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Deus Ex GO and three more Square Enix games are shutting down in January
This recent announcement follows shortly after the closure of the studio behind these games
Studio Onoma, formerly Square Enix Montreal, is shutting down four mobile games. Arena Battle Champions, Deus Ex GO, Hitman Sniper: The Shadows, and Space Invaders: Hidden Heroes will be removed from the App Store/Google Play Store on December 1st, and existing downloads will be inaccessible after January 4th.
Marvel Realm of Champions delisted from the Play Store, servers officially closing March 31st
Marvel Contest of Champions still remains king
It's official, Marvel Realm of Champions will soon reach the end of its life. In a recent post from Kabam, the developer has revealed that Marvel Realm of Champions is already delisted from both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, but it's not game over just yet as the servers won't go offline until March 31st. This means if you have the game installed, you will be able to play for another two months, though all in-app purchases are already offline. The game is winding down, but Kabam plans to let Realm of Champions go out with a bang by rebalancing things for fun for once, which is pretty ironic that the best time to play is when the game is dead, and about to be buried.
Chromebook deal too good to be true? Check this first before pulling the trigger
Don't fall for this common sales trap
We all probably found that one killer Chromebook deal on Amazon or Walmart that (on paper) appears to be an incredible value for the money. The average, less-informed buyer immediately jumped on the deal, because why wouldn't they? After all, its workhorse specifications are more than enough for basic tasks like Zoom, schoolwork, and light gaming. And for an asking price of just a few hundred bucks, they would be a fool to look elsewhere, right?
It's the end of the road for the Pixel 2, as Google releases final wrap-up update
Though something's up with the security patch date
Back in October, Google confirmed to us that the Pixel 2 and 2 XL were only promised one last wrap-up security patch, having reached the end of the three-year update promise. At the time, we were told it would roll out in December, though yesterday's updates landed without including the Pixel 2 series. But a few hours ago, these likely last images were posted for download, and we expect the update to start rolling out in the more traditional sense soon.
Google's Screenwise Meter app and its rewards program are now dead
Audience Measurement comes to a close
Google has wrapped up its Audience Measurement program, one that operated in a similar way to how a ratings company like Nielsen tracks media consumption. Participants who were incentivized to use the Screenwise Meter app to record their web browsing habits are being told to offload the software and claim their rewards within the next month.
Pixel 2 and 2 XL reach end of life: Only one more update is planned
A final wrap-up update will land in December
Google has confirmed to us that the Pixel 2 and 2 XL will get their last update this December. While the October update released today was the last guaranteed by the company's original calendar commitment, we are told that Google is promising one last update that includes a final set of critical fixes, following a trend it set last year with the original 2016 Pixels.
Chrome Web Store apps have been flailing for a while now. Google announced in 2016 that these Chrome Apps would be phased out by 2018 — that obviously didn't happen. Earlier in the year, Google committed to a timeline to slowly end support for them, but the company has just released a revised schedule that extends end-of-life dates on all platforms due to "feedback from customers and partners."
Popular weather app Dark Sky will be available to Android and website users for an extra month. Instead of ending those services today, it will do so on August 1.
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Social media platforms have maintained slimmed-down versions of their apps in the past few years to grab more users from developing markets with low-end hardware. Facebook, however, has decided to shut down Instagram Lite and is now redirecting users to the main app. The company has not said why.
Automatic, maker of vehicle diagnostic adapter, shutting down services on May 28
Customers can apply for a rebate by June 15
Automatic is shutting down its enhanced diagnostics services for vehicles on May 28. The company cites the coronavirus pandemic driving down demand for auto sales and, thus, demand for its OBD-II plug-in device and its associated services. Customers may be eligible to return their adapters to their point of purchase for a rebate.
Pokémon Rumble Rush hasn't even been available in the US for a year yet (since it was originally released in the West in May 2019), and The Pokémon Company has already announced that it will close the game on July 22nd, 2020. Pokémon Rumble Rush clearly had issues during development, which is why it was originally known as Pokéland back in 2017, promptly falling off the map until 2019 when it reappeared under the new name, but was still under development. Once Pokémon Rumble Rush was officially launched across the globe in May 2019, it was clear the title was released as a cash grab to soak up money before the developer completely abandoned it, which we now know will take place this July.
Sonos backtracks on controversial speaker-bricking trade-in program
Now you can get the discount without turning your old gear into garbage
Sonos is backtracking on its contentious new trade-in program, which effectively bricked devices that were flipped into a "recycle mode" for a trade-in discount. Instead of ensuring all its old speakers end up in the garbage, the company is switching to a serial number-based validation system to snag a discount, and you can even hang onto your old, outdated speaker.
First-gen Pixel and Pixel XL will predictably not get Android 11
Pixel 2 owners, enjoy your last year of software updates
We're officially on the road to Android 11, which means a whole round of developer preview builds are on the way to Pixel phones — as well as other non-Google phones likely to be announced at I/O in May that will go through their own beta stack. Unfortunately, for O.G. Pixel and Pixel XL owners, they won't be joining for the ride.
Google Station, which ran free Wi-Fi hotspots in 9 countries, is ending
Local telco partners will assume full responsibilities for hotspots later this year
Google has had a hand in expanding free, fast internet access in developing countries through its Station program. By teaming up with local ISPs, the search giant has been able to fund hundreds of public Wi-Fi hotspots in nine countries. But today, the company has decided to wrap up the scheme in some countries.
Sonos recently came under fire when news broke that it's permanently bricking perfectly fine devices as part of its trade-up program. This electronic waste issue might be amplified over the next months as Sonos has announced that it's deprecating software support for some of its older products starting in May. The catch is that if your home includes both legacy and modern devices, none will get updates anymore because Sonos products have to share the same software across a network. This forces you to purchase new speakers or amps if you wish to stay up to date with new features.
Sony, which does not have a good track record of making money from smartphones, has been cutting back on its mobile division for well over a year at this point, consolidating offices and has started to kill off apps it has made — some of them useful, others not so much. In the ongoing saga of this downsizing, we've come to the scheduled demise of the Xperia Lounge app.
This morning The Pokemon Company updated the Play Store description for its digital board game Pokémon Duel to notify players that the game's service will end on October 31st, 2019. This may come to a few of you as a surprise, but with so many new mobile-oriented Pokémon games on the horizon, I suppose it's time to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Google's Pixel C, the last first-party Android tablet released all the way back in December of 2015, may have just stopped getting monthly security patches. There has been no official announcement, and device-specific delays have happened before, but the Pixel C wasn't among those that received today's July set of updates, and the precise timing is awfully suspicious.
And now, for some perspective: Like many of Microsoft's sidecars — the Windows 10 Mobile OS, the Zune music player, cross-platform ecosystems, you get the drill — ebooks from the Microsoft Store have had their day. One of the latest casualties this year was the demise of ebooks from the Microsoft Store. Sales ended on April 2 and we are mere days from when, thanks to digital rights management, every purchased book will disappear from users' libraries.
When you get a new phone, you almost certainly want to protect it from drops and scuffs by putting it in a case. For most popular devices, you can choose from a sheer infinite amount of options, but most of them are neither individual nor too pretty and only good for what they need to be good at – they shield your device from damage. Google took another approach and added the ability to customize the look of your Pixel phone protector with its "My Case" program. However, coinciding with the launch of the Pixel 3a, the company quietly took away these custom options from the Pixel 3.