Lori Grunin

Intel Iris Xe Max GPU arrives in 11th

Intel’s latest flavor of its upgraded graphics architecture, Iris Xe Max, rolls out this week in three debut systems: the Acer Swift 3x, Asus VivoBook Flip TP470 and Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1. Though Iris Xe, the integrated version baked into Intel’s 11th-gen mobile processors, has already arrived in the Asus ZenBook 13 and others, …

Read More »

AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT and 6900 GPUs target 4K gaming, start at $579

For the first time, AMD aggressively targets 4K gaming with its top-end PC graphics cards, the Radeon RX 6800, 6800 XT and 6900 XT; the company has typically stuck to the middle and lower end of the spectrum, with its previous-generation RX 5700 XT designed for 1440p play. All the new cards incorporate the RDNA 2.0  architecture that’s in its GPUs for …

Read More »

PS5 price, preorder, release date, games, Xbox Series X comparison and more

Update, Nov. 5: Read our reviews of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The final pieces of the PlayStation 5 prerelease puzzle slotted into place as of the September PS5 Showcase — the PS5 starts at $400, begins shipping Nov. 12 and can now be preordered — and we know which games to expect (more or less). There’s nothing important left for …

Read More »

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 gaming graphics card is a speedy compromise for $499

Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3070 may end up suffering from middle-child syndrome, squeezed between the two ends of Nvidia’s GPU spectrum: basic 1440p for a little less or basic 4K/high-frame rate 1440p for a little more. The GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition of the $499 (£469, AU$809) graphics card I tested is geared toward high-frame rate/quality 1440p gaming, and delivers similar …

Read More »

iPhone game controller from Backbone sports social and streaming smarts

Startup Backbone’s inaugural product, an app-integrated game controller for the iPhone that the company considers more a “gaming content creation tool” than the typical run-jump-crouch-shoot accessory, has a very well-thought out design and novel feature set that raises the bar for its category. Like the Razer Kishi, the $99 Backbone One expands to slip on either end of the iPhone …

Read More »

Amazon Luna hands

Amazon’s arrived midgame with its Luna Plus cloud-gaming service, in which games run on a powerful remote server that streams them down to less beefy devices, allowing them to play above their capabilities — a concept sometimes confusingly referred to as “game streaming.” Luna Plus faces more established players like Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate, Google Stadia and Nvidia GeForce Now. …

Read More »

Corsair HS75 XB wireless headset gains Xbox imprimatur

Corsair has dropped the HS75 XB, its first officially licensed gaming headset for the Xbox Series X, S and One, just in time for your console spending frenzy. If you want it, you’ll need to set aside $150 (£150 and AU$280) for the headset, which is an Xbox-friendly version of the $80 PC- and PS4-only HS70 Pro.  You can use …

Read More »

Adobe Illustrator for iPad delivers fluid and feature

It’s been a year since Adobe previewed Illustrator on the iPad and a few months since its huge (for Adobe, at least) beta test cycle. Now it’s ready to roll, and while it has some holes in its feature set and can’t match the desktop version’s power, it’s probably one of Adobe’s most “finished” version 1.0 mobile apps. It’s priced …

Read More »

HyperX Cloud 2 wireless gaming headset is comfy but basic for the bucks

HyperX makes some of the most comfortable gaming headsets you can pop on your head, and now the company has taken the tether away from its most popular model, the $100 Cloud 2. The $150 Cloud 2 Wireless is essentially the same — virtual 7.1 surround, great sound powered by 53mm drivers, removable noise-canceling mic — but with the required wireless …

Read More »

iPhone 12 with 5G, HomePod Mini and more: Everything Apple just announced

Another year, another iPhone. (Did I say that last year?) This is the iPhone’s last year of tweendom before it hits teenhood: Apple announced its four-model iPhone 12 line on Tuesday, the first major revamp of the iPhone’s design since 2017’s iPhone X, which introduced face unlocking and better screen technology. This year they sport an array of colors, more models and …

Read More »