The Morning After: A 'perfect' ultraportable laptop?
And what 'Anthem' tells us about game development crunch.
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.
Friday has landed, and we have crowned the 2019 iPad Air as the Apple tablet that gets everything just right, and Dell's new 13-inch XPS may be the perfect ultraportable laptop. Elsewhere, Amazon is plotting its own AirPods rival, and games makers continue to struggle with development crunch.
Amazon is working on an Alexa-powered AirPods competitor
Amazon is working on some AirPod-esque hardware that can tap into Alexa. Bloomberg reports the online retail giant is working on its first Alexa wearable. Sources say the Amazon version will be similar to AirPods in terms of both general design and features. The company is reportedly aiming to offer better audio quality than Apple -- nothing new there.
Verizon's 5G network is live and fast, if you can find it
In a bid to claim the title of the first consumer-ready 5G network in the world, Verizon surprised us by lighting up its 5G nodes across Chicago and Minneapolis ahead of schedule. Obviously, there was no way we couldn't book a flight to the Windy City and see what this next-gen network was capable of. As usual, though, things weren't quite that straightforward. Mobile Editor Chris Velazco's time testing 5G turned into a city-wide scavenger hunt, trying to find stable high-speed connections.
'Anthem' is proof that crunch can't save AAA games
Anthem is a fiery mess. Since launching in February, BioWare's loot shooter has been plagued by game-breaking bugs, narrative and gameplay inconsistencies and an overwhelming sense of incomplete blandness. Critically, Anthem has received middling reviews, and its current Metacritic score, 55, is the lowest a BioWare title has ever received. Yes, that includes Mass Effect: Andromeda. The culprit: The Crunch. Developers getting burned out.
Netflix 'Cowboy Bebop' series casts John Cho and Mustafa Shakir
According to Variety, John Cho will take up the lead role of bounty hunter Spike Spiegel. Alongside him will be Luke Cage-star Mustafa Shakir, who will play Spiegel's partner Jet Black. Daniella Pineda of The Originals fame will play the amnesia-stricken Faye Valentine. British stage actor Alex Hassell will take on Vicious, a notorious hitman and rival to Cho's Spiegel.
Apple iPad Air review: Just right
The $499 iPad Air is a notable upgrade in almost every respect over the entry-level, $329, iPad. It has a bigger, better screen, more storage and support for Apple's Smart Keyboard case. According to Nathan Ingraham, unless you're on a tight budget, it's worth the extra cash and is probably the best all-around iPad you can buy right now.
Dell XPS 13 review: A perfect ultraportable
Dell did it again. Its XPS 13 is still one of the best Windows ultraportables around. The design? Better than ever. The screen supports Dolby Vision HDR and Dell has finally returned the webcam to the proper position. Devindra Hardawar says there aren't many downsides -- unless you're looking for a bit more gaming oomph.
High-density EV battery could offer 600-mile range on a single charge
Innolith AG plans to cram 1,000 Wh/kg into the rechargeable battery, a "world's first," and cut manufacturing costs by ditching "exotic and expensive materials." To put that in perspective, a top-level Tesla Model S offers up to 315 miles of range thanks to a 100 kWh lithium-ion battery.
But wait, there's more...
Nintendo Labo VR modes come to 'Super Mario Odyssey' and 'Breath of the Wild'
Microsoft is giving Windows 10 users more control over when to install updates
Samsung sees its Q1 profit drop 60 percent from last year's record high
Tesla adds '2048' and Atari's 'Super Breakout' to its dashboards
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