If you're lucky enough to have gotten your hands on a PS5, you may be looking for a drive with which to expand your console's storage. We have a whole guide that explains how to do that and which SSDs are our favorites, and one of those drives is down to a new record low right now. Samsung's 980 Pro SSD in 2TB is on sale for $250, which is 42 percent off and $30 cheaper than its previous best price.
The 980 Pro is one of Samsung's best SSDs with PCIe 4 connectivity and an M.2 2280 form factor. You can plug it into laptops and desktops if you're more of a PC gamer, but you'll need to provide a heatsink if you want to hook this drive up to the PS5. You can buy one separately, or grab the 980 Pro with one bundled for $300. We also like the 980 Pro's fast performance, supporting speeds up to 7,000 MB/s, and its nickel coating which should help control temperature levels.
A couple of other drives that made it into our PS5 storage guide are discounted as well. The Patriot Viper VP4300 in 2TB is on sale for $330 — just clip the on-page coupon for $50 off to get the lower final price. This is actually our favorite drive for the PS5 thanks to its sequential read speeds of up to 7,400 MB/s and two included heatsink options (aluminum and graphene). Also on sale is the Seagate FireCuda 530 in 1TB, which you can get for $190. This drive supports speeds up to 7,300 MB/s and also comes with a heatsink.
You won't need a Galaxy S22 to use some of Samsung's latest software tricks. Samsung is promising to bring One UI 4.1 to many of its Galaxy phones and tablets from recent years, including its more advanced camera features. You'll have access to the Expert RAW editing app, more advanced object removal and simpler photo sharing. You can expect Google Duo live sharing and a Grammarly-equipped keyboard, too.
The One UI 4.1 update will first come to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3. However, it will also come to the Galaxy S21, S20 and S10 families, the Galaxy Note line (from the Note 10+ onward), unnamed Galaxy A handsets and all previous foldable phones. Galaxy Tab S7 FE and further unspecified Tab S models will also receive the new software.
Samsung didn't provide a specific timeline for the rollout, although that's likely to vary by device, country and carrier. The plan also suggests you might be out of luck if you use a Galaxy Tab A or other affordable tablets. Nonetheless, it's welcome news for many users who'd rather not buy new hardware just to catch up on One UI features.
Collaborative playlists are a great way to built mixes with other users on Spotify, but until now you didn't have a ton of control over who could contribute to and see your work. Today, the streaming service is adding new levels of control for those playlists, allowing users to keep closer tabs on who has access to them — including the ability to share collaborative mixes with large public groups or keeping them private.
First, Spotify will give the playlist creator the ability to invite or remove users from collaborating. You will also be able to set collaborative playlists to private, so no one can listen to, search for or view those mixes except for the people you've given access. At any time you can add or remove who can work on playlists and who can follow them, and Spotify says all of the new controls will roll out starting this week.
Expanded controls for collaborative playlists follows Spotify's addition of a block feature back in November. Before last fall, you could block artists so they wouldn't pop up in the app, but blocking another user required submitting a request to customer service. Anyone you block will no longer be able to access your page, public playlists or see your listening activity. And of course, the move is reversible if you change your mind.
After kicking off the year with a bunch of new laptops back at CES 2022 followed by more recentupdates at MWC, Lenovo is finally capping off its refresh cycle this spring with improved components for the ThinkPad X13 and L-series lines.
The focus of Lenovo's latest updates is to provide faster performance featuring new processors (both Intel and AMD, depending on the specific model), improved video conferencing thanks to Dolby Voice and better connectivity via Wi-Fi 6E. Also, every new ThinkPad X13 and L-series notebook is getting a 15 percent larger touchpad and can be configured with 4G LTE, with the ThinkPad X13 getting an upgrade to sub-6Ghz 5G as well. And to reduce the company's impact on the environment, Lenovo is switching to new packaging made from 90 percent recycled material along with more components like speaker housings and AC adapters being made from post-consumer recycled plastics.
Lenovo
The new ThinkPad X13 Yoga 2-in-1 supports up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, with the more mainstream clamshell X13 getting additional support for AMD Ryzen Pro 6000 chips with Radeon 600M graphics. Lenovo is also introducing optional FHD IR cameras to the mix, which work with Windows Hello facial recognition while including a dedicated camera shutter for increased privacy. The standard X13 offers two different batteries: a default 41Whr power pack, and a larger 54.7 Whr cell that Lenovo says boosts longevity by up to 40 percent.
One the ThinkPad L line, all three sizes (13-, 14-, and 15-inch models) can be equipped with up to 12th-gen Intel i7 processors or AMD Ryzen 5000 Pro CPUs, up to 32GB of RAM, and 1TB PCIe SSDs. The smallest ThinkPad L13 and L13 Yoga will also be available in either Thunder Black or a new Storm Grey paint job, with Lenovo updating both L13s with slightly taller and brighter 16:10 500-nit displays. And for people worried about people peeping over their shoulder, the L13 even supports an optional Privacy Guard screen.
Lenovo
As for the ThinkPad L14 and L15 Gen 3, the company has redesigned their chassis with thinner bezels, which reduces weight and increases the system's overall screen-to-body ratio. And unlike their smaller siblings, you get a total of three battery sizes: 42 Whr, 57 Whr, and 63 Whr.
So while it's not a complete overhaul, both the ThinkPad X13 and ThinkPad L lines are getting some very handy boosts for 2022, especially for people looking for better mobile productivity. The ThinkPad L-series is slated to go on sale beginning in April with prices starting as low as $799 for the L13, with the X13 following later in June starting at $1,119.
If you missed the sale a few weeks ago, you have another chance to upgrade your gaming rig with a Samsung monitor for less. A handful of Odyssey gaming monitors are on sale right now, including the 49-inch Odyssey Neo G9 mini-LED curved monitor, which is $500 off and down to a record low of $2,000. Another display that's down to an all-time low is the 34-inch Odyssey G5 ultra-wide curved gaming monitor, which is $120 off and down to $430.
The Odyssey Neo G9 is a spare-no-expense gaming monitor and probably only best for serious gamers and streamers. Samsung claims it has a black level of 0.0004, and it can reach a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, plus you're getting the high contrast ratios and extra bright HDR performance that comes with mini-LED panels. The G9 also has a 240Hz refresh rate with a 1ms pixel response time, plus support for NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. In addition to swivel, tilt and height adjustments, the monitor has a decent number of ports, too, including a DisplayPort, two HDMI connectors and two USB 3.0 ports.
The 34-inch Odyssey G5 may be from 2020, but it still has a lot going for it — including its more manageable price tag. It's a WQHD display with a 165Hz refresh rate and a 1ms response time, plus support for HDR10 and AMD FreeSync. In addition to those two, a pair of Odyssey G3 monitors have also been discounted. You can grab the 32-inch Odyssey G3 ultra-wide curved monitor with a 165Hz refresh rate for $230, which is 30 percent off its usual rate, and the 24-inch Odyssey G3 gaming monitor for $180, or 28 percent off.
Up 1,000 ARM employees in the US and the UK will be laid off, according The Telegraph and Bloomberg. Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas reportedly told staff in a memo that the Softbank-owned chipmaker is cutting between 12 to 15 percent of its workforce, with 1,000 being the high end of that range, as part of its efforts to curb spending. The company said in a statement:
"Like any business, ARM is continually reviewing its business plan to ensure the company has the right balance between opportunities and cost discipline. Unfortunately, this process includes proposed redundancies across Arm’s global workforce."
Softbank was supposed to sell ARM to NVIDIA for a massive deal that was worth $40 billion based on the latter's stock prices in 2020. If the acquisition had gone through, it would've been the largest in the chip sector yet and would've been worth around $60 to $80 billion today. The deal collapsed completely in February, however, due to strong opposition by regulators around the world. Industry players, including ARM customers Qualcomm and Microsoft, also voiced their opposition against the deal, citing concerns that NVIDIA might prevent ARM from licensing its chip designs.
NVIDIA will pay Softbank a break fee of $1.25 billion for the failed purchase, and the Japanese conglomerate will proceed with its backup plan of taking ARM public. Neither of those is enough to keep things running as is, if the UK-based chipmaker is cutting jobs. Bloomberg says, though, that most of the job cuts won't affect the company's engineers. Despite the failed acquisition, NVIDIA plans to continue working closely with ARM and will continue to support the company as a licensee.
"Windows games can ship with DirectStorage" starting today, Microsoft has announced. DirectStorage is the tech giant's fast game-loading technology that was introduced with the Xbox Series X and S consoles. In September 2020, Microsoft revealed that it will also make the DirectStorage API available on Windows, allowing games for PCs to take advantage of the technology.
DirectStorage leverages the speed of modern NVMe SSDs, which can deliver multiple gigabytes per second, to load games faster than before. As Microsoft explains, current storage APIs weren't optimized for modern games' data loading methods and create bottlenecks that lengthen loading times even for those who have an NVMe SSD. In addition, most gaming assets need to be decompressed before they're sent to the GPU for rendering. DirectStorage solves those issues by processing multiple I/O requests needed to load assets into batches and by using the best current (and future) decompression technologies.
Microsoft released a developer preview of the technology in mid-2021, but as The Verge reports, there are no available games with DirectStorage support yet. One of the first titles to take advantage of the technology is Square Enix's Forspoken, which will be released for Windows and the PS5 in October. Other developers may have only just started working on incorporating the technology into their games. It may take a while for more titles to come with DirectStorage, especially since not everyone has upgraded to NVMe SSDs yet. It's worth noting, though, that while Windows 11 unlocks the technology's full potential, even gamers on Windows 10 will still see some improvements while playing games that support it.
The tech giant will present an introduction to DirectStorage at GDC on March 22nd and is expected to give tips and tricks developers can use to get started. Forspoken developer Luminous will also be talking about how it integrated the technology into the game at the same event.
We’re approaching spring-cleaning season, and tech sometimes needs a refresh, too. True wireless earbuds — and most wearable devices — can accumulate a worrying amount of dirt, oils and, well, detritus. So how do you clean them without breaking, damaging or scratching them? We made a guide for that, synthesizing official guidance from Apple, Samsung, Sony and the rest with real-world tips and cleaning tool recommendations.
The good thing is the more often you clean them, the less disgusting they’ll be. And don’t worry — no pictures of ear wax-caked buds. I know it’s early. No one wants to see that.
This week on the site, we’ve updated our robot vacuum guide, and we’ll be tackling how to recycle your old gadgets, how to clean and care for your displays and how to prep your grills for BBQ season.
Apple’s approach to making a more affordable iPhone has been to stuff premium processors into older cases. With the new iPhone SE, the company has stuck to that strategy. With a home button, substantial top and bottom bezels and rounded corners, it’s nearly identical to the 2020 model. And at this point, it’s starting to feel borderline retro. When basically all smartphones have done away with home buttons, this year’s iPhone SE feels anachronistic. However, it has Apple’s latest cutting-edge processor, the A15 Bionic, a surprisingly capable camera, and it’s just $429. Tempted? Read on for our full review.
Apple has begun rolling out iOS 15.4. One of the most notable upgrades is the option to unlock your device while wearing a mask without needing to enter a passcode or use an Apple Watch. Once you've installed iOS 15.4, you need to activate it manually in the Face ID and Passcode section of the Settings menu.
Just days after introducing a feature that made an algorithmically generated feed the default for iOS users, Twitter is changing things back to the way they were before. “We heard you,” the company said. “Some of you always want to see [the] latest tweets first. We’ve switched the timeline back and removed the tabbed experience for now while we explore other options.”
The music industry made almost as much from CDs as digital downloads in 2021.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America's annual sales report, revenue from CDs grew by 21 percent to $584 million in 2021. That marked the first annual increase in CD revenue in the US since 2004. A lot of this may be due to how many record stores reopened and artists sold music at shows again after COVID-19 put everything on hold in 2020. However, CD sales were close to the totals for digital music sales. Sales for digital tunes dropped by 12 percent to $587 million — only $3 million more than CD revenue for 2021.
Blue Origin's next crewed spaceflight is scheduled for March 23rd and, as reports suggested, Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson will be one of the passengers. It will be New Shepard's fourth flight with humans on board and its 20th overall. Davidson seems to be the famous face on this launch, following the likes of William Shatner and Good Morning America host Michael Strahan.
The unified platform will launch sometime after the $43 billion deal closes.
Months after announcing their proposed $43 billion merger, WarnerMedia and Discovery have answered what will happen to HBO Max and Discovery Plus once they form the imaginatively named Warner Bros. Discovery. Discovery Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company plans to combine the two platforms into one unified streaming service. Wiedenfels said he expects it’ll take a few months for Warner Bros. Discovery to “do it in a way that’s actually a great user experience for our subscribers.” In the meantime, HBO Max and Discovery Plus customers should expect at least some form of bundling.
Tesla has raised the prices of its electric vehicles for the second time within the month. After adding $1,000 to some long-range models last week, the automaker has now implemented a much larger price increase across its lineup. As Electrek reports, its prices now start at $46,990 for the base Model 3, $2,000 higher than before. The Model 3 Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive is now $2,500 more expensive at $54,490, and the Performance version now costs $3,000 more at $61,990.
Tesla
Meanwhile, Model Y's prices now start at $62,990, or $2,000 higher than before, for the Long Range version. Tesla has increased the Performance version's pricing by $3,000, as well, which means it'll now set you back $67,990. For both Model S options, Tesla has added $5,000 on top of their previous prices, so you'll have to spend at least $99,990 for one. None of the other EVs got a price increase as big as the Model X, though, which now costs $10,000 more at $114,990.
Although Tesla has quietly raised prices overnight, the move didn't come out of left field. On Twitter, company chief Elon Musk hinted at the possibility of a price hike. He said both Tesla and SpaceX are seeing "significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials [and] logistics." He didn't elaborate, but he linked to an article about commodity prices soaring due to fears over the shortage of raw materials that Russia exports.
One of the materials affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine is nickel, with its prices soaring and more than doubling since the war started. Russia is a key supplier of the metal, which is a critical component of lithium-ion batteries used by Tesla and other EV manufacturers. In addition, Electrek says Tesla is experiencing a massive surge in new orders due to heightened interest in electric vehicles caused by the rise in gas prices.
Tesla & SpaceX are seeing significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials & logistics
When it comes to getting Dolby Atmos in a soundbar that doesn't take up a ton of room in front of your television, and won't put a huge dent in your wallet, the Sonos Beam isn't the only option. Today, Polk Audio is adding another alternative to the fray with the MagniFi Mini AX. The compact home entertainment speaker measures just 14.5 inches wide (37 cm) but is still capable of handling Atmos and DTS:X audio. Plus, it comes bundled with a wireless subwoofer, something you'll have to pay extra for with the pricier Beam.
The MagniFi Mini AX packs five speakers inside that Polk says are capable of "deep bass, detailed highs and an expansive 3D soundstage" when paired with the sub. A 3D Audio Mode can upmix any standard content to virtualized 360-degree sound, complete with height channels. Like the Beam, this unit doesn't have upward-firing drivers. In terms of other features, VoiceAdjust works to improve speech clarity by leveraging the center driver to boost voices when active. You can also blend the low frequencies of the soundbar and sub with BassAdjust and Night Mode will reduce those tones (while increasing dialogue) to lessen the chances of waking someone.
WiFi connectivity gives you the option of AirPlay 2, Chromecast and Spotify Connect from a mobile device or computer. The MagniFi Mini AX connects to your TV with HDMI eARC/ARC or optical for older models. There's also an aux jack if you need it and on-board buttons for pairing the sub or any rear speakers. Up front, an OLED display illuminates to guide you before disappearing so it's not a distraction. Polk also says this soundbar is Roku TV Ready, so using it with those devices should be a breeze.
The MagniFi Mini AX will be available later this month for €479/£429 (US pricing TBA). While the soundbar comes with a wireless subwoofer, Polk offers a set of wireless rear satellite speakers to expand your surround sound setup for 5.1-channel audio. The SR2s are available for $170 (€199/£159).
