Whether you’ve been persevering with a busted controller or you want an extra for co-op gaming, now’s the time to nab one. Various retailers are offering significant savings on Xbox controllers with prices starting at just $40. Shop direct at Microsoft and you can get the standard wireless Xbox controller in the basic colors of black, white, blue or red for that low price, a $20 savings. Select colors are also seeing similar discounts at both Amazon and Walmart.
While there are plenty of Xbox controllers out there, Microsoft’s own controller remains our favorite option on the market in 2023 for those that just want the basics covered well. It’s compatible with both Series X and Series S consoles, as well as the previous-gen Xbox One (not to mention PCs and smart phones via Bluetooth). It has wireless connectivity and boasts up to 40 hours of playtime on a single charge, or you can plug it into your console or PC for wired play without interruption. It’s also equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack so it’s compatible with a wide variety of different Xbox headsets.
And for hardcore gamers, you can also save on the Elite Series 2 Core controller, which is down to $99 at Walmart, a $26 savings, or $110 at Amazon. Unveiled in September, it offers advanced features like like adjustable-tension thumbsticks, shorter hair trigger locks and wrap-around rubberized grips. There’s also the option to upgrade it with various customization options down the line with a separate component pack if you need it. And for even more bargains, you can check out our roundup of all the best deals on Xbox gaming gear available right now.
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You might have to start paying to see your favorite TikToker make their morning latte or share a makeup routine. On Tuesday, TikTok launched Series, a new feature that lets creators put a collection of videos behind a paywall.
One Series can have up to 80 videos, each up to 20 minutes long, TikTok said in a blog post. The feature is currently available to select TikTokers, but the company said Series will be available for those interested in the coming months.
“Series joins our growing range of monetization solutions as we continue to build new ways for creators to feel valued and rewarded as they inspire and engage our community,” TikTok said in the blog post.
Creators will be able to select how much their Series cost, ranging from roughly $1 to $190, according to TikTok spokesperson Maria Jung. For a limited time, TikTokers will be able to keep 100% of their earnings from Series after fees are applied, TechCrunch reported. It’s unclear what TikTok’s cut will be after that point.
Series is TikTok’s latest tool that lets creators make money off the videos they post on the app. In May, TikTok said it was “exploring” an ad revenue sharing program that would provide 50% of the revenue from advertising to the videos of top creators, public figures and publishers that run next to the ads.
Samsung last month released the Galaxy S23 lineup, the newest models in its flagship series, which means that right now is a great time to snag an older model if you don’t need absolutely the latest and greatest. The Galaxy S22 Ultra was the most advanced model of the previous generation, and right now at Amazon you can snag an unlocked 128GB model for as little as $900, saving you $300 compared to the usual price. You can also save $300 on the 256GB model or $304 on the 512GB model if you want some extra storage. There’s no telling how long these phones will remain discounted and in stock, so you may want to think about getting your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out on these savings.
While it may be a generation old, the Galaxy S22 Ultra still comes packed full of powerful hardware. With an advanced Snapdragon 8 processor, as well as 5G connectivity, it boasts lightning-fast performance and load times. The 128GB version has 8GB of RAM, while the 256GB and 512GB models feature 12GB. The screen is a stunning 6.8-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and the embedded S Pen makes navigating and notetaking easier than ever. Aspiring photographers are sure to love the impressive 108-megapixel wide-angle rear camera, and it also boasts some truly impressive low-light shooting capabilities. It’s also fairly rugged, with a IP68 weather-resistance rating so it’s completely waterproof up to 1.5 meters, and a Gorilla Glass screen that’s resistant to scratches and dings. And it has impressive battery life, averaging about a day and a half of use during our tests, so you won’t have to worry about stopping to recharge in the middle of your day.
At $300 off for an unlocked model, this S22 Ultra deal is a great value, but you can also check out our roundup of all the best deals available on the new Galaxy S23 lineup for bargains on the latest models as well.
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If you need an extra workstation at home, but don’t want to invest in a whole new computer, a smart monitor offers the best of both worlds. They allows you to run basic apps for both work and entertainment — without being connected to a computer — and right now, you can pick one up at a great price. Amazon currently has Samsung’s 27-inch M50B Series smart monitor on sale for just $170, which saves you $110 compared to the usual price. There’s no set expiration for this deal, so there’s no guaranteeing how long it will be available. We’d recommend getting your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out on these savings.
While we haven’t reviewed this model, the specs tell an interesting story. The Samsung M50B monitor is essentially an even smarter smart TV. In addition to entertainment and streaming apps like Netflix and YouTube, it can also run Microsoft Office 365 programs so you can edit documents, type up spreadsheets and much more — all without the help of a PC. Additionally, It works great as a second monitor with multiple HDMI ports and Apple AirPlay built-in so you can wirelessly stream content from your iPhone, iPad or MacBook. The screen itself is a 27-inch full HD LED display with a 60Hz refresh rate, and HDR10 support for sharp contrast. It also has a built-in webcam so it’s ready for video calls and virtual meetings right out of the box, and an adaptive picture feature that automatically adjusts the brightness so you can clearly see the screen in any environment.
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In the world of apps and smart devices, anyone can be an awesome party planner. From music and games to drinks and everything else, there’s an app that can teach you to throw the greatest shindig your friends and family have ever been to.
Check out these party-planning apps to throw a bash your guests will be talking about for the rest of the year.
Once you know how many guests are coming, create a task list to get everything done before the big day. The feature also lets you set reminders, so you won’t fall behind. You’ll need to set a budget and start building your shopping list for the party. Track your budget for food, decorations and party favors.
Manage guests attending by sending them invitations and checking off RSVPs. If applicable, create a seating chart with Pro Party Planner’s augmented reality feature to better visualize what your party will look like.
Pro Party Planner costs $5 to download, plus $1 per month.
Before you begin planning an event, you need to get an idea of how many people will be there. You don’t want to plan for 50 guests only to have 10 show up and leave you with tons of uneaten food.
Use Evite (download for iOS or Android) to invite your guests with personalized invitations. Design templates with photos from your phone, and add the event name, time and location.
Send invitations via text or email. Track the RSVPs to see who has viewed your invitation, and who has accepted or declined. Nudge guests who haven’t responded and create polls for party and food ideas.
Planning a party from scratch isn’t easy, so gather inspiration from Pinterest (download for iOS or Android). If you have an idea of what theme you want, search for it on Pinterest to see thousands of boards with party designs.
If you’re planning a low-key party, search for “simple party ideas” or if you’re planning a more upscale event, search for “fancy party ideas.” Sometimes people will post where they found the decorations and the cost.
Begin planning the meals you’re going to cook for your event with BigNight (download for iOS). If you’re hosting a formal party, create a menu for your guests. Name the menu and organize by courses, like drinks, appetizers and the main dish.
Import recipes from Pinterest or your favorite recipe website by using the in-app browser. Then create a shopping list with the ingredients you’ll need. Check each item off the list as you shop.
Set reminders for each task, like bake the cheesecake the night before, and add whipped cream one hour before the party begins.
Your guests will be impressed with your bartending skills when you use Cocktail Flow (download for iOS or Android). The app gives you detailed drink recipes that you can make with ingredients you already have.
Plan ahead of time by having a cocktail menu for your guests and include classics like wine, beer or fun cocktails. You can customize the drinks for your event attendees by liquor, drink type (tropical, creamy, shot) and strength (light, medium, strong).
A good party doesn’t last long without music. It puts people in a good mood and helps loosen them up.
Spotify (download for iOS or Android) is our music streaming service of choice, with more than 50 million tracks available and 232 million users, according to the company. Keep in mind what your guests like, and make or find a playlist with a good variety of songs, or find a station that will play fun party favorites from every decade.
Spotify is free to use if you listen with commercials. To listen commercial-free, subscribe to Spotify Premium. It’s $10 per month for an individual account.
Once everyone is feeling good, keep the party going with Karaoke (download for iOS or Android). Whether your guests like country, pop or rock, there’s a huge catalog of songs to choose from, ranging from 7 Rings by Ariana Grande to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton.
Browse through categories like popular, recommended and genre to find a song. Tap Sing when you’re ready to begin your karaoke session.
Record your songs and hear them played back. Don’t worry if singing isn’t your forte — the app uses sound effects to auto-enhance your voice.
For guests not interested in singing karaoke, set them up with a game full of laughs, like Heads Up (download for iOS or Android). This game can be played with any number of people, so everyone can get involved.
The player selects a category and then holds the phone to their forehead so the other players can see the screen. The other players act out what’s on the screen so you can guess what it is. Category options are celebrities, animals, movies and more.
This means that those that haven’t upgraded to a next-gen system will soon be able to run around Hogwarts on their PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. The Hogwarts Legacy Twitter account didn’t give additional detail for the Switch version, which is currently slated for July 25.
Warner Bros. Games didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
While Hogwarts Legacy has sold tremendously well on PS5, Xbox Series and PC, there are still many last-gen systems under people’s televisions. With 117 million PS4s and 51 million Xbox One systems in existence, it’s not too surprising WB Games is making the effort in producing a last-gen version of Hogwarts Legacy. Although, graphically the game will look its best on current gen consoles.
Additionally, Microsoft said new features will be coming to Mac users. This includes being able to “peek” at upcoming calendar events and connect a person’s Outlook profile to Apple Focus, a feature that allows people to customize their notifications.
Microsoft said it didn’t have an additional comment outside of the blog post.
Outlook is an email, calendar, note-taking and contact-management app that’s been around since 1997. It was primarily used as enterprise software, but Microsoft slowly opened it up to more mainstream audiences, folding in email messaging from MSN and live.com.
While Microsoft’s Windows operating system is a major competitor to Apple’s MacOS, both companies do create software for each other’s platforms. Microsoft’s enterprise software, like Word, Excel and PowerPoint, is available to Mac users. Apple’s iTunes is also present on Windows.
This story is part of Samsung Event, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Samsung’s most popular products.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is now available, and if you’re looking to buy one, you’ll want to get a discount on it. We’re rounding up the top promotions on the new flagship devices with price cuts, gift card, bundles and boosted trade-in prices all available on the latest Samsung phones. And for people looking to save on the previous-gen devices following the S23 release, be sure to check out our roundup of the best Galaxy S22 deals.
Unveiled at the company’s Unpacked event earlier this month, Samsung’s refreshed Galaxy S lineup includes the Galaxy S23, S23 Plus and S23 Ultra. All three models retain the same screen sizes as the 2022 models at 6.1, 6.6 and 6.8 inches, respectively, with a refined external design and some modest upgrades to the camera hardware, battery sizes and internal storage of the larger two models. A special version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, optimized for the new Galaxy S23 lineup, powers the new phones, which the company claims should result in faster performance.
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Whether you want to be the first to get your hands on one of Samsung’s latest phones or maybe it’s just time to upgrade from an older phone, we’ll help you save some cash on your S23 purchase. Note that the below deals and bonuses are all limited in time and could change at a moment’s notice.
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How much does the Galaxy S23 cost?
The three models of the Galaxy S23 are available in various storage configurations. US pricing for each model starts at:
Samsung Galaxy S23: $800
Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus: $1,000
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: $1,200
Note that Samsung has improved the base storage for the Galaxy S23 Plus and S23 Ultra, doubling it to 256GB instead of the 128GB found in the S22 models. The base-spec Galaxy S23 model remains at 128GB, however. Both the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus offer 8GB of RAM, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with 12GB of RAM.
What colors does the Galaxy S23 come in?
Samsung
As always, Samsung has clothed its latest phones in an attractive array of colors. This time, there’s a selection of nature-inspired colors including phantom black, cream, green and lavender. All three S23 phones are available in those four colors regardless of where you buy them from, though Samsung is also offering four colors exclusive to its own online store. Those colors are lime, graphite, sky blue and red.
Go straight to the source for your Galaxy S23 order and nab as much as $100 in free Samsung credit to spend on accessories. You’ll also gain access to Samsung’s online-exclusive colors. Better yet, if you’ve got an old phone to trade in, you can get as much as $800 toward your new unlocked device.
Samsung has some attractive carrier offers, too, with as much as $1,000 off with an eligible trade-in. Finally, many of these offers can be further enhanced for Rakuten members (up to 15% cash back) and for students, educators, first responders, government workers and/or military members, veterans and their families (see Samsung’s site for discount details).
Best Buy is offering a few ways to save on the S23 lineup at launch, including up to $600 off with an eligible trade-in and up to $100 back in the form of a Best Buy gift card. If you shop at Best Buy regularly, that’s as good as getting cash back. Various carrier deals are also available through Best Buy with up to $1,000 off with an eligible installment plan and trade-in.
Order an unlocked Galaxy S23 via Amazon and you’ll get an Amazon gift card to spend on future purchases. You’ll get $50 in Amazon credit with the regular Galaxy S23 or $100 if you go for the S23 Plus or S23 Ultra.
Verizon’s Galaxy S23 deal offers as much as $800 off with an eligible trade-in on an Unlimited plan, and the carrier is even accepting old or damaged phones. Switchers to Verizon will get a further $200 Verizon gift card, too. Other offers include a free Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G with purchase, though it’s worth noting these cellular-enabled devices each require a new line to be added, and 50% off Galaxy Buds 2 when bundled with your phone purchase.
Buy your Galaxy S23 device on a qualifying instalment agreement with AT&T and trade in your old device for up to $1,000 off. Better yet, to be eligible for that discount, the device you hand over can be a Galaxy S, Note, or Z series smartphone from any year, in any condition, or a phone from another brand so long as it’s worth $35. The discount will be applied via monthly bill credits over 36 months. Plus, you can get 50% off any Samsung accessory alongside your phone purchase.
New and existing customers can get the Samsung Galaxy S23 or S23 Plus for free (up to $1,000 off) when trading in on Magenta Max, or up to $800 off with a new line. The discount will be applied over 24 monthly bill credits. If you don’t go for Magenta Max, you can still score up to $500 off with an eligible trade-in or up to $400 off with a new line.
Grab the Samsung Galaxy S23, S23 Plus or S23 Ultra at Visible and score a free $200 virtual gift card when you port over your number. After you complete the first three months of service payments, you’ll receive a code to redeem for the credit at popular retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Target.
Xfinity is offering new customers $500 off their Galaxy S23 when porting in a number on a new line on a 24-month plan. Existing customers can also nab the $500 discount when upgrading to the latest Samsung flagships, or get $800 off with a qualifying device trade-in.
Walmart is offering the Galaxy S23 series with various carrier deals. Phones activated on an eligible installment plant with AT&T or Verizon will benefit from a $250 discount plus up to $1,000 off (via bill credits) with an eligible trade-in. Walmart also has prepaid deals with Straight Talk and Total by Verizon offering six months of free service for new customers on an unlimited plan.
Get up to $600 off your Galaxy S23 device at Google Fi when you activate a full service plan and port in your number. The instant discount is applied at checkout, though your account will need to keep your service active for at least 120 days or the $600 will be charged to your account.
Hogwarts Legacy has officially launched, allowing wizarding fans the chance to enter their own magical fantasy. The open-world RPG is set in the Harry Potter universe, and it seems like the game that many fans of the books have long hoped for.
The new game from developer Avalanche Software lets playersexperience the famed school of witchcraft and wizardry as a student in the 1800s, before the events of the Harry Potter books. Here are some basic things to know about Hogwarts Legacy, including when you can snag a copy depending on your platform.
What’s the story?
Hogwarts Legacy players will “embark on a dangerous journey to uncover a hidden truth of the wizarding world,” according to the game’s website. You can explore Hogwarts Castle, where you attend classes. You can also go beyond it to new and familiar locations, per the website.
You can customize your character, choose a Hogwarts house and grow your magical abilities by brewing potions, mastering spells and taming beasts. Hogwarts Legacy sticks to the lore but doesn’t adapt the Harry Potter books and films.
What systems can I play Hogwarts Legacy on?
PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC versions of the game launched on Feb. 10. Those looking to play the PS4 and Xbox One versions will, unfortunately, need to wait until April 4.
Nintendo Switch users will have to hang on even longer, until July 25, to play Hogwarts Legacy.
The game was first announced in 2020, and its release dates have changed three times. It’s published by Warner Bros. Games under its Portkey Games label.
Is there early access?
The Deluxe Edition or Digital Deluxe Edition for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC included 72 hours of early access, starting Feb. 7.
The PS4 and Xbox One versions won’t have an early access period.
Where can I buy Hogwarts Legacy?
If you’re interested in the Standard Edition, you can buy the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions from stores, including GameStop, Amazon and Best Buy for $70 (about 57, AU$99). You can preorder the PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions from those stores for $60 (roughly 49, $AU85). The PC version is available for $60 at Steam and the Epic Games store.
You can view more ways to purchase Hogwarts Legacy (including how to buy the Deluxe Edition) on the game’s website. The Collector’s Edition has already sold out, but you may be able to find it online for a markup. The official site breaks down what comes with each edition.
What are critics saying?
The game has a Metacritic score of 84 on PS5. (The score is higher on Xbox Series X|S, and a bit lower on PC, but the PS5 score is based on the most reviews, 84.)
CNET critic Sean Keane played the PS5 version and writes in a positive review that “it captures the wonder of the early books, with an intriguing original narrative, engagingly varied gameplay and intricately designed world to explore.”
J.K. Rowling and Hogwarts Legacy
The game’s connection to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has led her critics to call for a boycott, according to The Week. Over the past few years, Rowling has repeatedly made comments that mocked transgender individuals and infuriated trans advocates.
The Hogwarts Legacy website notes that Rowling isn’t involved in the creation of Hogwarts Legacy. But her writing is the foundation for the project and she still makes money off of sales.
Your iPhone already has thousands of emoji, but you’ll soon get even more. The first iOS 16.4 beta included 31 new iPhone emoji that beta testers could use, and as soon as iOS 16.4 releases to the public, others will be able to use, too.
The new emoji include a shaking-head smiley, animals like a donkey, moose and a goose, and additional heart colors, including plain pink and light blue. The plain pink heart has been a long-sought emoji, according to Emojipedia, which named it one of the site’s top emoji requests in 2015. Last year’s significant emoji drop in iOS 15.4 included a melting face, a biting lip and a pregnant man, with 37 new designs in total.
A moose, donkey and goose are some of the new emoji iPhone users might see soon.
Emojipedia
Emojipedia said the new emoji came from Unicode’s September 2022 recommendation list, Emoji 15.0.
There isn’t any word yet on when the new emoji will be available across iOS devices, and the designs of the new emoji might change between now and their final release on iOS.
Apple issued a handful of bug fixes and patches with the release of iOS 16.3.1 on Feb. 13, a few weeks after the release of new features in iOS 16.3 in January.
