Welcome to Tech Bytes! In this series, we bring the biggest news hitting the Tech and Gaming fields, getting them into a simple brief for you to quickly catch up on, so you’re up to speed over that dinner and drinks.
We’re right at the precipice of 2022, where another year of tech innovation and game hype awaits. But for now in December, there are still bits and pieces of news to get into as we round off 2021 in style. Be sure to check them out here!
Huawei P50 Pocket announced
Samsung’s foldable line has improved since its first showing, illustrating more and more that
foldable phones can seep into the mainstream market. But they aren’t the only ones to do so. Huawei themselves are one of several manufacturers who have produced folding smartphones, though only for the Chinese market. Their newest one announced is seemingly slated to be sold globally, meaning you could be able to get your hands on one yourself.
Introducing the Huawei P50 Pocket. The phone has opted for a clamshell design like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip3, departing from its previous foldable iterations, which unfolded to tablet size. Coming in White and Premium Gold variants; a Premium Edition also exists that features a special design collaboration with haute couture designer Iris Van Herpen.
When unfolded, the phone is set to have a 6.9-inch screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio and up to 120Hz refresh rate. It will be powered by the Snapdragon 888 chip and has Huawei’s Ultra Spectrum Camera Matrix, featuring a 40MP True-Chroma Camera, a 13MP Ultra Wide Angle Camera, a 32MP Ultra Spectrum Camera, a 10-Channel Multi-Spectrum Sensor and an Ultra Spectrum illuminator.
The phone’s cover scream will also be able to display notifications, schedule, calendar, music,
weather, and control of other features, with themes available for users to customise to fit their style.
No price has been detailed yet, but it is set to come to Singapore in early 2022. We’ll see if the Huawei P50 Pocket is enough to rival Samsung’s options when it does finally arrive.
The Game Awards 2021 Blowout
As always, the end of the year sees the celebration of games released within the 12 months with Geoff Keighley’s annual The Game Awards (TGAs). This year’s big Game of the Year winner deservedly went to It Takes Two, the co-op game from the eccentric Josef Fares. Other winners include Returnal (Best Action), Metroid Dread (Best Action/Adventure), Deathloop (Best Game Direction), and Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Best Indie).
But it isn’t all just celebrating current games, with TGAs also showcasing new looks at highly-anticipated upcoming games and new reveals. Among the notable ones are Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, both of whom finally unveiled gameplay. There were also teases from Cuphead’s upcoming DLC and a surprise VR version for the popular Among Us.
Reveals obviously took the spotlight, and TGAs were eager to present them. Wonder Woman was one of them, with Monolift Productions bringing their expertise and renowned Nemesis System to the game. Remedy Entertainment is also following up on Control with Alan Wake II in 2023, but with a twist. The sequel will be shifting genres to survival horror — a first for the developer. Quantic Dream will also be delving into the world of Star Wars with their new game Star Wars Eclipse, described as an action-adventure game built with the company’s famous branching narratives in mind.
2022 already looks like a stacked year, and if TGAs were any indication, the years beyond that look to be the same, which is great for all of us.
Splinter Cell Remake confirmed
TGAs wasn’t the only one with reveals. Ubisoft formally announced that they will be doing a remake for the very first Splinter Cell game.
The Splinter Cell franchise has been highly successful with fans because of its stealth gameplay, but has laid dormant for a long time. Instead, it has only made cameo appearances in other Ubisoft games like Ghost Recon Breakpoint. This new remake will be its first standalone title since Splinter Cell: Blacklist in 2013
Details are very minimal at this point, with the only confirmations being that Ubisoft Toronto will work on it and use the Snowdrop engine from The Division. The studio is also looking to hire for the game, indicating that it is still very early in development.
While it will be years before we may see the game, it is heartening to know that the series will live on after years of silence. Fans will no doubt be counting down the days from now.
New Colours for PS5 Plates and DualSense Controllers
If you’re bored of the PS5’s white facade, great news! Now you have the chance to change that. Sony is finally offering users the chance to customise their PS5s with their new line of console cover accessories.
Five colours will be made available at the start. The Midnight Black and Cosmic Red colours previously showcased for the DualSense controller earlier this year will also be made available for the console cover. It will be joined by the new Nova Pink, Starlight Blue, and Galactic Purple variants. Likewise, the DualSense controller will also get those new colours to match the console.
The console covers will cost S$79.90, with Midnight Black and Cosmic Red variants coming first on 21 January 2022. The rest will launch thereafter during the first half of 2022. Meanwhile, the new colours for the controllers will be available on 14th January 2022 and will retail at S$107.
These colour variants certainly won’t be the last to come from Sony, so we’ll be eager to see what styles they will be able to come up with in the future!
This marks 2021 December’s edition of Tech Bytes, and we hope this roundup gives you a little insight into tech to be excited about. Check with us again in January 2022, as we bring you more byte-sized news every month!
Visuals courtesy of Huawei, The Game Awards, Remedy Entertainment, and Sony PlayStation.
