Ereaders have been exploding in popularity lately – this surge of demand quite possibly steams from people stuck indoors wanting to fill the extra hours in their days with something move constructive than just binge-watching Netflix.
Reading is a fantastic hobby that expands your mind, deepens your knowledge and takes the lid off your imagination. What's even better is that the best ereaders around are currently being discounted by major retailers so you can grab yours without making a dent in your back pocket.
At the moment, the best device available for quality and price is Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite. Currently on sale for AU$179 through Amazon, this ereader is one of the more affordable options in the Kindle series, and the latest iteration is thinner and lighter than ever before.
The Paperwhite has a stunning 6-inch screen with a 300ppi resolution that makes the words sharp and clear, creating a better reading experience overall. It’s also packed with 8GB of storage and is Wi-Fi enabled so you can download books from the Kindle Store whenever you wish.
You’ll also be able to adjust the built-in light from white to warmer hues to reduce eye strain caused by blue light– a nifty feature, especially when you’re in the habit of reading before bed.
However, unlike the Oasis, the Paperwhites chassis hasn’t been designed for single-hand use, so that’s something to keep in mind when deciding what ereader to get.
That said, the Paperwhite does feature IPX8 waterproofing, and the battery will go weeks before you need to recharge – this combined with all of the above features, makes this ebook a perfect companion, whether at home or out-and-about.
If this sounds like the deal you’ve been looking for, don’t hesitate to grab yours today through Amazon and save a handy AU$20.
Grab Amazon’s mid-range ereader and get lost in the immersive world of reading for only AU$179. This nifty ereader is waterproof (so it’s safe from accidental bath incidents), has a glamorous 6-inch screen and is Wi-Fi enabled – everything you need in an ereader. Head to Amazon to secure your very own portable library today. View Deal
You can grab discounts on everything from headphones to appliances in Very's latest bank holiday sales this weekend. We've found our top picks of the best TV, laptop, headphone, smartwatch, kitchen appliance, smart home, and tablet deals from Very's latest bank holiday sales to make sure you're picking up the highest value savings while you shop.
This weekend's highlights include a Samsung Q60 QLED TV with a £200 discount, now available for just £599. Or, you can pick up a super cheap laptop for just £184 if you're looking for a smaller machine for everyday web browsing and lighter work. We've spotted the lowest price yet on the Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones - previously our top rated cans before this year's instalment was released. You'll find them available for just £229 right now, down from £330.
Those are just some of the excellent Very bank holiday sales making their way to you this weekend, so keep scrolling for more tablet deals, smartwatch offers and cheap kitchen appliances as well. We're also rounding up all the latest bank holiday sales right here on TechRadar if you want to see what the rest of the web is up to as well.
Very's top bank holiday sales
Bank holiday TV dealsfrom £169.99 at Very Very's bank holiday sales are dropping prices on everything from high-end Samsung QLEDs to super cheap budget TVs. That means you can save cash on every model and size you could ask for, which is particularly impressive considering the level of savings on offer here.
Save up to £840 on laptops and MacBooksat Very There's some big savings up for grabs on laptops in Very's bank holiday sales this weekend. That means savings in the cheaper price ranges, but we're also seeing plenty of gaming laptops seeing their own price drops and MacBooks are even taking up to £300 off right now as well.
Save big on top brands in tablet dealsat Very From iPads to the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Amazon Fire tablets to cheap Huawei devices, you'll find big savings on top tablets in Very's bank holiday sales.
Big brand headphones discountedat Very There's an excellent selection of headphone deals at Very this weekend, from the lowest price yet on the Sony WH-1000XM3s to a fantastic AirPods Pro discount that's proving particular popular this week. You'll find our top picks just below.
Save up to £50 on smartwatch dealsat Very You'll find Garmin, Samsung, Huawei and Fitbit smartwatches on offer this weekend at Very, with some decent savings bringing these cheaper watches down to lower price points in the bank holiday sales.
Smart home devices up to £100 offat Very There's a massive range of smart home devices reduced at Very right now. From Amazon Echo smart speakers and displays to Blink home security systems and Ring doorbells, you'll find everything you need to kit our your home with the most intelligent gear out there.
Save up to £120 on large appliancesat Very Whether you're looking for a new washing machine, fridge freezer, oven, or hob top you'll find plenty of savings at Very this weekend. With big brands like Hoover, Samsung and Hotpoint getting in on the mix as well there's plenty of quality on offer here.
FDW Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair -$44.99 at Amazon
(roughly £40) Office chairs are in high demand with the rise of remote working, but they can be seriously expensive. This mesh office chair from FDW combines a professional aesthetic with an affordable price tag.View Deal
With millions around the world working from home for the foreseeable future, many will be looking to make improvements to their home office - and should take a glance at this FDW office chair from Amazon.
This is the most affordable chair around that comes with lumbar support, arm rests and a nylon mesh back. At just under $50 from Amazon (roughly £40), it is quite the bargain - especially when you factor in free delivery (restocking fees may apply).
Sadly, it is available in only one color (black) and, in general, like in so many product categories influenced by the current pandemic, prices have been going up rather than down.
The vendor claims the chair offers a breathable mesh seat that will keep you comfortable, even during prolonged sessions.
As expected, this ergonomic office chair also has all the features you'd expect from an entry level model: 360-degree rotation, height adjustable, gas lift, tension control and a classic design.
It can support up to 250 pounds (113kg) and is 20 inches deep and about 22 inches wide, making it ideal for a compact home office setup.
Bear in mind, this chair will arrive flat packed, so is probably not the best choice if you can't handle a little light DIY.
Samsung backed JBL has announced the launch of Bluetooth enabled JBL Professional One Series 104-BT and 104-BTW desktop reference monitors in India. These speakers are aimed at content creators and audio professionals enabling them to stream high-quality audio content both wirelessly and with standard wired connectivity.
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(Image credit: JBL)
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JBL One Series 104-BT speakers price and features
These professional-grade JBL Professional One Series 104-BT and 104-BTW can be paired with both desktops as well as laptops. Available in two different colour options – Black and White, these speakers are priced at Rs. 11, 4999 and can be bought from Flipkart.
Touted to deliver “detailed sound while mixing and editing”, the JBL One Series 104-BT speakers sport high-bandwidth Bluetooth 5.0 to stream audio to stream content from your preferred devices.
Since these speakers are designed to sit on the desktop, the input array is located on the front panel of the speakers for easy access. Apart from the wireless capabilities, the One Series 104 BT Speaker’s offers Aux, RCA and TRS connectivity options.
As per the company, the speakers can offer low-frequency performance at 60Hz and a 60-watt Class D power amplifier distributes 30 watts per speaker offering “clear, undistorted, loudest-in-class output.”
eBay's Plus Month has just over a week to go before it ends, but there's still a bunch of ace daily deals to come before next Tuesday. Today's offering in particular is a ripper, with the online marketplace offering up the Apple Watch 5 for a tiny AU$399, discounting the popular smartwatch by AU$250, or an incredible 38% off!
There's a total of 500 units up for grabs in the Plus-exclusive deal, which unlock in batches of 100 at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm.
Whilst Apple’s latest smartwatch isn’t all that different from the previous model in terms of design, its main change is that it comes with an always-on display for the first time. This means you don’t have to stimulate the watch to show your stats as they’re always displayed on a dimly lit screen.
Along with the usual fitness features you would expect from an Apple Watch, the new model boasts some additional top-of-the-range tracking modes, including an ECG monitor, GPS tracking, impressive heart rate monitoring and more. If you're looking for the very best Apple Watch, this is it!
As we mentioned earlier, this bargain price is only available for 500 units in total, which unlock throughout the day, and you need to be an eBay Plus subscriber to access the discount – if you’re not already a member, signing up is easy and includes a 30-day free trial, so can even just use the latter to score this fantastic smartwatch.
If the Watch is sold-out when you visit the store don't fret, as new units will be dropped at 12pm, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm – make sure to use the code PJT91 at checkout to receive your full discount.
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Remember when tape was en vogue, back in the days before it was displaced by compact discs and then vanished from the consumer market? Well, turns out it's still very much in fashion in the corporate world, where demand for data storage is fast outstripping supply.
Fujifilm has announced it will offer its tape-based Object Archive solution as a service (you could call it TaaS) for a transparent, one-off fee. You can store up to one Petabyte (that’s one million GB) in a datacenter for up to five years for a mere $46,100.
That’s $0.77 cents per TB per month, without the additional egress costs, and there’s even an S3 API for Amazon’s popular cloud storage service.
Data is stored in the newly developed OTF (Open Tape Format) on two copies, in a way that mimics RAID-0; 180 LTO-8 and 350 LTO-7 tapes are provided. For added security, the archived data is also air-gapped.
“The customer can request the latest LTO generation (ie. LTO-9) upon renewal of their subscription. The customer is required to upgrade to the latest tape drive technology (LTO-9 drives if the customer is requesting LTO-9 media) prior to the shipment of media,” Fujifilm told TechRadar Pro.
A shorter 3-year subscription is also available for $35,940, which is slightly more expensive in the long run at $1 per TB per month.
Just bear in mind, this is a cold storage solution, similar to Amazon’s Glacier, and as such is unlikely to suit scenarios where data needs to be moved to and from the storage tier on a regular basis.
Honeywell has delivered on its promise to release a quantum computer with a quantum volume of 64 after announcing its plans to do so back in March.
The company's quantum computer is the highest performing device of its kind currently available and it is also twice as powerful as the next alternative in the industry. This means that Honeywell is now even closer to allowing industries to leverage its quantum computer to solve problems that are impractical to solve with traditional computers.
In a blog post, president of Honeywell Quantum Solutions, Tony Uttley explained what makes its quantum computer so powerful, saying:
“What makes our quantum computers so powerful is having the highest quality qubits, with the lowest error rates. This is a combination of using identical, fully connected qubits and precision control.”
Highest quality qubits
When Honeywell first set out to build a quantum computer, the company made creating the highest quality quantum bits or qubits its top priority. It did this by focusing on eliminating errors present within the system on smaller number of qubits and then working to scale up the number of qubits.
Since there were such low errors in Honeywell's quantum operations, the quantum volume expanded with each new qubit it added to its quantum computer. Quantum volume measures computational ability to indicate the relative complexity of a problem that can be solved by a quantum computer.
Through its partnership with Microsoft's Azure Quantum, Honeywell will soon be able to offer organizations access to its quantum computer both directly through its interface as well as through the Azure Quantum portal.
At the same time, the corporate venture arm of the North Carolina-based company, Honeywell Ventures has invested in Cambridge Quantum Computing and Zapata Computing. Cambridge Quantum Computing focuses on chemistry, machine learning and augmented cybersecurity while Zapata Computing invents algorithms and builds quantum software to challenge today's top supercomputers.
While it might not be here yet, the quantum age is quickly approaching and Honeywell is preparing to become one of the first businesses to offer quantum computing as a service.
Netgear has issued patches to fix security vulnerabilities in two of its routers which can be exploited by an attacker to take full control of the devices remotely.
The two devices that have received patches are the R6400v2 and R6700v3. However, 77 of Netgear's other routers reportedly still remain vulnerable to a zero-day vulnerability that was reported to the company back in January of this year.
The vulnerability, which lies in the HTTPD daemon used to manage the routers, was discovered independently by both Grimm's Adam Nichols and d4rkn3ss from Vietnam's VNPT ISC through the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI).
ZDI has released a report that includes some information about the vulnerability while Nichols has written a lengthy blog post describing it in detail, a Proof of Concept (PoC) exploit and even scripts to find vulnerable routers online.
Zero-day vulnerability
Based on the reports about the vulnerability, affected router models have an HTTPD daemon which does not adequately check the length of data supplied by a user and this allows an attacker to create a buffer overflow when data is copied to a fixed-length variable.
To exploit the flaw in Netgear's routers, an attacker would need to create a specially crafted string capable of executing commands on the device without having to authenticate first. In his blog post, Nichols explained that while stack cookies would normally be able to mitigate this vulnerability, many of Netgear's routers don't use them, saying:
“In most modern software, this vulnerability would be unexploitable. Modern software typically contains stack cookies which would prevent exploitation. However, the R7000 does not use stack cookies. In fact, of all of the Netgear products which share a common codebase, only the D8500 firmware version 1.0.3.29 and the R6300v2 firmware versions 1.0.4.12-1.0.4.20 use stack cookies. However, later versions of the D8500 and R6300v2 stopped using stack cookies, making this vulnerability once again exploitable.”
By default, the HTTPD Daemon these routers is only accessible via LAN, although router admins can enable it so it can be accessed remotely over the internet. However, attackers can still create malicious websites using JavaScript to perform DNS rebinding attacks which would allow them to execute commands remotely on routers that are not accessible over the internet.
If you have Netgear's R6400v2 or R6700v3 router you can download hot-fixes for the vulnerability now but if you have one of the 77 other affected routers, you're out of luck until the company releases patches for them.
If you were hoping the PS5 would launch with some of the games shown during last week’s showcase, we’ve got some bad news: many of the 23 PS5 games shown won’t be available until sometime next year.
The newest game to add to that pile is Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to the smash-hit Horizon: Zero Dawn from developers Guerrilla Games. The game’s director Mathjis de Jonge has confirmed in a video that the team is shooting for a launch ‘sometime in 2021’ and will miss the console’s late 2020 launch window.
The new video, published today on YouTube, has de Jonge walking viewers through the game’s setting (the Pacific Coast of the United States) and highlighting some of the major overhauls coming to the game, which are powered by the PS5’s hefty hardware.
While it's disappointing to hear one of the most anticipated games of the PS5 won't be available right at launch, the video does a great job of showing us what to expect when the game finally gets here: lush, new environments and instant fast-travel with zero loading screens.
The video also gives us our first look at some of the new creatures we'll fight in the Forbidden West and a quick peek at the tribes who inhabit future San Francisco.
So what are we going to play at launch?
At this point the answer isn't incredibly clear. Of the 23 games Sony showed off at its PS5 gameplay showcase, only a handful said they'd launch in 2020.
Among the games we're expecting is Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which Sony has since clarified is a standalone game similar to Uncharted: Lost Legacy, and Astro's Playroom, which Sony says comes pre-loaded on every PS5.
We've also heard that there will be a few cross-gen titles that will be available at or around launch including Destiny 2, Madden 21 and Fortnite. (GTA5 was also shown off at the event, but won't be available on PS5 until 2021.)
For now, it's pretty unclear what exactly we'll be playing, but we'll be keeping a close eye on all the previously announced PS5 games as we get closer to launch.
Which console should you buy? Here's everything we know about PS5 vs Xbox Series X
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Amazon has revealed that its AWS Shield service was able to mitigate the largest DDoS attack ever recorded at 2.3 Tbps back in February of this year.
The company's new AWS Shield Threat Landscape report provided details on this attack and others mitigated by its AWS Shield protection service.
While the report did not identify the AWS customer targeted in the DDoS attack, it did say that the attack itself was carried out using hijacked CLDAP (Connection-less Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) web servers and lasted for three days.
Also check out our roundup of the best antivirus software
Since late 2016, this protocol has often been used in DDoS attacks as CLDAP servers can amplify DDoS traffic by 56 to 70 times is initial size. CLDAP is also a highly sought-after protocol by cybercriminals and it is provided by many DDoS-for-hire services.
DDoS attacks
The DDoS attack mitigated by AWS Shield in February of this year now holds the record for the largest of its kind yet.
The previous record is held by a 1.7 Tbps attack which was mitigated by Netscout Arbor back in March of 2018 and a month before that, GitHub was hit with a 1.3 Tbps DDoS attack.
Both the Netscout and GitHub DDoS attacks abused Memcached servers which were exposed on the internet in order to reach massive bandwidths. During that time, Memcached was a new DDoS attack vector and cybercriminals abused over 100,000 Memcached servers.
Recently though, DDoS attacks have declined in both number and frequency as a result of ISPs, content delivery networks and other internet businesses working together to secure vulnerable Memcached systems. However, Kaspersky released a report last year that said DDoS attacks were on the rise as more DDoS-for-hire websites were launched.
These days DDoS attacks usually peak at around 500 Gbps and are much smaller in scale. The recent attack mitigated by Amazon is an outlier and hopefully doesn't become the norm going forward.
Google might be ready to unveil a new Nest smart speaker that sits somewhere between the Google Home and Google Home Max, according to a new rumor.
The speaker, which was disclosed by a source to 9to5Google, goes by the codename Prince - yes, like the musician - and is poised to rival the Sonos One.
What separates Prince from its predecessors is that it apparently has larger drivers than the Google Home and follows the same mesh fabric design at the Nest Mini, but isn’t quite as powerful as the more expensive Google Home Max.
The speaker will definitely be using Google Assistant and won’t have a screen like the Google Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max – it’ll be voice-only – which makes sense if it's intended to replace the original Home or Home Max.
The source didn’t disclose how much the speaker will cost or when we can expect to see it, but 9to5Google estimates that it will be priced somewhere between the two older smart speakers and might be available alongside the Google Pixel 4a.
When, exactly, that will happen however is still up in the air.
Google Nest Home or the Google Home Max 2?
A few years back, Google placed the vast majority of its smart devices under the Google Nest umbrella, implying that the products were all interconnected and compatible with the Nest series.
Weirdly, though, neither the Google Home Max nor the Google Home got the rebranding and have retained their original names.
Prince could change that by replacing one or both of those speakers if it's truly the happy medium between the Home and the Home Max.
Unfortunately Google IO has been cancelled this year without any word of a replacement event and the latest rumors say we could be waiting until October to get our hands on the next Pixel phone – so don't toss out your old Google Home speaker just yet.
Can't decide which speaker is right for you? Here's our guide to the best smart speakers
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The video communications platform Zoom is currently working on technology that will allow it to block certain users from meetings.
The move comes after the US-based firm faced criticism for shutting down the accounts of three prominent human rights activists who were trying to commemorate the anniversary of Tienanmen Square.
As reported by Forbes, Zoom shut down the meetings and suspended or terminated the host accounts after it discovered that people from mainland China were participating.
The company has since admitted that it made a mistake by shutting down the meetings entirely as opposed to blocking participants by country.
Complying with local laws
Going forward, Zoom will not allow requests from the Chinese government to impact any of its users outside of mainland China.
In a blog post, the company provided further details on the technology it's developing to block meeting participants based on their geographic location, saying:
“Zoom is developing technology over the next several days that will enable us to remove or block at the participant level based on geography. This will enable us to comply with requests from local authorities when they determine activity on our platform is illegal within their borders; however, we will also be able to protect these conversations for participants outside of those borders where the activity is allowed.”
While Zoom's new technology will allow it to remove or block participants based on their location, its video conferencing software can still be accessed using a VPN.
Update:The postponed Amazon Prime Day 2020 date in September could be announced this week, as we also expect official confirmation on the 'Amazon Summer Sale' thought to be happening starting next week, June 22. To avoid confusion and questions, Amazon could finally tell us this year's Prime Day will be delayed to September.
The Amazon Prime Day 2020 UK date will be postponed by two months, according to a reliable report that suggest this year's big Amazon deals will launch in September. This is different from next week's 'Amazon Summer Sale', which is thought to be starting on Monday, June 22, as per CNBC.
It makes sense to delay the start of Prime Day deals for several reasons. First and foremost, consumer are facing an economic downtown and won't be in the mood for a lavish buying spree in July (when the usual Amazon Prime Day date happens).
Yet, if things start to go back to normal, there will be pent up demand to buy again soon after that. Cue: September.
Likewise, many manufacturers in the UK and worldwide might not be ready right now, but they'll soon need something like Prime Day 2020 to start making money again. Many goods are sitting in warehouses while essential goods are prioritized. No one wants to wait until Black Friday 2020 to see in bulk again.
Even if the Amazon Prime Day 2020 date is truly happening in September, we have a lot of questions: on what date or dates will it happen? What Prime Day sales are expected this year? Should you buy on Prime Day or wait until Black Friday?
Let's answer all of those pressing questions while we await for official Amazon Prime Day 2020 details from the company.
The Amazon Prime Day 2020 UK date
The official Amazon Prime Day date is reportedly in September, according to the Wall Street Journal, although no one knows the specific date or, more likely, dates (it's usually two days long). Well, maybe Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos knows.
Last year's Prime Day deals lasted 48 hours, so there were two full days of discounts, and we expect something similar in 2020. Amazon has historically picked a Monday to start the deals and Prime Day usually runs through Tuesday.
If September is indeed the month and it begins on a Monday, that leaves one of four choices for the start of Prime Day 2020:
Monday, September 7, 2020
Monday, September 14, 2020
Monday, September 21, 2020
Monday September 28, 2020
We would have initially thought it would have happened on July 13, or possibly the week before on July 6, so a two-month delay would suggest September 7 or September 14. Amazon may have to work around Apple's iPhone 12 launch date, which is still unknown, but likely to hog the spotlight.
As soon as we catch wind of the Prime Day 2020 date, we'll be sure to update this page so you can prepare your Amazon wish list.
That seems to be the case, although, on the record, Amazon has only stated "Prime Day 2020 has not been announced," according to an Amazon.com retail page. We check this everyday and will update this section when Amazon makes an official statement.
When did Amazon Prime Day get postponed? The shift from July to "at least August" was reported by Reuters on April 3, and then the Wall Street Journal nabbed an exclusive in May that indicated September was the confirmed Prime Day date, with the cause being the coronavirus outbreak. In some parts of the world, Amazon has been limiting the number of items it ships, often prioritizing essential goods.
But, keep in mind, having no Amazon Prime Day date is not out of the ordinary. The company doesn't announce the date until mere weeks ahead of the kick off, when it teases a fraction of its deals list. So, even if it were earlier than September, we still wouldn't know today.
There's also the possibility that Amazon could launch Prime Day is different regions, depending on where they are in the re-opening phase. And then there's speculation that Amazon could scrape Prime Day 2020 entirely.
Buy on Amazon Prime Day? Or wait until Black Friday?
You're going to see a lot of prices are their all-time lowest during Amazon Prime Day, but so will Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020. When you should buy?
The answer is very simple: Amazon Prime Day comes sooner by about three to four months compared to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That's 90 to 120 extra days of enjoying whatever you buy, which is a nice perk. Why wait if you really want it. But if you can hold off, prices on tech tends to drop even more as they age.
What's funny is that because both online shopping events are a such a big win for consumers, Amazon (and to a lesser extend other retail chains) have conditioned us to buy big-ticket items two times a year: Prime Day and Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
Prime Day 2020 deals list: what will be on sale?
The Amazon Prime Day deals list, while a mystery until the deals go live, quite often follows the same trends every year, so we can safely assume what to expect.
The best Prime Day 2020 will almost certainly feature deep discounts on Amazon's own tech. We're talking about Kindle deals, Echo price drops, and Fire TV discounts.
Then there are the staples of every major online shopping event: 4KTVs, DNA kits, and video doorbells – expect all of those to be reduced in price, too. It doesn't hurt that Amazon owns Ring, a video doorbell line it discounts heavily each year too.
How to shop on Prime Day in 2020
1. Check out our deals predictions and, eventually our Prime Day deals list
There are also too many deals available on Prime Day. It's never a problem finding discounts, it's always an issue of figuring out what deals are worth your money. That's why we always set up a curated list during the 48-hour sales marathon.
2. Amazon Prime Day has historically required being a Prime member, so be sure to have a subscription on Prime Day
Amazon started Prime Day in 2015 as a clever way to drive up its Prime subscription count, and this online shopping marathon – conveniently opposite Black Friday – accomplished just that.
You'll need to sign up for Prime (you can get a free 30-day trial), which comes with two-day free shipping and Prime Video access, among other smaller perks. In some cities, Amazon has rolled out free one-day and same-day shipping on certain items.
3. Create a wish list to curate what you want, as there will be loads of deals
You're also going to want to create a wish list ahead of time, which will let you sort out what you want and how much everything costs. This will give you a head start. You'll be able to see which deals dropped in price and which did not.
4. Snap up the best Prime Day 2020 deals before they're gone
The retailer shipped 100,000 lunchboxes, 100,000 laptops, 200,000 TVs, 300,000 headphones, 350,000 luxury beauty products, 400,000 pet products, 650,000 household cleaning supplies, and more than one million toys.
We often find the best deals to go in a matter of minutes, at which time Amazon rolls out a waitlist for those who were just behind the curve.
How competitive were Prime Day deals at Amazon last year?
A price monitoring company called Minderest (as reported by PR Newswire) compared prices of 566 of the most in-demand products over Prime Day to see how they stacked up against rivals stores listed on Google Shopping.
58.05% of them were cheapest on Amazon UK, compared to a massive 81.9% in the US where Amazon is annihilating the competition on a regular basis.
If anything, that UK figure is a testament to how competitive the UK market it is and we did notice other stores having big sales of their own around Prime Day and a lot of price matching happening too.
It's also a solid reminder to double check prices elsewhere on Prime Day (we always do this before highlighting a deal for you) as you might get a better deal from the likes of John Lewis, Currys and Argos.
Amazon devices, as expected, got the best deals with an average 45% reduction on their RRPs compared to 37% in 2018. According to audience research from Numerator, 65.8% of surveyed shoppers said they were extremely or very satisfied with the deals available.
Last year's best Amazon Prime Day deals
Amazon Prime Day 2020 is undoubtably going to be different than any other as the date shifts to later in the year. But we suspect many of the deals will mirror what we saw last year.
Last year Prime members were snapping up products throughout the 48-hour event with over 175 million items sold. That's more than Amazon sold on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
That's why we're re-posting some of the top deals from last year's Prime Day event. It happened in mid-July, meaning some products may change (for example, if there's been a sequel launched since), but the low prices should match come Prime Day 2020.
What did Amazon's rivals do on Prime Day?
Currys kicked of its 'Black Tag' event before Prime Day and it was still going for a few days afterwards too. Out of all the other stores, we'd probably say Currys gave Amazon the biggest fight for TVs, laptops and gadgets. Currys' wide selection of home white goods beat out Amazon too, although Amazon has never really focused on those as much.
John Lewis deals were very popular for Google Home products (not sold on Amazon) and while it was generally price-matching rivals rather than coming up with its own deals, we were happy to send you its way due to most items coming with a free minimum two-year warranty at no extra cost.
Having to pay for delivery on items under £50 was a bit off-putting though on cheaper items and shows a key area where John Lewis are lagging behind the times a little on the UK online retailscape.
So much shopping is done on mobile now either via a browser, or by using a retailer's own app. According to AppsFlyer (as reported by PerformanceIn), the top 100 retail apps took a bit of a beating during Prime Day, not only were new installs down, 53% of them had a decrease of in-app purchases.
And seeing as Amazon's app got through the sale without freezing all the time like it did last year, it's not great news for rival apps.
Overall, more people shopped via mobile at Amazon than ever before on Prime Day. Gone are the days when people tended to browse more on mobile, then fire up the laptop when they got home to actually finish the transaction. And to be fair, on Prime Day, you can't really afford to wait that long due to the risk of deals selling out.
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Rumors have been circulating that Apple’s next generation of flagship handsets – the iPhone 12 range – will sport flat edges, much like the current lineup of iPad Pro devices, which uses a design similar to earlier iPhone models.
The latest leak that lends weight to this theory comes from user @Jin_Store on Twitter, an “Apple Premium Reseller” according to their bio, and arrives in the shape of a number of photos, detailing molds of the alleged devices as well as CAD drawings.
It’s worth noting that we haven’t seen any leaks from this user in the past, so it’s possible that these could just be very dedicated fakes. Typically, these types of objects and images are produced by third-party case makers in order to design cases for future phone releases, and are themselves based on leaked dimensions and specs.
If we are to believe the accuracy of these molds and design documents, the new range of iPhones looks set to return to the squared-edge design that we first saw in the iPhone 4 and has reemerged in the new iPad Pro lineup, departing from the rounded edges most recently seen in the iPhone 11.
There are three different sized molds on show in these images, which would support the four models expected in the lineup – the 5.4-inch iPhone 12, the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Max, and the top-of-the-line 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The CAD drawings also show off a rear camera array that houses three cameras and a flash, although it isn’t clear which model this is.
Similarly, all molds have four holes in their front-facing notches, presumably for the selfie camera array, proximity and light sensors, as well as a slot for the speaker. Interestingly, the smallest mold (presume to be the iPhone 12) has an extra, elongated hole above the speaker.
As always, we won’t know for sure what Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup will look like until the official unveiling (likely towards the end of 2020), but as these rumors continue to pile up, it’s looking likely we’ll see another squared-edged iPhone in our near future.
On a Saturday night in India, it was party time in Jio Platforms, the digital subsidiary of Reliance Industries helmed by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani.
Two more big investors, TPG Capital and L Catterton, put in $600 million (Rs 4,546.80 crore) and $250 million (Rs. 1894.50 crore) respectively in Jio Platforms.
The first investment of the night was from TPG Capital. Though it was speculated that might invest over a billion, it settled for $600 million.
The investment will translate into a 0.93% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis for TPG.
TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with more than $79 billion of assets under management across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth equity, real estate and public equity. Its investments in global technology companies include Airbnb, Uber, and Spotify, among others.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “Today, I am happy to welcome TPG as valued investors in our continued efforts towards digitally empowering the lives of Indians through the creation of a digital ecosystem. We have been impressed by TPG’s track record of investing in global technology businesses which serve hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses, making the societies we live in better.”
Jim Coulter, Co-CEO TPG, said, “We are excited to partner Reliance to invest in Jio. As an investor in growth, change, and innovation for over 25 years – and with a longstanding presence in India -- we are excited to play an early role in Jio's journey as they continue to transform and advance India's digital economy. Jio is a disruptive industry leader that is empowering small businesses and consumers across India by providing them with critical, high-quality digital services. The company is bringing unmatched potential and execution capabilities to the market, setting the tone for all technology companies to come.”
TPG is making the investment from its TPG Capital Asia, TPG Growth, and TPG Tech Adjacencies (TTAD) funds.
L Catterton
L Catterton, the second investor of the night, came up with $250 million. L Catterton’s investment will translate into a 0.39% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis.
Founded in 1989, L Catterton is an investor in consumer-focused brands around the world. With a partnership with LVMH and Groupe Arnault, L Catterton has successfully invested in brands like Peloton, Vroom, ClassPass, Owndays, FabIndia, PVR Cinemas.
Mukesh Ambani said, “I particularly look forward to gaining from L Catterton’s invaluable experience in creating consumer-centric businesses because technology and consumer experience need to work together to propel India to achieving digital leadership.”
Michael Chu, Global Co-CEO of L Catterton, said, “Over our more than 30 year history, we have established a track record of building many of the most important brands across all consumer categories and geographies, from retailers, omni-channel and digitally native brands. We are strong supporters of fostering growth through product development, enhanced digital capabilities and strategic alliances. We look forward to partnering with Jio, which is uniquely positioned to execute on its vision and mission to transform the country and build a digital society for 1.3 billion Indians through its unmatched digital and technological capabilities.”
In total, Jio Platforms has now secured more than $13.7 billion (Rs 104,326.95 crore) by selling about 22.3 stake in around two months time.
Jio Platforms, with more than 388 million subscribers, has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain.
The deals are expected to help RIL retire a substantial chunk of its net debt of Rs 1.6 trillion at the end of March.
Hope for Indian companies
Jio Platforms getting a bucket-load of heavy-duty investments from global biggies also augurs well for Indian business sentiments.
In a climate of anti-China, both in India and elsewhere, these deals are seen as a big booster for India Inc. Some experts see it as a post-coronavirus trend, when the American and Middle-East based global corporations tilt towards India, as against China.
This is also the trigger for other companies in India to seek out big investors from elsewhere. Bharti Airtel is reportedly in talks with Amazon and Vodafone Idea was said to be negotiating with Google, though the latter one has been denied by the company.
(Your one-stop guide to Jio Platforms and its investors is here).
There is a growing consensus among storage manufacturers worldwide that glass could become a vital component in the drive to satiate humanity's thirst for data storage.
Fuelled by the rise in demand high resolution video and growing IoT networkd, IDC predicts the world will produce 175 zettabytes (ZB) of data by 2025, nearly six times more than in 2018.
Given one ZB is equal to one billion TB, it would be reasonable to assume that we will have reached the mind-boggling trillion terabyte mark by the end of the decade.
Microsoft’s Project Silica first brought optical data storage into the limelight. Researchers at the world’s largest software company - and the second biggest hyperscaler next to AWS - managed to pack 75.6TB of data onto a piece of fused silica that was about the size of a 2.5-inch hard disk drive. In comparison, the world's largest hard disk drives currently max out at 20TB and are in a much larger 3.5-inch form factor.
In a statement to IEEE Explore, Seagate CTO John Morris confirmed its R&D lab is also working on using glass as a medium for optical data storage. “The challenge is to develop systems that can read and write with reasonable throughput,” he said.
Needless to say, rivals such as Western Digital, Toshiba and even Samsung are likely to be following the same route.
However, there are some rather significant challenges to be solved first. Right now, the medium is read-only, making it perfect for Write-Once, Read-Many (WORM) use cases.
Further, given there won’t be any terabit internet connection for at least a few decades, backing up one of these monsters to a cloud storage provider might take more than a lifetime, once they hit the market.
Trend Micro has made the decision to remove the Privacy Browser from its Dr Safety Android security suite after a reoccurring flaw was discovered in its software.
As reported by The Register, the vulnerability, which could be abused to trick users into believing that malicious web pages were legitimate, was first discovered by security consultant Dhiraj Mishra who responsibly reported it to the company back in April.
If exploited by an attacker, the bug could be used to alter the address bar on pages viewed in Trend Micro's Privacy Browser. For example, a phishing page designed to steal users' banking credentials could rewrite the URL bar to show the bank's real domain name as opposed to the URL used by the attackers.
Mishra explained that the flaw would be fairly easy to exploit and that an attacker would have plenty of targets to choose from given its install base of 10m people in an interview with The Register, saying:
"To exploit such flaws remotely, an attacker would host a malicious JavaScript packet and if a user visits a page hosting that malicious code, a new window or tab can be opened with a fake URL. There is no way of determining if the URL is authentic or not due to which this could result in capturing sensitive information such as username passwords. Additionally, along with address bar spoofing, attackers could also spoof SSL which makes the attack more difficult to determine the authenticity of the URL."
The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2018-18334, has been confirmed by Trend Micro, though the company has decided to disable the browser outright instead of developing a patch for the flaw. Just by looking at the CVE assignment, you can see that the bug was first discovered in 2018 and the company has tried to deal with it in the past.
Back in January of last year, Trend Micro tried to patch the vulnerability but this year, Mishra was able to identify multiple address spoofing bugs of the same type that had not been fixed in the software. This explains why Trend Micro has now chosen to disable the Privacy Browser all together in its Dr Safety Android app.
Also check out our complete list of the best VPN services
Xbox Series X is the new Xbox that is due for release in late 2020. So far we know when the next-gen Xbox will release, its official name, some of the games we'll be playing, as well as information on backwards compatibility, and how cross-gen game ownership will work under the new Smart Delivery feature.
We also know that it will have a slightly redesigned controller that should be more accessible, and offer 1TB SSD upgrades from Seagate.
From what we've seen so far, it looks like the Xbox Series X will sport a blockier style that's similar to that of a small gaming PC. More importantly, we now know what's inside the console, thanks to Microsoft giving us the Series X's full specs, and we can say for sure that the new Xbox is going to be an absolute powerhouse.
But the Xbox Series X won't be the only next-generation hardware on offer from Microsoft. The company has confirmed that the next-generation family of consoles will be called 'Xbox' and that 'Series X' is just one of the consoles within that family, which is likely to include a cheaper disc-drive free version as well.
So what exactly has Microsoft got to offer with the new Xbox? And how will it compare to the PS5? Let's break down everything we know about the Xbox Series X.
What is it? Xbox Series X will be the next-gen Xbox console.
Xbox Series X release date: "Holiday 2020" - so between October and December.
What can I play on it?Halo Infinite and Hellblade 2 for starters, while all previous generations of Xbox console games will be covered by backwards compatibility.
What will the Xbox Series X cost? No prices yet, and we're not expecting it to be cheap. But Microsoft has said it won't be making the same pricing mistakes as last generation so perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised.
Will Xbox Series X have VR? Microsoft has confirmed Xbox Series X won't have VR at launch, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer saying the company is waiting until Xbox VR is a "no-brainer".
Will coronavirus delay the Xbox Series X release? It doesn't look like this will be the case as Microsoft is citing the same release window.
Microsoft has given the release window of "Holiday 2020" - which means we'll likely see the Xbox Series X release worldwide between October and December this year. That's right, the new Xbox will release worldwide in this window, including in Japan where the Xbox brand has previously had poor sales.
We're expecting the Xbox Series X to release sometime in November as, historically, that's when Microsoft has released its consoles.
It's possible that the release date will be November 26, 2020 (AKA Thanksgiving in the US). An image stating the Xbox Series X is "coming Thanksgiving 2020" (shown above) appeared on a number of product pages around the world briefly before being reverted back to to the previously announced Holiday 2020 release window.
A Microsoft spokesperson responded to TechRadar to clarify, saying: "An Xbox product page in some regions inaccurately listed the launch date for Xbox Series X as Thanksgiving 2020. We are committed to launching Holiday 2020.”
Despite concerns that the Xbox Series X will be delayed due to Covid-19, Microsoft is still citing the same release window and Xbox boss Phil Spencer told IGN: "We have nothing right now that says that we're not going to make the dates that we've been planning."
However, we are expecting the Xbox Series X launch to be digital event as a Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer that the company is adjusting its event calendar due to the pandemic, stating that: "For the remainder of 2020 we are embracing the opportunity to experiment with new platforms to provide our partners, customers and developers the highest quality, digital-first experiences."
Microsoft won't be pinned down on an Xbox Series X price point quite yet – unsurprisingly, given what a sore spot the price of the Xbox One was for fans. At launch, the original Xbox One cost a whopping $499 / £429 / AU$599, which was quickly reduced when Microsoft realized people weren't forking out.
Microsoft has at the very least promised that it's learned from this pricing mistake, with Phil Spencer stating that this time "we will not be out of position on power or price.” That doesn't mean that the new Xbox will be cheap, mind you, it just means the price point will be better aligned with the console's power and the price points of the competition.
After all, Jason Ronald, director of the Xbox platform, gave only a vague reassurance when speaking to Windows Central, saying that Microsoft knew "what reasonable price points are for a console and kind of what customers expect about that".
Price will at least in part be determined by the cost of the components going into the console: Xbox Series X is going to be a lot more powerful than either the Xbox One S or Xbox One X, and that will likely mean we're looking at an even higher price tag on any bundles and Xbox Series X pre-orders.
It could be a while before we get confirmation of the Xbox Series X price - possibly months. Historically we've seen both Microsoft and Sony reveal their console pricing around June or July, but this time things are a bit different. The hot topic of pricing has many on the edge of their seats, as we see just how powerful the PS5 and Xbox Series are, and wonder how expensive the technology will be.
However, it does look like the Xbox Series X could be cheaper than the PS5. Sony Interactive Entertainment's president and CEO Jim Ryan has hinted that the PS5 might not have the 'lowest price' in battle against Xbox Series X
In a wide-ranging interview with GamesIndustryBiz, Ryan addressed speculation around the PS5 cost. While not revealing the price, Ryan suggested the PS5 price could be a significant hit on gamers' savings, and certainly not committing to beating the Xbox Series X on price.
Speaking on whether the potential for a Covid-19-related recession will affect sales of the PS5, a high-value gadget, Ryan said:
"I think the best way that we can address this is by providing the best possible value proposition that we can. I don't necessarily mean lowest price. Value is a combination of many things. In our area it means games, it means number of games, depth of games, breadth of games, quality of games, price of games... all of these things and how they avail themselves of the feature set of the platform."
It seems like we're currently in something of a standoff, with both companies waiting to see what the other will price its next-gen hardware at - possibly so they can undercut each other. It looks like Sony and Microsoft will be waiting until the last possible moment to set their pricing, with plenty of time before then to make adjustments. Still, enough time will need to be set aside before the consoles release between October and December for people to get those pre-orders in.
CPU: 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.8GHz (3.6GHz with SMT) 7nm
GPU: 12 TFLOPs, 52 CUs at 1.825GHz, Custom RDNA 2
Memory: 16GB GDDR6
Storage: 1TB custom NVMe SSD
Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray
Ports: HDMI 2.1 output, 3x USB 3.2, networking port, expanded storage slot, power input
120 fps support
Potential 8K resolutions
Ray-tracing technology
Variable Rate Shading for more stable frame rates
Compatible with Xbox One accessories
Smart Delivery
We now know what Xbox Series X looks like and what it's packing under the hood, and it's going to be an absolute beast of a console.The next Xbox's gaming PC design is pretty apt, considering the next-gen console's internal hardware is comparable to one - so make sure you check out our Xbox Series X spec analysis.
Microsoft has finally revealed the Xbox Series X specifications in full, leaving no one in doubt about how powerful its next-generation games console will be.
The folks over at Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry got a close look at the hardware, and alongside Microsoft have announced the hardware that will be powering the Xbox Series X. According to Digital Foundry, the specs confirm that the Xbox Series X will indeed be twice as powerful as the Xbox Once X… in practise.
Digital Foundry saw an unoptimized version of Gears 5 running on the Xbox Series X running at the equivalent of ‘Ultra’ graphics settings on PC, and it comes with enhanced shadows and ray tracing. Where the cut scenes ran at 30FPS on the Xbox One X, Digital Foundry reported that on the Xbox Series X, it runs at a ‘flawless’ 60FPS. Also, this is an early port – on release we should see even better results.
As expected, the Xbox Series X processor is built into a custom Project Scarlett SoC (System on Chip), which uses an enhanced version of TSMC’s 7nm process. That seven nanometers is important. The smaller the process, the more efficient the chip can be. That means it can provide more performance for less power.
Making sure the chip inside a games console can perform well without using lots of power (and getting hot) is incredibly important. Based on the prototype hardware Digital Foundry seen, the Xbox Series X reportedly ships with a 315W power supply - delivered internally but the console is also equipped with parallel cooling architecture, allowing cool air in and letting that cool air stream through separate areas of the console.
The processor is a customized AMD Zen 2 CPU with eight cores and 16 threads, with a peak speed of 3.8GHz, and a base speed of 3.6GHz.
As Digital Foundry reveals, these frequencies aren’t completely locked, which suggests the Xbox Series X could adjust the power of the CPU based on workload and thermals. So, if you’re playing a game that needs a lot of processing power, the Xbox Series X can give its CPU a boost, and then slow it down when you don’t need it.
Meanwhile, the GPU of the Xbox Series X is revealed as a custom design with 12 teraflops of compute performance, with 3328 shaders allocated to 52 compute units, and runs at a locked 1,825 MHz. Interestingly, there’s no boost clocks for the GPU. It will always run at that speed.
It also uses AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture, and offers ray tracing for photo-realistic lighting.
What does this mean in the real world? It seems the Xbox Series X will have the graphical power acquirement to a gaming PC with an Nvidia RTX 2080 graphics card. So, a very capable device indeed, but maybe not able to compete with the most powerful gaming PCs.
The Xbox Series X also gets 16GB of GDDR6 memory – an upgrade from the Xbox One X’s 12GB GDDR5.
That won’t all be used in games, however. Games will get a total of 13.5GB – 10GB of GPU optimal memory and 3.5GB of standard memory, while the remaining 2.5GB is reserved for the operating system.
The faster GDDR6 memory should also offer a big leap in performance. Match that with a super-fast NVMe SSD, and the Xbox Series X should feel very spritely when used.
There’s still a lot of questions over what kind of performance we can expect from the Xbox Series X, but this is by far the best look at the hardware we’ve seen.
But what else do we know about the Xbox Series X's specs? Well, Microsoft is aiming to get Xbox Series X games to run at 60 FPS in 4K, calling the challenge a "design goal". The console will support up to 120 FPS too.
Despite 4K being the aim, Microsoft has said the Xbox Series X has 8K capability. Phil Spencer even changed his Twitter profile photo to (what appeared to be) a picture of the next-gen Xbox Series X's processor. It said 'Project Scarlett' on it, and was marked with '8K' (pictured above), suggesting Microsoft plans on doing more than simply talking the talk when it comes to 8K.
The Xbox Series X will also feature Variable Rate Shading, which prioritizes effects on different in-game characters and objects for a "more stable frame rate and higher resolution", according to Microsoft.
Not only will games look better, they could be bigger. In an interview with PCGamesN, Samsung revealed that it's talking with Microsoft and pushing the gaming behemoth to adopt ultrawide support for the Xbox Series X.
The Xbox Series X will make good use of having an SSD – a 'Quick Resume' feature for the console will let you "almost instantly" continue with multiple games, without the need to sit through load screens.
Microsoft also aims to improve latency through features such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). According to Microsoft, "ALLM allows Xbox One and Xbox Series X to automatically set the connected display to its lowest latency mode". While "VRR synchronizes the display’s refresh rate to the game’s frame rate, maintaining smooth visuals without tearing". These features aim to minimize lag and make gaming more responsive.
However, don't expect video to do the Xbox Series X's power justice. Xbox boss Phil Spencer believes that it’s been challenging to demonstrate just how much of a leap Xbox Series X will be over Xbox One, as faster and more stable frame rates aren’t something that really comes across in videos.
Speaking to ex-Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-aime on his new podcast (thanks, GameSpot), Spencer lamented the fact that gamers might not appreciate the power of Xbox Series X just yet.
"One of the things I've talked about publicly ... but it's hard to come across, is the way it feels to play games on a box where frame rates are higher, frame rates are more stable," Spencer explained. "The fluidity of it, showing that in video form, is just impossible. How do you show how something feels?"
He went on to add: "We're getting to the point where the immersion feel that you get through fluidity and other things is now up to par with the visual capabilities that we have. How do you share that with people in this kind of world?"
If you're less bothered about the specs and more concerned about whether you can still play physical games on the next Xbox, then you'll be pleased to know that Xbox Series X has a physical disc drive.
Microsoft has also confirmed that all your current Xbox One accessories will work with Xbox Series X, including existing controllers and headsets. But we'd doubt that also includes the ill-fated Kinect motion tracker.
That means that the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 will be forward compatible with Series X, but Microsoft is also launching a next-generation wireless controller to accompany the new console.
But don't expect the Xbox Series X to launch with VR support as, according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, Microsoft is waiting until VR on Xbox becomes a "no brainer". However, right now, the company doesn't see the feature as "so important" on its next-gen hardware.
Xbox Series X has a completely different design to its predecessors. For a start, the next-gen console has an upright tower design - similar to that of a gaming PC. However, Microsoft has confirmed Series X can sit horizontally or vertically.
From what we've seen in the Series X reveal trailer, the console is black with slightly indented cooling vents on the top (with what seems to be a green light inside). The Xbox logo sits small on the top left hand corner of the console and there's still a disc drive - which is placed vertically on the left hand side also.
The Xbox Series X has the following ports: HDMI 2.1 output port, three USB 3.2 ports, one networking port, an expanded storage slot and a power input port.
The console reportedly measures 15.1cm x 15.1cm x 30.1cm and weighs 4.45kg/9.8lbs.
While these images have been circling for a while now, we still weren't entirely sure what that mystery port was - until now. Thurrott claims that sources "familiar with the company's plans" have identified the port as being for storage expansion.
Microsoft hasn't confirmed it this is the case, but we wouldn't be surprised if it was seeing as external storage was supported with the Xbox One - but whether we see it included in the final Series X product is still uncertain.
In addition to the console design, we also know what the new Xbox logo will look like.
Spotted on Reddit by Windows Central, an official trademark listing for the Xbox Series X logo was filed on April 16, 2020, showing a very different look to what we've seen for Microsoft's consoles to date.
The logo shows the word 'Series' in a vertical formation, next to a stylized 'X'. It's a more mature and minimalist design for Xbox, but it's somewhat simplistic and – in our opinion – looks more suited to a sports brand.
According to the patent, this is the Xbox Series X logo we'll see on everything from the console itself to clothing, keychains, toys and even kitchen utensils. Although, we think Microsoft is just trying to cover all bases and it's unlikely we'll see an Xbox Series X spatula anytime soon.
Microsoft is releasing an Xbox Series X controller to accompany its next generation console. The new Xbox Wireless Controller will apparently be more accessible to everyone, as Microsoft has made an effort to refine the size and shape.
This shouldn't be too surprising to anyone that's been following the tech giant, as it's been making waves for accessibility in gaming for a while now with products like the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Along with enhanced accessibility, we'll also be getting a dedicated share button (finally) that will let you share screenshots and videos with your friends.
Microsoft has also revealed that it is optimizing latency in the "player-to-console pipeline" starting with our Xbox Wireless Controller, through a new feature called Dynamic Latency input. According to the company, this feature "synchronizes input immediately with what is displayed", making controls "more precise and responsive".
We got our best look yet at the upcoming Xbox Series X games lineup during the Xbox Series X gameplay reveal on May 7, with Microsoft revealing a roster of third-party games coming to the new Xbox including Dirt 5, Scorn Madden 21 and more. We also got to see gameplay for Assassin's Creed Valhalla for the first time. All of the games shown are optimized for the Xbox Series X (and will therefore make the most of its powerful specs).
But what else do we know about Xbox Series X games so far? During the Xbox Series X's official reveal, Phil Spencer said Series X games will be "more lifelike, immersive and surprising" and that the Xbox Series X will "lead us into the future of gaming". He also stated that 15 Xbox Game Studios are building a huge next-generation library that includes Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga and Halo Infinite.
Not a Halo fan? Don't worry, Xbox Series X will be capable of four generations of backwards compatibility - with the feature available from launch. That means the Series X will be able to play existing Xbox One games like Destiny 2 as well as backward-compatible Xbox 360 and original Xbox games. Not only that, but these games will "play better than ever before" thanks to Microsoft's new HDR reconstruction technique and the Xbox Series X's Quick Resume feature - without requiring additional work from developers.
In addition, the Xbox Series X's powerful specs will enable select backwards-compatible titles to run at higher resolutions or double the frame rate.
Not only is Microsoft doubling down on backwards compatibility, but the company is also introducing a new system called Smart Delivery to the Series X that, in some respects, could be seen as forwards compatibility. During the May 7 reveal, Microsoft revealed just some of the games which will make use of this feature.
With the Xbox Series X, Smart Delivery will seemingly ensure that you have the right version of a game, no matter which Xbox console you’ve bought it on. CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 will make use of Smart Delivery and will offer those who own Cyberpunk on Xbox One the ability to upgrade to the Xbox Series X version for free. In addition, the company has revealed that, while Cyberpunk will be available on Xbox Series X "from the get-go", a "proper, full-blown next-gen" version of the game will come at a later date. This is apparently the upgrade the developer was referring to.
In addition, Microsoft will avoid siloing by taking a cross-generation approach to its first-party games. Talking to Stevivor, Phil Spencer said Microsoft wants to create a console that utilizes Xbox Play Anywhere so you can move seamlessly between devices: "Our goal for our first-party games is that your entitlements will be cross-generation and your Achievements will move effectively with your save game because that’s where they stand.”
In addition to the Xbox Series X games announced at the gameplay reveal, we already have confirmation of a number of other third-party games making their way to the Xbox Series X including a remake of THQ Nordic's cult classic Gothic, Battlefield 6, Gollum, WRC 9, Dying Light 2, Cyberpunk 2077 and Outriders will land on Xbox Series X. In addition, Ubisoft has confirmed that Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, Gods and Monsters and Assassin's Creed Valhalla are coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X - with a new Far Cry also rumored to be coming to the platforms. Ubisoft has even said it could delay these games if the next-gen consoles miss their launch window. We also know Rainbow Six Siege will be available on Xbox Series X and PS5 from launch.
We're also expecting Microsoft's game-streaming service Project xCloud to be out of public testing by the time Xbox Series X releases (with a launch date slated for this year) so we should hopefully be able to enjoy Series X games on-the-go.
For those who aren't quite sold on upgrading to Series X quite yet, but still want to check out the best upcoming games, Microsoft has stated that there won't be Xbox Series X exclusive games for at least a year and, for the foreseeable future, new games are planned to work across the Xbox family of devices. That means you'll still be able to play them on Xbox One.
We knew what the Xbox Series X will look like, a few of the features on offer, and a good deal about specs the next Xbox is boasting. But May 7 was when we first saw Xbox Series X gameplay revealed.
According to Microsoft, this event would see us fans getting a first look at next-gen gameplay, trailers and sneak peeks from Xbox's third-party partners, an update on how devs are utilizing the Xbox Series X and, finally, confirmation of the Xbox Series X games that will use Smart Delivery.
With no look at the console itself, or its interface features, this was all about third-party titles – and ultimately we felt it was a little underwhelming, with no standout titles to shout about.
However, this May 7 event is only the start of Microsoft's next-gen reveal plans. According to the company, this event will kick off Xbox 20/20, a stream which will take place each month throughout the rest of the year in the lead-up to the launch of the next-gen console.
"Starting with the May 7 episode of Inside Xbox, we will be showcasing what happens next in the world of Xbox, every month, which is why we’re calling it 'Xbox 20/20'," Jerret West, CVP of gaming marketing at Xbox wrote on Xbox Wire.
"These monthly moments will take place throughout the rest of the year and will be a way for us to engage, connect and celebrate with you about what’s in store for the next generation of gaming, including what’s next for Xbox Series X, Xbox Game Studios, Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud. Every month will bring something different."
Microsoft has already confirmed we'll be seeing more of Xbox Series X first-party games at Xbox 20/20 in July, including Halo Infinite.
We expect that these streams will entirely replace the Xbox's presence at E3 2020, which Microsoft was confirmed to be attending until it was cancelled – given the circumstances right now, a remote event makes a lot of sense.
The Xbox Series X will not be the only new Xbox in Microsoft's next-generation lineup. While we were all pretty excited when Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox at the Game Awards 2019, it appears that the upcoming console's name isn't quite what we thought - and it will belong to a family.
While we assumed that the new Xbox is called 'Xbox Series X', Microsoft has clarified that, in fact, the family of consoles will be called 'Xbox' and that 'Series X' is just one of the consoles within the family.
This clarification from Microsoft serves to further fuel rumors that another new Xbox console is on the way. Rumors have circulated for some time about a lower-cost next-gen Xbox console that would sit just below the high-end Xbox Series X - codenamed 'Project Lockhart'.
Project Lockhart will allegedly be disc-less console - a trait that it will carry forward from the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition - but Kotaku's sources believe it will be substantially more powerful than Microsoft’s current disc-less box, and will come with both a solid-state hard drive and a faster CPU than any current game console.
The report goes on to say that Microsoft told developers to shoot for a 1440p resolution and 60 frames-per-second frame rate with Project Lockhart and 4K/60 with Xbox Series X, and those same developers have likened the performance of the lower-end console to the PS4 Pro.
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