The PlayStation 5 Will Launch In Late 2020, And, Yes, It's Called The PS5 - Kotaku

Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi (Getty)

Sony isn’t waiting for any more leaks. They revealed more details about the PlayStation 5—and, yes, it will be called the PS5—to Wired today as well as announcing more about the console on the company’s blog. Here’s the key info:

• It’ll be called the PS5 and be out for holiday 2020, as we’ve been reporting.
• The console will have a solid-state drive. Games will be released on 100GB discs.
• As with games this generation, they’ll need to be installed from the disc, though Sony is now saying that players will have more granular control of which parts of a game they install or uninstall—campaign, multiplayer, etc.
• The PS5's revised user interface will show more information about what can be done in a game, including the availability of multiplayer matches.
• Wired’s writer held a prototype of the new PS5 controller and wrote that it seems similar to a PS4 controller. It will include a speaker and—here comes some of that kind of language you’ll be seeing a reporters and game makers start talking about next-gen hardware—“‘adaptive triggers’” that can offer varying levels of resistance to make shooting a bow and arrow feel like the real thing.”
• Wired was also impressed with the improved haptics/rumble in the controller, reporting this of their time playing the PS4 VR game Astrobot Rescue Mission with it: “On ice, a high-frequency response made the thumbsticks really feel like my character was gliding. Jumping into a pool, I got a sense of the resistance of the water; on a wooden bridge, a bouncy sensation.”
• For those of you who stocked up on micro USB wires for charging PS4 controllers, too bad! The PS5 controllers will be charged with USB Type-C.
• One studio that is now confirmed as a PS5 developer is Bluepoint Games, makers of the 2018 Shadow of the Colossus remake. Said studio president Marco Thrush to Wired: ““We’re working on a big one right now...I’ll let you figure out the rest.” Uh. Hmm. Clearly a tease that Sony has bought the rights to F-Zero and is making a new one. Thrush was enthusiastic about the speedier loading that comes with an SSD, noting that there’d be less reason to slow players down in hallways and doorways to mask the loading of new levels.

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https://kotaku.com/the-playstation-5-will-launch-in-late-2020-and-yes-i-1838869958

2019-10-08 12:31:00Z
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'Fortnite' company may face class-action lawsuit over claims game as addictive as cocaine - Fox News

The maker of Fortnite may face a class-action lawsuit in Canada after two parents of teenage sons alleged last week the company purposely designed the multiplayer video game to be as addictive as cocaine, according to reports.

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The Montreal-based law firm, Calex Légal, filed a motion in Quebec Superior Court Thursday on behalf of two parents who approached the firm separately about their 10- and 15-year-old sons, who they claim developed a severe dependence on the game, USA Today reported.

The suit, which has yet to be approved by the court, seeks to hold the U.S.-based video game publisher Epic Games Inc., as well as its Canadian affiliate based in British Columbia, accountable for using psychologists and statisticians “to develop the most addictive game possible.”

“The addiction to the game Fortnite has real consequences on the lives of players, many of whom have developed problems such that they do not eat, do not shower and no longer socialize,” the lawsuit states. “Moreover, rehabilitation centers specifically dedicated to addiction to Fortnite have opened all over the world, particularly in Quebec and Canada, to treat people for addiction.”

Calex Légal attorney Alessandra Esposito Chartrand told the Canadian Global News that the lawsuit stems back to the same legal basis as a Quebec Superior Court ruling in 2015 that determined tobacco companies were responsible for disclosing the health risks of using their products. The lawsuit also noted that the World Health Organization last year declared video game addition, or “gaming disorder,” a disease. The game is free to use but requires players purchase virtual currency to buy accessories and other add-ons for their virtual players.

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“The defendants used the same tactics as the creators of slot machines, or variable reward programs, (to ensure) the dependence of its users,” the lawsuit, which was translated from French, alleges. “Children are particularly vulnerable to this manipulation since their self-control system in the brain is not developed enough.”

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2019-10-08 11:08:14Z
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Sony disables PlayStation 4 Facebook integration - Engadget

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Sony has turned off Facebook integration on the PlayStation 4, meaning users can no longer link their Facebook and console accounts, the company announced in a terse blog post. As a result, users will not be able to find Facebook friends, share gameplay videos and screenshots, or use their Facebook profile photo as an PlayStation Network avatar.

"We apologize for any inconvenience," Sony said, while going on to explain that you could use a stock PS4 avatar or upload a new profile image. Otherwise, the company provided no explanation for the sudden service cutoff, and gave no previous warning to users.

The move provoked speculation that it had something to do with Facebook data sharing changes in light of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, or Facebook's recent post on eliminating Sony's friend data access.

We're working with Sony to finalize an updated contract designed to improve the Facebook integration on PlayStation. While these discussions are in progress, Facebook features will not be available on PlayStation 4. We hope to bring these features back as soon as our teams reach agreement.

However, it looks like the situation might be temporary, according to a statement Facebook gave to Kotaku. "We're working with Sony to finalize an updated contract designed to improve the Facebook integration on PlayStation," a spokesperson said. "While these discussions are in progress, Facebook features will not be available on PlayStation 4. We hope to bring these features back as soon as our teams reach agreement."

Despite this optimistic comment, something must have gone awry for Sony to dump Facebook so unceremoniously. The feature does make it easy to find friends and share game streaming clips, so losing it could inconvenience a large number of folks, given the reach of Facebook and 100 million-plus PS4 consoles sold. For the sake of those gamers, hopefully the issue will be resolved soon.

Source: Sony

Coverage: Kotaku

In this article: Accounts, av, Facebook, gaming, Integration, PlayStation4, PS4, sony

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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2019-10-08 09:35:47Z
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With a possible Apple tag waiting in the wings, Tile unveils Sticker, an adhesive device for tracking objects - TechCrunch

We are still waiting to see if Apple officially unveils a new spin on the business of tracking tags — the small devices that you put on ‘dumb’ objects like keys, wallets and other objects you have a habit of losing or leaving places to be able to pinpoint their location — but in the meantime, Tile, one of the pioneers of this technology, is upping its game today with its least-obtrusive device yet: a sticker.

Today, the startup unveiled Sticker, a new, waterproof tracking device that it created in collaboration with 3M, which uses adhesive to attach to objects to be able to track them by Bluetooth to a range of 150 feet, or further using Tile’s community network by way of its app.

Alongside this, the startup is also announcing enhancements to its existing range of Tile tracking devices. The Slim is now in the shape and thinness of a credit card, designed for wallets and other places where you might insert card-shaped information (for example, in luggage ID compartments), and its range has been extended to 200 feet with a battery life of three years.

And the Mate and Pro tags — the square-shaped fobs that Tile is most famous for — are also getting their ranges extended to 400 feet.

All four models are going on sale as of today at a range of prices: Tile Stickers starting from $39.99 for a 2-pack, $59.99 for a 4-pack; Tile Slim at $29.99; Tile Mate at $24.99; and Tile Pro at $34.99. The message here is that Tile is continuing to increase its flexibility and use cases with these updates and new Sticker release.

“Over the years we’ve seen our customers use Tile for a variety of items,” said CJ Prober, Tile CEO, in a statement. “From wallets to remote controls, power tools to backpacks, our customers have shown us they want a Tile for everything. We’ve designed our new product line to empower the Tile community to find literally anything.”

The moves come on the heels of a competitive time for Tile. On the one hand, the business area that it identified early on has clearly caught the attention of a number of other companies, underscoring the opportunity. But the flip side of that is a lot of new competition in an area that is already crowded and has seen some high-profile failures.

On the launch front, in addition to Apple’s reported interest in launching a competitor, earlier this year Verizon (which also owns TechCrunch) also launched its own IoT play in this area, and Google has also created tighter integrations for people to use its Home devices and Android platform to locate objects. At the same time, some of Tile’s earliest competitors have been heavily challenged to make a go of it: Trackr last year rebranded to Adero and just weeks later laid off nearly half its staff, a decline that we’ve heard has not been halted in the months since.

For its part, Tile last summer raised $45 million last summer on the heels of some interesting strategic partnerships with the likes of Comcast — which, similar to Verizon, Apple, and Google, sees an opportunity in doing more with item tracking as part of a bigger end-to-end connected home play. The feeling is that Tile raised the money to help leverage its bigger market profile in the hopes of staving off this wave of competitors and the many others that already existed before that.

Indeed, if you search on something like Amazon for Bluetooth tracking stickers, you’ll see that this is not exactly a new thing, and there are a number of alternatives out there (one of the big reasons why this market has been a challenging one).

One big differentiator with Tile has been the wider network and economies of scale that it promises to its users: once you are out of the Bluetooth range of your tag, you are able to track the object by way of its app and the wider Tile community, which forms a Bluetooth-based P2P network of sorts to be able to locate items. Of course, the premise of this is that enough people are using Tiles to begin with to create the locating network in the first place, which is one reason why forming collaborations with the likes of Google and Comcast can be very critical longer term to Tile’s success.

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2019-10-08 09:09:19Z
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Spotify Gains Siri Support on iOS 13 and CarPlay, Apple TV App Launching Later Today - MacRumors

Spotify today updated its mobile app to include Siri support, which means iPhone and iPad users running iOS 13 can now use Siri to control their favorite music streaming service, just like Apple Music subscribers.

After updating the app, users simply need to invoke Siri on their device and ask the voice assistant to play an album or song "with Spotify." Commands for playing playlists work the same way.

According to Spotify's release notes, Siri support is compatible over connected AirPods and also extends to CarPlay and HomePod via AirPlay. On iPhones and iPads running iOS 13, Spotify will also now turn on its Data Saver feature when a device has Low Data Mode enabled.

In addition, the streaming service says Spotify is "now available on Apple TV," although it isn't showing up in the tvOS App Store as of writing, so rollout is likely scheduled for later in the day.

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2019-10-07 10:31:00Z
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Insider says it’s not the iPhone 11, but another new iPhone Apple’s about to release that’ll send sales soaring - BGR

The same insider who said a few days ago that Apple will release a 4.7-inch iPhone SE 2 in the first quarter of the year is back with one more prediction. Ming-Chi Kuo, who’s been accurate with his notes about unreleased Apple products, says the iPhone 11 series and the new iPhone SE handset will boost sales in the first quarter of 2020.

Kuo said in a new research note seen by MacRumors that the combined shipments of iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2 will increase iPhone sales during the first quarter of 2020 by 10%:

We expect that combined iPhone shipments in 1Q20 will grow around 10% YoY thanks to the iPhone 11’s replacement demand boosted by more affordable prices and iPhone SE2’s shipments starting in 1Q20. We estimate that iPhone shipment in 1Q20 will be 45–50mn units (iPhone 11 Pro series and iPhone 11 to be 13–15 and 22–24mn units, respectively), which is better than around 42mn units of iPhone shipments in 1Q19 (iPhone XS series and iPhone XR to be around 12 and 14mn units, respectively).

The analyst expects strong iPhone 11 sales in the first quarter of 2020, with both the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro expected to perform better than their predecessors during the same period this year — that’s the iPhone XR and iPhone XS phones, respectively.

Kuo also said that Apple instructed suppliers to produce more components for the iPhone to ensure that shipments going into the next year meet demand. A report last week said that Apple already increased iPhone 11 production following great demand at launch, with Apple expected to make up to eight million additional units.

Kuo also noted that iPhone 11 Pro shipments in 2019 will be at 37-40 million units, with the iPhone 11 reaching 36-40 million units. The iPhone 11 Pro estimate is lower than iPhone XS sales for 2018 because of a tighter supply caused by “increased production difficulties” of some specific iPhone 11 Pro components. Apple is expected to sell more iPhone 11 units this year compared to the iPhone XR’s performance in 2018, mainly because the iPhone XR started selling a few weeks after the iPhone XS and XS Max.

The iPhone SE 2 is rumored to feature an iPhone 8 design, but pack iPhone 11-grade specs, including the A13 chip that powers the iPhone 11 series. Thus, the phone would be more appealing to iPhone owners still using the iPhone 6, a device that’s not upgradeable to iOS 13, and lacks access to Apple Arcade as a result. An actual launch date for the affordable handset isn’t available, but if the leak is accurate, we’d expect the handset to drop late in Q1 2020, likely in March.

Image Source: Apple

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2019-10-07 10:50:00Z
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You can now ask Siri to play Spotify music on iOS 13, Spotify debuts Apple TV app - 9to5Mac

Spotify has today released its iOS 13 update, which allows users to ask Siri to play albums and playlists using their voice. This brings Spotify up to par with other music apps; SiriKit integration for audio apps was exclusive to Apple Music until iOS 13.

To use Spotify with Siri, install the update and then ask to play an album or song ‘with Spotify’. The update also allows hands-free control through CarPlay. Spotify is also launching a tvOS app for Apple TV today.

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The release notes for the Spotify update mention Siri integration is compatible with iPhone, iPad, CarPlay, AirPods and HomePod via AirPlay. In our testing, the HomePod does not recognize Spotify song requests. Perhaps this is waiting on a forthcoming iOS 13.2 software update for HomePod.

With SiriKit for audio apps, Spotify can now behave like Apple Music when it comes to Siri commands on iOS. You can ask Siri things like ‘Play (album name) on Spotify’, ‘Play the latest song by (artist name) using Spotify’, or even ‘Spotify (playlist name) playlist’. The important thing is that you need to acknowledge that the command is intended for Spotify. Without an app name in the request, Siri will default to Apple Music (even if the Apple Music app is uninstalled).

The update also supports the new Low Data Mode in iOS 13. Low Data Mode doesn’t do anything on its own, it is a signal for apps to behave differently and use less data … of course this needs app support. For Spotify, when it detects the device is in Low Data Mode, it will automatically activate its Data Saver music streaming mode.

Spotify is also debuting an Apple TV app today for the Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K. You can download it now in the tvOS App Store. See what it looks like with these screenshots (via iCulture):

The Apple TV app still appears to be propagating around the world, so try searching the tvOS App Store later if you can’t find it right now.

Today’s update should be welcome news to Spotify users. The addition of Siri and Apple TV support checks off two big features from the Spotify-Apple Music feature comparison chart.

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2019-10-07 10:12:00Z
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