The dust seems to have mostly settled on the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar rap beef (for now), but the musical back and forth between the two hip-hop titans has imprinted itself on pop culture. That imprint includes video game mods, as a Mortal Kombat 1 fan has recently recreated both rappers in the game to pit them…
The dust seems to have mostly settled on the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar rap beef (for now), but the musical back and forth between the two hip-hop titans has imprinted itself on pop culture. That imprint includes video game mods, as a Mortal Kombat 1 fan has recently recreated both rappers in the game to pit them…
Recent reports suggested that Microsoft executives had been debating for some time whether to put new Call of Duty games onto Game Pass on day one (i.e. on their release day). That seems like something it should have figured out before spending $68.7 billion on CoD publisher Activision Blizzard, but it seems that Microsoft has finally reached a decision. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company will indeed bring the next Call of Duty title directly to Game Pass when it arrives later this year.
Doing so may mean that Microsoft will leave hundreds of millions of dollars in game sales on the table given that each annual Call of Duty release is one of the top-selling titles of its respective year. However, the company has struggled to significantly increase the number of Game Pass subscriptions in recent times.
Putting a new Call of Duty title on there will certainly bring in new members. Microsoft will still make boatloads of money from in-game purchases, sales on other platforms (it agreed to release CoD games on PlayStation, Nintendo and elsewhere for at least a decade after the Activision deal closed) and those who prefer to buy games outright on Xbox. Xbox-owned games are selling well on PlayStation in general. There’s always the possibility that Microsoft will increase the price of Game Pass to offset some of the revenue it’s likely to lose from lower sales of the next Call of Duty entry on Xbox and PC.
Before Microsoft bought it, Activision had largely eschewed the idea of putting its games on subscription services. While Call of Duty titles have been made available on the likes of PlayStation Plus in the past, that usually happens years after the games were originally released.
After Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard closed late last year, it said that it would take some time for the publisher’s games to start showing up on Game Pass. To date, only Diablo IV has joined the service.
Having a brand new Call of Duty game on a subscription service on day one marks a major change in strategy, though it’s one that lines up with recent comments from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. “Our intent is the full portfolio of games from ZeniMax, Activision Blizzard and XGS — Xbox Game Studios — will be on Game Pass, day one,” Spencer told Game File in February. Xbox fans will also be pleased to know that the long-standing approach of putting all first-party Microsoft releases on Game Pass on day one is likely sticking around.
We’ll likely find out more about Microsoft’s plans for Call of Duty and other Activision games when it comes to Game Pass at its annual showcase on June 9. The core showcase will be followed by one focusing on a “beloved franchise,” which is widely expected to be CoD.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-next-call-of-duty-will-reportedly-hit-game-pass-on-its-release-day-142332534.html?src=rss
The dust seems to have mostly settled on the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar rap beef (for now), but the musical back and forth between the two hip-hop titans has imprinted itself on pop culture. That imprint includes video game mods, as a Mortal Kombat 1 fan has recently recreated both rappers in the game to pit them…
Apple and Google recently held events to showcase new products and services. From a deals perspective, that means some older iPads are hitting new low prices — we even spotted a few modest $30 and $50 discounts on brand new iPad Air and iPad Pro models. Google’s latest smartphone, the Pixel 8a, shipped this past Tuesday, but a few retailers are still offering pre-order deals of a free $100 gift card with purchase. There were plenty of deals on other tech too, like a return to an all-time low on the Kindle Scribe, a sale on one of our favorite outdoor pizza ovens and discounts on a couple of Anker portable chargers that’ll keep your phone topped off as you do what you do. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-kindle-scribe-dips-back-to-an-all-time-low-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-163858971.html?src=rss
The dust seems to have mostly settled on the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar rap beef (for now), but the musical back and forth between the two hip-hop titans has imprinted itself on pop culture. That imprint includes video game mods, as a Mortal Kombat 1 fan has recently recreated both rappers in the game to pit them…
It might be a good time to finally upgrade your iPhone if you’ve been hanging onto an older model — according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will be offering a little more than usual for some trade-ins starting next week in the US and Canada. The company itself hasn’t said anything about the promotion, but according to Gurman, it’ll be offered in-store to customers who’ll be using the credit toward any model in the iPhone 15 lineup. This will reportedly be in effect starting this Monday and last until June 3.
Starting Monday in the U.S. and Canada, you’ll get an iPhone trade in value boost at Apple retail stores if you use the credit towards an iPhone 15/Pro/Plus/Max. This will last till June 3rd.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 18, 2024
Apple lists trade-in values on its website for all iPhone models going back to the iPhone 7. Something that old currently goes for something in the ballpark of $50, while a more recent model like the year-and-a-half-old iPhone 14 Pro Max has an estimated trade-in value of up to $630. Of course, the online estimates aren’t always what you end up getting, but it gives you an idea. Since Apple hasn’t said anything about a temporary value boost, it’s unclear by how much these numbers may go up.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-will-reportedly-offer-higher-trade-in-credit-for-old-iphones-for-the-next-two-weeks-205239618.html?src=rss
The dust seems to have mostly settled on the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar rap beef (for now), but the musical back and forth between the two hip-hop titans has imprinted itself on pop culture. That imprint includes video game mods, as a Mortal Kombat 1 fan has recently recreated both rappers in the game to pit them…
Apple and Google recently held events to showcase new products and services. From a deals perspective, that means some older iPads are hitting new low prices — we even spotted a few modest $30 and $50 discounts on brand new iPad Air and iPad Pro models. Google’s latest smartphone, the Pixel 8a, shipped this past Tuesday, but a few retailers are still offering pre-order deals of a free $100 gift card with purchase. There were plenty of deals on other tech too, like a return to an all-time low on the Kindle Scribe, a sale on one of our favorite outdoor pizza ovens and discounts on a couple of Anker portable chargers that’ll keep your phone topped off as you do what you do. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-kindle-scribe-dips-back-to-an-all-time-low-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-163858971.html?src=rss
I knew what to expect from the Surface Pro 10 for Business the minute Microsoft announced it: A faster processor with a neural processing unit (NPU) inside the same case as the Surface Pro 9. As the first “AI PC” Surface devices, the Pro 10 for Business tablet and its more traditional sibling, the Laptop 6, seemed disappointing. And the fact that you could only buy it on Microsoft’s website, or through enterprise resellers, made it seem as if the company was trying to hide its shame.
But after testing the Surface Pro 10 tablet (I’ll omit the “For Business” part of its name for the rest of the review, you get it), I realized Microsoft just wanted to make a PC upgrade to appease IT workers. It’s boring; there aren’t any major new features to learn, and your company’s existing Windows software will all work just fine. No alarms, no surprises.
I can accept this Surface Pro 10 for what it is because we know Microsoft has some intriguing consumer-focused Surface hardware on the horizon. The company has invited media to an event in Seattle on May 20th (a day before its Build conference begins), where we expect to see some consumer-focused Surface devices powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Elite chips. It makes sense for Microsoft to take a bigger risk with its consumer hardware, instead of the machines IT workers need to manage.
Both the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 for Business are powered by Intel’s new Core Ultra chips. These are the company’s first processors to include an NPU for handling AI tasks. Admittedly, there aren’t many AI-driven features in Windows 11 yet, but we’re expecting to see Microsoft sell some new AI capabilities at Build.
For now, having an NPU means you can use Windows Studio Effects, which can glam up your video chats with blurred backgrounds and other features. By tapping into your NPU, instead of your CPU or GPU, Windows 11 can also handle those tasks more efficiently, and without slowing down the rest of your system. Who wouldn’t want that?
Design-wise, the Surface Pro 10 is almost exactly the same as the Pro 9 — the 13-inch 120Hz PixelSense screen returns, and Microsoft is still relying on its clunky kickstand to prop up the tablet. But at least the company shoved in a new 1440p webcam with a wider field of view, which should lead to clearer video chats.
Geekbench 6 CPU | 3DMark Wildlife Extreme | Cinebench R23 | |
Microsoft Surface Pro 10 for Business (Intel Core Ultra 5 135U, Intel graphics) | 2,085/8,827 | 2,546 | 1,555/7,153 |
Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 for Business (Intel Core Ultra 7 165H, Intel Arc graphics) | 2,351/12,531 | 4,200 | 1,662/10,298 |
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 5G (SQ3, Adreno 8cx Gen 3) | N/A | 2,959 | 575/1,866 |
In spite of its lack of updates, the Surface Pro 10 is still a reliable and capable hybrid tablet. It delivered fast performance, a great display and excellent battery life. Here are my favorite things about it:
Intel’s Core Ultra 135U chip is slightly faster than the 12th-gen processors used in the Surface Pro 9: It reached 5,772 points in PCMark 10, compared to its predecessor’s 4,010 points.
That Core Ultra chip’s NPU also makes the Pro 10 more future-proof. It’ll be ready to tackle AI features as they appear (developers like Adobe and Audacity are already working on several).
Microsoft’s PixelSense display still looks fantastic, with bold colors and enough brightness to use outdoors in direct sunlight.
While I would have liked to see a newer design, its case still feels shockingly slim and sturdy. It feels like an iPad, even though it’s running Windows 11.
The Surface Pro 10 lasted 12 hours and 19 minutes on the PCMark 10 Modern Office battery benchmark. That’s better than the vast majority of ultraportables we’ve seen this year, and it’s only an hour less than the latest Dell XPS 13.
For a machine that starts at $1,200 though, the Surface Pro 10 is lacking in a few key ways:
For a “Pro” device, it has too few ports for accessories.
Its trademark kickstand is just a pain to live with now. It’s still awkward to hold on your lap, and it also makes the Pro 10 impossible to use on small surfaces (like my beloved standing desk laptop riser).
The Surface Pro Keyboard is still sold separately, and it’s still far too expensive at $140 (there are also pricier models if you really want to punish yourself). Nobody will ever buy a Surface tablet on its own! Microsoft’s inability to recognize this basic truth has haunted these systems since their inception.
It may be undercut by the upcoming consumer-focused Surface Pro 10. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips are Arm-based, so they’ll have to run an Arm version of Windows 11 and rely on emulation for older apps. But their NPUs also offer 45 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) for AI tasks, while the Core Ultra chips only hit 10 TOPS on their NPUs. These differences may not mean much for the next year or so, but they may make the Snapdragon Surface Pro 10 more future proof as we see more AI features roll out.
At this point, you’re better off waiting to see how Microsoft’s new consumer-focused Surface hardware performs before investing in either the Pro 10 or Laptop 6. But, as I said at the start, these systems aren’t really meant for consumers anyway. They exist to give IT workers a way to update their inventory without having to significantly shift their workflows.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/surface-pro-10-for-business-review-a-safe-upgrade-for-it-workers-172033986.html?src=rss
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
