We may be nearly two years out from the launch of the PlayStation 5, but it's still pretty difficult to get your hands on one. If you've been eyeing the Digital Edition, you have another chance to grab one today. Amazon will have more PS5 Digital Editions for purchase starting at 8am PT/11am ET today, while supplies last.
As the name suggests, the Digital Edition differs from the standard PlayStation 5 in that it doesn't have a disc drive. But if you already get and store all of your games in the cloud, this shouldn't be a big deal. Also, now that you're able to expand the PS5's storage with a compatible SSD, you may want to save the extra $100 you'd spend on the standard console and put that towards a high-capacity drive for your Digital Edition.
It's unclear at this point if Amazon will also restock the regular PlayStation 5 along with the Digital Edition. We don't expect Amazon's stock to last long, so if you've been trying to get your hands on one of these consoles since they debuted, today's drop is your next best bet.
After a fair degree of speculation, Sony has officially announced its next evolution of PlayStation Plus, its subscription service. And, finally, it could offer enough to match Microsoft’s compelling Game Pass. It’s still called PlayStation Plus but will fuse it with PlayStation Now, the company’s middling game streaming service, at least at the highest tiers.
PlayStation Plus Premium ($18 per month) is where the PS Now aspect really comes into play, with access to an extra 340 or so games, including PS3 titles you can stream via the cloud. A bunch of PS1, PS2 and PSP games will be available to stream or download, too, but the streaming feature will be only in markets where PS Now is currently available. That includes the likes of the US, UK, Japan and a large chunk of Europe.
Then there’s PlayStation Plus Extra (for $15 per month), which will fold in the existing PS Plus service, soon to be renamed PlayStation Plus Essential (still $10 per month) but add a library of “up to” 400 PS4 and PS5 games. These will encompass PlayStation’s in-house titles as well as third party games.
At the outset, Sony plans to offer games including Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11 and Returnal. However, it’s unlikely that first-party PlayStation games (usually exclusive at launch) will appear on the service immediately. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan told GamesIndustry.biz in an interview: "We feel if we were to do that with the games that we make at PlayStation Studios, that virtuous cycle will be broken." In PlayStation’s favor, at least in the US, the annual price is $60 less than Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members’ annual cost.
The new-look PS Plus will start rolling out in June.
Dyson just unveiled its first wearable product: a set of noise-canceling, air-purifying headphones. The Dyson Zone comes with a detachable vizor for the bottom half of the wearer’s face, which looks, to put it mildly, odd. That vizor actually blows filtered air to your nose, mouth and chin, sort of like a portable fan dedicated to the lower portion of your face. Dyson has integrated a smaller version of its air filtration system into the earcups.
Intel has unveiled the Core i9-12900KS Special Edition CPU, claiming it's "the world's fastest desktop processor." Intel boosted the clock speed from 5.2GHz to 5.5GHz (on up to two cores) by bumping the power from 125 to 150 watts. AMD recently said its $449 Ryzen 7 5800X3D was the world's fastest gaming processor, that its 3D V-Cache beats Intel’s older Core i9-12900K. However, Intel’s latest model has a much higher maximum clock speed (5.5GHz compared to 4.5GHz). Now we wait for the benchmark tests to prove the eventual winner.
NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is finally here, and it's clear the no-compromise design comes with the steep price tag to match. The new flagship GPU is now available, at a heady $1,999. That's $500 more than the 'base' RTX 3090 and closer to the price of line-blurring GPUs like the old $2,499 Titan RTX. And don't be surprised if you pay more thanks to ongoing shortages — we're already seeing more expensive cards at retailers.
There’s not an awful lot of competition at the high-end soundbar market, with most consumers looking towards surround sound speaker setups with multiple speakers, separate subwoofers and the rest. For those of us looking for minimalist aesthetics and better sound, Sennheiser’s Ambeo now has competition from Devialet. The giant soundbar can upmix stereo sound so it’s more enveloping and richer. You also have to be a certain level of rich to afford the thing.
This won’t come as a huge surprise to gamer cynics, but Nintendo has announced it’s delaying the launch of the hugely anticipated Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel. As is usually the case with such delays, Nintendo didn't offer a ton of details. Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma said the company decided to "extend our development time a bit" and apologized to those looking forward to playing the new game. Expect to wait til spring 2023. And possibly even a little longer.
In the next wave of emoji, which has brought us burritos, flamingos and so on, don't expect to see more flags. The Unicode Consortium has warned it will "no longer accept proposals" for flag emoji, regardless of category. They're more trouble than they're worth, the organization said, whether it's the inherent politics or the value they bring. Flags are "by far" the least-used emoji, Unicode said, and aren't even used that often in social media bios. The Consortium added that flag additions tend to "emphasize the exclusion of others."
Google may be set to integrate Bluetooth tracker detection into Android. With devices like Tile trackers and Apple AirTags becoming more popular, there have been instances of bad actors planting one on someone else and using it to follow their movements.
However, there are some issues with current detection methods on Android. Users would both need to be aware of the fact that Bluetooth trackers can be misused and have apps that can detect them installed on their device. The Apple and Tile apps also require users to scan for trackers manually, a process that can take around 10 minutes.
According to 9to5Google, the Android team has started work on a tracker detection feature in Play services. The most recent APK code includes references to Tile trackers and "ATag" (probably AirTags) and hints that Android users may be able to ring detected devices.
The feature is said to be in early development and it'll likely be some time before Google releases it publicly (if at all). Having automatic detection built into the OS, or even a manual scanner with a warning to all users about the potential for stalking, would surely help protect users from being tracked. Hopefully, we'll learn more about Google's tracker detection plans at I/O in May.
Apple technicians will decline to fix iPhones that had been reported as stolen or lost, according to MacRumors. The tech giant has reportedly sent out a memo to Apple Stores and authorized providers not to accept a device for repair if they get a notice on their internal MobileGenius or GSX systems that the phone had been marked as missing. Presumably, that means technicians will check a device's IMEI against the GSMA Device Registry when a customer brings it in for repair.
The GSMA registry is a global database where owners can register their devices' IMEI and designate a status for them, such as whether they'd been lost, stolen or were fraudulently obtained. This move expands Apple's existing policy to decline repairs for devices whose owners cannot disable the Find My iPhone feature. It could discourage more people from buying second-hand devices outside of official and authorized sources in case they unknowingly end up with a stolen unit. That said, users could just as easily go to a third-party repair shop that doesn't care where they got their devices from.
Apple's iPhones have become increasingly cost-prohibitive over the years, giving rise to a market for second-hand units. According to a recent Bloomberg report, though, the tech giant is working on a subscription service for the iPhone and other hardware to make regular upgrades more accessible with monthly fees and no huge upfront costs.
A Dutch foundation has hit Apple with a lawsuit over the App Store’s developer fees, seeking €5.5 billion euro in damages for what it alleges is monopolistic behavior. In a press release, the Dutch Consumer Competition Claims Foundation stated it was filing a "collective claim" for damages, on behalf of any iPhone or iPad owners in the EU who have downloaded a paid app or made purchases within an app.
Suing Apple for its app store policies on behalf of consumers— instead of developers — might seem like an unusual move on the Dutch foundation’s part. Most of the scrutiny over the tech giant’s so-called “Apple tax” has focused on its deleterious impact on the profits of developers. Just this past January, Apple agreed to settle a class-action settlement by US developers for $100 million.
The Consumer Competition Claims Foundation alleges that Apple’s developer fees were passed on to consumers, in the form of higher prices. “App developers are forced to pass on to consumers the increased costs caused by Apple’s monopolistic practices and unfair terms,” wrote the foundation in its press release.
The foundation is asking EU consumers who purchased an app in Apple’s App Store or made an in-app purchase since September 2009 to join its complaint. The lawsuit is set to be filed in the Amsterdam District Court.
This isn’t the first time Apple is taking heat from Dutch authorities. Apple has yet to comply with a January order from Dutch regulators that requires the company to offer third-party payment options for dating app customers. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is fining Apple €5 million for every week it doesn’t follow through with the order. Dutch regulators have already fined Apple more than €50 million and counting.
But according to TechCrunch, there’s a sign of a potential compromise. Apple is working on an amended proposal of its dating app policy, which will be reviewed by ACM. But even if the two parties reach a consensus, Apple will soon have much larger battles to fight in the EU. The EU is working on finalizing the Digital Markets Act, which will (among a number of other anti-competitive measures) require companies like Apple and Google to allow alternatives for in-app payments.
No matter how advanced your smartphone camera is, shaky, wobbly shots can make your videos look amateurish. This is why stabilizing your smartphone — either with a mount or a tripod — is vital to good mobile filmmaking. But if you want a more stable tool for handheld shots and multiple options for customization, Moment’s new Mobile Filmmaker Cage with MagSafe may just do the trick. The videocage attaches quickly to your phone with MagSafe, and has multiple attachment points that allow you to mount mics, lights, handles and any other filmmaking accessories you need.
The most obvious perk of Moment’s Filmmaker Cage is it allows you to have more manual control over your smartphone. Your smartphone will remain steady as you grip the large, rectangular frame that surrounds it. There’s even the option to add extra handles for even more stability. If you’re sick of dangling cables, there’s also a handy cable management system that lets you tuck in those loose wires. And if you need to pack light and skip the tripod, rest assured that the Filmmaker Cage can stand upright on its own.
If you only use your smartphone to take videos of your cats, the Filmmaker Cage will be overkill. We’ve written about how the iPhone 13’s cinematic mode can mimic the focus capabilities of professional film cameras. While the wealth of stabilization and video editing features are unrivaled on the iPhone 13, it can only do so much. Smartphone filmmakers still rely on a number of tools to perfect their shooting, including mounts, lights, lenses and mics. If you fit into this category of professional filmmaker, or even a serious amateur filmmaker, the Filmmaker Cage may be a good investment.
Unfortunately, the Mobile Filmmaker Cage is only compatible with the iPhone 12 and 13, but older models can work if you use one of Moment’s MagSafe cases. If you’re an Android user, Moment does make cases, lenses and mounts for the latest Samsung and Pixel models. The Mobile Filmmaker Cage is available now on Moment’s site, for $99.
Sennheiser just delivered a pair of updates that could make its audio gear more compelling, particularly at the end of a long work day. To start, an upgrade to the Smart Control app for Android and iOS can automatically change your headphones' EQ, noise cancellation levels and other settings based on your location. This isn't a new feature in the audio world (Sony has offered this for years), but it'll be appreciated if you want to hear colleagues at the office but tune out the world while at home.
The Smart Control revamp also offers a Sound Check feature to help the EQ match your tastes, and user account support helps you carry settings between device. Sennheiser also promises a more intuitive (not to mention sleeker-looking) interface.
The Ambeo soundbar, meanwhile, is becoming decidedly smarter. Sennheiser is launching an "Ambeo OS" platform that expands the TV speaker's functionality. You'll finally get AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect support to stream your music service of choice. And while you can steer the soundbar through Smart Control, you'll also have a web interface if you'd rather navigate from your computer.
This last update won't make the Ambeo's $2,500 sticker easier to handle. It at least provides the kind of connectivity you'd expect for that money, though. And look at it this way: Ambeo OS could make Sennheiser's more affordable soundbar that much more alluring when it arrives later this year.
Apple’s first Friday Night Baseball doubleheader will stream on April 8th. Announced at its recent “Peek Performance” event, the program will see Apple stream two exclusive MLB games every Friday through the end of the regular season. The first doubleheader will feature the New York Mets taking on the Washington Nationals in DC at 7PM ET, with a match between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels to follow at 9:30PM ET. You can see the full schedule on Apple’s website. The company will share the second half of the slate at a later date.
The games will be available to watch for free for the time being. All you need is an internet connection and access to the Apple TV app. An Apple device isn’t necessary. You can download the software on smart TVs from manufacturers like Samsung, LG and Vizio, as well as consoles from Sony and Microsoft. You also don’t have to worry about local blackouts. All 24 games Apple announced today will be available to TV+ users in the eight countries and territories where the company has secured the rights for Friday Night Baseball. Here’s the complete list: the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the UK.
YouTube TV should soon add immersive sound to more platforms. The service is now testing 5.1-channel audio on Android TV (including Google TV) and Roku devices, and expects to make surround sound available on that hardware if all goes "smoothly." The company is still working on support for Apple TV, Fire TV and game consoles, so don't despair if your preferred platform is stuck with stereo.
At present, 5.1 audio requires either a "traditional" Chromecast (before Google TV) or a TV set from LG, Samsung or Vizio with a version of the YouTube TV app that runs at least Cobalt 20. The shows themselves need to offer surround sound, of course, but the enhancement should automatically kick in whenever it's available.
The addition is relatively late when Hulu, Sling TV and other cord cutter services have offered some form of 5.1-channel output for a while. This might give you a reason to try YouTube TV if the audio wasn't to your liking, though, and it'll help make the most of your home theater setup.
We know 5.1 audio is important to many of you, so we wanted to share an update. We’re currently testing 5.1 audio on Google TV, Android TV, and Roku, and if everything runs smoothly, we can expect 5.1 audio to launch on those devices next.
When Soundboks released its Gen 3 portable loudspeaker, I was happy it wasn’t any larger than its predecessors. It was on the edge of being truly portable as it was. Now, the company aims to deliver the same signature output capability in a new, smaller package. The Soundboks Go ($699) is about half the size of the Gen 3, resembling more of a chubby briefcase than an end table, and it continues to offer the incredible battery life and connectivity that have become synonymous with the brand. As a bonus, the company is also launching Direkt, an in-app platform that will offer live stream sets from DJs and artists across the globe to Soundboks users.
The Soundboks Go measures 18 x 12 x 10-inches and weighs about 20 pounds. There’s a convenient carry handle on top, but you can also opt for the $59 shoulder strap accessory. The speaker is composed of one 10-inch woofer and a 1-inch silk dome tweeter enclosed in an ABS and polycarbonate cabinet and protective grill. Inside, the system relies on two 72W class D amplifiers to drive the audio output and its effective frequency range of 40Hz - 20kHz. Where the Gen 3 had generous input (and output) possibilities, the Go has slimmed the options down to a single 3.5mm aux input.
Bluetooth wireless connectivity will likely be the primary audio source for most casual users and just like the previous model, the Soundboks Go will support TeamUp using SKAA wireless technology to communicate with up to three other nearby Soundboks Gen 3 or Go speakers.
The Soundboks Gen 3 and Soundboks Go.
The speaker is built for the outdoors with a rugged silicone rubber bumper around the edges and an IP65 rating – dust-tight and resistant to powerful jets of water but not meant to be submerged.
Battery life appears to be stellar with up to 80 hours at medium volume and around 10 hours at full blast, with 3.5-hours to fully recharge. Like previous models, the battery is removable and swappable if you bring a backup. Plus, you can continuously charge while playing if you have an outlet handy.
The Soundboks app offers a custom EQ, as well as preset sound profiles for extra bass, power and indoor listening. Starting in April, iOS users will get to enjoy the new Direkt live streaming platform as part of the app experience. Every Friday and Saturday night you’ll be able to access live sets from clubs and studios in Copenhagen, Barcelona, London, Los Angeles and more. The streams will be available for 24 hours so users across the globe can all enjoy them.
Pre-orders for the new Soundboks Go ($699) start today and the expected release date is April 26th.
