Sony Interactive Entertainment's Mark Cerny, PlayStation 4 lead system architect and game designer, spoke with Wired magazine about the "next-gen console" that will be the successor to the PS4. The unnamed console has been in development for four years, and Cerny is again serving as the lead system architect. Cerny stated that the console will not launch in 2019.
Cerny hinted that the new console will allow "for fundamental changes in what a game can be." Multiple studios have been working with the console, and Sony recently accelerated its release of development kits for the console.
The console will feature an AMD chip with a custom unit for 3D audio. The graphics processing unit (GPU) will be custom variant of Radeon's Navi family and support ray tracing. The next-generation console will also have a solid-state drive (SSD) to drastically decrease loading times.
Cerny declined to comment if there will be a next-generation PlayStation VR unit for the new console. However, he said that the current PS VR headset is compatible with the new console.
The console will be backward-compatible with PS4 games, as it is partly based on the PS4's architecture. When the new console launches, Cerny confirmed that many new games will get releases for both the PS4 and new system.
Sony revealed in October that the PS4 has sold more than 86.1 million units worldwide as of September. Sony president Kenichiro Yoshidatold Financial Times in October that "it's necessary to have a next-generation hardware." Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO John (Tsuyoshi) Kodera revealed in May 2018 that the PS4 console was entering the "final phase of its life cycle."
The PlayStation 4 console first launched in the U.S. and Canada in November 2013 and in Japan in February 2014. Sony shipped 7.5 million units during fiscal year 2013, 14.8 million in fiscal year 2014, 17.7 million in fiscal year 2015, 20.0 million in fiscal year 2016, and 19 million in fiscal year 2017.
Sony released the PlayStation Classic, a console pre-loaded with 20 games from the original PlayStation console's catalog, on December 3 (commemorating the December 3, 1994 release date of the original PlayStation).
Sony Interactive Entertainment will not attend the Entertainment Software Association's 2019 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) event in June. Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden explained that E3, held in June, is too late in the year for a trade show where the company has Christmas holiday discussions with retailers.
Intel has introduced a new generation of pro Core processors for laptops, and HP is determined to make the most of them right from the word "go." The PC maker has unveiled a string of work-oriented laptops that all take advantage of Intel's latest hardware, including computational speed boosts and faster WiFi 6 networking. The star of the show is arguably the updated ZBook line -- the 14-inch ZBook 14u (above) and 15.6-inch ZBook 15u both tout up to a quad-core 1.8GHz Core i7, 32GB of RAM and Radeon Pro WX 3200 graphics, giving it up to a 50 percent graphics boost for tasks like 3D modeling. The 14u in particular is billed as the "world's thinnest" mobile workstation at 0.71 inches thick -- it's not the slimmest laptop ever, but it'll be easy enough to slip into a carry-on bag without much fuss.
They also tout surprisingly bright displays, which could help if you're stuck finishing a project on a park bench. The 14u's optional 4K display can reach a healthy 600 nits of brightness, although you can go to an eye-searing 950 nits if you're willing to settle for a 1080p screen. The 15u is more modest at "just" 700 nits with a 1080p panel.
The rest of the lineup is aimed more at everyday workers. Refreshed versions of the 13-inch EliteBook 830, 14-inch EliteBook 840 and 15-inch EliteBook 850 (below) boast largely similar CPU options, although you'll have to settle for the option of Radeon RX 550 video on the larger two systems. You will get screens as bright as 1,000 nits, though, and a low-power LCD option can extend your battery life to 18 hours. There's even a choice of gigabit LTE (the first in a mainstream business laptop, HP claims) if you need to stay online at all times. Fans of convertibles can get an updated 13.3-inch EliteBook 830 x360, althoughit doesn't have an extra-bright screen or dedicated video.
As is often the case with HP launches, you'll have to wait a while to get everything. The ZBooks arrive on May 27th at unspecified prices, while the EliteBook 830, 840 and 850 all show up sometime in May. The EliteBook 830 x360 doesn't land until June, although it will come alongside a $429 EliteDisplay E324q monitor that provides a 31.5-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 screen as well as USB-C, HDMI and DisplayPort inputs.
Intel has introduced a new generation of pro Core processors for laptops, and HP is determined to make the most of them right from the word "go." The PC maker has unveiled a string of work-oriented laptops that all take advantage of Intel's latest hardware, including computational speed boosts and faster WiFi 6 networking. The star of the show is arguably the updated ZBook line -- the 14-inch ZBook 14u (above) and 15.6-inch ZBook 15u both tout up to a quad-core 1.8GHz Core i7, 32GB of RAM and Radeon Pro WX 3200 graphics, giving it up to a 50 percent graphics boost for tasks like 3D modeling. The 14u in particular is billed as the "world's thinnest" mobile workstation at 0.71 inches thick -- it's not the slimmest laptop ever, but it'll be easy enough to slip into a carry-on bag without much fuss.
They also tout surprisingly bright displays, which could help if you're stuck finishing a project on a park bench. The 14u's optional 4K display can reach a healthy 600 nits of brightness, although you can go to an eye-searing 950 nits if you're willing to settle for a 1080p screen. The 15u is more modest at "just" 700 nits with a 1080p panel.
The rest of the lineup is aimed more at everyday workers. Refreshed versions of the 13-inch EliteBook 830, 14-inch EliteBook 840 and 15-inch EliteBook 850 (below) boast largely similar CPU options, although you'll have to settle for the option of Radeon RX 550 video on the larger two systems. You will get screens as bright as 1,000 nits, though, and a low-power LCD option can extend your battery life to 18 hours. There's even a choice of gigabit LTE (the first in a mainstream business laptop, HP claims) if you need to stay online at all times. Fans of convertibles can get an updated 13.3-inch EliteBook 830 x360, althoughit doesn't have an extra-bright screen or dedicated video.
As is often the case with HP launches, you'll have to wait a while to get everything. The ZBooks arrive on May 27th at unspecified prices, while the EliteBook 830, 840 and 850 all show up sometime in May. The EliteBook 830 x360 doesn't land until June, although it will come alongside a $429 EliteDisplay E324q monitor that provides a 31.5-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 screen as well as USB-C, HDMI and DisplayPort inputs.
The Play Store is a breeding ground for Google's A/B tests. Every couple of days, the app shows different interfaces and options for some users, and it's tough to stay on top of them all. Recently, the Play Store started showing a dedicated Events tab for gaming, rolling out Pixel updates on Android Q, and we know it's working on a Material Design revamp. But there's much more in the works. In the past couple of days, app updates started behaving a little weirdly for some users, with the most important sign being the appearance of simultaneous downloads. We've also spotted a new Play Protect interface, the ability to browse TV shows by networks, and a mysterious internal app sharing toggle. Without further ado...
Simultaneous app downloads
Since time immemorial, the Play Store has downloaded apps in a row: one app starts, and when it's done, the next app begins downloading. Simultaneous downloads should have been a thing years ago, but they're only finally starting to show up.
If you have multiple apps waiting to update, tap to update all and watch what happens. The apps flip flop around as if they were drunk, and for some users, concurrent downloads are happening. You can see them in the screenshots above and the one on the left below. This means that if you're downloading or updating a huge game, for example, you won't need to wait for it to finish before your other apps get updated. It's quite nice.
Left: Simultaneous downloads. Right: When the downloads are done, they install one by one.
This is a server-side change, and we can't re-produce the simultaneous downloads, though the flip-flopping is happening for us too. It looks like Google is changing the algorithms there to introduce the feature, so we can only hope it'll spread to more users soon.
Internal app sharing
Last year, Google simplified app testing on the Play Store for developers by allowing them to have an open beta, closed alpha, and an internal test channel for a maximum of 100 users. The latter is meant to allow developers in large companies to test their apps among the team, or to have a super small loyal user group willing to try a rough draft of an app or update.
By default, anyone invited to an internal test channel and who approves it is able to install that app. So it's weird to see a toggle to allow this appear in the Play Store. The new setting is hidden but shows up after repeatedly tapping on the Play Store version in Settings. It works on most recent versions of the Play Store and for everyone, so this isn't reliant on a server-side change.
The toggle looks disabled by default, but as we said, it already works. Perhaps the big benefit once it is configured properly is that you could disable the installation of all internal test channel apps in one fell swoop.
Left: Internal app sharing toggle. Right: Explanation after toggling it on.
New Play Protect interface
When Play Protect showed up and later made its way to the Play Store, it had a simple one-page interface. We don't know when exactly a new interface rolled out, but it's different now, for everyone. The main Protect UI still has the recently scanned apps, but the settings to scan the device and improve harmful app detection have been moved to a different screen. I'm not sure why this had to be changed. The one-page layout was alright since there aren't too many settings.
Left: Play Protect first screen. Right: Separate settings.
Browse TV shows by networks
And finally, we have spotted one more change in the Play Store's Movies & TV section. Again, we're not exactly sure when this began showing up, but it's there for all of us. In the TV tab, there's a new filter bubble to display shows by Networks. That way you can see all series made by your favorite channels.
Left: Networks filter in Play Store's TV section. Right: Browsing series by network.
If you've seen any other odd Play Store changes, or if you can replicate the simultaneous downloads, let us know in the comments. And don't forget that you can always grab the latest Play Store version from APK Mirror.
It’s undeniable that one of the best characteristics of every Apple product is its display. Apple ships computers – from iPads to iMacs – with great quality, well calibrated displays that can be used for professional work which requires a great level of fidelity. Now, it appears Apple is working a new Mac and iPad display feature to launch with macOS 10.15.
Previously, Astro HQ came up with a solution, Luna Display, that allows Mac users to use their iPad as an external display. There are many solutions on the market for that, but Luna Display has become the top one given that it’s a hardware product leveraging the power of the GPU so the experience is as seamless as possible.
Now, Apple is working on making that seamless experience native to the Mac. According to people familiar with the development of macOS 10.15 – the next major version of Apple’s desktop OS – the new system will have a feature that allows users to send any window of any app to an external display. The external display can be an actual external display connected to the Mac or even an iPad.
The new feature – called “Sidecar” internally – can be accessed via a simple menu. This new menu will be opened by hovering over the green “maximize” button in a Mac app window for a split second. The menu will have options for making the window fullscreen, tiling and moving to external displays, including the user’s iPads and external displays connected to the Mac. Selecting one of the display options moves the current window to the selected external display or iPad, in fullscreen.
Users with an iPad that supports Apple Pencil will also be able to draw with the Pencil on iPad when it’s being used as an external display for the Mac, effectively turning the iPad into a Wacom-like tablet. Engineers are also working on options that will allow windows to be easily snapped to one side of the screen, similar to a feature that already exists on Windows.
This is Logitech's new universal remote, the Harmony Express. Note the big honking Alexa button at the top there.
Jeff Dunn
It comes with this hub that works with IR, Bluetooth, and WiFi, as well as a mini IR blaster for extending that range if needed.
Jeff Dunn
Aside from the directional pad around the Alexa button, this is it from a physical button perspective.
Jeff Dunn
It charges over micro-USB instead of USB-C.
Jeff Dunn
You'll hear Alexa respond through this little speaker on the back.
Jeff Dunn
Logitech's new Harmony Express app makes setting up the remote fairly straightforward, though it doesn't do any controlling of its own.
Logitech
Logitech on Tuesday announced the Harmony Express, a new universal remote that features the Alexa voice assistant.
Amazon’s increasingly ubiquitous helper comes built into the device and is accessible via a large circular button at the top of the remote. The idea with the Harmony Express is to use Alexa to control the various devices in your home theater. Past Logitech Harmony remotes have been usable with an associated Alexa skill for those with separate Echo devices, but here the voice controls are baked in.
The Harmony Express costs $250 and is available starting Tuesday.
All about Alexa
The remote itself is small, light, and minimalist from a design perspective, emphasizing the newfound focus on voice commands. There’s no built-in display and only a handful of physical buttons: just basic playback, volume, and navigation controls. There’s a microphone and speaker built into the device, naturally, and the Alexa button glows its familiar shade of blue when activated. The few physical buttons are all backlit.
In some ways, the use of voice controls with the Harmony Express is similar to what Amazon has done with its Fire TV Cube streaming box. As with that device, you can use Alexa on the Harmony Express to tune to specific channels on a cable box; saying “go to ESPN,” for instance, will instruct the cable box to input the channel numbers associated with that channel on its own. You don’t have to say “Alexa” to activate the assistant, but the Harmony Express only understands a limited set of phrases—saying “switch to ESPN,” to continue the example above, won’t do anything. The assistant can turn a TV or streaming device on or off through voice commands, as well as access a cable box’s DVR recordings. Logitech says you can use similar commands to tune to specific channels through an antenna as well.
This being a universal remote, you can also use Alexa to control various other home theater devices. At launch, Logitech says the Harmony Express will be able to directly launch Netflix and “similar apps”—including Amazon Prime, Hulu, and HBO Now—on an Apple TV (4th gen or later), Roku, Fire TV, Sony Android TVs, and a select number of Samsung and LG TVs. It won’t be able to do this on game consoles like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, though you can still use voice commands to switch to HDMI inputs connected to those devices after the proper setup.
Since the Harmony Express is an Alexa device, it also works somewhat like a portable Amazon Echo. You could use the Harmony Express to answer general knowledge questions, detail the weather, see what’s coming up on your calendar, or other typical Alexa tasks. It can control various smart home devices, too. The main exclusion, according to Logitech, is that it doesn’t support music and audiobook commands, since it’d be a drain on battery and the built-in speaker isn’t designed for music.
Regarding battery life, the company says the Harmony Express should last at least a month per charge. (You charge it via a micro-USB port, and we're a little disappointed it lacks USB-C.)
Logitech says it plans to add additional voice control capabilities post-launch. During a demo in New York City earlier this month, the company mentioned it is looking to add the ability to launch specific shows or tune to specific sporting events by name, among other things.
Still a Harmony
Having the built-in voice functionality is the big reason you’d buy the Harmony Express over one of Logitech’s more standard universal remotes, but the company says the device works with all the same devices as past Harmony remotes, sans voice commands. That includes a ton of TVs, A/V receivers, Blu-ray players, speakers, game consoles, and the like, though it’s worth searching the company’s compatibility list if you’re unsure if your gear would work.
The remote comes with a puck-shaped blaster that utilizes infrared, Bluetooth, and WiFi to control all these devices, as well as a mini-blaster for extending IR range if needed. Having Bluetooth and WiFi allows the Harmony Express to control devices like the PlayStation 4 that aren’t controllable by older Harmony remotes that rely solely on infrared. When you’re paired with a compatible device, the Harmony Express’ on-device controls will automatically map to the device currently in use. The remote doesn’t need line-of-sight to control these devices, either.
All of this is set through a new Harmony Express app made specifically for the new remote. This means the new remote is not compatible with Logitech’s existing Harmony app or the hubs that are designed for older Harmony devices. But it does make the setup process a bit more straightforward: the app will scan for the devices in your home—though you may have to add one or two manually—then have you drag and drop little icons for each found device onto the corresponding HDMI ports on your TV. It then has you associate streaming apps with certain devices, so that when you tell the remote to “go to Netflix,” it knows which device to light up. Unfortunately, you can’t use the app to actually control your home theater; it’s mainly there for setup and the nifty ability to set off an alarm on the remote if it ever goes missing. Again, Logitech really wants you to use your voice here.
For what it’s worth, Logitech says it isn’t taking any data for advertising purposes itself and that the Harmony Express does not record anything when the Alexa button is not being held down. But you can expect Amazon to do the same data collection it typically does with Alexa devices here.
If you have no interest in being a part of that, or in using voice controls first and foremost, it’ll probably be safe to overlook the Harmony Express in favor for the cheaper Harmony Companion. If you prefer having a touchscreen, the higher-end Harmony Elite is a better fit. Personally, given that Alexa is already baked into so many smart home devices these days, my first impression is that the Harmony Express market could be a niche one. It’s not hard to imagine the voice commands here getting mixed up with other Alexa-enabled devices in a home theater. At $250, the remote certainly doesn’t come cheap, either. But if you have a complicated home theater and smart home setup and would prefer to use your voice more than physical buttons, here you go.
There's a lot of information to soak in from this PlayStation 5 article from Wired, but something tucked away near the end has grabbed our attention. Whether Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding will appear on PS5 as well as PS4 has been up for debate for a while now, and although nothing has been confirmed, the report seems to imply the game will be released for both machines.
Towards the end of the report, the subject of cross-generation releases is brought up, where Death Stranding is touched upon. "As in many other generational transitions, this will be a gentle one, with numerous new games being released for both PS4 and the next-gen console," reads the article. "(Where exactly Hideo Kojima’s forthcoming title Death Stranding fits in that process is still unconfirmed. When asked, a spokesperson in the room repeated that the game would be released for PS4, but Cerny’s smile and pregnant pause invites speculation that it will in fact be a two-platform release.)"
Is this a hint that the title is being developed for both PS4 and PS5? It's still a long shot, but it's now looking a little more likely.
Sony Interactive Entertainment's Mark Cerny, PlayStation 4 lead system architect and game designer, spoke with Wired magazine about the "next-gen console" that will be the successor to the PS4. The unnamed console has been in development for four years, and Cerny is again serving as the lead system architect. Cerny stated that the console will not launch in 2019.
