Samsung TV reviews, Switch 2 pre-order, PS5 price hike, Apple Glasses, Nvidia RX 5060 Ti
10 tech stories in the quickest format possible
Today’s 10-story newsletter ends with discount codes below for subscribers ⤵️
The Shortcut just crossed 150,000 subscribers on Substack, and we’re expanding. The newest paid subscriber perk is our Substack Chat to ensure I get Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order links to you before it sells out. Plus, ask the team anything.
☎️ Think of it as a 1:1 priority hotline for your tech questions. More changes are coming, but the goal remains the same: help consumers understand tech – and save money – in less than 7 minutes a day.
As always, we’ll start out our 10-story tech newsletter with discount codes.
💰 1. Subscribe to get PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo discount codes
Never overpay! The Shortcut & Eneba are bringing you discount codes for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo gift cards. Like a magazine pack-in, paid subscribers save money.
🔒 Reserved for The Shortcut subscribers because the discount codes are very limited. First come, first served at the bottom of the email
🟦 $100 PlayStation Store for $84.99 (save $15)
Yes, it can be redeemed to pay for your PS+ renewal
Discount code valid until May 18 (or until it runs out)
❎ $60 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $50 (save $10)
🍄 $50 Nintendo eShop gift card for $45 (save $5)
🔢 Discount codes are at the bottom of emails for subscribers
Eneba’s prices fluctuate, but if you’re a subscriber and having a hard time redeeming for the amount listed, please message me. I’ll be happy to walk you through it.
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📺 2. Samsung The Frame Pro, S95F OLED, QN90F 4K, and QN990F 8K reviews
📺 The Shortcut just saw every flagship Samsung TV for 2025
🖥️ S95F QD-OLED is Samsung’s stunning 3rd-gen OLED
🖼️ The Frame Pro TV is the best-looking Art TV of 2025
🛜 QN990F is the first wireless 8K TV you can buy
🎮 QN90F is Samsung’s 4K QLED flagship and a great gaming TV
💰 QN80F is just $1,299 at 55 inches and goes up to 100 inches
📈 The brightness has gone up, but so have prices vs last year’s models
Kevin and I got hands-on time with every major Samsung TV launching in 2025, and the upgrades are as spectacular as the model numbers can be confusing. So we dissect each for the average tech buyer – that’s what The Shortcut is all about.
🚨 3. Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date 'confirmed' for North America, but not the US yet
📆 Nintendo Switch 2’s pre-order date seems to be Wednesday, April 23
🇨🇦 This is for Canadian stores, reports a source with a good track record
🇺🇸 The US Switch 2 pre-order date could happen in the same week
📧 The Shortcut subscribers will get the first pre-order links for US stores
The hotly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date has been confirmed for one North American country, according to a new report. While it’s not an official pre-order date and time for the United States, it could be a sign of things to come.
Switch 2 pre-orders begin on Wednesday, April 23, in Canada, reports billbil-kun from French-based Dealabs Magazine, citing “some Canadian retailers.” The information is from an insider with a good track record (he leaked the PS5 Pro before anyone else), but it’s subject to change, and the US pre-order date hasn't been confirmed – yet.
We’ll notify paid subscribers in our new Substack Chat when pre-orders go live at each store below.
🌟 Walmart Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle (not in stock yet)
🏷️ Best Buy Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle (not in stock yet)
🎯 Target Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle (not in stock yet)
🛑 GameStop Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle (not in stock yet)
🏬 Sam’s Club Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle (not in stock yet)
📦 Amazon (not live; we’ll see if Amazon even sells it at launch)
🤓 4. Apple Vision Pro 2? Tim Cook wants AR glasses more than anything
🍎 Apple’s CEO is reportedly on a mission: beat Meta to shipping AR glasses
🧑💻 Tim Cook reportedly “cares about nothing else,” according to an engineer
🥽 Before it ships AR glasses, Apple will reportedly ship glasses that focus on voice commands and Visual Intelligence
📅 It’s unclear when Apple’s glasses could launch
Apple is rumored to be working on a successor to the Apple Vision Pro, but Tim Cook’s goal stretches far beyond that. According to a report from Bloomberg, the Apple CEO “cares about nothing else” besides shipping a pair of AR glasses and beating Meta to the punch.
The rumored Apple glasses will have to be small enough to look normal while packing in high-end technology at an affordable price to have the impact Cook is looking for.
💰 5. PS5 price hiked overseas; US and PS5 Pro prices unaffected – for now
📈 Sony has raised the PS5 Digital Edition price in Europe and the South Pacific
🇺🇸 The US is unaffected by this price increase, but that could change soon
🇪🇺 Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand saw around a 12% price increase
✋ PS5 Pro and PS5 Disc prices are unchanged in the UK and Europe
Sony said it made the "tough decision" to rise PS5 prices due to a "challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates."
It's the second time Sony has increased the PS5 price since the console launched in 2020, and it's not something consumers expect. We're used to consoles getting cheaper the longer a generation lasts, not becoming more expensive.
📸 6. DJI RS4 Mini review: smart-tracking turns this gimbal into an auto camera arm
🏆 Review score: 4.5 out of 5
🏅 Editor’s Choice Award
✅ Pros
🤖 Intelligent ActiveTrack follows subjects smoothly and accurately
🦾 Gimbal arm steadies all footage as you move around
🏋🏻♀️ Smaller gimbal size and weight are easier to carry around during shoots
🔄 Switching from landscape to vertical shooting takes seconds
📸 Supports full-frame cameras despite being so small
🔋 13-hour battery for all-day shooting
❌ Cons
💸 Intelligent tracking requires a $90 combo upgrade or $69 separate purchase
🎒 Camera gimbals of any size are still too awkwardly shaped to pack
🔌 Integrated-battery can’t be replaced and is USB-C chargeable only
🚫 No hot- or cold-shoes for mounting accessories
📲 Mandatory smartphone pairing for first-time activation
The DJI RS4 Mini is the best camera gimbal for creators, whether you’re a YouTuber or an Instagram/TikTok star. The new intelligent tracking on the DS4 Mini is game-changing and does all the subject-tracking gimbal movements for you. This gimbal will give you steady footage with smooth motion even if you move around erratically.
🤖 7. Samsung's Ballie robot is actually coming out – and it's powered by Google Gemini AI
🤖 Samsung is releasing the smart home robot it teased at CES
🦾 Called Ballie, the robot is like a smart assistant speaker on wheels
📽️ It can project video calls on your wall, messages, and more
🤝 Samsung and Google even partnered to bring Gemini AI to Ballie
📅 It’s supposed to come out this summer, but we don’t know for how much
We see a lot of robots at CES that typically never make it to market, but Samsung’s Ballie home assistant bot is officially destined for consumers after being teased for five years at the tech show.
Ballie is a smart home robot that can respond to commands like a smart speaker can, but instead of remaining in place, it uses a couple of wheels and cameras to navigate around your home and answer your questions. The most interesting part? It’s gaining Google Gemini before it ships.
🍎 8. Your iPad Pro will work more like a Mac with iPadOS 19, says report
📱 Apple is reportedly redesigning iPadOS 19 ahead of WWDC 2025
💻 iPad Pro could offer a Mac-like experience for better productivity
🗣️ Users have wanted a multitasking-driven iPad UI for a long time
🤔 It’s unclear if more powerful Mac apps will land on the iPad
📅 iPadOS 19 will likely drop in September
Apple could finally answer the call of iPad users everywhere with iPadOS 19. The company is expected to redesign iPadOS and introduce a more Mac-like experience that’s focused on multitasking and app windows, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
This could mean that users will finally get to take advantage of all the power that Apple crams into its tablets and make the iPad a stronger laptop replacement.
⚙️ 9. Nvidia RTX 5060 promises a big next-gen upgrade for $299
📣 TODAY: Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB launches for $429
🏷️ Soon after: Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 8GB releases for $379
📆 In May: Nvidia RTX 5060 comes out for just $299
📈 Nvidia promises 2x fps RTX 5060 Ti while the RTX 5060 is 2x than the previous generation
🧰 New entry-level Nvidia RTX 50-series cards feature DLSS 4, Multi-Frame Generation, PCIe 5, and DisplayPort 2.1
Nvidia has announced a trio of new entry-range graphics cards: the Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti with either 16GB or 8GB of VRAM and an Nvidia RTX 5060 with only 8GB of VRAM.
The 16GB variants of the Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti will be released today for $429, while an 8GB model will follow soon after for $379. The Nvidia RTX 5060 is due to arrive later this May for $299.
If you’ve been keeping up with historic GPU prices, the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti is $70 less than the previous generation RTX 4060 Ti. Also, the 8GB RTX 5060 is $30 less than the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti. The RTX 5060, meanwhile, maintains the same price as the previous RTX 4060.
📱 10. Galaxy Z Fold 7 leaks, confirming three key specs
📱 Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 has reportedly surfaced in new benchmarks
⚙️ Key specs were revealed in the leak: the processor, RAM, and software
📐 Prior rumors suggest it’ll have bigger screens than the Galaxy Z Fold 6
📅 Samsung is expected to announce its next foldable phones in late July
Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Z Fold 7 this summer alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 7, and we’re now getting a better idea of what kind of specs it’ll have on board. Leaker Tarun Vats shared a Geekbench test screenshot on X that details how the Z Fold 7 (identified as “SM-F966U”) performed, and we get a glimpse at three specs that’ll drive a majority of the experience.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, according to the benchmarks. The chip is listed as “sun” on the benchmark, which is the codename Qualcomm gave it in development. This means it’ll have the same performance as phones like the OnePlus 13 and Samsung’s own Galaxy S25.
🔒 Bonus: $100 PS, $50 Nintendo deal; $10 off Xbox Game Pass
🟦 $100 PlayStation giftcard for $84.99
🍄 $50 Nintendo Gift Card for $45
❎ $60 Xbox Game Pass for $50
We’re expanding our discount codes for paid subscribers as a pack-in. It’s sort of like CD-ROM pack-ins for subscribers of 90s magazines.
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Here are the actual discount codes & directions for paid subscribers ⤵️
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