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Windows Phone is dead, but Microsoft tried to make it better

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A moment of silence. Joe Belfiore, who used to head the mobile division of Microsoft, took to Twitter for his announcement about the death of Windows Phone or Windows 10 Mobile as it’s called now.

If you own a Windows 10 Mobile device, this is hard to accept. While there’s still no official announcement directly from Microsoft, Belfiore’s tweets confirmed that they’re no longer pushing forward.

It started when a user asked if it’s time to leave the Windows Phone platform, and Belfiore subtle answered that it depends on who and what purpose it serves. The enterprise sector is still a big market for Windows Phone, so it’s not one hundred percent over, yet.

He did specify, though, that new features and hardware are not the focus of their team. No worries! Minor updates for bug fixes and security patches are still part of their gameplan. He also admitted that the low (or “too low”) volume of users is a reason for Microsoft to shut down the platform.

While we do have our own share of disappointment about the slow progress of Windows phones, Microsoft did plan to release a borderless device running Windows Phone 8.1 back in 2014. As reported by Windows Central, the Microsoft Lumia 435 could have been a game-changer. It was planned to be the first-ever borderless Windows smartphone and cost under US$ 200. It was canceled later that year.

There were prototypes and Windows Central was able to get a hold of one.Take a look:

Image from Windows Central

We’re not sure if stores are still selling Windows Phone or Windows 10 Mobile devices, but we strongly suggest not to buy any model now, unless you want to keep a piece of Microsoft’s last efforts to save its mobile platform.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft Surface Pro isn’t just an incremental update

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Finance

HONOR, Fidesmo partner for contactless payments across Europe, Middle East

Enabling contactless payments on the HONOR Watch 6

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September 16, 2026

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HONOR and Fidesmo have partnered to launch contactless payments across Europe and the Middle East on the HONOR Watch 6.

Powered by Fidesmo Pay, the integration enables users to connect an existing Mastercard or Visa card to their watch and complete contactless transactions directly from the wearable device.

This brings Fidesmo’s network of over 900 banks and financial institutions to HONOR’s customers. Users can connect an existing card to the HONOR Watch 6 instantly through the HONOR Health App, which installs a unique token directly onto the watch.

Acting as a secure reference to the payment method, this token allows customers to pay without storing their actual payment details on the device. Once installed, users can tap the watch at any
contactless terminal to pay, just as they would with a card or phone.

HONOR joins a group of device partners that already includes Swatch, Polar, and Mondaine as Fidesmo continues to build momentum across categories.

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Entertainment

Max vs 100 will feature Max Verstappen race against 100 go-karters

The live event will stream at midnight on September 17.

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September 15, 2026

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As a child, one of my favorite thought experiments is to imagine who would win in a fight between my favorite characters at the time and a number of other random beings. For example, will Superman prevail against 100 Magnetos? Those are the ways I kept my young mind occupied. Now, as a former child, I still do the same thing but with more realistic people, like imagining if Steph Curry can win against 100 high schoolers. This week, ESPN and Disney+ are making one of those imaginary fights real: Formula 1 legend Max Verstappen versus 100 go-karters.

In an upcoming live event streaming exclusively on Disney+, Max vs 100 will pit the four-time world champion against 100 go-karters from everywhere in pop culture. This gaggle of 100 will include popular content creators such as Twitch streamer ExtraEmily, car photographer Larry Chen, and NBA shooting coach Chris Matthews.

All 101 drivers will race around one of the most iconic tracks in Formula 1 history, Silverstone in England. The track will be reconfigured to match the special race.

Of course, this is more than just a parade of go-karts. Max Verstappen will start at the back of the grid, meaning he has to overtake all 100 racers to win. Now, the Dutch driver is no stranger to winning from the back. In 2024, he won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix despite starting from P17 (out of 20 racers). Max vs 100, though familiar for the driver, presents a different challenge. Can he overtake 100 times to win the race?

Max vs 100 will stream live through Disney+ on September 17, 12:00am PHT.

SEE ALSO: Disney+ is moving to a global app experience

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Apps

Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android

Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.

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September 15, 2026

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As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.

Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?

Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.

Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.

Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.

SEE ALSO: These are the best Android 17 features (if you hate AI)

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