Hasta La Gadget!

It took a bit of time, but you can now stream Xbox games from your TV without a Microsoft console in sight. As long as you have a Samsung TV. The Xbox app is now available on Samsung’s latest smart TVs and monitors, alongside apps for rival gaming services like Stadia and NVIDIA’s GeForce Now. It’s bigger news, however, when a console maker — and its huge catalog of games on Game Pass Ultimate – offers game streaming straight from your TV.

I had an extended play session during a launch showcase at Samsung’s London event space, and it made me, a PlayStation gamer, an offer I can’t refuse: Play Xbox games from the cloud with no additional hardware, aside from a Bluetooth-connected controller. I can even use my DualSense controller because I’m that kind of person.

This will be familiar news to anyone that’s already streamed games with Xbox Cloud or Google’s Stadia, but, all the games I tried were smooth, with incredibly swift load speeds. Some early previews of Samsung’s Gaming Hub kept gaming media to familiar hits, but with Xbox rolling out the entire Game Pass experience, I got to test its limits with Flight Simulator, a game that benefits from speedier load times and avoiding those pesky huge patch files.

On a big TV, even while standing up, playing Flight Simulator turns into a meditative experience. Type in your destination for an exploration flight (or, easier on a controller, set your cursor on the world map), and just fly and fly and fly. That’s what I did, and I started to hate that I’ll never be able to do this on my PS5. I’m sold on the idea already – I just don’t have a 2022 Samsung TV. Damn you, Microsoft.

Xbox

It’s not perfect, of course. Don’t expect 4K or variable refresh rates beyond 60 fps – this is still cloud gaming, although we get 4K streams on Stadia… The bigger question is whether Xbox’s games can stream on Samsung’s Game Hub, stably, for several hours on end, and that’s something that can only be answered after extensive testing. What if your connection hiccups and you lose that major progress made in Red Dead Redemption 2?

For now, the hub is limited to Samsung’s 2022 TVs and monitors, and it’s unclear exactly how Microsoft will deliver Xbox Cloud to other big screens not connected to its consoles. For Samsung’s part, its spokesperson said the company hoped to “extend the device coverage in the near future”.

Microsoft’s own streaming stick, similar to a Chromecast, seemed like the obvious solution, but the company said earlier this year that it was taking a ‘new approach’ with its game streaming devices, so that’s not happening for a while at least. It hasn’t elaborated further, besides teasing “a new approach that will allow us to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world in the future.”

That could mean a dedicated device, or it could be exactly what I’m testing today, the TV app, coming to more TVs. Hopefully some that already exist. Hopefully mine? Buying a new TV to avoid paying $300 for a new console seems more than a little circuitous. For now, I’m left waiting for a way to stream Xbox Cloud to my TV without a console. Barring some particularly laborious workarounds, it seems I’ll be waiting a little longer.

TP-Link has introduced two new WiFi 6 routers that use tri-band technology, which translates to more bandwidth for multiple devices and less congestion. The Archer AXE5400, also known as Archer AXE75, is a WiFi 6E router than can deliver speeds of up to 5400 Mbps. It’s a standalone router that gives users access to the new 6 GHz band, which increases the number of WiFi devices the router can handle and gives those who own phones and other gadgets that have 6 GHz capability an alternative to the overcrowded 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. It doesn’t, however, have motorized antennas that can follow devices around like the model the company showed off at CES this year.

TP-Link explains on the device’s official page that “[a]ccess to the 6 GHz frequency brings more bandwidth, faster speeds, and lower latency, opening up resources for future innovations like in AR/VR, 8K streaming and more.” In addition, the device is protected by the latest WiFi security protocol called WPA3, which is more secure than its predecessors, and has USB 3.0 so it can be connected to an external drive. 

Aside from the AX5400, TP-Link has also introduced the Archer AX5400 Wi-Fi 6 Tri-Band Router, or Archer AX75. This one does not have access to the 6 GHz band, but it does allow users to distribute demanding devices connected to the network on its two separate 5 GHz bands for better performance. 

Both AXE75 and AX75 will set buyers back $200 and are now available on Amazon. 

Microsoft is giving select PC gamers free access to four classic games by Bethesda and id Software, which it acquired as part of its $7.5 billion ZeniMax purchase in 2020. And three of them wouldn’t have been released if the tech giant isn’t acquiring Activision Blizzard, as well. In a post on the Xbox blog, Microsoft has revealed that Xbox Insiders on Windows PC can now preview Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, HeXen: Beyond Heretic, HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel, The Elder Scrolls: Arena and Quake Champions. 

It’s not surprising that the offer is only available for PC users part of Microsoft’s Insider program — as Ars Technica notes, the first four games in the list were originally released in the mid-90s and run via DOSBox emulation. DOSBox runs software for MS-DOS compatible games, but it’s a pretty inelegant solution for making old titles playable. 

The Elder Scrolls: Arena is an open-world action RPG published by Bethesda, with a first person perspective and features melee combat and magic. Meanwhile, Heretic, its sequel HeXen: Beyond Heretic and the latter’s expansion pack, HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel, are all first-person dark fantasy shooters. They were built using a modified version of the Doom engine, and though they were published by id Software, they were developed by Raven Software. Activision acquired the rights to those games when it purchased Raven in 1997.

Microsoft first announced that it’s purchasing Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in January this year and expects the deal to close no later than June 2023 if regulators give it their approval. It’s an all-cash deal that values Activision at $95 a share. Microsoft plans to add Activision Blizzard games to the Xbox Game Pass as part of the acquisition, and some of those games may be like the Heretic-HeXen series, which Activision doesn’t fully own.

Google has introduced a small but very useful change to Photos on the web, spotted by 9to5Google. In the info section for each photo, there’s a new category called “Backed up” after the current day/date, location, device, EXIF and image size. It shows whether the file has been saved in “Original quality” or “Storage saver,” and how much space it’s taking up, if any. 

This will be especially informative for users on Google’s free tiers following its storage policy changes instituted on June 1, 2021 that ended unlimited free storage of photos. They’ll let you manage your photos on a more granular basis if you need to free up space, or just check the quality at a glance. That’s on top of the current “Manage storage” feature that provides an overview and management of your cloud storage.

Oddly, much like the “Uploaded from” and “Shared by” information, the “Backed up” info isn’t available on the Android or iOS apps — only on the web. The feature has started to hit some accounts, but has yet to widely roll out. 

Ultimate Ears brought its in-ear monitor (IEMs) expertise to true wireless earbuds in 2020 with the UE Fits, a set of buds with fancy tech that molds the tips to fit your ears. Despite the interesting premise, the earbuds didn’t deliver on a lot of the basics you expect from an audio accessory these days, namely subpar audio and limited features. The Logitech-owned brand is back with a new take on custom-fit buds, only this time the company is making the process more like how you would order a set of IEMs with the UE Drops.

Indeed, the main attraction of UE Drops is the custom fit, which is coordinated via the company’s FitKit. Once you place your order, Ultimate Ears will ship you a FitKit that the company says includes the “technology and information” to guide you though the process of taking your “earprint.” More specifically, the kit shows you how to take impressions of your ears with an app, just like you would if you were ordering a set of the company’s CSX IEMs. A set of eartips are molded to your ears with a warming process that looks similar to the light and heat method for UE Fits, only this time they’re attached to a contraption you plug in. You then return the impressions and your pair of UE Drops are built to those specifications. You can expect to receive your pair about 2-4 weeks after the FitKit is received back at the factory. 

Inside, 9.2mm drivers power the sound the UE describes as “revered by music professionals and music lovers alike.” There’s no active noise cancellation (ANC), but the custom-fitting tips should provide better passive noise isolation than most off-the-shelf earbuds. However, there is a transparency mode, allowing you to tune into your surroundings as needed. Dual beamforming microphones on the water- and sweat-resistant buds are there for calls, plus handy features like on-board controls, in ear detection and wireless charging are here too. 

Ultimate Ears says you can expect up to eight hours of battery life with 14 additional hours in the case. A quick-charge feature offers one hour of use in five minutes. You can check your battery status in the UE Drops app, where you can also choose between sound presets, manage connected devices, configure voice controls and more. 

The UE Drops are now available in the US via the Ultimate Ears website for $449, which means you’ll pay a premium for that custom-tailored fit. The company says UE FitKit and UE Drops apps are available for both Android and iOS devices.