Spotify, Riot Games sign 'League of Legends' esports partnership

League of Legends hub on Spotify

Spotify inks its first multi-year partnership with game developer Riot Games, who is behind the highly popular title League of Legends. The music streaming service will be LoL's official and exclusive audio-streaming partner for global events. Spotify will offer a League of Legends esports hub on its apps that contains "new and existing music, podcasts, and playlists inspired by the gaming community."

The two companies will launch several LoL podcasts, starting with Untold Stories: Top Moments from Worlds. It's a nine-episode series leading up to the 10th League of Legends World Championship this fall. There will also be a behind-the-scenes look at creating the Worlds Anthem through the Worlds Anthem Takeover on the app. The track is the game's hero song of the year, and it will be released alongside a "bespoke music video." The theme will be performed during the opening ceremony of the World Championship Finals. 

Here's your best look at the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2

Samsung teased the Galaxy Z Fold 2 during the recent Unpacked event. But the new foldable device is getting a dedicated launch on September 1. Ahead of the event, we get a substantial look at the latest iteration of the foldable phone through this video review. It is in Mandarin, though, so you may or may not understand what's being said. 

The highly-produced video gives us a great look at the device in action, with the reviewers using Maps, playing games, taking selfies, and even showing off the richer speaker sound. Placed beside the first Fold, you can see that the display has gotten thinner and larger. The huge camera cutout is swapped for a punch-hole cutout for the selfie shooter. It also shows the improved hinge, which leaks claim leaves the phone fully enclosed to avoid dust from getting in. Watching the review, does it excite you to see the new Galaxy Z Fold 2?

Source: Engadget

Epic Games gets temporary restraining order to protect Unreal Engine, not 'Fortnite'

Epic Games

Apple initially planned to revoke Epic Games' developer accounts on Friday, August 28, but a judge granted the game developer a temporary restraining order to prevent this from happening. Apple can't restrict the use of Epic's Unreal Engine by developers on Apple platforms, too. In the same ruling, though, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers decided Apple won't need to bring Fortnite back. The tech giant banned the game after Epic added an in-app payment system that violates Apple's rules.

"The Court finds that with respect to Epic Games' motion as to its games, including Fortnite, Epic Games has not yet demonstrated irreparable harm. The current predicament appears of its own making," Rogers wrote, arguing that Epic "strategically chose to breach its agreements with Apple" and disturb the status quo.

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Google's rumoured Android TV dongle could launch soon

Google is rumoured to be launching a new Android TV dongle to be the Chromecast Ultra's successor. Codenamed Sabrina, it appeared at the FCC, which suggests the official launch could happen soon. The FCC filings show two new Google devices with model numbers GZRNL and G9N9N. The former is an "Interactive Media Streaming Device, while the latter is described as a "Wireless Device" on the FCC website. Based on the descriptions, GZRNL could be "Sabrina," while G9N9N could be its remote control. As expected, the filings don't share critical details about the device, except for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The leak back in June revealed that the TV dongle will run on an Amlogic S905X2 processor, which uses four ARM Cortex-A53 cores and an ARM Mali-G31 MP2 GPU. It will supposedly support up to 4K videos, HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision standards. It is also expected to support Auto Low-Latency Mode and Stadia gaming. Google is set to launch the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 on September 30. So, there's a possibility we'll see Sabrina then.

Source: Android Central