News written by Matti Robinson (August, 2019)

Yesterday we told you about the exclusive streaming deal from Disney that we thought was definitely worth a look. Apparently we weren't the only ones to try and sign up for the D23 membership.

Disney has confirmed that their servers crashed after a flurry of visitors trying to get their hands on the Disney+ deal.

Disney representative told Comicbook.com that they yesterday became "aware of an issue impacting access to the Disney's D23 Fan Club website due to the heavy volume of traffic that the site is experiencing."

D23 Fan Club site seems to again work just fine, so you can head on there if you want to cash in the pretty amazing deal they have for those of us willing to sign a three-year subscription.

The deal gets you 33% percent off the regular one year deal, which isn't bad to begin with at $6.99/mo or $69.99/year. The three-year deal, available until September 2nd, costs around $140 or less than $4 a month.

It seems like Apple's iOS development is a little bit out of whack. The company has released their latest iOS beta update, which carries the version number 13.1, but the stable release of iOS 13 is yet to be released.

Of course iOS 13 won't likely be released until Apple is ready to unveil their upcoming iPhones. That's when they'll be showing off how well the two of them, hardware and software, work together.

That's also how they'll sell you the idea that you need a new phone, even though probably most of the updates are coming to previous models as well. Obviously the new hardware has its own merits that might have you convinced regardless of the iOS update, but let's be honest, most of us dearly want some iOS updates.

Rumors suggest that the new iPhones are to be unveiled on Semptember 10, which probably is the date we'll see the first official versions of iOS 13. We are still nearly two weeks away and iOS 13.1 is already in beta testing.

Unfortunately there isn't much in terms of new information that people have gathered mining the beta. This might suggest that Apple has found a critical error, perhaps even a security bug in the initial iOS 13 version that they have to release another update right off the bat.

Disney held their annual D23 Expo in Anaheim this weekend announcing some very anticipated Star Wars trailers among other things.

They also provided D23 Expo attendees with a special offer for Disney+ subscription that wasn't available elsewhere. Expo attendants got 33% off from the the streaming services $69.99 yearly fee, if they paid three years in advance.

Now after the exposition has concluded Disney has expanded the availability to D23 members as well.

The good news is that D23 membership can be attained without any costs, as BGR notes. While there are tiers like the D23 Gold membership that costs $99 a year, you can get the Disney+ bargain with just the regular free D23 subscription (i.e. D23 General Membership).

Getting 33% off means you'll pay around $46 per year, or $138 for the full three year subscription. That's less than four dollars per month for a subscription that is surely going to offer quite a lot of Marvel, Disney and Star Wars content in the coming years.

Netflix has changed how their platform works in numerous ways throughout the years. Things like removing stars for thumbs up and down easily spring to mind, but they are far from the most important features on the service.

One could argue, the most important piece of software with Netflix is the suggestions engine that drives what content will be shown to each person at any given time. However, it is not perfect, not even close.

If you are anything like me, you are getting annoyed at getting constantly suggested same content, even things you've already seen. Well, to better suggest content you'd like, they are now testing real human curation to compliment algorithms.

A tweet has revealed a new trial Netflix is running, called Collections. These are, well, collections of shows and/or movies gathered together by human hands.

It includes categories like "Real & Riveting" and "Just for Laughs" with an ability to follow each Collection. The sleek UI allows you to get a quick look at the top three suggestions with a short description by clicking the Collection once, and twice to get an expanded view.

Currently the feature is under testing, and only available to a select few. There's no guarantee that it is going to land on everyone's devices, ever, but if you'd get the choice, would you like to use it?

Disney has released another Star Wars trailer at their D23 Expo in Anaheim, CA.

Just a few days ago we told you about the first trailer for the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, and no we've got fresh footage off of the last episode in the Star Wars saga.

The ninth episode is called The Rise of Skywalker, and according to the trailer it is going to be one of the more epic ones, as expected.

The first half of the trailer is pretty much just build up with footage from the previous episodes, but fortunately the latter half does reveal some new and interesting details about the upcoming movie.

We see the dynamic duo Rey and Finn, as well as their partner in crime pilot Poe Dameron. They are accompanied by who else than Chewbacca and C-3PO, who seems to turn to the dark side with a glimpse into his red eyes.

Lucasfilm has managed to reuse some footage of Carrie Fisher's Leia, and she'll appear in the movie as well.

As you would expect, there's action and space battles, but also an epic fight between Rey and Kylo Ren. What's even more cryptic or dramatic, though, is the ending of the trailer with Rey in a black hood with a Sith lightsaber not unlike the one wielded by Darth Maul.

Disney has released their first official trailer for the Lucasfilm show The Mandalorian. The Star Wars spinoff depicts the stories of the infamous bounty hunters from the planet Mandalore.

Most famous Mandalorian is of course Boba Fett, but The Mandalorian doesn't have a name. Not yet at least.

The series takes place a few years after the initial trilogy and follows "a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic".

You are to expect epic Star Wars scenery and gripping storytelling as well as lots of action, if the trailer is of any indication of the contents.

The show is starred by Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian, Gina Carano, Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito, among others. The show was created by Jon Favreau.

Premiere is set for November 12 on Disney+, and Disney+ only.

Spotify is by far the largest streaming music platform in the world. However, in the U.S. Apple has closed the gap, and according to some reports even passed Spotify.

Worldwide the battle isn't really even close, and, in fact, the gap has gotten wider in favor of Spotify since Apple Music launched. Nevertheless, the Swedish music powerhouse is feeling the pressure, for sure.

Perhaps one way this is materializing is the new policy Spotify just announced. The company is copying one from Apple's playbook, and is now offering three-month free period at the start of one's Premium subscription.

Not that it is an Apple only strategy, Spotify has previously offered all kinds of trial periods, and perhaps even a 90-day one for a period of time. However, from yesterday onward this is the de facto policy.

There are some exceptions, though, at least in the beginning. For now, the free three months only applies to default individual subscriptions as well as a student subscription.

Spotify did say, that they are bringing the same benefit to Duo and Family subscriptions soon.

Google's mobile operating system is more than a decade old, and throughout the years we've grown to know different versions by their sweet names.

Now 11 years after Android's premiere Google is changing gears. No longer will Android version be called by the name of a dessert starting with the corresponding letter.

Google has announced that Android 10 will be called, well, Android 10.

All the guessing for this years treat starting with the letter Q has been in vain, but there's a lot of reasons why it's a good change.

First of all, numbers are just simpler and easier to remember. Going through the letters I did remember all the versions but one – for some reason Lollipop evaded me – but there's no question that version numbers are just more convenient.

As boring as the numbers are, they are also easier to translate and you don't have to worry about issue with different languages and cultures. I'm sure – nay, I hope – froyo isn't a thing all around the globe.

Alongside the new version naming policy, Google announced the new logos for both Android 10 as well Android in general. Above you see the simplicity in the new naming scheme, and below you have the new face of Android.

Apple's latest extension of their ecosystem is something one couldn't have imagined a decade ago. The company's new credit card is the newest, hip iPhone only accessory.

After increasing their offering to health applications, Apple is ready to conquer your wallets too. The new Apple Card, developed in partnership with Goldman Sachs, is now available to everyone in the United States.

As long as you qualify, and own an iPhone.

You can apply for the card from the Apple Wallet app, and if successful and you opt for the physical card, you'll be shipped a titanium credit card in addition to the electronic version stored in the app.

Apple promises no fees, "not even hidden ones", except for the interest rates, which the company claims are among the lowest in the industry.

The card includes a cashback program, that offers 2% on all purchases and 3% on Apple Store purchases as well as qualified partners like Uber and Uber Eats.

Cashback, or Daily Cash as Apple calls it, goes straight to your Apple account and can be used just like normal balance.

Balance is of course monitored with the Wallet app, which offers detailed information about purchases.

As Netflix made it obvious, for Redbox and Blockbuster painfully so, that streaming is the new medium for TV and movies, every major player in both media as well as tech space started planning on their own platforms.

The same can be said for Spotify that is still the top dog even after Apple investing copious amounts of money to play catch-up.

One of the ones that should've had perhaps one of the strongest claims to the thrones, Google, has barely gotten their feet wet after years and years of trial and error.

Be it YouTube Red, Google Play Music, or even the newer iterations called YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium, none of them have really made a splash in the game.

Earlier this year Google announced that it is planning on bringing YouTube Originals to customers without a Premium subscription. Obviously this is due to the poor performance by their exclusive content.

Now, YouTube has indeed confirmed that this is happening soon. After September 24, all YouTube users will be able to view YouTube Originals without a paid subscription.

However, this doesn't mean that Premium subscribers no longer exist, and they still have a few advantages over the ones without the $12 a month service.

As the second half of the year is well on its way, we're closing in on some of the year's most important smartphone releases. Of course fall release is imminent for both new Pixels as well as iPhones.

The latter is likely going to be first, as traditionally Google waits until October to release their Pixel phones. Apple on the other hand is said to be ready in September.

Now we've got a little bit more confirmation about that fact too, and might even have an actual release date. According to AppleInsider, new hints have been found from iOS 13 beta versions to suggest that iPhone release is scheduled for September 10.

However, it's not entirely written on stone yet, and one option is that the iOS release is the date in question and iPhones would be released at an earlier or later date.

Last seven years Apple has released their new iPhones in early September, and this is probably not going to change.

However, what is going to change, according to a Korean publication The Elec, are iPhone displays. Rumors have it that Apple is getting the same build of Samsung's OLED panels as Galaxy S10 and Note10 this time around.

Foldable phones have been rumored for years upon years but finally last year we started seeing some concrete proof that they would be indeed released to the public sometime soon.

Both Samsung and Huawei gave us sneak peeks late last year of their Galaxy Fold and Mate X, and earlier this year they were promising release of their respective devices in the first half of the year.

Samsung's release was an utter failure with callbacks on review devices and massive problems with displays and the hinge system. The company had to re-evaluate how to stop debris from ruining the device.

Huawei saw the issues and decided to push back the initial June launch. Now in August neither of them are yet available. Samsung is promising theirs in September, and according to a new report by TechRadar, Huawei isn't ready yet either.

In fact, Huawei has delayed their Mate X release quite a bit. The company now is aiming for a November release.

It seems like they still don't want to be the first one to the market. Instead they are going to see what happens with the re-launch of Galaxy Fold and try to avoid same mistakes, again, in November.

Apple's MacBooks haven't quite been themselves recently. The iconic laptop has gone through a couple iterations that include bad keyboards and even faulty batteries.

The latter is obviously a bigger problem in terms of terminal damage to the laptop, and could even prove dangerous to its surroundings.

Apple has issued a recall to the specific MacBook Pro models that are dangerously unstable due to faulty batteries that might spontaneously combust, and now FAA has decided to take them more seriously too.

The Feredal Aviation Administration has banned the recalled MacBook Pro devices from its flights. Fire risk is obviously something FAA takes seriously, and they did the same thing couple years back with the infamous Galaxy Note7.

European Union Aviation Safety Agency has issued a similar warning earlier, although it only requires to switch the devices off and not be used during flights.

The MacBook Pro in question is a 15-inch version that was sold between September 2015 and February 2017. You can get more information about the recall program here.

While Google Search seems like the same service you started using perhaps 15 or even 20 years ago, it has evolved massively over time.

The illusion is, one might suggest, of just having a single search field and list of results in the same vein as years ago when it started as a tiny startup. However, the world's most influential company is constantly developing new features and tweaking the layout to serve the customer better – and make more money.

The newest addition to Google Search is the better integration of one of today's biggest trends: podcasts. Google has added a dedicated podcast player to it's search engine.

You can, for example, search for 'grilling podcasts' and choose an episode to play straight from the search results. No launching apps needed.

What's more impressive is that Google doesn't only search for podcasts for suitable titles or descriptions, but it also uses speech recognition to determine whether the searched subject is found in the content. The feature requires that one of the search terms is 'podcast'.

The feature has only been rolled out in limited manner but will soon be available to all users and all platforms. Later this year Google brings the feature to Google Assistant and Google Podcasts for web.

Wireless headphones have gotten really good, and really popular in the last, say, five years. It's hard to say to what degree this is due to Apple removing the headphone jack from the iPhone, but most certainly it hasn't hurt.

Initially many disliked, even hated, the move by Apple, and obviously competitors capitalized on it. Samsung released funny commercials mocking Apple's dongles and lack of headphone jack.

Now that the new Galaxy Note10 is out, and the company has decided to rid the headphone jack themselves, it's perhaps time to look back in time, and make them feel at least as silly as Apple was made to feel about the their removal.

Samsung knows that the backlash was coming as soon as it announced a powerhouse of a smartphone, designed for the most tech hungry power user out there, and they've omitted the headphone jack.

While the actual financial consequences are probably fairly minimal at this point, since many of us have already moved on from wired headphones – and yes, dongle still works – and don't really care if there's a headphone jack or not, there's still a fairly hefty sense of irony floating around.

Fortunately, even though Samsung deleted their videos from YouTube, you can't take things off the internet, as you known.

Samsung was one of the first smartphone companies to join the VR revolution with their own headset. Gear VR has been an integral part of the company's VR strategy since its inception in 2015.

Every single major flagship smartphone release since then have been supported by Gear VR headsets, be it already sold or new one introduced with the smartphone. Now it seems like the new Galaxy Note10, and Note10+, are the first to deviate from the pattern.

The newest version of the Gear VR, SM-R325, supports Galaxy S6, S7, S8, S9, and this years S10 series. There's also support for Galaxy Note5, Note8, and Note9 – Note6 didn't exist, and Note7 exploded – but there won't be support for Galaxy Note10.

Samsung has confirmed that this is indeed the case, that Galaxy Note10 isn't supported by current Gear VR headsets. However, it is still possible that the company releases an adapter or completely new headset for the device, although the company hasn't revealed anything about such plans.

It's still unclear whether Samsung still believes in smartphone VR headsets, or whether it has decided to give in to standalone devices like the Oculus Go and VIVE Focus Plus.

You've probably already at least heard of the new Galaxy Note10, right? Hopefully you've even read about the specs we revealed as soon as the device was official.

However, to get a proper look at the device, you'll need some video footage that really shows what the phone is made of, both on the outside as well as what it offers on the inside.

Samsung has released a few videos in which is shows off the good looks, and there are some good looks there, as well as some of the more important features of the new Galaxy Note10 devices.

Below you have first Samsung's introduction video for Galaxy Note10, showing the most important details and features of the phone. Second video is the official TV commercial that has little more emphasis on the looks of the phone. Lastly the third video that aims to just make the phone look oh so good.

Without further ado...

The new Galaxy Note10 was just announced alongside its bigger sibling Galaxy Note10+ by Samsung.

While they are definitely full-blown flagship phones, as expected, there's not much new compared to company's previous and competitors' offerings.

However, Samsung did announce something that might be of interest to the gamers out there. See, both Galaxy Note10 models are able to play PC games, thanks to a service not totally unlike Valve's Steam Link.

The service is called PlayGalaxy Link – I known, they could've come up with something more original – and it makes a remote connection between your Galaxy Note10 and your PC.

Using LTE connection or WiFi, which is faster than even on the new Galaxy, you'll be able to play your PC games from anywhere.

The streaming technology allows you to continue from the same spot you left the game off on your PC, and vice versa. Samsung says that the service also supports Game Booster technology the help to optimize the resources while playing games.

Obviously this will save you some storage space on your mobile device too, since the games are installed only on your PC.

Samsung has today announced its newest flagship smartphones at the Barclays Center in New York City. As expected, this time around Samsung had two separate Galaxy Note models to offer.

The regular Galaxy Note10 is the smaller of the two, although sporting a fairly sizeable 6.3 inch screen. The larger Galaxy Note10+ features the largest ever screen on a Note smartphone at an impressive 6.8 inches.

The two displays are not only separated by size but also offer different resolutions. The smaller one has FHD+ resolution at 2280x1080 (like Galaxy S10e) and larger QHD+ at 3040x1440 (like Galaxy S10 or S10+). Both of them utilize Samsung's praised AMOLED technology.

While the international version of the Note10 will have an improved Exynos chip (over the S10), the US version has the same Snapdragon 855 as this years previous flagships. In Galaxy Note10 you'll get 8 GB of RAM, while the plus version offers 12 gigabytes.

There's also only one 256 GB storage option for the former, and the latter can be bought in both 256 GB and 512 GB variants.

In the camera department both have trio of cameras featuring a wide angle (77°) 12 MP f/1.5-2.4 default shooter, ultrawide (123°) 16 MP f/2.2 camera, and one with a telephoto lens (45°) with 12 megapixels and f/2.1. In addition, the Note 10+ has a ToF (Time of Flight) camera that can help with measuring real life objects.

Many of us thought that Apple would be slowly ending the reign of touch sensors in iPhones after they revealed iPhone X and definitely after the introduction of iPhone XS.

Even last year's cheaper iPhone XR had Face ID instead of a touch sensor for authentication. Seems like they were betting on facial recognition all the way instead of fingerprint.

Apparently this might not be the case entirely. A well-known and regarded Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo is suggesting that Apple is bringing Touch ID back.

According to his analysis, Apple is going to feature a under-screen version of its Touch ID sensors in one of its upcoming iPhones. It won't be this year, though, so expect to see another Face ID iPhone.

Kuo suggests that in-display Touch ID could be revealed in 2021, but that there would still be Face ID in iPhones as well. Seems rather odd that they would put both sensors in a single iPhone, so perhaps they are in different models.

The in-screen Touch ID would allow Apple to have a all screen front, if it removed all the camera and other sensors from the top of the phone, like many Android manufacturers have done. However, Apple probably isn't going to settle to current generation solutions for installing front-facing cameras.

As soon as the Trump ban was announced, making Android possibly unattainable for Huawei no longer, all kinds of rumors about Huawei's own mobile platform started surfacing.

This wasn't all projection, though. In fact, the company has been working on different types of operating systems for a long time, one of which was a 2015 launched IoT platform called LiteOS.

However, the new had much bigger ambitions as it had to replace Android.

The ban was later cancelled by Trump, and Huawei is back in business largely unharmed, but the close call might have made it more determined to get their OS ready.

Now report from Global Times, which might have stronger ties to the Chinese government than Huawei, says that the Hongmeng OS might see the light of day as soon as later this week.

This could happen at a Huawei developer conference held in Dongguan on August 9.

Huawei has said that the operating system is designed for IoT devices, like the earlier mentioned LiteOS, and wouldn't thus be used in smartphones. However, according to Global Times, Huawei is planning to introduce a Hongmend-powered Mate 30 series smartphone later this year.

Apple has decided to suspend its Siri recording for quality control worldwide after The Guardian last week brought up some of the problems with it.

Siri conversations were used to improve upon the quality of the service by recording and grading how the conversations went. This meant that Apple employees were listening to actual Siri conversations randomly in order to determine whether Siri was successful in aiding the user.

While Apple says that information that could be considered personal was removed prior to anyone listening to the recording, the employees were still listening to very personal conversations, even though they couldn't make the connection to the actual person, or have any information about them.

Regardless, the company has still decided to halt the process worldwide for now and do internal investigation in its quality control practices. They are planning on resuming the grading procedure on a later date after the investigation has concluded and measures needed been taken.

Next time around, however, Apple will ask for permission to use Siri conversations for quality control, rather assume consent.

Facebook hasn't got exactly the best connotation anymore. Especially ever after the Cambridge Analytica mess, the company's image has undoubtedly been tainted, although over billion people still use the service.

The company still seems to be confident that the brand can do good for its other apps. Rather than separating apps like Instagram and WhatsApp, Facebook is planning the opposite, The Information reports.

According to the report, Facebook is planning on adding Facebook's own name to both Instagram and WhatsApp. Seems rather odd, but in the future the services are supposedly called Instagram from Facebook and WhatsApp from Facebook.

This appears in App Store and Google Play but won't affect the name in your home screen, as it would be too long.

Perhaps there could be an argument made, that linking the services, viewed very positively one would imagine, it could show customers that Facebook is more than just a personal data selling behemoth.

In fact, Facebook says that it is doing this "to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook."

Facebook has been working on integrating the background technologies of its various platforms, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, for months.

One of the worst nightmares of a Windows users is having the system bricked. You'll have to either reinstall Windows or, if you are lucky enough, restore it via backup.

However, often times with a local backup, which is what most manufacturers use, the separate restore partition might be months or even years old.

Even if it is fairly up-to-date, the restoring process itself is not the most pleasant one.

Fortunately, Microsoft has finally decided that they need to fix this issue with a cloud solution. The company is adding new versions of Windows 10 an option to make a restoration from a cloud backup.

However, in addition to having the new version of Windows 10, the manufacturer has to support this option too with drivers. As it seems like a no-brainer for all manufacturers, we expect it to be widely available as soon as Microsoft releases it.

This is one the features that Apple's macOS already has, and Windows dearly needs.

Google made it official earlier this week that one of the new features we'll be seeing in the next-generation Pixel phones is Face Unlock.

It's the same old front camera system that we've already seen on iPhones. Hopefully Google can make it little swifter.

Now rumors have it that Google is not only adding the feature to its smartphones but bringing it to other devices as well. One might think that there's a Face Unlock enabled Pixel tablet in the works.

No, according to Chrome Unboxed, Google is about to release a new Chromebook alongside Pixel 4, codenamed Atlas, that is featuring Face Unlock.

According to some source code, Chromium project is readying support for what is called Face Detection. This could be the new Face Unlock feature on the future Atlas device, perhaps named Pixelbook 2.

This would likely also bring the new Motion Sense feature to Chromebooks as well. Motion Sense allows users to control their devices without touching it. Motion gestures can launch apps and for example take a picture depending on how you wave your hands.

Netflix is considered one of the pioneers in AB testing in the streaming service space, and the company has improved upon its layout, recommendations, and even rating system via customer data.

However, usually collecting data from customers isn't very controversial, unlike this time around. Twitter user by the name of Beto on Security has questioned Netflix's newest policy where they request physical activity data of the user.

The Netflix app has asked people to give permission to the smartphones physical activity data, which seems very odd to most. Why in the world would you need to give physical activity data to a streaming service?

Well, fortunately Netflix has revealed some of the thinking behind this request. According to Netflix, the company wants to improve upon the viewing experience by optimizing streaming performance of those on the move.

However, they've also realized this might not be the right way to go about it and have ended the testing, The Verge reports.

Would you be willing to reveal your activity data for improving the streaming capabilities?

Intel has revealed their first 10th gen Core processors. The new generation Ice Lake is said to boost the performance with same clock speed.

The new lineup includes 11 new U and Y Series Core chips that are based on the Sunny Cove architecture and 10 nm process. The new Core processors are able to perform 18 percent more instructions in one clock cycle. This means that there's essentially 18 percent performance boost while maintaining the same clock speed as the predecessor.

Obviously this is good news to portable solutions, and that is what the Y and U Series are for. The Y Series are the most low-powered ones with 9/12W TDP, and U Series chips are meant for more powerful laptops with 15/25W and even one 28W TDP

Both series include Core i3, i5, and i7 chips with various clockspeeds ranging from 3.2 to 3.8 GHz on Y chips and 3.4 to 4.1 GHz on U chips. The Gx code (G1, G4, G7) at the end of the model number reveals the graphics prowess, with G4 and G7 models including Intel Iris Plus Graphics. See below for more details.

The new processors will be available to the manufacturers right about now and first laptops with new chips will enter the market probably well in time for holiday season.

Android dwarfs iOS in terms of smartphone install base, and one could argue that Google's platform is beating iOS even in quality nowadays. However, there's no question that Apple has Google beat in tablets.

While iPhone sales is slumping, iPads are back on the menu like never before. The updated iPad Pro might have been one of the more important products recently, and Samsung has smelled blood in the water.

I guess Samsung never really stopped making tablets, but it's Galaxy Tab lineup of devices have pretty much fallen off the map when it comes to news coverage.

Now Samsung has released a new flagship tablet, Tab S6, skipping Tab S5 and just releasing a cheaper $400 Tab S5e. Tab S6, Samsung hopes, would compete against Apple's premium iPad, the iPad Pro.

It supports the new S Pen with remote control functionality and wireless charging. Perhaps more importantly the Tab S6 features a 10.5 inch Super AMOLED panel with WQXGA resolution (2560x1440), Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, 6/8 gigabytes of RAM, and 128/256 GB of storage.

It also has a 13/5MP dual camera in the back, and a 8MP shooter up front. Sound is produced by four AKG branded stereo speakers.

The device weighs 420 grams or 0.92 pounds, and at 5.7 mm or 0.22 inches is even slimmer than an iPad Pro.

Even with a struggle of a start, Surface has become an invaluable part of Microsoft's hardware strategy over the past few years.

Forgotten are the early RT devices, and Surface smartphones didn't even, well, surface. Now we have amazingly crafted Windows devices in multiple form factors, that challenge not only Windows OEMs but more importantly Apple's offerings.

One of them is this years Surface Laptop 2. Microsoft is aligning it directly against MacBook, which is evident in the most recent Surface ad.

In the ads, as seen below, they've recruited Mackenzie "Mac" Book, a real person they say, to review which is better, the MacBook or Surface Laptop 2.

As it turns out, surprise surprise, Mac Book chooses Surface Laptop over MacBook because of its stronger battery life, better performance, and touchscreen the latter doesn't have.

So there you have it, "Mac" Book chooses Surface. Ha.

Subscription services are the key to success these days. If you don't believe, ask Netflix, Spotify, or Amazon.

Of course mammoths like Google are working on multiple subscription services to try and capture people's hard-earned cash, too. These include YouTube TV and YouTube Music Premium, but there's a new subscription service in the testing that's just been revealed.

Google has confirmed to Android Police that it is working on a subscription service called Play Pass. The service is currently in testing phase.

Play Pass is a response to Apple Arcade, which allows limited access to apps and games for a monthly fee. The fee for Play Pass is expected to be $4.99, although it might still change before the official release.

It gives you access to apps and paid content wihtout ads. According to Android Police, the info page reads the following:

Explore a curated catalog spanning puzzle games to premium music apps and everything in between. From action hits to puzzles and fitness trackers, with Google Play Pass you unlock access to hundreds of premium apps and games without ads, download fees or in-app purchases.

King of streaming music, Spotify, has released their quarterly earnings, and while there are things to be happy about, the financial figures are still underwhelming.

The company revealed that they've passed 108 million Premium subscribers, and are currently at a total of 232 million subscribers when you count the free tier, ad-supported customers.

Apple Music has just passed 60 million subscribers.

This, however, hasn't skyrocketed the company's profitability. Spotify's revenue rose 31% year-over-year (10% QoQ) to 1.67 billion euros (around $1.84 billion) but profit was once again evading them.

Spotify has been struggling to get to green, and it only briefly managed to post a operating profit in the last quarter of 2018 only to fall into red right after.

Operating loss was recorded at only 3 million euros (net loss at 76 million), when last quarter it was 47 million and last year's Q2 90 million euros.

While only 46 percent of listeners are Premium subscribers, nearly 90 percent of the revenue is created from those users' payments.

Google has updated their web browser with a new version that brings along a few significant changes and feature updates.

One of the more important changes in Chrome 76 is the improved Incognito Mode, which now is said to be properly private. Previously websites have been able to check whether the user is using the Incognito Mode, but no longer is it visible to the outsiders.

Many websites, most importantly perhaps new sites, have used this trick to block people from accessing their content. These soft paywalls often rely on counting how many articles have been read in any given time frame, and Incognito circumvents it.

From now on these websites have to rely on different kind of strategy to lock users out.

While changes to the Incognito Mode are perhaps the most significant, there are other smaller updates too. For example, Flash has now been blocked by default. You can still enable it from the settings, but it's clear that Google considers it obsolete enough that you can live without it.

This is due to the fact that next year Google intends to remove the Flash support from Chrome altogether. Naturally they are following the Flash developer Adobe, who no longer update or distribute Flash Player at the end of 2020.