Amazon's Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was both extremely successful and extremely divisive in the LOTR fan community. (Separate question, has any recent adaptation or new content in a beloved franchise not been divisive? Thoughts for another time.) Lots of people whined about how Amazon should just trash the first season and start over, but clearly that was never going to happen. What is happening is that season two of The Rings of Power has its first trailer and an August 29 release date.

I'm a pretty big Lord of the Rings fan and found season one enjoyable if not essential, but I like the looks of how things are ratcheting up here for season two. We get plenty of teases of epic battles and creepy creatures as Sauron reveals himself and begins to tighten the noose on all of Middle-earth; there are also looks at him in his "fair" form as he forges the titular Rings of Power with Celebrimbor. 

Amazon says the first three episodes will arrive on August 29, with subsequent entries following every week. Like the first season, this one will consist of eight episodes total. 

This announcement comes less than a week after Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would release a new live-action Lord of the Rings film in theaters in 2026. Tentatively titled The Hunt for Gollum, the film is directed by and will star Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. That project will be set in the same universe that Jackson built, while Amazon's series is an entirely separate entity. There is some shared DNA, though — the first season of The Rings of Power was shot in New Zealand, like Jackson's films, and composer Howard Shore wrote the main credits theme for Amazon's show after scoring all six of the Middle-earth films. 

Oh, and Lego just dropped this incredible Barad-Dur set — it's a big week for Lord of the Rings across the board!

Fans have been waiting a long, long time for another installment in the 28 Days Later franchise, and we now know when the next followup is coming out: June 20, 2025. Per Variety, Sony Pictures announced the release date for the upcoming film 28 Years Later on Friday. It would have been kind of cool if it were timed with the original film’s actual 28th anniversary in 2030, considering how close we are to that now (horrifying, I know), but I can't blame them for not keeping people hanging even longer.

28 Days Later, starring Cillian Murphy in what turned out to be his breakout role, came out in 2002, and was followed by a sequel with a different cast, 28 Weeks Later, in 2007. There were at one point murmurs of plans for 28 Months Later, but it looks like we’re skipping over that. The new film will be directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, who both helmed the first movie, The Hollywood Reporter reported earlier this year. Murphy will be among its executive producers, according to Variety, but don’t get your hopes up for seeing him in a starring role. As of now, it doesn't seem like that’ll be the case.

We don’t know anything about the plot yet, but 28 Years Later will reportedly star Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes. And it could be the first of three new movies in the franchise. According to THR, the plan is ultimately for a trilogy.

In this installment of What We're Listening To, Engadget writers and editors discuss some of the recent music releases we've had on repeat. It's safe to say there's some variety on this list.

Sierra Ferrell - Trail of Flowers 

Sierra Ferrell seems almost like an anachronism in 2024, but in the best possible way. She has this effortless, old-timey country style that is at points reminiscent of the likes of The Carter Family or Flatt and Scruggs (her brilliant covers of songs once performed by the latter duo are permanently seared into my brain), and it’s just so refreshing. Trail of Flowers, Ferrell’s second studio album, toes a little further into a more modern sound, but it maintains this deeply Americana feel that just seems to roll off the West Virginian artist so naturally.

Country music isn’t just one thing, and neither is Trail of Flowers. It meanders through different flavors — folk, bluegrass, hints of jazz — but it manages to do so in a way that feels cohesive when it’s all taken together. The wistful “American Dreaming” and “Wish You Well” are offset by sillier, whimsical numbers like “I Could Drive You Crazy” or the deep cut cover, “Chitlin' Cookin' Time in Cheatham County.” Tracks like “Money Train,” “I’ll Come Off the Mountain” and “Lighthouse” are instantly catchy. “Why Haven’t You Loved Me Yet” and “No Letter” feel like classics in the making.

And then there’s the cheekily sinister, scorned-lover’s lament, “Rosemary.” It’s one of the songs that first got me hooked on Sierra Ferrell years ago, as I imagine is the case for a lot of fans who have followed Ferrell’s career since her busking days or her unforgettable GemsOnVHS performances. I was almost nervous to hear it on Trail of Flowers, with a full production, after loving the raw, stripped-down recording I’ve been replaying on YouTube for so long. But they’ve done a beautiful job of capturing that magic, and “Rosemary” may be my favorite track on the album. It’s hard to pick, though.

Castle Rat - Into the Realm 

Sometime early last year, I discovered something I didn’t realize was missing from my life: medieval fantasy doom metal. I was at a show at the gloriously trippy Brooklyn Made watching an opener ahead of the band I’d gone there to see, and unexpectedly found myself witness to an on-stage choreographed sword fight (well, there was a scythe involved too) between a woman in chainmail and someone wearing a hooded rat mask and lingerie. I’d already been enraptured by the band’s heavy, immersive riffs and the singer’s hypnotic 1970s-esque vocals, but in that moment, yeah, things really clicked into place. This was my introduction to Castle Rat, and it was a damn good one.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of their debut album ever since, and from the second it dropped last month — an LP called Into the Realm — I’ve pretty much been playing it on a nonstop loop. It would actually be embarrassing if you were to check the number of times I’ve listened to the album’s standout ballad, “Cry For Me.” It is a haunting, emotional song that really takes you on a journey and I’m a little obsessed with it. Into the Realm opens strong with the boppy “Dagger Dragger,” and some real heavy-hitters follow in tracks like “Feed the Dream,” “Fresh Fur” and “Nightblood.” “Red Sands” is a slow-building powerhouse, and I’ve even found myself loving the three roughly minute-long instrumental interludes that tie the whole album together.

Doom bands love a good theme (as do I), and we tend to see a lot of weed, witchcraft, science fiction and fantasy pop up throughout the subgenres that fall under this umbrella. Castle Rat definitely isn’t the first to have a shtick, but there’s a certain freshness to the band’s even more specific, self-described medieval fantasy brand, perhaps because they commit to it so hard. Their ‘70s and ‘80s influences are obvious, yet everything they’ve put out so far still feels original. Some people might find the whole thing gimmicky, but I think it’s working. Especially since they have the chops to back it up. I’m excited to see where Castle Rat goes from here.

Honorable Mentions:

Girl with No Face, Allie X— Another song I’ve been listening to an embarrassing amount these days is Weird World, off Allie X’s latest album, Girl with No Face. I somehow haven’t tired myself of it yet, it makes me go absolutely feral. Girl with No Face is full of synth-pop gems, like “Off With Her Tits” — a dancey, angsty anthem sure to resonate with anyone who has experienced dysphoria around their body image — “John and Johnathan,” “Black Eye” and “Staying Power.”

Club Shy, Shygirl — This is just a collection of straight-up bangers. It’s not even 16 minutes long, but it really hits. If you need an instant mood-elevator ahead of a night out, this album is it.

Stampede: Volume 1, Orville Peck — Orville Peck’s first release in his fringeless era is a duets album, the first part of which was released on Friday and features artists including Willie Nelson, Noah Cyrus and Elton John. I haven’t had much time to spend with Stampede: Volume 1 yet, but I’m into it so far. “Conquer the Heart” ft. Nathaniel Rateliff and “How Far Will We Take It?” with Noah Cyrus feel like they combine the best elements of Pony (2019) and Bronco (2022). Bronco came in two waves, so I expect we’ll see a Volume 2 for Stampede before long, too.

— Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor

Hannah Jadagu - Aperture

Whenever I hear the words “banger” or “bop,” I don’t think about artists like Taylor Swift. I think about the nebulous musical genre known as bedroom pop. Bop, after all, is right there in the name. Hannah Jadagu is a bedroom pop wizard of the highest order. Her first EP was made entirely on an old iPhone and still slaps, though she has since graduated to real recording studios. Jadagu’s latest full-length on Sub Pop, Aperture, is filled with both bangers and bops, and my favorite is the lovelorn “Say It Now.” Listen to this thing. It just may be the perfect pop song and is absolutely crying out for some road trip singalongs. The shoegaze-adjacent “What You Did” is another classic and would be at home on any decent summer playlist.

— Lawrence Bonk, Contributing Reporter

Justice - Hyperdrama

Justice’s first full-length release Cross from 2007 is one of my favorite albums of all time. Not only did it define the crunchy electronic sound of the blog house era in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it also felt like a new French duo had picked up where Daft Punk left off following 2005’s Human After All. Now Justice is back with its fourth album in Hyperdrama. But instead of being inspired by a specific genre of music like we heard in Audio, Video, Disco’s stadium rock tracks or Woman’s disco-fueled beats, this album feels more like the soundtrack to a moody sci-fi thriller, almost as if this is Justice’s alternate reality take on the Tron: Legacy soundtrack.

“Generator” is a certified banger and probably the song that sounds the most like classic Justice. “Neverender” and “One Night/All Night” are also highlights, though I think Justice may have leaned a bit too heavily on Tame Impala to give this album personality. “Dear Alan” delivers super smooth vibes and Thundercat makes a delightful appearance and finishes things strong in “The End.” 

The one thing I really miss is at least one truly danceable track like we got on all of the band’s previous albums. I also have to admit that some of the songs in the middle blend together in a less-than-memorable way. So while Hyperdrama isn’t the top-to-bottom masterpiece that Cross was a decade and a half ago, more Justice isn’t a bad thing.

— Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter

Utada Hikaru - Science Fiction

Over the past few weeks, I've mostly been listening to songs from Science Fiction, the first greatest hits album by J-Pop artist Utada Hikaru. I've been a fan since they released their debut album First Love back in 1999, when people were far more likely to be weirded out by the fact that yes, you can enjoy music with lyrics in a language you don't understand. Utada has been in and out of the J-Pop scene since then, and there were long stretches of time when I wouldn't hear anything about them. Every new music drop is a gift, especially this album, since it's tied to an upcoming concert tour, which they only do once in a blue moon.

Utada experienced a resurgence in 2022 when their songs “First Love” and “Hatsukoi” — which also translates to “first love” — were featured in a hit Japanese drama series on Netflix called (you guessed it) First Love. Those tracks are, of course, in Science Fiction, which also includes songs from various points in Utada's career. 

The album will take you on a journey from when they mostly wrote R&B-inspired pop to an era when their music became more experimental, and it will introduce you to their current sound, which is both mainstream and unique. While some of the re-recorded versions of their older songs like “Traveling” don't quite hit the mark, it's still a good representation of who Utada is as a musician. As a long-time fan, though, this album isn't just a collection of songs to me, but a collection of memories from different stages of my life.

— Mariella Moon, Contributing Reporter

Caroline Polachek - “Starburned and Unkissed”

There are a few reasons that “Starburned and Unkissed” stands out against the I Saw the TV Glow soundtrack, which is replete with not only beloved mainstays like Broken Social Scene's “Anthems For A Seventeen-Year Old Girl” as well as other original songs from luminaries like Phoebe Bridgers and Hop Along's Frances Quinlan. If cornered, I would say the most brilliant thing about “Starburned and Unkissed,” its greatest strength, is that it's just a little too slow. 

Every note stretches and yearns with the impatience of adolescence, verges on running out of air, of snapping in two. Much like the scene of the utterly and equally brilliant I Saw the TV Glow it was written for, it captures the sleepy anxiety of a too-warm high school, overcrowded and isolating. The heaviness of its crushing guitars ebbs and flows unsteadily, mimicking the experimentation of callow hands. (It takes the second try on the chorus for the drums and guitars to all come in on cue.) 

It's unstable, hopeful. Caroline's voice — gently mangled by intentional autotune pitch shifts — falls out of key in the song's last few refrains, threatening to derail the dreamy beauty of the past three minutes. It ends abruptly, begging for another listen, another return to a time that can't be recaptured.

Honorable mentions:

“Lover's Spit Plays in the Background,” Claire Rousay — Rousay's sentiment is a perfect album for reading outside on an overcast day. I'm not sure I can pick a standout track, as the experience is really in letting the whole thing wash over you, but this one's close enough.

“Stickers of Brian,” Hot Mulligan — Classic pop punk subject matter (“my job sucks and I hate everyone”) but my god what an earworm.

“On Brand,” Ekko Astral — Levels of snottiness previously considered unachievable. Hard not to love what a beautiful mess these folks make.

“Cometh the Storm,” High on Fire — Most of High on Fire's 20+ years of output sounds like — and lyrically is probably about — an axe-wielding barbarian ripping a bong, or whatever other D&D nonsense they're up to. (I say this lovingly. I adore High on Fire.) The title track off the new one is… unusually dirge-like? At first it felt very “old band showing their age” but it's grown on me as an intentional and welcome change. They're not off the hook for using AI for the “Burning Down” music video though. C'mon guys.

— Avery Ellis, Deputy Editor, Reports

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy came out right around the time movie studios decided everything needed to be a big franchise that exists in perpetuity. From that perspective, it’s a little surprising that Warner Bros. Discovery hasn’t milked Tolkien’s work more than they already have. That’ll change soon, though, as the company just announced that there are two new Lord of the Rings films in the works (you can read the full press release here).

The first is tentatively titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, and it’s being directed by Andy Serkis — you may remember him for his landmark performance as Gollum in Jackson’s prior movies. The fact that Serkis is on board, and working from a script by Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens (who co-wrote the prior Middle-earth movies along with Jackson) has me feeling a bit better about this not being simply a crass cash grab. Peter Jackson, along with Walsh and Boyens, are set to produce as well. Serkis previously served as second unit director on The Hobbit films and also directed 2022’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Given the working title of the film, you won’t be surprised to learn that Serkis is also starring again as the titular Gollum. While part of me was interested to see how another actor might take on the character, Serkis so defined Gollum for the big screen that it’s almost impossible to put anyone else in the role. As for what the movie will cover, there’s no official word yet — but again, the title indicates it’ll take place between the events of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings as Gandalf and Aragorn search Middle-earth for Gollum, trying to learn more about the ring that Bilbo and then Frodo possessed. 

Given Hollywood’s insatiable thirst for Content based on Popular Franchises, it’s a little surprising something like this didn’t happen sooner. Jackson and company followed up the original trilogy of films nine years later with the bloated and overly CGI-reliant film series based on The Hobbit and corresponding events from Tolkien’s LOTR appendices. And, of course, Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series debuted in 2022. And before The Hunt for Gollum arrives, we’ll see another intriguing project: an anime-style film called The War of the Rohirrim. That movie arrives this December and covers events in Rohan a few hundred years before The Lord of the Rings.

As a massive Lord of the Rings fan, I’m both skeptical and excited by this announcement. The sad reality of the entertainment world is that projects like this are going to happen no matter what; there’s too much money wrapped up in things like Lord of the Rings to not try and extract more. But Serkis seems like an excellent choice to direct this movie, and hopefully they’ll find a tight, self-contained story that works as a standalone film. The mess that was made in the Hobbit films has me wary, but even in those movies I found plenty of things to enjoy — and this feels like a good opportunity to chart a positive course forward for more movies in Middle-earth.

OpenAI is partnering with another publisher as it moves towards a licensed approach to training materials. Dotdash Meredith, the owner of brands like People and Better Homes & Gardens, will license its content for OpenAI to train ChatGPT while the publisher will use the AI company’s models to boost its in-house ad-targeting tool.

As part of the arrangement, ChatGPT will display content and links attributed to Dotdash Meredith’s publications. It also provides OpenAI with fully licensed training material from trusted publications.

That’s a welcome change after the company got in hot water for allegedly using content for training purposes without permission. The New York Times and Alden Capital Group (owner of The Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News and the Orlando Sentinel) have sued the ChatGPT maker, accusing it of using its content without permission. Comedian Sarah Silverman and a conspiracy-mongering car salesman (the latter for different reasons) have, too.

“We have not been shy about the fact that AI platforms should pay publishers for their content and that content must be appropriately attributed,” Neil Vogel, Dotdash Meredith CEO, wrote in a press release. “This deal is a testament to the great work OpenAI is doing on both fronts to partner with creators and publishers and ensure a healthy Internet for the future.”

Before the Dotdash Meredith deal, OpenAI struck an agreement with The Financial Times. “It is right, of course, that AI platforms pay publishers for the use of their material,” the paper’s CEO, John Ridding, said in a statement last month.

Dotdash Meredith, which also owns Investopedia, Food & Wine, InStyle and Verywell, will use OpenAI’s models to supercharge its D/Cipher ad-targeting tool. The publisher says its advertising system “connects advertisers directly to consumers based on the context of content being consumed, without using personal identifiers like cookies.” That’s an industry-wide shift on the horizon, as Google is moving to a cookie-less future — albeit later than initially advertised.

It’s been a while since we’ve had an update on Blade Runner 2099, the sequel series heading to Amazon Prime Video. The cast list is starting to take shape, as Oscar-winner and all-around icon Michelle Yeoh is set to play a lead role, as reported by Variety.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Variety has a source that says Yeoh will play a character named Olwen, who has been described as a replicant near the end of her life. That’s pretty much all we know about the story, aside from the fact that it's set 50 years after Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed Blade Runner 2049. This is likely due to the fact that we’ll be nowhere near the level of tech shown in that film when we actually hit the year 2049. The original Blade Runner, after all, was set in 2019.

Franchise creator Ridley Scott is involved in some capacity, but not as showrunner. That duty falls to TV writer Silka Luisa, who recently ran the Apple TV+ adaptation of the book Shining Girls. The show was great, so color me optimistic.

As for Yeoh, what more can be said? She won a long-deserved Oscar for her work in Everything, Everywhere, All at Once and has been involved with classic films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sunshine and Tomorrow Never Dies, among many others. She spent a few seasons hamming it up on Star Trek: Discovery, and her character is getting a spinoff film that will likely release later this year. The actress also just received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, so this has been a big month. 

Peloton had a great pandemic. It’s a weird thing to say, but the company’s premium exercise equipment (expanding from bikes to treadmills and even weight-training tech) were the hot workout-from-home products. That boom made some people (not normal, sensible people) suggest we were never going back to bricks-and-mortar gyms once the world reopened.

But… we went back. Now, Peloton’s latest financial numbers and statements , with further cuts, nips and tucks now on the cards. Its shares have gone from $156 in 2021 to less than $3 today. Peloton is laying off 15 percent of its workforce, shuttering more of its showrooms and getting rid of its CEO, again. It also killed Mr. Big.

The company says it’s planning to expand overseas (it’s gained a foothold in the UK), but it might just be a case of the company resizing to fit the reality of at-home fitness in 2024.

— Mat Smith 

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Microsoft’s latest Windows security updates might break your VPN

Until the company issues a fix, the only workaround is to skip or uninstall it.

Microsoft says the April security updates for Windows may break your VPN. According to its own status update: “Windows devices might face VPN connection failures after installing the April 2024 security update.” It affects Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2008 and later. However, user reports on Reddit are mixed, with some commenters saying their VPNs still work. So you might get lucky.

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Olivia Rodrigo, Drake and other Universal artists return to TikTok

The companies signed a new deal.

Samir Hussein via Getty Images

TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG) have signed a deal so Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd and other artists can return to the platform. Universal pulled its song back in February. Now, a key part of the deal is artist protection from generative AI. “TikTok and UMG will work together to ensure AI development across the music industry will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters,” the companies wrote. Drake, also part of UMG, has had his own recent troubles with AI tools and music.

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X is changing how the block button works

Blocking will no longer hide your replies.

Elon Musk is not a fan of the block button. The button (and feature) persists for now, but X is changing how it works. X is tweaking the visibility of replies in a block. Previously, a user could block someone on X and still reply to their posts. The blocked person wouldn’t be able to view that reply, but other X users could. It’s a black-belt passive-aggressive X move. Now, users see direct replies even if the person posting has blocked them.

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TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG) have signed a deal that will allow Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd and other artists to return to the platform, the companies announced in a press release. Universal pulled songs from its roster of performers back in February and with some exceptions, its music hasn't been there since. Both sides are now "working expeditiously" to get content back on the platform that's home to a billion-plus users. 

A key part of the deal is artist protection from generative AI. "TikTok and UMG will work together to ensure AI development across the music industry will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters," the companies wrote. "TikTok is also committed to working with UMG to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, as well as tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution."

Also part of the deal are "new monetization opportunities" from TikTok's recent expansion into e-commerce. TikTok will reportedly also assist artists by providing tools around analytics, integrated ticketing, an "Add to Music App" and more. 

Universal took the drastic move of pulling music earlier this year, forcing the platform to mute videos or replace tracks with options from other labels. "As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth," UMG said at the time. 

Last month, Taylor Swift's songs returned to TikTok, likely because she has full control of her own catalogue and was able to strike a separate deal. Some songs by other UMG artists, including Ariana Grande, also started appearing on the platform.

The dispute appears to be water under the bridge, but it's the least of TikTok's problems at the moment. US Congress recently voted in favor of a bill that would see TikTok banned in a year unless owner ByteDance sells the app. 

Over a year after announcing it would acquire Mint Mobile for up to $1.35 billion, T-Mobile has closed the deal. With the Un-Carrier's purchase of parent Ka'ena Corporation, it will not only get Mint, but internationally focused prepaid operator Ultra Mobile and wholesale wireless provider Plum. T-Mobile also promised to keep Mint Mobile's $15 per month/5GB offering that's among the least costly in the US.

Mint Mobile is backed by Ryan Reynolds, who is believed to own 20 to 25 percent of the company. The purchase was announced back in March 2023, but the FCC only approved the deal last week. Mint will continue to be operated as a separate brand with Reynolds as pitchman and founders David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim joining T-Mobile to guide the brands. 

Mint Mobile's $15 plan has a few loopholes, namely you have to pay for three months at the start to get that rate, then pay for an entire year to keep it ($180 in total). As a perk, T-Mobile is offering "unlimited" (40GB with throttling, really) data for the first months. Customers will also get unlimited talk and text in Canada, along with 3GB of roaming data. 

Mint's rivals include T-Mobile itself, which has a very similar plan but a hard cap at 5GB, along with AT&T, which offers 15GB for $25 including 10GB of hotspot data. A one-year contract and up-front payment is required for the latter. 

Apple Vision Pro headset production is reportedly being cut, sales are reportedly “way down.” But but but wait: Wasn’t the Vision Pro meant to change the world of VR/AR, ushering in an era of spatial computing? Is the dream over?

Hah, no. As Sam Rutherford laid out just before the weekend, while reports and rumors can’t nail exact numbers, based on financial figures from Apple’s last earnings, Vision Pro sales likely equate to around one percent of the company’s revenue. It’s almost as if early Vision Pro sales numbers don’t matter. Remember: The first iPhone wasn’t great either.

— Mat Smith

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Drake deletes his AI-generated Tupac track after legal threat

He deepfakes Shakur and Snoop Dogg’s voices to diss Kendrick Lamar.

Drake has deleted an X post with his track “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which used an AI-generated recreation of Tupac Shakur’s voice to needle Kendrick Lamar. The takedown came after an attorney representing the late hip-hop legend’s estate threatened to sue the Canadian rapper for his “unauthorized” use of Tupac’s voice. Drake used Snoop Dogg’s voice too, but… he’s still alive.

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Aaron Sorkin is working on a Social Network sequel focused on January 6

He blames Facebook for the Capitol attack.

Sony Pictures

Aaron Sorkin has announced he’s writing a follow-up script to The Social Network, once again about Facebook / Meta but with a fun, miserable focus on the January 6 insurrection attempt. Sorkin is cagey on the actual details of the new script but pretty much lays the blame for the attack at Meta’s feet. Sorkin hasn’t announced a partnership with any studio to make the film, but my big question: Who’s going to play Trump?

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Nikon’s Z8 is a phenomenal mirrorless camera for the price

A cheaper alternative to Sony’s A1.

Engadget

Nikon is arguably the world’s most famous camera brand, but with the decline of DSLRs, it has struggled. In 2022, it released the Z9, a flagship mirrorless camera that could finally hold its own against rivals, but the $5,500 price tag put it out of reach for most. Now, we’re testing the Z8, which has the same sensor and specs for $1,700. The Z8 may also be better than Sony’s A1 for many hybrid shooters, particularly for video. But don’t ask me: Check out Steve Dent’s full test-shoot right here.