📈 PSVR 2 sales up 2,000%, 🍎 iOS 18.1 beta is here, 🪦 Xbox 360 shutdown, 🎧 Sony's wild wearable speaker

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📈 1. Exclusive: PSVR 2 sales surge over 2,000% after Sony's huge price drop

• 📈 Sony saw a 2,350% rise in PSVR 2 sales yesterday, based on our data

• 💰 The PSVR 2 price went from a steep $550 to $350 ($200 off)

• 🤷‍♂️ After 24 hours, PSVR 2 has completely sold out at Amazon

• 📆 It originally launched Feb 2, 2023. Sample data is from January 1 to now

• 🥽 Many PS5 gamers found it too expensive before and had few VR games

• 🔜 Aug 7: Sony plans to open up PSVR 2 to PC games with an adapter

Don’t call it a comeback (because it may be a 🔥 firesale). The Sony PSVR dropped from $550 to $350, and that $200 discount was enough to cause sales of PS5’s VR headset to skyrocket, according to the retail data collected by The Shortcut.

In fact, thousands of The Shortcut subscribers were among the ones to buy PSVR 2 via my Sunday email.

That’s impressive, but it also shows that the PSVR 2 headset has been sitting on store shelves for months – many PlayStation gamers wouldn’t buy it at $550, and so many developers I talked to told me, “Why make a game for a fraction of the audience?”. With Sony adding PC support to PSVR 2 on August 7, this could be a turnaround.

But I continue to pose this question: Where are God of War, Uncharted, and Spider-Man games in VR? Those would be incredible, and Sony has the IP to make it happen.

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🍎 2. iOS 18.1 beta with Apple Intelligence is available to developers

• 🆕 Apple has released the developer beta for iOS 18.1

• 🤖 Users can access the company’s AI features for the first time

• 🧠 AI call recording and transcriptions is incredibly helpful

• 📱 iOS 18 features more ways to customize your iPhone than ever before

• 👍 Apple Intelligence will also help with writing, image creation, Siri and more

I downloaded and installed the iOS 18.1 developer beta and I’m exploring what’s here so far, including the new Siri and Priority Mail design interfaces. We’re not going to see some Apple Intelligence features come to the public until 2025, well long after we get our hands on one of the new iPhone 16 colors.

It’s interesting to get a taste test of Apple’s AI features now. I’ll be flying to the Made By Google launch event in Cupertino on August 13 where Google will show off the latest Gemini AI features in the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold – and maybe its Google TV Streamer device – to rival Apple.

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🌡️ 3. New Google Nest Thermostat

• 💧 Images of the new Google Nest Temperature Sensor have leaked online

• 👀 X user MysteryLupin posted the marketing materials for the thermostat

• 🌤️ It can learn the temperatures you like; display the time, temp or weather

• ⚡️ It’ll also help you see energy while you’re away and can be programmed using the Google Home app

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🔜 4. PS5 Pro inches closer to launch – here's what we know so far

• 🔜 Sony is set to launch a PS5 Pro this year, with several leaks all but confirming its existence

• 📆 The release date is rumored to be November, with an announcement likely to take place in September

• 👀 PS5 Slim is currently $50 off, which could signal the PS5 Pro is coming

• 💰 Sony’s PS5 Pro is expected to cost $599 and will offer better ray tracing performance, higher resolutions and could be capable of displaying at 8K

• Sony’s PSP 2 handheld is expected to launch in 2025

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🎧 5. Sony Bravia Theater U review: Sony’s wearable speakers make me want to ditch headphones

🏆 Review score: 4.5 out of 5

🏅Editor’s Choice

Pros:

• ✅ 😌 Comfortable design for almost all-day wear

• ✅ 🔊 Speakers direct sound directly to you

• ✅ 🤫 Others can barely hear the speakers

• ✅ 📲 Multi-point lets you connect two devices at once

• ✅ 💫 360 spatial sound that wraps around you

Cons

• ❌ 🪫 Battery life could have been longer than 12 hours

• ❌ 📺 360 spatial sound only works with smart devices and Sony TVs

• ❌ 🏠 Not really usable outside of home

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🔨 6. Samsung Z Flip 6 teardown, bend test

• 💪 The Samsung Z Flip 6 appears to have some structural improvements

• 📱 The screen crease on the internal screen has decreased but scratch resistance remains the same

• 🤕 The Flip 6 can survive being bent backward, and a large vapor chamber helps with heat dissipation

• ⏯️ YouTuber JerryRigEverything tested the phone’s durability in a typically brutal fashion, and iFixit also did a complete teardown

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😍 🎮 7. The Astro Bot PS5 controller is my favorite design yet – here's when pre-orders begin

• 🎮 Astro Bot is getting a limited edition PS5 controller celebrating the game

• 😍 The new controller sports one of the most unique designs yet

• 🤖 It looks just like Astro from the upcoming game

• 📆 Preorders begin on August 9 and it’s likely to sell out fast

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🪦 8. RIP Xbox 360 Marketplace: it’s been shut down after nearly 20 years

• 👋 Microsoft shut down the Xbox 360 marketplace (2005-2024)

• 😢 You can no longer purchase games or access any content

• ⏳ The company announced the store would shut down last August

• 😔 Many Xbox 360 titles are backward compatible on Xbox Series X|S, but hundreds aren’t

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📱 9. Google Pixel 9 Pro colors: see the four new colors before August 13

• 📆 The Google Pixel 9 will come in four colors on August 13

• 🎨 Trusted sources say the Pixel 9 will be available in Obsidian, Rose, Hazel and Porcelain

• 🌹 Obsidian and Porcelain are closest to black and white, while Rose is the brightest of the colors

• 🤩 The Google Pixel 9 will include more vibrant color options

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📺 10. Apple TV+ could get ads like Netflix and Prime Video

• 📢 Apple is discussing adding ads to Apple TV+

• 🤝 Executives met with the UK ratings agency to “discuss potential options for tracking adverts”

• 💰 Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video all have ad-supported tiers

• 👔 The company hired NBCUniversal ads exec Joseph Cady in March, only strengthening the rumors

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• 🟦 $100 PlayStation giftcard for $86

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