We've heard all sorts of rumours about the iPhone 14, covering everything from the camera (apparently it's getting better) to the battery life (apparently it's getting better). But perhaps the most persistent rumour has involved the notch – or lack thereof.
The iPhone 14 Pro is said to be nixing the notch in favour of a 'pill + hole' design containing the front camera and FaceID tech. But if new leaked display panels are the real deal, the effect on screen real estate might not be as dramatic as we'd hoped. (Don't fancy waiting? Check out the best iPhone 13 Pro deals available now.)
The new camera cutout doesn't look much smaller than the notch(Image credit: @SaranByte on Twitter)
Alleged front glass panels for the entire iPhone 14 line up have emerged on Chinese social media website Weibo, as spotted by MacRumors. While the standard 14 looks very similar to the 13 (except, of course, for the fact that it looks like there's no mini this time around), the 14 Pro looks quite different. But not as different as I'd hoped.
Earlier renders imagined a smaller – and higher – cutout(Image credit: Angelo Libero)
The notch has long been considered a blight on the supposedly all-screen display of the iPhone since it appeared on the iPhone X in 2017. But while many were hoping the new pill design would free up plenty of precious pixels, it looks much larger than we expected here. Indeed, it's pretty much the same width as the notch on the iPhone 13. And it sits even lower on the display, arguably eating into more viewing area.
Still, while it might not be the revolutionary design change we were hoping for, there's still plenty to look forward to with the iPhone 14. Rumour has it we're in for a massively enhanced camera zoom, as well as the highest storage ever included in an iPhone. For every leak in one place, check out our roundup of iPhone 14 rumours. And if you want the best iPhone experience available right now, take a look at today's best iPhone 13 deals below.
But, what happens to our current PS Plus memberships? There are plenty of PlayStation fans who have years of PS Plus or PS Now already stacked up, and some might even want to upgrade to the new Extra or Premium tiers as well. Well, have no fear, because we've got all the answers right here. Moreover, there's even some new info to check out when it comes to using pre-paid PS Plus or Now vouchers after the new service launches.
PlayStation Plus: It's Essential for Current Members
In case you missed it, there are three tiers for the new PS Plus. Essential, Extra, and Premium. Essential is what the service is today, including multiplayer access, free monthly games, discounts, and cloud storage. So, it's an easy transition for current members of PS Plus, you'll simply be moved over into the Essential tier at launch. The Essential tier will also cost the same as the current PS Plus, so you won't be paying any more either.
Stacking Memberships Is Currently Disabled
Sony has confirmed it's stopped PS Plus and PS Now code stacking for existing members prior to the new PS Plus launch. If you've purchased a code and haven't been able to activate it, you'll need to wait until your membership expires, or when the new PS Plus launches.
If you want to redeem the voucher then, whether you let your PS Plus expire, or you are now a Premium or Extra member, Sony has provided new information for converting these codes, which will be based on the "monetary value of the voucher you are redeeming." For example, if you become a PS Plus Premium member but want to redeem a code for 12-months of standard PS Plus, this will therefore be converted to about 6-months instead. We've included a breakdown chart of these conversion rates across all PS Plus tiers below as well.
How to Upgrade to PS Plus Premium and Extra
So once the new service launches and you become a PS Plus Essential member, you may be wondering, how do I get all the new features? To do that, you'll need to upgrade to PS Plus Extra, or PS Plus Premium. Each tier will bring new benefits, so make sure you read up on the new PS Plus before committing.
To upgrade to another tier, Sony's PS Plus FAQ page states: "You will be charged a pro-rated fee to level up the remaining time on your existing membership to the desired level."
So breaking this down, if you've got any time left on your PS Plus membership, you will have to pay the difference in cost to upgrade to the more expensive tiers. For example, if you paid for 12-months of PS Plus ($59.99/year), and you want to upgrade to PS Plus Premium ($119.99/year), you'll have to pay another $60 to complete the upgrade and so forth.
PS Now Members Will Get a Premium Upgrade
When the new PlayStation Plus launches, all PS Now members will be rolled into the new Premium tier for the remainder of their subscription time. This is the tier with the most benefits, and it's also the most expensive tier available.
Sony has confirmed that PlayStation users who currently have both a PS Now and PS Plus membership will also get upgraded to PS Plus Premium when it launches. The length of this membership will then be equal to the longest subscription you own.
So, for example, if you have PS Now subscribed up until August 2022 and an active PS Plus membership until September 2025 - that means you’ll be upgraded to PS Plus premium until September 2025. This is probably the best deal possible, as you won't have to pay any upgrade fees.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him@robertliam21on Twitter.
Now that Epic Games is buying Bandcamp, it's worried Google might pull the music app. In association with its antitrust lawsuit, Epic has filed for a preliminary injunction that would bar Google from removing or otherwise blocking access to Bandcamp on the Play Store. Most notably, the developer claims Google's stricter in-app purchase requirements (which will demand that Bandcamp use Google's billing system from June 1st) and delayed payments (from a maximum 48 hours to as long as 45 days) would cause "irreparable harm" to both Epic and musicians.
Epic also maintains that it's likely to prevail in its antitrust case. Google, meanwhile, will reportedly face "no harm" if the existing Play Store policies remain in place.
We've asked Google for comment. There's a good chance the Android creator will object to the injunction. It countersued Epic in October for "willfully" violating Play Store rules with Fortnite's in-house billing, and a successful request would force Google to make an exception to the updated policies for Bandcamp.
Whether or not it succeeds, the injunction filing would draw attention to regulatory pressure on Google and its arch-rival Apple. Google is facing an antitrust suit from 36 states and Washington, DC over its alleged abuses of Play Store control, while the company and Apple are facing a wave of bills and other inquiries into their app policies. People are closely watching how Google treats Bandcamp, and pulling the app could fuel more criticism or legal action.
Update 4/29 3:05PM ET: Google told Engadget it rejects Epic's argument, and that Bandcamp would only have to pay a 10 percent fee. You can read the full statement below.
"This is yet another meritless claim by Epic, which is now using its newly acquired app Bandcamp to continue its effort to avoid paying for the value that Google Play provides. We’ve beentransparentabout Play’s Payment policy for more than 18 months and, as Epic knows, Bandcamp is eligible for a service fee of just 10% through Play’s Media Experience Program—far less than the fees they charge on their own platforms. Despite their claims, Android’s openness means that Bandcamp has multiple ways of distributing their app to Android users, including through other app stores, directly to users via their website or as a consumption-only app as they do on iOS."
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Sony will no longer let users stack subscription memberships to PlayStation Plus or PlayStation Now, a policy shift blatantly preventing PS5 users from scoring long-term discounts on the revamped PlayStation Plus service.
The new PS Plus, now broken into three tiers—Essential, Extra, and Plus—essentially combines PlayStation Now and the soon-to-be-former PlayStation Plus. As a reminder, PS Now is a streaming service that gives users access to hundreds of games made for current and former console generations, while the current PS Plus gives users access to online multiplayer games, discounts, and a few free games each month. Both of those services will be retired on June 13 and combined into the new PS Plus.
Previously, PlayStation users could “stack” PS Now and PS Plus subscriptions by purchasing multiple (say, if there was a discount) and activating them all at once or one after another. With this newly instated hold, PS Now and PS Plus subscribers are unable to redeem voucher codes that had been sitting dormant until either their current membership ends or the new PS Plus service becomes available in their region—whichever happens first.
“As we prepare to launch the new PlayStation Plus membership service, we are doing some work behind the scenes to make the transition as smooth as possible for all of our existing members,” Sony wrote in a blog. “As part of this work, we’ve temporarily disabled stacking memberships for existing customers until after the launch.”
If you have a voucher code and aren’t currently subscribed to either service or if your membership runs out before the new one, then you can still redeem it. If you have an active PS Plus membership when the new version launches, you’ll be placed into PS Plus Essential, the lowest tier of the new service. If you have an active PS Now account, you’ll migrate to PS Plus Premium, the highest tier.
Here is where the fine print matters: if you weren’t already an active member, a PS Plus voucher redeemed after the new version arrives will net you PS Now Essential access for the length of time denoted on your original voucher (12 months=12 months). The same goes for PS Now but with PS Plus Premium. If you were an existing PS Plus or PS Now customer, any unredeemed voucher will convert to a length of time equivalent to the monetary value of the voucher you are redeeming.
Image: Sony
What does that conversion look like? Sony published a table showing how much of each new tier an old PS Now or PS Plus subscription gets you. As a taster, a 1-month (previous-gen) PS Plus voucher gets you a full month of PS Plus Essential or 21 days of PS Plus Extra or 17 days of PS Plus Premium.
Those who already redeemed codes and are subscribed to both services are in luck; Sony clarified earlier this week that it will honor whichever subscription remains active the longest. So, for example, if you have a PS Now subscription expiring in one month and a PS Plus subscription expiring in three years, you will get PS Plus Premium access until 2025.
This is the exact loophole Sony is plugging by preventing users from stacking subscriptions, then migrating to the new service to enjoy the additional perks without paying the price difference. As a reminder, the PS Plus Premium service costs $17.99 a month and gets all the benefits of the original PS Plus plan, plus access to more than 400 PS4 and PS5 games and 340 additional titles from previous Sony consoles via cloud streaming.
WhatsApp seems to be working on a feature that would let users chat with the same account on multiple phones, or on a phone and a tablet, according to a screen found in a beta version of the app by the site WABetaInfo. The screen gives instructions for registering the device you’re using as a “companion” by scanning a code with your main phone — though currently there doesn’t appear to be an actual code to scan.
A screen found in a previous beta showed that devices could be getting the ability to sync recent messages, even though they’re end-to-end encrypted. That screen, combined with the “Register Device as Companion” screen that instructs users on how to use WhatsApp on another device, adds up to compelling evidence that this feature is in the works.
Both screens have been found in the Android version of the app, which implies that the feature will support chatting on a secondary phone or tablet. At the moment it’s unclear if the feature will also be available on iOS if and when it launches, though there is precedent indicating it will. WhatsApp technically supports using your account on multiple devices already, via the Linked Devices feature, which currently only supports using computers as secondary devices. The feature is available on both iOS and Android.
WhatsApp rolled out Linked Devices as a public beta in November 2021, and has improved on it since then (though there are still a few unsupported features, depending on what your main device is). But while Linked Devices is handy for desktop users, it doesn’t do much for those with secondary smartphones or tablets. Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for further details on its plans to expand the Linked Devices feature to support mobile devices as well.
It’s becoming a fundamental law of the internet: where people socialize, they must also shop. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and practically every other social network and messaging app on the planet has spent the last couple of years trying to make every pixel of your chats and pictures into a one-click purchasing possibility.
Snap’s plans on this front are more ambitious than most. It’s trying to take the whole shopping experience — you see a shirt you like on a stranger, figure out what it is and where to buy it, try it on, buy it, wear it, return it because everything looks better on Ryan Reynolds than you, rinse and repeat — and funnel it through Snap’s AR camera. Through Camera Kit, most of that tech can also work within brands’ websites and retailer apps. And there’s always — always — a buy button.
That’s a lot to do, but Snap’s moving quickly. The company announced on Thursday at its annual Creator Summit that it’s expanding its AR try-on features that let users use their cameras to virtually try on glasses and clothes, and it’s also creating an in-app hub called Dress Up that it hopes could be something like the future of the shopping mall.
Dress Up isn’t meant to feel like just a catalog of stuff to buy, though it certainly is that. Snap hopes it can be a little more fun and experiential than your average Amazon page. “It’s not just a product-feed shopping tab,” Carolina Navas, Snap’s head of AR strategy and product marketing, said in an interview. “Now, there’s a really core utilitarian use case that we’re also focused on driving,” because obviously getting to buy things is how everybody gets paid, “but there’s also a huge area of fashion that’s all about self-expression and asking friends for advice and having fun with friends.”
When you open the Dress Up hub and pick an item, you’ll be able to try it on through Snap’s AR lenses but also take a picture of how it looks on you and share it with friends to get their thoughts. Dress Up will also have creator content, as well as tips and ideas from brands, all changing based on what you like, how you use the platform, and even where you’re located. And everything everywhere can be bought in just a tap or two.
AR shopping as a concept can seem sort of hokey — how many times do you really need to AR a couch into your living room to see if it fits? — but Snap says it’s starting to catch on. More than 250 million users have used AR shopping lenses a total of more than 5 billion times, and Snap says its data shows those lenses convert a much higher percentage of possible buyers than a normal ad. And Navas said the appeal goes back to the idea that shopping is more than just purchasing. “A lot of people think about the shopping funnel as ending at the purchase,” she said, “but that is the beginning of the customer experience for a brand or retailer who is selling a product.” She pointed to one company, Too Faced cosmetics, that lets users scan their new eyeshadow palette with the Snapchat camera to get a tutorial on how to use it.
The big challenge for Snap will be to grow its catalog to bring all the things people can buy into those AR experiences. So far, that has required a lot of specialized work building three-dimensional digital versions of everything you make, but Snap’s trying to make it easier. It announced a new technology called Snap AR Image Processing, which is exactly what it sounds like: it uses machine learning to take regular product photos and turn them into 3D models. The tech comes from Forma, a virtual-try-on company Snap quietly acquired to improve its try-on experiences. All users need to do is take a full-body selfie, and they can try on almost anything.
Snap has been working on the tech for about 18 months, Navas said, and has been testing it with a few brands before rolling it out to more businesses this year. “The actual process to build an AR lens has gone from an 8–12 week experience to minutes.” The tech is new but impressive, she said, and, when combined with user-inputted information about height and weight and whether that shirt that fit in AR actually fits in real life, can get better fast.
Snap, like every other platform trying to embrace in-app shopping, has to be careful not to let the buying experience overrun everything else. Snapchat users might like to shop their friends and favorite celebrities’ looks, but they’re going to like every photo they send being hidden behind a hundred buttons telling you where to buy their eye shadow, necklace, and the plant behind them. Navas said that’s part of the reason Snap made Dress Up its own tab, rather than needlessly integrating the feature everywhere else.
But she’s also pretty confident people like to shop. A lot. “We’re meeting people where their mindset isn’t just, ‘I’m coming to this tab to buy a pair of Prada sunglasses.’ It’s, ‘I’m coming here to explore and have fun and discover products along the way.’”
The recent quarter’s $97 billion in revenue ranks as Apple’s third-best showing in history.
Photo: Getty Images/Getty Images
AppleInc. cautioned Thursday that the resurgence of Covid-19 in China threatens to hinder sales by as much as $8 billion in the current quarter—a setback after seeing supply-chain improvements during the first three months of the year.
The guidance from the iPhone maker came Thursday shortly after the company posted one of the best quarters in its 46-year history. The whipsaw of news sent the company’s stock on a jolting ride in aftermarket trading—first rising 2%, then falling more than 5%.
Many investors had expected a blowout January-through-March quarter and were more attuned to any indications from Chief Executive Tim Cook on his view of the future amid high inflation, pandemic lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine.
“I want to acknowledge the challenges we are seeing from supply-chain disruptions driven by both Covid and silicon shortages to the devastation from the war in Ukraine,” Mr. Cook told investors. “We are not immune to these challenges.”
The new pain points for the Cupertino, Calif.-based company come as areas around Shanghai, where Apple has many suppliers, face government lockdowns aimed at curbing Covid-19 infections.
“Supply constraints caused by Covid-related disruptions and industrywide silicon shortages are impacting our ability to meet customer demand for our products,” Luca Maestri, Apple’s chief financial officer, said during a public conference call.
Mr. Maestri said the constraints will hurt revenue by $4 billion to $8 billion in the three months through June. The lockdowns are also expected to damp demand in China.
The challenges come after a blockbuster quarter. Apple’s revenue for the recent period rose 9% to $97.3 billion, far exceeding analyst expectations for $94 billion. Earnings per share rose to $1.52 from $1.40 a year earlier—beating estimates for $1.42 a share and setting a record for Apple’s fiscal second quarter.
The results reflected the company’s ability during that period to navigate supply-chain challenges that have been roiling the tech and auto industries, allowing the company to sell more iPhones than Wall Street expected. “The supply constraints were significantly lower than what we had experienced during the December quarter,” Mr. Cook said in an interview Thursday.
“Covid is difficult to predict,” Mr. Cook added during the conference call. He noted that “almost all of the affected final assembly factories have now restarted.”
Apple’s outlook added to a turbulent afternoon as investors worried about the overall economy. Amazon.comInc. shares dropped more than 10% after the e-commerce giant posted its first quarterly loss since 2015 on slowing sales growth.
Apple’s results were in line with guidance from January, when the company predicted a record for the March period, though growing at a slower rate compared with the previous quarter—which included the Christmas holiday—when the company marked all-time revenue and profit highs thanks to the latest iPhones, Mac computers and iPad tablets.
The $97 billion quarter ranks as Apple’s third-best in history by total revenue, but one of its slowest for growth since the pandemic began more than two years ago. The company has seen double-digit year-over-year growth each quarter since the launch of the first iPhone with 5G capabilities in October 2020.
Daniel Morgan, a senior portfolio manager who focuses on technology at Synovus Trust Co., which counts Apple among its largest holdings, called supply-chain concerns, Covid-19 and inflation “the Street’s biggest worries” about the current quarter. Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi echoed that sentiment in a note this week, predicting solid quarterly results and asking: “But then what?”
In January, Mr. Cook had said he expected the effects of supply-chain challenges to improve in the March period compared with the final three months of 2021, when Apple estimated it lost out on more than $6 billion in sales because of inventory constraints.
But his optimism came before the pandemic flared again in Asia and war erupted in Europe. Apple suppliers in China have been hit this month by stringent government lockdowns aimed at containing the spread of Covid-19. Loup Funds estimates that 85% of Apple’s products are assembled in China while the region accounts for almost 20% of the company’s annual sales.
In January, Mr. Maestri cautioned the March quarter would face an unusual year-earlier comparison. iPhone sales were more robust than normal in the 2021 comparable period because pandemic-related delays disrupted the typical fall launch and pushed back those sales. Overall sales a year earlier rose 54%.
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Sales of the iPhone rose 5% to $50.6 billion in the past quarter compared with a year earlier. Analysts had expected 1% growth. The company no longer discloses unit sales for the smartphone, which makes up about half of Apple’s annual revenue.
Those sales may have benefited from strong demand in China, where the latest iPhones have been resonating with consumers, analysts said. They have attributed some of an expected falloff in iPad sales to Apple giving priority to iPhone production during the period. Sales of the iPad dropped 2.1% to $7.6 billion. Mac computer sales rose 15% to $10.4 billion, far exceeding analysts expectations for flat results.
In Thursday’s interview, Mr. Cook said iPad’s results were hindered by “very significant supply constraints.”
Amid slowing device sales, digital content sales come back into focus. The so-called services segment, which includes iTunes and the App Store, grew 17% to $19.8 billion in the three months through March. Analysts had expected 17% growth.
Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models are widely rumored to feature new displays with a pill-shaped cutout and a hole for the Face ID sensors and front camera, respectively, and now a real-world look at this design has seemingly surfaced.
Front glass panels for all four iPhone 14 models have allegedly surfaced on Chinese social media website Weibo, as shared on Twitter by @SaranByte and reported by 9to5Mac. The panels reveal not only the rumored pill-and-hole design for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, but also slightly thinner bezels and a taller aspect ratio for those models.
As expected, the image also shows that the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max models will retain the same notch as iPhone 13 models.
While it is unclear if the image is legitimate, the front glass panels line up with all rumors that we have heard about iPhone 14 models so far, and similar leaks have occurred in the past. Last year, for example, MacRumors exclusively shared an image of front glass panels for all iPhone 13 models that proved to be accurate.
iPhone 14 front panels have leaked on Weibo - here are the changes to note:
1) thinner bezels on the Pro models, as reported by other sources
2) aspect ratio is also slightly different on the Pros (19.5:9 to 20:9); this corroborates with 9to5Mac’s report regarding taller displays pic.twitter.com/UtqNcBB9aP — Saran (@SaranByte) April 28, 2022
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For anyone building a PC or looking for accessories like monitors, storage or keyboards, Amazon is having a one-day sale that might be of strong interest. A host of desirable items are significantly marked down, including keyboards, headsets, power supplies, displays, cases and storage, with discounts as high as 48 percent.
There are a few standout deals, but lots of other choice as well. First on the list is the 31.5-inch 2,560 x 1,440 Acer Nitro XV322QU IPS gaming display, with features like DisplayHDR 400, AMD FreeSync, up to a 170Hz refresh rate, 0.5 millisecond lag and 90 percent DCI-P3 color accuracy. With a large size and extreme speed, it's a highly desirable model and is at or near an all-time low of $299, for a savings of 45 percent or $250.
Razer
Speaking of speed, Razer's Huntsman V2 TKS Tenkeyless gaming keyboard (above) offers that in spades, with the "fastest linear optical switches with sound dampeners and an 8,000Hz polling rate," the company says. In other words, it's fast and quiet while offering great durability thanks to the Doubleshot PBT keycaps. It's now on sale for $100, saving you $60 or 38 percent over the regular price.
Finally, you'll appreciate this deal if you're a PC builder. Corsair's HX850 platinum-certified, fully modular power supply is on sale for $120, for a savings of 35 percent of $65. That 850-watt category is the sweet spot for most enthusiasts, and the $65 savings might let you upgrade your CPU or RAM.
Dell announced that the bold XPS 13 Plus it debuted back at CES 2022 is now available for purchase. It starts at $1,299, and while Dell didn’t detail the exact specifications for this configuration, it’ll likely get the lowest specs listed in a spec sheet shared by the company. Those include a 13.4-inch 1920 x 1200 16:10 aspect ratio display with 500 nits of peak brightness, Intel’s 12th Gen Core i5-1240P processor (28W, 12-core, 4.4GHz boost clock), 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM clocked at 5,200MHz, and a 256GB SSD.
Each model includes a 60W USB-C AC adapter and features two Thunderbolt 4 ports (but no headphone jack), a Windows Hello 720p webcam, as well as a fingerprint reader embedded in the power button.
As we noted back at CES, this new version of the XPS 13 has a more futuristic-looking design than Dell’s standard model. The most notable differences include the Plus’ Touch Bar-like row of backlit function keys, as well as the keyboard, which sits flush with the chassis. Finally, there’s the new trackpad that’s invisible to the eye but takes up a similar (if not slightly larger) amount of real estate within the middle of the glass-covered wrist rest. And instead of physically clicking in, the trackpad hardware emulates the click with haptic feedback, like Apple’s recent laptops.
While Dell didn’t share pricing information for other configurations, you’ll be able to upgrade the XPS 13 Plus at the time of purchase with a 1080p touchscreen (it’s non-touch by default) or a 4K touchscreen. The highest-end display option is a 3.5K (3456 x 2160) Gorilla Glass 7-covered OLED touchscreen with 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut coverage.
In terms of processing power, Dell can go up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1280P with 14 cores, as well as up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM and up to 2TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage. Oh, and last thing: there will be a Developer Edition of the XPS 13 Plus that will ship with Ubuntu 20.04, and it will cost $1,249.99.
We look forward to testing out the XPS 13 Plus soon. As my colleague Monica Chin wrote in her hands-on back in January, we’re cautiously optimistic that all of these aesthetic changes won’t get in the way of it being a good machine. But stay tuned for the full review to find out.
Shocking news: Sony is just as bad at communicating with business partners as it is consumers. At least, that very much appears to be the case! Earlier this week, an update to the PlayStation developer portal – a kind of official forum for partners – revealed that moving forward it will require all games with a wholesale price of $34 or higher to include a two-hour trial for PS Plus Premium members to play.
This is one of the perks of Sony’s new subscription tier, as announced earlier in the year, although we’re only just beginning to get word of how it all works. There was some confusion around the original reporting, shared by Game Developer, which suggested studios may have to manually create demos. We questioned that when the news first broke, and assumed players would simply download the entire game, and be restricted to two hours of gameplay. That’s how it works with EA Play’s current ten-hour trials, for example, and appears to be the case here.
The demos, according to the reports, will be required to be available within three months of the game’s release date – and must be provided for a year. Again, this is all mandated, with the exclusion of PSVR games. Publishers can also create bespoke demos if they prefer, but this requires additional resources, of course.
The problem, according to additional reporting from Kotaku, is that none of this has been properly communicated yet and developers and publishers are a little peeved they’re seemingly being required to provide two hours of their titles to Sony without any compensation. Here’s the rub: PlayStation can sell its pricey, £99.99/$119.99 subscription tier with this added perk – but publishers, as we understand it, won’t see a cent of that money.
PS Plus Premium, it must be stressed, will launch in around four weeks in parts of Asia, and little more in the United States. How this information is only just being shared with partners confounds us!
Of course, this is all potentially good news for us! As consumers, it sounds great to have the option to try virtually every game with a wholesale price of over $34 for two hours, without restriction or limitation. But seeing as there’s an argument that demos can actually decrease sales, we understand why some publishers and developers wouldn’t be happy about it. Either way, this all sounds like yet another example of Sony’s cumbersome communication.
Motorola is back at it again in the mid-range smartphone market with a new and very compelling offering. The Motorola Edge 30 is here with updated specs and new looks, but keeping what we loved about its predecessor, the Edge 20, which was released less than a year ago. Unfortunately, the Edge 30 will also not be available in the US.
With a price of just €449.99 and a new camera system, the Edge 30 has set its sights on the Galaxy A53, considering how close the two devices are in terms of specs. We praised the predecessor of the Edge 30 for its interesting design language and amazing value last year. Is that still the case? Well, let’s look at what this new mid-range Motorola brings to the table. Also, while you wait for our full review of the Edge 30, make sure to read our
which is already up.
Design and display
Finally, after a couple of years with mostly big mid-range phones, Motorola has decided to bring more diversity to its Edge lineup. The new Edge 30 is smaller than its predecessor, which is good news, considering last year’s device was pretty big and this year’s Edge 30 Pro is rather big too. The Motorola Edge 30 measures 159.38 x 74.236 x 6.79mm and weighs only 155g. Fans of more compact and light phones should be delighted, as this means that the Edge 30 is not only the thinnest 5G phone currently on the market, but also one of the lightest. For comparison, the iPhone 13, which is similar in size, weighs 174g, and the Galaxy A53 is 189g.
In terms of design, the phone is easy on the eyes. It has a glossy flat back, just like its predecessor, with an updated camera system, which is now rounder, just like on other new Motorola devices.
Because of how thin the Edge 30 is, it looks like its cameras are protruding a lot from the body, but that’s the price one has to pay in order to achieve this slim figure. Also, unlike the more expensive Pro model, the Edge 30 features an in-display fingerprint scanner. Our guess is Motorola couldn’t mount a scanner on the side of the phone, as it was probably too thin.
There are also some very pretty-looking color options to choose from: Meteor Gray, Aurora Green, and Supermoon Siver. We especially like the latter option, as it looks very interesting and rather bright and happy.
The Edge 30 in Aurora Green
The rails of the phone are made from what Motorola describes as quality, premium-feeling plastic, which is probably the main reason the phone is so light. Stay tuned for our review of this phone if you want to find out how this device feels in real life. With its glossy back and sides, the Edge 30 will probably be a pretty slippery phone. That’s fine though, as most markets will get the phone with a protective case as part of its package.Display-wise, the Motorola Edge 30 rocks a 6.5-inch 144Hz AMOLED screen with an FHD+ resolution. The bezels of the phone look to be very tiny, which is welcome. The phone automatically adjusts the panel's refresh rate between 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and 144Hz, thus saving battery by optimising the user experience.
The Motorola Edge 30 is IP52 water-resistant. This means that it can withstand the occasional drops of water, but it cannot be submerged. Unlike the Edge 20, this new model does have stereo speakers, which support Dolby Atmos audio. That's quite a nice improvement.
Camera and performance
As we mentioned earlier, the new Motorola Edge 30 also has a new triple-camera system. It consists of a 50MP f/1.8 main camera with Quad Pixel technology. Quad Pixel combines four pixels into one larger one for better results in challenging photo conditions, while it also saves on memory.
The second camera is a 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide shooter with Macro Vision. The third camera is a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. The front punch-hole camera on the other hand is a 32MP f/2.4 shooter, which also features Quad Pixel technology.
Video-wise, the Edge 30 is capable of recording in 4K 30fps and 1080p 30 or 60fps. There is also an HD 960fps slow-motion setting.
The Motorola Edge 30 is powered by the new Snapdragon 778G+. This processor is 5G enabled, and is coupled with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of non-expandable storage. The phone also supports Wi-Fi 6E.
Software and battery
Motorola’s new mid-range offering runs Android 12 out of the box with the brand’s software features and touches, like the double chop to turn on the flashlight.
This phone also features the Motorola ReadyFor platform. This platform lets you turn any screen into a desktop-like computer just with your phone, but also lets you transfer files between a Windows 10 PC and the phone more easily.
We bet you wonder about the battery size of the Edge 30, especially considering it is smaller than its predecessor but just as thin. We are glad to tell you that the battery size hasn’t seen a decrease. The battery is 4,020mAh, which according to Motorola should last you at least a day.
In terms of charging, the Edge 30 is pretty good too. It features 33W fast-wired charging, and the charger comes in the box. With this battery size, the Edge 30 should charge from 0 to 100% in about an hour.
Price and availability
As we mentioned in the beginning, the starting price of the Motorola Edge 30 in Europe is €449.99. The phone will also be available in Latin America, Asia, Australia, India, and the Middle East in the coming weeks.
Motorola might have a mid-range winner on its hands
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