Unity, the cross-platform game engine, announced big changes to its fee structure, enraging indie developers around the world. The company has introduced a new ‘Unity Runtime Fee,’ that will charge studios a cost every time a game built on their engine is installed. The new pricing structure goes into effect January 1, 2024, with different install costs being levied based on its multiple subscription tiers. Understandably, developers are upset and confused and have begun speaking out against the rules and their lack of clarity, which could easily make them bankrupt. While this only applies to a certain group of developers who’ve hit a prescribed threshold of sales or download numbers, a revenue share model would’ve been ideal.

“Yes, this is a price increase and it will only affect a small subset of current Unity Editor users. Today, a large majority of Unity Editor users are currently not paying anything and will not be affected by this change,” the company outlined in a tweet. The thresholds have been decided based on what plans a developer opts for. Smaller creators who rely on Unity Personal and the Unity Plus models will be forced to pay $0.20 (about Rs. 17) per download, once their game crosses $200,000 (about Rs. 1.65 crore) in revenue in one year and 200,000 installs. This would amount to approximately $40,000 (about Rs. 33 lakh) in payments to Unity, every year. Meanwhile, AAA developers using the Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise accounts have their thresholds set at $1 million (about Rs. 8 crore) in revenue and 1 million lifetime installs, before the Runtime Fee is levied.

“We chose this because each time a game is downloaded, the Unity Runtime is also installed. Also, we believe that an initial install-based fee allows creators to keep the ongoing financial gains from player engagement, unlike a revenue share,” the original blog post from Unity read. Initially, the company claimed that deleting and re-installing a game on the same system would also count towards the charge, but has since walked back on the claim stating that developers would only be charged on the initial install. That said, if the same game is downloaded onto a different system(s), the developer will get hit with additional charges.

Fuming developers on the Internet have since gotten together to point out how these rules could make them go bankrupt, as well. One could simply pirate a game, download it and delete it, then repeat the process on different systems to add onto a studio’s supposed charges. In response, Unity referred to its ongoing ‘fraud detection practices’ which will be leveraged as a starting point to prevent studios from getting charged for games they never sold. Basically, the company doesn’t have a proper answer for it, and is in the process of figuring it out. “We recognize that users will have concerns about this and we will make available a process for them to submit their concerns to our fraud compliance team,” the blog post reads.

In addition to piracy, freemium games that make revenue through in-game purchases will be affected by Unity’s new rules — essentially being forced to pay more than they earned, simply because of the millions of downloads it garnered within a year. Fortunately, if the game has been downloaded from subscription plans like Xbox Game Pass, the fee will be charged to its distributors, which in this case, would be Microsoft. Similarly, games offered on charity or even demo installations are exempt from being charged. However, there’s no transparency in how Unity tracks these install numbers, besides claiming that they believe in the accuracy of their ‘proprietary data model.’

In retaliation, some developers have expressed their distaste for Unity, starting with Massive Monster, which has threatened to delete their critically-acclaimed roguelike Cult of the Lamb from storefronts on January 1. The studio specialises in Unity and has multiple projects in the pipeline, all of which are now delayed as the team figures out new engines and workflow. Even Innersloth, developers of the pandemic-era sensation Among Us, confirmed to IGN that pulling the game from storefronts is on the list of plans.

The response is totally warranted when you consider how many popular titles have been birthed from the Unity Engine — Genshin Impact, Cuphead, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rust, and Hollow Knight to name just a few. The last of them even had a highly-anticipated sequel planned — Silksong, which was delayed earlier this year for better polish. And now, fans are worried that it could get delayed further if developer Team Cherry decides to rebuild it on a new engine. There’s no official comment from the studio yet.

Asus recently announced that the ROG Phone 9 series will be launched on November 19 with the Snapdragon 8 Elite under the hood. The Taiwanese firm showcased the ROG Phone 9 during the Snapdragon Summit earlier this week revealing its design. A new report has now disclosed the full specifications of the phone. Like its predecessor, the ROG Phone 9 is said to come with a 50-megapixel triple rear camera unit and a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. It could house a 5,800mAh battery.

91Mobiles seems to have obtained alleged renders and specifications of the Asus ROG Phone 9 ahead of its November 19 launch. The images shared by the publication show the device in black and white colours, which will be reportedly called phantom black and storm white. The handset seems to have a centred hole-punch cutout on the display. On the rear, it is seen with a triple camera setup, with Republic of Gamers text below the camera island.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Specifications

Like the previous model, the Asus ROG Phone 9 is said to come with a 6.78-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,400 pixels) Samsung Flexible LTPO AMOLED screen with up to 120Hz refresh rate, Gorilla Glass Victus protection, and always-on-display. The panel could offer 2,500 nits peak brightness, HDR10 support, and an in-display fingerprint reader. It is tipped to pack 16GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS 4.0 storage. The phone is already confirmed to have a Snapdragon 8 Elite under the hood.

For optics, the Asus ROG Phone 9 could pack a triple rear camera unit, comprising a 50-megapixel Sony Lytia 700 main camera with a 1/1.56-inch sensor size, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 5-megapixel macro camera. The Asus ROG Phone 8 also flaunts a similar camera setup.

The Asus ROG Phone 9 will reportedly ship with an Android 15-based ROG UI and Game Genie, which include several features, including AirTriggers, Macro, Bypass charging, and Scout mode. It is said to offer numerous AI gaming features like X Sense X Capture AI Grabber alongside AI call translator, AI transcript, AI wallpaper and more. It is likely to carry a 5,800mAh battery with 65W wired charging support and wireless charging support.

Asus is expected to pack dual stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack, and three microphones with Asus noise reduction technology on the Asus ROG Phone 9. For connectivity, it is likely to include Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 7, NFC, NavIC, GPS, and 5G. It could measure 163.8×76.8×8.9mm and weigh 227 grams.

It’s not everyday that I’m excited about a new piece of tech. Phones and laptops have been using the same form factor for so many decades now that there’s nothing really exciting when it comes to design. However, when I first laid my hands on the new Asus Zenbook Duo 2024, I was immediately super excited for the future of laptop design. ‘In Search of Incredible’ has been Asus’ tagline since 2013, and I think they’ve truly achieved something incredible with the Zenbook Duo 2024. This laptop is going to change the portability game.

I’ve been using the new Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 for the last two weeks and here’s how it’s probably the best product of 2024 for me.

Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 price in India

Before I start telling you how amazing the new Asus Zenbook Duo is, I’ll talk about the pricing. In India, the dual screen laptop starts at Rs. 1,59,990 for the variant with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H CPU, 16GB RAM, and 1TB storage. That’s not bad at all. For comparison, the new Apple MacBook Air 13 M3 with 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage is priced at Rs. 1,54,900 and that only has one screen.

The laptop has subtle glossy lines on the lid

There’s also an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H variant of the Zenbook Duo 2024, which is priced at Rs. 1,99,990 and comes with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage. The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H variants start at Rs. 2,19,990 for the 32GB RAM and 1TB option, and Rs. 2,39,990 for the 2TB option.

I’ve been reviewing the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H variant with 32GB RAM and 2TB storage. In the box, you’ll get a laptop sleeve, Asus Pen 2.0 stylus with extra tips, a 65W fast charger that’s smaller than most mobile chargers, a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, manuals and warranty papers, and the laptop.

Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Design

When you first lay your eyes on the Zenbook Duo 2024, it’s very easy to mistaken it for a regular laptop, a rather thick one. It’s about the same size as an M1 Macbook Air in terms of length and width. The laptop has an aluminium-magnesium alloy lid and base that feature a matte finish. You can only buy the laptop in an Inkwell Grey colour option. The lid has subtle glossy lines running across that’s been found on most of the new Asus Zenbook series laptops. There’s some flex on the lid, but it’s solid everywhere else. The laptop also comes with a MIL-STD 810H military standard rating.

The laptop is thicker than the usual Zenbook lineup

At the bottom, you’ll find a metal kickstand that I found to be very durable. The hinge also appears to beand I expect it to last a while. The kickstand can be used to prop up the laptop at varying angles depending on how you want to use the dual screens. There’s also cardboard like contraption available in the box that can be used to prop up the laptop in additional angles.

The kickstand on the Zenbook Duo 2024 is sturdy and can be adjusted at several angles

The lid is connected via a 180 degree hinge that works as it should and seemed durable. Opening the lid reveals a keyboard and a large touchpad that’s common to the Zenbook line. However, the touchpad here doesn’t double as a virtual numpad, and that’s because the keyboard is detachable and Asus had to cram a lot into a wireless Bluetooth keyboard. The Zenbook Duo 2024 comes with a detachable keyboard, which connects to the laptop via a set of Pogo pins and 14 powerful magnets. The keyboard is sturdy and has a soft touch finish on the underside to not damage the display it sits on.

You get plenty of ports on the Zenbook Duo 2024

Asus’ Zenbook Duo also has a good number of connectivity ports. On the left side, you’ll find dual Thunderbolt 4 ports that support both Power Delivery and Display Port, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A port. The right side offers an HDMI 2.1 port and a combo audio port. Both left an right side of the laptop feature exhaust vents. The power key sits on the top bezel of second display alongside indicator lights for battery and system.

Despite having dual screens and a detachable keyboard, the Zenbook Duo 2024 weighs 1.65kg with the keyboard. That’s almost as heavy as the newest Apple Macbook Pro 14 with the M3 Max chipset. Meanwhile, with the keyboard detached, the laptop only weighs 1.35kg.

Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Display

Now, let’s talk about the party piece. The Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 has dual 14-inch OLED touch displays that offer full-HD+ (1920 x 1200) resolution, 0.2 ms response time, and 16:10 aspect ratio. Both panels also support 60Hz refresh rate, 500-nits peak brightness, HDR, Dolby Vision, and are Pantone validated. They also comes with TUV Rheinland and SGS Eye Care Display certifications.

The laptop gets dual touchscreen displays that offer full-HD+ resolution

You get slim bezels all around with a screen-to-body ratio of 91 percent. You could expand the displays to get a total usable area of 19.8-inches if used in landscape mode. The displays are also protected with Corning Gorilla Glass, and I did not notice any scratches during my time with the laptop. The panels do have a gloss to them, but aren’t too bad to use outdoors as they can get quite bright. Touch input worked well, and you also get the Asus ScreenXpert suite of software enhancements to make best use of the dual displays.

Let me talk about usability. The Zenbook Duo, thanks to its dual displays, can be used in several ways. You could use it as a tradition laptop or remove the keyboard and use the dual screens stacked above each other. This is what I was using most of the time and it was delightful. As a journalist, I don’t think I’ll ever want another laptop purely for productivity. You can also expand the displays and use the kickstand in 90 degree angle to prop up the screens in landscape mode. This can be useful if you’re running multiple apps such as Twitter, Instagram, browsers etc.

The Zenbook Duo 2024 in the traditional laptop mode

The displays are also great for consuming content. Although they only offer full-HD+ resolution and 60Hz refresh rate, I enjoying watching Netflix and YouTube in HDR mode. The colours are vivid and blacks are deep with great contrast. Yes, it would’ve been better if the entire display was one big flexible panel like on the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, but this is definitely more durable.

Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Keyboard, Touchpad, Speakers, and Camera

I was pleasantly surprised with the slim detachable Bluetooth keyboard that Asus has managed to develop for the Zenbook Duo 2024. As mentioned in the beginning, the keyboard connects to the laptop via pogo pins that are placed at the bottom of the second display. It sits in place and in perfect alignment thanks to the 14 magnets. When disconnected, it uses Bluetooth LE to connect to the laptop and the connection is instantaneous. You get a power toggle on the side of the keyboard alongside a USB Type-C port for charging. However, the keyboard also charges via the pogo pins when it’s attached to the laptop. The keyboard is only about 4 mm thin, but you still get 1.4mm of travel. I found the key travel to be sufficient and had no issues typing on it. You also get three levels of backlight on the keyboard.

You could either use the detachable keyboard or the onscreen touch keyboard

Below the keyboard is a large touchpad that supports multi-touch gestures. Once again, despite the entire keyboard being so thin, Asus has managed to include a good touchpad with 0.23mm travel distance. It’s got a smooth surface and a coating to help prevent fingerprint and you get enough click feedback as well. It’s almost as good as Asus’ other touchpads, but it lacks the touch numpad. You can also use the second screen as a touch keyboard, but I’d recommend against it as it just feels weird.

The touchpad offers good feedback and has a smooth surface

Moving on to the speakers, this is probably the only thing that’s not cool about the Asus Zenbook Duo 2024. You get dual Harmon Kardon tuned speakers with Dolby Atmos support, but due to the laptops’ design, the speakers are placed on the bottom. While they can get loud enough, there’s not much in terms of bass. Also, if you’re using it in dual screen mode, then the speakers face away from you. Luckily, the Dolby Atmos support does come in handy here and I never really had any issues understanding dialogue in movies. It’s not the best speaker setup on a laptop, but they’re not bad.

The speakers can get loud but lack bass

Coming to the web camera, the laptop features a 1080p sensor that performs well in good lighting conditions. It is clubbed with an IR scanner for Windows Hello and that too worked well, even in low light conditions. Asus has incorporated some AI magic that brings features such as Studio effects, background effects, noise reduction, Eye contact, and automatic framing.

Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Specifications and software

Our review unit came with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor with a 35W TDP and a clock speed up to 5.1 GHz. The CPU is paired with 32GB LPDDR5X RAM clocked at 7,467 MHz. For storage, our machine came with a 2TB PCIE 4.0 SSD in an M.2 slot. The CPU is paired with the Intel Arc graphics and an NPU for some AI features. In terms of connectivity, you get dual-band Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

The laptop comes with an Intel Arc GPU

As for battery, the Zenbook Duo 2024 packs a 75Wh cell that supports 65W fast charging. To keep the laptop from overheating, the laptop features dual fans, two heat pipes, and a heat spreader that’s placed between the second display and the motherboard. The CPU is also facing away from the screen.

ScreenXpert on the Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 is the key behind the dual display magic

The dual screen magic mainly happens thanks to the Asus ScreenXpert software and Windows optimisations. The laptop runs Windows 11 Home out-of-the-box. The ScreenXpert software lets you do a lot on the dual screen laptop. For starters, you can tap with six fingers on the secondary display to turn it into a full screen touch keyboard. However, you can choose if you want a half screen keyboard or a full screen one. Swipe down with six fingers and you get access to several utilities. You can also swipe outward using five fingers to expand your window and fill the screen.

The Zenbook Duo 2024 comes with the Asus Pen 2.0 stylus

The ScreenXpert button hovers on the corner of both screens. Tap on it to bring up various controls for both displays. You can choose to have your windows open on either screen 1 or 2, you can control brightness for both displays together or separately, activate on-screen keyboard, turn off the second display, lock screen rotation, toggle microphones, and more.

There’s also a Sharing mode that when enabled, will flip the other screen so it’s easy to share something with someone sitting on the other side. The second screen can be selected to mirror the main screen, or you can show something different. However, due to the laptop having a 180-degree hinge, you cannot place it in a tent mode. You can only lay it flat.

The Sharing mode can come in handy during meetings or presentations

Another feature called Task Groups let you assign apps to a group and will always open in the same layout as you chose when you click on the Task group. You also get a Control Panel feature that detects what apps are open and automatically assigns the knobs and switches to control various things within the open app. Asus has also included a Handwriting feature that lets you write on the screen using the Asus stylus. For productivity, the Zenbook Duo 2024 is a beast.

Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Performance and battery life

The Asus Zenbook Duo 2024, during my time with it, performed very well and I had no issues running multiple apps and several tabs on Chrome. I did run some benchmarks using PCMark 10 and it managed an overall score of 6,637 points with a Productivity score of 8,851, and Essentials score of 10,417. That’s higher than the recently tested HP Omen Transcend 14 (Review). I was able to run all kinds of apps, even do some video editing, and had no issues at all. You can also play some games on the laptop, but it is clearly made for the creative and productivity enthusiasts.

The Zenbook Duo 2024 handled all productivity tasks with ease

I also did not face any heating issues when using the laptop, even when editing videos. I did not play any games on it, but like I mentioned earlier, I did run some benchmarks. Even during the benchmarks, the laptop didn’t get super hot with the secondary display only being warm to the touch. The fans are also pretty silent, but seem to do their work well.

Battery life on the laptop was also excellent. In dual screen mode, I was consistently getting about 8-9 hours of usage. In single screen mode, I’m sure the laptop will last almost 13-hours as advertised. However, I hardly ever used it as a traditional laptop. The included 65W charger also tops up the battery pretty quick.

Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Verdict

Simply put, the Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 is a game-changer for laptops in general. It gets dual 14-inch OLED touch displays, good speakers, amazing battery life, and is powerful for most productivity and creative tasks. If you’re a journalist, a writer, engineer, programmer, researcher, or an artist, then this is an excellent tool for you. Asus also claims that it is quite durable, but this is something we’ll have to test in the long run. For now, if you’re looking at a portable productivity powerhouse that’s compact and light enough to be carried anywhere, then look no further. I’m going to have trouble using a regular laptop after my time with the Asus Zenbook Duo 2024, it’s that good.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) is ramping up its regulatory oversight of the crypto sector. In a recent development, the EBA has issued two detailed sets of guidelines to govern the operations of Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs). As part of these directives, the EBA has emphasised the need for compliance monitoring agencies to intensify efforts to mitigate risks that could harm consumers.

The agency has asked payment service providers to screen all firms looking to register their businesses in European nations. The EU lawmakers have asked virtual digital asset service providers (VASPs) to conduct multi-level due diligence including a thorough risk assessment.

“EU regulations on restrictive measures do not prescribe how financial institutions should comply with restrictive measures regimes but highlights the need to put in place the required due diligence procedures and conduct the appropriate checks in order to avoid breaches of the Regulation,” a post by the EBA said.

The first set of guidelines provides fintech firms with instructions on aligning their governance structures and internal policies. The second set outlines the steps these firms must take to process crypto transactions in compliance with legal requirements.

“Carry out a restrictive measures exposure assessment, which should inform institutions’ decision on the types of controls and measures they need to apply to comply effectively with restrictive measures,” the directive mentioned.

The document further advises fintech and Web3 platforms to implement a screening system that aligns with the restrictive measures mandated by EU regulators. The finalised guidelines will be translated into all official EU languages and published on the EBA website, though the timeline for release remains undisclosed.

The EU has been actively regulating the virtual digital asset (VDA) space for some time. Last year, it finalised its MiCA regulations, which establish clear dos and don’ts for Web3 businesses. Given the high volatility of crypto assets, governments worldwide, including the EU, are focused on safeguarding their citizens from potential financial risks.

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