Hasta La Gadget!

Logitech has refreshed its iconic gaming mouse, the G502, with lighter materials and new features while mostly keeping its design. The new lineup is called the G502 X, and it comes in a wired version, a base wireless form and another wired option with RGB lighting. Logitech used thin-wall exoskeleton and a lighter scroll wheel to reduce the wired mouse’s weight to 89 grams. It also used an updated version of its proprietary Lightspeed wireless protocol to ensure that its wireless versions have a 68 percent faster response rate than the previous generation’s.

All three versions use Lightforce hybrid optical-mechanical switch technology, which (as Logitech explains) combines the crisp tactile clicks of mechanical switches with the ultra low-latency/speedy performance of optical switches. They also use Logitech’s Hero 25K gaming sensor — the company’s most advanced mouse sensor — for max speed and accuracy. Plus, they come with a removable DPI shift button that lets you program the mouse to go faster or slower. You can either reverse the button’s orientation to bring it closer to your thumb or replace it completely with the included blank cover if you don’t think you need it.

The Plus wireless variant of the G502 X has all the features the other models offer, but it also comes equipped with a flowing 8-LED lighting strip that you can customize with effects and personalizations through the G Hub software. While it will likely use more battery than its less showy wireless sibling, it does have a play detection feature that switches the lighting off while your hand is covering it to conserve power.

The new G502 X models in black and white options are now available for pre-order from the Logitech G website and will also be sold via retailers like Amazon starting this month. You can get the wired G502 X mouse (Amazon) for $80, the G502 X Lightspeed wireless mouse for $140 and the G502 X Plus wireless mouse (Amazon) with RGB lighting for $160.

Sony has started to sell a new PlayStation 5 model that may not necessarily improve performance, but will be lighter and possibly easier to produce, Press Start has reported. The CFI-1200A/B digital/disc models have started to appear in Australia with a significant loss in weight. 

According to packaging information, the digital version is 200 grams lighter and the disc version weighs 300 grams less than last year’s models, so the latter is roughly the same weight as the digital model was at launch. Whether that loss is coming from changes in the case design or internal components is not yet known, though — we’ll have to wait for a teardown to confirm that. However, last year’s CFI-1102 mode was lighter mostly due to a smaller heatsink.

The weight reduction could allow Sony to reduce production costs and possibly build consoles more quickly. Last week, Sony announced that it was raising PlayStation 5 pricing around the world but not in the US (€50 more than the original launch prices in Europe), due to “challenging economic conditions.” It said last year that it’s no longer selling the PS5 at a loss and was actually making money on the disc-based version. 

Earlier this month, Logitech announced that it was working on a handheld gaming device with Tencent that would “support multiple cloud gaming services” including NVIDIA’s GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Now, it looks like we’re getting our first look at the device thanks to prolific leaker Evan Blass. We also know that it should be called the G Gaming Handheld as Logitech has listed that name on a recently published landing page. 

It looks just like many other gaming handhelds, with left and right joysticks, a direction pad, ABXY buttons, a home button and shoulder pads, along with a custom “G” button. Another image also shows what looks like the home screen, with icons for Google’s Play Store, Xbox, GeForce Now, Steam, Chrome and YouTube. We also see icons for user profile, messages, settings and power.  

You could compare the G Gaming Handheld to a Steam Deck or even Nintendo’s Switch Lite in terms of the basic design. The cloud gaming aspect means it’s likely to have similar capabilities to a smartphone, albeit with a more convenient form factor and gaming-centric UI. As such, it’ll compete not just with other handhelds but numerous controllers designed for smartphones like Razer’s Kishi V2, the 8bitDo Pro 2 and SteelSeries Stratus+ — so it’s level of success will depend strongly on the price. 

There’s no word yet on when it’ll arrive, but as mentioned, Logitech now has a landing page in place, so you can submit your email address to get more details. 

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The four-time NBA champion let loose on the dance floor.