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Fortnite’ announces ‘The End’

Fortnite Comes To An End

Fortnite is an online video game designed and developed by Epic Games. It was first released in 2017. In the final season 10 event of Fornite, the server went down. This left millions staring at a blank screen. The official Twitter account of Fornite tweeted “This Is The End”. Players believe that the gameplay map in this insanely popular video game will now be replaced with an entirely new setting. If you plan to start now, maybe these tips will help you.

Players and streamers alike were not able to log into their accounts. At the same time, fans around the globe were discussing and speculating if Fornite was actually coming to an end or was about to come back after a change. The powering down could not be construed as a mistake since it was intentional – a pretty easy thing to see. This is because there was a galaxy collapse animation for those streaming on in the lobby.

Fortnite announced ‘The End’

When Did This Happen?

Millions of Fortnite gamers were online when, on Sunday, this sudden incident took place. The sudden end occurred around 7 pm GMT when most of the elements associated with Fornite vanished in an instant. Everyone was left staring at the blackness as the entire world went dark.

Instead of just tweeting the official END tweet, the game developers deleted all of its 12,000 tweets, leaving only one behind. Fortnite’s Twitch account which has over 48 million followers is now completely silent.

What Exactly Happened?

The events began quite suddenly and were totally unexpected. The first sign was that of a rocket launching and exploding to create rifts. For those who know, this was similar to the Season 4’s in-game event. Next, the meteor on the island started showing signs of unrest. This had been static since the beginning of season 10. Many spacecraft flew into the rifts multiple times before the players were sent flying in the air.

Fortnite Black Hole

Gamers then started trying to decode the numbers that showed up near the black hole. Most players started using Google Maps to understand the location. The first numbers to appear took us to a crab cave. After that, more and more numbers have started showing up. Gamers believe this could give us an inkling into the next title and some hint about what we can expect from the next season.

The END

The final Fortnite season 10 event came to an end pretty suddenly with all the players’ screen blacking out. Instead, they now featured a black hole graphic. Millions of gamers tuned into their games or streams when they found out that they could no longer log in at all. The only available option is to hit the “Exit” button, which will take you out. But, you will not be able to log in again. Those who were playing the game saw the world collapse and breakdown. The status menu only showed “Anomaly Detected”.

It is not likely that Fortnite has come to an actual end since the popular battle royale game has a lot of potential and the developers know it. Instead, it looks as if the gameplay map used by the players since the release of the game will be replaced. Streaming has become so popular that gamers say they are earning more on Facebook’s streaming platform than on Twitch or YouTube.

October 22, 2019
Google Play Pass: Premium App Subscription Service Coming Soon

According to a tweet posted by Google, it looks like Google Play Pass is all set to be released at any time. The company has been working on this subscription service for a long time now. By signing up and paying a modest subscription fee, users would be able to get access to hundreds of premium apps. The service first came to light last year and since then, has been compared to Apple Arcade. The latter is a similar service launched by Apple where the users can access premium apps and games in return for a subscription fee.

While the tweet did not say a lot about the time and other details of the launch, it is confirmed that it is likely to be released soon. The official tweet got a lot of attention.

What is Google Play Pass?

The news about this was first leaked in October last year. The subscription service seems to be priced quite reasonably, judging by screenshots sent by an anonymous user last month. The subscription fee would kick in after a free trial of 10 days. By using Google Play Pass, users would be able to access paid and premium applications like Limbo, Stardew Valley, and Marvel Pinball.

Google Play Pass

In order to attract most of the market, Google may be planning to create a new pricing structure. This could be designed to please most of its loyal user base. There are also plans for making certain premium apps available globally. However, the main aim of the Google Play Pass is to offer its users access to many apps and games. All of this would be offered for a modest monthly rate.

Apple Arcade vs. Google Play Pass

While Apple has already established its service, Google fans are eagerly waiting for the launch of Play Pass. The Apple Arcade subscription service allows its users to access paid apps. It is also working with its major players, such as Disney and Sega to increase the offerings. Check out our detailed post for more information on Apple Arcade.

More About The Google Play Pass

Google’s latest subscription model service has excited its fans. With this, users would be able to access premium mobile apps, games, and a whole lot more. The Pass would allow us access to over 350 apps without requiring to pay any additional charges. Everything would be covered by the subscription fee. To make it more appealing, the Pay Pass costs only a fraction of its original price for the first year. Post this period, the price will be reverted to the original amount. It is also a good time to mention that this is a launch promotion only.

Google Play Pass Apps

Play Pass Catalog

Coming to the more interesting stuff, the Play Pass allows users to choose from various cross-platform titles. Besides games, there are many other apps that you can find here for free, such as the ad-free versions of Facetune or AccuWeather. Other apps that you could access include Toca Boca classics for kids, Reigns: Game of Thrones, Mini Metro, This War of Mine and Cytus, and more.

October 22, 2019
Samsung Internet Browser 10.2 Beta Adds Toolbar Customization And Mobile Tab Bar, Reinstates Video Assistant

Samsung’s third-party browser, Samsung Internet Browser, is now on its 10th major iteration. The beta channel of the browser app is all set with the latest update. Let’s take a look at some of the features that this update saw.

Latest Features of Samsung Internet Beta Version 10.2

Toolbar customizations: Users would now be able to indulge in address bar and toolbar customizations. You can now organize and line up the open web pages in order under the address bar. You would also be able to allocate a certain icon within the toolbar. If you have ever used Samsung Internet on your tablet, you might have noticed this feature. However, now, it has been made available for smartphones as well. To enable the webpages under the address bar, all you need to do is to click on the hamburger menu located on the lower right side of the window. Click on Setting and then tap on ‘Appearance’. Following this, you will have a screen with different options, find and enable the “Show tabs below the address bar.”

Similarly, it is easy to customize the toolbar settings. You can simply go to the Settings, click on the “Customize Toolbar” option and arrange the icon as you wish.

Samsung Beta Version 10.2

Pop-menu menu with long-press

Now, holding down (or, in other words, long-pressing) on a link could give you additional options. Previously, this used to cover the full screen. However, in the latest version, you will find that the interface changes to a pop-up that contains all the required data. It is a good change since it looks neater.

Video Assistant

You might have noticed that the video assistant was there in the older versions of the browser. It has been revamped and it has come back with a bang. If you want to enable this option, all you need to do is to visit your Settings menu and make your way to the “Useful Features” option. Enable “Video Assistant”. You will notice a small purple icon on the bottom of your screen whenever you watch a video in the Samsung Internet Browser Beta. Clicking on the purple icon will present you with some options, such as “Show on TV”, “Show on a pop-up window,” and “Enable fullscreen”.

New card UI for tabs

There is a new interface for the card layout. Viewing tabbed pages will now be a different experience thanks to the awesome interface. Cards will now pop out and offer you a better view.

Samsung Internet Browser Beta Version 10.2

User Experience

If these features have gotten you excited, you can check them out yourself. All you need to do is to download Samsung Internet Beta version 10.2 and install it. In addition to all the cool features that we discussed above, the latest update also has some privacy enhancements. Users would now be able to see the apps that are working with the Internet Browser Beta and close them if needed. There is also a Secret Mode with smart anti-tracking technology. Here, you are safe from advertisers! You can keep your Secret Mode tabs a secret by having a password or locking them with biometrics. All in all, it looks like good browsing experience. You can give it a try by clicking here. If you are more of a Google Chrome user, go through this article to understand how you can check the browser version.

October 22, 2019
Fortnite Map Wiped Out By Black Hole to Mark

A huge asteroid has hit the whole Fortnite map and turned it into a black hole on Sunday, October 13. The whole map has been removed in his event and made the game inaccessible to millions of players. Instead, they have seen a strange live stream of the collision.

It seems that the event marks the end of Season X. The developers of the game, Epic Games, have decided to mark the end of the seasons by presenting major events within the game. But it has brought different doubts among the players regarding Season 11. Those updates usually bring some changes and tweaks to the game instead of removing the whole world and leaving the players unable to access.

When the game will come back or whether it will return or not is unclear. (Since billions of dollars have been invested in the game by Epic, it is almost sure that it will come back). Meanwhile, players can watch the most popular live stream showing the black hole. Sometimes, it is expected to reveal what may happen in season 11.

Fortnite Map also wiped out everything else from its Twitter account and left users with no clue regarding what had happened to keep the secret. Fans were expecting a dramatic end of Season 10 as Epic teased that they are going to hold a huge “The End” event this weekend. A countdown timer also appeared in the game.

When the timer reaches 0, players in the world had witnessed a giant meteor marked the end of the map and destroying everything in it. The screen was turned into a black hole for the players who fell off the world. It continued for everything which is left in the game.

According to the Press Association, here are the further details of what has happened actually –

The most popular Battle Royale game, Fortnite is well regarded for its huge live showpiece events and Epic Games, the developer, had already confirmed that the “The End” event is going to be held on October 13.

The players who entered the world on Sunday night had witnessed that the battlefield of a virtual island has been hit by meteor shower before the whole map turned into a black hole. Since then, any players who were logging on the game have seen a live stream of the black hole and no option to play.

In order to mark the absolute blackout, all of the tweets have been deleted in the official Twitter account of Fortnite, along with the live stream of a black hole. Later on, the fans have retweeted the same for over 120,000 times.

In this game, over 100 competitors fight for survival to be the last player standing. Unlike other Battle Royale games, it is split into seasons which take place several months and each new season starts with some in-game events.

Many fans are now looking forward to seeing a large refresh of the island and the game before its comeback on the 11^th season. It might start soon in the near future.

October 21, 2019
Fortnite Marks a Comeback with ‘Chapter 2’ reboot

The ever-changing Battle Royale island of Fortnite has been gathering millions of players for over two years. It has come a long way over the years and it has become really dense and layered with its own past. Since the map was completely banished, Epic Games has completely revamped Fortnite with the whole new Chapter 2, which comes with a new location to visit.

The brand-new island looks more untamed and wilder than before, with a lot of mountains, forests, and lakes to explore, but only fewer urban locales or city. It might change as the island will keep on evolving with new seasons and updates. The well-known flying battle bus will still be available to keep you going in the battle.

Chapter 2 notably comes with several new features like swimming, fishing, pogo sticks, and new vehicles that you can use like boats. You can also dance with friends with new multiplayer emotes. It has a whole-new semi-automatic pistol, new weapons with a rocket launcher, and a better ability to hide in dumpsters and haystacks.

Players can also pay for subscription battle pass to earn bonuses, such as character skins, a major highlight with beautiful blob creature. The battle pass really works quite differently in comparison to the last seasons.

It has also changed the way you progress so you can do more things to earn experience, such as opening chests or even getting kills. You can earn an extra 1500 V-Bucks by completing goals when you pay 950 V-bucks.

The transition between older to new seasons was a bit bumpy. Just after 4 AM ET, over tens of thousands of players were on the battle and Fortnite went down for server maintenance. The official Twitter account of Fortnite is back to normal and a major update has been available to be downloaded.

But it was not playable at that time. Even though players tried to log in, they got an error message ‘servers not responding’. Around 2 hours later, the new chapter went to live finally.

Before the recent reveal, Fortnite was subject to a long and dramatic in-game event in which the original island was removed and apparently got lost in a black hole. Later on, the game went down for around 2 days and left players with nothing to do more than just staring at the black hole.

It showed a little hope of life along with revealing different numbers curiously. The real hint was seen from a leaked trailer on what to expect. There was no sign as to when a game might come back.

The new chapter of the game was headed by season X which was launched in the first week of August, just after the exciting mech vs. kaiju battle and the Fortnite World Cup.

From the very beginning, the season was quite controversial. By adding B.R.U.T.E.S, the all-powerful mechs, which were weakened dramatically after some outbursts from the players.

Season X also marked the beginning of rift zones, which were unstable zones with their different visual styles and unique rules. Some of them were also based on other properties like Batman and Borderlands.

The frequency of updates was quite fast for some players as it is not easy to keep up with every new change. But the significant and constant changes make more sense with the arrival of chapter 2.

What were the aftereffects of the notorious black hole apocalypse?

First of all, a rocket was launched from a cluster of buildings around the center of the island, Dusty Depot. The rocket shot into the sky directly and formed a huge rift. Then, it seemed to connect several other rifts that were littered around.

Thereafter, the rocket started moving across the rifts and created absolute mayhem with several rockets traveling around the sky at the same time. Then, the rockets converged and created a new rift which led a meteor to crash and destroyed the island at the end.

All that happened was really cool but the aftereffects of the event were even more interesting. After this type of event, the game normally experiences downtime for a while and the new season starts with whole new changes like a futuristic city and a volcano.

However, things are way too different this time. The game remained inaccessible for several hours. It took a day to play Fortnite again after a major black hole event.

You could just view the black hole and you had nothing left to do anything much along with spewing out some random numbers. Of course, hardcore players are desperately trying to find out why such numbers were displayed. They were hoping to decode when the game will actually continue and whether the all-new map is coming.

The developer has not said anything to keep the public guessing. More interestingly, all the official tweets by Fortnite have been removed. So, players had nothing to do unless staring at the stream of the black hole.

The Trello page of the developer is known to figure out in-game issues. But it was also empty except for a picture of the event. The game’s status just showed “anomaly detected”. It is an absolutely unparalleled type of blackout which has just increased the chaos.

Just after the launch of the fourth season in May, the game showed a meteor in the sky. All and players started guessing on what will happen. After a few days, huge craters were left across the island.

A rocket was launched on the first 1-time event and created a huge rift in the sky. The situation was quite messy.

Later on, the developer has significantly brought improvements to its in-game events while improving the scale. A mysterious cube was, then, arrived and rolled around the island eventually before being disappeared into the lake.

It, somehow, had teleported the players to a new dimension. It was later seen massive snowstorms, volcanoes erupting, catastrophic earthquakes as well as alien runes floating.

A huge robot was eventually built in the huge volcano and also led to an exciting battle between a Godzilla-type kaiju and a huge pink mech.

Click here to read the next fortnight article.

October 21, 2019
PS5 or Google Stadia or Microsoft’s Project xCloud

Next year, we are looking forward to seeing the launch of new consoles from Microsoft and Sony but there is the new and greatest competitor who has made an entry – Google Stadia. This flagship game streaming service will grow its servers to manage video games and target those audiences who just can’t afford a shiny new gaming console. With more and more details are coming out, will it offer you the value you deserve?

Keep in mind that we have made some speculations, particularly about the pricing. Prices and details may vary with the official announcement but we have made some informed guesses on the basis of existing statements which have been made just recently.

Upfront Costs and Subscription

From Day 1, Google Stadia is going to have great edge when it comes to up-front cost. You have to pay £119 for Chromecast Ultra and Stadia controller itself, with 3 months subscription of Stadia Pro which is worth £8.99 per month.

On the other side, you need to wait for the official release of Stadia Base which is set in 2020. You can play with existing hardware in which you need to pay only for games. But things will even out over the expected lifespan of the next-gen device.

It is expected that Project Scarlett and PlayStation 5 will cost you around £450, which is a bit on the higher side and subscription to the online service like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live is £50 extra for one year.

Well, you need to consider other factors. The price of online service is expected to rise at some point over the generations. However, the Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus are discounted every few months. The price of online services may also rise over the term of generation.

Deal hunters and keen gamers will have options to save up by sticking to the same brand for years. Both are discounted regularly to get free a few months or top up at low prices, both from 3^rd party sellers and sales.

Google is yet to announce where to get Stadia subscriptions from.But the company may offer free trials or discounts to try their services out.

Specs – Surround Sound, 4K, 8K, 120Hz

Both PlayStation 5 and Project Scarlett would come with a mid-gen Pro version of hardware again. But Google can level up Stadia in the backdrop and has promised to handle 4K during the launch.

Later on, it can offer 8K in the near future. Theoretically, that upgrade may not be available to the users. You would need a new 8K TV which supports Stadia.

This is where you will get what you pay for. If you don’t want to pay anything, you may have to adjust with basic features that Stadia Base would have. But it is not all about resolution as it would still need a full instance of Stadia running the game.

However, it doesn’t mean you are downgraded to 1080p that you play in Xbox One and PS4 Pro. But it will be a good looking 1080p in Stadia Base.

On the other side, both Microsoft and Sony claimed to offer 4K 120Hz of refresh rate when everyone is expecting 8K, but it is much better than Stadia’s 60fps. But it’s all on paper for console makers when it comes to capacities of HDMI 2.1 ports.

They have been seen playing around 1080p output with the last generation and facing a lot of developers looking for 720p. In the world where 30fps is the norm on Xbox One and PS4, the 60fps has high expectations.

With all the optimizations that developers can make on consoles, the hardware specs of Project Scarlett and PlayStation 5 suggest 4K with the refresh rate of 60fps. The 8K resolution could be possible theoretically but the Navi GPUs are a few steps behind in the next-gen consoles as compared to more powerful and expensive PC graphic cards.

Even GeForce RTX 2080 Ti can only support the games in 4K at 70fps like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The consoles can get enhanced performance with the same hardware. But it is too early to expect 120Hz or 8K resolution in any edge cases.

Playing on the go

There are plenty of potential tradeoffs between streamed and physical games. You can easily play Stadia games on the go with an internet connection and with any device like PCs, TVs, smartphones, and tablets. It could come handy especially if you travel a lot. However, you might want to consider the contracts if you want to play on your smartphones.

For example, Three is the only internet service provider in the UK offering unlimited data while data is capped out at 100GB with other service providers. But there are certain exceptions with Apple Music, Spotify, and Netflix. In addition, Stadia might eat out a lot of data quickly.

Data consumption in games at 60fps is way too higher than YouTube or Netflix. However, Google has some guidelines on the amount of required bandwidth. You need 10Mbps at 720p with 60fps, which consumes around 4.5GB per hour.

On the other side, you need just double for 1080p at 60fps, i.e. 20Mbps, which equals 9GB per hour. The good thing is that smartphones with 4K display are very rare at this age because it takes whopping around 16GB per hour for 4K streaming.

Obviously, there is an edge for Sony and Microsoft as they would want you to sign up for their official streaming platforms like the Project xCloud and PS Now. Both of these platforms support playing games remotely on the consoles.

However, they need home internet and they have a risk of NAT type errors. Their existing iterations are not much optimized like server farms of Stadia. There will always be alternatives for gaming on the go.

How about Extras?

According to Google, its Stadia Pro is supposed to follow the same business model of Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus, rather than Spotify, Netflix, or PS Now. Google Stadia is going to offer at least 1 free game monthly.

However, like in other services, these are going to be older games. When it comes to launching, Stadia Pro would come with Destiny 2: Shadowkeep but with just one game per month and 96 games in 8 years. It is much likely that this game might not suit your needs.

It is a bit more difficult to figure out for the consoles but it is it can be speculated with changes. PlayStation Plus received two games from PS4 each month when PS4 was launched, along with games from PS Vita and PS3 were offered.

Sony is expecting to keep offering games for PS4 but also hoping with free PS5 games and also PSVR. They are going to offer 24 games in a year but it could extend to 48 games per year.

On the other side, Microsoft is offering 48 games per year, including 2 Xbox games and 2 Xbox One titles. In addition, Project Scarlett is all set to have backward compatibility to the whole Xbox One library and all the existing BC titles.

When Microsoft is expected to remove free Xbox 360 titles, they could at least bundle them to give away 72 titles per year, i.e. whopping 6 games in a month.

Always Online

One of the biggest claims by Stadia is that the player can easily start the game within 5 seconds. On the other side, the next-gen consoles of both Sony and Microsoft will be powered by super-fast SSDs and they might not be far behind.

You can play with the consoles offline but Stadia’s Achilles heel would require internet. But there is an issue for several people to trade-in or resell both hardware and games. Of course, Stadia is completely digital.

According to its Terms & Conditions, you cannot assign or transfer your obligations or rights. You cannot resell your games or account in the hardware to anyone else. You can just resell its controller.

Overall Verdict

It is up to you as what you need from the gaming experience. The upcoming generation of consoles and Stadia are trying to appeal to various gamers. The big advantage of Stadia is not having the same cost of a new console. You can just buy a particular game and play it on your TV, phone, or laptop.

However, it would still require a fast and unlimited internet connection. In the long run, it could be an expensive deal, especially when it comes to freebies and selling physical games. This year is going to be very interesting to see what the launch of new consoles and Stadia would offer.

October 21, 2019
Project xCloud by Microsoft

Microsoft has rolled out the invites to its public beta preview of Project xCloud according to a tweet by Phil Spencer, Xbox head. If you want to be a beta tester for the streaming service, download the app now for Android from the Google Play store.

The idea of streaming a PC-quality or console game to any mobile platform is still a dream. But Microsoft has made it real by announcing that they are going to introduce a new service, Project xCloud.

Simply speaking, smartphone and tablet users might be able to stream any game which is released for Xbox One. On the other side, owners of the Xbox game can play them on the go.

It seems quite ambitious. But it’s Microsoft that can do this task. Here are the further details you should know about Microsoft’s Project xCloud.

First of all, what is Project xCloud?

It is basically a game streaming service by Microsoft. In June 2018, the company announced its plan to offer this service on its media event at the E3 trade show. The company has been doing well for years on this technology.

According to The Verge on September 2013, Microsoft has presented a demo at a meeting featuring Halo 4, the exclusive Xbox 360 title. The company has shown how it can work on both Windows PC and Nokia Lumia, a Windows Phone-based smartphone.

Microsoft revealed further details in October 2018 on its streaming service, along with the code name Project xCloud. Along with the announcement, video footage shows the players playing popular titles with their Samsung tablets and smartphones like Halo 5, Forza Horizon 4, Gears of War 4 and Cuphead. The players played the games with touchscreens and Xbox One controllers.

Azure cloud computing

Microsoft revealed in both video and blog post that Project xCloud would be based on Azure cloud software and hardware. The Azure servers are now available in 54 locations worldwide. According to the company, it was testing xCloud from the server location of Washington.

The company further revealed that it has created a unique cloud server blade to hold the hardware of various consoles of Xbox One. Each of these blades of xCloud can be placed in data centers of Azure across the world. It would offer an amazing game streaming experience to the players everywhere once the service goes live officially.

Touch Screen Support and Controller

As discussed, gamers were seen controlling the streaming service on smartphones using the Xbox One controller which is connected by Bluetooth. But Microsoft has also introduced ‘touch input overlay’ to play the games directly on a tablet or smartphone’s screen without having to use the controller.

Kareem Choudhry, gaming cloud head at Microsoft, gave another sneak peek during the latest episode of Inside Xbox on March 12, 2019. He brought an Android device connected to the Xbox One gaming controller and used the same to play Forza Horizon 4. The stream was crisp and fluid. The company has been testing it internally.

October 21, 2019
Google Pay continues international expansion

Google has made it much easier to utilize the online payments. In 2018, Google announced to combine the entire payment methods under one roof (unified brand) referred to as Google Pay. It is rebranded from the earlier Android Pay App and also Google Pay Send is renamed from the Google Wallet app. Eventually, you can use Google Pay to allow receiving & sending money, also have peer-to-peer transactions.

Google Pay expansion for 16 new institutions

Google has gained international support for boarding passes and transit. This service will also add the new financial institutions within its partner’s list. By the end of July month, another 16 banks & payment services across Japan, Canada, and Europe are allowed to make way to utilize Google Pay. Find below the complete list:

Belgium – Monese and Banca Monte Paschi Belgi.

Ukraine – Raiffeisen Bank Aval, JSC Bank Alliance, JSC State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine, and Bank Clearing House.

Canada – Servus Credit Union Ltd

Sweden – Monese

Croatia – Revolut

Spain – Monese

Czech Republic – Česká Spořitelna

Russia – Absolut Bank

Denmark – Monese

Poland – Monese and EnveloBank

Finland – Monese

Norway – Monese and BRAbank

France – Monese

Japan – Sasebo Model Hyakka Co., Ltd., and OC Co., Ltd.

Germany – Monese and ING

Italy – Monese and Edenred

Ireland – Monese

Supportive Features

You can find below the list of supported banks, places, and essential information about the Google Pay app:

QR Scan Codes for peer-to-peer payments

Google Pay is one of the best and greatest ways to transfer money to their family members, friends, and relatives. However, Google planned to implement a new value-added new feature to include for sending the payments much easier to some.

As per the report from XDA Developers, Google is set to include the QR Scan Codes as a new initiation for processing the peer-to-peer payment.

This option can also be utilized by showing up the Send option within the Google Pay app. According to the report, it is mostly the new feature could be much easier than choosing the contact from the available contact list. You can easily transfer the money to anyone just you met and it comes with handy.

Tez is rebranded to Google Pay

A year ago, Google launched a new payment service in the Indian market referred to as Tez. But as of now, the company seems to give another big push for Tez. As a part, it includes that Tez is rebranded as Google Pay to bring the other Google’s Payment services in line. Beyond that, Google already planned to convert the Tez app into an entire featured app that can be used by everyone for payment-related within the Indian marketplace.

During the launch of Tez, it was planned to work on bank-based payments however, Google immediately added the utility and bill payments to its service. According to the Economic Times report, it also added various features for service competition, micro-loans, both offline & online, and retail payments through ZestMoney.

To execute its plan, Google coordinated with various local banks such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank, which can provide “pre-approved” loans to their customers through this app within a few seconds.

Google also planned to expand its Tez support (currently named as Google Pay) to other regions as well. It means that adding the multiple features from the Tez application into the Google Pay app within the Asia continent to acquire localizations and new partnerships.

Google Pay Send – Part of Google Pay

Google Pay Send is recently added and one of the parts of Google Pay. Both Google Pay Send & Google Pay users within the U.S region are no longer able to utilize both apps, especially for their contactless payments.

Within the Google Pay app, it allows the users to directly utilize the peer to peer payments. In case, if you are residing outside of the United States region then for time being, it is mandatory to continue utilizing the Google Pay Send & Google Pay apps separately.

Stores Tickets & Boarding Passes through Google Pay

In 2018, during the Google I/O conference, they announced that Google Pay can now be used to store the event tickets and mobile boarding passes within the app.

Currently, only a few companies are joined to a participant within this rollout such as FortessGB, Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, Southwest, Singapore Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, however numerous other firms are planned to join this feature in the upcoming months.

To store tickets or boarding passes within the Google Pay app, the users need to choose the option named “Send ticket directly to my mobile phone” within the participating websites or even choose a similar option through email from other companies that are compatible and support the Google Pay Tickets. Just press the Passes section, if you prefer to access your boarding passes or tickets.

PayPal expands Google support

For some time, the users are now able to process their PayPal payments using the Google Pay app. However, the PayPal app is still continuing to offer easier things for the U.S region to process Google-bound users.

In 2048, PayPal informed that any user who registered with any one of their Google’s services can allow them to utilize the same account for other Google services. It is not required to create a separate account to access their account details on other Google services.

It means that the user who had to create a Google Pay account for processing the payment through PayPal service can also utilize their PayPal account. The PayPal account will become automatically active on YouTube, Google Play Store, Gmail, or other Google services to process the payment service, without signing into their account again.

Widespread Adoption

We all know that there are numerous digital payment methods available across the online platform and we prefer to choose the best one to back the right horse. The total number of users will showcase its good indication like the Google Pay app was downloaded by more than 100 million users through the Google Play Store.

In the meantime, the Samsung Pay app was downloaded by 50 million users while the LG Pay app is yet decided to make its debut on the Google Play Store.

Google’s Payment methods allow its system to go far ahead of this competition. Of course, it is unfair to say that Google did the entire heavy lifting to showcase its branding.

Google Pay app replicates the same features of the Android Pay app under the Play Store space and it is not possible to count the downloaded users of the Android Pay app. However, it is clearly known that this app is one of the most popular and best digital payment services across the globe.

Google Support spread within the United States Nation

Google Pay app is supported by all the four major banks located in the U.S region – Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and the Chase Bank. It is now supported by numerous credit unions and smaller banks as well. If you want to get detailed information about the bank listing, please check the Google Pay Customer Support page for further assistance.

Similar to make purchases with the help of your mobile phone, a few major U.S. banks such as Bank of America & the Chase Bank have also installed various cardless ATMs for customer’s benefit. In case, if you are an account holder within this bank then it is much easier to utilize the Android mobile phone with NFC enabled to make the withdrawals.

Some of the U.S. banks are planning to integrate Google Pay along with their own apps for utilization. Most of the banks are already supported and compatible with Apple Pay before utilizing Google’s Payment service, since both options use the same NFC technology to process the payments. Within the upcoming months, many banks will get support from Google for online transactions.

Integrations & Other U.S. Institutions

Google has the latest and new features to support the Las Vegas Monorail. As per Google’s report, this new feature will offer the users to purchase their train tickets online through its Monorail official website and then store the same to your Google Pay account.

To utilize the train travel, you can simply wave your mobile phone before the fare gate. It is possible to view your recent rail trips and also get the appropriate directions to reach your nearest Monorail station.

Google informed that the new feature will be implemented for numerous public transportation services as well as however, for now, it is limited only for Las Vegas Monorail. Google Pay supports Discover, America Express, Visa, and MasterCard.

Sites that support Google Pay can handle Masterpass and as well as Visa Checkout with a strategic partnership. The Masterpass and Visa Checkout customers can link their respective Google Pay account and make use of fingerprint to process & confirm the payments.

Mobile banking app integration

Google is planned to integrate with numerous banking apps across the globe to utilize the system seamlessly. Most of the customers are allowed to link their cards directly to their Google Pay account. Many banks have in-app integration which is limited and such as USAA, mBank, Bank of New Zealand, Discover, and Bank of America.

Google merges Android Pay and Google Wallet

The customers who had already installed Google Wallet and Android Pay on their mobile devices will now utilize the Google Pay app. The single app named Google Pay can be utilized for your entire requirements.

For example- ticket storage, boarding pass, peer to peer payments, and as well as contactless payments. It is similar to Android Pay which includes the same significant differences.

You can make contactless payments by adding the supported credit or debit cards. Google Pay app provides a new feature to view the nearby supported retailer’s list and also your specific shopping patterns.

Wherever Android Pay is supported and accepted, you can easily make use of the Google Pay app. Most of the users are utilizing the Google Pay app for safe and secure to process their online payments without any hassle.

October 19, 2019
Sony PlayStation 5: Games, Price, Specs, Release Date and More

Sony, one of the best in the business of gaming consoles, has given a hint that they are working on the next generation of the console series. It is expected to replace the PS4 Slim and the PS4 Pro. The official name or the design for the Sony Playstation 5 is not known yet. However, it is expected to be much more powerful than all the previous versions that they have released so far. With the release of the Playstation 5, we can expect some really good deals on the PS4 on Black Friday sales! It is a good day all around!

Though there has not been any conclusive date when the PS5 could be launched. Different interview sources mention different dates, but they all agree that Sony has confirmed that the PS5 is soon to hit the market. Check out the older models reviews here – PlayStation 3 Console and PlayStation 4 Review.

Release date for PS5

Recently Sony confirmed that the PlayStation 5 will be released during the 2020 holidays. This was published in a story by the CEO of Sony – Jim Ryan. In the same story, the CEO was joined by the lead architect of the PS5 to give some insights about the device. It has been confirmed that the PS5 will also come with a 4K Blu-ray player and the discs would be in 100GB sizes. This eliminates the use of multiple discs for games that are huge. There are lots of other features that have been hinted at. We will be discussing this in the later sections to come. Coming back to the tentative release dates, this is a big decision for Sony to lock horns with its competitor Microsoft which is also planning to launch in the 2020 holidays their own next-generation gaming device.

Sony Playstation 5

PS5 Specs

In multiple interviews, Sony mentioned and heavily hinted that the graphics are going to be from AMD. These chips are specially designed for Sony and they will be able to support 3D audio, 8K graphics, and ray tracing. Some of these are new to the gaming industry. This would take the gaming experience to a whole new level. The gaming console will be powered with an eight-core CPU which is based on the Ryzen line. By now, you must have had a slight idea that this gaming console is going to be a beast when it comes to the performance of the console. It is also worthy to note that there is no other gaming console that could be as powerful as this one in the market currently.

If speed has been one of your main concerns on the older devices, then Sony has some good news for you. All the hard-disk drives will be replaced with solid-state drives. This is expected to enhance the loading experience to a whole new level. Sony did publish a few comparison stats while using the SSD in comparison to the old school HDDs and found that loading saved games was more than 8 times faster.

Sony Playstation 5 Looks

The installation takes a long time. So, Sony has hinted that it will allow users to install a part of the game. This will help the users to install just what they want. They would not have toan the full version of the game and parts that they might not use.

Controllers and Cloud Gaming

It has also been confirmed that the PS5 will be compatible with all the games of the PS4. You might not want to sell them off in case you have not completed the game. The PS5 should also be compatible with the PS VR games. They have also confirmed that games older than the PS4 will not be compatible to play on the latest version. This is primarily because the architecture of PS4 and PS5 are almost similar. It will also help the users in transitioning easily to the new device.

There have also been hints that Sony might allow cloud gaming on the latest device. However, there is not a lot we know at this moment. With competition in the cloud gaming area at its peak – Sony has a huge mountain to climb in order to emerge as a winner.

Sony Playstation 5 Controller

A controller is something that is very important when it comes to gaming. The gaming controllers from Sony have not been really special after the release of PS3. In another interview, Sony revealed that a new controller is being designed. They aim to offer a better gaming experience to the users. The controller will be able to pass feedback to the analog sticks which will mean you can receive different kinds of feedback based on the scenario. For example, in a car race, driving on the road will have different feedback than driving on the gravel.

PS5 Games

Most of the leading gaming software developers have joined hands with PS5. They are building games that will be ready for release as soon as the console is also released. These include CD Projekt Red, Kazunori Yamauchi, etc. There have also been reports that Sony has started building its own development team. They are working on developing new games themselves.

Conclusion – Sony Playstation 5

With the release of PS5 in about a year, it is time that you complete all the games that you have on the PS4. If you cannot, you will still be able to continue playing on your PS5. That is really good! From a price standpoint, we do not have an official confirmation on how much the device is going to cost. But, we reckon that based on past history, this should be marked at the same price range as that of the PS4 Pro. We might well see that this device hits the $500 mark depending on the strategy that Sony chooses to go with. That being said, this device is likely to be awesome and worth the price tag, if all features are included.

If you are much into gaming, take a look at our post on PES 2020 release date and other information.

October 14, 2019
Google Play Pass Subscription Service to Launch Soon, Google Confirms

Well, the usage of Google in all the ways has become bigger and better than expected in recent times. Yes, from browsing to money transactions, everything has been used with the support of Google in recent times. Even millions of people are excited about accessing Google for various reasons.

When it comes to Google Pay or some other services from Google, you will feel comfortable and at the same time, the usage is completely secure. It is also one of the main reasons where millions of people focus on this platform.

Exciting news from Google

As we mentioned earlier, the usage of Google is growing like never before in recent times. Generally, when it comes to downloading the games or apps in an Android device, we visit PlayStore to download. For information, it has a combination of paid and free apps to download. Most of the people may download the apps which are providing for free.

On the other side, some people may excite about downloading the paid apps due to their features which are hidden in it. However, after seeing the paid apps, some of them may reduce their interest in downloading those apps.

Now, the exciting news is where you can use the paid games or apps in a subscription plan. Yes, all you need to do is complete the subscription process and get ready to access any paid apps for free without any hassles. Well, this could be the best news for Google platform lovers for sure.

Google Play Pass is the name, which is going to arrive soon. This could be the best and new development for android users at any time. After the launch, the handling of premium apps or games will be huge in the future for sure.

Confirms on Twitter

This news is considering that has the similarities with Apple Arcade which was announced earlier to Apple users in order to access the premium apps and games with the subscription charges. If you see about Google Play Pass information, it has been confirmed over twitter recently.

So, the launch of Google Play Pass will happen soon and millions of android users are expecting to use soon with reasonable subscription charges. When it comes to news, it has been confirmed by Google Play on Twitter.

Hopefully, this new service will be liked by all. Even some of the users have shared some screenshots across the internet regarding the sneak peek over the development. This thing is confirming that there may be a chance to receive Google Play Pass soon. As per the reports, then Google Play Pass was supposed to launch last year itself. However, it is going to launch soon this year.

Google Play Pass subscription service charges

Now, this is the main thing where most of the people across the globe looking for it. Well, there is a leaked screenshot getting a ride over the internet related to subscription charges. It looks like the subscription will be $4.99. If you are in India, then you will be paid of Rs.360 for monthly usage.

For information, there will be a chance of witnessing the free trial of 10 days in the beginning. Post free trial; you will witness the subscription charges. However, there will be different plans to choose from and go according to that. Once the plan is fixed and subscription charges are done on your device, then you will be going to experience the better result in the end for sure.

After the successful launch, you will get a great opportunity to use premium apps or games that whenever you want. So, people don’t need to be worried about downloading premium apps every time. By using Google Play Pass Subscription, you are ready to access it at any time.

One can expect that Google will be going to offer a different price structure in order to grab the attention of people. People who all in the US and UK, also going to witness the usage of Google Play Pass at any time with reasonable subscription charges for sure.

The best thing about this service is where you can also get the bouquet of paid apps as well as games to use in a single subscription charge. According to your interest, you can choose the best bouquet that will be suitable to you. If the plan is fixed successfully, one can see a better outcome than expected for sure.

Games spotted in the screenshot

Like we said earlier, the subscription charges displayed in screenshots that are having a roam across the internet. Even some of the games spotted in roaming screenshots like Marvel pinball, Monument valley, Mini metro and more.

These kinds of premium games will be available for the Google Play Pass subscribers. Yes, they can play all the premium apps or games at free of cost without any hassles at any time.

The best thing is where you can also witness the ad-free games or apps from this. So, whenever you are going to access it, then you will not be going to see any ad in between to annoy you. It means the subscribers are ready to experience the smoother process while accessing this service on their android devices at any time.

One should keep it in mind that the subscription plans will be different and the price also varies according to that.

Interesting fact

Before the announcement of the iPhone 11 event, Google declares the announcement on the launch of Play Pass Subscription. At the same time, one should know that Apple also made an announcement over its service called Apple arcade.

Yes, it is also almost similar when compared to Play Pass at any time. If you see the Apple Arcade, then it will offer the massive collection of games to use like Oceanhorn 2, Beyond a steel sky and others. So, people who all are the Apple user, then this news could be the best thing for you to experience it this year.

Expect the launch soon

So, people who all are struggling to download the paid apps that whenever they want, the usage of this Play Pass will always going to be the best for sure. Yes, by just following the proper subscription plans, you will get an opportunity to use many premium apps without any complicatedness.

At the end of the day, all you need to do is waiting for some more days for the official launch soon. If you are a fan of Google, then this service will be even more pleasing to you.

Wrapping up

Before going to experience the service on your android device, you can also get a chance to use a free trial for a better understanding. If you are completely satisfied with the usage of a free trial, then you can choose the right plan and go according to your wish at any time.

As per your wish and convenience, one can pick the right premium apps or games for their devices to access that whenever needs. Hopefully, the features of this service will be announced during the time of launch for sure. At the end of the day, this service could be the treat for all the android users.

October 14, 2019