Sonos (but headphones)
It’s difficult to deny that Sonos is one of the best out there when it comes to audio. It’s certainly one of Stuff’s favourites, but it does little for the headphone-loving audiophiles of the world. Sonos has long been expected to enter the headphone space, with rumours dating back as far as February 2021. It’s kept those ambitions quiet since then, though according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, that might be about to change.
When Gurman speaks, you listen. According to unnamed sources close to Sonos, the company is expected to release a high-end pair of headphones as early as April, with a price point that’ll match that of Sony’s XM5s and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra headset. That means upwards of $400 or R8,000 if you haven’t been keeping up with Stuff.
If you’re pointing to Sonos’ past patent filings to get an idea of what to expect, don’t. Bloomberg reckons the speaker and soundbar company has been working on the pair since at least 2019, burning through multiple iterations in the process. What we’re likely going to see is something entirely new that’ll compete with Sony and Bose’s ANC (active noise cancelling) and tech that’s built around the Sonos ecosystem.
Gurman’s report notes that the company is branching out even further, with plans in place to release a TV box that could rival Apple’s own before the end of 2024 is over. That could run your wallet as high as $150 or $200. Those will stand alongside the usual slew of products, with higher-end soundbars, a new subwoofer, an update to the Roam speaker, and an Era 100 speaker but for businesses.
Don’t blame Firefox – this is all YouTube
Users of Mozilla’s Firefox browser might be living without ads on YouTube (for now), but the Google-owned streamer isn’t giving up on its YouTube Premium push quite so easily. Users across Reddit have noted a five-second delay before a video will load – an issue attributed to Firefox. That’s… not the case.
YouTube has specifically told The Verge that a five-second delay was an intentional decision, made to push more users towards paying for Premium or turning off their ad-blockers entirely. “In the past week, users using ad blockers may have experienced suboptimal viewing, which included delays in loading, regardless of the browser they are using,” YouTube communications manager Christopher Lawton wrote to The Verge.
He continued, adding that users may still notice a delay until after they have refreshed their browsers. And, as YouTube’s ad-blocking detection tech continues to improve, this may become the new norm for users everywhere. What was initially reported as an issue for Firefox users only, Chrome and Edge users have begun to come forward, claiming that the delay is affecting them too.
Here’s hoping that YouTube’s scourge on the ad-blocking industry could disappear quietly after a European privacy expert filed a formal complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), claiming that YouTube’s ad-blocking detection methods were “spyware”.
It’s not just you who thinks PlayStation’s prices are absurd
After being a thorn in Microsoft’s side for the better part of a year and a half, Sony has been accused of abusing its dominant position in the gaming space, leading to the company overcharging customers for digital games on the PS Store. It’s now facing the consequences of its own actions – and will face a massive lawsuit worth up to £6.3 billion (or $7.9 billion), a London tribunal ruled in court on Tuesday.
The lawsuit was initially filed back in August 2022 by Alex Neill – a consumer advocate – on behalf of 9 million customers in the UK. Her lawyer estimates that the damages of the case are equal to £6.3 billion, though the original case was valued at £5 billion. Specifically, Neill claims Sony enforces strict Ts and Cs on its developers and publishers, with terms that allow the company to dictate the prices of their digital content, simultaneously charging a 30% commission on it.
Obviously, Sony took issue with the claim that would see them lose billions. Its lawyers argued that the case was “flawed from start to finish,” before stating that it should be thrown out. In a statement after the London tribunal’s decision, Neill said the case was “the first step in ensuring consumers get back what they’re owed.”
Cyberpunk 2077 is going Ultimate
CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 is getting an Ultimate Edition, and it’ll be released on 5 December 2023. We get it. You’ve blocked Cyberpunk 2077’s troubled release from your memory entirely, meaning you probably missed the fact that the game never saw a current-gen release, despite the public’s opinion doing a complete 180.
That’s what the Ultimate Edition will be fixing. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will include the base game plus the Phantom Liberty DLC and all previous updates, hitting shelves under the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC banners. It’ll be skipping out on a last-gen release, seeing as how the Phantom Liberty DLC skipped those consoles entirely, digital included.
The game’s global community director Marcin Momot announced the physical edition release in a post on X.com, before clarifying that the Xbox version would have the Phantom Liberty DLC included on the disc. In contrast, the PS5 and PC versions would only see the base game appear on disc and would still require the download code included in the box.
A CD Projekt Red spokesperson clarified any confusion while speaking with IGN, confirming that the Xbox release would see three discs (containing the base game and DLC) and that the PS5 would only get one disc and a separate DLC code. PC gamers will have to deal with GOG (Good Old Games) for both sides of the game.
“The reason for the difference in how the Phantom Liberty is included in the Ultimate Edition is due to technical requirements specific to each platform.”