day-to-day tasks. The fact that it comes with Android 12L out of the box means it will support all the way up to Android 16 or whatever Google decides to call its software release in 2026. This is subject to change based on how Google approaches its Android update rollouts in the future, but we’ll update this space later if/when that happens.

In addition to four major Android OS updates, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will also receive security updates for the next five years, meaning it’s covered till the year 2027. The frequency of these security updates is, of course, bound to reduce towards the end of this tenure, but you can expect the device to be supported for at least five years. This makes the Galaxy Z Fold 4 — and even the Galaxy Z Flip 4 for that matter — very easy for us to recommend.

Exclusive deal on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

Just like the Galaxy Z Flip 4, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is also eligible to receive up to four major Android OS updates and up to five years of security updates.

Buy from Samsung

If you’re interested in buying the Galaxy Z Fold 4, then be sure to click the button in the box above to find the best price for it online right now. Alternatively, we’ve also rounded up some of the best Galaxy Z Fold 4 deals with which you can save some money on your purchase and spend on one of the best cases or the best chargers for it.

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