Week in Review: Would you hop on the subway looking like Bane?
Plus: the PSVR 2 might be amazing, and we review the OnePlus 10 Pro | PlayStation Plus gets a much-needed overhaul | Google Chrome is 100 – so we've gone back to the start
Created for techradar.com@quicklydone.com | Web Version
I've got a coin with a hole in it on my key ring that I've had since I was eight years old. I keep it because one day I decided to wear it on a string around my neck when I went to school, and I was selected out of everyone in my class to go on a school trip – so I decided it was lucky.
I've kept it with me ever since, a token of youthful optimism and past success – and I think some of the big tech brands must have their own version of my coin, as this week's newsletter features a few stories about sequels or returns to former glories. It sometimes feels like there's nothing new left to invent these days…
Gareth Beavis, Global Editor-in-Chief
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Sony's PlayStation Plus has needed an overhaul for years. Microsoft's Game Pass is exceptional value, offering gaming on the go with a huge range of titles, and with big-name titles available on launch day. PlayStation Plus offered poor value by comparison, with a relatively limited game library that was only available to PS5 owners.
So, we thought, surely Sony will aim to match Game Pass? Well, it has… kind of. Sony's PS Now cloud gaming service has now been rolled into PS Plus, and this (almost) new subscription service offers three tiers, with the Premium tier granting access to cloud gaming, a library of PS4 and PS5 games and a back catalog of retro PlayStation games.
For fans of retro gaming in particular, it's exciting. However, there's no word on which games will be on the revamped PS Plus, so for now Sony has once again underwhelmed.
Chrome has come a long way since its launch in 2008 (Future)
I do love a piece that reminds me how terrible old tech was – and as we're about to hit the century for Chrome browser versions, our software writer Daryl Baxter fished out a version of Chrome 1 to play with.
Not surprisingly, it's terrible. "The idea of doing some work in this version of Chrome through Google Docs or Apple's Pages is impossible – this was an era of the internet where you'd be browsing the web to get rid of boredom or to find the answer to something," Daryl writes.
Do check this piece out just to see how Google's browser used to look when it first appeared way back in 2008 – I promise you that you'll remember it differently if you were one of the early users.
OnePlus is back with a new phone for those who want a top-tier handset but don't want to pay top dollar for the privilege. The OnePlus 10 Pro brings high-end power, up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $899 / £799 – a price that undercuts the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus, for instance.
It's a curious phone – while the cameras aren't as good as they could be, OnePlus has come up with some novel ways to keep Qualcomm's newest high-end chipset cool (something we've had issues with on other phones using the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip).
While OnePlus phones aren't as affordable compared to the biggest brands as they used to be back in the 'flagship-killer' days, the rebellious spark that saw the company pitching its handsets as 'the phone you bought if you didn't want a Samsung' is still there.
I'm still waiting for that VR headset that changes the way I play games. And if the upcoming PSVR 2 is that headset, then I think we're going to see a revolution in home gaming.
Recent reports from developers who got to try out the PSVR 2 are making me feel like that could actually be happening – they've been talking up the amazing haptic feedback that's on offer, the ventilation to help you stay comfortable during gaming sessions, and the general cohesiveness of the experience.
It reminds me of the way people speak about Apple or Samsung Galaxy products, which just work in the way they're supposed to, enabling users to enjoy their device with no compromises.
The comments in this piece are certainly encouraging – if you're someone who, like me, is excited about the future VR, you'll definitely want to read this.
Is the Samsung S95B QD-OLED the TV we've been waiting for? (Samsung)
I've been getting annoyed at all the headlines doing the rounds this week saying 'Samsung finally launches its first OLED TV!' – because it's not the first.
That said, the brand that makes most of the high-end smartphone screens choosing not to use the same OLED tech for TVs for the past several years is weird, but it's long believed that its QLED technology is superior. Until now, that is.
The QD-OLED tech of the new S95B offers all the benefits of OLED – great contrast, deep colors and more – but adds improved viewing angles and brightness. Those who've seen the TV in action have been incredibly impressed.
While, as mentioned, this isn't the first OLED TV from Samsung (that title goes to the ES9500 all the way back in 2012, which, despite being dubbed the 'world's first' OLED TV, doesn't actually seem to have made it to mass production), this is a huge statement of intent. The South Korean brand could well be about to revolutionize the world of home entertainment.
No, of course you won't feel silly wearing this on public transport (Dyson)
Dyson, a company with a rich history of engineering innovative consumer products, has made some headphones that really sound amazing, and fit nicely on your head.
So why has the brand also stuck an air purifier on the front? Well, Dyson thinks the amount of pollutants in the air is a problem, and that a mask is too cumbersome to wear… so this is the next best thing, providing you with filtered air wherever you go as you listen to your tunes.
It's a novel concept that I can't really fully explain here – the Dyson Zone headphones look weird, but we've heard that those who tried the prototype before launch were blown away with how well the headphones and purifier worked in tandem – even if they do make the wearer looking unnervingly like Batman supervillain Bane.
Check out Olivia Tambini's rundown to see if these float your boat.
It's fair to say I don't really understand the science of solar coronal ejections – but I do understand speed, so if you tell me that something fired out from the sun is traveling towards the Earth at two million miles an hour, I'm going to worry.
In this case, however, I apparently don't need to. What's happened is that two solar eruptions have merged to create a 'cannibal coronal mass' that will hit the Earth's atmosphere (harmlessly, phew), and which could cause aurora, or northern lights (if you're in the northern hemisphere) to be visible in the night sky from as far south as Pennsylvania.
Thankfully, this particular solar event won't cause satellites to fall to Earth, as happened previously, nor will it knock out the internet, which is something that scientists have previously warned could happen with a particularly bad solar storm.
This is from the editor
Thanks, as ever, for reading this week's missive – I didn't intend for it to be so past-gazing, but that's just the way the stories landed.
If you're thinking that some of the new releases in the tech world seem a little iterative and boring, don't worry – there's still plenty of innovation going on. New versions of devices or platforms are an opportunity to iron out the less successful elements of the first attempt and make things better.
If you want more profound insights like this, do remember to sign up to receive this newsletter every week – and if you've got any thoughts you'd like to share, you can email me (remembering to include NEWSLETTER in the subject line) and I'll talk about the best ones here.
I'm off for the next couple of weeks, so in my absence please enjoy the musings of TechRadar's Executive Editor Gerald Lynch and friends. See you soon!
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