Your tech news digest, by way of the DGiT Daily newsletter, for Thursday, April 9.Â
1. Stadia Pro is free, right now. So, why not?
What more do you need to know?
Ok so: Google Stadia is now available to everyone, and everyone can get Stadia Pro free for two months. Sign-up at stadia.com here.
The details:
- Google announced it has thrown open the doors to Stadia, allowing everyone to play Stadia Pro for two months for free.
- I can’t stress this enough, for free. You don’t need a Stadia controller or Chromecast or a console or a TV or a high-end computer or anything.
- A laptop or phone or tablet with controller/mouse and keyboard is enough. Your old Macbook is enough.
- You just need the app on your iOS or Android device to get started, and Chrome browser.
Why Stadia Pro?
- Free games that don’t need to be downloaded or installed: Stadia Pro (for free) gives you access to Google’s included games, which is usually a bonus for paying Pro members. It’s normally $9.99 a month.
- Those Stadia free games include the Serious Sam Collection, Destiny 2, GRID, Thumper, and a couple more to total nine, right now.
- Google does cycle titles in and out but if you’ve acquired them for free they stay free. I’ve had Stadia Pro for a while and own Metro Exodus just by clicking around in the app when it was free.
- Otherwise, you can buy huge games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Doom Eternal and other games and play them in just a few clicks. (But you have to pay.)
Why not Stadia Pro?
Because those games are locked to Stadia, and game streaming isn’t for everyone if your internet connection isn’t great. Some people would rather buy a physical Red Dead copy on Xbox or PlayStation and resell it or lend it to friends, too.
- Or, it’s just not available to you. Like Australia. Sorry Australia.
- But given it’s free to try, and to experience game streaming perhaps for the first time with a free game, I’d have to say go ahead if you can get it. You can be in a game in less than 15 seconds.
- Or your name is Joey and you hate trying things
Other useful tips:
- 4K game streaming has been halted for now to help internet traffic congestion.
- Google Stadia isn’t available in every single location on earth yet, but most major countries.
- Stadia isn’t Netflix. Any game you buy is yours to play whether you subscribe to Stadia Pro or not.
- Also, it’s not like Netflix in that if you want to play Red Dead you do have to pay.
- One tip though: you can get a refund on a game within 14-days, if you play less than two hours, and don’t find it suits your tastes.
- Google’s post on r/stadia has more if you need more.
2. OnePlus 8 series pricing estimates leak: European pricing starts at around €719, but it’s hard to know how it’ll line up with US pricing given taxes and carrier/retail pricing. (Android Authority).
On that note: How the price of OnePlus phones changed over the years from your old pal, me (Android Authority).
3. LG teases ‘Raindrop’ camera design for its next phone (Android Authority)
4. Disney Plus surpasses 50 million subscribers, says Disney. Up 21M in two months, following launch in Europe (Android Authority).
5. Microsoft’s dual-screen Surface Neo reportedly won’t make it in 2020 (ZDNet).
6. Nintendo promises the great Switch shortage will end soon (Gizmodo).
7. Zoom published a solid update on its approach to security: new security council, zoombombing prevention, and more (blog.zoom.us).
8. Why the coronavirus lockdown is making the internet stronger than ever: infrastructure investment is way up (MIT Technology Reviews).
9. Valorant closed beta is out: “League of Legends’ creators made a Counter-Strike clone—and holy crap, is it good.â€� (Ars Technica).
10. The US just hitched its final ride to Space from Russia—for now: Thursday’s launch to the space station may have marked the end of America’s dependence on Russia, but that depends on a few factors (Wired). Watch that successful launch here from NASA, starting just after 1:05:00 (YouTube).
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