In a late-night email to all employees of Twitter, Elon Musk shared his renewed vision of how he plans to run Twitter.
First things first, all Twitter employees who code and are involved in engineering and design in anyway, will sit on the same floor as Musk.
NEW: Email from Elon to Twitter engineers and designers: “Anyone writing software or doing design should be on the 10th floor of SF HQ. It is intended to be dense and intense. Thanks, Elon.”
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 29, 2022
Although the brief email did not say so explicitly, it refers to seating at Twitter’s offices in San Francisco, according to a person familiar with the company. Musk now works from the 10th floor and is asking that all remaining design and engineering employees at Twitter working on software or related projects to start working daily from the floor as well. The change is expected to happen immediately.
This is on top of the dictum that all engineers, no matter where they are based, have to document the changes they make to the code and send a progress report every week.
Software engineers and managers are expected to ship code every week. “Analytics, documentation…& helping teammates are considered a fundamental part of the job but not a replacement for writing code.” 2/
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 29, 2022
Elon has also asked all team managers to keep a close eye on the employees and identify the weakest members of the team, every week. These employees will then be put on a performance improvement plan for four weeks. In case the employees don’t show any improvement, they are to be terminated immediately.
NEW: Twitter engineers have received another late night email laying out Elon Musk’s expectations. Managers are expected to “identify low performers on a regular basis.” Those employees then have “up to” 4-weeks to improve or they’re out. 1/
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 29, 2022
This piece of news comes to us through Zoe Schiffer of Platformer, the online Tech website which has closely monitored and covered the hirings and terminations of employees since Musk Took over.
As per Schiffer, Musk expects people who are not a part of the engineering team to demonstrate what they have done throughout a week, again, on a week-by-week basis.
Twitter employees who have so far made it through a mass layoff, a mass resignation and spates of firings have come to expect “out of the blue” demanding emails from Musk, an employee told Platformer.
When Musk had announced his vision of Twitter 2.0, over 1200 employees, most of whom were team leaders and some of the oldest employees at Twitter, handed over their resignations and left the company.
Musk, who has been Twitter’s CEO since taking over the company a month ago, oversees Twitter’s engineering and software organization closely. He has demanded that Twitter employees work from the office full-time, reversing a policy put in place by co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey allowing anyone to work remotely full-time. Many engineers who still work at Twitter had already moved their desk space to the 10th floor in recent days, another person familiar said.
The Acolyte will take Star Wars fans on a journey that's "never been done before", according to one of its stars.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar during a junket for His Dark Materials season 3, Dafne Keen teased that the forthcoming TV show – one of many new Star Wars TV shows and movies in development – will be unlike anything fans have seen from Lucasfilm's legendary sci-fi franchise.
Given the secrecy around the Disney Plus show, Keen, who was recently revealed as part of The Acolyte's all-star cast, was hesitant to give too much away. However, the former Logan actor teased some bits about what fans can expect from The Acolyte, including a tiny but important piece of information about its plot.
"I can tease that it's a prequel!" Keen joked when asked what she could say about The Acolyte. "No, I mean, as you know, it's set 100 years before the prequel movies, and it's kind of an explanation of how the Sith infiltrated the Jedi. It's a Sith-led story, which has never been done before.
"It's been really fun to film – the cast is amazing, and the director and crew are just lovely. The whole experience is wonderful, and I'm already excited for people to see it."
Production has begun on “The Acolyte,” an upcoming Original Star Wars series from Lucasfilm coming to @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/g6apnGXSmrNovember 7, 2022
As Keen says, Star Wars: The Acolyte is set a century before the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The series, which began filming in late October, takes place during the High Republic era, a time when the Galactic Republic and the Jedi order were at the height of their powers.
However, not all is as it seems. The show's plot synopsis – as revealed on StarWars.com – confirms that evil forces are stirring somewhere in the galaxy, and it's these events, which play out in The Acolyte, that eventually lead to the Jedi and Galactic Republic's downfall in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. As such, The Acolyte will be fully canon in the Star Wars universe when it launches on Disney Plus.
"The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era," the story synopsis reads. "A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated."
Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) will be the series' primary protagonist, with the former Hunger Games star being cast as the show's lead actor in December 2021. There's no word on who Stenberg is playing, but it's likely to be the former Padawan that the plot synopsis mentions.
Stenberg is joined by a number of recognizable stars in the show. As well as Keen, Lee Jung-Jae (Squid Game season 2), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix Resurrections), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917), Jodie Turner-Smith (Without Remorse), and Manny Jacinto (Top Gun: Maverick) have been cast in supporting roles. Leslye Headland (Russian Doll) is on writing, directing, and executive-producing duties, while Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is among the show's other executive producers.
Star Wars: The Acolyte will comprise eight episodes upon release, though it's unclear when it'll land on Disney Plus – and there's a good chance that it'll find its way onto our list of the best Disney Plus shows when it does launch.
For more Star Wars content, find out how to watch the Star Wars movies in order. Alternatively, read our spoiler-free Andor review, check out our hub on The Mandalorian season 3, or learn how Obi-Wan's solo TV series redeems Star Wars' prequel film trilogy.
SpaceX moved an inch closer to an orbital launch attempt of its Super Heavy first stage and its Starship upper stage rockets. The Elon-Musk-owned space organisation test-fired its super Heavy rockets for about 12 seconds, making it the longest duration for which the massive booster has been fired. The test consisted of igniting at least 11 of the 33 Raptor rocket engines, that constituted the booster.
Earlier this month, SpaceX fired 14 Raptor engines on this booster for a few seconds, which set the record for the most number of rockets fired for this test. Although the attempt this week did not set any new records, it was monumental for its duration, as it proved that the booster rockets can handle load for a sufficient period of time. The latest firing is the longest period of time that so many Raptor engines have been fired at once.
The next step for Musk and his team is to fire a smaller set of rockets from the Super Heavy’s engines for about 20 seconds.
In all likelihood, SpaceX still has a couple of key tests to complete before the combined Super Heavy rocket and Starship upper stage are launched from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas. It is anticipated that SpaceX will conduct at least a short-duration test firing of all 33 Raptor engines simultaneously to gain confidence in the totality of the complex plumbing to fuel and pressurize the rocket’s propulsion system. Then the Starship upper stage will be stacked on top of Super Heavy, and the combined vehicles must complete a wet dress rehearsal.
After completing all of its technical preparations, SpaceX must also obtain a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration, which is in progress but has yet to be completed. While it remains theoretically possible that Starship will make its orbital launch attempt in December, there is an increasing likelihood that the test flight will slip into the early part of 2023.
What must have come as a pleasant surprise for SpaceX is that during the extremely risky test, none of the Raptor rockets malfunctioned, nor were there any major failures. Given SpaceX’s history with Falcon rockets and just risky any experiment with rockets are, this is a major succes for the SpaceX team.
One of Intel’s incoming laptop processors for Raptor Lake has been spotted in a benchmark, and it beefs up the core count compared to its Alder Lake predecessor.
First off, arm yourself with a skeptical attitude as always around these kind of leaks, but the mobile CPU in question is the Core i7-1370P which is the successor to the Core i7-1270P. (It’s part of Intel’s low-power range, which the ‘P’ denotes).
Going by the benchmark which appeared on Geekbench, as surfaced by BenchLeaks on Twitter (via Tom’s Hardware), the Core i7-1370P will have six performance cores and eight efficiency cores, making for a total of 14-cores (and 20-threads, as only the performance cores use hyper-threading).
[GB5 CPU] Unknown CPUCPU: Intel CoreT i7-1370P (14C 20T)Min/Max/Avg: 3475/4486/4438 MHzCodename: Raptor LakeCPUID: B06A2 (GenuineIntel)Scores, vs AMD 5800XSingle: 1655, -4.2%Multi: 10184, -5.2%https://t.co/M9Rb3tkLT2November 28, 2022
That’s notable because the 1270P has 12-cores in total, so with Raptor Lake, Intel is upping the core count to 14 which is a nice boost for the new generation of mobile processors.
The Core i7-1370P – which was benchmarked inside a Dynabook laptop, incidentally – is shown boosting to 5GHz, with a base clock of 1.9GHz.
As for the actual result attained by the Raptor Lake CPU, it managed 1,655 for single-core in Geekbench, and 10,184 in multi-core testing. As Tom’s points out, this compares favorably to the Core i7-1270P, which over an average of a dozen results, pitched in at around 1,590 for single-core and 7,090 for multi-core.
That means the Core i7-1370P is a bit nippier for single-core workloads, at around 4% quicker, but where it really shines compared to its predecessor is in multi-core, where it is almost 45% quicker in Geekbench. Those two extra cores really help the cause of speedy performance in multi-core tasks, as you’d expect, and the architectural improvements from Raptor Lake will drive further gains. Plus the beefed up spec elsewhere won’t hurt either, such as an apparent 200MHz faster boost speed.
Nevertheless, before we get carried away, this is just a single benchmark result, and a leaked one at that. But the promise held by the Core i7-1370P is clear enough, certainly, and as part of the low-power range, Intel should keep this one nice and efficient (with TDP likely to be around 25W to 30W; the 1270P is a 28W part).
This follows on the heels of other recent Raptor Lake spillage which indicates that Intel’s 13th-gen laptop processors will be something special, including a 24-core HX flagship that could boost up to 5.4GHz, no less.
The potential performance from these mobile CPUs could be eye-opening, then, across the entire line-up, and at least with the low-power models, you’re also not going to be fretting on the battery front (how that HX flagship will drain the battery is a point of concern, naturally).
The DualSense Edge is just around the corner, with Sony's first-ever pro controller for the system due in just a few short months. We're bringing you everything we know about the upcoming gamepad.
The DualSense Edge was announced at Gamescom 2022's Opening Night Live presentation. Sony debuted the controller at the showcase with an all too brief teaser, showing off the upgraded controller and its bespoke features that put it some notches above the regular DualSense wireless controller.
Sony is the last of the big three console manufacturers to offer a more advanced controller for its system. Microsoft led the pack with its Xbox Elite Wireless Controller, and again with the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. Then there's the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, which is more standard but offers remarkable battery life over the standard Joy-Con controllers.
Now that Sony has thrown its hat into the ring with the DualSense Edge for PS5, what can we expect? Read on to learn everything we know so far about the DualSense Edge controller.
Thanks to a recent 'Features Trailer' and recent PlayStation Blog post, we've now got a release date and pricing information for DualSense Edge. According to Sony, it'll retail for $199.99 USD / €239.99 / £209.99, launching globally on January 26, 2023 and a month before PSVR 2. Unfortunately, no Australian price was provided.
It puts DualSense Edge above Microsoft's Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, which retails for $179.99 / £159.99 / AU$249.95. With Sony recently pushing up the price of the PS5, we're not surprised that accessories have followed suit. The DualSense costs $69.99 /£59.99/ AU$109.95, while the Xbox Wireless Controller comes in slightly cheaper at $59.99 / £54.99 / AU$74.99.
Across the UK, US, and Europe, DualSense Edge and replaceable stick module pre-orders are exclusive to the PlayStation Direct store. However, this will later be offered to "other participating retailers" on February 23, though no companies were detailed.
The DualSense Edge's silhouette is practically identical to the standard controller. But that's by no means a bad thing. The DualSense is already a slickly designed, comfortable pad that didn't need much refinement in the first place.
Its aesthetic differences are more apparent. The central touchpad is a clean matte black, emblazoned with PlayStation's square, circle, cross and triangle iconography. The d-pad and face buttons have also been changed to black, from the original's white. What we've got holds a striking contrast from the standard white DualSense controller.
The bottom of the controller, which houses the mic, PS button and analog sticks is now a glossier black. The sticks themselves, triggers, as well as the back of the controller, all look to have a more sturdy and textured grip, too.
By far the DualSense's biggest drawback is its meager battery life. Often clocking in anywhere between 4-10 hours from a single charge, it falls well short of the pads on competing systems. Unfortunately, even with Sony's recent reveal, we don't have concrete information on the DualSense Edge's battery life just yet.
Still, it's something that Sony should be keen on improving over the base pad, even if it's just a marginal improvement of a few hours. By comparison, Xbox's Elite Series 2 packs a battery life of around 35-40 hours on a single charge. We don't think the Edge will meet this, considering all of the features it has that Xbox's pad lacks. But we'd like to see an improved battery life of at least around 15-20 hours.
The DualSense Edge might look the part, but its worth as a pro-standard pad will be judged on its features. For the most part, it looks like Sony is pulling out all the stops in this regard.
As you'd expect, the Edge is going to be highly modular. The sticks, stick caps and back paddles can all be swapped out and adjusted based on your personal preferences. Control layout and sensitivity are also fully customizable. Not only will players be able to fully customize their button layouts, they can also adjust stick deadzones, as well as trigger travel distance and sensitivity.
All this can be done, on the fly, from the controller itself. A dedicated Fn (function) button will bring up a separate UI that lets players customize their controller settings at a moment's notice. Additionally, you'll also be able to save profiles for when you'll need them most. Switching from Demon's Souls to Gran Turismo 7? Profile switching will ensure your control setup is good to go no matter what game you're playing.
You can expect all the DualSense's best features to return. Haptic feedback, adaptive triggers and motion controls are all present and accounted for when it comes to the Edge. Lastly, everything come bundled in an included carrying case, and you can charge the controller via USB connection while it’s stored inside.
The battle of PS5 DualSense vs Xbox Series X controller has never been more fierce. Maybe you're platform-dependent or interested in having one on PC. Here's all you need to know.
After two years after launching, the battle between the PS5 and Xbox Series X is underway. Exclusive games, high-value services, and console specs get a lot of attention when deciding which console to pick. But it's important not to underestimate the significance of each console's controller.
A controller can have a significant effect on your gaming experience, so it's worth paying attention to whether or not your chosen console has one that suits you. Interestingly, both Microsoft and Sony have tackled the controller problem differently with their new-gen consoles.
While Microsoft has opted for a refinement of its existing design, Sony went a little further by dropping the DualShock name for DualSense, which introducing new and exciting immersive features, like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Either way, it all helps towards creating the best PS5 games and best Xbox Series X games.
Want to know how the two controllers stack up against one another? We’re putting the PS5 DualSense controller and Xbox Wireless Controller head-to-head, providing an in-depth comparison of the two latest-generation gamepads. If you're curious to know how the consoles specifically stack up against each other, check out our PS5 vs Xbox Series X guide.
While pricing for the Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles is pretty much a match, the controllers do differ slightly. The DualSense controller for PS5 costs $69.99 / £59.99 / AU$95.85, while the Xbox Wireless Controller's standalone price is $59.99 / £54.99 / AU$74.99.
It's worth nothing, though, that you can use all your existing Xbox One accessories on Xbox Series X/S, including older controllers. The same can't be said about the PS5, which only lets you use a DualShock 4 if you're playing a PS4 game via backwards compatibility, while the DualSense cannot be used with a PS4 console at all.
Both companies took different approaches to controller designs with this generation. Sony did away with the traditional DualShock design but Microsoft doubled down, improving its current design in subtle but important ways.
The immediate change you’ll notice with the PS5 DualSense controller is in its white color scheme – which was restricted to limited edition PlayStation controllers in the past – while the central aspect of the controller remains black. While the analog sticks are in the same place, face buttons are now transparent, giving the controller a more premium look.
Otherwise, the touchpad returns, and the light strip embedded within it since the Dualshock 4’s mid-cycle revision is now positioned around the touchpad itself. The ‘Share’ button has been replaced with the ‘Create’ button, which Sony claims they're using to “pioneer new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world”.
The controller is also now charged via USB-C connection, as opposed to the previous micro-USB. USB-C is becoming the new standard, meaning you’ll be able to charge your controller via the same cable you use for many Android phones, recent iPad Pros, MacBooks, or your Nintendo Switch.
That USB-C port can also be found on the Xbox Series X controller, although Microsoft’s changes are much more conservative. For one, a new ‘Share’ button has been added to the center of the controller, hopefully meaning we’ll no longer be digging through menus in the heat of battle to grab a clip.
The D-pad has also been switched out for a hybrid dish-style input that draws inspiration from the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller. That allows more control over complex inputs that you might find in a fighting game. There's also new textured grips on the triggers, helping prevent players from slipping in those tense battle royale encounters. The general outline of the controller has been minimized too, helping smaller hands feel more comfortable when holding it.
The Xbox Series X controller has a nifty feature under the hood. It involves sending information from the controller to the console (and the TV through HDMI) more frequently, allowing your actions to match up with frames on the screen. That shaves milliseconds off of response times and is part of what the company calls Dynamic Latency Input.
The controller works on the same Xbox Wireless Radio infrastructure of the Xbox One, continuing to offer Bluetooth compatibility using Bluetooth Low Energy pairing to make switching devices instantaneous. That's likely to be very helpful if you’re planning on streaming via Xbox Cloud Gaming to other devices you own.
Sony’s DualSense offers much more player-facing technology. The DualSense has its own built-in microphone, so you can use this to talk with your friends online without the use of a headset. In addition, it also offers Bluetooth connectivity, the headline addition is haptic feedback and the adaptive triggers.
This technology, built into the game’s triggers and body, allows players to feel in-game actions, like pulling back the string of a bow or driving through thick mud. It's extremely impressive, and can create some truly amazing sensations that help make games feel more immersive. It's down to developers to implement the tech of course, but expect Sony first-party studios to adopt it regularly.
One drawback to the DualSense that we've noticed is that while it has a bunch of great features, there's also a fairly mediocre battery life. It isn't quite able to rival that of the Xbox Series X controller, which can use AA batteries or a 'play and charge' pack.
Last year, Spotify Wrapped 2021 gave users of the music streaming service a chance to look back on everything that they'd listened to over the past 12 months – the good, the bad, and the just plain weird. So when can we expect Spotify Wrapped 2022 to appear?
The annual summary of music choices should show up inside the mobile app very soon - it's not available on the web interface, or in the desktop apps - and it will be pretty difficult to ignore it once it launches, not least because it'll be everywhere on social media.
While we don't know for sure when Spotify Wrapped 2022 will arrive, we do have one big clue to go off: Spotify tweeted from its official account on November 23, 2022 to say that Wrapped was imminent, so obviously it can't be too far off now.
Turn up the music... it’s almost about damn time for #SpotifyWrapped pic.twitter.com/jKuA4CUryJNovember 23, 2022
We do know that Spotify Wrapped 2021 went live on Wednesday, December 1, while the year before that the stats appeared on December 2, also a Wednesday. The Wrapped 2019 feature, meanwhile, was pushed out into the world on December 5 - which was a Thursday.
You can take your pick really from those dates – December 1 is the most recent one and would make the most sense, as it's the start of a new month. In other words, we are just days away from seeing Spotify Wrapped 2022.
There is already a Spotify Wrapped 2022 website up and running, which you can visit right now. At the time of writing it simply displays a "Wrapped is coming," message, but eventually it will change to show you your listening habits for 2022.
When Spotify Wrapped 2022 does go live, you'll have a host of different statistics and charts to work your way through. For example, you'll be told how many minutes in total you've been listening to music and podcasts on Spotify in 2022.
You'll then be able to dig further down into the presented information: Spotify Wrapped 2022 will show you the music artists you've listened to the most, and the individual songs that have rocked your world.
There will also be a summary of the musical genres that have dominated your listening on Spotify in 2022. If you're embarrassed by some of your song choices, you might want to make sure no one is looking over your shoulder when you load up Spotify Wrapped 2022.
On the other hand, you'll also be able to share your Wrapped 2022 summary with others, if you'd like to. Keep an eye out for Spotify Wrapped 2022 appearing wherever you listen to Spotify – it should show up in the first few days of December.
It seems that Amazon is planning to make some major moves as it plans to dive deeper into the movie business. Although Amazon makes a few original shows and movies for Prime Video, it has so far, stayed away from theatrical releases. That is set to change as reports have surfaced that Amazon is preparing to invest $1 billion annually for movies that will go straight for a theatrical release.
A report from Bloomberg states that Amazon is preparing to produce 12-15 movies in a year. For 2023, the number of movies that Amazon will produce won’t be that high, but that is mainly because they want to test the waters and figure out how to go about things.
Amazon has deepened its investments in original content over the years through its Prime Video streaming unit, as well as its movie and television studios. The company spent $13 billion on content for its video and music streaming services last year, up from $11 billion in 2020, as it looks to remain competitive in the crowded media landscape.
Earlier this year, the e-retailer bolstered its media ambitions when it acquired legendary movie maker MGM Studios for $8.45 billion.
In the past, Jeff Bezos had very categorically said that he wanted Amazon to get into the media and content creation and distribution business, as that would be a great way to get more people to subscribe onto Amazon Prime, and use more of Amazon’s other web services that go beyond e-commerce.
While a $1 billion annual investment for film development is on the lower end of what major Hollywood studios spend each year, its a positive sign for the movie theater business, which has struggled in the wake of the pandemic.
Audiences have returned to cinemas, but because the production pipeline was stalled in 2020 and 2021, fewer movies have been released in cinemas in 2022. Blockbuster films continue to drive significant, sometimes record-breaking, domestic box office numbers, but without a steady slate of new and meaningful content, the overall industry remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels.
It will be interesting to see how the budget is allocated, and if Indian filmmakers and production houses are able to get any of the money earmarked for theatrical releases.
Nvidia’s RTX 4070 Ti has been spotted in an online filing of multiple models from Gigabyte, indicating that we might see the graphics card released soon enough, as previous rumors have suggested.
Gigabyte filed the various RTX 4070 Ti models with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), as flagged up by @harukaze5719, a regular leaker on Twitter (via VideoCardz), and this typically happens not long before products are launched.
GIGABYTE RTX 4070 TiGV-N407TAORUS M-12GDGV-N407TAORUS E-12GD GV-N407TGAMING OC-12GDGV-N407TGAMING-12GDGV-N407TAERO OC-12GDGV-N407TAERO-12GDGV-N407TEAGLE OC-12GDGV-N407TEAGLE-12GDhttps://t.co/7bU4W7Vz6v pic.twitter.com/HLcAa3ZiOeNovember 28, 2022
The RTX 4070 Ti variants filed are as follows:
In theory, then, we should see those graphics cards emerging in the near future, as mentioned. Interestingly, at the same time, Gigabyte also filed Radeon RX 7900 models with the EEC too, but we know those are coming (on December 13, though we aren’t sure if third-party cards will be present on shelves right from the off).
Notably, Gigabyte is unleashing a couple of vanilla reference board models, so those may be first to arrive if the rumor mill is right (although the latest word on the grapevine is that some custom RX 7900 models may actually be available right out of the gate, and not just reference cards, which are those built to AMD’s default base spec).
This is another strong hint that Nvidia has an RTX 4070 Ti in the pipeline for the near future, and the fact that the filings have been made at the same time as RX 79000 models – which are due out next month – suggests a release date that might well marry up with what previously speculation pointed to: namely January 5th. That would be a CES launch, of course, so we shall see…
Remember, it should be no surprise that Nvidia would have this GPU ready to go when you recall that the RTX 4080 12GB was canceled, and this is supposedly going to be the return of that GPU in a different guise (or that’s the theory, anyway). In other words, everything was already in place for this launch, more or less.
The key to the RTX 4070 Ti will naturally be the pricing. How differently will Nvidia pitch it to the canned RTX 4080 12GB, which had an MSRP of $899 in the US? Obviously it will need to be cheaper than this, but how much lower will Team Green go?
Will Nvidia take into account the reaction to the costly RTX 4080 16GB, which has been a clearly unpopular GPU due to its price/performance ratio? (It makes the RTX 4090 look like the high-end graphics card to go for in no uncertain terms, if you can afford what in some instances is only a little bit of an extra outlay, depending on what exact models you compare).
We can perhaps hope for a $699 MSRP in the US for the 4070 Ti, but the reality is given Nvidia’s past pricing form, it’ll probably turn up with a bit of a higher recommended price tag than this; perhaps $749, or even $799. Time will tell, but it’d be nice to see Team Green give consumers a bit of a break in the higher-end GPU market at this point.
The battle of PS5 DualSense vs Xbox Series X controller has never been more fierce. Maybe you're platform-dependent or interested in having one on PC. Here's all you need to know.
Nearly two years since launching, the battle between the PS5 and Xbox Series X is now well underway. While things like exclusive games, high-value services, and console specs get a lot of attention when deciding which console to pick. But it's important not to underestimate the significance of each console's controller.
As peripherals, both the DualSense and the Xbox Wireless Controller are currently enjoying discounts in the Cyber Monday 2022 period. The winter sales event has seen some excellent prices on both gamepad families from PlayStation and Microsoft respectively. Interested in more from both manufacturers, you'll want to keep an eye on the Cyber Monday Xbox deals and Cyber Monday PS5 deals.
A controller can have a significant effect on your gaming experience, so it's worth paying attention to whether or not your chosen console has one that suits you. Interestingly, both Microsoft and Sony have tackled the controller problem differently with their new-gen consoles.
While Microsoft has opted for a refinement of its existing design, Sony went a little further by dropping the DualShock name for DualSense, which introducing new and exciting immersive features, like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Either way, it all helps towards creating the best PS5 games and best Xbox Series X games.
Want to know how the two controllers stack up against one another? We’re putting the PS5 DualSense controller and Xbox Wireless Controller head-to-head, providing an in-depth comparison of the two latest-generation gamepads. If you're curious to know how the consoles specifically stack up against each other, check out our PS5 vs Xbox Series X guide.
While pricing for the Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles is pretty much a match, the controllers do differ slightly. The DualSense controller for PS5 costs $69.99 / £59.99 / AU$95.85, while the Xbox Wireless Controller's standalone price is $59.99 / £54.99 / AU$74.99.
It's worth nothing, though, that you can use all your existing Xbox One accessories on Xbox Series X/S, including older controllers. The same can't be said about the PS5, which only lets you use a DualShock 4 if you're playing a PS4 game via backwards compatibility, while the DualSense cannot be used with a PS4 console at all.
Both companies took different approaches to controller designs with this generation. Sony did away with the traditional DualShock design but Microsoft doubled down, improving its current design in subtle but important ways.
The immediate change you’ll notice with the PS5 DualSense controller is in its white color scheme – which was restricted to limited edition PlayStation controllers in the past – while the central aspect of the controller remains black. While the analog sticks are in the same place, face buttons are now transparent, giving the controller a more premium look.
Otherwise, the touchpad returns, and the light strip embedded within it since the Dualshock 4’s mid-cycle revision is now positioned around the touchpad itself. The ‘Share’ button has been replaced with the ‘Create’ button, which Sony claims they're using to “pioneer new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world”.
The controller is also now charged via USB-C connection, as opposed to the previous micro-USB. USB-C is becoming the new standard, meaning you’ll be able to charge your controller via the same cable you use for many Android phones, recent iPad Pros, MacBooks, or your Nintendo Switch.
That USB-C port can also be found on the Xbox Series X controller, although Microsoft’s changes are much more conservative. For one, a new ‘Share’ button has been added to the center of the controller, hopefully meaning we’ll no longer be digging through menus in the heat of battle to grab a clip.
The D-pad has also been switched out for a hybrid dish-style input that draws inspiration from the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller. That allows more control over complex inputs that you might find in a fighting game. There's also new textured grips on the triggers, helping prevent players from slipping in those tense battle royale encounters. The general outline of the controller has been minimized too, helping smaller hands feel more comfortable when holding it.
The Xbox Series X controller has a nifty feature under the hood. It involves sending information from the controller to the console (and the TV through HDMI) more frequently, allowing your actions to match up with frames on the screen. That shaves milliseconds off of response times and is part of what the company calls Dynamic Latency Input.
The controller works on the same Xbox Wireless Radio infrastructure of the Xbox One, continuing to offer Bluetooth compatibility using Bluetooth Low Energy pairing to make switching devices instantaneous. That's likely to be very helpful if you’re planning on streaming via Xbox Cloud Gaming to other devices you own.
Sony’s DualSense offers much more player-facing technology. The DualSense has its own built-in microphone, so you can use this to talk with your friends online without the use of a headset. In addition, it also offers Bluetooth connectivity, the headline addition is haptic feedback and the adaptive triggers.
This technology, built into the game’s triggers and body, allows players to feel in-game actions, like pulling back the string of a bow or driving through thick mud. It's extremely impressive, and can create some truly amazing sensations that help make games feel more immersive. It's down to developers to implement the tech of course, but expect Sony first-party studios to adopt it regularly.
One drawback to the DualSense that we've noticed is that while it has a bunch of great features, there's also a fairly mediocre battery life. It isn't quite able to rival that of the Xbox Series X controller, which can use AA batteries or a 'play and charge' pack.
Apple has managed to significantly improve the audio quality on the AirPods Pro 2 without the need for support for lossless audio – and in a new interview, Apple engineer Esge Andersen reveals some of the secrets about how that was done.
In short: it's all about the airflow, Andersen told What Hi-Fi? in a wide-ranging discussion. Andersen works for the acoustics team at Apple, and describes how the company wanted to give everybody "an AirPods Max in their pocket".
While the overall design of the AirPods Pro 2 almost identically matches the original AirPods Pro, they have redesigned vents to optimize airflow for the audio drivers, and that was apparently key to getting the improvement in sound.
"When we talk about good sound, it's all about how we move the air in the product – which is kind of weird because it's not talking about the enclosure or how it looks – but it's about ensuring that we also design for airflow," says Andersen.
There was a particular focus on improving the high frequency response apparently, but the AirPods Pro 2 offer both cleaner highs and deeper, more precise bass. There's also delicate tuning at each volume level.
Andersen also revealed how the earbuds are engineered to act slightly differently depending on the device that they're connected to – and that there's a panel of "expert listeners" who help make sure the sound is as impressive as possible.
Apple has been developing its AirPods wireless earbuds since back in 2016, and the introduction of the first pair kickstarted a new wave of technology: pretty much every manufacturer now has a pair of wireless earbuds on sale.
Despite there now being a lot of competition in the space, the AirPods remain the tech to beat here, not least because of the high fidelity and supreme response offered by the AirPods Pro 2 (which we gave four-and-a-half stars out of five too).
Add in the more affordable AirPods 3 and the more expensive AirPods Max, and consumers are well covered in terms of what they can pick up – although in this latest interview Andersen admits that it's impossible to make the audio output perfect for every listener.
The next step would be that support for lossless audio (which is available in Apple Music, don't forget). Apple has previously said that it might have to develop its own alternative to the Bluetooth codec to make its headphones and earbuds ready for lossless.
Black Friday might be over, but the biggest sales event of the year isn't. Cyber Monday – which technically begins on November 28 – marks the real end of some remarkably good online deals. If you're in the market for some new tech before time runs out, you'll need to check out our Cyber Monday deals page.
When it comes to the world's best streaming services, there's always one platform that receives a hefty discount around Black Friday/Cyber Monday: Hulu. And, with Cyber Monday marking the end of the busiest sales period of the last 12 months, the Disney-owned streamer has gotten in on the act again.
Right now, new and returning customers can sign up to a 12-month Hulu subscription for just $1.99 per month at Hulu.com. That works out to less than $24 for the entire year, although you'll be signing up to the ads-based tier if you take advantage of this offer. Still, if you're not bothered about a few adverts being shown every so often during you binge watch sessions, this is a truly spectacular deal – and one you can cancel at any point if you're not enjoying what's on offer.
Hulu: Pay $1.99 a month for a whole year
Hulu never disappoints when it comes to its Black Friday/Cyber Monday Hulu deals offering. Sign up to its With-Ads plan (usually costing $7.99 a month) and pay just $1.99 a month for their first year. With a whole host of critically acclaimed TV shows and movies, this is entertainment not to be missed. Even better, once subscribed, you can add Disney Plus for only $2.99 extra a month and enjoy both for under $5. This deal expires Monday, November 28, so snap one up now.View Deal
This streaming deal ends with Cyber Monday, too – once November 28 makes way for November 29, you won't be able to purchase a Hulu ads-based subscription for under $24 for a good while. So, you'll definitely want to sign up to one.
Still not convinced? Let us to tell you why it's a cracking offer.
For starters, Hulu's back catalog is surprisingly fantastic. There are a number of great shows to check out, covering a wide range of genres so fans of all kinds will find something worth streaming.
In the past two years alone, some of the best Hulu shows of all-time have been released on the platform. Only Murders in the Building, Ramy, The Bear, Pam & Tommy, PEN15, and Reservation Dogs are just six examples of the high quality entertainment available on Hulu – offerings that have regularly received nominations on the awards circuit, too. In the US, these TV series are only available to watch on Hulu (they're streamable on Disney Plus in the UK) so you'll need a Hulu subscription if you want to catch these top-tier shows on one side of the Atlantic at least.
There are plenty of great Hulu movies to discover, too. From Palm Springs and Run, to Prey and Fresh, Hulu runs the gamut of genres to deliver a great package of the best Hulu movies around.
Away from its original content, a Hulu subscription also provides other benefits. Stumping up the cash gives you the option to try out HBO Max, Warner Bros Discovery's streaming platform, for free for a week.
By signing up to a Hulu subscription, you can select an add-on to grab a seven-day HBO Max free trial. Even with HBO Max's own Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal, Hulu's add-on represents significant value for money as it's the only way you can try out HBO Max for nothing, and catch up on House of the Dragon and The Batman. Not too shabby, eh?
Additionally, Hulu is one of the cheaper streaming options around. Ordinarily, it's the second least expensive streamer, with its ads-based subscription costing just $7.99 per month. That means Hulu is only bested by Apple TV Plus ($4.99 a month) when it comes to purchasing a subscription in the US. Other alternatives, such as Netflix ($9.99 per month), HBO Max ($9.99), and Prime Video ($8.99) might have bigger libraries. But, when it comes to saving money on a streaming subscription, Hulu is right up there even when the Cyber Monday sales aren't taking place.
Admittedly, Hulu's Cyber Monday offer for 2022 isn't as good as its predecessor. Last year, a 12-month Hulu subscription could be purchased for less than $12 – that's $0.99 per month. Even so, signing up to this year's $1.99 per month deal is spectacular value for money, with potential customers saving themselves $72 if they do so.
In a year when the cost of living crisis has seen everyday prices spiral – and people subsequently cancel their streaming service subscriptions – this Cyber Monday deal is well worth considering. Sure, HBO Max's own offer is equally tempting, but that $1.99 a month deal runs out after three months, whereas Hulu's lasts for the entire year. For those looking to save as much money as possible from a streaming subscription, Hulu wins hands down – and that, more than anything, is why I'll be picking one up this Cyber Monday.
For more Hulu content, check out all of the Hulu plans and prices available to you. Alternatively, check out our Cyber Monday TV deals and Cyber Monday soundbar deals guides to upgrade your home entertainment system.
If you're keen on foldable phones but aren't fully convinced by the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, then there should soon be another of these innovative devices available to buy: the Huawei Mate X3 is apparently now ready for mass production and should show up soon.
That's according to tipster Wangzai Knows Everything (via Notebookcheck), and the word is that it will follow the design aesthetic laid down by Samsung quite closely – as well as potentially cost significantly less than its rival.
There may be some compromises along the way, with rumors that the handset will have to make do with 4G rather than 5G. It should come running the latest high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor though.
We don't actually know much at all about what the Huawei Mate X3 is going to bring with it, though some clues might be offered up by what we've previously seen on the Huawei Mate X2, which made its debut in February 2021.
That's nearly two years ago, so the Mate X3 follow up is somewhat overdue at this point. The Mate X2 came with an 8-inch screen for its main display, and carried the Kirin 9000 processor as well as up to 12GB of RAM and a quad-lens rear camera.
Those are premium-level specs and it looks as though the Mate X3 will continue that trend, apart from, perhaps, the absence of 5G connectivity. Based on the new leak, the phone might appear at some point in the first half of 2023.
While we really like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and indeed the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, we would also like to see a few more options out there for consumers who want to pick up a foldable phone without having to part with a significant chunk of their savings.
There are of course decent alternatives out there already – like the Motorola Razr and the Xiaomi Mix Fold – but no one else seems to be prepared to invest quite so much into the future of foldables as Samsung are at the moment.
The Huawei Mate X3 could well go some way to giving Samsung more to contend with in the foldables space, but Huawei needs to improve in terms of its international distribution. The Mate X2 isn't easy to get if you live outside of China.
We're hoping that the foldable iPhone and the Pixel Fold show up sooner rather than later, which will go a long way to improve the choice available. There's a good chance that both of these high-profile handsets will make an appearance in 2023.
Intel’s incoming Core i9-13900KS, which will be a new version of the Raptor Lake flagship CPU – one capable of boost to 6GHz right out of the box, no overclocking needed – could be over 20% more expensive than the current 13900K.
As VideoCardz highlighted, this is going by a tweet from hardware leaker @momomo_us who picked up on the 13900KS – and other inbound Raptor Lake processors – being listed at retailer PC Canada (keep your skeptical head firmly on, naturally).
🤔 https://t.co/iglVxe5zQm pic.twitter.com/wjZofzLaF7November 26, 2022
The 13900KS is priced at $927 Canadian Dollars, and comparing that to the price of the existing 13900K at the same retailer, that’s a 22% markup.
A bunch of other Raptor Lake processors are listed and priced here, models which have already been leaked previously (by Microsoft in fact). They include the Core i3-13100 at the other end of the spectrum from the 13900KS, a quad-core processor marked up at $207 Canadian Dollars (or $170 for the 13100F which is the variant that drops the integrated GPU to keep the cost down more).
Intel is set to reveal these new Raptor Lake processors at CES 2023, which isn’t far off now. The Core i9-13900KS and other 13th-gen models turning up at this Canadian retailer is a tantalizing suggestion that they could hit shelves pretty soon after the initial reveal of the CPUs. Typically, we’ll see new models unveiled a while before they actually go on sale – but this is a hint that the wait for additional Raptor Lake silicon won’t be long.
Regarding the actual pricing, these are likely to be placeholders as is often the case when pre-release chips pop up early at retailers, so don’t put too much stock in the price tags shown.
That said, this could be a reasonable rough indication of the kind of premium to expect for the 13900KS compared to the 13900K. At the high-end, you’re always going to be looking at a big dent in your wallet, especially when a chip like the ‘KS’ version of an Intel flagship comes out, so 20% extra may not be an unrealistic proposition. Given that the 13900K is still retailing at up towards the $700 mark in the US, though – albeit Black Friday discounts have chopped it down a bit with some retailers – that could leave the 13900KS at a pretty eye-watering level.
Assuming this is the kind of additional outlay in the cards, will it be worth paying that for what is essentially an extra 200MHz of boost compared to the 13900K? Well, that’s arguable certainly, and it remains to be seen how the 13900KS will perform in terms of the raw grunt it can muster and how that’ll be affected by temperatures and throttling (though the cooling solution used will come into play here, too, obviously).
However, enthusiasts who want the absolute best – the niche market that the KS model is aimed at – will likely stretch to any extra expense without too much difficulty. Let’s face it, these are the folks buying Nvidia’s new Lovelace GPUs which are way, way more expensive than even the 13900KS will be.
Update: Amazon reduced the price of this standing desk by .... $0.01.
Right now, you can save $130 off the FEZIBO electric adjustable height standing desk at Amazon. That brings its price down to just $199.98, making it one of the cheapest standing desk deals we've seen for Cyber Monday. Note that you need to be an Amazon Prime member to access this price as it is a Prime Exclusive.
Many of us have shifted to working from home during the last couple of years, and if your home office furniture is starting to show the strain, Cyber Monday 2022 is a great opportunity to upgrade and this standing desk - Amazon's best-selling one - seems to be a no-brainer.
An electric desk like this gives you the option to switch between sitting and standing, and pick the perfect height for comfortable working. It's controlled via a convenient keypad on the right-hand side, and you can save three presets for quick access. Oh and don't forget to check out our Cyber Monday office chair deals to get the perfect match for your desk.
(Not in the US? Scroll down for deals in your region).
FEZIBO Electric Standing Desk: $329.99 $199.98 at Amazon
Save $100 - This is one of the best deals we've seen on a standing desk this Black Friday. This model normally hovers between $250 and $230, and is a particularly great choice for heavy gaming setups; it can comfortably handle loads up to 155lb, so your multiple monitors and hefty PC will be no problem.View Deal
This isn't this desk's absolute cheapest ever price (it dropped down slightly lower in September) but it's still a huge saving and well worth checking out if you're in the market for a new workstation.
It's not your only option though if you're looking for a standing desk this Black Friday. We've rounded up a collection of other great deals from around the web so you can find the ideal one for your home office.
Vivo Adjustable Standing Desk: $239.99 $159.99 at Amazon
Save $60 - Opting for a standing desk with a crank rather than electronic controls is the way forward if you want to get the cheapest deal possible. It takes a little work to change the height, but this Vivo model is solid and can support up to 88lb of equipment.View Deal
Flexispot Seiffen Laminated Standing Desk: $309.99 $159.99 at Flexispot
Save $150 - This is a huge saving on one of Fleixspot's best-selling standing desks. There's the same discount on all desktop colors, but the black and mahogany options are cheapest. It can support up to 154lb, and you can adjust the height with a simple tap of a button.View Deal
Flexispot EG1 Standing Desk: $299.99 $249.99 at Amazon
Save $50 - This generously sized standing desk can support loads up to 132lb, and is well suited to working from home. Its price tends to fluctuate, but this is almost the lowest it's ever been, and it's one of the best looking adjustable desks in this price bracket.View Deal
VIVO Electric 55 x 24 inch Stand Up Desk: $279.99 $259.99 at Amazon
Save $50 - We've never seen this versatile sit-stand desk discounted at Amazon before, and it's an impressive deal for Black Friday. It has three memory presets so you can switch to your ideal sitting and standing height at the press of a button, and can support loads up to 88lb.View Deal
Flexispot Kana Bamboo Standing Desk: $399.99 $349.99 at Flexispot
Save $50 - This is a hefty saving on a durable standing desk with a top made from bamboo (faster growing and less resource-intensive than wood), coated with water-resistant lacquer. This configuration can support weights up to 154lb.View Deal
Flexispot Quick Install Standing Desk: $299.99 $254.99 at Amazon
Save $45 - Some electric standing desks can be tricky to operate, but not this one, which has just two buttons on its simple control panel. It can hold up to 110lb, and includes cable management tools to keep everything neat. It's back down to its lowest price at Amazon for Black Friday.View Deal
Flexispot Willow Solid Wood Standing Desk: $339.99 $279.99 at Flexispot
Save $60 - This standing desk was good value at full price, and with an extra $60 off it's even more tempting. It has a rubberwood colored top (other options are available for a little extra cash), and can support PC setups weighing up to 154lb.View Deal
No matter where you live, you'll find all the lowest prices for desks from around the web right here, with offers available in your region.
