Monday, October 26, 2026 · afternoon edition
The small iPad gets a bigger screen, a battle royale decides to cooperate, and Flight Simulator redraws the Baltic itinerary. Netflix, meanwhile, has found a content library that comes with bookmarks.
the little ipad has acquired ambitions
Apple’s new iPad mini gets an 8.5-inch OLED screen, an A20 Pro chip and IP67 water-and-dust resistance. Preorders open October 28, with availability November 6. The front camera has also moved to the landscape edge: a modest concession to where faces actually go during video calls.
the battle royale has decided to work with others
Scramble Knights Online launches today in Game Preview on Xbox Series X|S and PC, including Game Pass, after Funktronic Labs rebuilt its battle-royale project around cooperative adventures. In the developer’s launch-day account, playtesters liked exploring the world considerably more than fighting over it; the new version makes quests, dungeons and a shared town square the main event. It is still an unfinished Game Preview release, but the design change is more interesting than another promise to be the last person standing.
the baltic itinerary has finished downloading
Microsoft Flight Simulator’s World Update 23 arrives today with refreshed scenery across Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The free update adds 12 photogrammetry areas, 77 points of interest and five handcrafted airports, with missions for both the 2020 and 2024 versions. Owners need the current simulator version and the World Update download; Tallinn’s old town is not going to install itself.
netflix has discovered the original content library
Netflix is making its Texas Book Festival debut in Austin on November 14–15, bringing The Hunting Wives author May Cobb and Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith to a book-to-screen panel. There is also an early screening of Guarding Stars, starring Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki, adapted from Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard. The festival is free, while the screening has a separate reservation link in the announcement; the reading lounge promises free books and coffee. Neither requires a loading screen.
Image credits: iPad mini featured image and OLED detail © Apple, via its October 26 newsroom announcement; Tallinn screenshot © Microsoft/Asobo, via the World Update 23 announcement. Video: Funktronic Labs/Xbox, linked in the Scramble Knights Online developer article.
leave a reply