Sonos will soon end support for a feature that allows users to stream files stored locally on their Android devices directly to its speakers. "As newer versions of mobile operating systems are released, it can sometimes change the way information is shared between devices, and this feature will no longer be compatible with newer versions of the Android operating system," a Sonos community post reads. The change comes into effect starting on May 23rd. The company ended support for a similar feature on iOS in 2019.

There are other options for you to play files stored on your Android devices to Sonos speakers, with Bluetooth perhaps being the easiest one. Alternatively, you can upload the files to a NAS drive on your network or a supported streaming service. Sonos supports user-uploaded file playback from Apple Music, YouTube Music, Deezer and Plex. On the other hand, if you don't mind going old school, Sonos' new Era 100 and Era 300 speakers have line-in support.

While several of these methods are straightforward enough, nixing On this Device support on Android removes one of the many listening options from the Sonos app, making it less of a one-stop shop for all your audio needs. However, given the popularity of streaming services, it may be the case that this feature wasn't seeing much use anyway.

It seems plausible enough that Sonos is ending support for the feature due to compatibility reasons but, as The Verge notes, Google and Sonos are involved in a legal battle against each other over patent infringement. Still, the timing of Sonos' move is likely just a coincidence given that the tussle between the two sides has been lumbering on for severalyears.

Hasselblad is reportedly joining Canon and Nikon in phasing out DSLRs. Third-party vendor Capture Integration broke the news, saying on its blog that it received notice that the entire Hasselblad H system lineup is officially discontinued. The move leaves Pentax and Ricoh as the biggest remaining names in the rapidly diminishing DSLR space. Hasselblad hasn’t yet confirmed the news.

“While we have been feeling this sting for over the last 18 months with lack of product, today we received official notice that the full product line of the Hasselblad H system has been officially discontinued,” Capture Innovation wrote. “All [H system] products are now officially out of stock and Hasselblad will no longer take orders for anything in the H line.” The article continued, “The H system is still very strong and working in so many studios today. However, it’s time to look at replacements. We can’t even order new battery grips today.” The vendor notes that future repairs will likely take longer and grow in difficulty.

Many professional photographers have migrated to mirrorless cameras (including Hasselblad’s terrific X2D), leaving DSLR purists without many options. Mirrorless models have grown in popularity since their quality began improving around a decade ago. In addition to being smaller, lighter and quieter than DSLRs, camera manufacturers’ signaled intentions could also influence the field as pro photographers see the writing on the wall and try to stay ahead of the curve. Hasselblad’s last H series launch was the H6D system in 2016.

Canon announced in 2021 that the EOS-1DX Mark III would be its final flagship DSLR, although it would keep producing current models for the time being. A report from last July said Nikon would follow a similar approach. (Nikon denied the report without rebutting that it would indeed launch new DSLR models; one can speculate the company was being strategically cagey to avoid diminishing sales of its remaining models.) Either way, it’s nearly certain we won’t see another new DSLR model from three of the biggest names in high-end photography.

WhatsApp just announced a new feature called “Chat Lock” that should allow users to keep certain conversations more private. The tool lets you lock any conversation, which places it in a specialized folder that's only accessible via biometrics, like a fingerprint or face scan, or by entering a current password. This also automatically hides any references to locked chats in the notifications feed.

Locking a chat seems easy enough. Just tap the name of the one-on-one or group chat and select the lock option. When you want to read the chat, enter your password or complete a biometric scan. WhatsApp says this is a great feature for those who share phones with family members and want to avoid a snafu when “someone else is holding your phone at the exact moment an extra special chat arrives.” The tools also let you lock WhatsApp completely behind biometric authentication if that’s your bag.

The folks behind the popular messaging app say they’re busy prepping more features for Chat Lock, like the ability to create a custom password for each chat and a tool to lock chats across multiple devices. Parent company Meta has been extraordinarily busy trying to keep WhatsApp safe and reliable, as it recently beefed up the verification system to hinder would-be scammers and added more options to deal with disappearing messages. The Chat Lock tools are rolling out now to WhatsApp users.

Avatar: The Way of Water will be available to stream on both Disney+ and Max (the new name for HBO Max) on June 7th. It's a bit unusual to see a major, recent movie land on two platforms at the same time, but there was a deal in place between 20th Century Studios, which Disney has owned since 2019, and HBO for streaming rights to certain theatrical releases.

The sequel to 2009's Avatar hit theaters in December and it went on to become the third highest-grossing movie of all time (as long as you don't factor inflation in). Director James Cameron made intriguing use of high frame rates in The Way of Water, with action-filled scenes typically playing at 48 frames per second to make them look smoother. More tranquil scenes appeared to run at 24 fps. The frames were doubled in those parts of the movie to make it seem as though they played at the frame rate we're used to seeing in theaters.

Unfortunately, it's unlikely that there will be an option to stream the film at higher frame rates at home anytime soon. Still, those who've been waiting for Avatar: The Way of Water to pop up on Disney+ or Max only have a few weeks longer to wait.

TCL just announced a bunch of new TVs in two different product lines. As originally teased during this year’s CES, the S Class models are easy on the old bank account. Despite the budget-friendly price, S Class TVs boast plenty of modern features, like a metal bezel-less design.

S Class models break down into three sub-categories. The S2 is the barest of the bunch, with a 720p resolution and display sizes perfect for easy transport, going all the way down to 32 inches. The 1080p S3 ranges from 32 inches to 43 inches and throws in HDR, a voice remote and Bluetooth audio.

The S4, however, is where things get interesting. These TVs offer 4K resolutions, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and frame insertion for smoother motion. Best of all? The S4 starts at $280 for the 43-inch model and sizes go all the way up to 85 inches.

TCL’s Q Class begins with the Q6. The QLED display offers a 66 percent brighter picture than any of the S Class models and it also features something called “Game Accelerator 120” which is a tool that pushes the refresh rate to 120Hz when playing games, at the expense of half the vertical resolution of a 4K image. The Q6 line ranges from 55 inches ($500) to 85 inches ($1,600).

The Q7 includes a native 120Hz panel that balloons to 240Hz by accessing its own Game Accelerator mode, though with the same cut in vertical resolution. These TVs support AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Dolby Vision IQ and ship with a backlit remote. TCL’s Q7 line starts at 55 inches ($750) with sizes going up to 85 inches ($2,200).

Finally, there’s the flagship QM8 line. These TVs are all about picture quality, with Mini LED backlighting, 2,000 nits of peak brightness, thousands of local dimming zones and a proprietary engine to improve contrast. These models also boast a built-in subwoofer, much like the Hisense U8H, Wi-Fi 6 for improved streaming and a height-adjustable stand for proper soundbar positioning. The QM8 starts at 65 inches ($1,700) and goes all the way up to 98 inches (an eye-watering $10,000).

Most of these televisions are already available at both online and physical retail locations, except for that massive 98-inch QM8. That one comes out later this year, so start saving now. 

Never mind free streaming services — one startup is giving the hardware away, too. Telly is now taking US reservations for free 55-inch 4K TVs that continuously display ads on part of a secondary screen. So long as you're willing to accept those ads (or tune them out) and share data, you won't have to pay a thing.

As Telly explains, the smaller display also shows news, sports scores and other useful data. You won't have to interrupt a show just to stay in the know. The set has its own camera, microphone array, sensors and voice assistant, enabling video calls and motion-captured fitness apps. There's a built-in five-driver sound bar as well. You're not stuck using the company's platform, as you'll still find three HDMI ports to plug in other media devices.

The reservations cover the first 500,000 TVs, which are expected to ship in the summer. Telly hasn't outlined full specs as we write this, but the set is estimated to be worth $1,000 at retail.

The strategy isn't surprising given Telly's leadership. Company chief Ilya Pozin co-founded Pluto TV, Paramount's free-to-watch service. He sees the free TV as making viewers an "equal part" of the ad system — you're benefiting as much as the corporations, Pozin claims. 

Whether or not customers follow suit isn't clear. The ad-supported model might not thrill privacy-minded viewers who'd rather not share info. There's also just one size and configuration, so you'll have to look elsewhere if you want a larger or higher-quality screen. This is for viewers who'd rather not pay for a cut-rate TV (which may still have home screen ads) just to outfit their living room.

Telly's launch is part of a broader rush to offer free TV experiences. Amazon, Roku, Tubi and others all have ad-supported streaming channels, while Google TV is integrating many of those providers into its platform. The difference, of course, is the business model. Companies like Amazon and Roku see ad-supported TV as a way to spur hardware sales, while Telly is depending solely on those ads to turn a profit.

This weekend, The Philadelphia Inquirer was hacked ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary. As a result, the newspaper had to cancel its Sunday edition, and it wasn’t clear until late Sunday afternoon that it could proceed with its Monday circulation. It’s the paper’s biggest disruption since 1996, when a blizzard that blanketed much of the eastern US made it impossible for staff to reach their offices. It isn’t yet known who is responsible for the cyberattack or if it was politically motivated. However, The Inquirer says it hired security company Kroll to investigate, in addition to notifying the FBI, which said, “It’s customary that we offer our assistance in these matters.”

Contracted security vendor Cynet first alerted The Inquirer about suspicious activity on Thursday, May 11th. Although that didn’t lead to any stoppages, the paper’s weekend crew noticed Saturday morning that it couldn’t access the publication’s content management system. Publisher Lisa Hughes hasn’t stated which systems the attackers breached, whether any employees were targeted or whether they accessed any confidential information. The newspaper says many of its internal systems don’t require multi-factor authentication.

Staff won’t be allowed into their offices through at least Tuesday as the investigation continues. Hughes said the company is looking into alternative workspaces for election coverage, which she stated would otherwise proceed as usual.

Philadelphia’s last Republican mayor was in 1947, meaning Tuesday’s Democratic primary will essentially decide the city’s next mayor. Polls indicate a tight race, with five of the nine candidates “within striking distance of first place,” reportsFiveThirtyEight.

News organizations can be enticing targets for hackers, whether during election run-ups or not. Potential motives could include exposing sources, accessing reporters’ emails or Slack messages, publishing misinformation or delaying the publication of accurate information that could harm an individual or organization. “Depending on who’s got access, and what kind of access they have and what they do with it, you can go a lot of different ways,” Runa Sandvik, a cybersecurity expert specializing in media outlets, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But bottom line is that this is something that leadership does have to take into account and plan for and invest in. It’s not something that you can just secure overnight, and it’s not something you can just clean up overnight, either.”

Microsoft has overcome a significant hurdle in its attempt to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. As expected, the European Union has rubberstamped the acquisition. The European Commission (the EU's executive arm) said Microsoft will have to ensure full compliance with the commitments it has made to offer its games on other platforms, particularly cloud gaming services.

Activision does not yet offer its titles on cloud gaming services. EC regulators determined that the game streaming market is relatively small as things stand and having Activision games available on cloud platforms could help it to grow. Were Microsoft to offer Activision games exclusively on its own cloud service, that could have impaired competition, the EU said. 

Microsoft has signed 10-year deals with Nintendo and cloud gaming services such as NVIDIA GeForce Now and Boosteroid to make its own games and Activision's available on them. As such, regulators said Microsoft's commitments "fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming as compared to the current situation." 

"Video games attract billions of users all over the world. In such a fast-growing and dynamic industry, it is crucial to protect competition and innovation. Our decision represents an important step in this direction, by bringing Activision’s popular games to many more devices and consumers than before thanks to cloud game streaming," the EC's competition chief Margrethe Vestager said. "The commitments offered by Microsoft will enable for the first time the streaming of such games in any cloud game streaming services, enhancing competition and opportunities for growth."

"The EC conducted an extremely thorough, deliberate process to gain a comprehensive understanding of gaming. As a result, they approved our merger with Microsoft, although they required stringent remedies to ensure robust competition in our rapidly growing industry," Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement. "We intend to meaningfully expand our investment and workforce throughout the EU, and we’re excited for the benefits our transaction brings to players in Europe and around the world."

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the Activision acquisition last month over concerns that it would give Microsoft too much of a dominant position in the cloud gaming market, though it does not believe the takeover would pose a threat to competition in the console ecosystem. Microsoft is appealing the CMA's decision. That process is likely to take months to resolve.

In response to the EU's decision, the CMA stood by its claim that Microsoft would still have too much power in the cloud gaming space. "Microsoft’s proposals, accepted by the European Commission today, would allow Microsoft to set the terms and conditions for this market for the next 10 years," the CMA wrote on Twitter. "They would replace a free, open and competitive market with one subject to ongoing regulation of the games Microsoft sells, the platforms to which it sells them and the conditions of sale."

On the console side of the equation, the EU has determined that "Microsoft would have no incentive to refuse to distribute Activision's games to Sony." It noted that Sony is the world's biggest distributor of console games and that in the European Economic Area (EEA), there are four PlayStations for every Xbox sold. The EC suggests that would give Microsoft "strong incentives" to keep offering Activision games on PlayStation.

Even so, were Microsoft to pull Activision titles from Sony platforms, "this would not significantly harm competition in the consoles market," according to the EU. "Even if Call of Duty is largely played on console, it is less popular in the EEA than in other regions of the world, and is less popular in the EEA within its genre compared to other markets," the bloc said. "Therefore, even without being able to offer this specific game, Sony could leverage its size, extensive games catalog and market position to fend off any attempt to weaken its competitive position."

Much of the discourse related to the acquisition has centered on Call of Duty and how eager Sony was to stop Microsoft from making that series exclusive to its platforms (something Microsoft says doesn't make sense for it to do). Call of Duty games are said to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to Sony's bottom line every year, but cloud gaming has been the bigger sticking point for UK and EU regulators.

In December, the US Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal over concerns it "would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business." A hearing in that case is scheduled for August 2nd. Although Microsoft and Activision Blizzard face a tough battle to push the deal through in the UK and the US, the EU approval gives the companies some more momentum.

The new wave of Lord of the Rings games isn't stopping with this month's Gollum and Heroes of Middle-earth. Amazon has struck a deal with Embracer Group to release a massively multiplayer online (MMO) title based on the stories of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. Development is in the "early stages" at New World studio Amazon Games Orange County, which will ship the game for PCs and consoles at an unspecified date.

The move isn't surprising when Amazon is also behind The Rings of Power TV series. However, Amazon stresses that the show is set in Middle-earth's Second Age and is "unrelated" to the MMO. The synchronicity is certainly convenient, but there's no direct tie-in other than the underlying universe.

Amazon's in-house game development has had its share of problems. New World faced multiple delays, and its active user base is well below the launch-era peak. and the company shelved Crucible just a few months after the online shooter's debut. The tech giant has had more success in publishing, with deals to release Lost Ark and the upcoming Tomb Raider game.

The announcement comes as Amazon is refocusing its overall gaming strategy. It recently cut over 100 game-related jobs that included its San Diego studio, and is now concentrating on its teams in Orange County and Montreal. It's now clear why Amazon is committed to expanding that first studio — an online RPG in a major fantasy franchise is bound to get attention.

One of the unpleasant technological reminders of the pandemic is fading away. States have turned off COVID-19 exposure notifications on iPhones across the US now that the public emergency has expired. At least some states also appear to be shutting down notifications for Android users. You won't get alerts if you approach someone who tested positive and reported their results. No personal data traded hands, as the system relied on anonymized Bluetooth exchanges rather than GPS.

California and other states chalk up the decision to a combination of vaccines, wide immunity and effective treatments. The risks of serious illness have declined, according to officials. Omicron variants have also been less severe than early strains. Simply put, there isn't as much need for exposure alerts.

The technology was first announced in April 2020 as Apple and Google raced to create a common approach to exposure notification in the early days of the pandemic. The initial notifications came through states' individual apps beginning in August that year, but OS updates in September brought an Exposure Notifications Express feature to many Android and iOS devices. This theoretically reduced infections by getting people to stay home in the event of possible contact.

That's not how the exposure notifications worked in practice, however. Researchers determined that the rollout was fragmented. As there wasn't a nationwide protocol early on, states either implemented their own COVID-19 alerts or delayed launches. A user from one state might not get an exposure warning if they came close to someone from another state. Only 26 states released apps to make full use of notifications, and just 36 million Americans had either installed an app or enabled Exposure Notifications Express as of May 2021. While there's evidence the tech prevented cases (Washington State's app may have prevented 5,500 cases in its first four months), most of the population wasn't sharing data.

That's not to say the exercise was pointless. California's Department of Public Health says it's still studying the benefits of the state's app, and the findings from the COVID-19 response could help deal with future diseases. Don't be surprised if health agencies and tech companies are better prepared going forward.