Light Start: Huawei’s Harmony, a shooter, but kid-friendly, YouTube’s own money, Clubhouse is Androidy

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Huawei may announce its Harmony OS in June

It’s been a second since we last heard about Huawei’s very own operating system: Harmony OS. Announced in 2019 following increased pressure from the Trump administration, Huawei planned to roll out its Android competitor. We just had no idea when it would happen. Until now. 

New reports suggest that the new OS will be unveiled at a launch event scheduled for 2 June 2021. This comes from sources who spoke to HuaweiCentral, detailing some specifics of the upcoming software. In 2019, we saw Huawei release a TV-specific version of Harmony OS for its Honor line of TVs. Of course, Honor has since broken off, and will soon be eligible to use Android software once again. Huawei’s 2 June event, however, is scheduled for 20:00 China time (14:00 CAT). According to the rumour mill, we can expect two new devices in the form of the Huawei MatePad Pro 2 and the Huawei Watch 3 and both may sport the new OS, called HarmonyOS 2.0.

While there’s no confirmation that the OS will come to older hardware like the P40 or the company’s Mate 40 devices, this may point to that possibility. If Harmony OS turns out to be a success, the company would be daft not to roll it out to all its devices. 

Source: TechRadar[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

‘Kid’-friendly shooter game swaps bullets for balls

While gaming fanatics, no matter how old, are asked what their favourite gaming title is, we’re sure it involves something to do with guns and shooting some sort of projectile. Just look at the insane popularity garnered by Epic Games’ Fortnite that runs on just about any device. Introducing Knockout City, a child-friendly variation of the famous shooter game style. 

Its design is reminiscent of the colourful shooter kids can’t get enough of, but this time the bullets are swapped for balls. Granted, the balls aren’t fluffy and cuddly, and if you’ve seen the film Dodgeball, you’ll know the game can be as violent as flinging seemingly rock-hard balls at your peers. Anyway, Knockout City takes the third-person view we know and love, jams it into a multiplayer online environment and pits foes armed with dodgeballs against each other. “Developed by Velan Studios, the team behind Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, the multiplayer dodgeball game is squeaky clean family entertainment. Though what’s funny here is that the game isn’t fundamentally that much different from a traditional shooter,” Digital Trends reports.

While nothing will likely replace the action-packed competitive nature of a title like Fortnite, it’s nice to have an alternative for even younger children, we guess. 

Source: Digital Trends[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

YouTube can serve ads on small channels, withhold payment

In the most recent incident of capitalism, Google-owned video streaming platform YouTube has announced that it will start serving ads on smaller channels on its platforms, regardless of whether the channel is listed as a partner. The only catch? Those small channels won’t get the ad revenue. 

This comes as the company announced a few changes to its terms of service. These changes will allow the company the right to monetise all content on its platform by placing ads on any channel it chooses. Before this, only partnered channels were allowed to serve ads, after which they’d get a cut of the ad revenue generated. From June, smaller creators will start seeing ads on their videos, for which they won’t see a cent of revenue. “Any individual who has more than 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months can participate in YouTube Partner Programme,” the Telegraph India reports. 

This feature was already live in the US since the end of 2020, and it’ll now roll out to the rest of the world. And for good reason. According to its financial reports, Google’s holding company Alphabet recorded a whopping $6 billion revenue from ads on its video platform for Q2 of 2021. 

Source: Telegraph India[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Clubhouse gains 1 million Android members 

Since rolling out to Android, the most elusive social media network in the world has gained an additional 1 million members, according to reports. While still functioning on an invite-only basis, it’s not the most accessible social platform out there, but apparently, even the Androidies are keen to see what it’s all about. 

While the world’s waiting for other social platforms’ version of the audio-only live streaming feature, it may be best to use the original, right? Everyone from Twitter to Facebook, Reddit and Discord are working on their very own versions of the app, which should make it available to the public at large. Maybe there’s something about Clubhouse’s exclusivity that is drawing people to it. At least users on both iOS and Android can now freely access the app… if you’ve got a code (mwahaha). 

The by-invite-only app launched on Android on 21 May, and it’s already surpassed a million downloads? Not bad. Now the developments team just need to get the Android version up to the level of quality we’ve seen in the iOS version. “We are working hard to get the feature parity in the Android version similar to that of the iOS. It is very important to us that the app has the same set of features,” Paul Davidson, co-founder of the platform, said.

Source: TechRadar[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]