Earlier this month, Valve surprised gamers with the announcement that it was bringing the ability to stream PC games to iOS and Android devices via a dedicated a mobile Steam Link app. That app was available for Android on the Google Play Store (albeit in beta form) immediately following the announcement, so owners of Google-powered smartphones and tablets can already get up and streaming, and Valve said that the iOS version would follow soon.
Late last week, however, Valve came out and revealed that although it had initially approved the Steam Link app, Apple had since revoked that approval, meaning Steam Link’s releaseon iOS was effectively in limbo.
That might not be the end of the matter, however, as MacStories reports that the Cupertino firm may still be open to the idea of approving Steam Link for an App Store release.
Initially citing “business conflicts with app guidelines that had allegedly not been realized by the original review team” as the reason behind the rejection, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Marketing has emailed Steam users saying the company has “discussed these issues with Valve and will continue to work with them to help bring the Steam experience to iOS and AppleTV in a way that complies with the store’s guidelines”.
Is the game on, then?
Although Apple has opened a line of communication with Valve, that’s no guarantee that the Steam Link app will appear on the App Store any time soon.
According to Apple, Valve broke App Store guidelines surrounding “user generated content, in-app purchases [and] content codes”, meaning the reasons for rejection include some of Steam’s most integral elements.
Apple takes a 30% cut of all apps and games sold on its store, but with the Steam Link app allowing users to make purchases outside the App Store, Apple likely isn’t too happy about losing out on that revenue.
To comply with Apple’s guidelines, Valve may have to make significant changes to exactly which Steam features iPad and iPhone users can access — changes that could severely limit the Steam experience on iOS, especially compared to what Android users can access.
If Valve wants iOS users to enjoy PC-to-iPhone (or iPad) game streaming, it seems like some sacrifices are inevitable — we’ll just have to wait and see exactly what gets ditched to meet Apple’s stringent App Store requirements.
One of the perks of having Windows as your operating system is that you have a lot of options when choosing one of the best VPN services (or any software, for that matter). Virtually every VPN service caters to users of the most popular desktop OS in the world with a variety of features. However, with a massive selection of possible VPN services, that only makes choosing one more difficult. Luckily, as ever, we are here to help.
How to choose the best VPN for Windows
Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 10, is a significant improvement in terms of security and protection. Even so, there are some widely discussed, controversial privacy issues pertaining to the OS, and what’s more you can never be ‘too’ secure, let’s face it.
When picking a Windows VPN service, you should look for good all-round performance with a little bit of everything – a friendly client, P2P support, clearly written and straightforward privacy policy, and so on.
Then there’s the matter of pricing as not every service is worth the money they’re asking. Sometimes paying a little bit extra ensures a superb experience, but other times a cheaper service provides the optimal quality.
Yes, there are some difficult choices to be made for sure, which is exactly why we’ve done all the legwork and selected our five best VPN services for Windows across various different categories. You won’t go wrong with any of these.
Number of servers: 2000 | Server locations: 148 | IP addresses: 30,000+ | Maximum devices supported: 3
Easy to use Windows app
Super fast speeds
Not the cheapest provider
Just 3 simultaneous devices
ExpressVPN is our top pick for the best all-round VPN and specifically for Windows 10. This British Virgin Islands-based provider offers an impressive level of server coverage with 148 VPN locations across 94 countries, and it’s a P2P-friendly service too. During testing, we witnessed outstanding performance for local servers, with slightly lower but still very decent results for long-distance connections.
The client boasts an excellent UI packed with a bunch of features including server recommendations, multiple VPN protocols, and kill switch technology.
A convenient bonus is the ability to control the VPN from browser extensions, and a special mention goes to the split tunneling feature, which is great for torrenting or restricting the VPN connection to a single browser.
On the security front, ExpressVPN also delivers in terms of protocols and strong encryption, while the privacy policy clearly states there is no gathering or logging of traffic data, connection IPs, or online activities. Professional 24/7 customer support is provided via live chat or email for any problems the user might encounter.
Price-wise, the service comes in a tad above other providers, but may be well worth it for users who want the best VPN experience for Windows. ExpressVPN doesn’t offer a free plan or trial but all the plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Out of the plan options, the annual subscription (with three bonus months) offers the best value-for-money. The packages available are:
Number of servers: 1000+ | Server locations: 60+ | IP addresses: 40000+ | Maximum devices supported: 10
Excellent client
Great performance
Client still needs work
No free trial
This VPN features a well-designed client (although we did find that the client may be more susceptible to network issues than rivals) that offers a wide array of both basic and advanced settings, with enough options to satisfy even expert tinkerers. The service is one of the best for torrenting and other P2P traffic, as well.
In our testing, we witnessed a significant increase in download speeds (close to 20%) which is fantastic, obviously. IPVanish has a firm no logs policy in place, and more than adequate protection with 256-bit encryption over OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP protocols.
The slight drawback is this is a little pricier than much of the competition, and there’s no free trial either. However, IPVanish does offer a 7-day money-back guarantee across all three of its pricing plans. The 1-year subscription clearly provides the best value. The packages available are:
Number of servers: 4401 | Server locations: 62 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 6
Double data encryption
Good performance
Monthly plan is expensive
Interface issues with client
NordVPN is a mainstay on many ‘best of’ lists for several good reasons – although the one that matters most is its tight security. The service offers a certain number of ‘Double VPN’ servers which pass your data through two separate VPN servers, not just one, which makes things even more secure. You can also route its encrypted traffic over the Tor network, adding another layer of security, along with the existing KEv2/IPsec, OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP protocols.
The client is easy-to-use, featuring a compact interface that has all the essentials and then some (although there are minor issues with the UI, so for example, you’ve got to resize the client window to access mid-European servers).
NordVPN is P2P-friendly and has a ‘zero logs’ policy. The performance of this VPN is above-average, too. There’s a free 3-day trial, and NordVPN is rather affordable (aside from the monthly subscription), offering four plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The best value option is the 3-year plan. The packages available are:
Number of servers: 2500+ | Server locations: 25 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5
Favourable privacy policy
Fast download speeds
Not so many server locations
Limited configuration options
Hotspot Shield’s rather colourful client provides all the necessary basics which are simple enough to use, but lacks extra settings options. Some providers offer more server locations, it’s true, but what you’ll really like here is the performance levels. This VPN posted some excellent results in our testing, with only marginal latency increase and a bit faster upload and download speeds compared to our normal rates.
It also features the standard security protocols with an added bonus of cloud-based malware protection. The privacy policy is favourable, deleting data which might be recorded upon ending the VPN session.
Perhaps the most questionable aspect of Hotspot Shield is its pricing, although the 2-year plan is quite affordable. There are five plans, each with a 45-day money-back guarantee, including a ‘lifetime’ subscription which could work out very cheaply in the long run, if you don’t mind making that much of a commitment. The packages available are:
Number of servers: 300+ | Server locations: 62 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 2-5
Great performance
Very user-friendly
Overly basic client
Minimum of two connections with the monthly plan
This Slovakian-based provider runs its own network, DNS servers, and infrastructure. And this definitely shows as the performance levels were well above-average and fairly consistent when we tested TigerVPN. The global choice of available servers certainly helps the cause here.
The dedicated Windows client is very user-friendly, too. However, it only offers some basic options, with advanced settings being few and far between – but that’s not likely to bother novice users. Another issue with the service is that you only get two simultaneous connections with the monthly plan, which means those looking for a genuine multi-device experience need to subscribe to the yearly plan.
TigerVPN is P2P friendly and while there’s no trial, there is a 7-day money-back guarantee. There are three packages to choose from, and subscribing for a three-year plan gives you the best savings, plus you get up to five simultaneous connections (rather than two on the monthly plan). The packages available are:
Well what have we here? A pair of seemingly genuine screen protectors for the upcoming Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones, that’s what – and if these do indeed match the handsets that Google is unveiling later this year, then only the larger device will feature a notch at the top of the front display.
Pulled from Chinese social media site Weibo by SlashLeaks and since reported at 9to5Google, the screen protectors seem to show dual cameras on the front of each phone, though it could be one camera and some other sensor.
It’s the bigger XL phone that apparently carries the notch that has become so popular with phone makers of late. As yet it’s not clear whether you’ll be able to hide the notch through some software trickery, as you can on the OnePlus 6 and LG G7 ThinQ. We do know that Android P has built-in notch support.
That’s just about all we can glean from these pictures right now. The Weibo account they first appeared on has since vanished, so we’re hardly talking the most solid of sources – but we reckon these designs are pretty close to the mark, even if they’ve been faked.
It certainly seems likely that Google would follow its strategy of having one smaller, cheaper Pixel 3 together with a bigger, more expensive one – and the notch might be a neat way of further distinguishing one handset from the other. One for the notch fans, and one for those who don’t really care for the trend.
Other Pixel 3 rumors are relatively thin on the ground right now – though hidden images inside Android P might offer some clues – but we should hear more about the upcoming Google flagships later in the year.
