For quite a few years, Netflix had been leaning rather heavily into the video games space, including a variety of titles as part of the entertainment giant’s subscription service. From AAA games to exclusive indies, Netflix was starting to collect quite the line-up. As they have moved away (somewhat) from gaming however, we’ve seen a number of these exclusives be delisted. Fortunately, 2022’s POINPY has now been revived – and is completely free.

Taking to BlueSky to make the exciting announcement, Ojiro Fumoto (known for the games Downwell and UFO50) revealed that the previously Netflix-exclusive mobile release is now back and available for all, writing:

“POINPY IS BACK! And now it's FREE! No ads, no paid unlocks, just the full game. There's a tip option if you feel like it. Available NOW on iOS and Android!”

For the uninitiated, POINPY is a vertical climber similar to the classic mobile game ‘Doodle Jump’. Initially released in 2022 as a Netflix exclusive, the game was praised for its fun and repeatable gameplay, vibrant visuals and an excellent soundtrack from artist BO EN.

As mentioned however, the game was eventually removed from Netflix in June of last year – making it entirely inaccessible. Given this, the fact that POINPY is not only back but 100% free is certainly worthy of celebration. POINPY is available to download now on iOS and Android.

KitGuru says: What did you think of Netflix’s whole gaming push? Have you played POINPY before? What other Netflix exclusives do you hope to see deshackled from the service in the future? Let us know down below.

The post Netflix exclusive POINPY available for free following its removal from the service first appeared on KitGuru.

OnePlus, once known for its “flagship killer” smartphones, appears to be withdrawing from Western markets. The company has struggled to maintain its presence as a top competitor to Samsung, Apple and Google in recent years, and now future OnePlus devices may only launch in select regions.

According to a report from The Verge, OnePlus may stop releasing new products outside of the China market. Parent company Oppo says it will continue to honour existing support and warranty agreements, though details remain unclear for US customers, as OnePlus has quietly wound down its operations there. In Europe, Oppo will continue selling devices, and OnePlus phones will transition from OxygenOS to Oppo’s ColorOS “in the coming months”. Users will have the option to roll back to OxygenOS, but doing so will mean missing out on future updates.

Oppo executives declined to comment on which markets OnePlus will continue operating in. Bloomberg recently reported that OnePlus may exit India and all remaining markets except China next year. Oppo’s PR team would only confirm that the OnePlus product roadmap in China remains unchanged, offering little reassurance about the brand’s global future.

Oppo’s other sub-brand, Realme, is also undergoing restructuring. OnePlus is still preparing to launch its next flagship, the OnePlus 16, but global availability is now uncertain.

KitGuru Says: Did you own a OnePlus smartphone back in the day? What made you decide to change to another brand? 

The post OnePlus reportedly withdrawing from US and EU markets first appeared on KitGuru.

While Nintendo is highly protective of its IPs, the console maker did dip its toes into the mobile gaming space for a while, releasing a variety of titles based on Mario; Animal Crossing; Fire Emblem and others. Some succeeded, while others did not. Though the Switch maker is unlikely to leave the mobile space entirely (especially when it comes to Pokemon), one of its biggest successes will soon be shut down forever – with Mario Kart Tour going offline in September.

Making the official announcement, Nintendo took to their support page to reveal that Mario Kart Tour will soon be going offline, writing: “Service for the Mario Kart Tour game for smart devices will come to an end as of 11:00 p.m. Pacific on September 29. We sincerely thank the many players who have loved and supported the game since service began so long ago. Thank you for playing Mario Kart Tour.”

Full details on the shut down can be found HERE, including how this will impact the sale of Tour’s in-game items.

Mario Kart Tour is an interesting title. Released during the drought following Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the game was barebones in many ways, featuring limited controls while not even allowing for landscape play.

Over the years however, the game changed quite a bit, with Nintendo adding tons of new tracks, characters, skins and more – all the while getting rid of some of its more predatory practices. A good number of original tracks made for Tour would even wind up being added to MK8 Deluxe as part of the game’s Booster Course Pass.

All this is to say it is unfortunate to see Mario Kart Tour being fully shut down. The game was already in maintenance mode, with no new content being added as of 2023, but shutting down access forever is another matter entirely.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What did you think of Mario Kart Tour? Did it satiate your MK needs on mobile? What did Tour do better than other mainline entries? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post Mario Kart Tour is shutting down later this year first appeared on KitGuru.

A new video shows the final production version of the upcoming Clicks Communicator, a BlackBerry-like smartphone that runs modern apps.

The partnership is a potential testing ground for both companies to gauge the appetite for an India-focused chatbot.

Every generation, we see smartphone chipsets break some kind of performance record and achieve feats that we thought weren’t even remotely possible, such as running AAA games at decent visual settings. However, two metrics that we’ve more or less ignored while admiring these SoCs are power consumption and temperature. Putting aside the benchmarks and those impressive framerates, a new discussion paired with some test results has shown that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for smartphone makers to effectively cool chips, and it appears as though the problem will get worse. With vapor chambers unable to effectively transfer heat from smartphone chipsets, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/new-results-show-smartphone-thermal-capabilities-have-hit-a-wall-in-cooling-chipsets/

One person's loss is another's gain, or a company's in this case. After all, AMD seems to be having a field day with its older 5nm CPUs, which entail crazy-high yields by the way, as both Qualcomm and MediaTek vacate some of TSMC's 4nm and 5nm lines on shrinking smartphone demand. AMD reaps the benefits as the broader smartphone industry enters a deep freeze, forcing Qualcomm and MediaTek to abandon some of their reserved capacity at TSMC By now, it's public knowledge that the global mobile industry is contending with a chronic DRAM shortage as most of the associated fabrication […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/amds-lisa-su-quietly-cashes-in-on-the-smartphone-industrys-deep-freeze-as-mediatek-and-qualcomm-vacate-tsmcs-4nm-and-5nm-lines/

There have been plenty of rumors about OpenAI's hardware plans, which involve launching a pair of earbuds. A new note from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that the AI company might be working on a phone in collaboration with MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare.

The Android smartphone market is littered with manufacturers to the point where they need to invest millions in discerning features and ‘over the top’ marketing to generate sales. Even after that, the margins often feel like it isn’t worth the effort. To make matters worse, the ongoing DRAM shortage has forced all companies to introduce price hikes, which will consequently make their devices more expensive and lower consumer interest. Fortunately, a tipster reveals that, after closer inspection, a lot of these companies feel that the demand for high-end camera sensors is declining, and since these parts are more expensive than slightly […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/smartphone-makers-abandon-high-end-cameras-during-dram-shortage/

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra gives you a ton of options to play around with images, including preset filters and hardware add-ons.

For years now, Epic Games and Google have been engaged in a back and forth, with the Fortnite maker seeing its titles removed from Android’s Play Store, necessitating users to find alternate means to play the popular Battle Royale on Android. Finally, after countless court sessions and an evolving environment, Google and Epic have finally settled their differences, with Fortnite set to return to the Google Play Store “soon.”

Taking to Twitter to make the announcement, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed that “Google is opening up Android all the way with robust support for competing stores, competing payments, and a better deal for all developers. So, we've settled all of our disputes worldwide. THANKS GOOGLE!”

As a result, Sweeney revealed that “Fortnite will return to Google Play Store worldwide soon. Epic Games Store continues supporting Android worldwide alongside Windows and Mac, and installation on Android will become much easier later in 2026.”

Alongside this, Google themselves released a lengthy Android developers blog, confirming the details of this “new era for choice and openness” which includes:

• Expanded billing choice on Google Play for users and developers
• A new Registered App Stores program
• Lower pricing and new programs to support developers

The blog post concluded with a direct reference to the aforementioned Epic Games dispute, with Google stating: “With these updates, we have also resolved our disputes worldwide with Epic Games. We believe these changes will make for a stronger Android ecosystem with even more successful developers and higher-quality apps and games available across more form factors for everyone. We look forward to our continued work with the developer community to build the next generation of digital experiences.”

While there is no denying that Epic Games engaged in this years-long legal battle for self-serving reasons, the final result does seem to be one that will benefit the end users more than before. Full details on these changes and their planned rollout can be found HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Who did you think would ultimately come out on top? Is this good for the wider industry as a whole? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post Fortnite is officially coming back to the Google Play Store as all disputes are settled first appeared on KitGuru.

We round up everything Xiaomi announced at its Mobile World Congress event.