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The Surface Pro's design has been with us for almost a decade, so it's kind of a wonder that in all that time, no one has really ever tried to make a detachable 2-in-1 gaming machine. Pretty much everywhere you look, there's a hybrid version of every type of gadget — from tablets to smartphones — aside from gaming PCs. And while ASUS teased us with the ROG Mothership back in 2019, now the company has finally returned to transform that concept into an actual retail device: the ROG Flow Z13.

Design and display

For those familiar with Microsoft's detachables, if you take one look at the Flow Z13 (which starts at $1,800) you'll immediately see why I mentioned the Surface Pro line, because ASUS has basically taken that blueprint and made it all gamery. You get a bright 13.4-inch full HD screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a handy kickstand in back, and a magnetic strip for hooking up a removable keyboard cover. That cover also feels similar to a Surface, right down to the bounciness of the keyboard and its slightly too-small touchpad. This means any hardcore RTS or FPS gamers will definitely want to keep an external keyboard around. ASUS even hid a microSD card slot and removable M.2 cover behind the kickstand, just like the Surface Pro. You’ll also find an 8-MP camera around back, though its image quality leaves a lot to be desired (the cam in front is fine though). Elsewhere, we have one USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4, a USB A port and a couple of other ports hidden beneath a protective seal. But more on those later.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

That said, while its overall design is a lot like a Surface, the Z13 gives off a very different vibe. ASUS’ over-the-top cyberpunk aesthetic combined with a splash of red and black accents might be a bit much for some. But I kinda love it, especially that window with RGB lighting in back. In fact, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say we need more see-through gadgets in general.

Specs and performance

On the inside, we got some relatively beefy components, particularly for a system this size. We're talking an Intel Core i9-12900H CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB M.2 SSD, and an RTX 3050TI. In normal use browsing the web or social media, the Z13 is rather quiet, though that changes when you launch a game. Fan noise is noticeable, but doesn’t become a real distraction. And while the back of the Z13 does get warm, ASUS’ tablet design and vapor chamber cooling system helps keep throttling to a minimum.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Now normally, pairing an i9 chip with a 3050 Ti doesn’t make a lot of sense. In most games, the Z13 is going to be bottlenecked by its GPU, which makes a high-end CPU seem like overkill. In benchmarks, I saw frame rates of 37 fps in Forza Horizon 5 on ultra settings, 64 fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider on highest and 40 fps in Metro Exodus on high. So decent, but not exactly mind-blowing.

That's where those hidden ports come in. Once you remove the protective seal, you can attach ASUS' optional (and expensive) $1,400 XG Mobile graphics dock, which has even more ports (HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, Ethernet, four USB 3.2 Type-A ports and an SD card reader), along with an RTX 3080 graphics card. And after I hooked everything up, gaming performance basically doubled, with frame rates in Forza Horizon 5 jumping up to 87 fps at the same settings, with similar results for other titles (134 fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and 95 fps in Metro Exodus).

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

So now, we're looking at a portable gaming tablet that has the kind of performance you'd typically only get from a big 15 or 17-inch notebook. And because the dock is detachable, you have the option to leave it behind if you’re not gonna be gaming. It even has its own power cable, allowing it to send juice to the Z13 when connected. So theoretically, if you throw both of these in your bag, you can leave ASUS’ basic charging brick at home. And when you're not using the dock, beneath that seal next to ASUS' proprietary XG port, there's a USB-C 3.2 connection that supports video out with G-sync.

However, there are a number of quirks about the XG dock. First, you can’t just disconnect it at will. Before you pull the plug, you need to manually disable it from the icon in the Windows system tray, which takes more than a moment. You also can't pick what GPU goes inside, it’s either an RTX 3080 or nothing. That means if you want to upgrade in the future, you’re gonna have to buy a whole new dock, assuming ASUS even makes a second generation. And because of that proprietary port, the XG Dock is only compatible with this system and the ROG Flow X13, which is basically the laptop version of Z13.

Battery life

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

One of the biggest downsides of the Z13’s tablet design is not having a lot of room for a sizable battery. In our video rundown test, the system’s 56 Whr power pack lasted just five hours and 38 minutes. That’s four hours shorter than the Zephyrus G14 (9:45) and nearly two and half hours less than the Alienware X14. That means you will probably need to bring ASUS’ power brick whenever you leave the house, especially if you plan on actual gaming. And in the real world, even with the most casual workloads, I found the Z13 was often gasping for energy well before the end of the day. On the plus side, the Z13 uses USB-C Power Delivery, so at least the charger can top up other gadgets too.

Wrap up

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

When it comes to summing up a product, I’m usually not this conflicted. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, I love the way it looks, and I love being able to tack on a beefy GPU when I want extra performance. I also love being able to flip it open, pair a controller and just get to gaming – no need to worry about a keyboard. There really isn't anything else like the Z13. The problem is that the whole kit isn't very practical, and it's not a great value either.

When you're using it as a laptop – like you know, on your lap – because all of its guts are stuffed inside what is essentially a tablet chassis, it's really top-heavy. Also, its battery life isn't very good, lasting at least two to three hours shorter than every other gaming laptop we've tested recently. And while it’s relatively thin, when you think about all the accessories you might want to carry around with it, the Z13 doesn’t really let you pack that much lighter when compared to a rival 14 or 15-inch laptop.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

And then there's its price. The Z13 starts at $1,800, or around $1,900 for one similar to our review unit with a 3050TI GPU, which is as high as you can spec it. And if you want the XG mobile graphics dock your all-in price climbs well above $3,000.

A similarly equipped traditional gaming laptop, like an Alienware X14 goes for about $200 less. Meanwhile, ASUS' own G14 Zephyrus can be had for as little as $1,450, and that's with a slightly more powerful RTX 3060. So if you just want to be able to game on the go, you can save a bunch of money simply by getting something less exotic. And if you need some extra performance now and then, you're probably better off getting a regular external GPU enclosure that you can upgrade yourself down the line instead of ASUS' proprietary dock.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Now all this doesn't mean you shouldn't get one. But you should know what you're getting into first. The Flow Z13 is a wildly interesting system, and for people looking for a portable and adaptable machine with big time performance, I'm glad that ASUS finally made a gaming tablet/detachable 2-in-1 into a real device after all these years. And while its high price will make the Z13 an incredibly hard sell for most people, I still think it’s impractically cool.

Activision Blizzard is converting all of its temporary and contingent quality assurance contractors in the US to full-time employees. Many of the 1,100 workers will receive a pay rise — the minimum hourly rate is going up to $20 per hour.

Developing...

Epic Games and The Lego Group are building a new, family-friendly virtual world. The companies haven't revealed too many details just yet, though they plan to "shape the future of the metaverse to make it safe and fun for children and families."

The pair have agreed on three principles they'll adhere to as they "build an immersive, creatively inspiring and engaging digital experience" for people of all ages to enjoy. They pledged to:

• Protect children’s right to play by making safety and wellbeing a priority.

• Safeguard children’s privacy by putting their best interests first.

• Empower children and adults with tools that give them control over their digital experience.

Epic and Lego didn't announce a timeline for when their collective vision of a virtual world will open for business. Of course, Epic runs perhaps the foremost example of a kid-friendly metaverse in Fortnite. The battle royale modes, countless crossovers, concerts, movie nights and creative islands have helped Fortnite become a massively popular virtual space where people go to hang out.

Lego has experience in virtual worlds as well. Along with its long-running series of licensed games (including one that just dropped this week in Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga), it was behind a sandbox game called Lego Worlds.

While that didn't prove to be quite the Minecraft competitor Lego would have hoped, perhaps its collaboration with Epic will stand a better chance. Their take on the metaverse is also likely to compete with Roblox. That platform has an enormous player base of mostly young people and measures in place to shield them from adult content.

Barnes & Noble finally has a direct answer to Amazon's purchase of Audible. The bookseller has launched a B&N Audiobooks service in the US that lets you either buy recordings or pay $15 per month for a subscription that offers one recurring monthly credit. You'll have access to more than 300,000 titles through the web as well as the Nook apps for Android and iOS.

The launch is arguably overdue. Amazon bought audiobook heavyweight Audible in 2008, and has both woven it into services and expanded its offerings with original books and services like the all-you-can-read Audible Plus plan. That investment has helped Audible dominate the market for years, and that's not including longstanding competition from Apple, Kobo and others. Barnes & Noble is entering a very well-established market as a relative outsider.

The bookshop might not be deterred, however. Barnes & Noble chief James Daunt has been leading an e-book revival at the company that includes much-needed hardware upgrades. An audiobook service could help with that strategy by letting B&N match its competitors' core features, even if it's unlikely to topple its biggest rivals any time soon.

Confession time: I’d never read any John LeCarré until after I’d seen the 2011 film of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. It’s a brilliant movie, and one that sent me scuttling to read the Karla trilogy and then watch the two excellent Alec Guinness adaptations. After devouring the first two episodes of Apple TV+’s Slow Horses, I can think of no higher compliment than to say that I’m bulk-buying the book series it was adapted from in short order.

Slow Horses is an adaptation of Mick Herron’s series of Slough House novels, featuring a group of British spies trapped in administrative purgatory. MI5 agents who have committed high-profile mistakes but know far too much to be fired are dumped in the dingy Slough House. There, they are given harmless busywork too demeaning for real spies to undertake, all the while being tormented and demeaned by division chief Jackson Lamb, played by Gary Oldman.

It’s this world that former superstar spy River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) is thrust into after his own notorious error while out in the field. There, he’s given jobs like searching a dodgy journalist’s trash can and acting as a courier between offices. It’s hardly a spoiler to suggest that Cartwright’s arrival triggers something of a major case for the rejects to handle, which has mostly kicked off by the time the second episode finishes.

What Slow Horses has to offer, beyond the enjoyment of a modern-day thriller done right, is a sense of pulpy fun. A sequence in the second episode I can’t spoil plays out with the beats of a Chuck Jones cartoon rather than an entirely gritty espionage potboiler. It helps, too, that the show isn’t trying to make everyone a two-dimensional cut-out, which can so often be the case when prestige TV attempts to make spy-fi.

The series was created by the unfortunately named Will Smith, the British standup, actor and writer who, far as we know, has never slapped Chris Rock on stage. The dialog sparkles, not surprising given that Smith has written for Avenue 5, Veep and The Thick of It. It’s also clear-eyed about its politics, offering something approaching nuance concerning the benefits and burdens of living in a surveillance state.

Much has already been made about the fact that this is Gary Oldman’s first starring role in a TV series. But Apple also spent big to recruit serial award-winner Kristin Scott-Thomas and Jonathan Pryce, who appears as a former spymaster who has lost none of his imperial pomp. Mentions too, to Olivia Cooke’s Sid Baker, a vastly more talented spy who, despite slumming it in Slough House, is actually allowed to undertake real espionage work, and Saskia Reeves’ as Lamb’s long-suffering assistant, Standish.

I’ll admit, I get a kick out of watching the once-and-hopefully-future George Smiley playing a cracked-mirror version of that same character. Lamb is trapped in the grimy whiskey and tobacco-stained late ‘70s, and Oldman has never looked grander than as a man in ruins. Even at this early stage, there are hints that Lamb was once a spectacular agent whose fall from grace was similarly staggering, but the series isn’t teasing it out in mystery-box fashion.

There are two reasons I’m recommending this to you. Firstly because I thought it was good, and I feel like sharing cool stuff is part of my job. But also because the only reason I even started Slow Horses was because I’d forgotten to cancel my TV+ subscription. I saw the email hit my inbox, and felt resentful at yet another £4.99 that I’d wasted on something I’ve not used at all. (I keep meaning to use that money to subscribe to Disney+ now that my kids are old enough to sit through a whole movie in one sitting.) Ted Lasso aside, TV+ in my mind remains the home of mostly middle-of-the-road fare that aspires to do well enough on either coast, and much of the middle.

It didn’t help that The Morning Show left me cold, and I can’t imagine myself watching Jason Momoa wandering around a forest in in See. You can’t fault Apple for not wanting to just throw a fortune at its TV department and flood its service with forgettable originals. But that deliberate process of slowly building up its catalog has always made me feel a bit like a chump for paying for the privilege of not wanting to watch what was on offer. And yet, after Slow Horses, I decided to take a gamble and watch Severance. I’m only a few episodes deep, and it’s not one of those shows you can, or should, binge over a couple of bloodshot nights, but it is good. It’s a left-field exploration of the nature of memory, personality and corporate life that defies easy explanation. (Also, check out our interview with creator Dan Erickson!)

If I needed to have a grand theory about All Of This (and I’m not sure at this point that I do), it’s that TV+ needs to get weirder. Yes, it has the cash to buy as many prestige-TV series as it wants, but we’re swimming in worthy, often dull series (looking at you, WeCrashed!). I’ve still not bothered with either of the two (two!) Tom Hanks films Apple rescued from the ignominy of a COVID-era cinema release. But shows like Severance and Slow Horses, one a highbrow exploration of something, the latter the televisual equivalent of a luxury dirty burger. Neither of which you could imagine HBO, even in its post-Netflix anxiety pomp, buying. Hopefully we’ll see more of this sort of thing in the future, and I can feel a bit less resentful about paying for TV+.

Read more

• Apple becomes the first streamer to win a Best Picture Oscar

• 'WeCrashed' on AppleTV+ promises the world, but delivers very little

• ‘Ted Lasso’ takes home best comedy series at the Critics Choice Awards

• Engadget's interview with Dan Erickson, the creator of Severance

Just a couple months after it started selling its $90 Car Thing to anyone in the US, Spotify is rolling out a bunch more features for the device this week that should make it more useful. Among the updates is what Spotify says is one of the most-requested features: an add to queue option.

There are a few ways to put more songs or podcast episodes onto your ad-hoc playlist. You can tap the add to queue icon next to a track or hold down the dial when you have a song highlighted. There's voice ]support as well, so you can say something like "Hey Spotify, queue 'Happier Than Ever'" or any other song you'd like to hear. You can view the queue with a voice command or by holding down the dial in the Now Playing view.

Also new is a way to generate a playlist based on a genre, mood or activity. You can say something like "Hey Spotify, play upbeat Sunday morning pop" and the platform will put together a personalized playlist on the fly that fits those criteria. The feature is available on all platforms with Hey Spotify support.

Elsewhere, there are a couple more Car Thing features that should prove useful. You'll be able to see, answer and reject incoming calls. There's also a way to play and control other media. You can switch back to Spotify control by tapping the screen, using presets or issuing a voice command. These two features are iOS-only for now. They'll be available for Android later. Updates to Car Thing, which requires a Premium Spotify subscription, also roll out automatically for iOS users.

Almost exactly two years after Rogue Legacy 2 was announced, Cellar Door Games has revealed when the sequel is coming out of early access. It will officially arrive on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on April 28th.

Cellar Door has switched up the art style, creating 3D characters that are set against hand-drawn backgrounds. There are new classes, weapons and abilities, and the studio has freshened up the procedurally created environments with fresh biome generation. There's also an heirloom system that grants heroes permanent new abilities and accessibility features designed to help "players succeed even when they’re struggling," according to a press release.

Rogue Legacy 2 has been in development for almost four years and it'll arrive nearly nine years after its predecessor. Rogue Legacy helped usher in an era of successful indie roguelikes like Hades. 

Cellar Door Games

What helped set Rogue Legacy apart from many of its peers, such as Spelunky and FTL: Faster Than Light, was a system that allowed players to continue their journey by selecting an heir of their previous character. Each heir has their own traits.

If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, you can check out Rogue Legacy for free by claiming it from the Epic Games Store. It'll be available as a freebie until April 13th. Given that it takes most players around 16 hours to complete the main story, you might even finish it in time for the sequel's proper debut.

Meta might not give up on the concept of digital currency just because its Diem crypto project has floundered. The Financial Timessources claim Meta is "exploring" a digital currency (internally nicknamed "Zuck Bucks") aimed at the metaverse. This probably wouldn't be a cryptocurrency, however — rather, the insiders said they would be centrally-managed, in-app tokens like those available through game platforms such as Roblox. In a sense, it would mark a return to the defunct Facebook Credits introduced in 2009.

The company is also reportedly mulling similar rewards for its biggest social media contributors, such as "creator coins" for Instagram influencers and "reputation tokens" for Facebook group participants. They might help communities moderate themselves, according to the leakers. You might also see conventional financial services like small business loans. These and the "Zuck Bucks" are said to be in the early stages of development and might be cancelled or changed.

Meta's NFT plans appear to be moving forward, at least. The Times' sources said a pilot for ad- and fee-based NFTs was expected to debut on Facebook in mid-May, with support for NFT-oriented groups soon afterward.

The company has already declined to comment. If accurate, though, the scoop suggests Meta would rather overhaul its virtual finance strategy than give up altogether. The focus on self-managed currencies and NFTs might help Meta profit from the metaverse and its existing social media base while reducing the chances of regulatory pushback, executive departures and other headaches that plagued its cryptocurrency efforts.

If you're looking to build out your smart home setup, it's worth considering a bundle of two Google products that are now on sale. You can save $50 if you buy the Nest Hub smart display and Nest Cam together. They typically cost $100 each, but you can scoop them up from B&H for $150.

You'll get the second-gen Nest Hub, which Google released last year. We gave it a score of 89 in our review and felt that it had better audio than its predecessor. We appreciated Google Assistant working faster this time around as well as the lower price. The radar-powered sleep tracking feature (which doesn't require the use of a camera to detect movement) is pretty accurate too.

You can use the device to watch shows and movies from streaming services, listen to music and control your smart home devices. The Nest Hub can help keep you organized through access to your calendar, reminders and to-dos.

Google

Of course, you can use the smart display to monitor the Nest Cam as well. It's important to note this is the wired model designed for indoor use, rather than a battery-powered one you can place anywhere.

The camera can capture 1080p video at 30 fps. Google claims the infra-red LEDs allow the Nest Cam to have night vision detection for objects up to 15 feet away. There's a 135-degree diagonal field of view, two-way audio (with a noise cancellation feature) and motion detection.

Nest Cam can tell the difference between people, animals and vehicles that enter the frame (though you'll likely need to be pointing it at a window to detect the latter). You can receive alerts for various activities it observes and you can view a live feed on your phone, computer, tablet or smart display at any time. You'll get up to three hours of event video history at no extra cost, though you can subscribe to Nest Aware for features like continuous recording and detection of familiar faces.

This winter, I spent $160 (or, $200 CAD for me) to buy a new gaming mouse. I've never owned one that cost more than about $50. My previous one was the Logitech G305. And before that, I owned a SteelSeries Sensei 310. If you're not familiar with the G305, it's one of the best wireless mice you can buy for under $50. Thanks to its Hero sensor, it's as fast and accurate as some of the most expensive gaming mice on the market. Another highlight is that it draws on an AA battery for power, meaning you can go up to 250 hours of uptime on a single charge. For most people, including those who play competitive games, I think the G305 is about all the mouse they need.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

So why did I decide to trade in a perfectly good mouse for one many times its price? For me, it came down to build quality. By the time I decided to pick up the Logitech G Pro X Superlight, the scroll wheel on my G305 was starting to get mushy, and the back battery cover would creak when I put the palm of my hand on it. And by that point, I had been eyeing the Superlight ever since Logitech announced it in 2020.

If you spend a lot of time watching videos on YouTube about PC gaming, you know the appeal of this mouse. Logitech claims it weighs less than 63 grams, making it one of the lightest you can buy at the moment. As someone who plays a lot of Valorant and League of Legends, a lightweight mouse is appealing because it allows you to be both fast and accurate with your mouse movements. The reason for this is that you can maintain a low DPI (a setting that determines the sensitivity of your mouse) while still quickly flicking it across your mousepad, thanks to its light weight.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

There are mice you can buy that are even lighter than the G Pro X, but almost all of them use a perforated design where the main body of the mouse features a honeycomb-like pattern of holes. But that can compromise build quality – a mouse with holes won't feel as solid as one without because, well, it has holes.

Instead, the G Pro X represents a different kind of compromise. It features the same body design as Logitech's incredibly popular G Pro Wireless, but it doesn’t have all of the same features. It doesn't come with RGB lighting or even a DPI switch for quickly adjusting its sensitivity on the fly. But the most notable omission is that the Superlight doesn't come with a second set of buttons on the right side of the mouse. Sorry, lefties.

But here's the thing: I don't mind that it's missing those features. Maybe my opinion would change if I was left-handed, but I'm not, and I think the white model looks great without RGB lighting. It's also not a deal breaker for me that it doesn't come with a DPI switch since I can recall situations with my old G305 where I accidentally clicked that button during a crucial moment in a game.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

Put differently, I could live without those features, but I didn't want another mouse that would wear down on me. And the G Pro X Superlight has yet to disappoint on that front. It features Omron switches that produce a satisfying click whenever you press down on the left and right buttons, and it has one of the best scroll wheels I've ever used on a mouse. The plastic also has yet to develop the shine you see when it gets worn down in certain areas. This thing is built to last.

I also found the features that make the Superlight a great gaming mouse lend it just as well to productivity use. It doesn’t include Bluetooth connectivity, but what it does have is a clever magnetized storage compartment for storing its wireless dongle. Pair that with its light design, and you have a great travel mouse. It also features a shape I find works well with my palm grip style, making it ideal for long Lightroom and Photoshop sessions.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

Yes, $160 is a lot to spend on a mouse, but it got me one of the best gaming mice on the market. When you think about how much it costs to buy the "best" graphics card, monitor or almost anything else gaming-related, you're looking ahead at spending upwards of thousands of dollars. The G Pro X Superlight didn't cost me that much, and I got a mouse that's great not just for gaming, but for everything else I use my computer for.