Tom Warren

When I reviewed the Xbox Series X nearly four years ago, I called the console a “next-gen PC.” Not only did the Xbox look like a PC with its boxy, rectangular, tower-like case but it also felt like one thanks to hardware upgrades that allowed it to run games with a variety of PC-like graphical modes. Now, as we approach the next generation of Xbox, it looks like Microsoft is about to close the gap between Xbox and PC even further. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has teased some potentially ma…

Sony is introducing a new PlayStation PC overlay and shared Trophies with its upcoming release of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut on May 16th. It’s the first PlayStation game for PC that uses Sony’s new PlayStation overlay, which, much like the Steam overlay, will provide access to a friend list, Trophies, Settings, and your PlayStation account. “This feature is available on Windows PCs and will be accessible from the in-game menu or, for keyboard players, by pressing the “SHIFT +F1” shortcut…

Sony is working on a new “high-end version” of the PS5, codenamed Trinity and likely to debut as the PS5 Pro later this year. The Verge confirmed leaked specs about the PS5 Pro earlier this week, and we’ve also obtained details on how existing and new PS5 games can be “enhanced” to take advantage of the PS5 Pro hardware. Sony is also working on an ultra-boost mode for older games to make them run better on the PS5 Pro. Sources familiar with Sony’s plans tell The Verge that Sony is asking develo…

Sony is getting ready to release a more powerful PS5 console, possibly by the end of this year. After reports of leaked PS5 Pro specifications surfaced recently, The Verge has obtained a full list of specs for the upcoming console. Sources familiar with Sony’s plans tell me that developers are already being asked to ensure their games are compatible with this upcoming console, with a focus on improving ray tracing. Codenamed Trinity, the PlayStation 5 Pro model will include a more powerful GPU…

It wasn’t that long ago when we were impressed by a 400GB microSD card, but now, Western Digital is showing off a full-size SD card with 10 times the storage capacity. The new SanDisk Extreme Pro 4TB SD card is designed for cameras and laptops, and it’s the first time we’ve seen this storage size on an SD card. While Western Digital is previewing its four-terabyte SD card at the NAB Show this week, it won’t actually be available until 2025. AnandTech notes that the card uses the Ultra High Spe…

Microsoft says it’s starting to test ads inside the Start menu on Windows 11. The software maker will use the Recommended section of the Start menu, which usually shows file recommendations, to suggest apps from the Microsoft Store. “This will appear only for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel in the US and will not apply to commercial devices (devices managed by organizations),” says Microsoft in a blog post. The app promotions can be disabled in the Settings section of Windows 11, but i…

Microsoft is trying to entice Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 with fullscreen prompts 18 months before the end of support cutoff. Reddit user Woopinah9 spotted a notification “while in the middle of working,” where Microsoft thanks Windows 10 “customers” for their loyalty with a full-screen message and then explains the end of support date. You might be expecting a free upgrade as part of this interruption, but unfortunately for this Reddit user, their PC can’t upgrade to Windows 11, s…

Opera GX has teamed up with CD Projekt Red to bring a full Cyberpunk 2077 theme to its browser. The official theme includes a live wallpaper, a theme that syncs with your PC’s RGB lighting, and background music with special keyboard and browser sounds. The free mod is the first official gaming partnership available on the GX.store, so there’s potential for more official themes in the future for Opera’s browser for gamers. [Attachment: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GkcTuVduAydNiwYQSUjBXymOUkQ=…

Microsoft’s annual developer conference, Microsoft Build, will focus heavily on Windows on Arm and new Windows AI features this year. The Verge revealed earlier this week that a special Surface and AI event a day before Microsoft Build will include a focus on beating Apple’s M3-powered MacBook Air with new Arm-powered Surface devices and a big new Windows AI feature. Now, Microsoft is all but confirming this. Microsoft has listed out the developer sessions for Build today, including two that me…

Microsoft is previewing a new Xbox Cloud Gaming interface today that includes the social features and UI you’d normally find in the Xbox dashboard. The new interface includes access to a web version of Xbox party chat, so you can use a browser to join a call with friends instead of the dedicated Xbox desktop and mobile apps. The updated web interface also includes the ability to find and manage Xbox friends, send messages, view user profiles and achievements, and even access notifications. Micr…

Owners of Intel’s latest 13th and 14th Gen Core i9 desktop processors have been noticing an increase in game crashes in recent months. It’s happening in games like The Finals, Fortnite, and Tekken 8, and has even led Epic Games to issue a support notice to encourage Intel Core i9 13900K and 14900K owners to adjust BIOS settings. Now, Intel says it’s investigating the reports. “Intel is aware of problems that occur when executing certain tasks on 13th and 14th generation core processors for desk…

Google is making its own custom Arm-based CPU to support its AI work in data centers and introducing a more powerful version of its Tensor Processing Units (TPU) AI chips. Google’s new Arm-based CPU, dubbed Axion, will be used to support Google’s AI workloads before it rolls out to business customers of Google Cloud “later this year.” The Axion chips are already powering YouTube ads, the Google Earth Engine, and other Google services. “We’re making it easy for customers to bring their existing…

Microsoft is getting ready to fully unveil its vision for “AI PCs” next month at an event in Seattle. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that Microsoft is confident that a round of new Arm-powered Windows laptops will beat Apple’s M3-powered MacBook Air both in CPU performance and AI-accelerated tasks. After years of failed promises from Qualcomm, Microsoft believes the upcoming Snapdragon X Elite processors will finally offer the performance it has been looking for to push…

Xbox executive Kareem Choudhry is leaving Microsoft after more than 26 years at the company. Windows Central reports that Choudhry’s last day is today, and his departure has triggered a shake-up of some teams inside Xbox. Choudhry’s departure comes just six months after a big shake-up of Xbox leadership and amid continued changes to Microsoft’s gaming strategy. Choudhry had been focusing on Microsoft’s AI plans for Xbox in recent months, which include a new Xbox AI chatbot that The Verge exclus…

Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 on October 14th, 2025, and you’ll need to pay yearly if you want to continue using the operating system securely. Microsoft will offer Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 10 users, with pricing starting at $61 for the first year. The pricing for additional security updates will be offered to consumers for the first time ever with Windows 10. Businesses and consumers will need to purchase ESU licenses for each Windows 10 device they plan to keep…

Microsoft is working on a new feature for its Edge browser that will let you limit the amount of RAM it uses. Leopeva64, who is one of the best at finding new Edge features, has spotted a new settings section in test builds of the browser that includes a slider so you can limit how much RAM Edge gets access to. The RAM slider appears to be targeted toward PC gamers, as there is a setting in Canary versions of Edge that lets you limit the amount of RAM when you’re playing a PC game or all of the…

Microsoft is rolling out priority access to GPT-4 Turbo for business subscribers of its AI-powered Copilot assistant. This unlocks access to OpenAI’s latest model inside the Copilot mobile app, on the web, in Windows, and Edge as part of the $30 per user, per month pricing of Copilot for Microsoft 365. While consumers subscribed to Copilot Pro already had access to GPT-4 Turbo, businesses using Copilot for Microsoft 365 now have access and no limits on the number of chats per day and turns per…

A new report from the US Cyber Safety Review Board has found that Microsoft could have prevented Chinese hackers from breaching US government emails through its Microsoft Exchange Online software last year. The incident, described as a “cascade of security failures” at Microsoft, allowed Chinese state-sponsored hackers to access online email inboxes of 22 organizations, affecting more than 500 people including US government employees working on national security. The US Department of Homeland S…

WhatsApp went down worldwide on Wednesday afternoon, impacting the 2 billion users of the messaging service. Users started experiencing issues connecting to WhatsApp in multiple countries just after 2PM ET today, with the service stuck on “connecting” for many. Users can still send messages, but they weren’t delivered until WhatsApp came back online. A status page for Meta’s business APIs was updated to note an outage impacting service on the APIs for connecting to WhatsApp, Messenger, and In…

Microsoft is currently testing a new AI-powered Xbox chatbot that can be used to automate support tasks. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the software giant has been testing an “embodied AI character” that animates when responding to Xbox support queries. I understand this Xbox AI chatbot is part of a larger effort inside Microsoft to apply AI to its Xbox platform and services. The Xbox AI chatbot is connected to Microsoft’s support documents for the Xbox network and…