Sony's newest flagship wireless noise cancelling headphone is back on sale again. Just in time for the holidays, Secondipity via eBay is selling certified refurbished Sony WH-1000XM6 wireless noise canceling headphones for just $279.99 (normally $450) after coupon code "KLARNAUS50". It also comes with a 2-year Allstate extended warranty.
This is an amazing gift for anyone who would appreciate a pair of some of the best noise canceling headphones on the market. Your order arrives in 2-4 days, well before Christmas.
Secondipity is a well-established reseller of refurbished Sony products across eBay, Amazon, and more. The eBay storefront has over 100K reviews with a greater than 99% rating.
Sony WH-1000XM6 Headphones for $279.99
Certified refurbished
The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones is the 2025 successor to the WH-1000XM5 that was released way back in 2022. Both sound quality and noise cancelation have been noticeably improved on the XM6 thanks to a more powerful QN3 audio processor and a total of 12 beam-forming microphones that do a great job of picking up and cancelling out unwanted noise. The XM6 is also more comfortable to wear because of the hinged earcups. The same design also allows the XM6 to be more easily stowed away since the earcups can be folded inwards to fit in a smaller carrying case.
It can last up to 30 hours on a single charge, and a quick 3 minute top-up over USB Type-C will give you up to 3 hours of continuous playback. You can save some money by going with an older generation XM5 or even the XM4, but as long as it is within your budget, the XM6's improvements in sound quality, noise cancelation, and ergonomics makes the new model worth it.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Every retailer insists the big sales are done for the year. Yet every time I blink, another discount swan-dives into my feed like it never got the memo. That being said, I've gone and scooped up the best deals still lurking in the wild. Get 'em before they're goneski.
In retro news, I'm using the chain-reaction detonation of a TNT crate to light a 16-candle cake baked for Angry Birds, the original poultry-flingin’ puzzler that created an empire. I still remember playing it on my original iPhone 1 during morning train rides; the addictive sling-and-smash gameplay loop grabbed me harder than my previous iOS obsession: Paper Toss.
What really cracked me up back then was how Angry Birds basically set up a permanent nest atop the iOS charts. It felt like every commuter in the country was sneaking in a cheeky fling or two between stops, and the sales numbers backed it up as it perched defiantly at number one. Then came the merch, the cartoons, the spin offs, the film deals... before long, a simple pig-abusing time killer had evolved into a full-blown cultural kaiju.
Look, Nintendo discounts are rarer than a Joy-Con that drifts in a straight line, so when they show up you grab them with both hands and maybe your feet too. Here’s the cream of the crop.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (-20%) - A$64 A colourful platformer so charming it could convince Bowser to pursue therapy. Great for families, speedrunners, or anyone who loves to punch question blocks.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (-24%) - A$84 An explosive mash of Zelda lore and chaos. Perfect if your favourite part of the franchise is absolutely deleting hordes with godlike nonsense.
EA Sports FC 26 NS2 (-55%) - A$49 The yearly footy fix at half price. Great for anyone who enjoys spreadsheets disguised as sports or wants to relive their five-a-side glory days.
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots (-33%) - A$47 An absurdly fun swing-em-up that lets you whack balls in ways your real-life golf coach would frown at. Ideal for competitive couch chaos.
Civilization VII (-37%) - A$57 Turn-based empire building that steals hours like a hungry time gremlin. One more turn? Sure. One more after that? Obviously.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat (-75%) - A$14.20 The greatest relationship test disguised as a cooking game. If you survive this with friends, you can survive anything.
Xbox players get wild discounts so extreme they feel like accounting errors. Ride the chaos while it lasts.
Resident Evil 4 (-46%) - A$32.10 A horror classic rebuilt with enough polish to blind a Ganado. Gorgeous, tense, and tremendously replayable.
The Crew Motorfest (-81%) - A$19 A massive open-road holiday where speeding is encouraged and consequences are fictional. A bargain for anyone with a need for speed and no actual licence.
NBA 2K26 (-59%) - A$49 This year’s basketball juggernaut with enough stats to make a mathematician weep with joy. No actual cardio required.
Grand Theft Auto V (-67%) - A$29.60 Somehow still alive, still kicking, still iconic. If you haven’t played it by now, the universe is giving you a very pointed nudge.
Metal: Hellsinger (-75%) - A$14.90 Rip and tear to the beat. A rhythm-shooter hybrid that turns every firefight into a metal album cover come to life.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 (-85%) - A$11.90 Tiny toy cars, big energy, absurd fun. Pure childhood joy without having to pick toys off the carpet.
PlayStation deals hit that perfect sweet spot of prestige gaming and wallet relief. Peak fancy, minimal damage.
The Outer Worlds 2 Premium Ed. (-27%) - A$109.90 Sci-fi satire with big personality and bigger lasers. If you love decision making and space capitalism takedowns, hop in.
Armored Core VI (-72%) - A$28 A glorious mech brawler with the subtlety of a brick. FromSoftware chaos, now with extra rockets.
Elden Ring (-62%) - A$38.20 The open world adventure that made everyone feel brave until they met a dog. Essential if you enjoy triumph through suffering.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (-67%) - A$36.20 Adorable platforming that feels like a warm hug made of yarn. Family friendly, dopamine rich.
NBA 2K26 (-59%) - A$49 All the hardwood action without any sweaty laundry. Deep, flashy and dangerously bingeable.
Hades (-60%) - A$15.90 The king of roguelikes. A repeated escape attempt that somehow feels like a date night with the Greek underworld.
PC deals continue to be unhinged in the best possible way. Steam discounts hit harder than gravity and twice as often.
Hi-Fi Rush (-40%) - A$26.90 A rhythm action delight so joyous it feels illegal. Bright, bouncy, and perfect for music tragics.
Lies Of P (-50%) - A$44.90 A gorgeous soulslike where Pinocchio absolutely throws hands. Stylish, punishing and deeply moreish.
Children Of Morta (-85%) - A$5.30 A heartfelt family of monster hunters with excellent storytelling. Huge value for the price of a servo sandwich.
Yoku's Island Express (-90%) - A$2.80 A pinball metroidvania that should not work but absolutely does. Big charm, tiny price.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Del. (-60%) - A$13.90 A meta-comedy masterpiece that mocks you lovingly while you explore it. Impossible to spoil, essential to play.
Sea Of Stars (-35%) - A$33.10 A modern RPG with retro spirit and immaculate vibes. Great writing and even better combat.
Just like I did last holiday season, I'm getting festive with the LEGO section. In Mathew Manor, my sons and I are again racing this year's batch of LEGO Advent Calendars. Basically, we open the City, Harry Potter, Minecraft, and Star Wars on the daily and compare the mini-prizes for "Awesomeness" and "Actual Xmas-ness". 2024's winner was the Lego Marvel one, but, weirdly, there's no 2025 equivalent. So it's anybody's race this year.
Here are the cheapest prices for the four calendars we're using. Score them yourself or just live vicariously through our unboxings.
Adam Mathew is a passionate connoisseur, a lifelong game critic, and an Aussie deals wrangler who genuinely wants to hook you up with stuff that's worth playing (but also cheap). He plays practically everything, sometimes on YouTube.
Full spoilers below for Season 2, Episodes 1 (I Play Dodgeball with Cannibals) & 2 (Demon Pigeons Attack) of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
The first thing you notice about Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is how much the kids have grown. In the two years since Season 1 streamed on Disney+, series leads Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri have gotten taller, yes, but also matured substantially in both their acting ability and on-screen presence. It’s indicative of the show as a whole, which was fun and whimsical during its first go-round but now exhibits more depth, higher stakes, and a lingering darkness that permeates each episode.
The show is still a ton of fun, but it’s morphed into something that parents might just want to watch with their kids instead of turning it on for them and walking away.
For those unfamiliar, the series follows titular character Percy, a young demigod (his mom is human! His dad is Poseidon, god of the sea!) and his best friends Annabeth and Grover (a satyr) as they navigate a world full of challenges both mythical (creatures, artifacts, and quests galore) and worldly (hormones, drama, and feelings galore). Much of their time is spent at Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for the myriad human children of Greek gods like Athena, Ares, Zeus, and Poseidon.
Season 1, which was based on Rick Riordan’s bestselling novel The Lightning Thief, saw Percy learning about his true nature and undergoing a quest to return Zeus’s Master Bolt to Mount Olympus (also known as the Empire State Building in the world of the series) in order to avert a war. Season 2 adapts Riordan’s The Sea of Monsters, which has Percy and his friends traveling to the Bermuda Triangle in search of a golden fleece to help protect their camp from impending doom.
As with Season 1, the acting is stellar across the board, particularly among the young leads. Scobell once again shines as Percy, imbuing the principal character with a sense of quiet determination occasionally painted by intense vulnerability. Jeffries plays Annabeth, Percy’s friend-slash-crush, with such strength and loyalty that you have to wonder if she ever had to defend Scobell in a fight. Simhadri, whose Grover is unfortunately separated from the others due to his being captured by Polyhemus while on a quest to find god / fellow satyr Pan, continues to bring a sense of wonder and enthusiasm whenever he shows up on screen.
Season 2 also brings new faces and characters galore. The always-hilarious Timothy Simons (Veep, Nobody Wants This) joins the cast as new Camp Activities Director Tantalus. A scene-stealing Daniel Diemer plays Tyson, Percy’s cyclops half-brother. Sandra Bernhard, Kristen Schaal, and Margaret Cho cameo in the season’s first episode as The Grey Sisters, who ferry the kids to camp in a taxi. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jason Mantzoukas return as Hermes and Dionysus (Mr. D.) respectively, adding some familiar faces to the all-around knockout cast.
Along with the acting, the action, production design, and visual effects for Season 2 are ramped up to 11. Numerous monsters try to invade the camp. A villain flies into the sky on a black pegasus. A prominent character (Tyson) has only one huge, blinking, emotive eye every time he’s on screen. Episode 2’s chariot race (a typical camp activity in the world of Percy Jackson) is a particularly impressive set piece, with loads of action, monsters, and age-appropriate violence.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is not high art. It’s not even prestige TV. The pacing of the show feels plodding at times and complex, mythology-heavy plot points are often clumsily blown through with a few lines of exposition. But this is not a show trying to be something more than it is. After a few middlingattempts to bring the world of Percy Jackson to the big screen, the stories seem to have found their footing as a television series, which is probably the best possible format for an adaptation of Riordan’s novels (whose world has now expanded to games and beyond).
The world here is rich, both visually and story-wise, and the series consistently pulls off the trick of getting its (mostly younger) audience to learn something (in this case, Greek mythology) while remaining delightfully compelling and entertaining throughout. If you’re looking for a dark, moody, and intellectually challenging binge, look elsewhere. But if you want something for the whole family to dive into during your next session of joint family screentime, you could do a lot worse than Percy Jackson.
Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians are streaming now on Disney+. New episodes premiere each Wednesday.
If you're looking to upgrade your gaming PC and want to keep your budget to under $1,500, then one deal stands out above all the rest. Walmart is offering the iBuypower Element Pro gaming PC equipped with an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU for just $1,449 with free delivery. This beats out the Black Friday price for the exact same configuration by $50. The Radeon RX 9070 XT is an outstanding graphics card that can run the latest games (like Battlefield 6) in 4K. See the deal below.
iBuypower Element Pro Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming PC $1,449
The iBuypower gaming PC is generously equipped across the board. It features an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X CPU, Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and 2TB M.2 SSD. The Ryzen 9 7900X processor has a max boost clock of 5.6GHz with 12 cores and 24 threads. This is an excellent CPU for both gaming and multi-tasking and you won't need to upgrade from it for a long time. It's cooled by a very robust 360mm all-in-one liquid cooling system and runs off an 850W power supply.
The Radeon RX 9070 XT Received a 10/10 at IGN
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the only 2025-released GPU that we gave a 10/10 score. Even though it costs $150 less than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, the 9070 XT beats it out in several of the games we tested. In a few benchmarks, the results aren't even close. The 9070 XT approaches the performance of the $1,000 RX 7900 XTX but with better ray tracing and upscaling performance than its predecessor.
This is the least expensive graphics card from either AMD or Nvidia that I would comfortably recommend for playing the latest and most demanding games in 4K at 60fps or higher framerates. Check out our AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT review for more information.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
The pitch for Unbeatable is an enticing one: a visually striking rhythm-adventure hybrid about a punk rock rebellion in a dystopian city where music is illegal – kinda like Jet Set Radio meets a more story-focused Taiko no Tatsujin, which is great in theory. But the promise of that concept doesn’t always line up with the disjointed yet heartfelt mess we actually got. Unbeatable positions itself as a mix of both story-driven exploration and pulse-pounding musical battles, but what that means in practice is a conversation-heavy walking simulator with occasional rhythm segments and a few genuinely brilliant moments awkwardly wedged in… plus an endless arcade mode that has some real promise. That’s where the rhythm game “meat” is hidden away, and it’s decently fun for a few hours with a great selection of tracks and plenty of challenges to unlock, though it’s a shame part of its selection is locked behind day-one DLC.
Welcome to a world where music is illegal, nobody remembers what it is, and, miraculously, you’re the only one who can bring it back! The story mode follows the vocalist Beat and her bandmates as they fight against HARM – a police force defending the music ban with lethal imprecision. The musical names and quirky characters would be charming if the writing supported them with consistent cleverness or emotional weight. Instead, what you get is a script that infrequently touches on what it really feels like to try and become a musician in a world that barely has space for you. The rest of it reads like a long back-and-forth Discord conversation between teenagers who think random equals funny. It works well in short bursts, but gets tiresome across the roughly eight-hour campaign.
It’s a shame that there’s this much filler between the parts that are genuinely moving, especially towards the end. But even during those latter parts, Unbeatable lurches from location to location with minimal clear connective tissue. One moment you’re talking to a guard in prison, the next you’re suddenly in the prison cafeteria with no transition or explanation. Then the camera cuts again and you’re asleep. Then you’re in the factory doing work detail. Now you’re skateboarding on a pair of headphones through an entire platoon of guards. There is some logic behind these transitions, but most of the time, Unbeatable’s zones are disorganized – its story feels like a cassette tape of vignettes that just teleport you between scenes, doing the bare minimum to show you how you got there, and that happens constantly throughout. It's disorienting in the worst way – not as an artistic choice, but as a failure of basic storytelling. There are even a few drawn-out dialogue sequences that repeat themselves multiple times – you’ll literally see the exact same cutscene or conversation recycled for no clear reason.
But what’s most shocking about Unbeatable is how little rhythm gameplay actually exists in the story mode before the final chapter. You'll spend the vast majority of your time running through empty environments, talking to poorly-written NPCs, and participating in mandatory minigames that have nothing to do with the core rhythm gameplay found in the arcade mode. For instance, there's a bartending minigame with obnoxiously loud jazz providing sound cues. There's a batting cage that appears out of nowhere. You'll close sluices in a sewer in a "puzzle" that has you running back and forth while your incompetent bandmates keep turning valves back on as a "joke." Even when rhythm sections do appear, they're sometimes completely disconnected from what's happening in the story – you might be mid-conversation, and suddenly you're in a yard fighting someone with no setup or context. Thirty seconds later, it’s over and you’re back in your bunk talking about something else.
The message it's trying to communicate takes itself too seriously to lean into its absurdity effectively.
The story itself centers on bringing music back to the city by being punk rock rebels, which is a perfectly serviceable concept. But the execution is often so shallow and heavy-handed that it hardly feels like anything real is at stake until the emotional payoff at the very end, after the credits are already rolling. The villains are also written like annoying teenagers rather than any kind of credible threat. It's trying desperately to be edgy and rebellious, but never actually lets you in on what you're rebelling against or what rebellion truly costs in this world.
As a result, that world feels less like a believable dystopia and more like a caricature designed solely for game mechanics to happen in. Everything is music-themed to an absurd degree – you tie headphones to your feet to escape prison, Beat stops every few minutes to argue with another character about the specifics of being in a band, and every named NPC you meet is vaguely named after musical terms. It's aesthetic-driven to the point of parody, but the message it’s trying to communicate still somehow takes itself too seriously to lean into that absurdity effectively.
The silver lining is that if you’re big into music, you’ll appreciate a lot of these references, but Unbeatable tragically struggles to decide on a tone. It's simultaneously trying to be an irreverent internet-humor comedy and a heartfelt story about found family and artistic expression. Those two approaches could theoretically coexist, but Unbeatable rarely demonstrates the writing chops to pull it off. The result is a game that hamfists its themes into each interaction with breathless exposition and forced drama, with cutesy characters who desperately want you to think they're clever.
When Unbeatable actually lets you play its rhythm game, you can get through it by pressing exactly two buttons. You're either hitting ground opponents or jumping to hit aerial enemies, all synced to the beat. It's functionally similar to Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. To its credit, the rhythm synchronization at least works well – this review was played on PC at 1440p with a 180Hz G-Sync monitor, and the beats lined up perfectly with the refresh rate.
The problem is that, with only two real inputs, Unbeatable has nowhere to go for additional difficulty except "more notes, faster." On Normal difficulty, songs are almost laughably easy. Crank it up to Hard or Expert, and suddenly the screen is filled with so many simultaneous inputs while the camera shakes, zooms, and bounces around that it becomes overwhelming without necessarily being rewarding. You're just trying to parse visual chaos. That said, there is at least a welcome option to turn off the VHS filter enabled by default, which just makes everything look unnecessarily glitchy, as well as a reduced camera motion option, which is a good accessibility feature given how much it can bounce around during rhythm sections.
Drop the “adventure” and the arcade mode is where the real game lives.
The music selection itself is at least decent overall. The story mode is a bit more middling; aside from the main themes and songs played by the virtual band, the campaign’s filler tracks feel like what people imagine Portland's indie music scene sounds like when they're making fun of it. But the saving grace is that Beat’s band puts out a few bangers before the end of the story. The arcade mode also has good music from top to bottom, which goes a long way toward making it a lot more fun to play than the story itself. There are tracks from artists like Alex Moukala and Peak Divide that are genuinely great. It’s a little questionable that some of them are locked behind day-one DLC, but you don’t need to pay extra for plenty of excellent beat maps that come along for free.
The arcade mode is structured like a proper rhythm game with unlockable songs, an expansive and fun-to-complete challenge board, leaderboards, and a good selection of difficulty tiers ranging from Beginner up past Expert and beyond. It has the replayability and polish that the main story mode completely lacks. Drop the “adventure” and that's where the actual, complete game lives.
One thing Unbeatable does nail is its looks, with a strong punk rock aesthetic and standout anime fusion art direction. The 2D character cutouts layered into cartoonish 3D environments look great, especially in locations like the town and beach, where the late afternoon light dances off the ocean. The pause menu also has this cool scratchy vinyl aesthetic that really sells the punk vibe. When you pause a session, there's a neat record-scratch effect. These are the moments where you can see the vision underneath Unbeatable’s jank.
But strong art direction can't save poor game design. For instance, the camera is frequently positioned in ways that make navigating each level confusing. You'll often need to run toward areas of the screen that are partially obstructed by walls to trigger the camera to pan to the next room, leading to constant moments where you're just wandering around trying to figure out where you're supposed to go. And these environments feel empty and lifeless, more like stage sets than actual places.
Perhaps most frustrating is that certain moments really do show promise.
The UX is similarly messy. At first, it looks pretty clean due to a straightforward menu system and sharp dialogue boxes that have a cool, comic-book-inspired vibe to them. The rhythm gameplay cues are solid in the main rhythm game (the one you play during key story moments and in the arcade mode), but are totally incoherent in some of the minigames, like the game where you have to do quality control for bombs in the prison or mix drinks to screechy jazz music. And more than once, dialogue boxes will pile on top of one another or slide to the bottom corner of the screen as NPCs run straight into the camera or off-camera entirely.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about Unbeatable is that there are moments that really do show promise. There’s a train sequence where your band is playing music while fighting enemies that’s genuinely cool, but it doesn’t arrive until several hours in. These highlights come way too late, and are immediately followed by more filler. It's almost like the entire game was built around the most promising sections of Unbeatable’s impressive demo from back in 2021, padding them out with fetch quests, repeated cutscenes, and unnecessary minigames rather than making more of what actually worked. That demo framed these moments as representative of the full experience when they're actually the exceptions amidst hours of aimless wandering.
The Samsung S84/S85 TVs boast all the advantages of OLED technology that makes them one of the best TVs for gaming, but at a much lower price tag than other OLED TVs. Best Buy is once again offering a 2025 65" Samsung S84F 4K OLED Smart TV for just $899.99 with free delivery. This was one of the lowest prices I saw for any 65" OLED TV during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and it's back for one more hurrah.The sale most likely ends on Saturday, December 13.
65" Samsung S84F 4K OLED Smart TV for $899.99
The Samsung S84F is a current generation (2025) TV that's equipped with a W-OLED panel. OLED TVs boast superior image quality compared to any non-OLED TV thanks to its near-infinite contrast ratio, near-instantaneous response times, and ability to produce true blacks. The main difference between this TV and Samsung's more expensive S90F is that the S84F doesn't have quantum dot technology which offers a bit higher brightness and a slightly wider color gamut. Unless you put the TVs side by side (and even if you do), the different in image quality is probably unnoticeable for most people.
The Samsung S84F has the features you want in a current-gen gaming TV, like HDMI 2.1 ports and a native 120Hz panel for running 4K at 120fps on a PS5 or Xbox Series, variable refresh rate and auto low latency mode. It's also a good TV for running the Nintendo Switch 2 in docked mode, although the Switch 2 can only run games at up to 60fps in 4K.
Right now this is the lowest price we can find for a brand new and fully warrantied 65" OLED TV, especially if you want to stick with a tried and true brand like Samsung. Best Buy is a good place to buy your TV from because it's easier to return if you have any problems (a 65" TV can still fit in a reasonably sized SUV).
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Smartphones aren’t exactly the most exciting gadgets to splash out on. Glass rectangles that most people use to message their friends, watch YouTube videos, scroll social media, and snap photos – they might be essential for day-to-day living, but cost a pretty penny if you want the latest and greatest. That’s why we’ve picked out the best smartphones to buy by seriously weighing the value against price.
TL;DR – These Are the Best Smartphones:
Of course, what everyone finds valuable is different. Some people will want excellent photo quality; others will want to get extreme performance for gaming on the go. If you watch a lot of TV and movies on your phone, it’s natural to look for a phone with a stunning display. We’ve tested phones that cover all the bases.
Here, you’ll find phones that let you do a bit of everything. Some phones may prioritize certain aspects over others, but you won’t find a phone that’s practical garbage or one that makes too many sacrifices just to hit a low price. You also won’t be looking at just the newest phones. Every now and then, the advantage an older model has from price reductions makes it all the more valuable, helping it to undercut newer alternatives. So, keeping in mind what you want out of a phone, have a look at the best options across the market.
1. OnePlus 15
Best Smartphone
The best phone should be a jack of all trades, and the OnePlus 15 proves that OnePlus knows what it’s doing for another year in a row. You won’t get the best cameras, or the best performance, or the best software support, but you will get very good versions of all three. Just about every other aspect of the device delivers too without coming up lacking like other phones competing with the OnePlus 15 tend to.
Let’s start with the hardware. The OnePlus 15 is built well. It has a sturdy construction that can hold up to some abuse. The IP69 protection for hot water jets is a step above what you’ll find from most phones. It packs in a gorgeous display that’s big, bright, and smooth. It offers a 165Hz refresh rate that goes faster than most mainstream phones for even more fluid visuals, though there’s really diminishing returns at this point.
You’ll get a competent triple-camera system on the rear of the OnePlus 15 that can give Pixels and iPhones solid competition. The camera system isn’t a big upgrade over the OnePlus 13, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone actually upgrade from that or the OnePlus 12 to this one, as those two should still be very competitive in just about every regard except one: performance.
The OnePlus 15’s performance is a cut above. When I tested it, the only phone that it didn’t beat out in just about every single benchmark was the RedMagic 11 Pro — an extreme gaming phone with active air and liquid cooling. The OnePlus 15’s performance comes by way of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip inside, which is a stunner. Even when more Android phones with that chip start cropping up on the market, I don’t expect most to squeeze any more out of it than OnePlus has.
On top of all its packing, the OnePlus 15 squeezes in a huge battery that delivered multi-day battery life in my testing, letting me go four full days of regular use before needing to charge it back up.
OnePlus brings all of this at a competitive starting $899 price that may be more expensive than a base-tier iPhone, Pixel, or Galaxy S model, but delivers up an experience that’s more in line with upper-tier configurations and Pro models. The OnePlus 15 comes with four years of OS updates and six years of security patches, which is a bit shy of what those competitors offer. But if you’re chasing the latest and greatest performance and capabilities, you’ll probably want to upgrade your phone again before that support expires anyway.
2. Google Pixel 9 Pro
Best Camera Phone
The Google Pixel 9 Pro is a brilliant phone when it comes to photography. It offers a triple-camera system on the rear that provides a ton of flexibility, and each sensor in the stack snaps quality photos, whether you want to punch in on a distant subject or zoom way out to capture a landscape. Even the selfie camera snaps vibrant, sharp photos.
The phone itself is no less pretty than the photos it takes. Google has refined the design of its Pixel line again, and the Pixel 9 Pro benefits greatly. It’s still somewhat tame with aluminum and glass, not opting for the titanium of Apple’s and Samsung’s flagships. But it comes together elegantly.
Thin bezels wrap around a modest 6.3-inch display, which is a bit of a star. It’s reasonably sized without making the Pixel 9 Pro an unwieldy behemoth like the iPhone 17 Pro Max or Galaxy S25 Ultra, though you can go that route by upgrading to the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The display is also excellent, with a super-bright OLED panel, smooth refresh rate, and poppy color.
The Pixel 9 Pro may not be the fastest phone on the market, as its Tensor G4 chip lags well behind recent Apple and Qualcomm flagship chips, but it’s plenty peppy for everyday use and works quickly with AI applications. And it still runs lighter games reasonably well too. Google is also backing the phone up with longer-term software support than you’ll find on a lot of Android devices.
3. Apple iPhone 17
Best iPhone
Apple’s base-tier iPhone is a hit this year. The iPhone 17 brought more upgrades all around than it has in previous years, and that makes for a base tier that comes closer to the Pro models than typical. Perhaps one of the most exciting upgrades is that the iPhone 17 finally brings a 120Hz display to the base tier, delivering on the fluid visuals that had previously been limited to Pro models. Combine that with the brilliance of its OLED panel and the anti-glare finish on the display, and you’ve got a big leap in display quality over previous models.
The iPhone 17 also runs on a new A19 chip with ample memory and a bumped up base storage of 256GB. The storage is great for storing more photos, video, and apps. Those apps can include games, as the iPhone 17 is a worthy gaming device that handles most games in the App Store, with only heavyweights like Assassin’s Creed Mirage making it stutter at their highest graphical presets in our testing.
You may not get the powerful camera system of the Pro tier with the iPhone 17, but you still get a capable set of cameras that are happy to snap photos in most settings, record high-quality video (even from the front and back at the same time), and provide flexible selfie shooting with automatic switching between portrait and landscape without the need to adjust the phone’s position.
The iPhone 17 may not be the top-tier iPhone but it brings plenty to the table, and with its considerably lower starting price, it’ll be the best option for most users.
4. Google Pixel 8
Best Mid-Range Smartphone
The Pixel 8 might not be the best of the best or a new model in 2025, but it’s still got a lot to offer. The Tensor G3 chip inside improved on the G2 not only with increased performance but, critically, with better thermals. Since heat is the enemy of most phone components, being able to avoid it will help the longevity of the device.
The other big get for the Pixel 8 is that Google promised seven years of OS, security, and feature updates when it launched. That means it still has a long life ahead of it. Thanks to its age, the price of the phone has dropped considerably though. So you can often snag the Pixel 8 for a mid-range price of $500. While many people may think the Pixel 8a is the smart mid-range option, the full-fat Pixel 8 at just $100 more is a smart pick thanks to the superior design, which includes Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and back, improved water resistance, and better cameras.
On the note of cameras, the Pixel 8 boasts an excellent 50MP main camera that snaps great shots in light or dark settings. The ultra-wide sensor is solid in daylight, but struggles in the dark. And the selfie camera is nice and sharp with a wide field of view. The Pixel 8 may not offer the best cameras out here, but it’s great for the price.
Ultimately, the Pixel 8 remains a great option for mid-range shoppers. But it’s worth remembering how pivotal price is in its ranking here. The newer Pixel 9 or Pixel 10 may generally cost more, but they can see discounts as well. If either of them is available for below $600, they provide enough extra value to be worth grabbing instead.
5. Poco X7 Pro
Best Budget Smartphone
It used to be that you couldn’t expect too much from a budget smartphone. But these days, that feels like it’s hardly the case. You may not get the most capable cameras or absolutely top-tier performance, but there’s still a lot you can get. The Poco X7 Pro is a perfect example of this.
At $299, the Poco X7 Pro is less than half the price of most flagship phones, but it doesn’t wind up feeling like it’s half the quality. The star of the show has to be the display. The Poco X7 Pro fits a wonderful 6.67-inch AMOLED display that’s colorful, poignant, and smooth with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s the kind of display that should have made everyone wonder why Apple was still putting 60Hz displays on any of its recent phones.
That display is fitted into a stylish enough chassis that may not be all metal and glass, but still gets some durability bonafides with an IP68 protection rating to handle submersion as well as flagship phones. The Poco X7 Pro even includes a 3.5mm headphone jack for use with wired headphones, something more expensive phones have seen fit to exclude.
Now you might expect that performance is lacking, since Poco had to cut corners somewhere. But the Poco X7 Pro actually proves quite competent. The MediaTek Dimensity 8400-Ultra may not be the most potent, but it comes shockingly close to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s performance and can even come close to the iPhone 16’s graphical performance. It may not be able to max out every game’s graphical settings, but it should comfortably run just about any Android game you throw at it.
The phone even runs on a sizable, 6,000mAh battery that’s more than enough for a full day (or two) of regular use. You may miss out on long-term software support and top-tier networking speeds, but the Poco X7 Pro proves a very competent phone that punches well above what its price tag would have you expect.
6. RedMagic 11 Pro
Best Gaming Smartphone
If you’re a gamer, the RedMagic 11 Pro is where it’s at. This new model takes all the lessons that made the RedMagic 10 Pro such an exceptional model and dials it up to 11 (pun intended). In my testing, the RedMagic 11 Pro managed to lead the way in almost every single benchmark, setting plenty of new records along the way. That performance translates to exceptional gaming performance with the phone hardly breaking a sweat in any game I threw at it.
Part of that excellence stems from the phone’s unique features: active air cooling and water cooling. This not only lets the phone see leading performance levels but also sustain them better than the competition. While it could still get plenty hot during benchmarks, it held up better than rival gaming phones and never saw such high temperatures when playing actual games.
The performance is put on display with a wonderful screen. It’s a sharp and large AMOLED panel that doesn’t even let its selfie camera get in the way. The screen hides the camera completely, doesn’t round off the corners much, and has thin bezels, giving you a big and clear view of your games.
The design may not be to everyone’s taste, but the RedMagic 11 Pro is stylish in an industrial way that doesn’t go overboard with gamer aesthetics. It’s also robust, feeling plenty sturdy in the hand and actually offering waterproofing in spite of the open air duct that provides its active cooling.
You’ll miss out on a few things, like quality cameras and extra long-term software support, but the phone is overall amazing and actually something of a bargain with its starting price of $749.
7. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7
Best Flip Phone
With its seventh generation of foldables, Samsung looked to radically change things up. And while the Z Flip 7 doesn't get the same kind of thinness that makes the Galaxy Z Fold 7 such a wonder to behold, that doesn't mean it didn't get the same amount of love.
The biggest change here is the outside display. It's larger now, covering an entire half of the backside of the phone, stretching from edge to edge when folded up. And while, yeah, it looks nicer, the bigger change is in what it can do. Now, you can run full apps on it, so you don't have to settle for the weird half-app widget things you had to use on the (admittedly incredible) Z Flip 6. Though, you will have to fiddle with some experimental settings to enable full apps on the smaller display.
The Flip 7 didn't get the same kind of chassis reduction that the Fold 7 did, but that doesn't mean Samsung just left it alone. While the device has larger screens both on the inside and the outside, Samsung maintained basically the same weight as the last generation, with the Flip 7 weighing in at 188g, compared to last year's 187g. That's basically not even a difference.
Powering the phone is the Exynos 2500, rather than the Snapdragon 8 Elite that powers the Fold 7. This is a pretty massive change, given the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 were both powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It also marks a change of direction, with Samsung essentially positioning the Flip 7 as the device you get when you want long battery life, rather than the raw power offered by the more expensive (and bigger) Fold. In our review, this paid off, with the Flip 7 now lasting all day, which is something the small foldable has struggled with in past generations. Now, keep in mind that due to the size of this device battery life and performance are just something you're trading off for the portability – but at least that trade-off isn't as severe as it's been in past generations.
8. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Best Foldable Phone
Samsung overhauled its top foldable this year and it’s proven a worthy change. The new Galaxy Z Fold 7 has shrunk down by 26% compared to the earlier Fold 6. That makes it just over 4mm thick when unfolded and 8.9mm thick when folded. It's plenty close to the thickness of other non-folding smartphones, like the 8.9mm-thick Asus ROG Phone 9, for example.
Even as Samsung managed to trim down the dimensions of the phone, it still kept the battery capacity from the prior model at 4,400mAh. While this doesn’t make it a two-day warrior, our reviewer found the Galaxy Z Fold 7 easily lasted through the day during testing, generally with some charge left the next morning. That's even after playing games for four hours one of the days.
While the Galaxy Z Fold 7 may not be specifically for gaming, it still can hold up. Part of the equation is the new screen sizes. The Z Fold 6 had a very tall outer display that wasn’t ideal for a lot of games that targeted different aspect ratios. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a more common 21:9 aspect ratio on the outer display. When combined with the thinness of the phone, it’s easy to use the Galaxy Z Fold 7 just the same as any ordinary smartphone. Of course, when you want to go big, you can unfold the device and use the 8-inch interior display for gaming, media, multitasking, or whatever else you feel like.
Another key aspect of the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s performance is the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside, a potent chip in every device I’ve seen it in so far. The device manages solid bursty speeds, and it has enough horsepower to run games like Honkai Star Rail. One downside of the thin design is that it will heat up considerably during long, sustained workloads like gaming and its performance will sag. You’ll still be better off with a gaming phone or even just something thicker if you’re planning to do a lot of gaming.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7’s $1,999 price tag may be a hard pill to swallow. It’s more than what you’d pay for a OnePlus 15 and Redmagic Astra – an excellent phone and great gaming tablet – combined. But if the convenience of one gadget that does it all is worth it to you, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a great device that fits the bill and stands out as the best foldable on the market right now.
What About the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge?
Having wrapped up testing, I've concluded the Galaxy S25 Edge won’t be joining the ranks of the best phones on the market. While it is a surprisingly thin phone, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it impressively thin. Phones have been this thin in the past, and I think there’s a reason they’ve gotten thicker over the years. The S25 Edge makes sacrifices to get that thin. It has a smaller battery than comparable phones. It may offer the same speedy Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset powering other great phones, but it quickly runs into thermal throttling when trying to take full advantage of that chip. And the S25 Edge only gets two rear-facing cameras when it’s priced like a phone that should have three or four quality cameras to offer. All of those trade-offs to shave a couple millimeters from the device just don’t work out in this phone’s favor.
How We Picked the Best Smartphones
The mobile phone industry relies on upselling. It tells consumers time and again their phone needs replacing with the flashiest new release, or that their standard model pales in comparison to the Pro, Max, or whatever other upgraded version has just hit shelves. To an extent, this is true. Those pricier versions always bring a clutch of useful new features. But for many people, those features will go unused.
I picked out the smartphones at a variety of budgets that offer the best value for money. Unless you’re a wannabe influencer, hobbyist photographer, or enthusiastic gamer, you probably don’t need all the snazziest features that are being sold your way, and can find a more suitable pick from the selection here. Additionally, I also opted for phones that are durable and hard-wearing, and guaranteed to receive ongoing software support from their manufacturers, extending their lifespan. You can also learn more about how we test phones here.
Best Smartphones FAQ
Is Samsung better than Apple for smartphones?
Not necessarily. Both Samsung and Apple have earned a reputation for producing high-quality, feature-rich premium phones that leave more than a dent in your wallet. Both the and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are fast, sleek, sport excellent cameras that are capable of capturing crisp images in both high and low light, and are guaranteed software updates for years to come. More important is how familiar you are with their different operating systems: Android versus iOS.
Are iPhones better than Android phones?
For all the effort that Apple has put into cultivating a popular perception of itself as an unrivaled premium brand, modern iPhones are strikingly similar to premium Android alternatives. Any obvious lead that Apple once possessed has now all but diminished. Android and iOS operate similarly, are designed to fulfill almost identical functions, and are updated to new versions yearly. More important than which one you should pick is which you’re currently familiar with. iPhones sync with other Apple products more easily, while Android phones pair better with Windows devices.
Which Android phone is the best value for money?
The Google Pixel 8 is a superb phone for its price. It may be a little older, but it has potent performance, an elegant design, and gets one thing that most budget-friendly devices don't: long-term software support. At $500, it'll be really hard to do better. And going lower than this, you'll end up giving up a lot.
Mark Knapp is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything electronics and gaming hardware. He has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry with bylines at PCMag, Reviewed, CNET, and more. Find Mark on BlueSky at @Techn0Mark.
Additional contributions by Jacqueline Thomas, the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
DreamWorks Animation’s talking-animal movie classic, Madagascar, is coming back to theaters to celebrate its 20th anniversary next month.
The company behind Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and more animated classics announced its original fish-out-of-water story will make a surprise return to movie theaters when it premieres January 16, 2026. Accompanying the announcement is a trailer that reminds viewers, young and old, of characters like Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and their trip to Madagascar.
Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman are back. Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Madagascar, back in theaters January 16th. pic.twitter.com/mHEbrtNB2W
DreamWorks’ move to bring Madagascar back to theaters arrives as a bit of a belated celebration, with the original film having released back in May 2005. Its plot tells the story of four Central Park Zoo animals – as well as a squad of talented penguins – who escape from captivity in hopes of discovering a new home in the wild.
Following some antics around New York, they find themselves lost at sea and eventually stranded on the titular island, where they run into a community of ring-tailed lemurs that really like to move it. Madagascar had generally positive ratings amongst fans and critics (we gave it a 7/10 review in 2005) and landed a worldwide box office total of more than $542 million (via Box Office Mojo).
DreamWorks took that success and ran, going on to unleash two direct sequels – Escape 2 Africa and Europe’s Most Wanted – which brought the animal troop out of the jungle and into new locations in 2008 and 2012. A penguin centered spinoff titled Penguins of Madagascar then followed in 2014. Madagascar has stayed caged since, but the January re-release should allow DreamWorks to gauge interest among fans.
While we wait for more details, you can see what else the animation studio is up to, including the latest details on Shrek 5. You can also check out our reviews for Madagascar 2 and 3, as well as its Penguins spinoff.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Intelligent, stylish, and brutally hands-off, Routine is one of the most terrifying — and at times terrifyingly frustrating — horror games I've played for some time. Confident and cruel, it's a masterclass in show-don't-tell horror that freaked me out far more than I'd like to admit… and that's coming from a bona fide horror veteran.
All five of my senses are permanently on high alert. My ears constantly strain for the sound of stomping footfalls and humming electronics. My eyes dance about in the darkness, looking for a place to hide. My hands — misshapen and perma-clawed from clutching the controller so tightly — genuinely ache from stress. And yes, I can almost smell it here, too. Dust. Decay. Decades-old recirculated air lying over an unmistakable note of fried circuits. When I feel this overwhelmed, I'd typically cower behind a Pause screen to bring my blood pressure back down, but I can't even do that: bringing up the menu doesn’t actually pause anything, which means you can die — and I have — while adjusting your settings. Thanks, Dead Space.
There are only two horror games I've never been able to complete: Alien: Isolation and the very first Outlast game. Both scare the bejesus out of me, chiefly because there's no way to predict when a jumpscare is coming, but also because I absolutely hate being chased by things I can't kill. Routine delivers all of this and more, ratcheting up the fear through the very clever, very intentional design choices it makes, such as manual save points (NO!), randomized puzzles so you can't cheese them or look stuff up (ARGH!), and some truly devilish creature design that feels as though it's been plucked directly from my own nightmares (HELP ME).
Announced way back in 2012 — two years before the release of Creative Assembly's aforementioned Alien: Isolation, with which it shares much of its DNA — Routine is one of the most atmospheric games I've played in ages (and I do mean all games, not just horror ones). You, a software engineer dispatched to resolve a malfunctioning security system, arrive at Union Plaza, a tourist resort on the Moon, although there are no tourists, no staff, and barely even a functioning facility left. And despite the technical accomplishments that apparently got us to the Moon, everything in Union Plaza is gloriously old-fashioned. Like The Jetsons or the original Alien movie, it presents a dated, almost naïve vision of the future, with green-hued CRT terminals, limited technology, and fabulously 70s-esque patterned wallpaper.
Take your trusty CAT, aka your Cosmonaut Assistance Tool. Yes, it lets you overload electronics, track clues, see in the dark, and gain important security clearance, but it's also a boxy gizmo that kinda looks like an 1980s video camera, complete with a cripplingly bleak battery life. Using it requires manual interaction — modules need to be physically slotted into place, and connecting to the short-span wi-fi requires a manual button press. All of it is delightfully fiddly, right up until you realize you may need to manually change out your modules while a Type-05 (a deeply unpleasant mechanical facsimile of a humanoid) is gunning for you, or you can't save until you find a wireless access point, which may or may not have a murderous robot patrolling just in front of it.
And Routine gives nothing away. Absolutely nothing. No hints, no clues, no flashing items, no "Stuck? Click here!" lifeline. Admirably reserved, it's content to leave you fumbling in the dark for hours if need be, utterly unfazed by your frustration until you, say, accidentally spot a vent you somehow didn't notice before. It's deliciously cunning game design that I hate every bit as much as I admire, only elevated further by its careful use — or sometimes lack thereof — of sound effects and unsettling bangs and thuds in the distance.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, there's also no HUD. You never really know what state your health is in, which means you’re never certain how many times one of the creepy automatons can grab you before it's game over. You only know how many shots you have left in your CAT by "physically" picking it up and looking at the battery life. You don't helpfully zoom in when you're reading a dimly backlit screen, which can make reading memos and emails on flickering displays pretty tricky. Logging into things takes time you may ill afford thanks to 1980s engineering and a groaning dial-up system… especially when you learn that, yes, enemies can drag you out of your hiding place if they see you get into it.
It's those emails and memos that really flesh out the story here, though, which is surprising given how missable they are (and how easy it is to get turned around and think you've already explored somewhere that you haven't). I can't say I thought it all made sense, or was wonderfully satisfactory or unique at the end — too many loose ends and unanswered questions meant it didn't quite stick the landing for me — but Routine's curious story certainly kept me hooked.
But even for me — someone absolutely terrified of being stalked in the dark by unkillable machines — Routine loses a little of its luster partway through its roughly six-hour campaign. What once freaked me out began to wind me up instead. Manual saving is novel right up until, say, your PC crashes, and the hands-off puzzling is impressive all the way until you're fully, palpably lost and have no idea how to progress. You cannot reacquaint yourself with your current objective unless you are at a save station, or choose when to activate your flashlight, or even carry a spare battery with you. There's no map which, for someone with the directional sense of a turtle spinning on its back — also me! — is woefully cruel. And not being able to pause is an interesting wrinkle right up until you get an important phone call or the dog stands in front of the TV.
From this point on, even the Type-05s feel a little humdrum. The stomping of their feet means it's impossible for one to sneak up behind you, and they're outrageously stupid, often unable to find you even if they chase you into an open elevator and you're crouching behind a box six inches away. Half the time, all they do is interrupt you, like a puppy with a new ball. That doesn't mean I don't often wish I could permanently disable them — knocking them temporarily offline just doesn't make me feel safe enough, which is obviously why permakilling them isn't an option — but there's so much "ammo" around (read: batteries) that you can often neutralize them and slip away without incident. Nor does it mean they don't freak me out (they do) or that I got acclimated to the tension (I didn't), but given that the enemies just aren't that clever, they're pretty easy to lose. (That said, I can't help but wish for a SOMA-esque 'Safe' mode to allow me to explore to my heart's content.)
As for the puzzles? Few stumped me for long — it's fear that held me back, not the puzzle design — but I think some will be confused by them, not least because developer Lunar Software's lack of signposting means it's easy to overlook clues. If you take nothing else from my words today, though, you owe it to yourself to try to get through as much of Routine as you can without succumbing to a guide. Most puzzles are logical, sometimes maddeningly so, and it's always a rush when you realize the solution can be found by fiddling with the settings on your CAT. And that's what I loved best, I think. Those intelligent puzzles, intuitive tools, and a deeply unsettling atmosphere may not work for all, but they sure did impress me.
Bambu is widely considered one of the premier 3D printer brands. The Bambu P1S printer is one of its most popular models and it went on sale for Black Friday, but sold out relatively quickly. Fortunately, it's back in time for the holiday season.
Best Buy has the Bambu P1S Combo 3D Printer with Automatic Material System for multi-color printing for just $549.99 after a $200 off instant discount. This printer was $899 when it first launched, but prices have been steadily dropping since then. This was one of the best 3D printer deals I saw during Black Friday and I'm glad it's back.
Bambu P1S Combo for $549.99
The Bambu P1S is the best Bambu 3D printer for most people; this is Bambu's mid-range model and offers several useful premium features at a reasonable cost. It's almost entirely fully assembled out of the box and setup should take under 15 minutes. Unlike cheaper 3D printers, the P1S features a fully enclosed chamber, which is necessary to stabilize temperature and ambient conditions in order to produce more consistent results. It boasts an acceleration speed of up to 20000 mm/s² and can print a benchy in 18 minutes. A built-in camera allows you to remotely monitor the printing process.
The P1S Combo model includes the Automatic Material System or AMS. This module basically allows for multi-filament printing, which means you can use up to four different types of filament material or colors per AMS (you can daisy chain up to four AMS to manage as many as 16 different filaments). The AMS itself normally retails $350, so it's best to get it in this combo, especially if you plan on getting it anyway in the long run.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
This new pro-style controller is Asus' answer to some of the fanciest and best Xbox controllers you'll find, including Microsoft's first-party Elite II. It's all black except for details like an RGB strip that lines the outside edge of the grips, and features tunneling magnetoresistance, or TMR, joysticks. (Those are the other drift-resistant sticks, besides Hall effect.) The triggers also feature TMR, as well as micro switches for dual-mode, more responsive quick tapping. In fact, it's micro switches all around – the face buttons, bumpers, and other rear buttons use the approach as well, and should be more responsive and durable than the usual membranes that gamepad buttons have sat on for decades.
This wouldn't be a competition-style gamepad if Asus didn't brag about its polling rate, or the frequency it sends and receives information with the console. That's 1000Hz, which ought to provide more accuracy and responsiveness in twitchy shooters for those who can tell the difference. The company promises low latency performance both in wired (USB-C) and 2.4GHz wireless modes. The Raikiri II also offers Bluetooth connectivity, which should be fine for everyday gaming but you wouldn't want to compete with it.
Some final details: Asus points out that you can use its three connectivity modes for "seamless switching" between an Xbox, PC, and ROG Ally device. The controller lasts up to 50 hours on a charge, and ships with a charging hard case for when it's time to juice it back up. In the box, there's also a charging stand, 2.4GHz wireless dongle, and swappable joystick caps.
Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.
Jeff Garcia, who played Sheen in Jimmy Neutron and Pip in Barnyard, has died at the age of 50.
The 2000s voice actor’s passing was confirmed by his son, Joseph Garcia. TMZ reports that multiple family members were able to confirm Garcia was taken off of life support Tuesday night. He then passed surrounded by friends and family at a Southern California hospital this morning.
TMZ says Garcia had been suffering from medical complications in the months leading up to his death, including a brain aneurysm in the spring and a stroke just a few weeks ago. The site’s sources say the actor, who was also a comedian, was hospitalized November 20 with pneumonia but eventually recovered and was discharged. Monday, he returned to the hospital with difficulty breathing before suffering a collapsed lung Tuesday.
Garcia made a name for himself as one of the most familiar voices working in animation for younger viewers of the 2000s. He’s likely best known for his role as Sheen, one of two best friends to titular boy genius Jimmy Neutron in the classic Nickelodeon movie and the show that followed it. His role as the character was so popular that a spinoff titled Planet Sheen eventually arrived in the 2010s.
Garcia’s acting credits date back to the ‘90s, but it wasn’t until the Jimmy Neutron movie arrived in 2001 that he started to become one of the most recognizable voices of that time. The star’s time with Nickelodeon also saw him providing his talents to projects like ChalkZone, Barnyard, and Back at the Barnyard, as well as a handful of spinoff video games. Garcia can also be heard in Happy Feet 1 and 2, Rio 1 and 2, The Proud Family, and more.
His son, Joseph Garcia, posted a message confirming the news of his father's passing on Instagram.
"From voice acting to stand up comedy, he shined with his quick wit, brash humor, and charm," the message says. "He has made such an impact on people’s lives internationally, whether you grew up watching Jimmy Neutron, or shared a laugh with him at one of his shows. He was my hero… I idolized him. He may be gone, but he will NEVER be forgotten."
Most animation fans who saw and heard Garcia’s work can no doubt remember the sound of his voice as Sheen, Pip, and others to this day. Many of these same fans have already taken to social media to share thoughts, clips, and their favorite moments from his career.
Really Saddened to learn about the passing of Jeff Garcia, the iconic voice actor behind Sheen Estevez from Jimmy Neutron & Pip from Barnyard/Back at the Barnyard.
He brought so much laughter to everyone who grew up watching those shows and he will be missed.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
It's smart to have a light source on hand for emergencies, especially since everyday carry flashlights can be had for a throwaway price. Just in time for the holidays, Aliexpress is offering a great deal on two powerful Sofirn flashlights. These are popular amongst the enthusiast flashlight community. They're much more expensive if you bought them from Amazon, so why not save over 50% off by getting it direct from Sofirn's official AliExpress storefront. They ship free from a local US warehouse, which means no hidden tariffs or obnoxious shipping times. These would make a pretty great, and extremely practical, gift for the holidays, since they'll arrive before Christmas.
Sofirn SP36 Pro 8,000-Lumen LED Flashlight for $32.77
The powerful yet compact Sofirn SP36 Pro 8,000-Lumen Rechargeable LED Flashlight, now just $32.77 after you apply $4 off coupon code "AEUS04". This exact flashlight normally sells for $70 on Amazon.
The Sofirn SP36 Pro is a compact EDC style flashlight, measuring just 5" in length and weighing about 10 ounces without the battery. It features a rugged aluminum shell and has an IPX8 rating, which means it can be submerged in water up to 1 meter deep. The flashlight comes with three 18650 Li-on batteries that can be recharged with a USB Type-C cable.
The light array is comprised of four Luminus SST-40 LEDs each with is own individual reflector. They combine for a maximum output of 8,000 lumens and a beam distance of up to 450 meters, which means that this little flashlight can illuminate an entire football field. The intensity is adjustable so you can conserve battery life.
Sofirn Q8 Plus 16,000-Lumen LED Flashlight for $52
If you can swing a few more dollars, the Sofirn Q8 Plus is arguably the better - and certainly the rarer - deal. It's currently $51.84 after $8 off coupon code "AEUS08". This exact flashlight normally sells for $120 on Amazon.
It's only a tad longer than the SP36 Pro at 5.2 inches, but a lot heavier at 17 ounces. That extra weight is worth it because the light can output up to 16,000 lumens, or roughly double that of the SP36 Pro, thanks to six Cree XHP50B LEDs each with its own reflector. The flashlight includes three beefier 21700 batteries that can also be charged over USB-C.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
AMD has released FSR "Redstone," bringing a set of new upscaling tricks to the company's collection of ML-powered upscaling tools. Unfortunately, as was the case when it was just FSR 4, Redstone is only available for current-generation cards like the Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9060 XT – two of IGN's favorite GPUS.
One such feature is Ray Regeneration, which AMD says can "clean up noisy ray-traced reflections and shadows before upscaling and interpolation." Gamers Nexus tried the feature in the only game that supports this feature, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and it's impressive, resulting in much sharper lighting bouncing off of, for instance, the surface of a pool or glossy floor tiles. Surprisingly, the differences are actually less apparent in an AMD comparison video hosted by Jack Huynh, SVP and GM of AMD's computing and graphics group, showing the same game running in native 4K and with FSR Redstone on.
Here are a couple of screengrabs from that:
AMD promises the feature will be available in "more titles coming soon."
More players will get FSR Upscaling and Frame Generation – that's the latest version of features that employ generative AI to create frames between traditionally rendered frames to improve framerates. The new Frame Generation update works with 32 games, according to a list on AMD's website, as The Verge points out. As that list also shows, more than 200 games – including AAA titles like Black Myth: Wukong and ARC Raiders – get general FSR Redstone support.
The last big trick up Redstone's sleeve with this update is Radiance Caching, a trick that the company says can predict light behavior to beef up ray tracing in a more efficient way. But that feature... isn't available in any games. AMD says it'll come to games starting in 2026.
If you have one of the GPUs that Redstone works with, you can the update that brings it – AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 25.12.1 – is available on AMD's website.
Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.
iFixit might be a familiar brand name for you from all of the helpful teardown videos of various electronics that are hosted on YouTube. But did you know that they also sell high quality toolkits to facilitate your own DIY electronics projects? For the holiday season, Amazon is offering the popular iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit for electronics, smartphones, gaming consoles, PCs and laptops, and tablets for just $59.96. It normally retails for $75. This is one of the very best tool kits you can buy for disassembling and repairing your electronics – including your Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck – without spending hundreds of dollars on a commercial kit.
iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit for $59.96
The iFixit Pro Tech Tookit contains pretty much every tool you'll ever need to get inside your electronics. The parts list consists of: 64 precision bits including flathead, screwdriver, hex, torx, and star bits, as well as plenty of other bits you've probably never seen or heard of; screwdriver handle with 4mm hex shank; flex extension; tweezers; opening tools like pry bars, picks, and spudgers; and more, all packed in a hard shell magnetic case. iFixit also includes a generous lifetime warranty: It'll replace any of the pieces that break, even if you caused it.
I've owned this toolkit for several years and it has served me very well. I've changed the shells on my Joy-Con controllers, swapped the SSD in my Asus ROG Ally, rebuilt my gaming PC quite a number of times, replaced the heatsink on my GPU, modified my keyboard, opened up my fishing reels for maintenance, and more with the help of this toolkit.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Obsidian Entertainment has released Title Update 1.0.6.0 for The Outer Worlds 2 and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table. Patch 1.0.6.0 fixes many bugs that players reported. For example, it stops Niles from getting stuck in the first trap room. It also fixes an issue … Continue reading The Outer Worlds 2 Update 1.0.6.0 Released – Full Patch Notes→
Eldamar Studio has announced its debut game, Lucid Falls, an atmospheric horror adventure made in Unreal Engine. So, below you can find its first details and its debut gameplay trailer. In Lucid Falls, you are stuck inside a lucid dream and must fight to survive in strange, scary worlds. You can change reality by controlling … Continue reading Lucid Falls is a new first-person atmospheric horror adventure for PC→
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