PFD Tech News #14 – Farmville Game Dies, Sony PS5 India Launch Date, AmazonBasics Fire TV Edition, AirPods Max Ear Cups Condensation, Apple Foldable iPhone Prototype

In the tech world, the first day of 2021 came with some rumours and announcements. We’ve got news from Apple, Amazon, Sony, and plenty more. Sony officially announced the launch date of the PS5 in India, Zynga killed the 11-year-old Farmville game as Adobe Flash died & much more.

So, here’s all that happened in the tech world yesterday:

Farmville Game Finally Shuts Down After 11 Years

Farmville developer Zynga shut the game down on December 31, 2020, after 11 years of its existence.  It is due to the decision of Adobe to stop distributing and updating Flash Player for all web browsers from Dec 31, 2020. Since the Flash Player plugin was required by FarmVille, the game eventually died along with the Flash Player.

Sony PS5 Launch Date in India Announced Along With Pricing

In India, the latest PS5 will be launched on February 2, 2021. That being said, starting at 12 PM IST on January 12, you can pre-order it. Sony states that the pre-orders will be made available at the respective stores before stocks last. Sony’s PlayStation India account said in a statement via Twitter that “We take this opportunity to thank our PlayStation enthusiasts for their patience and enthusiasm around PS5.” Price in India starts with Rs. 39,990 for the digital edition and goes up to Rs. 49,990 for the disk edition.

AmazonBasics Fire TV Edition Ultra-HD TVs Launched in India

The AmazonBasics Fire TV Edition Ultra-HD TVs launched in India by Amazon. The smart TVs will be available in two sizes – 50-inches and 55-inches – at prices starting from Rs 29,999. The smart TVs, AmazonBasics Fire TV Edition come with 4K HDR LED display panels as well as support for HDR and audio for both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. In this particular segment, such smart TVs will take on the likes of Xiaomi, TCL, Vu etc.

Apple AirPods Max Ear Cups Condensation Issues

Some users of Apple AirPods Max reported condensation issues inside the headphone ear cups. There are water droplets, according to sources, forming underneath the removable ear pads near the drivers.

Apple Foldable iPhone Prototype Passed Internal Durability Checks: Report

The foldable iPhone prototypes passed internal durability checks, according to a report by a Taiwanese publication. At the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China, these two prototypes were tested. Although one of these reportedly has a dual-screen, the other, like the Galaxy Z Flip or Moto Razr from Samsung, has a clamshell design.