‘Diablo’ series reportedly in the works for Netflix

Rumour has it we’re getting another video game-based series on Netflix apart from Castlevania. This time around, it’s being reported that Blizzard and Netflix are working on bringing Diablo to life on the video streaming service. Revenge of the Fans site reports Hellboy writer Andrew Cosby has been asked to pen the script for the show. As to what type of series it would be or where it will be based is something we don’t know yet. Also, without any confirmation from either company, it’s important to take this rumour with a big grain of salt. With BlizzCon coming up, we should hear something about this soon. And if it does become a real production, is this something you’ll be interested in watching?

Essential Phone finally gets pinch-to-zoom support for YouTube

Today we get a case of better late than never with a new feature Essential has brought to the Essential PH-1. The smartphone finally supports YouTube’s pinch-to-zoom feature. Before users had to live with seeing black bars above and below 16:9 videos because the screen has the unusual 19:10 display ratio. Thankfully, the company finally listened to its users and it now supports this feature. It’s not showing up for all users yet but some commenters on Essential subreddit suggest uninstalling the app, updating it, and clearing cache to get the feature to work. Reddit user osikiri discovered the feature and says he’s using version 13.34.50 of the YouTube app and is running an Android 9 Pie device.

Source: XDA Developers

Apple’s latest acquisition suggests company is working on AR headset

Will this new acquisition benefit Apple ARKit or prepare us for an enitrely different product line?

Apple has yet to confirm or deny that it’s been developing an augmented reality headset but the newest startup it’s acquired might suggest that is in the works. Apple just bought Colorado-based Akonia Holographics, a company that develops lenses for augmented reality glasses. As usual, the company is keeping mum about what it plans to do with the company. Akonia though specializes in what it calls HoloMirror technology, which allows for the development of “thin, transparent smart glass lenses that display vibrant, full-color, wide field-of-view images.” The company also has 200 patents on holographic systems and materials.

As Reuters points out, Apple has bought smaller companies before to make use of the technologies for their devices. Perhaps this could appear in existing products—or as what’s being rumoured, it could appear in an AR-based product. Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously admitted that the company sees a future in AR. He said during a 2017 earnings call, “We are high on AR for the long run. We think there are great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity.”

YouTube competitor Facebook Watch launches globally

One year to the month since it officially launched in the US, Facebook is bringing its video-streaming service Watch to its users around the world. The service wants to make it easier for its users to find new videos to watch and keep them away from competition like Google’s YouTube. Facebook is bringing the attention to features like being able to easily discover and watch new videos that range from sports to news to entertainment. Watch will also be curated to match your interests. If you want to check out the new stuff, Watchlist section will show you recently-uploaded videos from creators you’ve chosen to follow. And like Facebook’s read later function for links, you can save videos for later viewing, too.

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