Philips unveils brightest OLED TV, China U-turn on gaming rules?
China seems to have backtracked on strict rules to combat what the regulator deemed “obsessive” gaming. The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) had proposed regulations limiting the amount of money and time people spent playing video games. However, on Tuesday the draft rules were no longer on the NPPA website. China is the world’s biggest online gaming market, but the industry has had frequent run-ins with the authorities. The new rules would have limited in-game purchases. BBC
One of the world’s most popular YouTubers has revealed that he made over £200,000 in ad revenue by posting a video on X. MrBeast is renowned for creating expensive videos, including competitions where contestants battle it out to win huge cash prizes. While he has more than 233 million subscribers on YouTube, the influencer said he was curious to see how profitable it would be to post on Elon Musk’s platform. Sky News
The recent Arctic blasts across the United States left some electric vehicle (EV) owners in a jam. Fast-draining batteries, slow charging, long queues, and cars being towed after running out of power were reported from Illinois and Michigan to Texas. Sub-zero temperatures aren’t great for EV battery life – neither, of course, are they for gasoline-powered cars which more frequently break down in freezing conditions. New research from a Norwegian breakdown service revealed that electric cars fail less in extreme cold than fossil fuel-powered vehicles. Independent
Hot on the heels of the world’s largest technology show, CES 2024, we’ve already been treated to a host of brand new tellies due out in 2024. But beyond the best new OLED panels – such as the LG OLED G4, and wireless LG OLED M4 – there’s suddenly a surprise post-show announcement that looks set to bring a world-first OLED panel to market. I’m talking about the Philips OLED 959 all-new flagship (with integrated soundsystem) and Philips OLED 909, both of which embody an OLED panel that’s said to push as bright as 3000 nits (about 30% brighter than other best-in-class recent reveals, such as the Panasonic Z95A). T3.com
Used and refurbished smartphones sales continue to expand by near-double digits but that rate is slowing as elongated refresh cycles for brand new handsets means fewer secondhand devices are becoming available. Shipments swelled globally by an estimated 9.5 percent in 2023 to 309.4 million devices – which is still a growth rate that most of the major vendors of phones would have killed for, given the 3.2 percent decline in new handsets shipped last year. Market watchers at IDC reckon the supply of used phones, refresh cycles that have “extended” and “macroeconomic challenges” hit demand for the latest devices. The Register
Today Apple has released iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 to supported devices. As always with Apple mobile OS updates, these should already be available to everyone who wants them – no staggered shenanigans here like over in Google-land. The new iOS update brings with it the new Stolen Device Protection feature. This feature brings an additional layer of security if someone has stolen your device and also has your passcode. Using Stolen Device Protection, Face ID or Touch ID is required to access saved passwords, while changing sensitive settings like your Apple ID password or your device passcode is protected by a security delay. GSM Arena
