Google is reportedly shifting its focus to hardware at Assistant’s expense

Google’s flurry of hardware launches may be part of a larger defensive strategy. Sources speaking to The Information claim CEO Sundar Pichai sees hardware as the best way to be “protected” against the pitfalls of a changing mobile market. According to …

How to pre-order Apple’s 2022 iPad, iPad Pro, and Apple TV 4K

Today, Apple introduced a new crop of iPads alongside a refreshed Apple TV 4K. The new gear was announced through a trio of press releases, not the usual pomp and circumstance of a livestreamed event. For the most part, that makes sense: the new iPad P…

Apple stops selling the Apple TV HD

Now that Apple has introduced a lower-priced Apple TV 4K, it’s apparently getting rid of the entry-level model. MacRumorsnotes the company is no longer selling the Apple TV HD through its online store. It’s not clear if the device will still be available at retail or through other online shops, but you may want to act fast if you find it at a discount. We’ve asked Apple for comment.

A move like this isn’t surprising. The Apple TV HD launched in 2015 and stayed at an official $149 even as later 4K models offered much more power for as little as $30 extra. Now that the 2022 Apple TV 4K starts at $129, there isn’t much point to keeping the legacy player around — certainly not when it uses an iPhone 6-era A8 chip that limits its theoretical capabilities.

There are catches. The new Apple TV 4K doesn’t include Ethernet or Thread support in the base 64GB model, so you’ll still have to pay $149 for the 128GB version if you want that connectivity. Also, this still leaves Apple without a truly low-cost living room media player. You’ll have to turn to competition like the Google Chromecast or Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max if you just want an alternative to your TV’s built-in features.

You are getting much more for that $149, though, including support for all the major HDR standards, a far brawnier processor and more storage. If nothing else, Apple is clarifying its focus — it’s staking out the high end of the market, and seems content to let rivals battle for the rest.

Apple’s M1 iPad Air is back down to one of its best prices to date

Apple rolled out a new round of iPads on Tuesday, upgrading the iPad Pro to the more powerful M2 chip and introducing a new 10.9-inch iPad that hews closely to the existing iPad Air, which launched this past March. While the new 10.9-inch iPad particul…

Sony’s DualSense Edge PS5 controller will arrive on January 26th

Sony has revealed when you’ll be able to get your hands on its premium DualSense Edge controller for PlayStation 5, but be prepared to shell out a pretty penny for it. The $200 peripheral will be available on January 26th in the US, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Pre-orders will open on PlayStation Direct on October 25th.

The DualSense Edge is “built with high performance and personalization in mind,” Sony says. You can swap out the standard thumbstick caps, for instance, and use the included high dome caps or low dome caps instead. Replaceable stick modules will be sold separately for $20. For the back buttons, you can opt for half-dome or lever versions, both of which are included with the controller.

You’ll be able to adjust the thumbstick sensitivity to your liking and remap the controls (including the back buttons) as you wish. Trigger stops and dead zones are adjustable as well. Those could come in handy if you play games that demand twitch reactions, since you’ll be able to reduce the travel distance.

There’s the option to save these settings to unique profiles you can switch between by using shortcuts. You can adjust audio levels via shortcuts too. What’s more, the controller comes with a braided USB-C charging cable that you can lock into place.

The DualSense Edge is clearly geared toward serious gamers, particularly given that price. It’s almost three times the cost of the standard $70 DualSense. However, it’s in the range of the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, which starts at $150, and as of Tuesday is customizable through the Xbox Design Lab. The DualSense Edge is the same price as Scuf’s Reflex gamepad for PS5. Scuf also offers more expensive models, which may cast the initial sticker shock of Sony’s latest offering in a slightly less harsh light.

Google is rolling out Chrome improvements on Android tablets today

Google has turned its attention to tablets with today’s Chrome on Android update, which focuses on improving tab navigation. The update introduces a side-by-side tab design that makes swapping open pages easier, and an auto-scroll back feature that brings you directly to your previous tab. When tabs become too small, the new Chrome on Android will get rid of the close button on each one, hopefully preventing accidental exits. There’s also a new visual tab layout, which organizes tabs in a grid with a preview of each page.

Google is also adding drag-and-drop among apps, allowing you to take an image, text or link from Chrome and slide it into Gmail, Photos or other programs. Finally, today’s update brings desktop mode to Chrome on Android.

The update is live now on all Android tablets, and it’ll come to the Pixel Tablet when that lands next year. It makes sense that Google is trying to spruce up its tablet interface ahead of the Pixel’s launch, and this likely won’t be the last update in this space over the coming months.

Google has already confirmed that a future update will add tab groups, a popular desktop feature, to Chrome on Android.

The new $129 Apple TV 4K has an A15 chip, 64GB of storage and HDR10+ support

Last year’s Apple TV 4K wasn’t much of an update internally, though the new Siri remote made up for that. But now, Apple finally has some worthy upgrades for its streaming box. That includes faster performance with its A15 Bionic chip, as well as suppo…