Technology

Sony Mobile has unusually released a very minor update for the Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact handsets in some regions, moving the build number from 47.2.A.4.41 to version 47.2.A.4.45. The firmware remains with 1 December 2018 Android security patches, so it is likely that Sony added some other small bug fixes for the update. Strangely, the same update is not available for the Xperia XZ Premium, which normally follows the same build tree.If you have updated let us know your impressions in the comments below.

Some of you may remember reading about the Henn na hotel in Japan back in 2015. It relied on a lot of robots to handle the jobs that you’d normally find humans doing in a hotel. In what seems like a solid case of irony, the hotel has had to effectively lay off half of its 243 robots, and will most likely be hiring humans to perform the functions.

The hotel did get a lot of publicity when it opened in 2015 for having hundreds of robots that looked bizarre and attempted to perform functions that humans would normally do. The robots were good as a gimmick but struggled to perform the tasks they were meant to.

Sony today announced the launch of a new model which is part of its APS-C mirrorless camera lineup. The new A6400 slots right between the A6300 and the A6500. The camera is aimed at both still photographers and videographers. It will be particularly appealing to vloggers as it has a 180 degree rotating rear screen.

Keeping in line with the other models in this series, the sensor resolution has been retained at 24 megapixels. The A6400 does come with the BIONZ X processor and imaging technology for improved image quality overall. The high-performing tracking autofocus feature works with the BIONZ X image processing engine to enable the camera to acquire focus in as little as 0.02 secondsii.

NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 11 was officially announced towards the end of last year where the game was initially pegged for a release on the 23rd of April, 2019 for the PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. It appears that the release on the Switch could have since been delayed, according to Amazon listings over in Europe.

The listings for the Switch version of the game have now been listed for the 10th of May which is a couple of weeks after the original release. It has been pointed out that this only seems to be for Amazon listings in Europe, and that Amazon’s listing for the game in the US still states the 23rd of April, 2019 for the Switch version, suggesting that the delays could be limited to Europe.

Sony’s Uncharted movie has been talked about for years but we have yet to see anything happen. Last we heard was back in 2018 where it was reported that the movie could begin filming soon, although there is now a chance that might no longer be true simply because it has lost its previous director.

A report from Variety has revealed that Shawn Levy, previously tapped to direct the movie, has since left the project due to scheduling conflicts. The good news is that Sony has since found a new director with Dan Trachtenberg who is probably best known for “10 Cloverfield Lane”. Apparently Sony has been looking for opportunities to work with Trachtenberg since then, and now it looks like their chance is here.

Last year Canon announced their new mirrorless camera efforts with the EOS R. However compared to Nikon’s announcement, Canon’s announcement was a little less exciting. It turns out that this could be because the current EOS R that was launched was designed to be a mid-range model, and that the company has a pro-grade model in the works.

A new report from Canon Rumors and Northlight has revealed that Canon definitely has something high-end in the works, which apparently could be an EOS camera that sports a crazy 100MP sensor along with IBIS (in-body image stabilization). Apparently the use of the 100MP sensor had previously been planned for a successor of the EOS 5DS/R, which apparently was scrapped in favor of the high-end EOS R.

Nintendo hasn’t confirmed this as yet but it appears that the company might be adding a plethora of SNES games to Nintendo Switch Online. The service already provides subscribers with access to several NES games so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary if it started offering SNES games as well. A data miner seems reasonably sure that this is going to happen.

A data miner has come across a list of SNES titles that could potentially be added to Nintendo Switch Online in the not too distant future. KapuccinoHeck on Twitter dug through the app’s code and found the list of 22 SNES games in addition to code names for four emulator types.

Sony Mobile may be dropping its ‘Compact' range of Xperia smartphones according to a report from Digital Trends. The bombshell comes from an interview with Don Mesa, Sony Mobile's Vice President of Marketing, citing that consumers want bigger, rather than smaller displays. Here's what he had to say:

Sony has released the list of PS4 Top Selling Games for 2018 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has come out ahead of every other game. Two separate lists have been released to showcase the popularity of titles in Europe and North America. The charts are largely similar with the exception of a couple of titles.

The PS4 Top Selling Games 2018 list for North America places Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 at the very top. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was very well received so it’s not a surprise to see it at the top of this list. Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 was the second-best selling PlayStation 4 title last year. Marvel’s Spider-Man, which launched to rave reviews last year, rounds out the top three on this list.

When you think of smart TVs with a 4K resolution, you might be concerned that it could be expensive. To a certain extent that is true of certain brands and models, but if you have a relatively small budget, then you might be interested to learn that Philips has actually launched a pretty affordable smart TV.

This comes in the form of two lineups where they are offered in a variety of sizes, ranging from 43-inches and going up to 75-inches, but the cheapest model will be priced starting at $350. This is incredibly affordable when you consider that the base model will come with 4K resolution and will run on Google’s Android TV platform with support for Google Assistant.

While card games, even digital ones, have been around for a while now, it seems that in recent times they are starting to catch on in terms of popularity again. We have to wonder if this might have anything to do with the success that Blizzard is seeing with Hearthstone, but since then we’ve seen quite a few card games launch.

Now it looks like Square Enix wants in on the card game genre as well because they have announced the Final Fantasy Digital Card Game which will be launching for smartphones and the PC. As the name implies, this is a digital card game that will be based around the Final Fantasy franchise and will feature characters from the series.

Due to the fact that many manufacturers release Android updates at different times, it can leave a feeling of uncertainty amongst users, where some might be wondering where the heck is their update, and whether or not they will get an update. Now in a post on HMD’s website, they detail what goes on behind the process of an update.

Presumably the idea behind this infographic is to give users better understanding of why sometimes updates seem to take a while before they are released, and why sometimes they might be released at different points in time. Now it should be noted that this process will differ from manufacturer to manufacturer since different companies have different ways of doing things.

If you want to be able to stream VLC from your phone or computer onto your TV, there are several ways you can go about doing that. However the good news for Android users is that according to a report from Variety, VLC for Android is expected to get an update in the future that will bring about support for Apple’s AirPlay protocol.

This was confirmed by Jean-Baptiste Kempf, one of VLC’s lead developers who stated that the update would be coming in a future update. What this means is that if you own an Android device with VLC, you will be able to stream content on it onto an AirPlay compatible device such as an Apple TV, or one of the many AirPlay-compatible TVs that was announced at CES earlier this week.

The problem with adopting a new camera system is that lens availability tends to be a bit scarce at the start in terms of variety. This is versus long and established camera systems that have been building up their portfolio for years. This is one of the downsides to adopting the new Nikon Z mirrorless cameras, but Nikon definitely has plans to change that.

The company has recently released an updated roadmap for its Z-mount lens lineup for the next few years and it looks like photographers will have quite a few to choose from. In 2019 alone, the company plans on releasing at least six new lenses, one of which has since been announced in the form of the 14-30mm f/4 S lens. The rest of the year is also expected to see the introduction of more prime lenses like a 24mm f/1.8 S and an 85mm f/1.8 S.