Tag: Microsoft

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Microsoft discounts games, computers and more for Cyber Monday

If you’ve made it this far through November without falling victim to a deal or two, I commend you. However, I’m here to tempt you once again with a last-ditch ‘Cyber Monday’ sales effort from Microsoft.

PC and Xbox console gamers can take advantage of a few game deals on the Xbox Games Store. If you don’t have a console, there’s a Xbox Series S bundle that comes with 1,000 Fortnite V-Bucks and 1,000 credits in Rocket League.

If you’re looking for a computer or tablet, there are a few deals as well. For example, if you buy a Surface Pro 8, you can get a $100 gift card that you can spend on apps and other things from the Microsoft Store. Further, the Surface Laptop 4 is down to $989 for the base model, which is $200 less than its regular price.

If you don’t mind stepping back to last year’s Surface Pro 7, you can even get up to $500 off some of its configurations. This brings the price down to $779 to start, but that still doesn’t include a type cover or stylus.

There are also deals on third-party PCs from Razer, Asus, Lenovo and several accessories like headphones, earbuds and keyboards on Microsoft’s deals page.

Below are a few of Microsoft’s best offers:

Asus VivoBook 14 Laptop with 11th Generation Intel Core i5 Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and Windows 10 — $549.99 (regularly $759.99)
Free $100 Microsoft Store Gift Card with Surface Pro 8 purchase 
Surface Go 2 10.5-inch with Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y Processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD and Windows 10 — $549.00 (regularly $699.00)
Surface Pro 7 12.3-inch with 10th Generation Intel Core i5 Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and Windows 10 — $1099.00 (regularly $1599.00)
Razer Huntsman Mini Clicky Optical Gaming Keyboard — $119.99 (regularly $159.99)

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that helps fund the journalism provided free on our website.

Source: Microsoft

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Microsoft, Qualcomm reportedly have Windows on ARM exclusivity deal — it’s ending soon

If you’ve paid much attention to the Windows on ARM space, you may have noticed that it’s a rather limited space at the moment. Only a few Windows on ARM devices are available, and all of them run Qualcomm chips (for better and worse). Apparently, there’s a reason for that: Qualcomm and Microsoft have an exclusivity deal.

As reported by XDA Developers, people “familiar” with the matter claim the deal between Microsoft and Qualcomm is set to end soon. It’s not clear how long the deal’s been in place or when, exactly, it will end. But if the report is accurate, it could mean we’ll see a lot more ARM chips for Windows devices soon.

For example, Samsung could want to get into Windows on ARM. The company already makes Windows laptops and recently partnered with AMD on graphics for Exynos chips. A logicial next step could be bringing Exynos to its laptop line. Similarly, MediaTek announced last week that it plans to start building a chipset for Windows on ARM.

That could also clear the way for running ARM-based Windows on Apple’s M-series chips. Previously, Apple’s vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said it was up to Microsoft to get Windows on ARM onto the new Mac computers. Specifically, Federighi said it was a licensing issue, with Microsoft only licensing Windows on ARM to manufacturers to pre-install on devices, not to consumers. That said, Apple also didn’t support Boot Camp — its software to allow users to boot Windows on their Mac devices — on M-series chips, leaving Parallels and other virtualization tech as one of the few ways to get Windows onto Apple Silicon Macs.

The most important takeaway from the Qualcomm report is that it could finally open up Windows on ARM to some sorely-needed competition and innovation. Windows on ARM has a lot of problems, but if there were more ARM chips for Windows devices, and more Windows on ARM devices in general, it could help spur developers to improve the Windows ARM experience faster. It could also push manufacturers to create better chips to get an edge over the competition.

To be fair, Windows on ARM has come a long way, but in most cases, it still feels underpowered compared to Windows on x86 chips from Intel or AMD.

Source: XDA Developers

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Window 11 ditches cool-looking 3D emoji for boring 2D versions

Source: https://medium.com/microsoft-design/emotionality-at-work-398182387adc

Microsoft’s new emoji are headed to Windows 11 this week as part of a new, optional OS update. However, the new emojis look a little flatter than they should.

If you followed much of the Windows 11 development, you’ve likely seen the wild 3D emoji Microsoft was developing. The emoji looked fantastic and I was quite disappointed when I made the jump to Windows 11 and they weren’t available.

Now that the new emoji are coming to Windows 11, Microsoft has managed to disappoint again by releasing 2D versions of the excellent 3D emoji. As you may have already guessed, the 2D versions are not nearly as good as the 3D ones. While the 2D emoji lack the 3D elements that really made the set pop, I do think the new 2D emoji are generally better than the 2D Windows 10 emoji.

It’s also worth noting that Microsoft updated a post on its design blog from July about the new 3D emoji to note that Windows 11 will have 2D versions of the emoji instead. Despite the change, that blog post still says Microsoft “opted for 3D designs over 2D and chose to animate the majority of [its] emoji.”

Image credit: The Verge

The Verge points out that the change could be caused by Microsoft’s ‘color font format‘ for displaying emoji in Windows. It’s a vector format that allows for greater scalability, but also has file-size benefits for flat emoji, compared to something like a bitmap format, such as what Apple uses for its emoji.

Although Windows 11 won’t get the 3D emoji, that doesn’t mean Microsoft won’t use them elsewhere. The company is still expected to add the 3D and animated versions of the emoji to products like Teams. Whatever happens with the emoji, one thing is clear: you’ll need Windows 11. In the blog post update, Microsoft says it “still offers an assortment of emojis for Windows 10 customers,” implying the new emoji set won’t roll out to Windows 10.

Along with the emoji, the new Windows 11 update includes several bug fixes. You can learn more about it here.

Header image credit: Microsoft

Source: Microsoft Via: The Verge

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Microsoft testing Media Player for Windows to replace Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player is on the way out after over a decade. In its place, Microsoft has the daring new ‘Media Player for Windows.’

Yes, that is the actual name.

However, it seems the silly name is really the only similarity between the Windows Media Player and the Media Player for Windows.

You know, aside from the fact that they both play media. Media Player for Windows will replace both Windows Media Player and the Groove Music Player, which has basically been on its way out since Microsoft killed the Groove Music Service years ago. Fun fact, Groove was based in Montreal before Microsoft acquired it in 2016.

For what it’s worth, I never used Groove Music on purpose. While some out there may have relied on Groove since it was the default music player for local files in Windows 10, I doubt Groove ever became popular.

Anyway, back to Media Player for Windows. Microsoft has the new media player out for testing in the Windows 11 Insiders Dev Channel build and will eventually make its way to stable Windows 11. It sports a new, modern interface that borrows a few elements from Groove. The app will handle both music and video files and can automatically scan the Music and Video folders on your PC and pull content out of them.

There’s also a fancy new mini-player and Microsoft says it optimized the Media Player for Windows for accessibility with improved keyboard shortcuts and more.

And if, after all this time, you still can’t give up on Windows Media Player, it will remain a part of Windows. Microsoft will relegate Windows Media Player to ‘Windows Tools,’ a semi-hidden section of Windows 11 for legacy apps. You can find it fairly easily by pressing the Windows key and searching ‘Windows Tools.’

Source: Microsoft Via: Gizmodo

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Xbox Cloud Gaming is now widely available on Xbox consoles in Canada

Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft’s video game streaming service, is now available to all Xbox console gamers in Canada and 24 other regions.

Some Xbox Insiders have had access to the feature since late September, but this marks an official, wide rollout to everyone.

With Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One owners can stream supported ‘Cloud’ Game Pass titles to their consoles. Doing so offers a few unique benefits. Firstly, streaming means you don’t have to download or update the games, which frees up space, especially on the all-digital Series S. This even applies if you receive an update from a friend for a game you haven’t downloaded — you can just jump right in to join them.

What’s more, streaming allows Xbox One owners to play games that are otherwise only natively playable on the Series X/S. For now, this includes Recompile, The Medium, and The Riftbreaker, but other titles, like Microsoft Flight Simulator, will be supported in the future.

Xbox Cloud Gaming is also available on mobile and web browsers as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which costs $16.99 CAD/month. This membership also provides access to Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC and EA Play.

You can also get your first month of Game Pass Ultimate for $1. It’s also worth noting that a three-month Game Pass Ultimate subscription will be on sale for $29.99 ($20 off) at GameStop Canada for Black Friday.

The console launch of Xbox Cloud Gaming comes as Microsoft is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Xbox, which fell on November 15th. To commemorate the milestone, the company added dozens of new backwards compatible Xbox games and launched Halo Infinite‘s multiplayer early. Xbox’s November system update, which adds colour filters, accessibility tags and more, is also rolling out now.

Source: Xbox

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Amazon Daily Deals discounts Microsoft Surface Laptop Go and peripherals

Amazon Canada has discounted several Microsoft products, including laptops and peripherals as part of its broader Early Black Friday Deals.

Find some purchase-worthy deals below:

Amazon’s Microsoft deals are set to expire Tuesday, November 16th at 3am ET/12am PT. Find all Microsoft products on sale at Amazon here.

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links.

Image credit: Amazon

Source: Amazon

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Microsoft adds over 70 Xbox and Xbox 360 games to backwards compatible lineup

During Microsoft’s 20th anniversary Xbox stream, the tech giant confirmed that it will add over 70 original Xbox and Xbox 360 games to its fast-growing backwards compatibility lineup.

All backwards compatible titles will feature Auto HDR, with some also offering improved resolutions. Eleven games will offer FPS boost, and the feature is being added to 26 existing backwards compatible titles. Finally, Microsoft says it’s bringing FPS boost to Xbox Cloud Gaming titles, including Fallout 76 and Fallout 4.

Some of the key new standouts in the backwards compatible lineup include the entire Max Payne series, F.E.A.R, the Skate franchise and more. New original Xbox titles include Dead of Alive Ultimate, Star Wars: Jedi Knight II, Star Wars: Starfighter, Otogi and more.

Similar to past backwards compatible titles, games can be played from their disc or digitally, and if you don’t already own the titles, they’re now available in the Microsoft Store.

Breaking things down further, backwards compatible games will feature a 4x resolution increase on the Xbox Series X and Xbox One X, a 3x resolution increase with the Xbox Series S and a 2x increase with the Xbox One S and Xbox One.

New FPS boost titles include F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, F.E.A.R. 3, Binary Domain and Nier, with the existing list featuring Gears of War franchise, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dragon Age: Origins, Dead Space 2 & 3, Alan Wake and Sonic Generations.

Below is a full list of the titles that are part of this latest backwards compatibility update:

New backwards compatible titles

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Aces of the Galaxy
Advent Rising
Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade
Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Burning Earth
Bankshot Billiards 2
Beautiful Katamari
Binary Domain
Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
Cloning Clyde
Conan
Darwinia+
Dead or Alive Ultimate
Dead or Alive 3
Dead or Alive 4
Death by Cube
Disney Universe
Disney’s Chicken Little
Elements of Destruction
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
F.E.A.R. 3
F.E.A.R. Files
The First Templar
Gladius
Gunvalkyrie
Islands of Wakfu
Lego The Lord of the Rings
Manhunt
Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 3
Mini Ninjas
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
MX vs. ATV Alive
MX vs. ATV™ Untamed
Nier
Novadrome
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad
Otogi: Myth of Demons
Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
The Outfit
Outpost Kaloki X
Quake Arena Arcade
R.A.W. – Realms of Ancient War
Red Dead Revolver
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Ridge Racer 6
Rio
Risen
Risen 2: Dark Waters
Rock of Ages
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
Scramble
Screwjumper!
Secret Weapons Over Normandy
Skate 2
SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam!
SpongeBob’s Truth or Square
Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition
Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Switchball
Thrillville
Thrillville: Off the Rails
Time Pilot
TimeSplitters 2
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
Toy Story Mania!
Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
Viva Piñata: Party Animals
Warlords

FPS boost

Alan Wake
Assassin’s Creed
Binary Domain
Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
Darksiders
Dead Space 2
Dead Space 3
Disney’s Chicken LIttle
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age II
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. 3
Fable Anniversary
Fable III
Fallout 3
Fallout: New Vegas
Far Cry 3
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Gears of War
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 3
Gears of War: Judgment
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
Kameo: Elements of Power
Lego: The Lord of the Rings
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Mirror’s Edge
Nier
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Rock of Ages
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic Generations
Sonic Unleashed
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment

Xbox Cloud Gaming – FPS boost

Battlefield 4
Beholder Complete Edition
Dishonored Definitive Edition
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Origins
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Evil Within 2
Fable Anniversary
Fable III
Fallout 3
Fallout 4
Fallout 76
Fallout: New Vegas
The Gardens Between
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 3
Gears of War 4
Gears of War: Judgment
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
Halo Wars 2
Kameo: Elements of Power
MotoGP 20
My Friend Pedro
My Time at Portia
Prey
ReCore
Shadow Warrior 2
Steep
Titanfall 2
Two Point Hospital
Wasteland 3
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Image credit: Xbox 

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Microsoft adds over 70 Xbox and Xbox 360 games to backwards compatible lineup

During Microsoft’s 20th anniversary Xbox stream, the tech giant confirmed that it will add over 70 original Xbox and Xbox 360 games to its fast-growing backwards compatibility lineup.

All backwards compatible titles will feature Auto HDR, with some also offering improved resolutions. Eleven games will offer FPS boost, and the feature is being added to 26 existing backwards compatible titles. Finally, Microsoft says it’s bringing FPS boost to Xbox Cloud Gaming titles, including Fallout 76 and Fallout 4.

Some of the key new standouts in the backwards compatible lineup include the entire Max Payne series, F.E.A.R, the Skate franchise and more. New original Xbox titles include Dead of Alive Ultimate, Star Wars: Jedi Knight II, Star Wars: Starfighter, Otogi and more.

Similar to past backwards compatible titles, games can be played from their disc or digitally, and if you don’t already own the titles, they’re now available in the Microsoft Store.

Breaking things down further, backwards compatible games will feature a 4x resolution increase on the Xbox Series X and Xbox One X, a 3x resolution increase with the Xbox Series S and a 2x increase with the Xbox One S and Xbox One.

New FPS boost titles include F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, F.E.A.R. 3, Binary Domain and Nier, with the existing list featuring Gears of War franchise, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dragon Age: Origins, Dead Space 2 & 3, Alan Wake and Sonic Generations.

Below is a full list of the titles that are part of this latest backwards compatibility update:

New backwards compatible titles

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Aces of the Galaxy
Advent Rising
Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade
Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Burning Earth
Bankshot Billiards 2
Beautiful Katamari
Binary Domain
Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
Cloning Clyde
Conan
Darwinia+
Dead or Alive Ultimate
Dead or Alive 3
Dead or Alive 4
Death by Cube
Disney Universe
Disney’s Chicken Little
Elements of Destruction
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
F.E.A.R. 3
F.E.A.R. Files
The First Templar
Gladius
Gunvalkyrie
Islands of Wakfu
Lego The Lord of the Rings
Manhunt
Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 3
Mini Ninjas
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
MX vs. ATV Alive
MX vs. ATV™ Untamed
Nier
Novadrome
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad
Otogi: Myth of Demons
Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
The Outfit
Outpost Kaloki X
Quake Arena Arcade
R.A.W. – Realms of Ancient War
Red Dead Revolver
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Ridge Racer 6
Rio
Risen
Risen 2: Dark Waters
Rock of Ages
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
Scramble
Screwjumper!
Secret Weapons Over Normandy
Skate 2
SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam!
SpongeBob’s Truth or Square
Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition
Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Switchball
Thrillville
Thrillville: Off the Rails
Time Pilot
TimeSplitters 2
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
Toy Story Mania!
Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
Viva Piñata: Party Animals
Warlords

FPS boost

Alan Wake
Assassin’s Creed
Binary Domain
Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
Darksiders
Dead Space 2
Dead Space 3
Disney’s Chicken LIttle
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age II
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. 3
Fable Anniversary
Fable III
Fallout 3
Fallout: New Vegas
Far Cry 3
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Gears of War
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 3
Gears of War: Judgment
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
Kameo: Elements of Power
Lego: The Lord of the Rings
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Mirror’s Edge
Nier
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Rock of Ages
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic Generations
Sonic Unleashed
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment

Xbox Cloud Gaming – FPS boost

Battlefield 4
Beholder Complete Edition
Dishonored Definitive Edition
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Origins
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Evil Within 2
Fable Anniversary
Fable III
Fallout 3
Fallout 4
Fallout 76
Fallout: New Vegas
The Gardens Between
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 3
Gears of War 4
Gears of War: Judgment
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
Halo Wars 2
Kameo: Elements of Power
MotoGP 20
My Friend Pedro
My Time at Portia
Prey
ReCore
Shadow Warrior 2
Steep
Titanfall 2
Two Point Hospital
Wasteland 3
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Image credit: Xbox 

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Halo Infinite’s multiplayer is rumoured to launch on November 15

Suit up Spartans, because Halo Infinite‘s multiplayer could launch on November 15th, just in time for the franchise’s 20th anniversary.

This rumour comes from frequently reliable source of video game leaks, @NateTheHate2, which means there’s likely at least some level of truth to it. That said, this leaker is also behind the rumours that Game Boy games were coming to Nintendo’s Switch Online service, and that didn’t happen — at least not yet.

On the other hand, Halo leaker @halodotapi also tweeted about the rumoured surprise release date.

It would be a little out there for 343 Industries to launch Halo Infinite‘s multiplayer ahead of the game’s single-player campaign on December 8th, but given the mode will be free-to-play and in a sense, stands on its own, it could be possible.

It’s also worth noting that the game that started it all, Halo: Combat Evolved, will have been released 20 years ago as of November 15th. Infinite was originally scheduled to be an Xbox Series X/S launch title last year, but following a mixed reception to its initial reveal trailer, the game’s release was pushed back to 2021.

Halo Infinite releases on December 8th, 2021 on the Xbox Series X/S, Xbox and PC. The game is also part of Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription service.

For more on Infinite‘s multiplayer mode, check out my story focused on one of game’s early test flights. MobileSyrup will have more on Halo Infinite in the coming weeks.

Source: @NateTheHate2 Via: Windows Central

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Xbox Design Lab adds more controller options, including rubberized grips and metallic finishes

Xbox Design Lab, Microsoft’s custom Xbox controller program, now offers a bunch of additional personalization options.

To start, rubberized grips and metallic finishes are returning to Design Lab. These features were offered during the previous iteration of the program but were missing once it was relaunched in June.

This means Xbox Design Lab now offers all of the customization options that it did in the past, with the added benefit being that you can use them on the slightly revised Xbox Wireless Controller that was introduced with the Series X/S.

Further, Xbox is introducing the following new options for Design Lab:

  • Black rubberized grips for both the back case and side grips
  • Nineteen new metallic finish colours for D-Pads and Triggers (Sterling Silver, Pewter Silver, Gunmetal Silver, Abyss Black, Retro Pink, Deep Pink, Oxide Red, Zest Orange, Gold, Electric Volt, Velocity Green, Glacier Blue, Dragonfly Blue, Mineral Blue, Photon Blue, Midnight Blue, Regal Purple, Nocturnal Green and Warm Gold)
  • Three new colour options for controller parts — Dragonfly Blue, Nocturnal Green (previously Military Green) and Velocity Green (previously Electric Green)

Alternatively, new “Inspired by” controller designs based on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Battlefield 2042, Riders Republic and Forza Horizon 5. 

Design Lab controllers start at $84.99 CAD and can be customized and ordered here.

It’s worth noting that the Design Lab expansion comes during Microsoft’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of Xbox, which falls on November 15th. On that date, the company will have a special stream to commemorate the history of both Xbox and Halo, which both originated in November 2001. You can read more on that here.

Source: Xbox