Friday, December 13, 2019

Apple : Malware variety sees major growth in 2019

Apple : Malware variety sees major growth in 2019

Malware variety sees major growth in 2019

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 01:58 PM PST

New research from Kaspersky has revealed that malware variety grew by 13.7 percent in 2019 and the cybersecurity firm attributes this growth to a rise in web skimmers.

According to the Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2019, the number of unique malicious objects detected by the company's web antivirus solution increased by an eighth compared to last year to reach over 24m due a 187 percent increase in web skimmer files.

Kaspersky also found that other threats such as backdoors and banking Trojans grew while the presence of cryptocurrency miners dropped by more than half.

These trends demonstrate a shift in the type of threats employed by cybercriminals who are constantly searching for more effective ways to target users online.

Online skimmers

Online skimmers, which are sometimes referred to as sniffers, are scripts that are embedded by attackers in online stores and used to steal users' credit card data from websites.

The growth of online skimmers' unique files (scripts and HTML) detected by Kaspersky web antivirus rose by 187 percent to reach 510k. Web skimmers have also entered the firm's list of the top 20 malicious objects detected online and they took 10th place in the overall ranking.

Head of anti-malware research at Kaspersky, Vyacheslav Zakorzhevsky explained why cybercriminals have begun to favor certain attack types while retiring others in a press release, saying:

“The volume of online attacks has been growing for years, but in 2019 we saw a clear shift from certain types of attacks that are becoming ineffective, to the ones focused on gaining clear profit from users. This is partly due to users becoming more aware of the threats and how to avoid them, and organisations steadily becoming more responsible. A good example is miners, which have lost their popularity due to lower profitability and cryptocurrencies’ fight against covert mining. This year we also witnessed growth in zero-day exploits, showing products remain vulnerable and are used by attackers for sophisticated attacks, and this trend is likely to continue in the future.”

To prevent falling victim to a cyberattack, Kaspersky recommends not opening suspicious files or attachments, not downloading or installing applications from untrusted sources, not clicking on links from unknown sources, using strong passwords, installing the latest updates and ignoring messages asking to disable security solutions for office or antivirus software.

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Fitbit price cut: the best new deals on the Fitbit Versa 2, Charge 3, Alta HR, and more

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 01:44 PM PST

Christmas is just around the corner and if you're still looking for a last-minute gift idea, the best-selling Fitbit smartwatch is an excellent option. To help you find the best price, we've rounded up the best Fitbit deals from retailers like Walmart and Amazon.

The top Fitbit deal is the recently-released Fitbit Versa 2 that's on sale for $129. That's a $70 discount, and the lowest price we've found for the feature-rich smartwatch. Walmart also has the Versa Lite on sale for $99, Inspire HR on sale for $69,  and the Ionic smartwatch on sale for $199. Amazon is having a Fitbit sale of their own which includes the Fitbit Charge 3 on sale for $119.95 and the Alta HR on sale for $98.

The all-new Fitbit Versa 2 tracks activity, workouts, and calories burned while also continuously monitoring heart rate. It includes an updated design with a bright AMOLED touchscreen and an always-on display option. The Fitbit also works with Amazon Alexa, so you can send and receive messages, check the weather, and control other smart home devices using just your voice.

Shop more of the best Fitbit deals below and keep in mind these amazing offers are ending soon, so you should take advantage now before it's too late.

The best Fitbit deals:

Shop more offers with the best cheap Fitbit prices and sales that are happening now.

You can shop more Walmart promotions with our roundup of the best Walmart 'Daily Deal Drop' sales.

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Apple Watch: the ultimate guide to pick your next iPhone compatible watch

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 01:28 PM PST

Update: The new Apple Watch 5 is out, and it's come with small - but meaningful - updates on the previous model, including an always-on screen. But does that make it worth the full pricetag? Read on!

Donning an Apple Watch in 2019 is a little more tempting with all the deals, fresh features, the watchOS 6 update and a higher app count. It's a fantastic smartwatch series, so long as you're happy with an iPhone-tied convenience gadget - don't expect a life-changing piece of technology. 

Why? Two versions of the watch makes our best smartwatch list, but smartwatches aren't game-changing tech like smartphones were when they burst on the scene ten years ago. Instead, smartwatches are just an everyday awesome add-on, a true accessory that makes everything you do with a smartphone just a little better.

Apple never ended up calling this the 'iWatch', but it really is "my watch" - with all its iterations the company has proved it's the Apple's most personal and customizable gadget yet.

We've put together the guide below to talk you through the differences between all six iterations of the Apple Watch. There's the original Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 1, Apple Watch Series 2, Apple Watch Series 3, Apple Watch Series 4, and now, the Apple Watch Series 5.

It's a complicated mix of smartwatches now with over 100 different flavors considering the variety of case materials, colors, sizes and interchangeable Apple Watch bands too, so there are a bunch of a tough decisions to make. But let's start with the big question: how do all these Apple Watches differ?

What Apple Watch models are there?

It's best to think of the Apple Watch in five distinct generations, so far. There was the original device that was released under the name Apple Watch in April 2015, but you'll struggle to find retailers selling this device now and you'll probably only be able to get it second hand.

We wouldn't recommend buying that watch now as it won't be able to run with the latest watchOS 6 software and will miss out on the latest features, so you're better off buying a more recently released Apple Watch.

It was replaced by the Apple Watch Series 1 in September 2016, which is largely the same device but with Bluetooth 4.2 technology and a faster dual-core chipset. The original Apple Watch is now referred to as Series 0, but you probably shouldn't worry about that if you're buying a new watch as it's difficult to find it.

The Apple Watch Series 1 is easier to find through third-party retailers, but Apple has now stopped selling the device.

Alongside the Series 1, Apple announced the Watch Series 2 (which we refer to as the Apple Watch 2 to make things a little simpler). This brought new technology like built-in GPS and water resistance and a slightly larger battery.

Apple is no longer selling the Watch Series 2, but you can buy find this from a limited number of third-party retailers.

2017's smartwatch is called the Apple Watch Series 3 and it comes with LTE technology (if you want it) as well as a variety of fitness features and improved GPS.

the Apple Watch Series 4 followed in 2018 with a larger display than the other versions and some new heart rate features, too - allegedly accurate enough to detect atrial fibrillations (AFib), abnormal heart rates that could signify worrying behavior. 

Last we have the 2019 edition, the Apple Watch Series 5, which introduced an always-on display: when you're not directly looking at the watch, it switches to a monochromatic minimal version of your watch face so you can tell time. For the first time, the Apple Watch has its own self-contained App Store, letting you download straight to the watch instead of through an iPhone.

There are also little additions like a new internal Compass app that allows for more specific location information, like elevation - which in turn allows the Maps app to know which direction you're facing. Small, but crucial.

Apple Watch price comparison

Largely the pricing for the Apple Watch works by how old the product is. If you want the Apple Watch Series 1, you'll be able to find that for a lot less money than the Apple Watch 5.

Below we've got a live widget that will show you the latest deals for all the versions of the Apple Watch if you want to see the exact price right now. Bear in mind you can also get the Apple Watch 5, 4 or 3 on a contract because of the LTE features, and you can't do that for the other two devices.

Apple Watch vs Apple Watch 3 vs Apple Watch 4 vs Apple Watch 5

  • Original Apple Watch is cheapest, but it's very difficult to find
  • Apple Watch Series 1 is faster, but lacks Watch 2 features
  • Apple Watch 2 has GPS, a brighter screen and is water-resistant
  • Apple Watch 3 has a faster chipset and optional LTE
  • Apple Watch 4 has a larger screen and an improved heart rate tracker
  • Apple Watch 5 has an always-on screen and better location tracking

You can't buy the original Apple Watch easily anymore, so here we're going to break down the differences between the watches referred to as the Apple Watch Series 1, Apple Watch 2, Apple Watch 3, Apple Watch 4, and the Apple Watch 5.

Design

Until the Apple Watch 4, the series has been very similar in terms of design. (The Apple Watch 5 is virtually identical to its predecessor.) There have been a few minor changes, but the Apple Watch 4 marks the first time you can buy it in 40mm or 44mm variants. That allows for a slightly larger screen, plus there's haptic feedback on the digital crown too.

The Apple Watch 3 and below come in either 38mm or 42mm versions. Only the Apple Watch 2 and Apple Watch 3 are waterproof though, so don't try taking the original watch in the pool with you.

Display

All generations of the Apple Watch feature square displays, but the technology used differs. The Apple Watch featured an OLED Retina display with Force Touch at 450 nits, while the latter models have an improved technology that runs at 1000 nits. The Apple Watch 4 comes with a larger display too.

The Apple Watch 5 has an always-on display - a software trick that switches your watch face to a monochrome, minimalist version that drains less power. 

Performance

You don't need a huge amount of power in the Apple Watch, but each passing generation has been a little snappier. The Series 1 features an Apple S1P system on a chip, while the Series 2, Series 3 and Series 4 feature an S2, S3 or S4 in that order. The Apple Watch 5, predictably, has an S5 chip. 

Each watch has featured 512MB of RAM, apart from the Apple Watch 3, which features 768MB. Afterward, Apple stopped announcing how much RAM comes in its smartwatches, so it's likely the Apple Watch 4 has the same 768MB as its predecessor. The Apple Watch 5 reportedly has more, which could be up to 1GB.

The Apple Watch 5 has 32GB of local storage, some of which is taken up by watchOS but the rest can locally store music or other media. That's double the 16GB of the Apple Watch 4 and Apple Watch 3. 

Fitness

All versions of the Apple Watch feature a heart rate monitor, accelerometer, gyroscope and ambient light sensor. The Apple Watch 3 was the first time the device sported an Altimeter though, and the Apple Watch 4 has ECG features for the first time.

You can currently only use these in the US, but it's thought the feature will be introduced to other watches in the next year or so.

For GPS, you will get that on the Apple Watch 2 and an improved version of the tech including Galileo and QZSS features is on the third iteration. The Apple Watch 2, 3 and 4 feature swimming modes.

Not fitness per se, but the health app has been refined over the versions, and the Apple Watch 5 includes menstrual cycle tracking.

Battery

The battery life of the Apple Watch has remained largely unchanged, and despite Apple hiding the exact capacity, its claiming 18 hours - which is fine, but not impressive by smartwatch standards. 

As expected, the smaller (38mm and 40mm) versions of each model have a smaller battery inside than the larger (42mm and 44mm) one, but that's largely because of the difference in case size.

Connectivity

Each version of the watch has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology built-in, but the Apple Watch 3, 4, and 5 have a cellular option. This means you can use an optional eSIM to give yourself a connection when on the move.

What iPhone do you need to use an Apple Watch?

Unlike Google's Wear OS devices, the Apple Watch only works with one type of phone. You'll need to have at least an iPhone 5 running iOS 10 or later to be able to use an Apple Watch or Apple Watch 2.

If you want an Apple Watch 3, you'll need to have at least an iPhone 5S running iOS 11 software for the non-LTE version or an iPhone 6 to be able to use the LTE variant.

But if you're buying a brand-new Apple Watch 5, you'll need an iPhone 6S or later, which is the cutoff for watchOS 6, which is what that smartwatch ships with. 

Apple Watch colors and sizes

A big change for the Apple Watch 4 is the size, so now it comes in 40mm or 44mm options.

All of the other models of the Apple Watch come in either 38mm or 42mm versions. Some color options are limited to certain size watches, but our simple advice here is go for the larger version if you want a watch with a bigger screen and you don't mind spending a touch more.

It's difficult to get the difference in size across here, but if you're uncertain on size it's worth trying each on in the shop to be sure. Below we've got three examples showing off the four different sizes, as well as a comparison of the screen sizes.

You've then also got to choose the color of your watch as well as what material you want it to be made of. The Apple Watch 4 comes in gold, space grey or silver if you want it to be made of aluminum, and the same colors come in stainless steel too.

White and grey are also color options if you choose the ceramic version of the Apple Watch 3, but these are much more expensive and are called the Apple Watch Series 3 Edition. These are now hard to come by as Apple doesn't officially sell them.

There's also the Apple Watch Nike+, which is the same device as the Apple Watch 3 but comes with exclusive watch faces, the Nike+ Run Club app pre-loaded and a choice of lots of Nike branded sports bands.

That's not all though. If you like the idea of a handcrafted leather strap, you may like the look of the Apple Watch Hermès. Again, it's the Apple Watch 4. but here you get an exclusive watch face using the Hermès Carrick font as well as high-end leather straps for your wrist.

The Apple Watch Series 1 is only available in aluminum in space grey or silver.

Apple Watch bands and straps

Apple Watch Hermès with the Double Tour strap (Image Credit: Apple)

There are dozens of straps sold by Apple that offer a huge variety of styles for your wrist. When you first buy your Apple Watch you'll have a strap included, but you can buy and easily switch out different straps that you buy separately.

There are material and color options available including woven nylon, Nike sport, leather, bracelets and much more. Any Apple Watch strap works with any Apple Watch, as long as you've got the right smaller or larger size watch.

Plus there are lots of third-party bands available too, but make sure you get the right size as it won't support all watch straps.

Apple Watch software updates

Image Credit: Apple

Apple's watchOS 5 update gave every model a boost apart from the original Apple Watch. If you've got the older model, you'll be stuck at watchOS 4 as the company doesn't plan to give it anymore updates.

It's worth looking at the features within watchOS 5, and if you get an Apple Watch be sure to update it as soon as possible to make full use of all the new features.

You may have heard that watchOS 6 is the latest version of the company's smartwatch software, but it won't be out until later in 2019. The new upgrade will bring an App Store to the device as well menstrual cycle tracking and a new feature to tell you when you're in locations that may damage your hearing.

Apple Watch apps and watch faces

Image Credit: TechRadar

Since the original Apple Watch, we've seen the company grow its titles that you can use on the watch as well as the amount of watch faces you can switch around to give the screen a different look.

For a full guide to our favorite bits of software on the wearable, check out our best Apple Watch apps guide as well as best Apple Watch games and best Apple Watch faces.

What's next for the Apple Watch?

If you're planning to buy an Apple Watch soon, now is the perfect time. The Apple Watch 4 launched in early September 2018 - so we expect it to be at least a year later until we hear about an Apple Watch 5.

It may be even longer too, so if you're to set buy a new watch in the coming months, you're sure to be having it for the longest lifespan possible. It also means the price of the Apple Watch Series 3 and some of the other models has dropped too, so it's well worth upgrading soon if you're certain it's a device made for you.

Got your Apple Watch? Learn how to use it

Below are a selection of the how to guides we have at TechRadar to help you understand some of the complicated parts of setting up, customizing and using your new smartwatch.

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Cyberpunk 2077 release date, price, trailers, gameplay and news

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 12:47 PM PST

Cyberpunk 2077 will be hacking into our digital lives in only a few months – but the more teasers, trailers, and gameplay we get to see, the less sure we can wait that long before CD Projekt Red's massive dystopian RPG actually comes to our screens.

Landing on Xbox One, PC, and PS4, Cyberpunk 2077 looks set to be a vast open-world game, draped in dizzying neon colors and futuristic gadgetry, and packed with more branching storylines than you could shake a high-tech drone at.

In both an extended trailer and in our hands-off demo at E3 2019, we saw a bit more of the metropolis of the future, where body modification has become an obsession, and you play a mysterious outlaw in the sleazy underbelly of the city.

Here's all the news, trailers, and announcements we've had on Cyberpunk 2077 so far. Or, if you can't take the anticipation ahead of the game's 2020 release, check out our thoughts on the Cyberpunk RED tabletop role-playing game instead.

UPDATE: CD Projekt Red has revealed some of the big musical names that are attached to Cyberpunk 2077. Read on to find out more!

Cut to the chase

  • What is Cyberpunk 2077? A brand new IP from CD Projekt Red starring Keanu Reeves 
  • What's the Cyberpunk 2077 release date? April 16, 2020
  • What systems will Cyberpunk 2077 be released on? PS4, Xbox One and PC
  • Will it come to next-gen consoles too? We think it's likely, though there's no official word so far
  • Is it not coming to Switch? Sorry, Nintendo – while the Witcher III is somehow being ported to Switch, it seems unlikely the hardware could cope with what Cyberpunk is promising

What is Cyberpunk 2077?

Cyberpunk 2077 is a neon cyberpunk game that has The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red moving from a gritty, high fantasy world to an equally gritty, science fiction world metropolis. It's based off the pen-and-paper RPG of the same name, but plays a hell of a lot like The Matrix game we've always wanted.

We caught our first peek at the game behind closed doors at E3 2018 – you can check out what we saw in the 48-minute walkthrough video below (in the trailers section).

Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that looks vastly different from its developer's The Witcher series, with towering neon skyscrapers, bionic enhancements and a focus on vertical movement rather than wide open plains. It's also all in first-person.

At E3 2019 we learned a lot more about the plot of the game, which features the one and only Keanu Reeves. Reeves plays a character named Johnny Silverhand who's embedded in a biochip that's placed in the main character's brain. 

In order to unlock the secrets to the biochip, what basically becomes the main thread of the game, Silverhand will guide you to Alt Cunningham, the most legendary net runner of all-time. The only problem? She’s dead. But her consciousness lives on the web and you’ll need to do whatever it takes to track her down – including, but not limited to, befriending or eliminating leaders of the biggest gangs in Night City. 

Cyberpunk 2077 trailers

The latest Cyberpunk 2077 trailer is a 15-minute deep dive into the game's lore, world, and gameplay. If you don't mind spoiling some of the visual treats in store – including what it's like to actually step into cyberspace – check out the video here.

E3 2019 gave us an incredibly slick trailer, with a look at some new characters, weapon-play – including Keanu Reeves, who will be playing the rock star Johnny Silverhand. Get your fix in the trailer below.

In March 2019, we got yet another video, this time of the development team gearing up for the E3 2019 showcase event. Those hoping for a 2019 release may want to start to brace themselves however – though the game remains without a release date, the suggestion of the video below is that development is still in full swing, and a release date may be some time away yet:

After a veritable truckload of hype, CD Projekt Red released 48 minutes of gameplay footage, based on the demo journalists saw at E3 2018. 

In it, you'll see what gunplay looks like, character creation and backstory assignment, plus how you'll upgrade yourself via cybernetic enhancements. You'll meet some of the characters in Cyberpunk's seedy crime circuit and explore the city on foot and in vehicles. (Quick warning: the trailer contains nudity, violence and swearing.)

We were treated to a Cyberpunk 2077 trailer during E3 2018 which you can watch below:

Cyberpunk 2077 release date: April 16, 2020

In the game’s first official teaser trailer, it was stated that the game will be coming “when it’s ready,” but now we have an official release date: April 16, 2020, care of the E3 2019 trailer.

This is despite an investor call in early 2016 that suggested that Cyberpunk 2077 would be released before June 2019. It was also said in this call that CD Projekt Red is planning to release two new triple A RPGs before 2021. 

It was later clarified in forums that Cyberpunk 2077 would be the first of these games to arrive and work on the second would not start before Cyberpunk 2077 was finished. 

Cyberpunk 2077

Image Credit: CD Projekt Red

Considering The Witcher 3 took around three and a half years to develop, a 2019 release didn't seem unmanageable for the studio. But the scale of the development, as well as rumors of the game being a cross-gen Xbox Two and PS5 title, it makes sense that the game has taken longer than initially anticipated.

Cyberpunk 2077 news and features

Big names on the soundtrack

CD Projekt Red has used The Game Awards to give players a better idea of the music that will feature in Cyberpunk 2077 and set the tone for exploring Night City. A behind-the-scenes segment confirmed that artists including Run the Jewels, Refused, Grimes, A$AP Rocky, Gazelle Twin, Ilan Rubin, Richard Devine, Nina Kravitz, Rat Boy, and Tina Guo will appear and there are more to be confirmed. You can watch the segment for yourself below:

Game map

An official art and lore book for Cyberpunk 2077 has appeared on Amazon and its cover gives us a look at part of the game's map of Night City. The map shown on the cover isn't massive but it is dense and it looks like it doesn't cover the whole game world—cutting off at the edges suggests that exploration will extend beyond the city walls, correlating with earlier interviews with Pawel Sasko which revealed an external area known as the Badlands will be explorable. Not only that, the fact that we've previously had a glimpse at a city metro map makes us think Night City will be about exploring vertically as well as horizontally. 

Reddit Q&A reveals more details

More has revealed more about the depth of Cyberpunk 2077 in a recent Reddit Q&A in which a user has recounted information from their attendance at a Q&A day with CD Projekt Red in Poland.

According to the poster, the game's day and night cycle will have an impact on quests; at certain times of day, for example, a location may be more or less guarded which could impact your likelihood of success. Weather, though, won't have an impact quite so severe although in-game characters will react to it. 

The game's crime system has been revealed as being similarly dynamic— so police won't jump on you for a small crime like, say, assault on a particular individual. But they will "absolutely try to fry your ass" for more extreme things like causing harm to large groups of people with a gun or vehicle.

Quests in the game will be wide-ranging, branching and evolving, even impacting one another. And the game won't necessarily end with the completion of the main story; you can opt to keep playing. Replayability is said to be higher with this game than The Witcher 3. 

As far as customization goes, the developer has acknowledged that players are interested in car customization but has asked for more patience before saying anything with regards to any plans, while, interestingly, there won't be an option to buy a new apartment. Instead V's apartment will evolve and change depending on the paths that players take when playing the game and it'll feature options within it for customization and expression though what they are has not been confirmed. 

Post-launch content

We're still a long way away from any kind of post-launch content for Cyberpunk 2077 but fans have been thinking about how CD Projekt Red may consider monetising it. Well, the studio doesn't seem to have locked down any definite path just yet but it is being considered and the most likely scenario appears to be that the game will follow in the post-launch content footsteps of The Witcher 3.

In an interview with GameSpot at PAX Australia, the head of CDPR's Krakow office, John Mamais said “I think it’s a bad idea to do microtransactions after you release a game. It seems like it’s very profitable, though. It’s probably a hard decision for the guy that runs the business to decide if we should do it or not. But if everyone hates it, why would we do something like that and lose the goodwill of our customers?”

As far as Mamais is concerned, the Witcher 3's model which saw free DLC launched with big paid expansions was "a good model" which "worked pretty well." As a result, Mamais added "I don’t see why we wouldn’t try to replicate that model with Cyberpunk 2077. We’re not talking about that yet, but it seems like that would be the smart way to go.”

Photo mode?

Let's face it, we all want to take pictures of Night City and there have been hints that this may be possible when the game launches. The developer told fans previously that there were plans to include a photo mode in the game and a recent video posted to Twitter has suggested that may still be the case. 

The video shows a scene of the Night City skyline while the symbol of a camera shows briefly. The hashtags on the tweet itself read Capture Cyberpunk and Photos From Night City. This makes a photo mode seem very likely and given it's a feature found in most big budget games these days that may not be entirely surprising. However, the game's first person perspective may present some challenges if CD Projekt Red wishes to allow players to take pictures which will include their fully-customised avatars. 

No Reeves romance for you

We know, you're devastated. We all are. But it's now been confirmed that Keanu Reeves is not a character you'll be able to romance during Cyberpunk 2077 (via PCGamer). 

What about multiplayer?

After repeatedly stating that multiplayer elements were in R&D but saying nothing more, CD Projekt Red has confirmed on Twitter that it's definitely in the works. So far, the plan appears to be to release the game in April as a single-player experience and then follow this up with various single DLCs that will be free to download and play, after which players will begin to be invited for "some multiplayer action." Multiplayer is, then, slightly down the road but it is coming. 

Character creation will be gender fluid
In an interview with Metro, senior concept artist Marthe Jonkers clarified that players would be able to customize their characters's gender expression in a much more fluid way than traditional RPGs – with two masculine / feminine body types and voices you can mix and match as you please.

Jonkers said that "you don’t choose your gender anymore. You don’t choose, ‘I want to be a female or male character’ you now choose a body type. Because we want you to feel free to create any character you want."

GTA-style radio
You can listen to some music GTA-style while cruising about in your vehicle.

Coming to Stadia
Cyberpunk 2077 has now been announced for the Google Stadia streaming service for games.

Cyberpunk 2077

Spin-off card game
Forget Gwent—Cyberpunk 2077 is getting its very own spin-off card game called Afterlife that will launch sometime in 2020. The game is being made in collaboration with board game publisher Cmon, whose listing for the game reads:

“The game thrusts players into the dark alleyways of Night City, where ruthless gangs clash with corporations in an endless war for money, power, and control.

“In Cyberpunk 2077: Afterlife, players become Fixers, the data brokers and masterminds in Night City that recruit cyberpunks, equip them with gear, and send them out on missions. But nothing's free in Night City. Players need to balance between what they want and what they can actually afford. Using an innovative drafting mechanic and special dashboard, players must decide which cards they want to buy, and which to sacrifice for funds in order to purchase new ones.

Each successful mission raises the player's Street Cred, with mission survivors becoming Veterans, imparting their knowledge and experience to newer recruits. In this chrome-infused world, Street Cred is the only currency that truly matters.”

Hardcore mode that says goodbye to UI In an interview with Wccftech, CD Projekt Red’s Alvin Liu discussed hardcore mode, revealing that it will get rid of the game’s UI to provide a “real challenge” for players. That means there’ll be no markers or indicators telling you where things are or what level of enemy you’re going up against. It’s real immersion in Night City and the desert beyond with the potential for real frustration. 

Of course, it’s not just the hardcore players that are being catered to in Cyberpunk 2077; Liu revealed that there will also be modes for those who are less experienced with first person games and shooters and wish to enjoy a more laidback experience. 

“If you want to play more casually for the story and maybe you’re not experienced with shooters, which was a real big concern for us. We want to tell a story and maybe you’re a big fan of The Witcher and you’re not comfortable playing a shooter, we have settings available for that.”

Liu explains that as well as settings for less experienced players, there will also be weapons. The smart gun, for example, will help players to aim. Though it comes at the cost of the smart gun being a weaker and slower weapon. It will, however, be a good start for those looking to get to grips with the aiming system. 

For those unfamiliar with first person games, there’s also going to be a Field of View slider. Making more of the game world visible through the eyes of the avatar should alleviate that sense of tunnel vision that comes from trading third person view for first person and the potential for nausea this can cause some players.

Environmental hazards In an interview with Wccftech, UI director Alan Liu revealed Cyberpunk 2077 will feature dynamic weather such as acid rain and other environmental hazards.

Cyberpunk 2077


Settings available for those uncomfortable with FPS
The game includes a number of difficulty levels for those who may struggle to adjust to playing an RPG in the style of an FPS.

Cyberpunk 2077 will look just as good on console as PC
In an interview with Wccftech, UI director Alan Liu was asked about the challenges of optimizing Cyberpunk 2077 for low-end hardware. 

"Actually no, we have a very custom engine, the RED Engine," Liu responded. "And actually, we’re targeting consoles as first-class platforms and it looks amazing there. So obviously, if you spent, you know, $2,000 building your PC rig, it’s going to look better on that. But the graphics are quite amazing for what you’re going to get from Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles and low-end PCs."

Could we see a movie adaptation in the future?
In an interview with VGC at E3 2019, Pondsmith admitted that Keanu Reeves' involvement in the game has made the possibility of a Cyberpunk movie adaption much more likely.

"I can’t really say anything on that," Pondsmith told VGC in response to whether he is optioning the Cyberpunk movie rights. "But with Keanu Reeves being tied up in things, it’s become much more of a possibility."

"At this point we are teaching people about this new kind of cyberpunk. My favorite film is Blade Runner, but I recognise inherently that it’s a cerebral film and 2049 was even more cerebral. A cerebral film is not necessarily going to allow other people to enter that space and understand it, but at the same time you don’t want to do it totally action."

Keanu Reeves' band gets its first single
If the appearance of Keanu Reeves in Cyberpunk 2077 as a rock star wasn't enough, punk band Refused are creating the music for his in-game band (named Samurai). And if that wasn't enough, Samurai have released their first single, Chippin' In – presumably something to do with microchips – so you can start getting a sense of Night City's soundscapes already.

There may or may not be three games in development
Polish news site Bankier reported that CD Projekt President Adam Kiciński had confirmed the existence of yet another AAA game set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, likely being the planned follow-up to next year's game – with a secondary team apparently working on a multiplayer mode too. CD Projekt has refuted the claims, while refusing to be drawn on whether a sequel could appear down the line. To be fair, they're probably focused on getting the main title out first.

Take your pick of protagonists
Instead of a set lead character like the Witcher, it sounds like we'll have a few options to choose from. Cyberpunk 2077's lead quest designer, Paweł Sasko, has commented that "The player in Cyberpunk 2077 can create a custom character that has one of three origin stories, that we call Lifepaths," each with their own "starting location and story background that are strongly connected with the origin story" (via VG24/7). The three choices are Street Kid, Nomad and Corporate.

There will be romance
Fans of The Witcher 3's romantic sub-plots will be happy to hear that CD Projekt is bringing something similar to Cyberpunk 2077. In an interview with GamesRadar, the game's Quest Designer, Mateusz Tomaskiewicz, confirmed that players will be able to have relationships with different "entities", all of whom will have their own stories, goals and ideas for you to engage with. He stopped short of confirming just how many romance threads players will have the option to pursue and whether or not one of them will be with Keanu Reeves. It seems unlikely, though.

There will be no morality system
Players won't be constrained by any kind of morality system in Cyberpunk 2077 it has been confirmed by Mateusz Tomaskiewicz in an interview with GamingBolt. Given the complex nature of the decisions players made in The Witcher 3, this decision to favor the grey probably won't come as much of a surprise. This means that if you want to play through the entire game without killing anyone you absolutely can. Or if you want to be the next Angel of Death you can do that too. You just have to invest in the right in-game skills to do so. 


There's more than Night City
From what we've seen so far, the setting of Night City in Cyberpunk 2077 looks like a mighty impressive, expansive and very neon place to explore. But it won't be the only location in the game to explore. In an interview with VG247, the Lead Quest Designer, Pawel Sasko, revealed that players will be able to go beyond the walls of the metropolis and explore an area known as the "Badlands". Largely desolate and populated by Nomads, this area will have its own quests. You can even start the game as a Nomad and begin your story outside of the city. 

Multiple Endings
In an interview with CD Projekt, YouTuber Yong Yea got confirmation that Cyberpunk 2077 will have multiple endings. It's not been confirmed just how many there will be but this ties in with the expansive image of the game that's being presented and the idea that players are crafting a highly personal story.

New Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay shown at E3 2019, but not playable
At E3 2019 we got the chance to see Cyberpunk 2077 at a behind-closed doors demo centered around Pacifica – the southern-most region of Night City – and Keanu Reeves' character, Johnny Silverhand. The weirdest part? Keanu may in fact be the key to immortality. Yes, you read that correctly.

Inside Pacifica, two gangs – The Animals and The Voodoo Boys – are fighting for supremacy. In order to meet Bridgitte, the head of the Voodoo Boys, you'll have to first deal with her lieutenant Placide, who wants you to infiltrate The Animals' hideout. Your goal, at least you're told, is to find a high-tech van that's monitoring all the network traffic in Pacifica. 

To get to this van, you'll have to make your way past The Animals' crew. The reason they're called The Animals, it turns out, is because they take a drug that enhances their muscle mass. To get through them you'll either need to fight your way through – a risky proposition – or sneak your way into the hideout.

Image Credit: CD Projekt Red

Customization: perks, skills and attributes
You’ll customize your character’s look; you’ll customize their backstory; you’ll customize their base skills and you’ll give them perks that make them who they are. If you want a ninja samurai who came from the streets and is skilled in firearms and hand-to-hand combat, you can make that. If you want a net runner super hacker that can take over turrets and jack into enemies, you can make that, too. 

The choices are vast, and while they're not completely limitless, CD Projekt Red doesn’t want to confine you to a single play style or set path.   

The reasoning behind that, it seems, is to better mirror the game’s source material – a 30-year-old tabletop role playing game called Cyberpunk (however, there was also a later edition called Cyberpunk 2020). 

Behind all of the hacking and gunplay lies a fairly complex RPG – the perks screen we saw during our demo had more than 20 perks to choose from and level up. These perks impact how your character plays, but can also impact what choices you have in conversations with the world’s NPCs. 

Cyberpunk 2077

Image Credit: CD Projekt Red

Vampire Bloodlines and Deus Ex were inspirations for the game
Given it’s based on a tabletop roleplaying game and Cyberpunk is already a massive sub-genre in science fiction, we knew Cyberpunk 2077 hadn’t been totally pulled from the ether without any kind of influence. But we’re always interested to find out about some of the more subtle influences on the game and the way it plays, some of which Quest Director Mateusz Tomaskiewicz has revealed in a recent interview with gaming publication AreaJugones.

Tomaskiewicz said that games such as Deus Ex, Vampire Bloodlines and Elder Scrolls had influenced him in his work on Cyberpunk 2077's quests. He cites the original Deus Ex as a particular influence and praises the ways in which it gives players the freedom to complete missions in multiple ways. This suggests we can expect a great deal of freedom and complexity and non-linearity in Cyberpunk 2077’s missions as well as in the protagonist you'll be using to cause havoc in the game world which is something quite different from the tight gameplay-loop found in The Witcher. 

CD Projekt Red is working on two AAA titles – both to be released by 2021
CD Projekt Red has confirmed it still plans to release two AAA titles by 2021. While we know one of these titles will definitely be Cyberpunk 2077, we're still in the dark about what the second title could be.

This release window was reaffirmed on the official CD Projekt Red forums, with moderator Donata Popławska confirming the studio is sticking to its original roadmap.

"As far as the strategy of the CD Projekt Capital Group for 2016-2021 is concerned, its plans to release the second AAA game by 2021 remain unchanged," the moderator wrote (translated via Resetera user Antiax). 

However, Popławska did not expand on what the second AAA title to be released in this time frame could be.

"We are currently focusing on the production and promotion of Cyberpunk, so we do not want to comment on further projects," they continued.

Lady Gaga could be making an appearance?
According to french site ActuGaming, Lady Gaga and CD Projekt Red are collaborating for Cyberpunk 2077 and the artist has already visited the Polish studio to take part in motion-capture – suggesting she will have a character role in the game itself.

In addition ActuGaming claims the collaboration will be officially announced at E3 2019, with Gaga rumored to be making an appearance at the gaming convention.

Last year Gaga tweeted a strange mix of letters and numbers, which the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account replied to with "Of course! Of course we will!", suggesting the A Star is Born actress would be involved with the game in some way or another.

E3 2018 confirmed features
We got to spend some time watching a demo of Cyberpunk 2077 during E3 and we learned some interesting things about the game. 

It's a first person RPG set in a huge open world known as Night City – a metropolis split into six districts, each offering a different environment to explore. During the demo we only saw a small part of one of them. 

Players can create their own character called V and embark on their journey to crawl up from the criminal underbelly. This is a dark game and though The Witcher series is mature, this takes it to a new level. 

As you'd expect, the game lets you augment your body using various bits of tech – illegal or otherwise – and you can use drugs to enhance your combat, or a kind of digital brain-hack called 'Braindance'. We know weapons are wide ranging and seriously creative, with smart guns and bullets as well as terrifying Mantis Blades for melee.

There are no loading screens in Cyberpunk 2077 and the story and side quests are branching and numerous, and your choices genuinely impact the outcome. You can read more about how impressed were were by what we saw.

E3 2018 secret message
CD Projekt RED used the Xbox Showcase to show its latest trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. But it's more than just a trailer. Spotted by Polygon, there's a moment in the trailer with hidden text with more information on the game which is revealed when you enhance the image.

In the message CD Projekt first apologises for "staying silent longer than we planned" but following the release of The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine the developer wanted to wait until it had "something meaningful and substantial" to show.

It goes on to say that the vision for Cyberpunk is "an alternative version of the future where America is in pieces, megacorporations control all aspects of civilized life, and gangs rule the rest." This game will, CD Projekt says, be a "true single player, story-driven RPG" where you'll be able to create your own character.

At the moment the developer isn't ready to confirm any kind of release date and asks for more patience. It also says it has "no bloody clue" about how big the game is but does say it's "seriously big."

Cyberpunk 2077

Image Credit: CD Projekt Red

It could be on the next generation of consoles
CD Projekt Red has hinted that Cyberpunk 2077 could be developed for both current and next gen titles. GamingBolt has reported that during a presentation at the Pareto Securities Gaming Seminar 2018 event, the studio's CFO Piotr Nielubowicz and CEO Adam Kiciński mentioned Cyberpunk 2077 hinted that it may be being developed for future hardware. The slide in question stated the team was developing the title for “current and next-generation technology”.

Given the game's current timeline, it's possible it could launch on current systems in April (PS4, Xbox One) and then next-gen systems (PlayStation 5, Xbox Two) later in the year.

It will be on Steam
Good news Steam fans: Cyberpunk 2077 will definitely be coming to the platform. At the Pareto Securities Gaming Seminar (via PCGamesN) the studio’s CEO Adam Kiciński gave a presentation in which he confirmed that the game would not be exclusive to GOG. There's been a lot of furore over the Metro Exodus being 'removed' from Steam and onto the Epic Games Store, but it looks like CD Projekt Red is steering clear of that minefield.

It’s going to be bigger than The Witcher 3
It would have been a pretty safe guess to say that Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be a big game, but in an interview with MCV in 2015 visual effects artist Jose Teixeira said it’s going to be “far, far bigger” than anything the studio has ever done. 

In fact, he said that The Witcher 3 was being treated as a learning experience and that they could do better. To do better, the studio has doubled in size with studio head Adam Badowski saying that after The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 needs to be “even better, even bigger, even more revolutionary” than what had originally been planned. 

Cyberpunk 2077

Image Credit: CD Projekt Red

You’ll be travelling on more advanced tech than boats and horses
So, we know the game map is going to be intimidatingly big. How will we get around it, then? Well fortunately, moving out of the high fantasy realm gives CD Projekt Red a little more freedom when it comes to creating vehicles.

Don’t expect horses and basic boats here – a job listing for a Senior Vehicle Artist for the studio said they’d be expected to work on “incredibly complex vehicles, planes, bikes, robots and mechanics.“

There may be multiplayer
It was confirmed years ago that the game would have multiplayer elements but what exactly they’ll be is unclear. It was said, though, that the game would mainly focus on single player. 

The company president said in March 2018 that these elements are not on the table right now, so it's possible that they'll be introduced after the game's release in a sort of online world like GTA Online. 

There will be online
As well as multiplayer, CD Projekt's CEO has confirmed that there will also be online elements to the game. In an interview with Polish tech site Strefa Inwestorow Kiciński stated that “Online is necessary, or very recommended if you wish to achieve a long-term success. At some point, we have mentioned that there will be a certain online element related to Cyberpunk.”

Whether or not the online elements will feed into the multiplayer is unclear.

But there won't be microtransactions
The studio also tweeted to quell fears over microtransactions in online components, stating that Cyberpunk 2077 will be "nothing less than" the Witcher 3, adding that players will "get what [they] pay for" with "no hidden catch."

It appears that while many studios are feeling the need to move to a service model to ensure their titles make money, CD Projekt is staying committed to the story-driven single player experience with Cyberpunk 2077, one which served them very well with The Witcher. 

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Pokémon Go updates: all the news and rumors for what's coming next

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 12:35 PM PST

Pokémon Go: the world's first augmented reality app to become a household name. Niantic's mobile AR game is still going strong two years after it first released, with a constant drip of events and updates keeping budding trainers glued to their phones and pounding the streets.

And while it hasn't managed to top the peak of its popularity in 2016, it's still going strong and finding plenty of new ways to improve its player experience.

So what's the latest news for Pokémon Go? As you'd expect, brand new features are being added all the time and community events are still going strong. Plus we have some more themed events and brand new Gen 5 Pokémon to catch!

But without further ado, here's our guide to all the latest Pokémon Go news and updates.

Pokémon Go news and Pokémon Go updates

  • What's new? December is bringing a special festive event to Pokémon Go

Niantic Wayfarer

Niantic has announced that its Wayfarer tool is now accessible to Pokémon Go players level 40 and above. This tool allows players to submit nominations for Gyms and Pokéstops, giving them a say in new places to play. All players are now able to review nominations.

Extra storage

Sick of running out of space for all your Pokémon? Good news: Niantic has upped Pokémon Go's in-game storage space. Now, players can store up to 3000 Pokémon and 2500 items. Unfortunately the extra capacity isn't free—an extra 50 spaces for items or Pokémon will cost 200 PokéCoins.

Pokémon are appearing in more places

Niantic has confirmed that Pokémon are now more evenly distributed around the world. In areas that have had dense Pokémon population, players are likely to find them more spread out, while in areas where the population of Pokémon was sparse or even non-existant creatures will now appear more.

What's the next Pokémon Go Event?

Holiday Event

Pokémon Go is celebrating the festive season with its chilly Holidays 2019 event which will run from December 24 until January 1 2020. During the event, Pikachu, Raichu and Pichu will appear in special costumes while more ice-type Pokémon will appear in the wild. The adorable ice-type bear Cubchoo will even make its Go debut along with Cryogonal, which you'll have a chance of meeting when you use a Glacial Lure Module. 

Alolan versions of Sandshrew and Vulpix as well as festively dressed Stantler and Pichu will hatch from 7km eggs while costumed Stantler and Raichu will appear in two-star Raids. As ever there'll be event-themed Field Research Tasks which will give you the chance of encountering themed Pikachu and you can expect to see new Shadow Pokémon to save. 

Across the full event there will also be bonuses to enjoy which include the ability to open and carry twice as many gifts each day and one free single-use incubator for each day so that you can hatch more eggs. Each day will bring an additional bonus and you can check up on these here. 

December Event

In the midst of the Holiday Event is a special December event on December 28 from 11am to 7pm local time. 

During this event Glacial Lure Modules will last two hours, drawing in Pokémon like Lapras, Delibird, and Cubchoo. You can also use the Glacial Lure Module to evolve Eevee during the event to get a Glaceon that knows the Charged Attack Last Resort.

Regice the Iceberg Pokémon will return to Raids and there will be two additional Raid Passes released when spinning a Photo Disc at a Gym to give you a better chance of catching it.

When's the next Pokémon Go Community Day?

  • What date is the next Community Day? December 14 and 15
  • Who's the starring Pokémon? There are several! 

Niantic is celebrating the end of 2019 with a long Community Weekend in December. Taking place over December 14 and 15, from 9am to 9pm, the event will see an abundance of exciting encounters and Raids. It's also worth noting that Community Day exclusive moves from 2018 and 2019 will be available again across the weekend. 

December 14

On this day, players will be more likely to encounter Totodile, Swinub, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Ralts, Slakoth, Trapinch, Bagon, Turtwig, and Chimchar in the wild. In Raids, on the other hand, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, Eevee, Dratini, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Mareep, Larvitar, and Beldum will be more common. 

When it comes to matching eggs you'll be more likely to see Bulbasaur, Charmander, Pikachu, Dratini, Totodile, Mareep, Swinub, Larvitar, Treecko, Torchic, Slakoth, and Bagon. 

Although the above takes place between 9am and 9pm, between 11am and 2pm players will be able to enjoy additional bonuses such as double Catch Stardust, double Catch XP, and half the Hatch Distance for Eggs.

December 15

On December 15 the Pokémon appearing more commonly in Raids and in the Wild remain the same but when it comes to Eggs, things are slightly different. Players will be more likely to hatch Squirtle, Eevee, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Mudkip, Ralts, Trapinch, Beldum, Turtwig, and Chimchar.

The 11am to 2pm bonuses are just the same too. 

Pokémon Go update: what's next?

Pokémon Go Buddy Adventure

In a recent blog post, Niantic has discussed some of the recent improvements it's made to its AR technology—improvements which could see you interact with your favorite Pokémon using the AR camera. Provisionally titled Pokémon Go Buddy Adventure, this new mode would make it possible for players to see and interact with their Buddy Pokémon via the game's AR camera. Even more impressive, players would also be able to see their friends doing the same thing, making it a multiplayer experience. 

The mode would be cross-platform, meaning it doesn't matter whether or not you're an Android or iOS user, and though there's no release date just yet, Niantic has said that it's coming "in the months ahead".  

GO Battle League

Niantic has announced that a new feature called GO Battle League will be coming to the game in early 2020. It will build on the current trainer battles system and will encourage players to get out and explore. According to Niantic, players will walk to earn entry into the Battle League. Once they're in they'll be able to battle players from around the world through an online matching system. Win and lose, they'll rise and fall in the ranks of the worldwide league. We'll keep updating with more information on Battle League as it's announced. 

Pokémon Go Plus deals

Want to buy yourself a Pokémon Go Plus wearable? Check some of today's best deals down below.

(Image credits: Niantic/Pokémon Company)

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These Linux browsers are being banned from Google services

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 12:05 PM PST

The popular Linux browsers Konqueror, Falkon and Qutebrowser are now being banned from logging into Google services as they may not be secure.

It's unclear as to when the search giant began blocking these browsers but a Reddit user recently made the discovery and wrote a post about it.

After running its own tests on Konqueror and Falcon, BleepingComputer confirmed that it was unable to login to Google services using either browser and Google suggested using another browser instead as they may not be secure.

Linux browsers

When investigating the issue, BleepingComputer found a 'Learn More' link that led to a Google support article which explained that a browser may be blocked from signing in because it doesn't support JavaScript or JavaScript is turned off, unsecure or unsupported extensions have been added, automation testing frameworks are in use or the browser is embedded in a different application.

However, some users reported that they were still able to login using Falkon despite the recent ban.

There are a number of theories as to why these Linux browsers are being blocked from signing in to Google services. Some believe it could be an A/B test being carried out to Google related to the version of QtWebEngine installed or it might even have to do with having certain account settings such as two-factor authentication enabled.

Google has not yet released an official response regarding these Linux browsers being banned from signing into its services but expect the company to explain why or fix the issue soon.

Via BleepingComputer

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Want to make sure you get your photo book in time for Christmas? Here's how

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 12:02 PM PST

Has the reality started to sink in that Christmas is fast approaching and you don't have your gifts sorted? Well, what can you get a loved one that's custom-made, fairly inexpensive as well as being one-of-a-kind and significant, too? Why a photo book of course! 

Photo books are an excellent Christmas gift. Customizable and beautiful (especially if it's from our number one provider Mixbook) they can have a very loving narrative.

Now, unfortunately timing is everything and if you want to get your customized photo book in time and not be left scrambling, then the sooner you get started the better. 

And this year you won't have to enlist Santa's help, but TechRadar's instead. We've got all the dates and deadlines from the top five photo book providers (in our opinion) you need to know for ordering your perfect photo book.

So just keep scrolling as we tell you exactly when you need to place your orders in. And don't worry if a photo book is out of your budget range, why not go with one of the best photo cards instead and get that personal touch for less?

Get the best - TechRadar's #1 photo book provider

1. Mixbook 

Proving once again why it's our top provider, Mixbook has very neatly organised all the deadline dates on its page. The image below is taken from the provider's website and has outlined and detailed all you need to know before you get your orders in. So for all the references you need just lower your eyes. 

And if this isn't for Christmas, Mixbook also has general shipping guides with a day-by-day estimate of how long it will take for your orders to arrive.

2. Snapfish

Snapfish has also put together a (less detailed) table of shipping times and cut off points specifically for Christmas, which you can see below.

And we will reiterate that the website quite specifically outlines that "orders must be received by 11.59pm Pacific Standard Time on listed cutoff dates for December 24th arrival". This is something important to bear in mind when making your orders.

3. Shutterfly

Following the example of the previous two providers, Shutterfly has outlined everything you need to know when ordering your gifts to ensure they arrive on time. 

You can find Shutterfly's Shipping Guidelines here . Although we will tell you that their absolute latest order day by is Friday, December 20 - and this is the Super rush option - which is only valid as long as orders are made by 7pm ET/4pm PT.

4. Picaboo

There's nothing worse than curating the perfect photo book just to have it not arrive in time, and to make sure you don't find yourself in that situation this ace photo book provider has an order deadlines for Christmas by type of photo book.

We're loving how beyond organised this is, and if you want to see Picaboo's shipping guidelines just click here.

5. Amazon Prints 

So, although Amazon doesn't have a customised list for Christmas orders, it still has a shipping guidelines page, click here to see it. All we can say for this is that it clearly pays off to be a Prime customer, as non-prime customers could be looking at a wait of 8-12 business days for standard shipping orders. 

So if you want it for Christmas, you might want to consider signing up to Amazon Prime or paying for a faster delivery option such as expedited or overnight.

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Final Fantasy 7 Remake release date, trailers, news and features

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 12:01 PM PST

First released in 1997, Final Fantasy 7 immediately cemented its place as one of the best JRPG titles around and introduced millions of gamers around the world to the genre. Now, due to the success of Final Fantasy 7 over 20 years ago (and the pleads from die hard fans), Square Enix is releasing a remake. 

Unfortunately, those high expectations have been both a blessing and a curse for the game as the path to release hasn’t been smooth. 

But now, four years after it was announced at E3 2015, we finally have a Final Fantasy 7 Remake release date: March 3, 2020. 

We've now seen the game a half-dozen times in trailers – and even got hands on time at Gamescom 2019 and E3 2019 – but, with news and rumors still churning around the great wide web, we’ve gathered up everything we know has been confirmed, what we've played and everything fans suspect right here for your perusal.

[Update: Final Fantasy 7 got a brand new trailer at The Game Awards. Watch it for yourself below.]

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? A re-interpretation of the popular JRPG Final Fantasy 7 
  • When can I play it? March 3, 2020
  • What can I play it on? It’s been confirmed the game will come to PS4 first but this is a timed exclusive so it could come to other platforms in 2021. 

Final Fantasy 7 Remake trailers

The first trailer for the game was released upon the remake's announcement at E3 2015. The trailer is largely cinematic and you can watch it for yourself below:

A further trailer (this time featuring gameplay) was revealed at PSX in 2015:

There's also the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trailer that was revealed during Sony's May 9 State of Play event this year. In it, we got a great look at what the action-heavy combat would look like (think Kingdom Hearts and you'll be on the right track) and one of the series most well-remembered protagonists, Aerith. 

Check it out below:

The most important trailer we have is the one that was unveiled at a Final Fantasy 7 concert held in Los Angeles, where the game's director, Tetsuya Nomura, unveiled Remake's official March 3, 2020 release date.

It's only a minute long but it's important.

Another Final Fantasy 7 Remake trailer was released as part of Tokyo Game Show 2019 and showcased a first look at characters, summons, mini-games and more. Check it out below:

Naturally everyone wants an update on the hero of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Square Enix provided with a short trailer starring Cloud Strife on Twitter in November. 

The most recent trailer for Final Fantasy 7 appeared at The Game Awards 2019. The trailer shows snippets of combat and flashes of some of the game's iconic characters. It's a minute and a half you don't want to miss. 

Final Fantasy 7 Remake release date

The Final Fantasy 7 remake has had something of a troubled development, which makes it all the more surprising that we'll be seeing the game as early as we are. 

The date Square Enix has given us is March 3, 2020 – but it's unclear if that's for all of the episodes (remember, FF7R is an episodic game with more than two Blu-rays worth of content) or if that's just the release date of episode one. The latter seems likely as development on episode 2 is still underway. 

For some, that date is much sooner than expected considering the game's recent setback, but others will likely say it's arriving later than they wanted. 

For what it's worth, the game has been in the works since 2014 but there have been few significant official updates since the E3 2015 reveal. In that time, development of the game has moved from external developer CyberConnect2 to Square Enix’s in-house team. Overhauls like this can cause big delays to a game’s progress but according to Square Enix's Naoki Hamaguchi the decision was made out of a desire to maintain “control quality as well as keeping the schedule stable.”

The good news is now that release date is set in stone and PS4 players will get to play then. Fans using other platforms could potentially see a release in 2021 which is when the game's period of exclusivity on PS4 apparently ends.

We're also expecting Final Fantasy 7 remake to be a cross-generation release, likely releasing on both PS5 and the next Xbox alongside current generation consoles.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Image credit: Square Enix

Final Fantasy 7 Remake news and rumors

Timed exclusivity

It seems that, as rumored, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be a timed exclusive for PS4. The North American box art for the game was posted to Twitter recently, with a banner stating that the game will be a timed exclusive until March 3 2021—a year after its first release. This isn't an outright confirmation that the game will be coming to other platforms but it does suggest it's a possibility. After all, Microsoft is adding a raft of the Final Fantasy games to its Game Pass service in 2020 which could be a precursor. 

Work is underway on part 2

We already know that Final Fantasy 7 is going to be released in at least two parts but we don't know how much of a gap there's going to be between the release of part 1 in March 2020 and part 2. 

At the very least, we do now know that development on part 2 is well underway. In a recent Square Enix blog, Tetsuya Nomura said "We’ve already begun working on the next one as well, but I’m confident that playing through this title will expand your expectations just like the world that extends beyond Midgar." From what Nomura has said with regards to the "density and volume" of part 1's Midgar, we may need a little space between releases to get through it all anyway. 

New Ghost look
On Halloween, the Final fantasy 7 Remake Twitter account tweeted a picture of Cloud running away from ghosts while also wishing fans a "Happy Halloween". The ghosts in the picture are, in fact, the redesigned version of Ghost enemies from the original game.

Check it out below:

Pre-orders available
The Final Fantasy 7 Remake Deluxe Edition is available to pre-order now and contains a hardback art book featuring art, a mini-soundtrack CD, Summon Materia DLC (allowing players to summon Cactuar in game), and a Sephiroth steel book case. The Digital Deluxe Edition contains a digital art book, a digital mini-soundtrack selection, and Summon Materia DLC (allowing players to summon Carbuncle and Cactuar in game). 

If you would rather pick up the 1st Class Edition, you'll get all the Deluxe Edition content, the Carbuncle Summon Materia DLC, as well as a Play Arts Kai Cloud Strife and Hardy Daytona box set.

Those who pre-order any version of the game will also receive the Chocobo Chick Summon Materia DLC at launch. Those who pre-order any digital edition from the PlayStation Store will also receive the Cloud & Sephiroth Dynamic Theme for the PS4.

Mini-games
It looks like FF7 Remake will feature mini-games that involve button bashing tasks for  exercise training and darts. Those are just what we've seen so far.

Those Xbox One rumors
After the Xbox Germany Facebook account posted a video which suggested that the Final Fantasy 7 remake would be coming to Xbox One on March 3 2020, the same date it will hit PS4, fans were left with some pressing questions. 

However, Square Enix confirmed in a statement to IGN that Final Fantasy 7 will only release on PS4 on March 3, 2020 and that there are “no plans for other platforms”. Whether this means there are no plans for other platforms just on March 3 or whether there are no plans for other platforms for good is unconfirmed but so far it seems like the game will be a PS4 exclusive. Microsoft has deemed the Facebook video which was quickly removed an “internal mistake”. 

Preview
We got hands on with Final Fantasy 7 Remake at E3 2019 and were extremely impressed by what we saw. Remake brags seamless, Advent Children-tier cinematics and fluid, real-time combat. While the game is centered on the same story, characters and enemies, everything has been amped up to make for a modern gaming experience. Characters have new abilities and there's a few new cutscenes thrown in to add to the narrative, but essentially Remake is a game which is equally accessible to fans and newbies alike.

Midgar
The only FF7 Remake setting we have seen is the dark, steampunk city of Midgar. In order to increase Midgar's gothic atmosphere, Square Enix used lighting, coloring and effects to vary the iconic location while also including "surprises around every corner".

Cast change
Technology has come on leaps and bounds since Final Fantasy 7 was released, therefore it's no surprise that Square Enix is harnessing motion capture to enhance Remake's characters - adding more expression and therefore making the title more immersive. The Remake also has a new voice actor cast,  however developer plans to keep the original cast for other Final Fantasy games that include Final Fantasy 7's characters. 

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Image credit: Square Enix

Deeper into story and characters
Square Enix has explained during a behind-closed-doors E3 2019 presentation of Remake that while the title is a "reimagining" of FF7, it aims to dig deeper into the game's story and characters - making it the equivalent of a standalone Final Fantasy game in its own right. 

Tactical Mode
Final Fantasy 7 Remake includes Tactical Mode which is essentially a Matrix-style slow motion mode that that gives you time to select your next action and aims to please those who prefer turn-based combat.

FF7 Remake is based around core values
Square Enix has assured us that Final fantasy 7 Remake is based around three core values: innovation, pushing boundaries and surprising players. In that light, the developer is approaching Remake like a new game in an effort to create new exciting experiences for a new generation. However, many of the game's original development team are continuing to oversee the title, in order to keep its heart.

E3 2019 news - Two Discs and new ATB system
At E3 2019 we learned that there are more than two Blu-ray discs worth of content planned for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. We also got an in-depth look at the combat mechanics of the game – including the new ATB system. The main takeaway is that switching between characters in the real-time battle system can be done by pressing a single button, and you'll need your entire party to beat tougher bosses. 

So what's worth pointing out here is that the sedentary turn-based combat you may remember from the original has been replaced with a FF15-style approach that allows you to control the characters and move them around the battlefield. You'll still have some familiar options in combat - like Limit Breaks - but expect combat to be a bit more engaging this time around.

During E3 2019 we also learned that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is not only episodic, but actually requires two Blu-ray discs to hold all the content. The first disc, released on March 3, 2020, will actually only take place in Midgar - that futuristic city you've seen so much of in the trailers. 

Nomura admits an announcement was premature
Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura has admitted that both Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Final Fantasy 7 remake were announced too early.

"I am well aware of the fact that we announced it too early," Nomura told Italian gaming mag Multiplayer (translated by Kingdom Hearts Insider) . "But even in the industry, word was beginning to spread that we were working on the game, so we just decided not to keep it more secret and officially reveal it."

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Image credit: Square Enix

It’s a reconstruction, not a shot-for-shot remake 
The Final Fantasy 7 remake will follow the original game’s narrative and feature the iconic characters and locations that fans love. 

Considering it’s so beloved there’s a lot of pressure on Square Enix to not stray too far from the original source material but according to director Tetsuya Nomura it won’t be a completely direct recreation. In an interview with Wired, Nomura said “We're not intending for this to become a one-to-one remake, or just the original Final Fantasy VII with better graphics.”

Nomura has said that he wants the remake to "apply to the current era" and "the current generation of players." He added the caveat that he doesn't "want to change it so much that it's unrecognizable" but it has to be offering something "fresh and new." 

To accommodate modern consoles and gamers, changes will naturally have to be made to the game both in terms of gameplay, mechanics and perhaps even to some elements of the story. For starters, early trailers show a game more akin to Final Fantasy XV mechanically, with fixed viewpoints and static backdrops swapped out for full-3D terrain, and a turn-based battle system removed in favour of a real-time action-orientated one.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Image credit: Square Enix

It’s episodic
A significant way the remake is going to differ from the original game is that its story will be told episodically. This is a detail that was confirmed back in December 2015. 

The reasoning behind the decision, according to series producer Yoshinori Kitase is that “a proper HD remake” just wouldn’t fit into one instalment and maintain the “same feeling of density of the original.”

“We've seen everyone's comments and reactions to the news that Final Fantasy 7 remake will be a multi-part series and many have speculated correctly as to the reason why we have made this decision,” he said, “If we were to try to fit everything from the original into one remake instalment, we would have to cut various parts and create a condensed version of Final Fantasy 7. We knew none of you would have wanted that.

“I hope that by explaining a little more about our design decisions that you can appreciate the size of this project and what we have planned for this remake. Going beyond the scale and depth of the world, narrative and gameplay from the original to deliver something that feels familiar yet new. As I said before, we like delivering surprises.”

Each episode will apparently be its “own unique experience” but as yet we don’t know how many episodes there will be or how they’ll be structured in relation to the original story. 

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Image credit: Square Enix

No more turn-based battles 
As mentioned above, a major element that’s changing from the original game is a move away from turn-based battles. 

In an interview with Famitsu, Nomura said that battles in the remake will be “action-based” rather than command-based. Nomura didn’t go into much more detail with regards to the game’s combat system but it’s widely expected that we’re going to see a formula more similar to Kingdom Hearts and FFXV. 

This would mean a more active and seamless style of battling involving party members whom the player will be able to switch between. 

Though the loss of turn-based combat will be mourned, a move towards a system like Kingdom Hearts will be more accessible to new players. 

A PS5 release?
PS5 development kits are now said to be out in the wild, with Sony's first-party development teams working almost solely on titles for the as-yet-unannounced next-gen system. With the ambition on display here, could Square Enix be planning to shift Final Fantasy 7's remake to the next machine? 

For Sony, it'd be a system seller right out of the gates for the new console generation, and for the developers you'd imagine it'd offer more processing grunt and a little longer in terms of the development window. This is speculation at this point, but as the sun sets on the PS4, and titles like Final Fantasy 7's remake being no closer to even having a release date, it starts to seem like the looming next generation machines may be now what they're being aimed at.

(Image credits: Square Enix)

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The iPhone XS is $400 off with this Verizon holiday deal

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 11:39 AM PST

It seems Verizon’s got a few big-storage iPhone XS phones to move off the shelves, because right now, you can get a 512GB storage model for $400 off.

That’s a huge discount - and you’ll need it, because the extra-large version MSRP is a whopping $1,249. But with that kind of extra space, you’ll be able to store years and years of photo, video, music, and plenty of downloaded shows and movies.

True, it’s no longer the latest and greatest Apple phone - that crown belongs to the iPhone 11 Pro - but it’s only missing out on an (admittedly great) additional ultrawide lens and a faster processor. The iPhone XS remains a great phone, especially with iOS 13. 

Given it’s a Verizon deal, you won’t just be handed the $400 - instead, it will be credited back to your account in installments over 24 months. 

But wait, there’s more

There is a second part of the deal that could save you even more money. If you buy two iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max smartphones for monthly payment plans, and add one of them as a new smartphone line with one of Verizon’s Unlimited plans, you can get $700 credited back to your account over the same 24-month period.

You can also get a $200 prepaid MasterCard per phone, bringing the combined savings to $1,100, by switching both of those two phones on a new smartphone line with a Verizon Unlimited plan. After checkout, head to vzw.com/digitalrebatecenter and use the promo code HOLIDAYSWITCH, then follow instructions. Poof! Those prepaid MasterCards should be sent to you within two months.

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Samsung Galaxy Fold huge sales figures prove foldable phones are the new big thing [updated]

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 10:42 AM PST

Since the Samsung Galaxy Fold release was so plagued by mishaps, including durability problems and a release date pushed back eight months in total, it wasn't clear how many people would be interested in the folding phone, but it seems a million people were willing to put down money to buy the device.

That's according to the president of Samsung Electronics, Young Sohn, speaking at an event hosted by TechCrunch, who stated that Samsung had sold a million Galaxy Fold units.

Update: No, Samsung has not sold a million Folds - It seems Sohn misspoke, and Samsung has retracted the statement, according to SlashGear. He mistook the yearly sales targets for actual sales, the company originally confirmed to Yonhap News, though it didn't specify the Fold's actual sales. The original article follows.

One million units is an impressive figure given the device costs $1,980 / £1,900 / AU$2,900 to buy, and surprising too given that figure only accounts for about three months of sales.

When it became clear several phone companies would be releasing folding phones, there was a lot of excitement, but a year of delays, phones that were launched but never released, and negative press around the devices, meant we weren't too sure how the first widely available foldable handset would land.

It seems we shouldn't have been concerned, though, because 1,000,000 people can't all be wrong.

Are foldable phones the new big thing?

Now that the Samsung Galaxy Fold is a big hit, things are looking bright for the Motorola Razr 2019, the second widely available foldable phone. It has got a lower price tag than the Fold, so when it becomes available in January 2020 it could be a slightly more affordable option for people who want a phone that closes.

This sales figure is also an encouraging sign for the plenty of companies that have confirmed they are working on such devices, like Xiaomi, TCL, Microsoft, Oppo and Vivo.

In addition, there are a few companies that had been rumored to be working on foldable phones, with nothing confirmed – Apple, Google, Sony and LG are all said to have something in the works, and again this sales figure might be encouragement for these companies to carry on with these projects.

Saying that, it's still early days for foldable phones, and we'll have to see how popular the next few devices are, and how well the Galaxy Fold does in the long run, before making any wider judgements.

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Google makes it easier to move data to its cloud

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 10:35 AM PST

In an effort to help enterprises move data from their on-premise systems to the cloud, Google Cloud has announced Transfer Service.

This new managed service is designed to handle large-scale transfers of billions of files and petabytes of data in the easiest way possible.

Google has launched similar services in the past including Transfer Appliance which allows companies to ship data to its data centers via FedEx and Google's BigQuery service that automates data transfers from SaaS applications.

Google Cloud's new Transfer Service will handle the heavy lifting and it can even validate the integrity of an organization's data as it moves to the cloud. The agent also automatically handles failures and it will use as much available bandwidth as possible to help reduce transfer times.

Transfer Service for on-premise data

To get started using Google Cloud's Transfer Service, you just have to install an agent on your on-premise servers, select which directories you want to copy and the service will take care of the rest. You can also use the Google Cloud console to monitor and manage your transfer jobs.

While archiving and disaster recovery are obvious use cases for this new service, Google is also targeting businesses that want to move their workloads and their attached data to the cloud.

Senior analyst at ESG, Scott Sinclair explained why implementing Transfer Service is much easier than developing a custom solution in a blog post announcing the new service, saying:

“I see enterprises default to making their own custom solutions, which is a slippery slope as they can't anticipate the costs and long-term resourcing. With Transfer Service for on-premises data (beta), enterprises can optimize for TCO and reduce the friction that often comes with data transfers. This solution is a great fit for enterprises moving data for business-critical use cases like archive and disaster recovery, lift and shift, and analytics and machine learning." 

Via TechCrunch

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Walmart 'Daily Deal Drop' sale 2019: the best deals on TVs, laptops, toys, and more

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 10:08 AM PST

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday might be over, Walmart has launched a 'Daily Deal Drop' sale which includes hundreds of new discounts through its site. You can find massive savings on best-selling items which include TVs, appliances, laptops, toys, smartwatches, gaming consoles, and so much more.

To help you sort through all the offers, we've rounded up the best Walmart deals below. The top bargains include a Sceptre 50-inch 4K Ultra HD TV on sale for just $189.99, the Fitbit Versa 2 Smartwatch on sale for $130, the Xbox One S All Digital Edition 3-game Bundle on sale for $160, and the latest model Apple AirPods on sale for $144. You can also find discounts on best-selling appliances like the iRobot Roomba e6 on sale for $296, and 50% off the Pioneer Woman Instant Pot.

Many of today's deals expire soon, so this might be your last chance to snag these items at a record low price. Walmart is also offering free next-day delivery for orders over $25 on thousands of eligible items – and unlike Amazon, this requires no membership fee.

Shop the rest of Walmart's 'Daily Deal Drop' sale below – and make sure to bookmark this page, as we'll be continuously updating it with all the top new bargains.

Shop more TV offers with our roundup of the best TV deals and sales that are currently available and shop more laptop offers with our list of the best cheap laptop deals.

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PS5 release date, specs, news, and rumors for Sony’s PlayStation 5

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 09:28 AM PST

The next generation PlayStation console is officially called the PS5 (PlayStation 5) and it's landing at the end of 2020.

In early 2019 we heard from Mark Cerny, the chief architect on Sony's next console, that the company is working on the successor to the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro. While he didn't share the official name or release date at the time, Cerny did shed some light on a few choice details about what we could expect from its hardware. 

We found out that the PS5 will still play discs, for one – but as to the exact hardware specifications, and how it will link up with Sony and Microsoft's plans for game streaming, we've remained largely in the dark.

However, in recent months, Sony has been drip-feeding us juicy titbits such as an official PS5 release window, name and a few key details about features.

In addition, we've had some surprising leaks, in the form of a Sony-registered patent that seems to show off the PS5's general shape, button inputs, and cooling vents – confirmed to be the PS5 dev kit in a leaked photo – though we expect the end product design will be different for the PlayStation 5's late 2020 launch.

With 2020 creeping closer, Sony can only keep the finer details of the next-generation PlayStation a secret for a little longer - especially with Microsoft now official unveiling the Xbox Series X. But between the rumored specs, likely next-gen titles, and official features we are aware of, there's plenty to keep us busy for now.

Here's everything we know about the PS5 so far, and what we hope will be revealed the closer we get to launch.

PS5: key facts

  • What is it? The Sony PS5 will be the next-gen PlayStation console, replacing the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro.
  • When will it release? "Holiday 2020" so between October and December 2020. 
  • What can I play on it? Only a few titles have been confirmed, but expect all of Sony's big franchises – as well as in-development exclusives like Ghosts of Tsushima.
  • Will PS5 have VR? Oh yes. The next-gen console will be compatible with current PSVR hardware and there are rumors of PSVR 2.
  • What will the PS5 cost? The PS4 and PS4 Pro were both $399 / £349 at launch, but we expect the PS5 will cost somewhat more. Recent leaks have suggested around the $499 mark.

PS5 release date

Sony has officially confirmed the PS5 will release "Holiday 2020", aka between October and December 2020. A leak has suggested that the release date will be November 20 2020 but that's yet to be confirmed. It's in the right window, though, and it does leave time before Christmas to get those orders in.

This will put the PlayStation 5 in direct competition with Xbox Series X (formerly Xbox Project Scarlett), which is releasing during the same period.

PS5 price: how much will it cost?

PS5

Sony hasn't confirmed a price for the PS5 just yet, so we can't say for sure what it'll be. There have, however, been rumors. A recent leak has suggested that the console will cost $499 in North America when it launches. Naturally, this should be taken with a pinch of salt but it would be welcome news if the console did launch at this price as it's only $100 more than the launch price of the PS4 and PS4 Pro. 

We can expect that the console's price will be in line with the technology it uses but Sony will also have to be aware of its competition. It's unlikely that Microsoft will want to make the same mistake it made in the last generation with the prohibitively high price point of the Xbox One, so Sony will have to ensure it doesn't make a similar mistake in this generation by being undercut.

PS5 specs

PS5

Ghost of Tsushima (Image Credit: SuckerPunch)

So what is the PS5 packing under the hood? We don't know a huge amount about the PlayStation 5's specs, but here's what we do know.

The PS5 has a bespoke 8-core AMD chipset based on third generation Ryzen architecture, with a GPU taking the best bits of the Radeon Navi GPU family. In addition to this, it boasts a built-for-purpose SSD storage system, 3D audio, backwards compatibility with PS4 games and PSVR hardware, and 8K TV support. 

That AMD one-two-punch of CPU and GPU unlocks the powers of ray tracing, an advanced lighting technique that can bring next-level immersion to gaming visuals. It's a Hollywood technique that's used in big-budget CGI spectacles, putting the level of visual fidelity you can expect into context.

Ray tracing is done by GPU hardware rather than software level, Mark Cerny told Wired. “There is ray-tracing acceleration in the GPU hardware,” Cerny explained. “Which I believe is the statement that people were looking for.”

With 8K TV support comes far more detailed textures, and much larger ones at that. The news of a bespoke SSD drive will be heartening then – just because the games will be becoming more complex, that doesn't mean they'll be slower to load too. It's estimated that the new SSD is 19 times faster than traditional SSD storage methods (but given the speed difference between the SSD and the optical drive, instalation of games will be mandatory) .

The SSD marks a big step forward for the console and, in an interview with OPM (via GamesRadar), developers of Control say the SSD "really stands out" as it will allow developers to create more detailed game worlds:

“For something like Control, that could translate to an even deeper destruction system, richer, more detailed worlds, and simple quality-of-life improvements like instant reloading after dying.”

Not only that, by harnessing the power of the SSD, developers could potentially reduce the install sizes of games as “there is no need to duplicate data to compensate for slow seek times that optical drives and HDDs have.” 

The PS5 will boast more simplified game data due to its SSD, this will allow players to have more control over installing and removing games. "Rather than treating games like a big block of data," Cerny told Wired. "We're allowing finer-grained access to the data."

This will allow players to install (or remove) only certain parts of a game. So instead of installing the full game, you could choose to just install the single-player mode and then do multiplayer later - or vice versa.

PS5

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Image Credit: Naughty Dog)

Physical games for the PS5 will use 100GB optical disks, inserted into an optical drive that doubles as a 4K Blu-Ray player and the next-generation hardware will boast a completely revamped UI.

Speaking about the new UI to Wired, Cerny said: "Even though it will be fairly fast to boot games, we don't want the player to have to boot the game, see what's up, boot the game, see what's up.

"Multiplayer game servers will provide the console with the set of joinable activities in real time. Single-player games will provide information like what missions you could do and what rewards you might receive for completing them - and all of those choices will be visible in the UI. As a player you just jump right into whatever you like."

Audio will reach a new "gold standard" on PS5 too, according to Cerny, thanks to a new audio engine that will deliver immersive sound – particularly if you're using headphones. While the details remain unclear, expect something resembling the experience seen with a Dolby Atmos set-up.

Sony's PS5 next-generation console will also offer improved cloud gaming performance and "dramatically improved graphics rendering" power.

That's the word straight from the company itself, as it showed off a sneak peak during a corporate strategy presentation.

In a statement sent out following the presentation, Sony said the "two keywords for the future direction of PlayStation are 'immersive' and 'seamless'", with the 'immersive' experience "created by dramatically increased graphics rendering speeds, achieved through the employment of further improved computational power and a customized ultra-fast, broadband SSD".

The company also reinforced the importance of its cloud-gaming plans with Playstation Now, and somewhat surprisingly doubled down on its underused Remote Play feature, saying the "evolution" of this would in the future "provide a seamless game experience anytime, anywhere".

Remote Play is already available as part of the PS4 package, enabling you to stream a game direct from the console to a computer, smartphone, tablet or PS Vita handheld console. But Sony says that going forward it will be "leveraging the latest computing, streaming, cloud, and 5G technologies" to allow it, and the performance of PlayStation Now, to improve.

If that's not enough, Sony has confirmed the PS5's 'incredibly powerful' backwards compatibility will let you play online with PS4 players.

There have also been rumors that the PS5 could be backwards compatible with the PS3, PS2, and original PlayStation, meaning its games library could stretch right back to the glory days of the mid 90s.

PS5 design

We haven't actually gotten an official look at the PlayStation 5 yet but, if several leaks are to be believed, Sony's next-generation console will sport a very different look to its predecessors. 

The above render, courtesy of Let's Go Digital, is based on a spy shot received by Zone of Tech, which shows what's alleged to be a real, working PS5 development kit in its natural habitat – the offices of an anonymous PlayStation 5 developer. 

The image, if legitimate, all-but confirms the many leaked rumors and renders concerning the PlayStation 5's hardware design, one that sports an unusual V-shaped cavity and excessive amounts of ventilation.

What does the image show us? There's a number of buttons: On/Standby, Reset, Eject (for the double layer 100GB-reading Blu-ray drive), System Initialisation and Network initialisation, all on the front left. There are also a number of status lights, numbering '0' to '7', which likely relate to CPU cores engaged, but could also be a status light for controllers connected. 

To the right there are 5 USB ports (one USB 2.0 and five likely USB 3.0 ports – the final port being obscured by a cable), as well as a USB type B port. A small circle above could well be a camera built into the console, according to earlier patent filings.

Interestingly, rubber feet appear to be on the top side of the console, suggesting that devs are being encourage to either flip the console for stress testing and convenience, or to stack them when working on demanding games.

Even if we are to assume this is a PS5 dev kit for real out in the wild, it should only really be used to speculate on what the final design of the consumer console will be, rather than considering it wholly indicative on the machine to come. 

Dev kits are specially designed to be robust, and to support a console working under extreme load so as to allow the developers to push their creations to the maximum without frying the hardware they are working on. It's also designed, at this stage, to help find any flaws in the final PS5 consumer hardware industrial design. 

With Sony likely a full year away from the launch of the PlayStation 5, there's plenty of time for its team to create something a little less alien-looking.

PS5 controller

PS5

The PS5 will come with its own controller, according to Sony. The PS5 controller (we don't know the official name yet) will include haptic feedback to replace the DualShock 4's rumble technology. This aims to improve the controller's feedback and therefore player's immersion. 

The PS5 controller will also feature adaptive triggers which Sony says have "been incorporated into the trigger buttons (L2/R2)". These adaptive triggers will allow developers to program the resistance of the triggers to simulate actions more accurately.

But what will it look like? According to a Sony patent for a new controller, published by the Japanese patent office (via VGC), the PS5 controller could look very similar to the DualShock 4 - with some key differences.

For a start, the potential PS5 controller seems to have a slightly chunkier design, built-in microphone, larger triggers, no light bar and smaller sticks. It also seems the DualShock 4's micro USB port has been replaced by a smaller USB-C port, which is placed on the top rather than the bottom of the controller.

The lack of light bar does make us question how the PS5 would track the controller via when it comes to PSVR and PS Camera games. Usually this is done via the PS Camera, so we're hoping the console will have a different means of tracking the controller otherwise compatibility will suffer. Unless, of course, Sony is gearing up to move solely onto PSVR 2. However, this doesn't seem likely as Sony has promised the PS5 will be backwards compatible with PSVR.

It also looks like the stereo headset jack and extension port at the bottom of the headset has been replaced by two larger circular ports. We think these will still be for plugging in headsets, but the two jacks could be headphone and microphone slots respectively, to increase compatibility with headsets. There's also a rectangular design that seems to wrap around the headset, which is potentially for compatibility with a charging dock. Again, this is all speculation on our part. 

PS5 games

The entire PS4 library, including PSVR games, will be supported by the PS5. That much is known. But we're now hearing more about confirmed - and rumored - PS5 games.

At this point, any first-party PS4 game in the pipeline – from Ghost of Tsushima to The Last of Us 2, would be prime candidates for PS5 cross-gen upgrades. We've also heard enough chatter around a Horizon Zero Dawn sequel and new God of War game to assume we'll be seeing both land on the PS5 console.

But what about third-party titles? We've had confirmation that Gearbox's new IP Godfall is coming exclusively to PS5, as is a new title from Bluepoint Studios. In addition, Ubisoft has confirmed that Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods and Monsters are all coming to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

Meanwhile Electronic Arts has confirmed that Battlefield 6 is on the way, and that it's coming to next-generation consoles - which probably means PS5. 

There's still no confirmation on what the PS5's launch titles will be but we're expecting first-party games to take the lead.

In addition, Sony has confirmed the PS5 will prioritize AAA games over indie games in an effort to focus on "serious gamers".

  • PS5 games: all the games confirmed and expected on the PlayStation 5

What about a PS5 Pro?

PS5

A rumor has cropped up suggesting that Sony will cut to the chase and launch the PlayStation 5 Pro at the same time as its base-model PS5.

As spotted by Wccftech, noted Japanese games journalist Zenji Nishikawa made the claim in a new video on his YouTube channel, and while that kind of thing normally wouldn't be considered a rock-solid lead, Nishikawa has proven accurate in the past with his predictions of the PS4 Pro and Switch Lite.

According to Nishikawa, the PS5 Pro will cost around $100-$150 more than the basic PS5 console. The report states that Sony is taking this approach because it has "acknowledged the interest in a high-end model and wants to give players what they want right from the beginning of the generation".

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Best 4K TV 2019: our pick of the top 10 Ultra-HD TVs

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 09:09 AM PST

If you're buying a television in 2019, it's almost certainly a 4K TV. The market is now flooded with sets boasting ultra HD resolution panels, with the increased detail and pixel count creating sharper images than ever before, alongside more nuanced tone mapping that can pin down changes in color even more precisely than before. (HDR doesn't hurt, either!)

Over 70% of American households now own a 4K TV, with that number only set to increase in 2020 – so why would you want to lag behind with a piddly HD screen, especially when there's barely any saving to be had with them these days?

Not all 4K TVs are created equal, of course – which is why this guide to the best 4K Ultra HD TV is just what you need to separate the wheat from the chaff.

We've viewed the vast majority of the 4K TVs on the market, and have narrowed them down to a list of the top 4K TVs on the market for 2019 with screens from Samsung, Sony and LG leading the pack, and lower-cost options like Vizio, Hisense and TCL following just behind. 

If you recently bought something from another manufacturer that you love and you don't see it on this list, it doesn't mean we've intentionally snubbed it. Unfortunately best-of lists are tiny and we can only squeeze so many screens on here. That said, we're always adding more screens to this list, so be sure to check back in a few weeks to see the latest additions to this TV hall of fame.

What is 4K? Watch the video below to find out:

What are the best 4K TVs in 2019?

Samsung Q90R QLED TV (2019)

Last year, the Samsung Q9FN was the TV to beat. It won award-after-award for its features and image quality, not to mention its excellent, improved smart platform that came with Bixby support and Samsung SmartThings. However it wasn’t perfect and there were legitimate complaints about viewing angles and an over-aggressive local dimming system that crushed black detail. 

Samsung has clearly taken these criticisms to heart, and directly addressed them in the Q90. The new model has a visibly superior viewing angle that holds its own against OLED, and the local dimming delivers deep blacks without losing shadow detail. To that end, the new Ultra Black Elite filter is nothing short of a revelation, rejecting ambient light in a way that just staggers belief.  

The Q90 is able to deliver images that can directly compete with an OLED, with natural colors, bright highlights, deep blacks, and well defined shadows. It can also surpass any OLED when it comes to HDR, with images that are often breathtaking in their detail and dynamic range.

In fact our only real criticism would be that, unlike some of the competition, the Q90 doesn’t support Dolby Vision. However in all other respects the Samsung Q90 is an absolutely stellar TV that takes QLED to another level.

Read the full review: Samsung Q90R QLED TV

LG C9 OLED 4K TV

If smart features are the most important criteria for you when picking out a new 4K TV, then you can't do any better than the new LG C9 OLED. The 2nd generation Alpha9 processor, which uses AI enhancements to deliver stellar SDR and HDR images, helps make the upscaling and processing second-to-none with incredible levels of detail and image fidelity.

Add to that a robust smart platform and new AI sound options that analyze and improve sound quality in real time, and you have one of the smartest – and, in our opinion – one of the best 4K TVs on the market. Not to mention one of the best OLED TVs too.

Read the full review: LG C9 OLED (OLED55C9, OLED65C9, OLED77C9)

The Vizio P-Series Quantum X is a home run for Vizio. Sure, the SmartCast interface isn’t all the great, and the speakers are worth bypassing, but the TV is packed with awesome features and backed up by an excellent image quality. We’re looking forward to AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support, but even without those features the TV is still one of the best options in its price range. 

If you truly have deep pockets and want the best image quality out there, then it’s still worth going for LG's OLED or Samsung's QLED TVs - but in the absence of a six-figure salary, the $2,199 Vizio P-Series Quantum X PX-65G1 is clearly an excellent option for those that want quantum dot tech in a smart TV at Vizio-level prices. 

Read the full review: Vizio P-Series Quantum (PQ65-F1)

A direct replacement for last year's Sony A9F/AF9 OLED, the Sony A9G/AG9 Master Series OLED is the new flagship of Sony’s TV fleet. It embraces a characteristically minimalist design that disguises a host of cutting-edge features like Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, plus Netflix Calibrated Mode (of interest to many), and IMAX Enhanced certification (of interest to few).

This is a screen that looks premium, and has a spec on the right side of righteous. The Android platform is easy to live with, that vibrating sound system entertaining and picture quality top notch. Offering Dolby Vision is a welcome refinement, but the caveat is a lack of support for HDR10+. That said, it does a fabulous job up-scaling HD/SDR so it's easy to overlook the lack of at least one HDR format. 

It's undoubtedly expensive but, all things considered, this glass is class.

Read the full review: Sony A9G Master Series OLED

LG B9 OLED Series (2019)

The LG B9 OLED is possibly the most fascinating OLED set in LG’s 2019 TV range – in that it’s the cheapest one. Acting as the successor to last year’s LG B8, the 2019 version of LG's entry-level OLED again offers a beautiful OLED panel housed in cheaper casing and powered by older processors in order to keep the price below that of its more premium siblings, the LG C9, LG E9, and LG W9 OLED.

Inevitably there are some corners cut to get there, and you’re not getting the excellent experience of the C9 or E9 – but if the B9 is all your budget allows for, it’s a solid purchase, and one we'd recommend to just about everyone.

Read the full review: LG B9 OLED (OLED55B9, OLED65B9)

While it's not as impressive as this year's Vizio P-Series Quantum X, last year's Vizio P-Series Quantum still offers an incredible deal for those who can find one.

It’s a big, bold and affordable screen that supports most forms of HDR and has the ability to light up the room with its 2,000 nits of peak brightness. It might not be able to hit the inky black levels of OLED, and suffers from slow startup, but it is by far the best value quantum dot TV on the market.

That being said, if there’s anything substantial holding the Vizio P-Series Quantum back, it’s Vizio’s smart platform: In just a few words, SmartCast is one of the least robust platforms and one of the slowest, too. Startup from a complete shutdown takes a seriously long time, and navigating around the interface isn’t nearly as snappy as LG’s WebOS or Samsung’s Tizen platform.

Still, if you don't mind a slow OS, this is a great budget big-screen TV.

Read the full review: Vizio P-Series Quantum (PQ65-F1)

Samsung Q70R QLED TV (2019)

Samsung Q70R QLED TV (2019)

Samsung’s flagship Q90R QLED TV blew us away recently with its wider viewing angles, deeper blacks, and superior HDR images - sadly, however, not everyone can afford the flagship model. So what can Samsung offer for those wanting to experience QLED picture quality on a budget? 

Despite sitting lower down in the QLED line-up, the Q70R includes the same comprehensive smart platform, extensive connections, and cutting-edge features found further up the range. This isn’t the flashiest-looking TV that Samsung has ever made, but if your funds are limited the Q70 is a cracking QLED all-rounder that’s worth checking out. 

Read the full review: Samsung Q70R QLED TV

Sony Bravia X950G 4K TV

Sporting the upgraded X1 Ultimate processor, Netflix Calibrated Mode and the latest version of Android TV, Sony’s mid-range X950G has a lot going for it. 

Right out of the box, the best way to describe the image quality of the X950G is… well, natural. It’s not flashy. It’s not overly bright. Colors aren’t oversaturated. It’s just a really natural picture with subdued colors and great black levels perfect for HD/SDR content. That said, if you’re the kind of person that wants a bit more pop to your images all you need to do is turn on Live Color in the picture settings. This mode works on HD/SDR content to add a bit more color saturation to the image and helps to make the image ‘pop’ in a way that really grabs your attention.

It’s a shame that poor sound quality ruined such a great 4K/HDR TV, however, taken by itself, the Sony X950G is an immaculate screen with a ton of potential.

Read the full review: Sony BRAVIA X950G (XBR-65X950G)

TCL 6-Series 4K TV

TCL 6-Series 4K TV

If you have deep pockets and a checkbook filled with blank checks, we’d tell you to reach deep and shell out for only the best 4K TVs on the market – LG’s crazy-thin OLED W8 or Samsung’s ultra-bright Q9FN QLED. But that’s not always realistic: for the vast, vast majority of us, our budget to spend on a 4K UHD TV is limited to somewhere under $1,000 – and often it's even less than that. 

To that end, it’s absolutely fair to say that the TCL 6-Series is the best TV you can possibly get in this price range. Its performance per dollar is unmatched and its picture quality – despite a few minor flaws – will truly impress you.

Said simply, if there’s a better value 4K TV on the market, we’ve yet to see it.  

Read the full review: TCL 6-Series (R615, R617)

Hisense's H8 Series has long offered high quality at a very reasonable price, but these days it's getting harder and harder to make waves in the budget TV market - Samsung and LG now offer plenty of great 4K HDR TVs well under the $1,000 mark, while TCL has been making headlines with its $600 TCL 6-Series. 

But the H8F is a little different than previous-gen H8 series TVs. It's the company's best value TV yet and offers both Android TV and the company's proprietary ULED TV tech that it claims offers better contrast and performance than rival LED TVs.

Sure, it's not going to compete with LG's OLEDs or Samsung high-end QLED models, but this affordable 4K screen is one of the best in its price range, and the only sub-$500 model we feel comfortable recommending to our readers.

Read the full review: Hisense H8F (55H8F) review

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This fantastic PS4 Slim deal comes with three top games for an amazing price

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 09:03 AM PST

Pick up a cheap PS4 Slim deal this week and you'll also take home three amazing games included in the price. For just $249.99 you can grab a 1TB console with The Last of Us: Remastered, God of War, and Horizon: Zero Dawn Complete Edition in this fantastic PS4 deal. These are some of Sony's best exclusives, so if you've been out the loop with PlayStation over the last few years, picking them all up at once will be an extra win. 

The PS4 Slim is the redesigned PS4 console. While it doesn't offer the 4K scale of the PS4 Pro, it's available for a fantastic price with some truly great games this week. This console usually goes for $299.99 by itself on a good day, so grabbing three top quality titles for $50 less than the going rate will set you up well for the holiday season. 

Today's best PS4 Slim deal

Got your eye on other games? Check out our full range of the latest PS4 bundles right here on TechRadar. You can also find some fantastic PS Plus deals if you know where to look (and we do). Or, if you're shopping around a bit more for your next console, you might want to take a look at our best Xbox One deals going. 

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The best 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players you can buy right now

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 08:57 AM PST

Popular streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon, increasingly offer movies and TV shows you can watch in 4K resolution – if you have a 4K TV to watch them on, of course. But if you're the kind of person who wants the best, uncompressed picture quality from your movie sessions and TV binges, you need to invest in a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player.

Why's that? When you display video content from a disc you don't get the same risk of buffering or varying resolution as over an internet connection, making for a more consistently high-quality picture. New 4K Blu-ray discs also tend to pack in the most advanced and premium HDR formats, such as Dolby Vision – or even Dolby Atmos surround sound audio.

A 4K Blu-ray player will still be able to play HD Blu-rays too, as well as regular ol' DVDs you may still have lying around – with the capability to upscale those lower-resolution formats up to 4K before feeding them to your TV.

Blu-ray is still in many senses a niche market, and the technology likely won't be around forever, with ever more of us being happy to stream our content instead. But there are still some great choices for those opting for 4K Blu-ray discs – with the likes of Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony all having a crack at the multimedia player.

As for the upfront investment of buying yet another media device, you can take some solace in knowing that these players really aren't that expensive. Sure, there are one or two premium players on our list that can do anything and everything, but most 4K Blu-ray players on the market right now cost less than $300 / £300 / AU$450.

Keep in mind, of course, that various games consoles come with Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray players built into the hardware – such as the Xbox One S, Xbox One X, or upcoming PlayStation 5. But if you want a standalone 4K Ultra HD player, here are the options for you.

What else do I need to watch a 4K UHD Blu-ray?

That being said, before you plunk down some money on a new player, make sure you already own a 4K TV in order to watch it – if you don't have one, then check out our guide to the best 4K TV.

If you don't have a 4K TV, your 4K Blu-ray player will still work, but it will only display images in 1080p. Buy a regular Blu-ray disc instead of a 4K version and it will still play in 3840 × 2160 resolution, but it won't be a native 4K image and will be noticeably different to an Ultra HD Blu-ray.

Best 4K Blu-ray players at a glance

  1. Panasonic DP-UB9000
  2. Panasonic DMP-UB700 
  3. Pioneer UDP-LX500 
  4. Sony UBP-X800
  5. Panasonic DMP-UB900 
  6. Sony UBP-X1000ES
  7. Panasonic DMP-UB300 
  8. Xbox One X
  9. Xbox One S 
  10. Samsung UBD-K8500

Best 4K Blu-ray players 2019: ranked

Panasonic 4K Blu-ray player

Image Credit: Panasonic

The DP-UB9000 is Panasonic’s latest flagship 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player and, after Oppo started winding down its competing devices, the new model finds itself in one of the top spots in the high-end player market. 

That said, beautifully made and enviably specified, this flagship 4K disc spinner is unashamedly premium. The plastic and tin build, familiar on mainstream Blu-ray players, has been replaced with heavy metal and luxe design. 

Beyond its good looks, however, the DP-UB9000 is also the first UHD deck from Panasonic to support all key HDR flavours: vanilla HDR10, its dynamic sibling HDR10+, HLG and Dolby Vision. The latter is included, despite the fact that Panasonic isn’t supporting Dolby Vision on any of its 4K TVs. 

Not only is the player more than capable with images, it has audiophile aspirations as well, sporting high quality DACs, two-channel and 7.1-channel analogue outputs, and Hi-Res Audio support. Toss in a host of smart features, and the UB9000 ticks nearly every box in the book. 

Naturally all these flagship features don’t come cheap - but, for those seeking the ideal replacement Blu-ray player after Oppo’s collapse, the Panasonic DP-UB9000 is a more than adequate replacement. 

Read the full review: Panasonic DP-UB9000 review

Panasonic 4K Blu-ray player

Image Credit: Panasonic

The Panasonic DMP-U700 is the 4K Blu-ray player we end up recommending most often. It's more affordable than an Oppo deck, and still gets you the amazing picture quality of Panasonic's top-end DMP-U900.   

Streaming service support, with HDR-enabled 4K Netflix, is well worth trumpeting and the player does a swell job with 24-bit audio. It supports both FLAC and DSD files. 

There's no Dolby Vision support, perhaps the main reason to upgrade to the DMP-UB900. But as it stands the UB700 offers the best balance of price, audio visual performance and features. 

Read the full review: Panasonic DMP-UB700

Pioneer 4K Blu-ray player

Image Credit: Pioneer

While its £999 ($999, AU$1999) price tag might be a bit intimidating, Pioneer has produced a peach of a player with the UDP-LX500. This heavyweight home cinema hero deserves to be shortlisted by all high-end upgraders, and can comfortably claim to be one of the best universal 4K Blu-ray players available for less than a grand. 

There are caveats though. It’s not quite as brilliant a video performer as its main rival, the cheaper Panasonic DMP-UB9000, and it’s not quite as well finished either. However, if music is as important as movies to you, it’s clearly got broader appeal. Move over Bradley and Gaga, a new AV star is born.

Read the full review: Pioneer UDP-LX500

Sony 4K Blu-ray player

Image Credit: Sony

Sony might have been a little late to the Ultra HD Blu-ray party, but its first player is a great machine. It's solidly made, and its overall image quality is superb. 

As an added bonus, the player also supports a wide range of audio formats, can play SACDs, and even DVD-As. 

So why does the player sit the number three slot in our list? Well, unfortunately it lacks support for Dolby Vision, the high-end HDR format that discs are increasingly offering support for, and which the Oppo UDP-203 does now support thanks to a firmware update. Its also more expensive than our top pick, the Panasonic DMP-UB700. 

If you want a UHD player that also doubles as a very capable music player, then the Sony UBP-X800 is a great choice, but if you're after something focussed solely on playing movies, then there are better or cheaper options out there. 

Read the full review: Sony UBP-X800

Panasonic 4K Blu-ray player

Image Credit: Panasonic

The DMP-UB900 will restore you faith in physical media. In full 4K HDR guise it offers a level of performance that will have new 4K TV owners gasping. Ultra HD Blu-ray brings the experience of 4K digital cinema to the home, and rewards with brilliant colour fidelity, deep contrast and almost three-dimensional clarity.

Factor in solid file playback support, plus 4K iterations of Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, and you have a machine that'll make your new 4K HDR TV look sensational.

Read the full review: Panasonic DMP-UB900

Sony 4K Blu-ray player

Image Credit: Sony

The UBP-X1000ES is Sony’s premium 4K Blu-ray offering, a posh stablemate to the unfeasibly fine UBP-X800. In terms of performance and value, the latter can be considered one of the best value UHD Blu-ray players available, so clearly this more expensive sibling needs to be rather special to warrant a premium. 

To that end, the UBP-X1000ES delivers pristine UHD Blu-ray images and its audio performance is excellent, be it via HDMI or two channel analogue. The player is also artfully built, and incorporates a high-end 192kHz/ 32bit DAC and offers a gold-plated phono analogue audio output on the rear. 

Ultimately, though, the X1000ES is considerably more expensive than the UBP-X800, and doesn’t quite have the feature roster of the Dolby Vision-enabled, MQA-playing Oppo UHD-203 - and if you’re looking for a UHD player with comparable audio chops (although admittedly not universal disc compatibility), then Panasonic’s DMP-UB900 provides cheaper competition.  

Read the full review: Sony UBP-X1000ES

Image Credit: Panasonic

You'll make a couple of compromises if you want to take advantage of the DMP UB300's budget price-tag – there's no built-in Wi-Fi for example, and rear ports are incredibly limited – but thankfully the machine doesn't scrimp where it matters. 

Picture quality is excellent, it supports a wide range of audio codecs and formats, and there's also streaming services built in if you're willing to go down the wired ethernet route. 

Read the full review: Panasonic DMP-UB300


The Xbox One X is a beast of a gaming console. It offers 6 teraflops of performance, 12GB of GDDR5 RAM and an eight-core CPU clocked at 2.3GHz. By far and away, it's the most powerful device listed on this page. 

But despite all that power under the hood, it's not the best 4K Blu-ray player. Sure, it can play 4K UHD discs – and it even supports Dolby Atmos audio – but the images that it produces aren't likely to blow you away. That's probably because the Xbox One X doesn't have the same level of picture-upscaling that some of the other dedicated media players on this list have. 

While the Xbox One X might not be as good of a 4K Blu-ray player as the Oppo or the Sony, we'd like to see either one of those players handle an Xbox One X game.

Read the full review: Xbox One X

Image Credit: Microsoft/Xbox

Not holding the title of a "proper Blu-ray player" doesn't stop the Xbox One S from being a great, cheap way to play 4K Blu-ray discs. 

Sporting a Blu-ray disc drive and the capacity to run Netflix in 4K Ultra HD, Microsoft's latest iteration of the Xbox is a great 'jack-of-all-trades' machine that's capable of satisfying your UHD disc needs as well as playing the latest console game released for the system. 

The downside of it being able to do everything is that you'll be working with an interface designed primarily for gaming. The controller that comes with the console isn't the most efficient way to control movie playback, and the machine lacks support for Dolby Vision. 

Regardless, if you want a machine that can handle both your gaming and your home cinema needs, the Xbox One S is the console for the job. 

Read the full review: Xbox One S

Samsung 4K Blu-ray player

Image Credit: Samsung

The K8500 is currently the cheapest route into 4K Blu-ray. It's also a useful hub for 4K OTT services from Netflix and Amazon, and while the design may divide opinion, you'll be consistently impressed by its loading speed and colourful UI.

You can get better image quality, support for more formats and better build quality by spending more money, but if you want a cheap machine that covers the basics, then the Samsung UBD-K8500 is yet to be beaten on price. 

Samsung has since stopped making Blu-ray players, but keep assured this one should last you for a while yet.

Read the full review: Samsung UBD-K8500

  • Looking for a deal on a new 4K Blu-ray player? Don't miss our guide to the Black Friday deals coming your way

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What is Amazon SES?

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 08:55 AM PST

As companies grow, they sometimes rely on methods that don’t make sense anymore. One example of that is how businesses process outgoing emails from email clients. Distinguishable from normal web-based email, these transactional emails include the monthly newsletter you might send customers or the reminders an app sends to inform customers about a support issue.

Small companies certainly can still use Google Gmail to queue up their email communication and even schedule emails using third-party apps. However, this doesn’t work when you are sending thousands of emails per month because of the complexity of the infrastructure.

Often, this complexity is due to how a business needs to scale up or down as the business changes. It’s related to the business apps you use that send out emails on a routine basis and the marketing campaigns you conduct -- all of which involve more than the simple act of sending emails and includes analysis and tracking, reporting, and a way to respond to messages.

Enter Amazon SES, which stands for Simple Email Service. The service is designed for marketing campaigns, company communication, web application transactional emails, and any other activity that involves sending emails to customers, partners, or internally.

For those who already use Amazon EC2 (Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud) for hosting applications on the serverless cloud computing platform, you can send up to 62,000 emails per month for free. After that, the service works in a pay-as-you-go model with a low fee per thousand emails. The basic idea with Amazon SES is to provide a complement to your existing IT infrastructure that allows companies to focus on the content of the emails and not on the infrastructure that’s required to process and analyze them.

And, due to the scalability of the cloud, there are no concerns over storing email content, performance related to how the transactional emails are sent, or issues with the back-end analytics and reporting you might need to do after sending the emails.

Benefits of Amazon SES

Email is a fact of life for many businesses, even as some have moved into the age of Slack and social media. It’s expected that any customer-facing application will communicate with a user by sending official emails that explain new features, notify them about security concerns, or provide a way for customers to provide feedback and obtain support. Email is the well-known, official channel for communication for apps, and it’s often used for marketing services and campaigns because of how companies can track the success of the campaigns.

The problem is that email is also a complex endeavor for companies that need to send thousands and thousands of messages per month from multiple apps, for official company business, and as part of marketing efforts. It’s complex in part because of the massive number of messages being transmitted but also due to the strain email can place on platforms.

There are concerns over reliably sending the messages, compliance with email marketing regulations, and dealing with the incoming email deluge.

Fortunately, Amazon SES has the back-end infrastructure to keep up with the flow. It uses cutting edge content filtering techniques, reputation management features to guard against any issues with regulatory compliance (avoiding being labeled as spam, since customers opt-in to receive the messages), and a vast array of analytics and reporting functions. Amazon SES is a console app that admins can manage and configure for the business needs.

Dealing with incoming email is also not a Herculean undertaking. Amazon SES can store incoming messages in an Amazon EC2 bucket, and companies can then use AWS Lambda to process the email using custom code. For example, if your company uses an app to send out an email about new features routinely, and customers reply with questions, you can run a report and create a new email that answers the questions -- for example, by using another service called Amazon SNS (Simple Notification Service) that looks for keywords.

The most important benefit here is related to cost. As mentioned earlier, Amazon SES uses a pay as you go, model, so even after companies that use EC2 process the free tier of email sends, the costs are extremely low for a business that process thousands of more emails per month or even into the tens fo thousands. The cost is about 10 cents per thousand emails.

This scale is where cloud computing is a major asset for companies that might experience quick growth as they add new services or offer more customer-facing apps. As you host each app in the cloud, you can then rely on Amazon SES to handle all of the email processing for you. There’s no “gotcha” as you grow and expand services and offerings.

In the end, every company will continue to process email for customers as they accepted and reliable form of communication and as a method for dealing with transactional emails sent from an app (both from mobile or on the web). It’s a technology that is here to stay.

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Best Smart TV 2019: every smart TV platform and which set does it best

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 08:34 AM PST

Smart TVs are so common these days that it barely feels necessary to add the 'smart' to them. You'd have to hunt high and low to find a new TV that doesn't come with some form of smart capability or features built-in, whether that's LG's WebOS, Google's Android TV that's used on Sony and Hisense TVs, or Samsung's Tizen.

We've come a long way from the early days of smart TVs, which were marked by sub-standard performance, non-existent software updates, and a general lack of manufacturer support.

Smart TV platforms nowadays give you broad access to apps and on demand services like Netflix or Disney Plus, allow for ways to connect to your smart home, and offer their own unique form of navigation and layout to help you get to those things fast and efficiently (at least, that's the idea).

That's why we've put together this guide to the best smart TV platforms available right now, whether your soon-to-be set is 40-inch, 55-inch, or larger – with the very best smart TV models of 2019 listed at the bottom of this article.

So what smart TV platforms are out there, what do they do, and how different are they from each other?

  • What can smart TVs do? Smart TVs are internet-connected televisions that stream shows, films, and programmes over the internet, alongside (or instead of) terrestrial broadcasts.
  • What's a "dumb" TV? A dumb TV is a set without smart capabilities or internet connection, though set-top boxes or streaming sticks can add those things in.
  • What channels are on smart TVs? This varies between country, and also your TV manufacturer. UK viewers will get 12 HD channels and 60 standard channels through Freeview, with more available through entertainment packages like Sky Q.
  • Do smart TVs have built-in Wi-Fi? No: you'll need a home internet connection, either over ethernet (wired) or Wi-Fi (wireless).
  • Do smart TVs have Netflix? All major smart platforms will support Netflix, even those with Amazon's Fire TV interface – while some remotes these days even come with a dedicated Netflix button. You will need to subscribe to Netflix to access the content within the app, though.

In 2019, there are five main smart operating systems: Android TV, webOS, Tizen, Roku TV and SmartCast that are used by Sony, LG, Samsung, TCL and Vizio, respectively. In the UK, you'll find that Philips also uses Android while Panasonic uses its own proprietary system called MyHomeScreen. 

The vast majority of TVs use one of the operating systems listed above - but not all TVs. At lower price points, you probably won't find any of the above as most TV manufacturers offer a narrow proprietary service instead. These will vary between manufacturers, however, by and large, they're not as good as the ones listed above for the sheer reason that they aren't updated as frequently. 

When in doubt, try to buy one a TV with one of the above. 

That said, if you're completely undecided on which smart TV to buy, it's worth considering the value of each of these smart systems – which we'll list below.

(Scale: Awful, Bad, OK, Good, Better, Best)

Best Smart TV 2018: Android TV

Image Credit: TechRadar

Android TV (found on 2019 Sony 4K and OLED TVs)

Setup: OK | Ease of use: Good | Speed: OK | Number of apps: Better | Universal search: Better


  • Pros: Recommended content row. Clean layout.  
  • Cons: Most builds are very buggy and prone to crashing. 

Android TV is the nearest the smart TV universe has to a standardized operating system, but there are still variations between brand executions.

Sony has the most comprehensive Google solution. For UK viewers, it has rather cleverly layered a YouView program guide platform on top, deftly addressing one of Android TV’s big weaknesses – catch-up TV provision. This YouView app ensures that all the main catch-up services are provided, and accessible via a roll-back 7-day EPG.

Other supporters of Android TV are Philips (via maker TP Vision) and in the US, Sharp and Hisense. It’s also available on the Nvidia Shield streaming device.   

While other TV platforms make a virtue of their minimalism, Android stacks the screen with various layers of content: There’s also a row of specific Sony selected content, followed by apps for Netflix, Amazon Video, links to the Google Play Store, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies and TV, YouTube and so on.

Owners of Android phones/tablets can use their device to control Android TVs via Sony’s TV SideView app, and Google Assistant continues to get more and more useful with its own Android TV integration.

Android TV devices also have Chromecast built-in, which simplifies streaming from mobile Android devices (iOS users can download the AirBuddy app to Google Cast). Controllers from Logitech and Razer also promise gaming without needing a console.

There is a caveat though. In our experience, Android is the least stable of the various smart platforms, with Sony TVs exhibiting more than their fair share of failures – it’s not unusual to be notified that various aspects of the Android platform have stopped working, and some of these messages are completely inscrutable (usually the best option is to simply restart the TV).

To be fair to Google, this is becoming less of an issue as successive Android TV updates roll out – the latest incarnation is particularly slick on the Nvidia Shield, for example – but there's still room for improvement.

Best Smart TV 2018: WebOS

Image Credit: TechRadar

WebOS (found on 2019 LG OLED, Nano Cell and some UHD TVs)

Setup: OK | Ease of use: Good | Speed: Better | Number of apps: Good | Universal search: OK

  • Pros: Alexa and Google Assistant integration. Fast to navigate.  
  • Cons: No major flaws!

LG rewrote the rulebook for smart TV platforms with its webOS, starting the trend for minimal, simplified user interfaces back in 2014.

Since then it's been gradually refining its offering, leading us to the all-new WebOS 4.5 launching in 2019 on the latest and best LG TVs.

The UI, which is still built around a Launch Bar for apps, inputs and features, remains tidy and customizable this year, plus you can change the running order to best suit how you use the set. If you like to Miracast images from your smartphone, grab the Screen Share app with LG's cursor-based Magic Remote and move up further up the pecking order.

App support is also surprisingly good: Netflix streams in 4K with both HDR and Dolby Vision, as well as Dolby Atmos audio when available. There's also Amazon with UHD HDR and YouTube in 4K. Other options include Now TV, Sky Store, Wuaki.TV, plus all the main channel catch-up services.

As we’ve seen on earlier webOS builds, these streaming apps remain open and live, even when you navigate away from them. This means you can pause Star Trek Discovery, browse the TV listings for The Walking Dead, and then return to the action.

Other cool features recently added to the platform include 360-degree video playback (from 360-degree videos on YouTube), support for both Google Assistant and Alexa, and an OLED still image gallery. LG TVs also have Freeview Play in the UK, which means a full larder of catch-up television. 

For US viewers, there's Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and Google Play TV and Movies, as well as Hulu, VUDU, MLB.TV, and FandangoNow.

Best Smart TV 2018: Tizen

Image Credit: Tizen

Tizen (found on Samsung 2019 QLED and NU-Series TVs)

Setup: Good | Ease of use: Good | Speed: Better | Number of apps: Bad | Universal search: Bad

  • Pros: TV Plus offers free channels. Fast to navigate. 
  • Cons: Universal search can be hit or miss. 

Samsung is another brand keen to keep things simple – its Tizen OS clearly owes much to LG's webOS interface, in so much as it consists of icons, apps and shortcuts all accessible via icons held a horizontal strip across the bottom of the screen. A dynamically changing ‘Recent’ box in the far-left corner cycles between recently used apps and TV channels.

But it’s not overly intelligent as it stands right now, but that could change in the future when Samsung integrates its TV AI into Tizen.

For now, we like the fact that on-screen icons can be changed: a sense of identity is welcome when it comes to some AV inputs and key apps you use everyday. The OS cuts down on clutter, although this sometimes works against navigation – there are plenty of occasions when it's necessary to go hunting for a specific app. Thankfully that's made easier by a Smart Hub multimedia page that divvies up content from apps and from your own USB sticks/home network.

On some of the higher-end Samsung TVs, you'll also get Bixby built-in as well as Samsung SmartThings that allows your TV to act as the center of your connected home.

Best Smart TV 2018: Roku TV

Image Credit: Roku TV

Roku TV (found on 2019 TCL and Hisense TVs)

Setup: OK | Ease of use: Better | Speed: Better | Number of apps: Good | Universal search: Best

  • Pros: Best universal search. Very easy to use. 
  • Cons: Interface feels a bit plain in 2019.

Despite Android TV and all the proprietary portals available, there's still room for other connected smart offerings. In Europe, Vestel has its own stripped back (read: basic) smart platform, which is used for TV companies it manufactures for, including Toshiba and JVC. In the US, TV maker Element now offers a screen with Amazon’s Fire TV OS built in too.

But perhaps the most interesting second-division smart OS is Roku TV. 

Announced back in 2014 for TCL TVs, Roku TV has found support with low-cost US TV suppliers. Today, you can find Roku TV on quite a few Haier, Hisense, Insignia, Sharp and TCL TV models – with a new range of Hisense TVs set to bring the Roku TV platform to the UK.

As a platform, Roku TV borrows the interface and feature set from the company's popular media streamers, like the Roku Streaming Stick.

What that means is that you'll find a universal search function able to scan over 30 different apps like Netflix, Google Play TV and Movies, Amazon, VUDU and more to find you the lowest price on the TV show or movie you want to watch, as well as around 4,500 channels of content to watch.

Add to that some neat features like a dedicated app that helps you keep track of upcoming movies and TV shows via the My Feed section, and a private listening mode (via headphones that plug into the remote) when you want to watch TV without disturbing the whole house.

Best Smart TV Platform 2018: MyHomeScreen

Image Credit: MyHomeScreen

MyHomeScreen (found on 2019 Panasonic TVs)

Setup: OK | Ease of use: Good | Speed: Better | Number of apps: OK | Universal search: OK

  • Pros: Fast and responsive.  
  • Cons: A bit plain.

If you live in the UK, Panasonic's My Home Screen is one of the most customizable smart TV platforms around. Built on the open-source code of Mozilla’s Firefox TV OS, Panasonic's My Home Screen smart TV interface combines an intuitive minimalism with extensive customization options.

The platform looks simple but has some inspired functionality: the home screen launches with three buttons (Live TV, Apps and Devices), but you can pin more as required, perhaps for a favorite streaming service, or a specific input. There are now also folders for multiple users, while a My App button on the remote can be customised for faster access to favourite content. A revamped Media Player supports 4K HDR10 and HLG HDR, meanwhile.

App provision on Panasonic TVs is good too. Netflix streams in 4K with HDR, and Amazon Video and YouTube also offer 4K support. Catch-up TV service support is integrated through the provision of Freeview Play. This includes iPlayer, ITVHub, Demand 5 and All4, and usability is great across the board.

The OS is extremely convenient to live with, yet powerful enough to cater for a variety of different users, be they family members who just want their favorite channels pinned to the home screen, or TV enthusiasts keen to dive quickly between multiple sources.

Best Smart TV 2018: SmartCast

Image Credit: SmartCast

SmartCast (found on 2019 Vizio TVs)

Setup: OK | Ease of use: OK | Speed: Bad | Number of apps: Good | Universal search: OK

  • Pros: Has Google Chromecast built-in.  
  • Cons: Slower than most other TV operating systems.

SmartCast, on paper, is a great idea. It's all the fun extras of the Android TV platform - including the ability to Cast content to your screen - with a more logical layout. 

When you turn on a SmartCast TV be prepared to see three rows - one featured row that has huge marquee images to point you to specific shows or movies; one row for recommended content and one row for all your apps. 

If you want to drill down into specific content categories or settings, you can move to one of the other tabs (there's a tab for movies, TV shows, Support and Extras) or go to the top right of the screen to perform a search.

Unfortunately, while SmartCast provides a lot of versatility in what you can stream, it's also one of the slower smart platforms and can misbehave on occasion. 

Amazon Fire TV (found on some Toshiba and Insignia TVs)

Setup: Good | Ease of use: Good | Speed: OK | Number of apps: OK | Universal search: OK

  • Pros: Directly tied to Amazon Video
  • Cons: Insignia and Toshiba TVs aren't great

One of the lesser-known operating systems is Amazon Fire TV that comes installed on some TVs from Toshiba and Insignia. It's more or less the same operating system that you'd find on Amazon's Fire TV streaming dongle, but it's conveniently built right into the TV – no dongle necessary.

The big problem here actually isn't the operating system – which, by all logical measurements, is totally fine. It's that the TV manufacturers Amazon has partnered with – Toshiba and Insignia – aren't great, and usually put out the cheapest TVs in the American market. Some of these TVs are OK, but many (including the ones that use the Amazon Fire TV platform) aren't. You can read more about this in our Should I buy a Toshiba Fire TV guide. 

That's something Toshiba is hoping to fix with it's upcoming Amazon Fire TV Edition with Dolby Vision TV that was announced in June of 2019, but we'll need to wait for review samples to know for sure how the latest software stacks up.

If you're interested in the speed and versatility of Amazon's smart TV platform, we recommend buying an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K instead.

  • TV stands: finding the best TV stand to suit your living room cinema needs

LG C9 OLED

Image Credit: LG

The LG C9 boasts the latest iteration of webOS and while this game changing platform remains largely the same, there have been a few tweaks.

For a start there’s now a second tier on the launcher bar that’s very reminiscent of the one found on Samsung’s Tizen system. It’s rather ironic that LG should take inspiration from Samsung – especially when you consider that Tizen copied webOS in the first place – but the second tier is a useful feature, making it quicker to access content and adding an AI Preview that makes recommendations based on your viewing habits. There’s also a new Intelligent Edit feature that lists your apps based on how often you use them.

That’s very handy because the C9 has a lot of apps; not to mention a comprehensive selection of streaming services that includes Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Now TV, Rakuten, and all the UK TV catch-up services.

The AI-enhanced recommendation feature monitors and analyses your viewing habits based not only on content but also the time of day. It will then make recommendations according its analysis, although there’s the option to turn this feature off if it gets annoying.

There’s a new Home Dashboard that collates all connected mobile, input and home IoT devices into a single hub. You can monitor and control just about any connected device in your smart home, and LG will be adding support for Homekit later this year.

LG’s ThinQ open AI platform already includes Google Assistant, and the company plans to add Amazon Alexa via a future firmware update. You can access Google by pressing the mic button on the remote, and then voice control your C9 or simply use it as a smart assistant. 

Other new features include the ability to setup your C9 using an LG smartphone, and the ability to auto-detect connected HDMI devices. There’s also a mini-browser, a new TV channel banner, and an expanded Gallery mode with world famous travel attractions seasonally curated by TripAdvisor.


When it comes to Sony's 2019 TV range, the A9G Master Series OLED can't be beat. The high-performing televisions offers incredible 4K HDR pictures with the masterful upscaling to make even SD and HD content shine with all those extra pixels.

We’ve struggled to love the Android TV OS in the past, but its latest Oreo iteration is a tasty step in the right direction. The menu structure has been simplified, and Sony has added its own Quick Setting overlay to simplify access to elements like picture modes, not to mention the addition of Amazon Prime Video – which has been missing from Android for years over a Google-Amazon feud.

Not only does the A9G use Google's TV OS, but it supports Chromecast Built-in as well. The screen can also be used with Google Home and Amazon Alexa devices for voice commands, as well as Sony’s own LF-S50G and SRS-XB501G smart speakers. (There's now Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support, too.)

Samsung Q70R QLED TV

Image Credit: Samsung

While it's not Samsung's flagship TV for 2019, the Samsung Q70R is the best bang for your buck when looking for a Tizen smart TV. 

For starters there’s now compatibility with Samsung's SmartThings platform, which provides an on-screen hub for monitoring and even controlling other smart devices (fridges, washing machines, lights etc) on your network, and iTunes/AirPlay 2. The latter is great if you're an iOS/Mac user, while the former allows you to dabble in Samsung's IoT platform. 

There’s also much better integration of the TV listings and live broadcasting into the TV’s content searching features: there are now hour-by-hour show recommendations, for instance, as well as TV shows getting much more prominence in the content browsing menus.

Samsung has delivered enhanced interactivity with your smartphones and tablets too, as well as some seriously cool new gaming related features. 

Overall, a slick, easy to use and helpfully customizable interface belies the impressive sophistication and comprehensiveness of Samsung’s latest smart TV engine.   

TCL 6-Series R615, R617

Image Credit: TCL

Once you get this TCL TV up and running, you’ll be met with the familiar veneer of Roku TV – an egalitarian operating system that handily retains its top spot as (arguably) the best operating system year after year. It’s intuitive to use, if a bit boring, and its lack of ties to a particular streaming platform allow it to point you to all the places content can be found without bias. 

That last bit is important, especially if you’ve ever used an Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV, both of which would much rather have you stream from their ancillary streaming services over any of the third-party ones. Because Roku doesn’t have ties to a major streaming service – other than a vague deal to include FandangoNow on the home screen of the OS – it doesn’t push you any direction you don’t want to go and happily supports everything from Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV and Amazon, to lesser-known channels like Pluto.tv, tubi, Crackle and others.

That’s to say nothing of Roku’s own streaming service that it launched at the end of last year, which provides its own collection of entirely free movies that change in and out every few months. Most aren’t anything to write home about, but you do get the occasional gem in there.

While it’d be nice to see the inclusion of artificial intelligence and personal assistants on Roku TV – similar to what LG is doing with webOS and Samsung has done with Tizen and SmartThings – all things considered, this is still one of the best TV operating systems and a fantastic TV overall.  

Vizio P-Series Quantum X

Image Credit: Vizio

The Vizio P-Series Quantum X is a smart TV, but that goes beyond simply offering a smart platform for streaming: This is one of the first TVs from the California-based TV manufacturer to offer Apple AirPlay 2 functionality, opening it up to the entire Apple ecosystem. That's a game-changer if you're an iPhone user. 

Beyond AirPlay, the Quantum X also has direct access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and more, all from the home screen, and while the overall selection of apps isn’t massive, and there’s no real app marketplace to get more, most of the big ones are there, plus you can cast with Vizio’s SmartCast platform, which is handy.  

We still find SmartCast to be one of the least appealing smart platforms out there, but we can't knock the Vizio P-Series Quantum X – it's one of this year's best TVs.

Steve May contributed original reporting to this article.

Panasonic TH-65GZ2000


Panasonic’s My Home Screen smart platform is decidedly simple compared to much of the competition, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Currently on its fourth generation, it remains largely the same as the Firefox OS on which it was originally based.

When you press the Home button on the remote, you get a choice of three options: Live TV, Apps, and Devices. This simplicity is the platform’s greatest strength, making it easy to navigate and find things by helpfully storing all the apps in single location; you can also pin your favorite apps to the home page for quicker access.

You'll find this latest iteration on 2019 Panasonic TVs, though it will run fastest – and display its apps and content in the best light – through the TV maker's high-end OLED sets, like the GZ000 featured here.

Since the smart platform is relatively simple, it doesn’t require a vast amount of processing power to operate, which makes it responsive, robust, and free from crashes. My Home Screen isn’t fragmented like some platforms, nor does it bombard you with recommendations – it simply delivers all the streaming and catch-up services you need.

Thanks to Freeview Play, a comprehensive list of catch-up services are included, covering BBC iPlayer, ITVhub, All4, My5, BBC News & Sport and UK Play. The iPlayer app supports 4K and HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma – the broadcast version of HDR), both of which the BBC trialled during the World Cup.

There’s also Netflix, Amazon and YouTube, all of which support 4K and HDR, along with services like Rakuten and Chili Cinema. In fact the only major streaming service missing is NOW TV.

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The best wireless headphones

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 08:33 AM PST

Welcome to our pick of the best wireless headphones. Now sure, a few short years ago, we may have tried to dissuade you from buying a pair of wireless headphones (the technology had issues with wireless connectivity over Bluetooth and sound quality took a dive as a result) but these days, you can't go wrong by buying a wireless pair of headphones. 

Thanks to advancements in Bluetooth (thanks, aptX), the best wireless headphones not only stay connected to any phone in every situation. But they sound just as good as their wired counterparts, too. 

Yes, a wireless pair of headphones might cost a bit more than a similar wired model, but wireless headphones offer greater freedom of movement and, because they don't use an aux cable, make great companions for jack-less phones that lack a 3.5mm aux port to connect with.

Whatever your reason for upgrading, we're here to help you pick out the best wireless headphones, regardless of your budget. What you'll find below are the top headphones we've reviewed – some of which come with neat features like noise-cancellation – all vetted by our staff so you can shop with confidence.

noise cancelation


For the last three years, the Sony 1000X series of headphones have been our favorite wireless headphones on the market. They sound great thanks to a combination of superb wireless codecs - aptX and Sony's proprietary LDAC tech - and keep outside noise at bay thanks to Sony's ever-improving noise-cancellation algorithms. 

While the Sony WH-1000XM3 might not be a massive improvement over last year's WH-1000XM2, they're still a cut above their rivals, the Bose QC35 II, in nearly every way: they sound better, they block out noise better and have better features like Quick Attention mode that lets in all outside noise without taking off the headphones. (The latter is perfect when giving a drink order on a plane or speaking to a coworker for a brief moment before diving back into your work.) 

Great-sounding and feature-packed, these impressive Sony headphones are great travel companions and all-around excellent wireless headphones.

wireless headphones

Bose has really outdone itself with the Headphones 700 – and a big part of these cans’ appeal, is the sophistication of the noise cancellation they offer.

As an alternative to the Sony WH-1000XM3, these headphones sound fantastic, with a vibrant, lively character and well-balanced soundstage and offer the same great noise-cancellation you'd expect from Bose.

They don't have the same dexterity as the WH-1000XM3 and the battery life is also 10 hours less than Sony headphones despite costing more, but they're still well-worth considering when looking for a pair of wireless headphones.

noise canceling headphones


Offering class-leading battery life, terrific style and plenty of personalization when it comes to sound profiles, the Elite 85h is easy to recommend. That said, purists will bemoan the lack of high-end codec support and there are punchier headphones on the market at this price point. When you consider that Jabra’s Elite 85h headphones are the company’s first attempt at premium wireless ANC headphones, the result is quite commendable. We can’t wait to see what the company’s next premium ANC headphones will accomplish.  

If you want an alternative to Sony's WH-1000XM3, this is it.

best wireless headphones


Bose took the already-excellent QC35 and updated with Google Assistant. The headphone is identical in every way save for the new Google Assistant button. This means you still get the class-leading noise cancellation Bose is known for, good sound quality, and incredible comfort. Said simply, they sound great and their battery life is long enough for all but the longest of flights.

wireless


The Beyerdynamic Amiron Wireless are the best-sounding wireless headphones you can buy, period. Sound is spacious, detailed, and makes you want to rediscover your music library. Their bulky design and average noise isolation make them terrible for travel but if you’re looking for the best sound from a wireless headphone, this is it.

wireless headphones


Audio-Technica has a long history of producing high-quality headphones, microphones, and turntable accessories, and with the release of the ATH-M50xBT, it delivers studio-quality audio without the cord.  

The ATH-M50xBTs are designed for really high-end audio performance, with 45mm drivers and a frequency response range of 15-28,00 Hz, and it shows - we were very impressed with the warm, well-rounded sound.

The ATH-M50xBT headphones also performed well in terms of battery life and Bluetooth connectivity, however the microphone isn’t particularly strong, and you may struggle to make phone calls using them - still, that’s probably not the reason you would purchase a pair of studio grade headphones in the first place. 


In terms of audio quality, these Sennheiser over-ear headphones sound fantastic, with high levels of detail, warm bass, and natural-sounding highs.

Customizable noise cancelation is a great touch, but it doesn't quite reach the class-leading standards set by Sony and Bose. Battery life also doesn't compete with the Sony WH-1000XM3s, and they're more expensive to boot. 

So, why buy the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless (2019)? Well, if built-in Tile tracking appeals to you, and you like the industrial design and premium materials of the Momentum Wireless, that could be reason enough – and if you do opt for them over the Sony model, you won’t be missing out on any audio quality. In that respect, they’re truly matched.

best wireless headphones


The AKG N60NC Wireless sound like a pair of headphones that should be much more expensive than they are. 

At their mid-range price point the headphones offer fantastic value for money, with great sound quality and a level of noise-cancellation performance that's on a level with the much more premium entries on this list. 

Our biggest issue with these headphones is the fact that they're on-ear rather than over-ear, meaning that we found that they got uncomfortable over longer periods. 

Regardless, the benefit of this is that this is a fantastically compact pair of headphones, and if you're willing to make the trade-off then these are great for the price. 

wireless


The Grado GW100s sound great with a wide soundstage, clear highs, smooth mids, and extended bass frequencies. They also sport a kitsch, retro design that recalls Grado’s humble beginnings in 50’s Brooklyn.

Although the Bluetooth connection works very well, the need for a wireless pair of open-back headphones can be unclear; particularly if the design makes them unsuitable for commuting or  listening in communal areas. 

Saying that, having the option to listen wirelessly is undeniably convenient when you’re pottering around the house, and you can use these cans with an AUX cable if you're something of an audiophile who prefers a wired connection.

Overall, we feel the Grado GW100s are designed for a fairly niche market of audiophiles who crave a wide, natural sound, and who do the majority of their music listening at home. If that sounds like you, you will probably love the Grado GW100s. If not, you may want to look at closed-back models instead.

noise canceling headphones


Overall, Microsoft’s Surface headphones are surprisingly good, with a stunningly warm sound, and generous bass frequencies, which means your music will sound great whether you’re listening to subby hip-hop or acoustic singer-songwriters.

One criticism of this warm sound is that it can take some of the attack away from lower-mid frequencies, which some users may find a bit underwhelming. However, if sharp trebles and mids tend to give you listening fatigue, these could be the perfect headphones for you.

The calling card of these headphones is the active noise cancellation, which we felt worked really well, and we loved how easy it was to control this using the inbuilt dials on each housing. 

Although we were initially unconvinced by the high price (particularly when you can buy quality cans from heritage audio brands for less), the features work so seamlessly that it feels justified.

The best in-ear wireless headphones

best wireless headphones

Image credit: TechRadar

Here's where things get a bit murky - the term 'wireless headphones' is often used interchangeably with 'Bluetooth headphones' - i.e. headphones that don't use a 3.5mm jack to connect to your phone, but still have a wire running between them. While we contemplated leaving these off our list entirely, Bluetooth headphones are still well-worth considering - even if it means having a wire wrapped around your neck. 

That being said, if we had to pick a pair of Bluetooth headphones to go with, it'd be the NuForce BE Sport4 headphones: They're an incredible value for a pair of wireless headphones that sound good, last all day, have a bulletproof build and incredible noise isolation. While they're not the most dynamic or resolving headphones, NuForce shows us that the future of Bluetooth is a bright one.

best wireless headphones

Image credit: TechRadar

When you think of noise-cancelling headphones you probably picture bulky over-ear cans, but three years ago Bose turned its noise-cancelling chops to in-ear headphones, and the result was the excellent Bose QuietComfort 20i.  

Soon after that came the Bose QuietControl 30 (QC30, for short). These neckbuds offer the best noise cancellation of any in-ears we’ve tried and are comfortable enough to wear around your neck for long flights. Add to that the fantastic wireless capabilities of these headphones and you have the recipe for success. 

While we'd love to see a true wireless pair of headphones from Bose, the QuietComfort 30 are a tried-and-true stopgap that you'll enjoy all the same. 

best wireless headphones

Image credit: TechRadar

If you don't mind rocking a neckband, the Moto Surround hits all the high notes in terms of price, performance and battery life. After spending some time with the RHA MA390 Wireless, we came away extremely impressed with the package RHA has come up with. The headphones are built extremely well, have a vibrant sound signature, and are hardy enough to take anywhere -and all at an affordable price. 

It’s main rival, the OnePlus Bullets Wireless, are also excellent, however we give the nod to the RHA MA390 for its more dynamic sound and better build quality. 

best wireless headphones

Image credit: Beats / Apple

Audiophiles may complain about the sound performance of Beats headphones, but the inclusion of Apple's proprietary W1 chip has been a boon for the strength of their wireless connectivity. 

The Beats X make up for their overly bassy sound with a rock solid connection and a pairing process that, on iOS devices at least, is as painless as it's possible to be. 

Functionally that makes these wireless earbuds a joy to use, just don't expect the most detailed or broad soundstage. If you’re shopping for a no-fuss pair of earbuds that charge in 5 minutes and don’t mind spending a little extra money on them, the Beats X are for you.

The best true wireless headphones

RHA TrueConnect True Wireless Earbuds

Image credit: RHA

Although the TrueConnect is RHAs first true wireless headphone, the company showed they did their research and development by making it one of the best true wireless headphones on the market today. The combination of sound quality, battery life, and wireless reliability means these are a pair of headphones you can rely on everyday. 

The Jabra Elite 65t set the standard for what true wireless headphones should be and, regardless of what RHA has done here with the TrueConnect, they’re still great headphones. Compared to the RHA TrueConnect, the Jabra has more features with its useful ambient noise mode to help with situational awareness and an app that lets you tailor sound. 

The RHA doesn’t have either of those features but we didn’t miss them, thanks to better sound quality and wireless reliability. The RHA also feels more like a premium product than the all-plastic Jabra.

best wireless headphones

Image credit: Jabra

You might have expected to see the Apple AirPods on the list. While Apple's true wireless earbuds are fine for certain folks - cough, iPhone users exclusively - they're not the best for everyone. If you're looking for an egalitarian pair of true wireless earbuds, you can do no better than the Jabra Elite 65t. 

Not only are these competent Bluetooth buds for use around town, with a long-enough battery life and good sound quality, but they are easily some of the best true wireless earbuds on the market, offering a perfect balance of usability, features, and sound quality. If you’re in the market for the ‘ultimate’ set of true wireless headphones and don’t mind paying for them, then they are a strong choice.

best wireless headphones

Image credit: Optoma

The NuForce BE Free5 wireless earbuds show just how accessible truly wireless headphones can be nowadays. They feature a more polished design than the more expensive BE Free8, and even sound better to boot. However, we found the left earbud would drop out briefly more than we’d like, and we hope NuForce can address this issue.   

The connection dropouts combined with the frustrating controls keep it from claiming the top spot on our list, but the BE Free5 offer undeniable value in the truly wireless headphone market,, making them a great option for your first pair.

best wireless headphones

Image credit: TechRadar

The second generation Apple AirPods aren't quite the AirPods 2 we were hoping for, but they still some cool features. 

They still feature the iconic design of the original AirPods (a good or bad thing depending on your point of view), and sound quality hasn't changed at all. The bulk of the upgrade comes from the new H1 headphone chip, which improves connectivity and battery life, and allows for a new ‘Hey Siri’ voice activation feature.

The AirPods also come with an optional wireless charging case means you can use a Qi-compatible charging mat to power the case, rather than sticking a cable into the Lightning charging port in the bottom of the case. 

Like their predecessors, they are super easy to pair, but they are very much optimized for using with iPhones – and they aren't exactly cheap. 

best wireless headphones

Image credit: TechRadar

The TicPods Free have been cited as a more flexible alternative to the AirPods, coming in a range of colors, and enabled for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, as well as Siri.

When we tested them, we thought the audio quality was impressive, and although guitars sometimes sounded a little distorted, it’s a small price to pay for the amount of sonic power you get with these in-ears. 

These in-ears are unlikely to appeal to true audiophiles but if you’re a casual listener, the TicPods Free will do just fine, and for a great price.

best wireless headphones

Image credit: Sony

Sony’s first pair of true wireless headphones, the Sony WF-1000X, were divisive -some users thought they didn’t offer enough bass, while others said they had too much. Some said they cut out or unpaired periodically. Others simply never had that problem. 

Criticisms came from all corners of the internet and the only reasonable conclusion one could make after sifting through all of the noise was that Sony’s headphones just couldn’t please everyone.

Now, Sony’s second-generation true-wireless headphones – the Sony WF-SP700N – are here to try it again. These true wireless headphones are better tuned for the low-end and they’re stable in almost every situation. They still offer very modest active noise-cancellation tech and a sweat-resistant PX4 rating, and the new charging case is aesthetically pleasing if not radically different in functionality from before. 

best wireless headphones

Image credit: TechRadar

Let’s get one thing out of the way – the B&O Beoplay E8 are one of the nicest-looking and most expensive wireless earphones you can buy. 

The E8 come with a stylish carrying case, and you can tweak the sound to your liking using the accompanying Beoplay app on Android and iOS.

Even without tinkering around with ToneTouch, the E8 sounds crisp and clear. Bass feedback will depend on how snug you’re wearing the E8s, but was acceptable for earphones of this size. If you’re able to look past the price point, then then Beoplay E8 is a great investment. It’s super compact, offers great audio, and looks great – what more could you ask for? 

Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 true wireless earbuds

Image Credit: TechRadar

Cambridge Audio is well-known for its good quality audio equipment. However, untul recently the company hasn’t ventured into the world of true wireless earbuds. 

Enter the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1s: with an outstanding 45 hours of battery life, these buds combine the brand’s award-winning engineering with the convenience of truly wireless listening. 

For a pair of true wireless earbuds, the sound quality offered by the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1s is sensational. In fact, it rivals some of the best over-ear headphones, which is all but unheard of for buds of this size. 

They may not have the noise cancellation technology offered by the Sony WF-1000XM3 Wireless Earbuds, but they are cheaper – and have a superior battery life. 

They certainly outperform the Apple AirPods, in all respects apart from the lack of wireless charging case. This is a small price to pay for that exceptional audio quality, though, and we think they represent much better value for money, too.

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Darts live stream: how to watch the PDC World Championship 2019/20 from anywhere

Posted: 13 Dec 2019 08:19 AM PST

A new year, a new World Darts Championship for 2019/20 is here with Dutch three-time winner Michael van Gerwen defending his top spot once again. You can catch all the flinging fun at the 27th PDC World Championship using this handy darts live stream guide.

What better way to fly from 2019 into 2020 than on the back of some of the best dart throwings you'll lay your eyes on? We can expect some fierce competition, but Dutch champion Michael van Gerwen once again brings precision dart throwing to the world stage as overall favourite.

The £2.5 million event, with 96 players competing, will see big names in action from World Youth Champion Luke Humphries and Grand Slam of Darts champion Gerwyn Price to former world champ Rob Cross and rising Dutch star Jeffrey de Zwaan.

If you want to catch all the dart slinging action, you've come to the right place. Read on to find out how to watch a World Darts Championship live stream from anywhere you are using whatever device you like best.

How to live stream darts from outside your country

We'll tell you about your viewing options below - including the UK, US, Australia and, of course, the Netherlands! But you'll likely hit a bump in the road if you find yourself abroad and try to watch a World Darts Championship live stream because the broadcasters geo-block coverage.

By using a VPN and changing your IP address back to your home country, you'll discover that it's possible to clear that hurdle - assuming of course you're not breaching the service's Ts&Cs.

How to stream the darts live in the UK

How to watch the World Darts Championship: US live stream

How to watch the World Darts Championship in the Netherlands

How to watch the World Darts Championship: Australia live stream

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