The PS5 is the biggest game console in modern history

Sony's upcoming PS5 hardware has appeared at Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC), providing us with the first close up photos of the next-gen console. The NCC has published a variety of images (PDF), showing the standard PS5 laying horizontally, the included cables, and the removable base that holds the console in both vertical and horizontal positions.

The photos also show just how big the PS5 truly is. We learned earlier this week that the PS5 is the biggest game console in modern history, even topping the Xbox One VCR-like shape and Sony's own PS3. Sony released official dimensions during its PS5 event this week, but they don't include the "largest projection" or the optional base measurements.

It's clear from these photos that it's going to be a challenge to fit a PS5 into entertainment centers, just as it will be with the Xbox Series X. Both consoles appear to be designed to primarily stand vertically, looking rather unwieldy on their sides.

Unfortunately, the photos don't offer a close look at exactly how you access the NVMe slot on the PS5. Sony is allowing PS5 owners to expand storage space, but we still don't have full details on exactly how this will work. Sony has also teased that the PS5 hardware is customizable in ways that previous generations of PlayStation consoles weren't, so it's possible that at least one side panel of the PS5 is removable.

Sony is launching the PS5 in the US on November 12th, priced at $499.99. A second disc-less PS5 Digital Edition will also be available for $399.99. Sony also revealed earlier this week that PS5 games will cost up to $69.99.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars launches today, but, as is often the case in the world of video games, some people got access to it early thanks to kindly retailers shipping them out so they arrived yesterday. However, a lot of people also gained access to the title by somewhat shadier means, thanks to the fact that it leaked on the net a few days ago.

Because copies are “out there” already, we’ve been hearing reports that the collection suffers from a pretty awful crash bug. It has been claimed that some people are using this bug as yet another stick to beat Super Mario 3D All-Stars with; many have accused Nintendo of a ‘lazy cash grab’ because the titles in the package are partly based on emulation, rather than being built from the ground-up for Switch. Reports that the title is also potentially unstable has only given these individuals more fuel for their fire.

However, we’re now seeing evidence that this particular bug only impacts those who are running the game (retail or downloaded from the web) on a modded Switch console, and the bug is not present in legitimate copies of the game running on unsullied Switch systems:

Ha, looks like people running into crashing issues when quitting Mario 64 or weird skips and hitches in Sunshine are simply playing on custom firmware. I saw some folks talking about this but couldn't reproduce it - now I know why.https://t.co/yx2MTsOpg1

— John Linneman (@dark1x) September 18, 2020

Don’t expect this to be a lasting thing, however; as is so often the case, modders have already overcome the problem.

We quite liked Super Mario 3D All-Stars, as you’ll know if you’ve already seen our review – and watched our comparison video which shows just how much better the games look than they did originally.

Google is correcting a "typo" in its Play Store "stalkerware" policy that currently suggests that apps can be used to track spouses. Stalkerware and other tracking software is dangerous, campaigners say, because it can facilitate domestic abuse and harassment of partners. As it's written, the policy also mistakenly says parents cannot track their children.

The updated developer policy, which comes into effect on October 1st, now explicitly says that Play Store apps which allow parents to track their children are acceptable, but that they cannot be used to track adults (like a spouse) without their knowledge or permission.

Here's the relevant section from the current developer policy which is due to be corrected (emphasis added):

Legitimate forms of these apps cannot be used by parents to track their children. However, these apps can be used to track a person (a spouse, for example) without their knowledge or permission unless a persistent notification is displayed while the data is being transmitted.

Here's that same section in the new policy, which comes into effect on October 1st (again, emphasis added). Google has changed the wording from "legitimate" to "acceptable," but more importantly it's switched around which apps are allowed and which are forbidden.

Acceptable forms of these apps can be used by parents to track their children. However, these apps cannot be used to track a person (a spouse, for example) without their knowledge or permission unless a persistent notification is displayed while the data is being transmitted.

Outside of a couple of other minor wording changes, the rest of the Stalkerware policy appears to be more or less unchanged from August. Google's rules state that apps cannot mislead users about their tracking functionality. Apps must "present users with a persistent notification and unique icon that clearly identifies the app" and they're not allowed to hide tracking behavior. They also have to be explicitly designed and marketed as parental monitoring or enterprise management apps, rather than a "spying or secret surveillance solution." Google has confirmed to The Verge that this persistent tracking notification must be displayed, even when an app is designed to allow parents to track their children.

Google's rule clarification comes amidst a wider campaign to crack down on stalkerware. These apps that are frequently marketed as a way for jealous or suspicious partners to keep tabs on another, and are designed to trick users into believing they're not being monitored, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The Coalition Against Stalkerware, which the EFF helped found last year, says that surveillance like this can facilitate "gender-based and domestic violence, harassment and sexual abuse."

Back in July, Google announced a ban on advertising spyware or surveillance technology with a new ads policy which came into force on August 11th, although a TechCrunch report subsequently found ads for these apps after the ban came into effect.

Alongside yesterday's typo correction, Google also updated its policies around misrepresentation and gambling apps. It has clarified that "coordinated activity that misrepresents or conceals the origin of an app or content" is a violation of its policies, and that a government-published gambling app is now allowed in Brazil. These policies will come into effect on October 21st.

The PS5 has six first-party launch titles, but few are true exclusives

We now know pretty much everything there is to know about the PS5: its price and release date, its hardware specifications and its controller features. Thanks to an informative post from Sony, we also know the system's first-party launch library. And, to be frank, there's not much there.

The PS5 will launch with six exclusive titles, which isn't a bad number at first glance. But on further inspection, one of them comes preinstalled, two of them are remasters, one of them is a standalone expansion and two of them are, technically speaking, the same game.

The list comes from the official PlayStation Blog, which had an incredibly detailed, informative follow-up to Sony's PS5 showcase on September 16. The post is wide-ranging, and discusses everything from release date, to system specs, to accessories. But of particular interest here is the list of first-party PS5 launch titles.

According to Sony, here's what you'll be able to buy alongside your PS5:

• Astro's Playroom
• Demon's Souls
• Destruction All Stars
• Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure

At first glance, six first-party launch titles seems comparable to the PS4, which had seven first-party games at launch. But, like the PS4's launch library, many of these titles are not true next-gen exclusives. Let's break it down further.

Astro's Playroom doesn't merit much discussion, since you'll get the game preinstalled on your PS5. Whatever the game's quality, you won't have to choose whether or not to buy it.

Demon's Souls is a remastered PS3 game. Based on the trailer we saw, the game looks like a fairly extensive reworking, with slightly different level design and combat. Even if you wanted to go back and play this game on the PS3, you can't get the full experience, since the online servers shut down years ago. Still, Demon's Souls is an 11-year-old game, which many people played before, and the PS5 version looks like it wants to deliver a similar experience overall.

It almost feels like cheating to count Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition as two separate games. The former is a standalone expansion for Spider-Man on the PS4, starring Miles Morales in a brand new, but likely somewhat smaller, open-world adventure. The latter is a remastered version of PS4's Spider-Man, plus the Miles Morales content.

Spider-Man was a fantastic game, and Miles Morales looks equally good so far. But neither game is a PS5 exclusive. You can get Spider-Man on the PS4 right now, and Miles Morales will come out on the PS4 as well as the PS5. Granted, the game will look and probably perform better on the PS5, although it's hard to imagine that boost alone being worth $400-$500.

Destruction All Stars and Sackboy: A Big Adventure are the only true first-party PS5 exclusives in the launch library, and truthfully, we don't know a ton about either game yet. It's possible that they'll be genre-defining system sellers; it's also possible that they'll be the kind of launch titles that no one remembers by time the PS6 rolls around. Given LittleBigPlanet's previous success, I'd put money on Sackboy being a good time, but there's no way to gauge how Destruction All Stars might turn out.

The PS5 launch lineup so far

Granted, the PS5 will have plenty of other titles available at launch, including Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Fortnite, Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. But right now, there's no comprehensive list of third-party launch titles available, and the full lineup may not fall into place for another month or two.

Since you'll be able to play these games on an Xbox One, PS4 or PC, it's hard to recommend a brand-new system for them. We expect that they'll perform better on a PS5, but until we get the system in our hands, we couldn't say how significant the performance boost might be.

In any case, if your mind is absolutely made up, then good luck trying to pre-order a PS5. It's a little chaotic right now, but hopefully the process will become a little easier within the days and weeks to come. Otherwise, it doesn't look like there's anything you absolutely have to play Day One — provided that you already own a PS4, that is.

Apple’s invitation for big event included the tag line “Time Flies,” a hint that we can expect to see a slew of announcements related to its Apple Watch on Tuesday.

At least one analyst believes there’ll be a new model, the Apple Watch 6.

Health and fitness has been a major focus for the product ever since Apple started selling it in 2015. The team has rolled out feature after feature, moving from basic activity tracking to heart rhythm monitoring and more.

But there are technical and scientific limitations to what can be packed into a wrist-worn device. Some of the most challenging applications that have eluded wearable makers so far include noninvasive and continuous blood sugar, as well as blood pressure tracking. If either of those sensors were announced, it would be a major breakthrough, but we don’t expect those Tuesday.

More likely, Apple will roll out some more achievable wins that will still put it ahead of the competition. The Apple Watch has dominated the wearables market for the last five years, but Google’s proposed acquisition of Fitbit could give it an infusion of new talent and cash (if regulators approve the deal), and Amazon made a splashy entrance into the space earlier this year with its Halo fitness wearable.

Workouts for everyone stuck at home

The wellness space is an attractive opportunity for any consumer technology company, because it’s both a big market and largely unregulated. Apple’s growing team includes veteran fitness trainer and consultant, Jay Blahnik, who likely has big plans for Apple Watch. 

In March, CNBC reported that Apple is working on a new app codenamed Seymour that guides users through exercise routines on the Apple Watch and iPhone. Users can follow along via downloadable videos and try out a range of activities from cycling to strength training. By offering this kind of fitness content, Apple is moving closer to Peloton’s territory. Along with its spin bikes and treadmills, Peloton sells a subscription-based video library of fitness classes.

It would be a timely move for Apple, given that many gyms across the country remain closed and home workouts may still seem like a safer option during a pandemic. 

From there, we could see Apple offering more tailored workouts for people with medical conditions like type 2 diabetes, which might even involve personalized coaching. Such a service could be subscription-based, if Apple can show there’s an appetite for it. 

An oxygen sensor 

One long-rumored sensor that we could see from Apple on Tuesday is a pulse oximeter, which would allow the watch to detect blood oxygen levels. A blood oxygen detection feature was detected by 9to5 Mac in a snippet of code back in the spring, strongly suggesting that it’s on the horizon. 

If the code is any indication, Apple could start notifying users if their blood oxygen levels drop to concerning and potentially dangerous levels. 

This new feature will likely be released alongside medical studies, just as Apple has done in the past. The Apple Heart Study, which it unveiled in collaboration with Stanford, looked at how effectively the Apple Watch could be used to detect a condition known as atrial fibrillation. Apple has an electrocardiogram sensor baked into its Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 devices to monitor the heart’s rhythm and return health information directly to consumers. 

If Apple announces the sensor, it’s possible that the company will look to screen asymptomatic people rather than honing in those with a specific medical condition. Apple wants its device to be accessible and relevant to a large population of users. But it would need to prove to doctors that it won’t generate unnecessary anxiety and concern by delivering false positive results. 

Or, Apple might look to target users with specific medical conditions, including the covid-19 coronavirus. A pulse oximeter baked into a consumer wearable might well be useful in helping medical professionals monitor patients at home who have been diagnosed with the virus. Doctors are still debating whether the currently-available devices, which work by clipping onto a patient’s finger to measure heart rate and oxygen saturation, might be helpful in monitoring shortness of breath which can be hard for patients to assess themselves.

What do you think will be announced at Tuesday’s event?

The Apple Store is down ahead of Apple's September event, where the company is expected to announce a new redesign for the iPad Air and the Apple Watch Series 6. The new watch lineup will include a higher-end model featuring a new blood oxygen sensor, and an entry-level cheaper model that will replace the $199 Apple Watch Series 3 that Apple currently sells.

Today's Apple event kicks off at 10 AM Pacific Time. Stay tuned to 9to5Mac for full coverage of all the announcements.

Apple's September event is usually the place where Apple announces the latest iPhone. However, the iPhone 12 is not expected to feature in this event. Due to the pandemic, mass production of the iPhone 12 was delayed. This means the new iPhone 12 lineup will start being sold in October, and Apple is believed to be readying another Apple event for then.

Good morning! T-minus 6 hours! #AppleEvent

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 15, 2020

In place of an iPhone launch, today's "Time Flies" event will feature a redesigned iPad Air, new Apple Watch models and likely the unveiling of the 'Apple One' bundle initiative.

The new Air will include thinner bezels and look similar to the iPad Pro lineup in terms of industrial design, but will use a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID to save on cost. The Apple Watch rumors point to the addition of a blood oxygen sensor, and a faster CPU.

Other possible Apple product announcements include AirTags, AirPods Studio over-ear headphones, a new HomePod and a tease of the forthcoming Apple Silicon Macs. However, there is no consensus on whether these products are ready to announce today, or if they are coming later as part of the October iPhone event.

We already knew Rocket League was going free-to-play this summer, and today, the game's developer, Psyonix, announced that the vehicular soccer game will go free-to-play on September 23rd.

The transition to free-to-play also marks the debut of the game arriving on the Epic Games Store, a digital storefront owned by Psyonix's parent company, Epic Games, which acquired the studio last year. After September 23rd, the game will be delisted from Steam; however, the studio explains that, regardless of which PC version you own, both versions will still receive "full support for future updates and features," such as cross-platform play. But you can't get it on Steam for free.

If you buy the game before it becomes free, Psyonix will give you some in-game "legacy" rewards, including all of the Rocket League-branded DLC and over 200 in-game items used to customize your vehicles, such as antennas, decals, and wheels. Psyonix also confirmed that existing players will have access to cross-platform progression linking, allowing them to link their platforms to the Epic Games Account and carry over their progress made on a different game platform.

In addition to switching to a free-to-play model, Psyonix also confirmed earlier this month that Rocket League will no longer require PS4 and Nintendo Switch players to have a subscription to play online. Xbox One owners, unfortunately, still need an Xbox Live Gold membership.

With celebrations for the 35th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. underway and the upcoming release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars next week, we thought it would be the perfect time to conduct a survey of Nintendo Life readers to find out the definitive ranking of the 3D Mario games. Similar to our recent reader-ranked poll of the best Final Fantasy games (on Nintendo systems), we’re asking you lovely lot to rate the 3D Mario games you’ve played from the shortlist below.

We’ve included all the mainline 3D Marios, including the DS remake of Super Mario 64 —the first way to play Mario 64 officially on a handheld with new playable characters and mini-games—in addition to 3D Land and 3D World (which is coming to Switch next February in the expanded form of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury ). Those latter entries may not offer the same style of open exploration as the others, but their respective titles leave little doubt that they belong on this shortlist.

Registered Nintendo Life users can click on the stars below and rate the games out of 10. Much like our Top 50 platform polls, the resulting ranking (which we’ll publish soon) is created from those fluid NL User Ratings and is therefore subject to change,even after publication. If you’ve previously rated these games in our database, thank you! If you’re in the middle of a Mario adventure and don’t want to rate it yet, that’s no problem – you can add your score to the game at any time in the future and it will still count and potentially influence the ranking.

If you’re interested in our opinion, feel free to check out our ranked list of the mainline Mario series (including 2D). Otherwise, it’s time to crack on with rating the 3D entries. Everyone ready?Here we go!

Android Auto stability issues seem to pop up pretty regularly, and following the release of Android 11 last week, some users are reporting a lot of pretty major issues between the two.

Google might not directly tie Android Auto to system updates, but major updates can be a source of errors with the in-car experience. As our friends over atAndroid Policerecently spotted, that seems to be the case with Android 11.

Apparently, issues being experienced when Android Auto is connected to a phone running Android 11 vary from person to person. Some users say that music isn’t playing smoothly, others say that the Calendar app is missing — although Android Auto v5.6 apparently fixed that bug — and still others mention muted notifications and phone calls not going through the car’s speakers. Apparently, Waze may also be partially broken for some. A couple of users even had their phones lock up to the point of requiring a factory reset!

Not all drivers seem to be affected by these issues — my Pixel 4 XL seems to be working completely fine with Android Auto on the final 11 build — but there’s definitely a considerable number of people experiencing problems. Google hasn’t promised a fix for these issues yet, but given how widespread problems seem to be, the company will probably have something in the works sooner rather than later.

Some Reddit users did discover a potential stopgap, though. Apparently, turning off Bluetooth device scanning seems to help some users.

Microsoft’s new Xbox Series S should offer impressive next-gen performance for its $299 price, but where does that leave the Xbox One X? According to Microsoft, the 4K-targeting Xbox from 2017 will still hold some advantages over the Series S — at least when it comes to running Xbox One X-enhanced current-gen games.

“Xbox Series S was designed to be the most affordable next-generation console and play next-generation games at 1440p at 60fps,” Microsoft says in a statement toVGC. “To deliver the highest quality backwards compatible experience consistent with the developer’s original intent, the Xbox Series S runs the Xbox One S version of backward compatible games while applying improved texture filtering, higher and more consistent frame rates, faster load times and Auto HDR.”

What this means is that most Xbox One games will run on the Xbox Series S at 1080p or below in backward-compatibility mode, though they will benefit from certain built-in hardware advantages like the faster SSD. Games with unlocked frame rates should also perform better than on the Xbox One S. But specific Xbox One X enhancements like higher resolution won’t apply.

It’s possible that current-gen titles could receive updates just for the Xbox Series S, and this will be the case for some first-party games likeGears 5andForza Horizon 4. Without a patch, though, you’ll essentially be getting the Xbox One S version.VGCreports that the same is true of backward-compatible Xbox 360 titles, though it’s not clear what this means for compatible original Xbox games, all of which run at close to 4K on the One X.

The reason for all of this is simply a function of the two machines’ different priorities. The Xbox One X was designed to play Xbox One games at up to 4K resolution, and it achieved this by adding a much more powerful GPU with fairly minor tweaks to the rest of the spec sheet. The Xbox Series S, meanwhile, exists to run genuine next-gen games at 1080p or 1440p, which is why it’s built around a much faster CPU and SSD than the One X despite in some ways having a less powerful GPU.

The confirmation from Microsoft goes some way to clarifying the messaging around its two next-gen consoles. In short, if you want to play games in 4K, you should be considering the $499 Series X. But if you don’t consider raw resolution output to be a priority, the $299 Series S may well be of interest.

The owner of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has cut ties with Chinese tech giant Tencent in India, in an effort lift the ban on a mobile version of the game.

PUBG Corporation, the South Korean company that develops and publishes PUBG, said Tuesday that it would drop Tencent as the publisher of its PUBG Mobile game in India.

Last week, the Indian government added PUBG Mobile and 117 other apps with links to China to a blacklist including the likes of TikTok and WeChat due to alleged national security risks.

“In light of recent developments, PUBG Corporation has made the decision to no longer authorize thePUBG MOBILEfranchise to Tencent Games in India,” PUBG Corporation said in a statement Tuesday. “Moving forward, PUBG Corporation will take on all publishing responsibilities within the country.”

“As the company explores ways to provide its own PUBG experience for India in the near future, it is committed to doing so by sustaining a localized and healthy gameplay environment for its fans,” it added.

It comes amid a spike in geopolitical tensions between India and China after a border clash in the Himalayas that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Those tensions have flared up again this week, with both India and China accusing each other’s soldiers of firing warning shots at the disputed border.

PUBG Mobile, a battle royale game similar to Fortnite, was wildly popular in India prior to the government’s decision to block it. According to app data tracker SensorTower, India was the app’s biggest market, with over 175 million installs to date. That means it accounted for about 24% of total downloads globally.

Apple will seek damages against Epic Games for allegedly breaching its contract with the iOS App Store, in a new escalation of the two companies’ ongoing legal fight. The move came in a filing entered on Tuesday, alongside counterclaims for unjust enrichment and tortious interference with Apple’s relationship with its customers.

“Epic’s flagrant disregard for its contractual commitments and other misconduct has caused significant harm to Apple,” the filing reads. “Left unchecked, Epic’s conduct threatens the very existence of the iOS ecosystem and its tremendous value to consumers.”

Epic Games sued Apple in August, after the company’s hit gameFortnitewas removed from the iOS App Store over the implementation of an unauthorized payment system. The complaint, filed August 13th, alleges that Apple is violating antitrust law, using its total control over iOS to extract a commission for all software that passes through the App Store.

Apple’s filing comes in response to an exhaustive motion for a preliminary injunction, filed by Epic over the weekend. Tuesday’s filing lays out a range of defenses against that motion. Among other claims, Apple maintains there were legitimate business justifications for all of the actions it undertook, which would undercut a broader antitrust claim. “At all times, [Apple’s] conduct was reasonable and … its actions were undertaken in good faith to advance legitimate business interests and had the effect of promoting, encouraging, and increasing competition,” the complaint reads.

Apple declined to comment beyond the filing.

A recent ruling on a temporary restraining order made it unlikelyFortnitewill return to the iOS App Store in the immediate future. The same ruling enjoined Apple from taking additional action against another developer account used by Epic to support the Unreal Engine.

Epic’s reply to Apple’s filing is due by September 18th, ahead of a full hearing on September 28th.

LG’s upcoming “Wing” smartphone is expected to be a dual-screen device with a swiveling mechanism, and the screen that flips around could be surprisingly thin, as shown in new leaks of the phone.

Take a look for yourself in this video — when this person, who appears to have the phone, shows a side profile of the device, you can see that the rotating screen appears to be quite thin:

The video also gives us a good look at the Wing’s swiveling mechanism in action, which allows one screen to rotate 90 degrees horizontally above another screen so they can align in a T-like shape.

And in an image shared by leaker Evan Blass on his Patreon, you can get another peek of the thin-looking side profile of the device. Blass’ image also indicates that the Wing will have a triple-camera setup, come in two colors, and support 5G networks.

In August, Android Authorityposted a purported video of the device, though that video just showed the phone in a car cradle, and it was hard to get a good view of how thick the phone was. And LG has hinted at the swiveling mechanism and the silhouette of the Wing in a video teaser for the phone’s launch event.

LG confirmed the “Wing” naming on September 6th, and the launch event is scheduled to begin at 10AM on September 14th.

A leaker claims to have the specs for the iPhone 12 Pro Max and how they compare to the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Claimed specs for the iPhone 12 Pro Max have been leaked on Twitter by tipster @LeaksApplePro, revealing the major upgrades the phone will have over the iPhone 11 Pro Max. But there’s a catch.

LeaksApplePro has a mixed track record of accurate leaks, though they claim this new information comes from "a reliable source that got a lot of things right" and that the specs are from screen shots of marketing material. Either way, the leaker spilled a lot of iPhone 12 Pro Max information.

• Here are the best iPhones right now
• iPhone 12 vs. iPhone 11: The biggest changes to expect
• Plus: OnePlus Clover is coming to the US — for a shockingly cheap price

Not much of this will be surprising to followers of the Apple iPhone 12 rumors that have been percolating over the past eight months. The presence of the new A14 Bionic chip with a fourth-generation Neural Engine, is expected, as the iPhone 12 Pro Max was always going to get an upgrade over the A13 Bionic in its predecessor. And the presence of IP68 splash, water and dust resistance is incredibly shrug-worthy.

Ok guys, here it comes.
Sorry Timothy.
Check this thread.
Coming a lot of screenshots.

— Leaks (@LeaksApplePro) August 27, 2020

Another batch of leaked specs has the iPhone 12 Pro Max tipped to feature a 6.7-inch True Tone OLED display with HDR and a resolution of 2788 x 284. Rather oddly there was no mention of a 120Hz refresh rate, which is currently expected for the iPhone 12 Pro models, despite some confusion around the matter.

Forgot about the most important one, sorry guys.
My bad 🤣 pic.twitter.com/wqOBp8H1Uq

— Leaks (@LeaksApplePro) August 27, 2020

Things get a little more interesting when it comes to camera specs. LeaksApplePro's information has the iPhone 12 Pro Max tipped to use a triple rear-camera array made up of 16MP cameras in wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto configurations. And those cameras will be supported by a LiDAR sensor, something that's thought to be a feature of only the Pro Max model.

As leaked by Front Page Tech’s Jon Prosser in a massive iPhone 12 leak this week, the LiDAR sensor is expected to help with autofocus and subject detection in video recording and when using the phone’s cameras in Night mode. Plus, the LiDAR sensor should deliver better performance in iPhone AR apps.

The cameras will have the same aperture range of those in the iPhone 11 Pro Max, but they will come with an "Advanced Night mode" and enable 4K video recording at up to 120 frames per second. Slo-mo video recording will measure in at 120fps or 240fps at 4K; the iPhone 11 Pro Max could only do so at 1080p.

pic.twitter.com/H5Cviu4VXw

— Leaks (@LeaksApplePro) August 27, 2020

A lot of this information tracks with Prosser’s leak, who has a strong track record of accuracy. But one tweet in the thread of iPhone 12 Pro Max information details more of the phone's camera capabilities.

Sadly, these seem to track with those of the iPhone 11 Pro Max, with both phones featuring "next-generation Smart HDR" and a suite of effects for the "Portrait Lighting" mode. This causes us to raise an eyebrow to the validity of the leak.

Prosser seems to have similar thoughts and responded to @LeaksApplePro with a curt "yeah. No." Prosser didn't go on to explain his sharp response. But it did spark a lot of people questioning the accuracy of the leaks.

Ok guys, here it comes.
Sorry Timothy.
Check this thread.
Coming a lot of screenshots.

— Leaks (@LeaksApplePro) August 27, 2020

With the iPhone 12 range set to be revealed in September or early October, we don’t have that long to find out which leaks are accurate. When we’ll be able to get our hands on the new iPhones is a trickier question, as it looks like their release could be staggered.

Say hello to ZOTAC’s new, unannounced GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity graphics card.

VideoCardz has the scoop on the latest leak of ZOTAC’s new GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity, which is a gigantic, chunky triple-fan, triple-slot beast. It looks pretty damn long, features dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors — remember, the nifty new 12-pin PCIe power connector is exclusive to NVIDIA’s own Ampere-based GeForce RTX 30 series Founders Edition cards.

In some shots the GeForce RTX 3090 doesn’t have NVLink fingers — you can read more on that here, but in these product shots the beasty new GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity does indeed have NVLink.

Cooling that super-fast next-gen Ampere GA102 GPU + GDDR6X can’t be easy, so ZOTAC is using a “more refined” IceStorm 2.0 cooler on its new GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity graphics card.

ZOTAC is using a “iridescent holographic finish” on its new Trinity card, something I can’t wait to see in person.

For comparison sake, these are older renders on the Founders Edition cards:

NVIDIA’s new Ampere-based GeForce RTX 3080 is said to be around 15-25% better than the RTX 2080 Ti, which will be a big deal if the GeForce RTX 3080 is priced at $799. The slightly lower-end GeForce RTX 3070 will reportedly offer RTX 2080 Ti level performance for $599 — which is going to really shake things up.

We should see NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 3090 feature a huge 24GB of next-gen GDDR6X memory at 21Gbps, while the GeForce RTX 3080 will have 10GB of GDDR6X at 19Gbps.

Here’s an easier break down for you:

• GeForce RTX 3090: $1399
• GeForce RTX 3080: $799
• GeForce RTX 3070: $599
• GeForce RTX 3060: $399

The very latest: RTX 3090 PCB + GDDR6X @ 21Gbps

• The PCB of the RTX 3090: A juicy leak of the purported PCB of a custom variant of the GeForce RTX 3090 leaked out a few days ago. It is reportedly the COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3090 Vulcan-X. You can see this model has 3 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors, unlike the RTX 3090 Founders Edition that should pack just a single 12-pin PCIe power connector.
• Micron reveals RTX 3090 name, 24GB GDDR6X memory @ 21Gbps: I’m sure this is part of the marketing or else all of us tech media websites would be receiving calls from lawyers, but Micron revealed its next-gen GDDR6X memory that the GeForce RTX 3090 (it admits the card by name) will be clocked at a bonkers-high 21Gbps.

Wait, a 12-pin PCIe power connector?

• 12-pin PCIe power connector on Founders Edition ONLY: NVIDIA will be using a special new 12-pin PCIe power connector on its GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards, something that I’ve confirmed with a few industry sources of mine now (to confirm the rumors floating around online).
• Many, many 8-pin PCIe power connectors on custom AIB: But, custom GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards from AIBs like ASUS, COLORFUL, EVGA, MSI, etc will not be using the 12-pin PCIe power connector and rather multiple (2 and even up to 3 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors).

• Traversal coprocessor: We have had more leaks on NVIDIA’s next-gen GeForce RTX 3000 series than any family of graphics cards before it, with an interesting “traversal coprocessor” on the new GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards. You can read more on that here.
• NVCache: Ampere is meant to have something called NVCache, which would be NVIDIA’s own form of AMD’s HBCC (High Bandwidth Cache Controller, more on that here). NVCache would use your system RAM and SSD to super-speed game load times, as well as optimizing VRAM usage. You can read more on NVCache here.
• Tensor Memory Compression: NVCache is interesting, but Tensor Memory Compression will be on Ampere, and will reportedly use Tensor Cores to both compress and decompress items that are stored in VRAM. This could see a 20-40% reduction in VRAM usage, or more VRAM usage with higher textures in next-gen games and Tensor Memory Compression decreasing that VRAM footprint by 20-40%.



• How fast is the GeForce RTX 3090? Freaking fast according to rumors, with 60-90% more performance than the current Turing-based flagship GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. We could see this huge performance leap in ray tracing titles, but we’ll have to wait a little while longer to see how much graphical power NVIDIA crams into these new cards. You can read more on those rumors here.
• Power hungry: As for power consumption, GA102 reportedly uses 230W — while 24GB of GDDR6X (which we should see on the new Ampere-based TITAN RTX) consumes 60W of power. You can read more on that here.
• Production begins soon: NVIDIA is reportedly in the DVT (or Design Validation Test) range of its new GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards. Mass production reportedly kicks off in August 2020, with a media event, benchmarks, and more in September 2020 as I predicted many months ago. More on that here.

I’ve already written about rumors that NVIDIA’s next-gen Ampere GPU architecture would be up to 75% faster than current-gen GPUs such as the Turing architecture, right after rumors that Ampere would offer 50% more performance at half the power of Turing. This is pretty crazy stuff right there.

Not only that, but we’ve got some rumored specs on the purported GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3070 graphics cards, which will both be powered by NVIDIA’s new Ampere GPU architecture.

We’ve already heard that Ampere would offer 50% more performance at half the power of Turing, which sent the hairs on my neck standing up. Better yet, you can read about the leaked specs on the purported Ampere-based GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3070 right here.

Ford teamed up with electronic artist Matthew Dear to remix the sounds developed for its all-electric 2021 Mustang Mach-E into music. The song is called 'New Breed' and uses both Dear's vocals and sounds specifically engineered to make the quiet electric car sound more like a car but from the future.

Engineers drew on sci-fi inspiration such as the film Blade Runner to come up with sounds for the Mach-E, according to Pitchfork. Ford also released this video detailing how sound designers Michael Sonnenberg and Marty Peters philosophy behind the Mach-E's sounds and how Dear created 'New Breed.' In the video, the sound designers were insistent they didn't want to recreate internal combustion engine sounds for the Mach-E. I think all of us who appreciate authentic engine sounds should send them a Thank You card for that. Instead, they came up with some funky and futuristic tones and buzzes that just happen to work well for mixing into electronic music:

If you're going to have an electric car, why not use it to make some electronic music? Ford picked a hometown hero to head up the project. Dear has been a staple in the Detroit electronic music scene since 1999, when he started releasing music while still in college, according to the Metro Times. He came up in the industry just as electronic music was really taking off in the region. He is also co-founder of the music label Ghostly International and has six studio records and more than two dozen EPs under his collective four musical aliases. His first single 'Hands Up For Detroit' was heavily sampled by artist Fedde Le Grand for the track for 'Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit.' That is to say, in the last 20 years, Dear has made a name for himself as no slouch when it comes to creating electronic tunes in a city that practically invented the art form.

So, is the song any good? That I will leave up to you, dear readers. Detroit has a huge, billion-dollar music scene. You can hear anything and everything on a typical night. I came up more as a rock n' roll type, so I am a poor judge of electronic music, but let me know in the comments!

Amazon's new health service and fitness band offers a new take on health metrics that includes a body fat analysis using your phone's camera and voice analysis to determine how you sound to others.

Amaon has entered the health and fitness world with Halo, a subscription service and accompanying fitness band that unlocks an array of health metrics, including activity, sleep, body fat and tone of voice analysis, to determine how you sound to others. Amazon’s entry into the fitness space is odd indeed, and ambitious. And we’re just getting our minds wrapped around it. 

The band itself looks a lot like a screenless Fitbit tracker, but with a few different elements: It has temperature sensing, much like Fitbit’s newest smartwatch, the Fitbit Sense, and a microphone that continually scans a wearer’s voice to determine emotional tone. Yes, it’s a lot to take in. And the service is immediately available for early access. We haven’t even had a chance to try it out yet. 

The membership part will start at $65 for the first six months ($100 once the early access deal is over) and then $3.99 a month after that. (International prices aren’t currently available, but $65 converts to about £50 or AU$90.) The subscription to Halo includes the basic fitness band that has one button, no screen and tracks your heart rate, steps and temperature. The lack of screen means you’ll have to rely on the mobile app to see all your data, but it does a lot more than just count your steps and log your weight. 

A tone-analyzing, Amazon health band that also lets you scan your body fat may sound like Black Mirror incarnate, but it’s also opening up some ideas in fitness that we’ve never seen before.

Body fat analysis with a smartphone camera 

Amazon thinks the concept of weight loss is flawed, and that body fat is a much better predictor of health.

Most of us have been conditioned to obsess over our weight. The entire diet industry was built on it with programs, apps and devices that revolve around ways to lose pounds. 

But weight can fluctuate daily based on factors including humidity, medication, menstrual cycle and illness. Plus muscle is more dense than fat, and a scale can’t tell the difference between the two. You could literally work your ass off building muscle and burning fat, and not see the numbers on the scale go down.

Rather than relying on weight, Halo focuses on body fat percentage, which is less volatile and takes a lot more time and work to change. 

The gold standard in the medical world for body composition analysis is a DEXA scan (dual-energy absorptiometry), which can cost up to $100 at a lab. The Halo app does it all using your smartphone camera. Once you take your photos, the app automatically eliminates everything else in the background, calculates body fat percent based on body indicators, and then creates a 3D model of your body, which is both cool and terrifying. The app requires you to wear minimal form-fitting clothing and trust Amazon to take a picture of you wearing it. The entire process takes seconds. 

If you’re feeling uncomfortable, that’s not surprising: The idea of body-scanning with a camera is already an awkward proposition. Amazon doing this on a health platform makes it feel more so. The sample body-scan images Amazon showed me look very personal — not necessarily something I’d ever want anyone else to see.

That’s why Amazon promises that the finished body scans stay on your phone and won’t be shared with anybody, including the company, unless you opt into that. According to Amazon, “the images are processed in the cloud, but encrypted in transit and processed within seconds, after which they’re automatically deleted from Amazon’s systems and databases. All scan images are fully deleted within 12 hours. The scan images aren’t viewed by anyone at Amazon and aren’t used for machine learning optimizations.”

Watch that tone! 

Halo also offers a Tone analysis, which has nothing to do with body tone, but rather analyzes the nuances of your voice to paint a picture of how you sound to others. It can let you know when you’ve sounded out of line, weirdly enough. 

The fitness band has two built-in mics to capture audio and it listens for emotional cues. The company says it’s not intended to analyze the content of your conversation, just the tone of your delivery. It takes periodic samples of your speech throughout the day if you opt in to the feature. You enable the microphones by tapping the side button and you’ll know when the mic is off when a red LED lights up on the band. 

The voice scanning pulls out the wearer’s specific voice in conversations and delivers analysis with related emotional-tone words (like “happy,” or “concerned” in the Halo app). The idea, according to Amazon, is to help guide you to deliver better tones of voice and speaking styles, like a vocal form of good posture. It isn’t intended as a form of psychological analysis, but it seems awfully hard to draw the line on a concept like this. 

Amazon’s been exploring the idea of emotional tone-sensing since at least 2018, but this is the first time it’s approached the idea in any device. And according to Amazon, the Tone feature is only available on the Halo band for now. It will be limited to the band’s microphone, but Amazon sounds open to exploring the idea on other devices, depending on how the early access response goes from first-wave wearers. It’s a very odd thing to put on a fitness band, and we have no idea what this is like to use yet.

Amazon promises that Tone voice samples are encrypted and stored only on a wearer’s phone (shared from the band via Bluetooth with the encrypted key), are deleted after analysis and won’t be shared to the cloud or used to build machine-learning models.

Sleep analysis with temperature tracking

The app provides a comprehensive sleep analysis with a breakdown of the different stages of sleep and overall sleep score, much like other fitness trackers. It also goes beyond the basics by keeping track of your overall body temperature during sleep and creating a baseline for each person. It then charts your average temperature each night relative to your baseline to help you identify variations that could affect your health and the quality of your sleep. 

The Halo band won’t provide a specific body temperature, similar to the way other temperature wearable devices like the Oura Ring already work.

Temperature has become a trending wearable metric in the COVID-19 era: The Oura Ring has one and Fitbit’s newest Sense watch has one too. Amazon’s Halo team is pursuing research for COVID-19 symptom detection on its wearables, much like other health wearable companies, but no specific studies or plans have been laid out yet.

Activity tracking: A week at a glance 

Halo also does basic fitness tracking based on the information from the band. It can automatically track walks and runs, but you’ll have to go into the app and tag any other workouts manually. 

It rewards you for any type of movement or activity, but gives more points for more intense workouts and subtracts points for sedentary time. And it doesn’t keep a daily tally of your activity, your score is based on the points you accrued during the entire week. The entire picture of exercise, sedentary time and active time is combined into one tally.

Amazon’s sleep and activity scores and other AI tools will require an Amazon Halo subscription; otherwise, the band will default to more basic tracking data. Much like Fitbit and its Premium service, this looks to be continuing a trend of fitness devices that expect a subscription model as part of the package.

A lot of labs and partners, but no Google or Apple integration

A Labs section of Amazon Halo looks similar to what’s on Fitbit’s Premium service, with a lot of multiweek health and fitness goals to opt into, and partners lined up from OrangeTheory to Weight Watchers. Amazon promises these challenges are scientifically vetted, but it also sounds like these challenges will keep being added to over time. 

But at least at launch, Halo will not tie in to Apple’s HealthKit or Google’s Fit App which puts it at a disadvantage with people who are already deeply invested in either for health tracking. Amazon is leaning on Weight Watchers, John Hancock Vitality wellness program, and a few others that will be able to hook into Amazon Halo health data.

The looming privacy question

There’s a lot of process in terms of features, and while some seem interesting and innovative, the biggest barrier to entry is privacy. Sharing any kind of health data (let alone unflattering seminudes) requires next-level trust, and you might not be prepared to give Amazon that trust. The company doesn’t exactly have the most pristine track record when it comes to keeping user data private. Alexa-enabled devices have been in the hot seat for storing private conversations “for machine learning purposes.” And Amazon’s Ring doorbell has had a series of privacy dust-ups. 

Halo puts privacy in your hands by allowing you to opt out of data sharing with Amazon and third-party apps as well as disable the microphone on the band, but it’s still going to be an uphill battle. That is unless its features prove to be earth-shattering and worth the privacy risk, which remains to be seen.

Amazon is late on arrival

The lack of connection to Apple or Google is telling. Amazon’s making a play in the health and fitness data space, and with Google, Fitbit and Apple already deep in, it’s a big question as to how Amazon will make waves. Or, where Amazon Halo will go next. It’s a platform as much as a wearable, and it sounds like Halo’s early-access experiment may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Hurricane Laura is a catastrophe. The storm made landfall on Wednesday night as a Category 4 hurricane, and has already killed at least one person. Residents of Texas and Louisiana unable to evacuate have been hit hard. But as the storm is making its way inland from the Gulf of Mexico, people are tracking its progress up close inside Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Flight Simulator includes a live weather system, which is basically modeling Laura inside the game world. Microsoft partnered with Swiss meteorological service Meteoblue, dividing the in-game world up into 2 million 100-square-mile chunks, each with its own simulated weather system based on real-world data. The result is something quite remarkable.

Simply put, the footage of Hurricane Laura from Microsoft Flight Simulator is both terrifying and awe-inspiring. It's also much safer than traditional forms of observing these kinds intense storms firsthand.

Microsoft Flight Simulator pulls in lots of real-world data, which sometimes leads to hiccups and glitches as the game struggles to bring it all together as a cohesive whole. Weather data is an exception, however. The game isn't putting individual in-game clouds where they are in the real sky, but instead running a sophisticated simulation based on the data. The result: incredibly stunning pictures of a virtual version of the same storm.

Above & around Hurricane Laura

Microsoft Flight Simulator (Live Weather) pic.twitter.com/T7v8aJ0jhG

— Petri Levälahti (@Berduu) August 27, 2020

This thread by Alex, a Twitter user and video editor, shows more breathtaking shots of Hurricane Laura from a distance. It's worth reading the entire thread to see his entire gallery of images, including one taken up from such a high angle that his plane needed to be de-iced.

Just flew through the outer edge of Hurricane Laura in #MicrosoftFlightSimulator pic.twitter.com/XeyneNTVk4

— Technically Alex ✊🏿🏳️‍🌈 (@TechnicalDIY) August 27, 2020

Alex also noted that he wasn't alone. Flight Simulator also pulls in live flight data from the real world. While there weren't any other real flights in the area of the storm, there were plenty of other players in-game investigating the hurricane with him.

AFAIK all the green dots are other players.

I feel like MS Flight Sim is going to create a new genre of gaming events where people track down IRL weather events in-game to experience them.

It's so incredible that this stuff is possible. pic.twitter.com/ZBws2qFIbc

— Technically Alex ✊🏿🏳️‍🌈 (@TechnicalDIY) August 27, 2020

Obviously, you shouldn't be using a flight simulator — or a game of any kind — to monitor dangerous storms like this if they're coming at you. It's possible to check the progress of Hurricane Laura via the National Hurricane Center's website, which shows a map, relevant statistics, and safety information.

When a company like Bang & Olufsen talks about its “philosophy of purposeful design,” you know you’re in for some luxury gadget porn. The company has unveiled the BeoPlay H95, its flagship wireless headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC), high-end sound and lots of bespoke features aimed at well-heeled travelers.

The over-ear headphones are built around 40mm titanium drivers with neodymium magnets and custom processors. The ANC system is Bang & Olufsen’s most advanced yet, based on digital processing and using two kinds of microphones for extra noise reduction, the company said. It also comes with ACC and aptXTM Adaptive codecs that are supposed to deliver “low-latency, low-bit rate, high quality wireless audio” over Bluetooth 5.1.

Bang & Olufsen promises 38 hours of battery life on a charge, even with ANC turned on. It includes four voice microphones for added call clarity, with advanced mic noise reduction that enhances clarity while reducing background noise.

Naturally, the H95s are built with top end materials, including a brushed aluminum framework, lambskin ear covers and a leather headband. With special pivoting hinges, they fold flat into a small size to fit into the aluminum carrying case — with matching textiles inside, of course.

The earpad design in soft memory foam creates "good contact to the skin," offering extra passive noise cancellation on top of the ANC. It also comes with aluminum dials on each side "inspired by the focus rings on the lenses of high-end cameras," to control ANC, volume and sound transparency.

All these luxe features (and marketing) won't come cheap. The Beoplay H95 headphones will arrive in select retailers and Bang & Olufsen stores on September 10th for $800, or £700 in the UK. Ahead of that date, the company is selling a limited run of 95 numbered pairs (celebrating its 95th anniversary) starting today. It didn't mention where you can find those nor at what price.

“It will happen”

Sony debuted a new PlayStation 5 commercial this week, and it's already racked up nearly two million views on YouTube. However, with the PS5 price and PS5 release date remaining under wraps, there's still a big question mark over whether the device will deploy this year as planned. The platform holder has stated on multiple occasions that it remains on schedule for a Holiday 2020 launch, but there are plenty who have their doubts.

However, speaking with GamesIndustry.biz this week, marketing bigwig Eric Lempel provided a brief update: "We’re pulling it together. We will launch this year – that will happen – and from my end we will absolutely make sure that we will bring all of the magic and all of the excitement of launches that we have had in the past."

Elsewhere in the interview, Lempel suggested that the PS5's launch window will be the "best lineup" in PlayStation history, which we suppose is a relatively empty statement from a marketing bigwig, but based on all PS5 games announced so far, we reckon he may have a point. Here's hoping we get more information on the next-gen system next week.

There are video games that handle satire well. There's the sprawling meta-textual commentary of a game like The Stanley Parable, for instance, or high-volume farce like Asymmetric's West Of Loathing. We might even include games like Borderlands and Grand Theft Auto in this list, titles which take big—if not necessarily artful—swings at a variety of cultural topics and gaming tropes. And then there's the folks over at Epic Games, who've decided to escalate their ongoing feud with Apple tonight by literally jamming a big, mean, scowling Apple into their very popular video game Fortnite.

This comes in the wake of Epic's other big attempt at subtle, pointed humor last week, when it released a video heavily suggesting that, by demanding a cut of the game's profits in exchange for it being available through its digital storefront, Apple was acting in a manner similar to the Ingsoc government of George Orwell's 1984, a ruling class that responds to independent thought by clamping a cage full of ravenous rats onto a guy's head. (Which would actually make for a pretty kickass Fortnite costume, now that we think about it.)

ICYMI: Compete in the #FreeFortnite Cup, happening this Sunday - August 23! We’re giving away more prizes than ever before!

Compete for an opportunity to win the new Tart Tycoon Outfit, gaming hardware, and exclusive apparel. Read more in our blog: https://t.co/ZijIBf5iA3 pic.twitter.com/loxnFYFa7i

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) August 21, 2020

But clearly, that swipe at Apple's own literary pretensions was too subtle, because Epic Games has now announced that it's hosting the #FreeFortnite Cup event, mobilizing its hordes of tween advocates to hop on, shoot each other, and just generally celebrate "the final days of the entire Fortnite community's ability to play together." (Also: Yell at Apple a bunch for being such big ol' meanies.)

There's no clear winner in the semi-ethical battle being waged between the two companies, both of whom are basically just arguing over how to divvy their players' disposable income up. But in terms of which side is being petty as fuck, we've definitely gotta give the crown to Epic, which is not only doing everything in its power to paint Apple as a bunch of big mean bullies, but is even giving away merch with parody versions of the company's logo. That's to say nothing of the "Tart Tycoon" skin it's giving away with the event, which is literally just a very angry apple man who's so mad that you still get to play Fortnite, Braxton. Don't you want to hop on Twitter, Braxton? Don't you want to tell the apple how mean it's being to you and your video game friend

The recently-released Microsoft Flight Simulator is a game best enjoyed with a dedicated flight stick, but actually finding one of these controllers is a challenge. None of Amazon.com's best-selling PC flight sticks are available to buy new as of Monday August 24th — they're either listed as unavailable, only available used, or scheduled to be back in stock in the coming months.

It's impossible to know if this current shortage is directly caused by the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Flight yokes and sticks are a relatively niche product to begin with, and, even prior to the game's official release, people on Twitter were complaining about shortages. Meanwhile, plenty of other gaming accessories like Nintendo's Ring Fit have also been selling out this year thanks to a combination of increased demand as people are staying at home more, and manufacturing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Equally, however, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the biggest flight sim release in years, and it's also relatively affordable thanks to its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. Plus, in a couple of months' time, Star Wars: Squadrons is due to release, meaning anyone who buys a flight stick now will have a second big-budget game to use it with come October 2nd.

Although flight sticks are getting harder to find at the likes of Amazon.com and Best Buy, there do seem to be some other online retailers where they're still available. Dell has a relatively affordable Thrustmaster combination flight stick and throttle controller in stock, for example, and you have more options if you're willing to buy second-hand. Otherwise, you might have to settle for using a regular gamepad as you explore Microsoft's massive procedurally-generated world.