AMD's decision to start off with mid-range RDNA 4 GPUs now seems prescient. NVIDIA's high-end RTX 5090 and 5080 are already selling well beyond their absurdly high prices, if you can find any in stock at all. And while the RTX 5070 Ti impressed us, it's already selling for close to the 5080's $1,000 launch price. Now AMD's Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT, which are set to arrive on March 6, have the chance to swoop in and deliver some serious competition.
Based on early briefings from AMD, which include some impressive benchmarks (still untested by us), the RDNA 4 GPUs appear to be compelling 4K and 1,440p for discerning gamers who aren't ready to drop four figures on a video card. The Radeon 9070 starts at $549, but even more impressive, AMD managed to keep the 9070 XT at a very reasonable $599 launch price. Naturally, those prices will rise based on demand and the whims of card manufacturers, but they're still impressive compared to the RTX 5070 ($549 MSRP) and 5070 Ti ($749 MSRP).
XFX
On top of the usual raw performance upgrades, the major selling point for these new cards is AMD's Fidelity FX Super Resolution 4 (FSR4) upscaling technology. Unlike previous iterations, this time around it's powered by machine learning, similar to NVIDIA's DLSS. According to AMD, that allows for better image quality while upscaling from lower resolutions, as well as low latency and frame generation.
AMD
So what does that mean in action? AMD claims the 9070 XT can run Space Marine 2 at an average of 53fps in 4K, but with FSR 4 running that jumps to 182fps. That's similar to the leap in performance we've seen on NVIDIA's RTX 50-series GPUs, which can generate multiple frames. FSR 4 is supported on more than 30 titles at the moment, but for other games like Star Citizen and Forza Horizon 5, AMD claims its HYPR-RX driver-level upscaler can also improve performance by up to 3X.
While both the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT come with 16GB of VRAM (unlike the 12GB the RTX 5070 is stuck with), the latter card will likely do a better drop driving 4K 240Hz screens. The 9070 XT sports 64 RDNA 4 compute units, 64 hardware ray tracing accelerators and 128 hardware AI accelerators, while the 9070 includes 56 compute units and RT accelerators, as well as 112 AI units. The 9070 XT can also draw significantly more power — 304 watts instead of 220W — and has more than a 500Mhz boost clock lead. The standard 9070 will likely be better suited for players who game in 1,440p most of the time, but who may occasionally dabble in 4K.
AMD
Curiously, most of AMD's benchmarks compare the new cards to the $549 RX 7900 GRE, a slightly under-specced card originally meant for China. But the company did make a handful of comparisons to other cards: For one, it claims the RX 9070 XT is 51 percent faster than the Radeon 6900 XT on average across 30 games while playing in 4K with maximum graphics settings. It's also reportedly 26 percent faster than the RTX 3090 across those same 30 games. As for the RX 9070, AMD says it's 38 percent in 4K/max settings than the RX 6800 XT and 26 percent faster than the RTX 3080. Surely AMD could have compared these cards to the RTX 40 lineup and newer Radeons, but then those gains wouldn't be as high.
AMD
Beyond gaming, AMD says its new RDNA 4 media engine will be able to encode H.264 with better image quality, and it'll support up to 8K/80fps encoding and decoding. As for AI, the 9070 XT is 34 percent faster than the RX 7900 GRE while using Davinci Resolve's Magic Mask Tracking Tool, and it's 70 percent faster while using Procyon SD XL for generative AI.
If AMD can manage to keep the Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT in stock, and also hold prices close to their $549 and $599 launch figures, I wouldn't be surprised if some NVIDIA diehards jump ship. And if you're looking for something even cheaper, AMD says its RX 9060 cards will be coming in the second quarter.
AMD
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Sony has finally fixed the PS Store wishlist feature on the PlayStation App, which had been busted for quite a while. Earlier today, a new PS Store sale went live, bringing with it discounts on thousands of items. Along with the sale came the pleasant surprise of wishlist notifications actually working as intended.
PS Store Wishlist notifications had been broken for a long time
Those who’ve been using the PS App will know that for quite some time now, PS Store’s wishlist notifications have been nonfunctional. If players added a game to their wishlist, they’d have to manually check if that game was discounted in a new sale by going into the wishlist.
That changed this morning when PS Store’s Dealmania promotion started rolling out. Upon opening the PS App, I received quite a few notifications informing me that some of the games on my wishlist are now on sale, eliminating the need for a manual check or to boot up my PS5.
As someone who uses the PS App and looks for deals on the PS Store quite as bit, I find the notifications very handy as they ensure that players aren’t missing offers that they might be interested in.
A major upcoming Xbox exclusive, which was also previously rumored for the PS5, has been delayed. Microsoft has announced that Fable — in development at Forza studio Playground Games — will now launch in 2026 instead of 2025.
Xbox exclusive Fable reportedly launching day-and-date on PS5
Multiple reports previously claimed that Microsoft plans to release Fable on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 simultaneously. There are even reports of a potential Nintendo Switch 2 port. Microsoft did not provide a specific reason for Fable’s delay into 2026, but speculation suggests that its day-and-date PS5 launch is part of the reason.
Reliable insider NateDrake is one of those who believes that Fable’s delay could be partly down to Microsoft’s plans for a day-one PS5 launch. Although this is merely speculation and unlikely to be the main reason for the delay, NateDrake is pretty well connected and we suspect that this is informed speculation rather than just guesswork.
NateDrake further stated that Fable’s PS5 launch is all but confirmed, so rest assured, it’s coming.
Microsoft has pretty much eliminated the term “Xbox exclusive” as its games are expected to launch on rival platforms at some point. However, launching first-party games that were formerly exclusive day-and-date on a rival platform is new.
The next console generation will certainly be an interesting one, especially in the absence of rivalry over exclusives.
Apple is far from saintly, but, compared to its fellow tech giants, it did something right. The company's shareholders have voted to keep its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, following a push by conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), to remove them, Reuters reports. The Center's proposal, Request to Cease DEI Efforts, failed 8.84 billion votes to 210.45 million votes — or about 2.3 percent of the vote.
Many of these programs emerged or expanded when the Black Lives Matter movement exploded onto the global stage in 2020. However, President Trump's criticisms and threats that DEIs could violate the law — along with spineless greed from executives — has seen companies like Meta and Google reduce or even fully remove these programs. Those in favor of the proposal at Apple argued that the company could face an uptick in discrimination cases if current policies remain.
At the meeting, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that "strength has always come from hiring the very best people and then providing a culture of collaboration, one where people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives come together to innovate."
Now, none of this is to say that Apple has incredible DEI efforts. Previously, its shareholders rejected greater transparency about its racial and gender gaps. They also voted down a measure that would require Apple to further investigate the risks of its AI efforts.
Cook is also doing plenty of appeasing when it comes to Trump. The pair reportedly met last week and Apple has announced $500 billion in US-based spending over the next four years. He also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration and attended it alongside Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and other tech executives.
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Amazon doesn’t usually do device events in February, but in a year of turbulence, why not? The company is holding a presentation in New York, and, like in the past, Amazon won’t be livestreaming anything.
Engadget will attend, however, and liveblog the event so you’ll know what’s happening. Amazon has teased its next-gen Alexa for what feels like years, promising a conversational vibe and the ability to process and execute complex requests. Is it ready to chat? And what random tech will Amazon cram it into? Clocks? Microwave ovens?
Sigma’s newest camera is the BF, a 24.6-megapixel full-frame, mirrorless camera with a built-in SSD instead of a removable memory card. The BF is compatible with L-mount lenses, and as well as photos, its 35mm full-frame sensor can capture 6K video and supports things like HEVC encoding and capture speeds at up to 120 frames per second. At the highest settings, the camera can cram in up to two and a half hours of video footage — probably enough. The Sigma BF will be available, body-only, for $1,999 in April, in black or silver.
Google’s Veo 2 model, announced last December, now has pricing. At the moment, Veo 2 is limited to two-minute clips at up to 4K resolution — a lot more than ChatGPT’s 1080p 20-second snippets. It’s difficult to compare pricing as Sora is part of a subscription-based service. If you’re paying for a $200 ChatGPT Pro plan, that’s 500 videos per month, while the Plus plan caps at 50 videos at 720p and only five seconds.
Even if many don't bite at that pricing, Google is already testing its Veo 2 AI to generate backgrounds for YouTube Shorts.
In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple is readying itself for the launch of the upgraded laptop next month. The company is reportedly winding down inventory of the existing models. The M4 MacBook Air is expected to come in two sizes, 13-inch and 15-inch, like the previous model.
Last year’s M3 MBA launched awkwardly: Apple unveiled the M4 chip just a few months later.
Intuitive Machines, the company that pulled off the first-ever commercial moon landing this time last year with its Odysseus spacecraft, is gearing up for another shot at touching the lunar surface. Its second flight under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is scheduled to take off no earlier than Wednesday February 26, launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The company is once again sending one of its Nova-C landers, this one nicknamed Athena. It’s expected to take about a week for Athena to travel to the moon, before it makes a landing attempt around March 6.
Athena is carrying NASA instruments including a drill and mass spectrometer, which will be used to attempt “one of the first on-site demonstrations of resource use on the moon,” according to the space agency. These tools will measure volatiles in the soil at the landing site in the lunar South Pole. The mission also offers Intuitive Machines another chance at landing its spacecraft with all six feet on the ground. Odysseus, though successful in touching down on the surface, toppled over and ended up lying on its side.
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We may see the M4 MacBook Air as soon as March. In the Power On newsletter this weekend, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is readying itself for the launch of the upgraded laptop next month. The company is “preparing its marketing, sales and retail teams for the debut,” according to Gurman’s sources, and it’s letting inventory of the existing models wind down. The M4 MacBook Air is expected to come in two sizes, 13-inch and 15-inch, like the previous model.
Apple introduced the M3 MacBook Air last March, and unveiled its new M4 chip a few months later, bringing that first to the iPad Pro. In October, it refreshed the iMac, Mac mini and MacBook Pros with the M4 family of chips. The MacBook Air is now due for its turn. While the laptop didn’t get the M4 chip in the fall, Apple did announce a long-awaited memory boost for the lineup at that time, with the M2 and M3 now starting at 16GB of RAM.
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This week, we’ll kick things off by answering the questions you may have about Obsidian’s new first-person role-playing game Avowed (and if you want more tips to help you get started strong, look no further than this spoiler-free collection of things to know before you start playing). We’ll also help you get rich in Ci…
In What We’re Listening To, Engadget editors and writers discuss the new music we can’t get enough of.
Bad Bunny -DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
You don’t need me to tell you to go listen to Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS — if you’re on the internet enough, you’vebeentoldto do so already. But I’ll add to the pile-on and say that this is Bad Bunny’s most personal work yet. It showcases how modern pop, rap and R&B can be seamlessly combined with old-school, traditional sounds from different cultures (in this case, Puerto Rico) in a way that celebrates both camps. Bad Bunny has always been deeply connected to his island home and it’s come through in his music, but DTMF is on a whole other level.
For me, there are no skips on this album — but if you’re going to listen to just one song, make it the salsa hit “BAILE INoLVIDABLE.” Aside from that, my favorites are “NUEVAYoL” (if you live in the five boroughs, be prepared to hear this all summer long), “KETU TeCRÉ,” “CAFé CON RON” and “EoO.” — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor, Buying Advice
The Weeknd -Hurry Up Tomorrow
The Weeknd is certainly going out with a bang with Hurry Up Tomorrow. Supposedly the pop star’s final record under his current pseudonym, Hurry Up Tomorrow also completes the trilogy that started with 2020’s After Hours and continued with 2022’s Dawn FM. It’s a massive (literally, at 22 tracks), cinematic album that serves as The Weeknd’s magnus opus, and without a doubt, his most personal project yet. His attitudes toward fame, legacy, suicide, past substance abuse, the fear of being alone and much more are all laid bare for listeners to hear, but in typical Weeknd fashion, he disguises it all in moody synths, thumping bass and top-tier vocals.
The first things I noticed during my initial listen were the transitions: they’re beyond smooth on this album, and they’re one of the reasons why the first five tracks make up one of the most energizing sequences I’ve heard start an album recently. I’d personally extend that to include the next two tracks, the final of which is “Open Hearts,” a song that’s cut from a similar cloth as “Blinding Lights” and will, no doubt, be a standout single from the record. My other top tracks are “Wake Me Up,” “Cry for Me,” “São Paulo,” and “Niagara Falls.” — V.P.
FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
FKA twigs is truly in a league of her own. I’ve been mentally prepared to be changed by the new album ever since she released the genuinely jaw-dropping “Eusexua” music video back in September (which features two tracks, “Drums of Death” and “Eusexua”), but it’s even more magnificent than I was ready for. FKA twigs has described the state of “eusexua” as “pure presence. It's a moment of nothingness. Or it's the moment before a really incredible idea… it's this ego-less presence which is just filled with this kind of tingling clarity.” Call me corny, but listening to this album is a spiritual experience every time.
Eusexua ebbs and flows over the course of its 11 tracks, starting out almost angelic with the title track before transporting you right onto a throbbing, disorienting club dance floor with “Drums of Death” and “Room of Fools,” then back down to a softer, emotionally raw place with “Sticky.” “Childlike Things” feels like the onset of unexpected joy, almost out of place in between “Keep It, Hold It” and “Striptease” but in a way that’s really grown on me.
“Perfect Stranger,” toward the beginning, and the penultimate song “24hr Dog” almost feel like two sides of the same coin, the latter hitting like the vulnerable comedown from the former. I love every song on this album, but I especially can’t stop listening to “Girl Feels Good,” which sounds like it’s been transplanted into 2025 from the ‘90s and hits me in just the right way. Eusexua has kind of taken over my personality for the time being. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor
Honorable mentions: A bunch of singles have come out lately that have me so hyped for albums we’re going to see later this winter and spring. I’m apologizing in advance for the person I’ll become when Lady Gaga’s Mayhem drops, because “Abracadabra” has reawakened something in me. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve been obsessively listening to Bria Salmena’s brooding indie track, “Stretch the Struggle,” ahead of her debut album’s release at the end of March, along with “Sugar in the Tank” by Julien Baker and Torres, who have a country-leaning collaboration album coming out in April that I cannot wait for. All of the new SZA from SOS Deluxe: Lana (Deluxe?) has been a real treat too. — C.M.
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ASUS has launched a new mouse that comes with an built-in fragrance compartment that can be filled with aromatic essential oils. We don't know why you'd want a mouse that's also an oil diffuser, but, well... the option (for some reason) now exists. If you want to change scents, you can just wash the vial and refill it with a different one. Just take note that the vial is in a bottom compartment, so you'll have to take care not to accidentally damage it and smear aromatic oils on your desk. You also cannot use 100 percent pure essential oils and will have to refill the vial with oils for reed diffusers, ultrasonic diffusers and aroma stones.
The ASUS Fragrance Mouse has three adjustable DPI levels at 1200dpi, 1600dpi and 2,400dpi, letting you change sensitivity as needed across different screen resolutions or across different games. You'd want to use a higher DPI for games that need quick responses like first-person shooters. It also has both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity that you can use to connect to different laptops and PCs. The mouse isn't rechargeable, but ASUS says an AA battery can power it for a year. In addition, the company says the model's switches can last for up to 10 million clicks. ASUS has yet to announce how much the Fragrance Mouse will cost and when it will be available, but you can easily get a diffuser from Amazon if you're after the fragrance part of the product.
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This week saw many of the people behind smash hit Marvel Rivals, including the game’s director, get laid off by developer NetEase in a move the company says was made “for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game.” Meanwhile Humane, the company behind a $700 AI pin, announced that next…
A surprising contradiction sits at the heart of PC gaming: the medium’s most open platform is nevertheless dominated by a single storefront. That storefront belongs to Valve, it’s called Steam, and despite plenty of challenges in the two decades since it launched, no one has yet come close to unseating the Counter-Stri…
Publisher Electronic Arts is going an extra mile to ensure that all players have a chance to try out its highly-anticipated upcoming PS5 co-op game. Made by the award-winning Hazelight Studios, Split Fiction is out on March 6, and the publisher has detailed its elaborate plans for virtually everyone to get their hands on it.
How to play PS5 co-op game Split Fiction for free
Those who’ve played Hazelight games before will be familiar with its Friend’s Pass system, which allows players to complete its co-op games with a buddy with only one copy of a game between them. With Split Fiction, the Friend’s Pass system will evolve further.
For starters, Split Fiction is going to be multiplatform unlike Hazelight’s previous games. This means that if a PS5 player purchases a copy of the game, their friend on Steam or Xbox can play with them at no additional cost.
But wait, there’s more. Players who are on the fence about Split Fiction can download the Friend’s Pass trial, which essentially allows two friends to try the game together completely free.
Once the Friend’s Pass trial is available, both friends simply need to download it and invite each other to play Split Fiction’s opening stages together. If you end up liking it, only one player has to purchase a copy, and the other can tag along for the ride.
And yes, Friend’s Pass trial is also multiplatform!
After much anticipation, Apple finally announced the iPhone 16e yesterday. Looking at its position in the company's lineup, the 16e is a headscratcher. My colleague Ian Carlos Campbell already wrote about how strange it is that the phone is missing MagSafe, a feature universally loved by Apple users. However, the omission that stands out the most to me is that the iPhone 16e doesn't come with more than a single rear camera, and no, 2x telephoto cropping doesn't count.
Sure, if you put the 16e against its predecessor, the 2022 iPhone SE, it’s not a surprising omission — but when you consider today's broader smartphone market, it's a glaring weakness. At $599, the 16e is $100 more than the Pixel 8a, a device with two amazing rear cameras and an AI-capable processor (more on that in a moment). The 8a is also frequently on sale for as little as $399. Some people hate the Pixel comparison, so I'll give you another one. Last spring, Nothing released the $349 Phone 2a. Like the 8a, it has two rear cameras. Oh, and a fresh design that's not borrowed from 2020. At almost $200 more than the phone it replaces, the 16e is very much not a midrange device.
I know what you're thinking: what's wrong with one camera, as long as that camera is great? In the case of the 16e, I think the problem is that Apple is misreading the market and what people want from their next phone. All consumer devices are a compromise in some way. Those become more pronounced as you move down the market.
For most people, their phone is their primary camera and how they document their lives and memories. Think about what was the first thing you tested when you upgraded to your current phone. I bet it was the cameras. In that context, more are better, because they make it easier to capture moments that are important to you.
For a device some outlets are describing as "low-end," the iPhone 16e features a state-of-the-art chip. It might be cut down with one less GPU core, but the 16e's A18 is still a 3nm chip with 8GB of RAM to support the processor. Apple clearly felt the A18 was necessary to get its AI suite running on the 16e. But that means the rest of the phone had to suffer as a result, starting with the camera package.
I don't know about you, but if I were in the market for a new phone, I would want the most bang for my buck. The SE line had its share of drawbacks, including a dated design and a lackluster screen, but at $429, they made sense. For all its faults, the SE still felt like a bargain in 2022 because you were getting a modern chip, access to iOS and all the great apps that come with it and Apple's excellent track record of software support. With the iPhone 16e, you're not saving nearly as much off the price of a regular iPhone. Yes, everything I said about the SE's strengths is still true of the 16e and it even builds on that phone with additions like a better battery and an OLED screen, but the smartphone market has evolved so much in the last three years.
Again, I know people hate the Pixel comparison, but the 8a makes far fewer compromises. Not only does it feature a more versatile camera system, but it also comes with a high refresh rate OLED. The 8a's Tensor G3 chip is also fully capable of running Google's latest AI features.
I know offering the best hardware features for the price has never been Apple's approach, but that approach only made sense when the company had the best software experience. We can all agree Apple Intelligence has not met its usual quality standards. Just look at notification summaries, one of the main selling points of Apple Intelligence. Apple recently paused all news and entertainment alerts generated by the system to address their poor quality.
Right now, Apple Intelligence is not a compelling reason to buy a new iPhone, and its inclusion on the 16e at the expense of other features feels, at best, a cynical attempt to boost adoption numbers. If the 16e was $100 cheaper, maybe I would be less critical, but right now it feels like Apple missed the mark.
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Oppo is back with a new foldable, and the Find N5 is a technically impressive balance of thinness and power. Skipping over the whole unlucky number four thing (this is technically the fourth iteration of the Find foldable), the company claims its latest book-style foldable is the world’s thinnest at 8.92mm. That's not a lot thicker than a typical flagship phone. Despite that, the Find N5 has a 6.62-inch outer display and an 8.12-inch inner screen which, Oppo says, features multiple durability improvements, flanked by a new titanium hinge.
For the sake of clarity: While you may not have bought, used or even seen an Oppo phone, this company is under the same corporate owner as OnePlus. Last year’s Find N3 foldable ended up in the US as the OnePlus Open, so you may see the Find N5 similarly rebadged. If that’s the case, and this is eventually the Open 2, you won’t see it this year. OnePlus announced that its follow-up foldable will not land until 2025.
At an early briefing, my first impression of the Find N5 was that it was a very thin, premium foldable. Unfolded, one side is just 4.21mm — thinner than a headphone jack. (That’s a great excuse for the lack of one.) It’s so slender that Oppo had to reinforce and beef up the edges of the Find N5’s USB-C port, which has only a razor-thin border around it. The ring camera array — which still looks a bit much — has also been shaved down 20 percent.
Mat Smith for Engadget
In addition to that thinner profile, which seems to be the 2025 trend for phones, the Find N5 weighs just 229 grams (8.07 ounces). That’s only two more grams than the single-screen iPhone 16 Pro Max and 10 grams less than the N5's main rival — the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It’s even more impressive when you consider that the Find N5 has a bigger internal screen than all the other foldables.
In fact, using its external screen when closed it feels like any other non-foldable phone, due to its sharp profile and light weight. A 6.62-inch screen is larger than most phones I use regularly, so browsing and watching things before I’ve even unfolded the N5 feels like a treat.
Despite its thickness (or lack thereof), Oppo has ensured it is suitably powerful, with a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and a 5,600mAh battery. (For comparison, Samsung’s latest Galaxy Fold has a 4,400mAh cell.) Unlike the OnePlus Open, the Find N5 is compatible with wireless chargers and if you have Oppo’s own wireless fast charger, it tops out at 50W AIRVOOC.
Using the included fast charger, you get an impressive and swift 80W wired charging speed. I could completely recharge the Find N5 in less than an hour. However, like many other recent Android phones, this device is not Qi2-ready. Oppo argued that its proprietary wireless charging tech is faster, and added that a magnetic case will be on sale when the device launches. (Oppo does include a non-magnetic case to cover the device's rear with the phone.)
With its Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, the Find N5 is the first foldable to pack Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile chip, with substantial power efficiency gains alongside performance boosts compared to older Snapdragon 8 silicon. We’ve been amazed by battery life improvements on Samsung and OnePlus devices with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and Oppo continues that trend. Combined with that massive battery, this foldable typically lasted almost two days in my testing before needing to charge.
One of the biggest challenges to foldables is durability, and to address this, Oppo has upgraded the Find N5’s hinge and screen toughness. The hinge is now made from titanium alloy, 3D-printed to maintain the material strength while shrinking the hinge’s size by 26 percent. At a press briefing in London, the company decided to showcase the hinge strength by suspending a 44-pound kettlebell from its new foldable, which spanned two tables. I’m not sure this translates to real-world toughness, but it was an impressive spectacle. Next time, put your newest thousand-dollar-plus device somewhere near a three-year-old — let’s see how tough it really is.
Mat Smith for Engadget
Oppo says the smaller external screen is made of nanocrystal glass, which includes an outer layer of ceramic to improve scratch and drop resistance. The company also says the inner screen has been strengthened with a new anti-shock film that can absorb impact, improving shock resistance by 70 percent.
The Find N5 also comes with a literal list of water resistances: IPX6 (resistant to powerful water jets), IPX8 (resistant to being submersed in water deeper than 1 meter) and IPX9 (resistant to powerful, high-temperature water jets). If you think at least one of those must be redundant, I agree.
The Find N5 is the first foldable to claim all that protection. However, there’s no dust-resistance rating, which might concern existing foldable users who have been grappling with that lil’ bit of dust lodged in their years-old smartphone screen.
Camera improvements are focused on the periscope telephoto shooter, which is upgraded to 50MP sensor from the 32MP one found on the Find N3. The Find N5 can now punch into 3X optical zoom, up from 2X on its predecessor. There’s a lossless 6X zoom that taps into AI to sharpen detail, but as usual, your mileage may vary here. I find the lossless options on most phones often a little too smooth (and turn most zoomed-in faces into nightmares), but at least it’s an option.
The periscope telephoto camera can also utilize a macro mode, meaning you can zoom in closer and still maintain crisp focus and detail. Macro photography with a typical smartphone doesn’t always work. Your phone will cast a shadow on your subject, or perhaps you can’t get your camera close enough. On the Find N5, a four-inch focal distance makes this less of an issue, and early images are promising. It’s not the first time we’ve seen the feature (both the Huawei P60 Pro and vivo X100 Ultra have telephoto macros) but it’s rare in most devices that make it to the west. We usually have to make do with a macro mode on the ultrawide camera, and hope for the best.
Mat Smith for Engadget
The camera has many familiar features, too: portrait mode (with some Hasselblad assistance) and Lightning Snap burst shooting. The latter is augmented by Oppo’s take on AI unblurring and sharpening. Fold in an AI eraser and reflection remover and it goes toe-to-toe with recent Samsung and Google flagships.
Multitasking is similar to the OnePlus Open, with some improvements. Oppo’s version is called Boundless View, with several features now accessible from a triple-dot icon, where you can shift second and even third apps into shrinkable windows. By tapping the top bar above one app, you can automatically widen it, but leave a sliver of the other app in view, making it easier to switch between them.
One smart touch is that the Find N5 will gauge your multitasking, offering a prompt when switching between two apps to use them in split screen mode. As someone who doesn’t use book-style foldables, I find it a nice reminder of the utility of this form factor.
Another software addition is the O+ app, where you can manage files on your phone and even sling them across to your Mac. At the briefing, an Oppo exec showed how easy it was to transfer a photo across devices, which was pretty unremarkable. (Think of all the cloud options we have in 2025)
Mat Smith for Engadget
But it was the Remote Mac Control that surprised me. With the Find N5 propped up and half-folded, the Oppo spokesperson used the onscreen trackpad and keyboard to interact with their Mac. This feature works with both Intel and Apple Silicon-based Macs, so I was able to test it out with my aging Intel MacBook Pro. Does anyone remember and pine for that VAIO laptop that could slip into your jeans pocket? No? Just me? Just me. Anyway, it felt like using that. You’re not going to work daily from it, but if there are files, or certain simple tasks you need to accomplish in Photoshop or other PC programs, it’s functional and impressive.
It’s not quite as effortless or seamless as Apple’s own Continuity feature, since you have to install apps on the Find N6 and your Mac. Oppo promises a future update allowing you to transfer files to your Mac from Find N5’s native Files app without dabbling in Remote Mac Control.
Wrap-up
Mat Smith for Engadget
With the Find N5, Oppo went to town on hardware. It feels and looks more premium than the company’s previous foldables but with substantial spec bumps at a time when many smartphones seem a little iterative. (Yes, Samsung, you.) The intriguing part is, if the OnePlus Open 2 isn’t happening in 2025, will this device make it to the US at all? And if it does appear next year, will all these upgrades be as impressive?
The Find N5 launches globally today, with Oppo so far only announcing official pricing in Singapore: 2,499 Singapore Dollars. That equates to just below £1,500 in the UK, where it will go on sale, or shy of $1,900. That would put it at the same price point as the leading foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 6. However, it's much more interesting (and impressive) than Samsung's latest foldable.
However, without US availability, this is just an exercise in currency conversion for now.We'll update this story when we get more precise availability.
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The US government could impose hefty tariffs on automobile, chip and pharmaceutical imports. According to Reuters and CBS News, President Donald Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate that the tariffs on auto imports, specifically, will be "in the neighborhood of 25 percent" and that he'll reveal more details about them on April 2. That's the day he's bound to get reports from members of his cabinet outlining options on duties for different imports across industries. When the president was asked how he could ensure that the European Union wouldn't retaliate by imposing the same levies on US imports, the president reportedly reiterated that the bloc signaled it would lower tariffs on US cars.
During the press briefing, the president also said that he's imposing similar tariffs on imported semiconductors and pharmaceutical goods. He said the government could collect 25 percent in taxes, or higher, for those imports and that they will "go very substantially higher over course of a year." It doesn't sound like the president will announce new taxes on chip and pharmaceutical imports in April, though. He said he wants to give companies in those industries "a little bit of chance" to build factories in the US so that they can avoid the new tariffs.
To note, Reuters previously reported that the US government is looking to renegotiate the CHIPS and Science Act deals closed by the Biden administration. The program seeks to give semiconductor manufacturing a boost in the US by awarding grants to companies building foundries on US soil. But Trump previously criticized the initiative and argued that increasing tariffs would compel chip companies to build factories in the US without the government having to shell out any money. Trump admitted that prices could go up in the US due to the higher tariffs on foreign goods, but the president believes it'll only be a short-term problem and that they will benefit the country's economy in the future.
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Some PS Plus Extra/Premium users have expressed their frustration upon realizing that Sony recently removed a game without notice. Published by Take-Two’s Private Division, After Us is a narrative adventure game by Piccolo Studio. It was added to the catalog in June 2024.
PS Plus game After Us removed from catalog at an unknown date
It’s unclear when Sony removed After Us, but we can confirm that it no longer appears in the catalog. The company does have a history of removing games with little to no warnings, but had ceased the practice for a while. After Us is the first instance in six months of a game being removed without notice.
“Pretty annoying if this is gone for good, I wanted to get around to trying this one,” wrote one player. “That’s messed up,” wrote another. “It was definitely in the catalog, but now it’s gone and they never announced it was leaving.”
Those who want to try After Us will either have to fork out $29.99 or await a sale since it’s not currently part of any promotions.
Unfortunately, PS Plus terms & conditions make room for Sony to remove games without a warning, so as annoying as it is, not much we can do about it.
Rumor has it that Tony Hawk 3+4 remaster is indeed in the works, and it’ll be shadow dropped very, very soon. The claim follows comments made by professional skateboarder Tyshawn Jones, who recently said that he’s in the “new Tony Hawk remaster that’s about to come out.”
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 remaster could be out as soon as summer
Following Jones’ viral comments in the Breakfast Club podcast, known leaker eXtas1s claimed Pro Skater 3 and 4 remasters will be shadow dropped for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC during an Xbox Games Showcase scheduled to take place in June 2025.
EXtas1s didn’t mention last-gen platforms, so those who enjoyed the 1+2 remasters on the PS4 might have to make the jump to current-gen, if they haven’t already.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 originally released in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Vicarious Visions, who worked on the 1+2 remaster, co-developed the original games. Activision, which is now part of Microsoft, continues to own the IP.
As usual, take all rumors with a grain of salt until official confirmation. However, given that Jones outright mentioned being in a new Tony Hawk remaster, we think this rumor is at least partially true. One ResetEra user added weight to the rumor, revealing that their friend pitched an ad for the game that was subsequently turned down.
Last week, Apple’s Tim Cook teed up a new product for launch on February 19 — that’s tomorrow. Cook’s tweet also included an animated image of a shimmering Apple logo, which made a lot of us assume the reveal could be for a second-generation AirTag. It’s been rumored for a while that Apple would introduce a second-gen tracker sometime this year, and the original AirTag landed almost four years ago. So there are plenty of tech upgrades the tracker could benefit from.
Rumors suggest the next AirTag may feature a more tamper-proof speaker to reduce stalking and an improved Ultra-Wideband chip with up to 3x longer tracking range. However, would the CEO of Apple tweet (and hype up) a mere accessory? Probably not. Following a barrage of leaks and rumors, a next-gen iPhone SE seems more likely.
This upgraded entry-level basic iPhone may appear with a design closer to the iPhone 14. That means appearing with a notch, so no Dynamic Island, no home button. It’ll likely make the shift to USB-C and probably have enough power to run all those Apple Intelligence features too. (In the past, while SE iPhones have had humble screens and hardware, Apple typically packs them with chips on par with the latest iPhones.)
It could also be a wildcard: Apple’s rumored smart display is meant to arrive sometime this year too. Having said all that, there isn’t really an Apple device as shiny as an AirTag. We’ll find out tomorrow. Hopefully alongside some more tech news because it’s been a quiet few days.
The new CPU could be a piece in the $500 billion Stargate AI project.
Arm is reportedly planning to reveal its own processor this year, with Meta as the main customer. The chip would be a CPU designed for data center servers and customizable for clients.
Last month, Arm’s parent company, Softbank, announced the Stargate project, a partnership with OpenAI to build up to $500 billion worth of AI infrastructure. Arm, along with Microsoft and NVIDIA, is a key technology partner for the project. Arm’s chip could now play a role in all of that.
It’s become a depressing trend from recent Samsung hardware: solid, capable devices that lack a strong enough reason to upgrade — or get excited, even. The Galaxy Watch 7 is a capable companion for Samsung phones, with great hooks into Samsung’s Health app, reliable activity tracking and zippy performance. The always-on display hits battery life hard, however, so we were tasked with recharging (or even topping up) the device more often than we’d like.
Nintendo has announced, with no explanation as to why, that it will be discontinuing Nintendo Gold Points on March 24. The scheme, where points were awarded when buying both physical and digital editions of games, could then be redeemed for discounts. But, ahead of the (still unknown) launch of the Switch 2, they will…
We recently reported that Sony has been quietly improving PS5 Pro‘s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) behind the scenes. However, it appears that the company wanted to keep those improvements along with PSSR version information a secret. That may soon change, as at least one major developer has revealed the version of PSSR being used in their game.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 lauded for PS5 Pro PSSR use and it’s not even the latest version
In response to this, another dev who works on PS5 Pro enhancements for their games revealed that PSSR version 9.60 isn’t the latest revision. The dev, who goes as KoralSky on ResetEra, also suggested that Warhorse Studios may have violated a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) because Sony doesn’t allow studios to share PSSR versions… at least it didn’t until now.
We have checked Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s official technical FAQ, and can confirm that it contains PSSR version information at the time of this writing. Whether this info should be public or not is anybody’s guess.
Fans are starting to get their hopes up for a PlayStation Summer 2025 Showcase following a new rumor, but it doesn’t look like said rumor is anything meaningful. A journalist/insider recently claimed that the company is “debating” whether to hold a full-fledged showcase or another State of Play.
Why PlayStation Showcase in summer 2025 seems unlikely
The aforementioned claim comes from Jeff Grubb, who said in a recent episode of Game Mess Decides that “internally” Sony is “debating, flapping between maybe making this Summer a full showcase versus another State of Play, but they are considering a showcase.”
Sony last held a showcase in 2023, which focused on both first-party and third-party PS5 games, including the doomed Concord. The main attraction was an extensive look at then upcoming blockbuster, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
While it’s possible that Sony may opt for a full-fledged showcase as part of which it will offer an extensive look at Ghost of Yotei, there’s little else the company has to show in terms of first-party games coming in the near future — at least nothing that it can’t cram into a State of Play, like it has been doing.
Sony has also been dedicating entire State of Play events to a single game, so if it really wants to focus on Ghost of Yotei, it can opt to do just that.
Worth noting that we already have a major gaming event in the summer hosted by Geoff Keighley, the Summer Game Fest. So, unless Sony has some flashy new hardware or accessories to show off, I doubt we’re getting an official showcase.
Microsoft executive Phil Spencer has said that PlayStation logo appearing in Xbox showcases won’t be an outlier going forward. In a recent interview, Spencer was quizzed about displaying a rival’s branding during Xbox events, to which he said that the company plans to be transparent about which platforms a given game will be available on.
Microsoft previously debated displaying the PlayStation logo in Xbox events
In a wide-ranging interview with XboxEra, Spencer said that Microsoft previously debated displaying PlayStation branding in an Xbox showcase as far back as June last year. However, by the time Microsoft made the decision to be “transparent,” it was too late to gather all the relevant assets.
Going forward, however, both Nintendo and PlayStation logos will appear every time an Xbox game is launching on those platforms. “People should know the storefronts where they can get our games, but I want people to be able to experience our Xbox community in our games and everything we have to offer, on every screen we can.” Spencer said.
Last August, we pointed out that Sony re-uploaded Xbox’s Indiana Jones trailer — following its PS5 announcement — without Xbox branding. It remains to be seen if Sony will continue to do this when it comes to PS5 ports of Xbox Game Studios titles.
Apple Vision Pro may soon get an update bringing Apple Intelligence to the headset, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The first Apple Intelligence features started rolling out to iPhone, iPad and Mac in the fall, bringing features like notification summaries, ChatGPT integration for Siri and Genmoji over the last few months. But Apple’s AI hasn’t yet made it to the Vision Pro. According to Mark Gurman, that may change with the visionOS 2.4 update, which sources said may arrive in April with Apple Intelligence and a new app for viewing spatial media like 3D images and panoramas.
The first Apple Intelligence features to come to Vision Pro will reportedly include Writing Tools, Genmoji and Image Playground. Gurman reports that developers may get access to these features in beta “as soon as this week.” Don’t expect any major changes to Siri on Vision Pro just yet, though. According to Gurman, a “major AI overhaul” the company had been planning for the assistant has been delayed.
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YouTube TV has reached a deal with Paramount to avoid cutting off subscribers’ access to certain channels, including CBS, CBS Sports and Nickelodeon. Earlier this week, YouTube TV announced in a blog post that Paramount content would be removed from its platform after February 13 because the two had failed to reach “a fair agreement” that would keep those channels available. On Friday, that deadline was extended, and YouTube TV said in an update on Saturday night that a deal had been reached and access would now go on uninterrupted.
“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached a deal to continue carrying Paramount channels, including CBS, CBS Sports, Nickelodeon and more,” YouTube TV wrote in a blog post and on X. “With this agreement, YouTube TV will continue to offer 100+ channels and add-ons including Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and will enable more user choice in the future. To our subscribers, we appreciate your patience while we negotiated on your behalf.” BET+ will also remain available.
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This week’s tips include an assortment of spoiler-free pointers for starting off on the right foot in Avowed, guidance on making the most of Hulk and other heroes in Marvel Rivals, and info about how to unlock your Ascendancy class in Path of Exile 2. Click on and reap the benefits of all this gaming knowledge.
This week gave us PlayStation’s first State of Play presentation of 2025. It was 40-plus pretty packed minutes that showed off plenty of games coming to Sony’s console in the future, and we’ve collected every last trailer and announcement. Also, big changes are coming to Overwatch 2, and Marvel Rivals rapidly changed…
Uber is suing DoorDash, accusing the biggest food delivery provider in the US of putting pressure on restaurants to exclusively use its services. According to The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, Uber filed the lawsuit in California on February 14. Uber said it filed the lawsuit after hearing from "restaurants across the country" that were left with no choice but to "cave to [DoorDash's] demands or pay the price."
Both DoorDash and Uber Eats offer their delivery services to restaurants, even for customers who buy from an establishment's own website or app. At the same time, they also offer advertising within their apps for those that want to promote their businesses. DoorDash has a significantly larger share of the market than Uber Eats and had previously said that 90 percent of major restaurants in the US is available on its platform.
DoorDash allegedly threatened to charge higher commission rates for handling orders made through its marketplace if the restaurant is also on Uber Eats. In its complaint, Uber said that that in one instance, the company threatened to raise a restaurant's commission rate by 30 percent per order placed. The lawsuit stated another instance wherein DoorDash allegedly told a restaurant that it would cost them millions of dollars in additional fees if it also teamed up with Uber. In 2024, a large restaurant group scrapped long-running plans to launch on Uber after threats from DoorDash to increase its commission rates, Uber said. In addition, DoorDash allegedly threatened to demote restaurants also available on Uber within its app.
Uber is now asking the court to compel DoorDash to change its business practices. Meanwhile, DoorDash denied all accusations. "Uber’s case has no merit," the company said in a statement. "Their claims are unfounded and based on their inability to offer merchants, consumers, or couriers a quality alternative."
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