PlayStation players will soon have access to a slew of new features starting in June. The Sony company announced on Tuesday March 29 the merger of these two services: PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. She is now offering a unique service offered in three options.
PlayStation introduced its for the first time Essential Formula, which offers the same services as the current PlayStation Plus subscription for the same price of 59.99 euros per year. Then comes the Formula “Extra”. This at the expense of 99.99 euros per yearoffers the same advantages as the first option, but also “a Catalog of around 400 of the best PS4 games and PS5“. These games are downloadable so can be accessed offline, unlike some PlayStation Now games which required a stable internet connection to stream.
At the price of 119.99 euros per yearthe last formula “Bonus”, has all the above advantages. It also offers “approx 340 additional games‘ including streamable PS3 games as well as PSP, PS2 and PS1 games. These can be downloaded or streamed. Thanks to this “Premium” option, players can do this play in streaming via their console, PS4 or PS5, but also on the PC. Finally it will be possible Tryouts for a limited time before you buy them.
Current PlayStation Plus subscribers will see their subscription upgrade to Essential. No details were added about the price of switching from one subscription to another. PlayStation Now subscribers will upgrade to the “Premium” plan.
A list of games that will be available upon release of the new service was presented in June. Subscribers to the “Extra” or “Premium” services can enjoy works such as: Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11 and Returnal for free.
While we’re expecting a presentation of the future of World of Warcraft in mid-April, the official Blizzard site has just leaked the name of the new WoW expansion: Dragonflight. In fact, the studio’s website has added additional lines in its (publicly visible) code that recall the name of the new expansion (source in English).
Dragonflight is the name of the new WoW expansion
While a few leaks from little credible or little known sources mentioned the Dragonflight name a few weeks ago, this analysis of the code from Blizzard’s side seems to confirm this information. It must be said that the world of dragons has always fascinated some WoW players, who are often at the heart of the game’s story.
This leak also confirms speculation about datamined items (source in English) a few weeks ago, including notably mounts and objects related to dragons and their universe.
Be careful though because no official source has come to confirm this information and although it is no longer April 1st, a small trap on the part of Blizzard could be possible. However, given the timing of this leak and the April 19 conference, everything indicates that this information is correct.
For the skeptics, we’ll confirm this leak on April 19th during a special conference hosted by Blizzard on the future of World of Warcraft. In the meantime, you can find all of our information and guides on our World of Warcraft portal.
Huawei had a big event at MWC 2022 in Barcelona where we saw several devices presented. One of them was the Huawei Matebook E – a brand new 2-in-1 laptop running Windows 11. The company wants to prove itself as a premium brand with its own rich ecosystem and this is the next type of device to which it’s adding that.
The tablet comes with an attachable keyboard and supports the Huawei M Pencil, which we all tested.
The Huawei Matebook E has a 12.6-inch OLED panel with a 16:10 format and a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. The screen-to-body ratio is 90% with tiny bezels, which isn’t ideal when the tablet is hand-held. It’s also bulky because of the CPU and GPU and cooling – the 710 gram weight quickly makes it difficult to hold the device in one hand.
We like the 400 nits (600 nits peak) brightness and vivid colors on the panel itself and the fact that it looks good from all angles. It is also factory calibrated to a dE
The screen might be 10-point touch, but the operating system isn’t fully touchable, so only parts of it work well in tablet mode. There’s also a slight lag between the M Pencil’s input and screen response, limiting usability in some apps.
In reality, Huawei never claims it’s a graphic designer’s tablet – it’s a device for the kind of home work situation where you might need to quickly sketch something, as a markup presentation or image.
Let’s talk performance. Huawei launched the Matebook E with 11th Gen Intel chipsets – that’s right, the one ahead of the current gen. When asked about this, Huwei revealed that the company intends to bring the device to market immediately and that the introduction of Intel’s 12th generation will be delayed by several months. Maybe we’ll see a refreshed model later when the Matebook E gains enough traction.
Our device is equipped with an Intel Core i5-1130G7 processor. The processor has four cores and eight threads with a maximum frequency of 4.00 GHz, but when they are not being used they run at 1.8 GHz. That’s slightly less impressive than the Core i7 variant, with Geekbench 5 returning 1,113 single-core and 1,868 multi-core scores.
Performance is uninspiring, and a game like Civilization V struggles to run on settings that aren’t low. There is active cooling, with the vents located at the top. The throttling is still quite quick if you insist on the Matebook E.
We also ran Cinebench R23, which scores solid on single-core but a bit mediocre on multi-core.
Performance Cinebench
Huawei offers the Matebook E with two RAM options – 8GB and 16GB, both of which are of the LPDDR4x type. SSD storage is available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Our 512GB version had an impressive sequential read speed of 3500MB/s and write speeds of 2300MB/s.
The random read speeds were also very solid, while the random write could be better but doesn’t cause any issues for its intended use.
The 42Wh battery charges on the PC and you get a 65W charger in the retail box.
It takes 1.5 hours to charge from 0 to 100%. Draining the battery while streaming Netflix lasted a very respectable 8 hours.
In other test cases, the Huawei Matebook E gave us 2 hours of peak performance and about four hours of video watching and light browsing, sketching presentations, and taking notes.
The Matebook E really lacks I/O. There’s a single USB-C on the right, while the 3.5mm combo audio jack is on the left, and that’s it.
Conversely, four speakers sit in a 2×2 formation on the sides. There’s an 8MP selfie camera for video calls and a 13MP shooter on the back. The latter cannot be used when the magnetic cover is in place unless you flip the top part over.
The cover can be adjusted from 110 to 160 degrees and simply snaps into place with the magnets on the bottom. The accessory itself weighs 440 grams.
Huawei Matebook E
The Huawei Matebook E comes with three magnets on the top for the M Pencil. Once the pen is connected, the UI will notify if the pen is pointing in the right direction so it can charge wirelessly.
Double-tap sideways to take a screenshot or activate voice assistant, or do what you want Windows Ink to do with a double-tap. Huawei offers a transparent tip and another rubbery one for a different feel.
The Huawei Matebook E starts at €649, but that’s for the Intel i3 variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. If you choose the top 16/512GB version, you will also get the magnetic keyboard and M Pencil in the package. This also increases the price to 1,199 euros for the Core i5 version and 1,399 euros for the i7 version.
Obviously, at these prices, it’s definitely not the best-performing laptop in the long run. So if you’re looking for processing power, you might as well keep looking.
However, the hybrid device offers unprecedented flexibility for those who just want to do light office work, surf social media, and watch videos. The OLED screen and decently light body are very hard to find at these prices if you need a device running Windows. The excellent processing quality does not hurt either.
The Apple AirPods 3 become affordable thanks to this good plan from Rakuten! This Sunday, April 3, 2022 only, Apple brand wireless headphones will be sold through a discount coupon under 170 euros.
CLICK HERE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OFFER
The one presented in autumn 2021 AirPods 3 from Apple are the subject of an interesting offer on the Rakuten website. On April 3, 2022, the famous wireless headphones from the Cupertino company will be sold through the French store Boulanger at the price of 169 euros instead of 189 euros.
To get the 20 euro discount, all you have to do is enter the coupon RAKUTEN20 during the basket phase. For information: the new product will be delivered to your home free of charge or picked up at the Boulanger store for free. Finally, the headphones come with a 2-year manufacturer’s warranty.
As a reminder, Apple’s AirPods 3 feature spatial audio with dynamic tracking of head movements; adaptive equalization, which automatically calibrates the sound according to the ears; a customized design; quick access to Siri and a pressure sensor to control content playback, answer a call or even hang up. The water and sweat resistant earbuds have a maximum autonomy of 6 hours of listening time on a single charge or 30 hours of total listening time with the included MagSafe charging case. Finally, the accessory benefits from audio sharing between two pairs of AirPods on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple TV. To learn more about headphones, you can take a look at our article dedicated to the Apple AirPods 3 review.
Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, February 15, 2022. CHRIS GUNN/AXIOM SPACE
Ax-1, a first-of-its-kind, fully private 10-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), is scheduled to launch April 6 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. On board the SpaceX-chartered ship are three passengers: American entrepreneur Larry Connor (pilot), Canadian entrepreneur Mark Pathy and Israeli philanthropist Eytan Stibbe (mission specialists), as well as commander Michael Lopez-Alegria. This 63-year-old Hispanic American who has been in space for four years is one of NASA’s most experienced astronauts, having commanded the ISS in 2006. However, he left Space Agency American in 2012 to promote commercial human spaceflight, then Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. In 2016, he joined Axiom Space, which organizes private manned flights, for a ticket price estimated by the New York Times at $55 million. Axiom Space, which for commercial reasons keeps secret how SpaceX, NASA and the countries that finance the ISS are compensated, wants to build its own space station.
You said you want to “set the bar very high for private astronaut missions.” What do you mean ?
I want the kind of mission that Axiom is pursuing, to distance itself from what the press calls “space tourism.” We really mimic a mission of professional astronauts and have trained hard. The only difference is the level of information about the ISS and the fact that the passengers are participating in a private rather than a government capacity. As with NASA or European Space Agency missions, we spend most of our time on scientific experiments and public engagements. This is a first, but we want it to become the standard because it makes these pseudo-professional missions all the more respectable and acceptable to the very strict manned flight community.
What was your education like?
My three colleagues did not have to familiarize themselves with the ISS control systems, their electrical circuits, their software or the mechanics of the toilets in detail: it is not their job to operate the front space station. However, they have attained a level of training that allows them to be safe on board, take care of themselves and respond in the event of an emergency. The training focused on the 25 onboard experiences that they prepared with their academic and private partner institutions. Larry Connor to study heart health in zero gravity and the effects of the space environment on senescent cells [qui ont cessé de se diviser, et sont liées aux maladies dues à la vieillesse]. Mark Pathy will evaluate holoportation technologies [qui utilisent la communication en réalité mixte à l’aide d’hologrammes 3D] and examine space-related neuroocular syndrome [dont souffrent nombre d’astronautes séjournant longtemps dans l’espace]. Eytan Stibbe will conduct experiments in optics, biology and especially agricultural sciences and will interact with young people in Israel.
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Last Monday (4th), Apple has announced that the Apple Watch Series 7 will be available to order starting next Friday (08). Also, the products will hit stores for sale on the 15th. The product features the Apple Watch’s largest and most advanced display, as well as a redesigned Retina always-on display with a larger screen and thinner bezels.
in summary, The design of the Apple Watch is more refined, with softer, rounded corners. Additionally, the screen features a unique refractive edge, making watch faces and apps feel like they’re connecting to the curvature. At 1.7mm thick, Apple Watch Series 7’s narrower bezels maximize screen real estate.
Next to, Apple Watch Series 7 has a user interface optimized for the big screen, a new QWERTY keyboard and two unique watch faces – Duo contour and modular. Users also benefit from a battery that lasts 18 hours during the day and charges 33% faster.
Apple announces the sale of the Apple Watch Series 7
O The Apple Watch Series 7 is available in 41mm and 45mm sizes. and the longest-lasting Apple Watch ever. It has a stronger, tear-resistant leading edge. It’s the first Apple Watch with IP6X certification for dust resistance and a WR50.2 water resistance rating.
Next to, New Apple Watch Series 7 has 5 aluminum finishes and a range of new band colors and styles. Stainless steel models are available in silver, graphite and gold stainless steel. There’s also the Apple Watch Edition in Titanium and Space Black Titanium.
Credits: Disclosure/Apple
in summary, The new Apple Watch continues to offer essential health and wellness tools, including an electrical heart sensor and an EKG app. It also has a blood oxygen sensor and an app. O watchOS 8 helps users stay healthy, active and connected with new types of workouts, the Mindfulness app, innovative accessibility features, greater access with Apple Wallet and more with the Home app.
Vente’s Apple Watch
In the US, the Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $400. In this first wave The watch will be launched in more than 50 countries/regions. Such as USA, Germany, Australia, Canada, China, South Korea, UAE, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, UK and Russia. For a certain period of time, Brazil is off that list.
Missing more than that. Amazon is launching its true wireless headphones, the Echo Buds. The web giant is thus further implementing its personal assistant Alexa in our everyday lives. So the Echo Buds allow them to summon it at any time, which makes them unique. Can we trust Amazon over Sony, JBL, Jabra, Bose or other big mobile audio brands to add music to our releases? Tested for 20 minutes, these headphones were sold for 119 euros.
Amazon’s Echo Buds, sold from 119 euros. – AMAZON
The Alexa ecosystem is only going from strength to strength
In fact, the Echo Buds are nothing new. A first generation of these true wireless headphones in in-ear format was launched in the USA in 2021. Here we are dealing with a “V2”. Available in black or white, Amazon headphones don’t necessarily shine with the originality of their design. Supplied in a classic storage/charging case, they assert themselves with a certain opulence and roundness of great classics. Pairing them in Bluetooth 5.0 means going through the Alexa app and adding them as the first or new product in your “Echo” system of Amazon devices.
Touch and voice commands
Through the application it is possible to test the different tips supplied with the headphones (four sizes offered), change the mapping of the touch controls, take advantage of a fairly minimalist equalizer (bass, middle, treble) or start reducing noise or switch to surround mode. These last two features can also be activated by a long press on the headphones’ touch surface. Alternative (this is your chance to try it!): Ask Alexa to take care of it. And it works pretty well! “Alexa, turn on noise canceling!” »
Those who are used to living with Amazon’s assistants will find the Echo Buds a real optimization of the functions of their favorite roommate. This makes it easy to play music, set a reminder, access your calendar (Android or iOS), control connected items, and make calls with other people who have an Echo device. Without forgetting the eternal questions that we can ask her… and to which she doesn’t always have an answer. For example: “Alexa, who will be the next President of the Republic?” “. Saying “Alexa…” in the middle of the street seemed a bit inappropriate to us at first, only to eventually become almost natural with spontaneous interactions.
Minimal noise reduction service
For its part, the listening that the Echo Buds offer is quite unique. With Amazon headphones, one can criticize the dominance of highs and high mids. However, their amplified presence doesn’t mask a fairly solid bass. So overall the sound is clear, just as airy, but textured and well structured. However, fans of ringing and stumbling bass will have their way.
Amazon’s Echo Buds deliver 5-6 hours of battery life per charge. – AMAZON
On the other hand, the quality of noise reduction remains very relative here. The Echo Buds just manage to silence some ambient noise. In a way, a minimal service… High of course, the noise of our fingers pounding on the keyboard of our computer has not even been reduced… For its part, the Surrounding mode that allows us to remain aware of the noises that listening to music (practicing in the middle of the street!) is quite effective. However, be careful: in windy weather, the effects are terrible. The roar of the wind amplifies, any attempt to listen becomes disastrous.
Sport and health in harmony
Note that Amazon offers a “workout” feature with its Echo Buds. If you’re careful to enter your age and weight in the Alexa application settings, the headphones will take care of counting steps, calories, average pace, distance traveled… with a rather worrying reliability compared to that of our activated Apple Watch in parallel: The observed results were similar. The Echo Buds are waterproof (IPX4 standard) and therefore seem quite suitable for sports use, but with an ultimately tight autonomy: 5 hours with noise cancellation activated, 6 hours without.
Selling for €119 (with wired charging case) and €139 (wired and induction), Amazon’s Echo Buds offer honest service but with some needed improvements. A better tonal balance, but above all a noise reduction that needs to be reworked, remain controversial points. Assistant Alexa finds a real reason for being here, a new way for her parents to get even closer to us.
Oppo has opted for the same triple photo sensor as the Find X5 Pro, but there are small differences. We’re still entitled to a duo of 50 Mpx Sony IMX766 sensors for wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle. Rounding it all out is a telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom (and up to 20x digital).
In the wide-angle range, the Find X5 Pro is covered with a glass lens to better combat chromatic aberration and offer more lifelike color reproduction. It is also equipped with 5-axis optical stabilization (3-axis on the sensor and 2-axis on the lens).
The wide angle of the Find X5 offers a resin lens and 2-axis optical stabilization as well as digital stabilization (EIS). Both benefit from the partnership with Hasselblad and the MariSilicon X image processing chip. We will compare its photo performance with that of its big brother, but also with that of the impressive Pixel 6 Pro.
Module principle: 50 Mpx, f/1.8, eq. 24mm
We decided to compare the Find X5’s results to the Pro version, if only because of the difference in lens aperture (f/1.8 for the Find X and f/1.7 for the Pro). Finally, as you will see, the two devices offer very close reproduction.
Oppo Find X5 Pro (12.5Mpx, f/1.7, ISO 246, 1/250s)
Oppo Find X5 (12.5 Mpx, f/1.8, ISO 186, 1/250 s) big
In good lighting conditions, the Find X5 delivers a very convincing shot. As with its predecessor, the photo is very clear and detailed. We can see that the colors on the left side of our test scene are a bit more saturated and the cards are a bit more pink in hue. The Find X5 Pro offers a slightly more natural rendering, but the two devices will be difficult to tell apart in a standard daytime photo.
Oppo Find X5 Pro (12.5Mpx, f/1.8, ISO 4169, 1/20s)
Oppo Find X5 (12.5 Mpx, f/1.8, ISO 5201, 1/20 s) big
At night we see that the Find X5 offers a slightly higher contrast rendering. We see it, for example, in the lion’s mane, the relief of which appears more pronounced. The Pro again offers a slightly softer and more natural treatment, although we do see a little blurring by the book’s title.
Face to Pixel 6 Pro
The Google smartphone, which we also compared, performed particularly well in the exercise.
Pixel 6 (12.5Mpx)
Oppo Find X5 (12.5 Mpx, f/1.8, ISO 186, 1/250 s) big
Pixel 6 (12.5Mpx)
Oppo Find X5 Pro (12.5 Mpx, f/1.8, ISO 4169, 1/20 s) big
In both situations, we find that the Pixel 6 Pro displays even more detail and better sharpness. It is particularly evident on the faces or the cover of the book, suggesting more roughness.
50 Mpx mode
We looked at the 50Mpx mode in a dedicated lab article when we reviewed the Find X5 Pro. This Find X5 behaves the same way, we refer you to the latter. It is also interesting here if you pay attention to the storage space of the device or opt for a cloud solution.
Ultra wide angle module: 50 Mpx, f/2.2, éq. 16mm
In the ultra wide angle, the manufacturer uses the same 50 Mpx sensor as in the wide angle. The result is better than that of the Pixel this time.
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Oppo Find X5 (12.5 Mpx, f/2.2, eq. 16 mm, ISO 399, 1/125 s) big
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Oppo Find X5 (12.5 Mpx, f/2.2, eq. 16 mm, ISO 6326, 1/10 s) big
Google’s smartphone offers better exposure and less digital smoothing, but the result isn’t nearly as sharp as the Find X5. Oppo’s device gives a result very close to that of the main module, which works to its advantage.
Telephoto module: 13 MP, f/2.4, eq. 52mm
Oppo doesn’t change the formula here and the Find X5 delivers pretty similar shots to the Pro. Unfortunately, this is a module that hasn’t received as much attention from the company. Its 2x optical zoom struggles to compete with the 3x or 10x zooms offered by devices like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Huawei P50 Pro or Pixel 6 Pro.
Oppo Find X5 Pro
Enlarge Oppo Find X5
On this module we see that the Find X5’s rendering is colder and the colors are less vivid. The whole thing remains clear, but the Pro’s shot benefits from better sharpness. The treatment used is therefore a little different.
Oppo Find X5 Pro
Enlarge Oppo Find X5
The Find X5 Pro is slightly better exposed in the dark, but hardly more attractive.
Front and video module
Like the Pro, the Find X5 is also equipped with a 32 Mpx wide-angle (f/2.4) front photo sensor. A very good quality module that will allow you to take detailed shots and that has an effective portrait mode. Beard hair or small bumps on the face are easy to spot. The rendering is natural and it is possible to adjust the background blur on the fly. However, it is necessary to mark an exposure time during recording.
Starting with the Find X3 Pro, Oppo takes care of the video. The rendering offered here once again meets our expectations. Day and night it is possible to film in 4K HDR at 60 fps and enjoy excellent quality. It is therefore a smartphone capable of supporting amateur videographers.
Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, February 15, 2022. CHRIS GUNN/AXIOM SPACE
Amazon’s Echo Buds, sold from 119 euros. – AMAZON
Amazon’s Echo Buds deliver 5-6 hours of battery life per charge. – AMAZON
