Demon Slayer: Infinity Castlecame to the United States this weekend, and it’s doing numbers well ahead of projections.
Per the Hollywood Reporter, the film—the first of a trilogy meant to bring the shonen fantasy series to a close—made an estimated $70 million domestic, double the $35-40 million predicted by analysts. But Sony’s been aggressive with marketing it, not to mention the anime itself is pretty popular on its own. It’s the biggest opening ever for an anime film in North America, the biggest-ever animated debut for a September film, and with an additional $30 million from international audiences, brings Infinity’s box office to an estimated $468 million worldwide.
Being a money maker isn’t new for Demon Slayer: in 2022, Sony released the film adaptation of the Mugen Train arc, which was the most succssful opening for a foreign film at the time. While it wasn’t the top movie that weekend, it helped reinvigorate U.S. theaters in the aftermath of the early COVID-19 pandemic and was 2020’s highest-grossing film.
Meanwhile, The Conjuring: Last Ritesfrom September 5 fell by 69% domestically and came in behind Infinity Castle. With a new domestic total of $131.1 million and an extra $60.5 million overseas, its latest total is $332.9 million. It’s now the second highes-grossing movie in the franchise behind the first Nun movie ($366 million) and ahead of The Conjuring 2 ($322.8 million).
As for The Long Walk, the weekend’s other big genre release, it made an estimated $11.5 million domestic. Based on Stephen King’s 1979 novel, the Francis Lawrence-directed film stars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, and Mark Hamill, and has had eavy marketing in recent weeks. Compared to other adaptations of King’s work, that domestic open is below The Monkey and Doctor Sleep, according to Deadline. But at time of writing, its international numbers aren’t out, and we’ll update when they’re disclosed.
Update (9/13/2025 @ 4:23 PM ET): This story has been updated with more recent numbers for Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle.
Google has accidentally leaked its new Nest security cameras and video doorbell line. Setup options appeared in the Google Home app for wired versions of the Nest Cam Indoor (3rd gen), Nest Cam Outdoor (2nd gen), and Nest Doorbell (3rd gen), as reported by Android Authority. The options now appear to have been removed, but an eagle-eyed Redditor also found the new products locked up at Home Depot, ready to go on sale.
Google has already confirmed that it plans to unveil new information about the infusion of its Gemini voice assistant into Google Home on October 1, replacing Google Assistant. That’s likely when we’ll see the new hardware, too. These overdue updates are rumored to include a resolution bump to 2K, a new zoom and crop feature, fresh colors, and a switch to Gemini for Home. There’s also talk of a new subscription option as Nest Aware turns into Google Home Premium, and a new Google Home Premium Advanced plan. Details haven’t been confirmed, so take all of this with a pinch of salt.
As for the design of the new lineup, they look almost identical to the existing range, aside from the colors, which include an eye-catching red. Perhaps in preparation for the new releases, the Nest team recently updated the Home app to provide preview images from the last event before the live view loads, swiping between timeline and events, and better notifications with a static thumbnail expandable to a large animated preview. There was also a raft of performance improvements and some much-needed polish. —Simon Hill
Sony’s Xperia 10 VII Won’t Launch in the US
Courtesy of Sony
Sony stopped selling its flagship Xperia phones in the US last year, and that seems to be continuing with the latest midrange Xperia 10 VII, announced on Friday. It’ll launch in Asia, Europe, and the UK, and it debuts a fresh design language with a horizontal camera bar, much like Google’s Pixel phones (and even the iPhone Air).
It has a 6.1-inch screen, which may sound nice and compact, but it’s slightly bigger than the 6.1-inch iPhone 16. That’s probably because the bezels at the top and bottom of the screen are a little chunky for a modern phone. Still, you get a 120-Hz refresh rate, and some folks will be excited to see the 3.5-mm headphone jack and microSD card slot. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip with a 5,000-mAh battery in tow, and no wireless charging.
As for the cameras, Sony has a 50-megapixel main camera paired with a 13-MP ultrawide, and you can use the dedicated shutter button on the side to snap pics. It’ll cost £399 or €449 in the UK and Europe and goes on sale September 19, the same day as the latest iPhone 17 lineup.
Qualcomm Debuts Quick Charge 5+
This week, Qualcomm announced the next evolution of its fast-charging technology, known as Quick Charge 5+. Qualcomm calls it its “fastest and most versatile charging solution,” which can recharge phones from 0 to 50 percent in five minutes. That was true of the original version of Quick Charge 5, though, which is now more than 5 years old. The advances in Quick Charge 5+ revolve around “advanced thermal control” and “intelligent power delivery” to the standard. It’s less about increasing charging speed and more about maintaining that speed sustainably.
For example, Quick Charge 5+ doesn’t just flow all that juice to the device uninhibited; instead, it “dynamically” regulates that power using a “reduced-voltage approach.” This means it can lower the voltage on the fly to prevent overheating while charging, without impacting performance or battery health.
Qualcomm says its fast-charging technology powers over 1 billion devices, but we’ll have to see if Quick Charge 5+ picks up more mainstream adoption in phones and accessories in the US. Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Summit is coming up on September 23, and the company says devices announced at the conference will support Quick Charge 5+. —Luke Larsen
Ultraloq Enables NFC Unlock for Android Phones
Courtesy of Ultraloq
Smart-lock brand Ultraloq is adept at adding support for the latest smart-home standards into its devices, from Matter to HomeKit. Now, Android users can share a similar experience to Apple Home Key users with an update to its Bolt NFC smart lock ($200), allowing it to work with NFC-enabled Android devices for a tap-to-unlock feature, much like how you tap to pay. It’s a feature often touted for iPhones, and usually, you can’t switch between ecosystems when a device is compatible with both. The Bolt NFC lock will allow for both Apple and Android devices to wirelessly unlock this smart lock with a tap.
“Midaq Alley” (“El Callejón de los Milagros”), the Jorge Fons 1995 gem that launched Salma Hayek’s career, is being re-released by Sony Pictures across Mexico and Latin America, thanks to an agreement between Sony Pictures International Productions and its producer, Alameda Films.
News comes after Spain’s San Sebastian Film Fest announced that it would close the festival’s Classics (Klasikoak) section.
The newly restored 4K version celebrates the 30th anniversary of the iconic film, considered one of the most consequential Mexican films of all time. It won a raft of awards worldwide and represented Mexico at the 68th Academy Awards.
Based on the novel by Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, with a screenplay by Vicente Leñero, the film was produced by the legendary Alfredo Ripstein, whose Alameda Films is now run by his grandson, Daniel Birman Ripstein.
Set in a downtown Mexico City backstreet whose inhabitants’ lives are closely interwoven, the film is split into four clear parts. The first three are named after main characters, and the last one brings the story to an end. Each part begins at the same moment, showing the same game of dominoes, and covers the same time period, but from a different character’s point of view.
“Bringing ‘Midaq Alley’ back to theaters with the support of Sony is a testament to the film’s enduring impact and cultural importance,” said Birman Ripstein, adding: “This new release will allow a new generation of audiences to discover this magical film in a way it has never been seen before.” Restoring the classic to its new restored version took four years, he revealed.
“We are delighted to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime milestone cinematic celebration,” said Philip Alexander, VP and general manager of Sony Pictures Releasing México.
Aside from being the screen debut of Salma Hayek, “Midaq Alley” features a notable ensemble cast of lauded Mexican actors that include Bruno Bichir (“Ozark”) Daniel Giménez Cacho (“Zama”), Juan Manuel Bernal (“Monarch”), Ernesto Gómez Cruz (“The Crime of Father Amaro”), María Rojo (“Valentine’s Wedding”), Tiaré Scanda (“No Man’s Land”) and Margarita Sanz (“Frida”).
The theatrical run of “Midaq Alley” is slated to kick off on Oct. 23 with Sony handling distribution across Mexico and Latin America.
A contingent of right-wing online figures and their followers have been using the recent assassination of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk to punish people they don’t like. That includes a developer at Ghost of Yotei maker Sucker Punch Productions who Sony confirms it has parted ways with after she made a joke on social media about the shooting.
“I hope the shooter’s name is Mario so that Luigi knows his bro got his back,” Drew Harrison, a nearly 10-year veteran of the PlayStation studio, posted in the evening after Kirk was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University. A few hours later, the post was screen-grabbed and shared by anti-woke crusader Mark “Grummz” Kern.
“Suckerpunch Senior Dev celebrates Charlie Kirk’s death,” he wrote. “Ghost of Yotei is dead to me now.” A streamer who goes by Madamsavvy responded, “No more. Cowards keep quiet. The studio deserves to go under.” Kern replied, “No mercy.”
Harrison subsequently shared on social media that people had been contacting her employer angrily trying to get her fired, and posted a screenshot of a barrage of missed calls from anonymous numbers as evidence of an ongoing harassment campaign. Less than 24 hours later, she was fired.
“If standing up against fascism is what cost me my dream job I held for 10 years, I would do it again 100x stronger,” she wrote.
Sony confirmed her departure in an email to Kotaku but declined to comment further. “Drew Harrison is no longer an employee of Sucker Punch Productions,” a spokesperson from Sony Interactive Entertainment wrote.
1 It’s a game. An entertainment. A story a team of creators believes in. They want to make this.
2 it’s a game. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. In fact, why not make the game you want yourself?
A loosely aligned “Gamergate 2.0” movement that grew out of conspiracy theories claiming DEI was ruining gaming has been hoping for this sort of outcome for months. The big PS5 exclusive has been in anti-woke activists’ firing line ever since Ghost of Yotei revealed the open-world samurai series’ latest entry would star a woman named Atsu, played by Erika Ishii.
Fed by an algorithmically juiced YouTube rage factory, certain online culture content creators latched onto one of Ishii’s past comments about abolishing the police as a way to attack the game. Videos with titles like “Ghost of Yōtei DOOMED? Radical Activist Erika Ishii Brings Woke Chaos!” later changed to things like “Ghost Of Yotei New Trailer Sparks BACKLASH, Hiring Activists Backfires For Sony & Sucker Punch” as YouTubers combed LinkedIn for evidence proving that people with opinions they disagreed with were ruining games.
Ghost of Yotei is far from the only high-profile blockbuster game to be dragged into this culture war quicksand. Kern and others attacked Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows as well for featuring an African samurai as one of its two main characters. Developers on the game were reportedly told not to comment on the harassment campaign when the game launched earlier this year.
While Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot condemned attacks targeting employees, he also said at the time the company was working on “tackling the dynamics behind the polarized comments around Ubisoft so as to protect the Group’s reputation and maximize our game’s sales potential.”
Members of the harassment campaign to get Harrison fired from Sucker Punch are already targeting individuals at other game studios and publishers over their social media comments. “Every single studio is compromised,” one of them wrote. “And it’s all American leftists doing this.”
Sony is finally catching up to something Nintendo and Microsoft have had for years. The new PlayStation Family app mainly serves as a mobile extension of on-console parental controls. However, parents also get a few extra perks in the mobile version.
The app includes a “thoughtfully guided” onboarding process. (I imagine many people will prefer their phone or tablet over the console for that.) Once things are set up, parents can do everything they already could on the console. This includes setting playtime limits, viewing activity reports (daily and weekly), managing spending and creating content filters. Parents can also use the app to configure privacy settings for social features.
One of the mobile app’s nicer perks is real-time notifications of what the child is playing. Parents can also approve or deny requests from their children for extra playtime or access to restricted games from within the app. That feature will likely get a lot of use.
The original PlayStation hit U.S. shores 30 years ago today, helping usher in a disc-based gaming revolution that reshaped the industry. Four new consoles and lots of hardware iterations later, PlayStation is the undisputed winner in the high-end console gaming space. What were the top-selling games that helped it get there? A newly released list of the top all-time performers across all PlayStation platformers in the States tells part of the story, and it’s a pretty depressing one.
Circana gaming research director Mat Piscatella released the list of the top 20 games across PlayStation’s history in the U.S. by unit sales to commemorate the PS1’s birthday. Here they are:
Grand Theft Auto V
Minecraft
Red Dead Redemption II
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
The Last of Us God of War (2018)
God of War (2018)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Rainbow Six: Siege
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: WWII
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
The top spots aren’t shocking. GTA 5 and Minecraft are the two best-selling game ever across any platform. Red Dead Redemption II is the fifth-best. Sony’s critically acclaimed first-party blockbusters also rank highly. And then it’s just a sea of Call of Duty. Modern Warfare, Black Ops, good ones, bad ones, it doesn’t matter, they all rank, smothering any greater sense of the breadth, variety, and whimsy of the games released on PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, and PS5 over the years.
“Man, this list makes me sad,” Digital Foundry‘s John Linneman opined. “Most people playing games really only play the same few titles huh.” Big sigh. Much agree. Cultural PlayStation juggernauts that didn’t make the list include but are not limited to: WipeOut, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid 2, Tekken 3, Street Fighter 4, Dark Souls, Nier: Automata, The Witcher 3, Persona 5, and Cyberpunk 2077.
Even now, annualized Call of Duty sequels remain yearly best-sellers, cannibalizing much of the remaining market for big-budget console releases. I keep waiting for the wheels to fall off the Activision military shooter machine, not because the games are terrible or I want anyone to lose their jobs but because I think we have enough Call of Duty to last us another quarter century and I bet all of those developers could make new, original stuff that’s really cool, too.
Some people always want the newest version, but if you’re willing to compromise a little, you can have Sony’s noise-canceling WH-1000XM5 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) for just $300 from Amazon, a steep discount on their usual price. Even though their successor is available, they still offer an extremely good value and number among our favorite active noise-canceling headphones, particularly when you can save $100.
Photograph: Sony
For years now, Sony has been pumping out generation after generation of the WH-1000XM Series headphones with active noise-canceling. Depending on the year, and the most recently released Bose headset, they typically land at or near the top of our roundup of the best noise-canceling headphones.
Not only do they have excellent noise-canceling performance, they also sound amazing. Our reviewer described them as “spacious and well defined, and consequently each and every individual strand of a recording is simple to identify and isolate.” They work well with a variety of different musical styles, thanks to a high level of detail, particularly in the midrange where other headphones sometimes struggle. The highs and lows are clear and deep too, allowing for top-tier sharpness and responsiveness.
They’re consistently light at just 250 grams and extremely comfortable, making them a great option for frequent flyers and noisy commutes, although they might be a little sweaty for working out. They have both Bluetooth and 3.5-mm connection options, and pair up capacitive touch controls with a great app. While not mandatory, the free app for both iOS and Android has settings for tweaking both the equalizer and the active noise-canceling settings.
The biggest difference that most folks will notice between the older XM5 and the newer XM6 is the foldable design, which helps the newer model squeeze into more compact carry-on bags. The XM5 include a compact carrying case though, which should be fine for medium-size backpacks and briefcases.
When we reviewed the Sony WH-1000XM5, we noted that the price relative to other models was the biggest downside, a complaint we’ve made about several iterations of the WH-1000XM headsets. Thankfully, the healthy discount here makes them a much more appealing option, particularly with the newer WH-1000XM6 (9/10, WIRED Review) still priced around $448.
Wow, are we really here again? Already? It’s almost September, folks, and Gizmodo’s consumer tech team is firmly fixed on upcoming events like IFA 2025 in Berlin and Apple’s impending annual iPhone extravaganza (Meta Connect 2025 is mid-month, too!). That being said, there are still a lot of cool gadgets we reviewed in August that deserve one final look back before we dive face-first into a torrential run towards (gulps) CES 2026.
ICYMI (make sure it never happens again), I’m rounding up this month’s best gadgets, which include some wholly unexpected entrants from Lenovo, some not-so-unexpected Pixel 10 drops from Google, and the strongest pair of ANC wireless earbuds I’ve ever shoved in my ears. Bon appétit.
I know, a new Pixel, big whoop, right? In some ways, the eye roll may be deserved, since hardware upgrades weren’t a particularly big focus this year in the new Pixel lineup, but there’s a lot going on under the hood of the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro / 10 Pro XL that may have moved the needle in other ways.
One of those ways, as you may have guessed, is Gemini, which is in every nook and cranny of the new Pixel 10 phones. Some of that phone-focused AI is still finding a purpose, but as Gizmodo’s Senior Editor, Consumer Tech, Ray Wong, noted, there are glimmers of what could be the AI phone to beat. It may be a while until we all actually retrain ourselves to use said features (if we ever do), but on paper, automatically editing photos with AI or helpful, personalized suggestions in Google Maps via Gemini are a palpable shift in the smartphone experience. An additional telephoto camera in the regular Pixel 10 is nice, too, but it’s clear that Google is leaning fully into an AI-powered phone, whether you like it or not.
Okay, picture this: a laptop, but loooooong. Not just long, but rollable, with a screen that extends out like a space-age scroll. This is the type of out-there thinking I love to see in the gadget world. Maybe it’s not the most practical, but damn is it fun. Watching Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable is about as unique an experience as you’ll get in laptops—nay, gadgets in general—and that wild experience is buoyed by what is otherwise a solid machine with strong audio and a great feel.
It’s expensive, at $3,300, and battery life leaves something to be desired, but this is the future we’re talking about here. Long live the long laptop, even if it costs an arm and an oversized leg, and is technically totally unnecessary.
I had no expectations going into testing out Technics EAH-AZ100, but when I put those suckers in my ears, I knew that they were the hi-fi earbuds I’ve been waiting for. As with any hi-fi audio product, they’re expensive at $300, but when you start to hear nuances of songs you’ve heard 1,000 times before (even compressed music played on Spotify), you realize that all those extra pennies are worth it.
Luckily, the EAH-AZ100 also nails another major aspect of wireless earbuds: battery life. With 10 hours of life with active noise cancellation on, these wireless earbuds outlast midrange counterparts by a long margin, and that’s a good thing because once you put these earbuds in, you’re not going to want to take them out.
As long as we’re talking about premo audio, it’s worth mentioning Sony’s new Inzone H9 II. This gaming headset is the counterpart to Sony’s excellent WH-1000XM6 headphones in a lot of ways, delivering excellent sound quality and comfort. Sony also took steps to improve the mic quality over the last generation, which means clearer comms in high-stress games like Counter-Strike 2. Yes, this gaming headset is pricey at $350, but Sony made big strides gen-over-gen, even if the battery life (30 hours) and some of the preset EQ options are somewhat lacking.
If there are two things I love in gadgets and gaming, it’s modularity and nostalgia, and the 8BitDo Pro 3 has those in spades. If you weren’t immediately charmed by this controller’s GameCube-coded look, its many customization options might do the trick.
You can swap A,B,X,Y buttons with colored and gray versions and map everything to your liking. There’s also a USB-C dongle for low-latency gaming, in case you’re getting really serious. Anyone who’s scarred by controller drift will be happy to know that it uses an iteration of Hall effect joysticks that are pretty much immune to the wear and tear that causes drift in the first place. Unfortunately, you can’t wake your Switch 2 with this controller, or most third-party controllers right now, thanks to a shift in the protocol used by Nintendo, but if you’re looking for an all-around great experience for Nintendo or PC, the 8BitDo Pro 3 should be on your radar.
ANC isn’t always the most important aspect of earbuds, but sometimes it can be. And when noise cancellation is a priority (on a plane with a screaming baby), you’re going to want a pair of buds that does it right. Bose’s second-gen QuietComfort Ultra 2 are exactly that, and they improve year-over-year with support for wireless charging, better adaptive ANC, and the ability to see the battery life of your case via the Bose app, so you never have to be without a safeguard against annoying noise.
For $300, you won’t get comparable sound to the aforementioned Technics EAH-AZ100, but Bose still holds it down. Plus, there’s a great transparency mode for when you actually want to allow the world to engage with you.
To be honest, I can’t remember an Android phone that had people as flustered as Nothing’s Phone 3. First, there’s the look: a divisive cubist take on the Nothing aesthetic with an offset camera sensor that drives some people crazy. There’s also the price, which, at $800, had people philosophically unpacking what a flagship phone even is.
No matter where you sit on that spectrum—love it or hate it—Nothing’s Phone 3 made a statement, and even if features like the Glyph Matrix are a bit of a gimmick, it gave us something to talk about. If the metric was to make a phone that isn’t boring, I’d say Nothing succeeded—older chipset and less-than-flagship camera system be damned.
The Switch 2 is great, but it’s only as great as how long you can play it for, and the battery life leaves something to be desired. If you’re looking to extend your Switch 2 battery life on the go, then Genki’s Attack Vector case does just that. It’s only $50 and has an additional battery pack accessory that’s sold for $70. With the added energy pack, Gizmodo Staff Writer Kyle Barr was able to get 2.5 hours of additional juice while playing Cyberpunk 2077 in handheld mode—that effectively doubles the battery life when you have Genki’s charging case equipped.
This isn’t the case you want for protecting your Switch 2 against drops, since it’s on the thinner side, but if you’re looking for something lightweight that gives you a huge battery boost, you can’t go wrong.
Listen, I’m not a fan of smart locks personally. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve filled my home with janky internet-connected outlets and lights, but locking my door with a product like that just feels like a bridge too far. That being said, there is something about a palm-scanning smart lock that does feel objectively cool. Our smart home expert, Wes Davis, praised the TCL D2 Pro for its speed in reading and unlocking, its simple installation process, and its easily removable battery that can be charged via USB-C.
Wes also knocked off points for a buggy setup process and its lack of support for Apple Home and Matter, though, and obviously, if you’re in a cold-weather part of the world, you’re going to need to slide your glove off to get in or use the lock’s not-so-high-tech numpad. Warts and all, though, palm-based smart locks are some Jedi magic if I’ve ever seen it.
The RX1R III is an incredible camera, capable of capturing stunning photos. However, for something Sony waited nearly a decade to update and is charging $5,100 for, it also feels like a missed opportunity. First, the RX1R III is nearly $2,000 more expensive than its predecessor. Plus, it’s missing a handful of features the company really should have included for it to hold its own against other high-end compact cameras, including Fujifilm’s X100VI and GFX100RF, as well as the Leica Q3 family. I love the RX1R III, but I wish it was easier to recommend.
Sony
The RX1R III offers stunning visual quality, but other parts of the camera, including the rear screen and viewfinder, leave a lot to be desired.
New to the RX1R III is a 61-megapixel full-frame sensor Sony first introduced alongside the A7R IV back in 2019. It might be an old component, but having so much resolution in a camera I could carry everywhere felt like cheating.
What hasn’t changed is the glass on the RX1R III. The camera still has the same fixed 35mm f/2.0 Zeiss lens that debuted on the original RX1R in 2012. With past models, autofocus was often an issue, but it turns out the Zeiss lens wasn’t to blame. It was the focusing algorithms on the older cameras.
Like the A7R V, the RX1R III comes with Sony’s flagship Bionz XR image processor and a dedicated chip for AI-assisted subject detection. At first, I was skeptical of the RX1R III’s autofocus capabilities since the camera doesn’t come with a joystick to make it easy to set a focus point manually. As it turns out, it doesn’t need one. The autofocus on the RX1R III feels magical, thanks to its subject tracking. The seven different recognition modes offered by the RX1R III cover most of the things I like to shoot — including people, pets and birds — and getting the camera to lock onto a subject was simple. All I had to do was press and hold the new “AF-ON” button. The camera can be configured to prioritize specific subjects, but I found that wasn’t necessary to do; I could delegate focusing entirely to the camera.
All of that brings me back to the RX1R III’s Zeiss glass. I know some people will be disappointed Sony didn’t add a new lens, but I’m a fan of the decision. For me, the character of that lens has always been part of the appeal of the series, and it’s my favorite aspect of the new model.
A tortoiseshell cat moves toward the photographer.
With Sony’s 61MP sensor behind it, the Zeiss optics can capture photos with a great amount of detail without ever feeling clinical or overly sharp like with many of the company’s G Master lenses. The best way I can describe the rendering is that it’s Leica-like with beautiful, creamy bokeh. With the right light, the RX1R III can produce images that look almost painterly, and reviewing the photos I snapped with it, they’re among some of the best I’ve captured in the 10 years I’ve been shooting.
At the same time, I think Sony deserves credit for greatly improving the color science of its JPEGs. The company has long offered excellent RAW support, but the older I get, the more I appreciate a camera that can produce great images with minimal editing. With the RX1R III, Sony has delivered that. The camera offers a total of 12 JPEG profiles with six custom slots. Two of the default profiles, Film 2 and Film 3, are borrowed from the FX3, and offer calming, muted tones that are a nice contrast to the more vivid colors Sony is typically known for.
As for video, there’s not much to say. The RX1R III can capture 4K footage at 60 frames per second and 1080p clips at 120 fps. That said, as I’ll get to in a moment, Sony’s new model is missing some features that would have made it a competent video camera. As things stand, I think it’s only suited for capturing home videos you don’t plan to share with the world.
Design and handling
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
The first time I looked through the RX1R III’s viewfinder, I thought Sony had sent me a defective unit. The redesigned EVF is now built into the top left of the camera, but the company seems to have pulled the screen from the parts bin, as it only offers 2.36 million dots of resolution. For context, the A7R V has a 9.44-million-dot OLED EVF, while the older A7R IV has a 5.76-million-dot screen. It’s jarring going from the new rear-panel LCD and viewfinder. It also feels cheap. A $5,100 camera should include a top-of-the-line EVF.
The viewfinder is not the only part of the RX1R III that left me confused about what Sony was thinking. There’s the rear screen I just mentioned, which is both better and worse than the one before. On the one hand, it offers nearly double the resolution, thanks to its 2.36-million-dot panel. On the other hand, it’s no longer articulating, which feels like a major step back since it makes shooting candid shots from the hip a lot harder. And forget about vlogging or taking selfies.
Separately, Sony hasn’t weather-sealed the III. Again, that’s a feature I’d like to see on such an expensive camera. Thankfully, battery life is improved, with the RX1R III supporting Sony’s larger NP-FW50 batteries. I could comfortably get a day of shooting out of the latest model if I was good about powering off the camera when I wasn’t using it.
I could overlook all the complaints I mentioned if Sony had just added in-body image stabilization (IBIS). When I reviewed the Fujifilm X100VI last year, that feature alone felt transformational. More than just improving image quality, it made the X100VI into a camera that could shoot in nearly any light. I understand Sony likely wanted to keep the III small and light, but again, $5,100 is a lot to pay to not have a feature that many high-end cameras offer.
Wrap-up
I’ve mentioned a few of the RX1R III’s competitors in passing, but now I think it makes sense to consider where Sony’s new camera fits in the market. Most people shopping for a premium compact camera will probably start their search with the X100VI. If you can find one in stock, it’s significantly cheaper than the RX1R III, coming in at $1,800. Sure, you’re forgoing a full-frame sensor for a smaller APS-C sensor. But for most people, I think that’s a fair tradeoff, especially when the X100VI also offers IBIS, an articulating screen, an optical viewfinder and Fujifilm’s excellent color simulations.
If you want the largest possible sensor, I’d argue Fujifilm’s GFX100RF, which has a medium-format 100MP sensor, makes more sense — even with all of its faults and a price increase coming at the end of the month. There are also the Leica Q3 and Q3 43 to consider. At $6,735 and $7,380 respectively, both are more expensive than the RX1R III, but come with nicer displays, IBIS and Leica glass.
Like I said at the start, I wish the RX1R III was easier to recommend, but it occupies a strange space where it’s not necessarily better or different enough from its rivals. Inflation and Trump’s tariffs likely tied Sony’s hands to a degree, but the company could have still made the new model more compelling by avoiding some of its questionable design decisions.
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Sony increased the price of its PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. by about US$50 from August 21, citing tariff uncertainty and rising costs as the video game industry navigates a slow recovery.
The Japanese electronics giant announced the changes in a blog post on August 20. All three PS5 models will be affected, with the top-end PS5 Pro now priced at $749.99.
The move follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports from countries including Japan and China, which have sparked fears of supply chain disruptions and higher material costs for electronics manufacturers.
Sony raised console prices in several European markets in April. A month later, Microsoft followed suit, increasing prices for its Xbox consoles and accessories in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and the UK.
Industry analysts had expected 2025 to be a strong year for gaming hardware sales, supported by blockbuster titles like Grand Theft Auto VI from Take-Two Interactive and Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2. But with Sony’s latest hike and the delay of GTA VI to next year, optimism about the industry’s growth trajectory has dimmed.
The PlayStation 5, first launched in late 2020, has been a key driver of Sony’s gaming revenue, though demand has cooled following initial pandemic-era shortages. Analysts say higher price tags could further dampen sales just as new premium games were expected to spark renewed console buying.
Sony stressed that the changes apply only to U.S. consoles. Prices in other global markets, as well as accessories for the PS5, remain unchanged.
PlayStation 5 video game consoles are about to get pricier — at least in the U.S.
Starting Aug. 21, the PlayStation 5 will cost $549.99 in the U.S., up $50 from its current price of $549.99, Sony Interactive Entertainment, which makes the device, said Wednesday in a company blog post.
The company attributed the price hike to the “challenging economic environment.” Pricing for the console in markets outside the U.S. will remain the same, the Sony said.
A Sony PlayStation 5 (L) and 5 Pro (C) on display at the Sony headquarters building in Tokyo on Nov. 27, 2024.
RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images
As of Thursday, a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, which lacks a disk drive, will cost $499.99, while the more powerful PlayStation 5 Pro will run $749.99. Sony said it isn’t raising the price of PS5 accessories.
Other gaming console makers have also recently boosted their prices. Microsoft, which makes the Xbox, in May hiked the price of its Xbox Series X by $100 to $599.99. Nintendo, which makes the Switch, in August announced new pricing for its original console in the U.S. that it said was based on “market conditions.”
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.
After Xbox and Nintendo both made their consoles and peripherals more expensive, it was inevitable that Sony would make the same move. Now every version of the PlayStation 5 costs $50 more, no matter if you decide to opt for the all-digital version or the PlayStation 5 Pro. No matter whether you’re an Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo diehard, all your consoles will cost you way more, all down to the economic shitstorm caused by Trump tariffs.
In a blog post, Sony said it was navigating “a challenging economic environment,” which is common code for steering the ship around supply chain and manufacturing issues caused by Trump’s obsession with import taxes. Starting Thursday, Aug. 21, the PlayStation 5 with disc drive will cost $550. Sony hiked the PlayStation 5 digital edition to $500, the same price as the version that could play physical media. Finally, the most expensive console, the PS5 Pro, will demand a whopping $750 from your wallet. All the PS5 accessories are keeping their current prices, but that means if you want a PS5 Pro with a separate $80 disc drive, you’ll end up spending $830 just to play all your PS4 and PS5 game discs with better graphics and performance options.
Before the hike gets into gear, you still have the option to grab a cheaper version. Deals hunter Wario 64 pointed out that the PS5 Slim model Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 bundle still costs $400. Along with the $80 optical drive, it could be the cheapest way to get the stock standard PS5 before tomorrow’s price hikes.
PS5 Disc Drive is still priced at $79. This Digital bundle + disc drive separate is currently the cheapest way to get a PS5 and a disc drive before price increase happen https://t.co/ZsgZRXNft4
Microsoft hiked its digital Xbox Series X console prices up to $550 back in May in response to ongoing Trump tariffs. The Series S went up to $380 from $300. If you want a Series X with the optical drive, you need to pull out $600 from your wallet. Microsoft similarly made its controllers and official headset more expensive as well. While Nintendo kept its Switch 2 price steady at $450, earlier this month, the Mario maker increased prices for its original $300 Switch consoles by $40. The Switch Lite is now priced at $230, but the major blow was news that the Switch OLED now demands $400, just $50 less than the Switch 2. Nintendo also hiked prices of its Switch 2 controllers and other accessories by around $5 after already boosting costs back in April.
With the release of the PlayStation 5 Pro, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has introduced its most powerful gaming console to date. Arriving just before the holiday season, the PS5 Pro aims to offer dedicated gamers and developers enhanced performance and visual fidelity. Here’s a look at what sets this new console apart from the original PS5, as well as the technology driving its upgrades.
A Boost in Graphics Performance and Speed
At the core of the PS5 Pro’s appeal is a significant graphics upgrade. The Pro model boasts a GPU with 67% more Compute Units than the standard PS5, enabling a noticeable increase in graphical processing power. With faster memory and rendering speeds up to 45% quicker, the PS5 Pro promises smoother gameplay experiences, reducing lags and enhancing frame rates for supported games. This improvement gives players a more fluid and responsive feel, particularly noticeable in graphically demanding scenes and fast-paced action sequences.
For developers, this hardware boost opens up opportunities to craft even more detailed and immersive environments. Games that push visual boundaries will especially benefit from these enhancements, offering players an upgraded experience without compromising performance.
Enhanced Ray Tracing for Realistic Lighting Effects
One of the standout features of the PS5 Pro is its advanced ray tracing capability. Ray tracing simulates the way light interacts with surfaces, creating more realistic shadows, reflections, and refractions. On the PS5 Pro, ray tracing processes occur at double, or even triple, the speeds of the original PS5, resulting in richer and more dynamic lighting effects.
This increased speed brings more depth to visual elements, making environments feel more lifelike and textured. In compatible games, players will see clearer reflections on surfaces like water or glass and enhanced shadow accuracy that aligns with natural lighting. This addition to the PS5 Pro emphasizes Sony’s commitment to leveraging the latest graphics technology to elevate the gaming experience.
AI-Powered Upscaling for Sharper Visuals
The PS5 Pro also introduces “PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution,” an AI-driven upscaling technology that applies machine learning to create sharper images and finer details. This technology allows the console to upscale lower-resolution images into higher-quality visuals without requiring developers to redesign game assets from the ground up. By filling in additional details and refining textures, the PS5 Pro aims to create super sharp images that maintain clarity even on high-resolution displays.
For players, this means games will look more polished, even at larger screen sizes. As more game studios incorporate this technology, the PS5 Pro will likely continue to enhance the visual quality of both existing and future titles.
A Growing List of Optimized Games
To maximize the benefits of the PS5 Pro’s advanced hardware, Sony has worked with developers to release free updates for a selection of popular titles, upgrading them with PS5 Pro Enhanced features. These games include Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and many others, ensuring that fans of these franchises will be able to experience them in the best possible quality on the new console. Additional titles are expected to receive similar updates, bringing even more games into alignment with the PS5 Pro’s performance capabilities.
The PS5 Pro’s upgrades not only allow players to enjoy these games as intended by their developers but also open up potential for future games to push visual boundaries even further. Sony’s collaboration with developers shows a commitment to continuously enhancing gameplay experiences for its audience.
Conclusion
The PlayStation 5 Pro brings a range of advancements, from a boosted GPU and improved ray tracing to AI-driven upscaling, delivering a more refined and responsive gaming experience. With a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $699.99 USD, the PS5 Pro includes a 2TB solid-state drive, a DualSense controller, and the game Astro’s Playroom pre-installed. Available now through Sony’s official website and select retailers, the PS5 Pro continues Sony’s focus on pushing gaming technology forward, providing a new option for gamers and developers to explore the next level of interactive entertainment.
The PlayStation 5 Pro is nearly here, as it hits retailers on November 7. If you’ve been on the fence about dropping a cool $700 , Sony just published a that will offer enhanced versions when the console launches later this week.
This list includes modern favorites like Baldur’s Gate 3, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and God of War Ragnarök. It also features newer games like NBA2K 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. All told, it’s a pretty decent start. The console will unlock all kinds of graphical enhancements, like advanced ray tracing, higher frame rates and Sony’s proprietary upscaling system called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution.
However, it’s also worth pointing out some games that aren’t on the list. Gran Turismo 7 is missing, despite an enhanced version already being announced. It must not be ready yet. Final Fantasy XVI is also absent from the list, and that one has . The same goes for both Returnal and Elden Ring. Now, just because these games aren’t on the launch list, doesn’t mean they won’t get enhanced versions down the line. It probably depends on .
The PS5 Pro offers more than just slight graphical upgrades to pre-existing titles. It boasts faster memory, support for Wi-Fi 7 and ships with a large 2TB SSD. Digital Foundry and also found 2GB of additional DDR5 RAM and a user-accessible battery bay. These are all nifty upgrades, though I’m still not sure if all of this adds up to me spending $700.
It’s a slower October than usual in the tech industry, thanks mostly to Google and Microsoft having held their typical fall hardware announcements earlier this year. Still, we’ve seen a fair number of companies reveal new devices in the last two weeks, while Amazon’s October Prime Day raged on. Whether you were busy shopping or watching Elon Musk talk up robotaxis and cybervans, the Engadget team continued to review recently (and not-so-recently) launched products. As usual, this bi-weekly roundup is here to help you catch up, though because I missed last week’s edition (as I was out on time off), the cadence is just a bit off.
From Meta’s Quest 3S VR headset and the DJI Air 3S drone, to Sony’s midrange suite of audio gear, these weeks have coincidentally been about the less premium, more affordable “un-flagships,” if you will. And it turns out you don’t have to throw chunks of your retirement savings at companies to get solid devices that are well worth the money.
Sony LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds reviews
by Billy Steele
Sony
Sony flexes its mobile audio muscle on the LinkBuds Fit, combining great sound with tons of features.
The main thing I learned from Billy’s recent reviews of Sony and Bose headphones is that flagship, premium-level noise cancelation is making its way down to the midrange products. And I, for one, am happy about it. Looks like most of the things you’ll miss if you opt to save some money are features like spatial audio, head-tracking and stuff that’s supposed to be make for a more immersive, intuitive listening experience. Personally, I’m okay missing out on those things for now — I really just want decent sound, good voice quality and competent reduction of background noise.
Definitely check out Billy’s review of Sony’s LinkBuds trio of devices even if you’re not in the market for headphones, because he put his ears through literal pain to test the strangely designed earbuds for us. In fact, a rejected headline for the review was “Why am I in pain?” We salute you, Billy.
by Devindra Hardawar
Meta
The Meta Quest 3S delivers immersive virtual reality for just $300. It’s fast, comfortable to wear and it has a wealth of games and VR experiences to choose from.
The Quest is arguably the industry’s leading VR headset for consumers, especially considering it costs a fraction of alternative options while offering a relatively high-quality immersive experience. Unlike the Apple Vision Pro, which costs $3,500, the new Quest 3S is much more palatable at $300. And, as Devindra observes in his review, it’s comfortable, fast and allows wearers to access Meta’s large library of VR apps and content. To quote Devindra, “It’s not Meta’s first $300 VR headset, but it’s still a tremendous accomplishment.”
DJI Neo and DJI Air 3S reviews
by Steve Dent
DJI
DJI’s Air 3S is the company’s first consumer drone with LiDAR designed to make it safer to fly at night.
Continuing in the trend of excellent products that cost less than usual, the DJI Neo is an excellent drone for just $200. Calling it the best $200 drone ever made may sound hyperbolic, but we truly can’t think of any other drone that cost the same that came close to delivering similar performance as the Neo. And though one of its main drawbacks, according to our reviewer Steve, is that it sounds like a banshee, I honestly think that would be a pro for me just for the pure comedy of it all. I never thought I’d be in the market for a banshee-sounding drone but here I am thinking $200 would be a fair price to pay for the aerial videos I could get, and I could easily lay upbeat, operatic singing over the footage anyway.
On the other end of the spectrum, Steve’s also tested the higher-end DJI Air 3S drone and Canon’s EOS R5 II, both of which will cost you a lot more money. The good news is that Canon’s EOS R5 II is now so much improved that it better takes on Sony’s rival offerings, while bringing intriguing features like eye-control autofocus. Sure, it’s still too early to be reliable. But if you have the money for these premium products, you’ll get to experience bleeding-edge tech, maybe part of the appeal is that they may not always work well.
by Dan Cooper
reMarkable / Engadget
reMarkable adds a color screen to its e-paper tablet, creating a best-in-class distraction-free writing experience.
I know Dan was a bit worried about giving a device as niche as the reMarkable Paper Pro such a high score, but after some discussion, we both agreed it fit. As it stands, the reMarkable Paper Pro is arguably the best e-paper writing tablet with a color screen, even after this week’s announcement of Amazon’s first color Kindle. Per Dan’s review, the Paper Pro not only levels up with the addition of color, but also got much faster and reliable in the process.
I particularly enjoy how much care has been taken to more seamlessly blend handwriting and typed text for a more natural note-taking and annotating experience. And though it falls outside this edition’s general theme of being a less-expensive product with premium specs, I’m still incredibly tempted to find ways to cough up the $600 or so needed to bag myself a Paper Pro with the accessories Dan recommends.
Phoenix Springs and Neva reviews
by Jessica Conditt
I’m not the most engaged gamer, but I love learning about games from Jess. She recently reviewed sci-fi mystery Phoenix Springs and dreamy platformer Neva, with pieces written so beautifully that I can’t help but itch to check out each title so I can feel the way she clearly does about them. Phoenix Springs even follows a technology reporter and covers my favorite genres (science fiction and mystery), while Neva’s art looks simply gorgeous. I don’t yet know if I’ll ever find the time to play new games, but these two have certainly been added to my list.
Upcoming reviews: On the horizon
The Engadget team geeks out about a multitude of things, and as we get started on our holiday gift guide writing, we’re thinking about products we like for ourselves and our loved ones. Many of us love e-readers and writing tablets. I certainly have my eye on one of the new Kindles that were announced this week, particularly the new Kindle Scribe and possibly the Colorsoft. Those won’t be available until later this year, so for now I’ll keep hungrily eyeing the reMarkable Paper Pro. I’ll also be wondering what Amazon hardware chief Panos Panay has up his sleeves, other than cans of Diet Coke — something I learned he (like many people) enjoys when I got the chance to speak with him in an interview this week.
Many of us are millennials and have gigantic soft spots for retro gaming. Our executive editor Aaron Souppouris talked to the folks at Analogue, and you can read his beautifully constructed piece to learn more about the upcoming Analogue 3D.
This week, Apple sort of surprised us by announcing the new iPad mini, which has been tweaked to offer more storage and power with an A17 Pro processor. It’ll also support Apple Intelligence, of course, and though it seems like a minor update, some of my coworkers and I still love the idea of a small tablet. If only it had a better screen.
All of those recently announced things are on our review roster, alongside things like the Google TV Streamer and Samsung Galaxy S24 FE that launched in the last few weeks. As we approach November and all the holiday shopping that brings, hopefully the hardware launches properly slow down. We’re still anticipating an Apple event for Macs, and can still remember being surprised by the announcement of Humane’s AI Pin late last year. But for now, we’re chugging along while occasionally bathing in nostalgia and longing for a simpler time.
It’s been over a year since Peter Parker and Miles Morales joined forces for their epic crossover adventure game on the Sony PlayStation 5. Now they are swinging their way to PCs early next year.
Sony announced at New York Comic Con today that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is getting a PC release on January 30, 2025 on Steam and the Epic Games Store. The fans who got to hear the news first also witnessed the new trailer for the game’s PC remake.
The new release of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will come in two different versions and both have plenty of extra features and perks for those very patient PC players. The “Standard Edition” comes with the full game and all the PS5 updates such as 14 new suits, “Ultimate Levels,” new styles of symbiote suits and an action figure mode in photo mode. The “Digital Deluxe Edition” also comes with five exclusive new suits for Peter and Miles each, early unlocks for Peter’s Arachknight suit, Miles, Shadow-Spirit suit and the web grabber gadget and additional items for photo mode.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 features the two most famous names from the Spider-Verse (not counting Stan Lee) in an expanded version of the Big Apple taking on one of the longest lists of villains in just about any comic book based game. The two take on bad guys like Kraven, Black Cat and Scorpion without giving away too many appearances. Of course, the one most of the fans looked forward to seeing is that deep voiced, slimy symbiote Venom.
Game developer Insomniac confirmed that the studio has no plans to develop story DLC for 2023’s action-adventure Spider-Man 2, likely disappointing many fans who had been hoping for more content.
Spider-Man 2’s New Web Wings Make It Feel Like A Proper Sequel
On October 18, Insomniac and Sony announced that Spider-Man 2 was coming to PC in January, just 15 months after it launched exclusively on PlayStation 5 to rave reviews. It’s one of the fastest turnarounds we’ve seen for a PlayStation-published exclusive title to make the leap to PC and seems to indicate that Sony is fully committed to bringing its hit games to Steam. But for fans hoping that today’s PC port news would come alongside the reveal of story DLC for Spider-Man 2, well, bad news: That’s not happening.
In a post on the official PlayStation Blog announcing Spider-Man 2‘s PC port and what fans can expect, Insomanic’s senior community manager Aaron Jason Espinoza confirmed that the studio isn’t working on or planning any further story DLC for Spider-Man 2 on PC or PS5.
“While we have no additional story content planned for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, we’re delighted to bring all of our previously released post-launch content to the PC version, including New Game+, new suits and color variants, Photo Mode features, and more,” said Espinoza.
Fans had hoped for Spider-Man 2 DLC after the first Insomniac Spider-Man game received three paid DLC episodes that made up an expansion known as The City That Never Sleeps. However, Miles Morales, a standalone Spider-Man spin-off game launched in 2020, never got DLC. Still, fans were hopeful, even wondering if they’d get more Venom content. Today’s news confirms that Insomniac is moving on from Spider-Man 2. The studio is working on a previously confirmed Wolverine game as well as an unannounced X-Men game, which we learned about via malicious hack in late 2023. A Spider-Man 3 is also reportedly happening, too.
Sony announced in January that it planned to create a movie adaptation of its 2015 PlayStation game Until Dawn and the project is moving quickly through production. Earlier this month, director David F. Sandberg posted on Instagram that the film had wrapped shooting, and today Sony production house Screen Gems announced that the movie’s release date will be April 25, 2025.
Until Dawn became a cult favorite among the horror game fans, with a branching narrative that offers dozens of different endings based on a player’s choices. If you haven’t had a chance to experience the original Supermassive Games title yet, the game recently received a timely spooky season from Ballistic Moon. One of the big questions around creating a film from the game source is which of the many possible outcomes will the team choose for the plot? And the other big question is whether Until Dawn will follow in the footsteps of successful game adaptations like or be an absolute trainwreck like ?
So far, the signs seem promising. Director Sandberg has a solid track record in horror with Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation. The final script was written by Gary Dauberman, who worked with Sandberg on Annabelle: Creation as well as penning words for other Annabelle movies, It (2017), It Chapter Two and The Nun.
The game had some notable actors involved, including Hayden Panetierre and Rami Malek. For the movie, Screen Gems tapped a cast including Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, Belmont Cameli, Odessa A’zion and Maia Mitchell. Peter Stormare will also reprise his role of Dr. Hill in the film version.
Note: Xbox Cloud Gaming is not to be confused withXbox Remote Play, which is free and lets you stream Xbox games you own from a console to your phone, PC, or another Xbox over your home network.
This service was only available in Colombia and Ireland, and it enabled up to five friends and family members to share Game Pass Ultimate benefits. It cost €22 per month in Ireland. Unfortunately, this service is no longer available, though this statement from Microsoft gives us some hope that it might launch globally one day:
“On August 15, 2023, the Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family preview program will end as we review what we’ve learned over the past several months and investigate how to build an offer which we can launch worldwide.”
Nintendo Subscriptions
Nintendo Switch Online vs. Expansion Pack
Your options with Nintendo are straightforward. Nintendo is the only console manufacturer that currently offers a family gaming plan.
Switch Online.
Photograph: Walmart
Nintendo’s online multiplayer service costs $4 per month ($8 quarterly or $20 per year) for an individual membership or $35 per year for a family membership. You can play games online with friends, save games in the cloud, use voice chat in supported games, and gain access to a library of more than 100 classic NES and SNES titles. You can also use the Nintendo smartphone app to receive occasional special offers. A family membership covers up to eight separate accounts in your family group and enables you all to play and enjoy membership benefits on multiple Switch consoles simultaneously (an option that is sadly lacking on PlayStation and Xbox).
Courtesy of Nintendo
This newer offering costs $50 per year for an individual membership or $80 per year for a family membership. It gives you everything listed above but adds a library of Nintendo 64 games, Sega Genesis games, and the Happy Home Paradise downloadable content (DLC) for Animal Crossing: New Horizons (you don’t need to subscribe to access the Animal Crossing DLC).
Mobile Subscription Services
Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass, and Netflix Games
Mobile games get a bad rap, but the quality of these titles has slowly begun to change for the better. The services below also strip out ads and in-app payments.
Apple Arcade.
Photograph: Apple
Looking for a library of games for your iPhone or iPad? Step into the Apple Arcade. Boasting more than 200 premium games with no ads or in-app purchases, Apple’s mobile gaming subscription is easy to recommend. The subscription service costs $5 per month or $50 per year, and you can use family sharing to give up to five family members access. Better yet, you can get three months of Apple Arcade for free if you buy a new iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, or Mac. There are some compelling, exclusive games in Apple Arcade, alongside some premium titles that are available in the App Store. Apple adds a few new titles each month, but sometimes removes games, too. Apple Arcade is also included as part of any Apple One subscription.
Got an Android phone or tablet? Consider Google Play Pass. The service includes close to 1,000 games and apps. It costs $5 per month or $30 per year and can be shared with up to five family members. Just like Apple Arcade, Google’s service is free of ads and in-app purchases, but there are no exclusives here. It simply offers access to some popular games you usually have to pay individually for.
You may be surprised to learn that Netflix includes mobile games as part of any Netflix membership. Don’t get too excited—there are more than 80 titles to choose from, some are exclusives and some of them are pretty fun. Learn how to play Netflix games to find out for yourself.
Game Streaming Services
GeForce Now vs. Amazon Luna
Microsoft and Sony have ways to stream games from the internet to your PC, console, tablet, phone, or laptop, but there are a few dedicated services that focus entirely on this game-streaming business model.
Nvidia’s game streaming service is slightly different. It requires a strong internet connection (at least 50 Mbps for the highest quality) and you have to bring your own games. It can plug into your Steam or Epic library, but not every game is supported. This is one of the easiest ways to play the latest games with the best graphics possible if you don’t have a kitted-out PC (graphics cards are still hard to find). There’s a limited free tier that lets you play on a basic rig for up to an hour, but you can pay $10 per month ($50 per year) for Priority service for a decent setup offering 1080p at 60 frames per second for up to six hours, or $20 per month ($100 for six months) for access to an RTX 4080 graphics card for 4K gaming at 120 fps for up to eight hours.
Luna controller.
Photograph: Amazon
Amazon has a game streaming service much like Google’s ill-fated Stadia. Luna is segmented by channels: The Luna+ channel is $10 per month and includes a wide variety of games in different genres, but the Ubisoft+ Channel is $18 per month for access to dozens of Ubisoft games, like Assassins’ Creed. There’s a party game channel called Jackbox for $5 per month, and if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can play a rotating selection of games for free. It works on Windows PC, Mac, Fire TV, Fire tablets, iPad, Chromebooks, and phones. You can use Luna’s controller to play, an Xbox One or PS4 controller, or a keyboard and mouse.
This is Amazon’s fledgling service, and it’s a bit weird. There certainly isn’t enough here to justify an Amazon Prime subscription ($15 per month or $139 per year), but if you already have one, then it’s worth a look. You can get in-game loot in some popular games, free game downloads, free DLC, and a free Twitch subscription (subscriptions to specific Twitch streamers).
We have an alternative type of membership from Humble, and some game publishers have decided that their catalogs are big enough to be offered up as subscription services (though many of their titles are also available through services we already covered).
Courtesy of Humble Bundle
Unlike the other game subscription services on our list, a Humble Choice membership at $12 per month gives you access to a fresh mix of mainstream and indie PC games every month that are yours to keep forever. You also gain access to the Humble Games Collection (a curated library of interesting indies) and special discounts. And 5 percent of every Humble Choice membership is donated to Humble’s featured charity of the month.
Pay $6 per month or $40 per year and you get access to EA titles like FIFA 23, Madden 23, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, and Titanfall 2 on Xbox, PlayStation, or PC. You can also play select new releases for up to 10 hours before launch, get access to in-game challenges and rewards, and snag a 10 percent discount on game downloads, Season Passes, and DLC. The Pro tier at $17 per month or $120 per year upgrades you to premium game editions. For most folks a Game Pass subscription makes a lot more sense.
Note: EA Play is included at no extra cost as part of Xbox Game Pass PC or Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions.
For $8 per month you can play Ubisoft’s library of around 50 “Classics” on your PC. If you want new releases the day they launch, premium editions, DLC, and in-game rewards you must upgrade to Premium for $18 per month, which also enables you to play selected games on Xbox or via the cloud on Luna. This service feels way too expensive for what you get, so it’s only really for die-hard Ubisoft fans who can’t live without all the premium editions and extras.
Note: You can play more than 50 of Ubisoft’s best games through Sony’s PS Plus Extra and Premium subscription services.
Even after I got the fit right, I noticed a darker, fuzzier sound signature than what I experienced in the original pair. This seems to be by design, as one of the main complaints before was a lack of bass, something with which nearly all open earbuds struggle. The new buds add some more punch down low, but it comes at the cost of clarity and presence in the midrange and treble.
Luckily, Sony’s Sound Connect app provides a capable EQ, and after some tinkering with the Excitement preset, including lowering the Clear Bass feature and raising the midrange a notch or two, I was able to squeeze out more crispness in instrumental attacks for everything from snares and guitars to vocals and horns. I still never got things as clear or vibrant as Bose’s pair, but at $100 less, that’s not all that surprising, and I think Sony gets the win for bass.
Open Season
You’re not really buying open earbuds for their sound quality, especially if you’re a picky audiophile like me. They’re much more about melding the vibes of your two realities: blasting podcasts or your favorite ‘80s playlist while keeping in touch with the world (and other humans). WIRED editor Adrienne So loves open earbuds for the gym or other public places where she feels more assured no one is sneaking up on her.
They’re also great for situations where regular buds simply don’t cut it. Like my beloved Bose Frames or the Ray-Ban Meta audio sunglasses, the Linkbuds are great for staying safe while cruising on your bike or ebike on a crisp fall day, where the wind shear would naturally overwhelm the tiny microphones in traditional buds using transparency mode.
I was also genuinely amazed at how well the Linkbuds Open suppressed exterior sounds during calls. On a recent chat with my mom, I could barely hear my own voice as I rolled the dumpsters in from the street, but she hardly noticed the bellowing of the plastic tires covering my voice–and she always lets me know when I’m too loud.
If I could only afford one pair, I’d still choose more rounded earbuds that can snuff out or let in the ambient world with noise canceling or transparency mode respectively, like Apple’s excellent AirPods Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends). I’d also consider the cheaper original Linkbuds, though the battery life is more limiting. Otherwise, if you’re looking for a pair that keeps you naturally present in virtually any scenario, and you don’t mind all the chaos that comes with it, the Linkbuds Open are a solid new option in this still-evolving segment.
