🎮 PSP iPhone emulator, ⛩️ New Assassin's Creed, 📺 115" TCL TV, 🤖 Google IO AI, 📱 Pixel 8a review
10 tech stories in the quickest format possible
🔥 Coming next week: Discover Samsung starts, and we’ll highlight all of the daily discounts at the button below
We’re expanding! I just got in the new iPad Pro 13-inch to review, and we launched a new unboxing Instagram account: Unboxing Shortcut – follow for daily tech Reels. This is the latest way Adam, Kevin, and I are expanding The Shortcut brand.
🧪 Honest tech news & reviews by humans you know, not “AI journalists”
💸 Exclusive discount codes for paid subscribers (like old magazine CD pack-ins, something extra for our loyal supporters)
💬 1:1 tech deals & advice from @mattswider (DM me!), first to paid subscribers
📬 NEW: More frequent newsletters for everyone, first to paid subscribers
📦 NEW: Launching an unboxing channel Unboxing Shortcut
🤖🥊 Coming soon: Top-secret authentic creator-first idea to combat the idea of “AI journalism”
About our 🤖 AI coverage
AI is a double-edged sword for us. It’s a fascinating technology that could change many things in the world for the better, and we’ll continue to cover it fairly (see my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, for example). But it’s fraught with problems: intellectual property theft, deepfakes, and just plain getting things wrong. It’s not ready for prime time in all cases (see my Rabbit R1 review, for example).
🔒 For paid subscribers only
I’ll have more exclusive discount codes this weekend and every day next week!
🐦 Ask Matt Swider on Twitter or Instagram for hand-picked deals from Walmart / Best Buy / Amazon / B&H / Samsung / Google / GameStop / Xbox / Microsoft Office (PC) / MS Office (Mac)
Today’s 10-story newsletter continues below the calendar ⤵️
📆 Your Tech Calendar
📱 Today: Apple’s iPad Pro and Air release
📆 May 16, Thurs: Megalopolis to premier at Cannes
🟦 May 20, Mon: Discover Samsung Spring sale begins
⚔️ May 21, Tues: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Xbox Game Pass)
💥 May 24, Fri: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is in theaters
🧸 May 31, Fri: Hypercharge: Unboxed on Game Pass
💻 June 3, Mon: Computex begins in Taipei (we’ll be there)
🍎 June 10, Mon: Apple WWDC 2024 keynote
⚽ June 14, Fri: UEFA Euro 2024 begins
🥇 July 26, Fri: Summer Olympic Games begin
📺 😎 1. TCL’s new 115-inch TV is super bright and a gamer’s dream
TCL is launching a new, larger-than-life 115-inch 4K TV with 20,000 Mini LEDs that delivers a super bright and immersive experience. Gamers will love the TCL QM891G as it offers a 120Hz panel and also supports 144Hz VRR for PC gaming. Just imagine playing the best PS5 games on this monster set (we did, and it was awesome).
If 115 inches is too much to handle, TCL also has 98- to 65-inch models available (we also tested these). Prices range between $7,999 and $1,999, and you’re getting many of the same features as TCL’s flagship model.
💡 TCL’s new TVs are super bright and come in gigantic sizes
🎬 The 115-inch model brings the cinema into your home
👏 Smaller models are also available with many of the same features
🎮 All of the TVs will be great for gamers
2. Two new PS1 emulators for iPhone and iPad are topping the App Store charts
Two free PS1 emulators for iPhone and iPad, one called Gamma and another called PPSSPP, have shot up the App Store charts. The emulators let you play downloaded ROMs, which means you can play PS1 games on Apple devices.
Emulators have suddenly become available due to Apple’s store policy change, which was enforced by the EU. It has led to other emulators popping up such as Delta, which lets you emulate NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games. You can already imagine how angry Nintendo’s lawyers must be at this situation.
🤯 You can now play PS1 games on your iPhone and iPad
🤔 Apps Gamma and PPSSPP are available due to an App Store policy change
👮 You can download ROMs of older games from the Internet (emulators are legal, but you’re supposed to get the ROMs from games you bought)
🎮 Other emulators have shot up the charts, including a Nintendo-based one called Delta
🤖 3. All the big announcements from Google IO 2024
Google’s IO event for 2024 can be summed up pretty succinctly: AI. The bigwigs at the search giant must have said “AI” a hundred times, which isn’t exactly surprising. All the major players are pushing to become the leader in artificial intelligence, and Google hopes its innovations like Project Astra, Gemini, Imagen 3, a video generation tool called Veo, and a Music AI Sandbox will be enough to stand out.
We’re expecting Apple’s WWDC keynote to show an AI-infused iOS 18 and Siri, and it may involve a team-up with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. We just covered ChatGPT coming to Mac, so that rumor seems solid. Expect a far greater integration of AI in future Apple products, such as the new iPad Pro, iPhone and more.
📱 Project Astra looks like Google’s first crack at a Humane AI Pin & Rabbit R1 everyday AI assistant
🤖 AI coworkers powered by Gemini can join your workforce to help manage projects and data
🎼 Music AI Sandbox can produce musical loops with a single text prompt and some audio samples
🎥 Veo is a brand new AI video generation tool from Google
🖌️ Imagen 3 improves generative AI imagery with photorealistic detail and text
⛩️ 4. New Assassin’s Creed set in feudal Japan coming to all systems – even Mac
Ubisoft Québec is developing Assassin’s Creed Shadows, a new Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan, something gamers have been requesting for years. Today, we got our first glimpse of the action and storyline via a cinematic trailer.
🗓️ When? Where? It’ll be released on November 15 for PS5, Xbox Series X and S, Amazon Luna, Windows PC, and even Macs with Apple Silicon.
😫 Can I get it 3 days sooner, please? Ok, fine. Ubisoft+ subscribers and anyone who purchases the ‘Ultimate Edition’ of the game will get it on November 12.
🎮 PS5 Pro-bound? I’m also curious to see if Shadow launched on the PS5 Pro with enhanced graphics. November 15, 2024, sounds like an ideal date for Sony to launch its new console. 🤔
🔮 More AC to come. I’m still waiting to play Assassin’s Creed Mirage on the iPad and iPhone with hardware-accelerated ray-tracing graphics.
⛩️ A new Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan is coming this year
📆 It’ll be out Nov 15. Have Ubisoft+ / the Ultimate Edition? Get it Nov 12
🎮 Play it on PS5, Xbox, PC, and even Mac with Apple Silicon
📈 5. GameStop stock prices have surged once again – here’s why?
Remember when GameStop’s stock rocketed during the pandemic? Well, the man who helped kickstart the “meme stock” craze has returned. RoaringKitty posted on social media for the first time in years and caused stocks to rise once again.
🥶 The rise & freeze: GameStop’s stock price shot up by 68% and was halted several times due to volatility. This led the stock trading app Robinhood to issue a statement to reassure investors that it wasn’t behind the freezes.
📈 New highs: GameStop’s stock price still hasn’t reached the heady heights of 2021, but it’s clear (or maybe it isn’t) that RoaringKitty has the power to change the stock market in weird and mysterious ways.
📈 GameStop stock prices have surged once again – up by 68%
😷 It’s reminiscent of what happened during the pandemic
🤷♂️ The man most held responsible for the initial GME surge has returned
💰 GameStop’s stock rose by 68% but hasn’t reached the heights of 2021
📱 6. Google Pixel 8a review: the $500 AI phone
Google’s new Pixel 8a is the cheapest way to get all the benefits of AI in smartphones. You can access the company’s Gemini AI model, dramatic photo-editing features, and many upcoming features announced at Google’s IO event. The upgraded 120Hz refresh rate screen is a great touch for a phone at this price, and there are four colors to choose from including bold choices like the Aloe green and Bay blue.
Like all Pixel phones, the camera is the star of the show but it’s enhanced further thanks to AI photo editing tricks like Best Take. At this price, there are some drawbacks. Don’t expect super-fast wireless and wired charging, and the thick black bezel isn’t the most attractive feature. Still, for $499, these aspects can be easily overlooked.
✅ 👑 The 2024 king of affordable smartphones: $499 straight from Google
✅ 🧠 The cheapest new smartphone you can buy with AI
✅ 🏃♂️ Upgraded 120Hz refresh rate for a more fluid screen experience
✅ 📸 Excellent Pixel camera you know and love + AI photo editing tricks
❌ ⚡ Slow wired and wireless charging
❌ 📺 Thick black bezel around the screen vs Google Pixel 8
❌ ♊ Some Gemini AI features already on discounted Pixel 7a
❌ 📶 Unlocked Pixel 8a phones don’t come with Verizon’s mmWave 5G
🗣️🤖 7. OpenAI brings us one step closer to the movie ‘Her’
OpenAI held a scarily impressive demo showing off its new AI LLM tool Chat GPT-4o, which at times was eerily reminiscent of the 2013 movie ‘Her’ where Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with an advanced AI voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
The demo showed off how ChatGPT-4o can interact with a user with real voice emotion and can also be interrupted. What’s more, OpenAI showed off the model’s new vision capabilities that can analyze on-screen and on-camera queries. Perhaps most eye-catching, though, was the real-time translation tool, which will likely worry translators and language apps.
Elon Musk, who is currently suing OpenAI for partnering with Microsoft, was less impressed by the company’s demo. He called the demo ‘cringe’, and has been actively commenting on stories and posts about the new AI model since on X.
🤖 ChatGPT-4o is OpenAI’s latest model that’s faster and sounds more real
💻 A native ChatGPT app is coming to desktops – Mac first, Windows later
💰 It’s free (with limits), but some features will come to ChatGPT Plus first
😮 You can ask ChatGPT-4o to voice emotion and now interrupt the AI
📉 🦉 8. Duolingo stock drops after OpenAI shows off its translation tech
Duolingo, the popular language learning app that is rather “edgy” online, has seen its stock drop after OpenAI’s impressive real-time translation tech demo. Stock fell sharply shortly after OpenAI’s presentation, but has since recovered. Analysts still see investing in Duolingo as worthwhile, despite the looming threat of GenAI, with JPMorgan analyst Brayn M. Smilek remaining optimistic about the company’s future.
Translators may be the most worried in the near term, as OpenAI appears to be able to quite comprehensively listen and translate a conversation between two people with little to no noticeable delay.
📉 Duolingo’s stock dropped shortly after OpenAI’s presentation
🤯 OpenAI showed off real-time translation between two people
🦉 The language learning app remains one of the most popular
💰 Despite the drop, investors are still optimistic about Duolingo’s future
💚 9. Xbox is getting another awesome feature you’ll likely never hear about
Microsoft hasn’t had the best few weeks when it comes to positive Xbox PR, but it’s at least continuing to release genuinely useful features for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles. A new update will allow users to install game updates before they are released, meaning you’ll never have to wait around for a patch to install again.
It’s a feature that will undoubtedly be overlooked by many, which isn’t helped by the fact Microsoft doesn’t tend to highlight the strengths of its console very well. While the update is welcome, it won’t do much to dispel the clouds of negative that are looming over the Xbox brand after Microsoft closed four studios, including the developer of Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within, Tango Gameworks.
🆕 A new Xbox Series X feature is available to Insiders now
👏 It’ll let you install game updates before they are released
😮 It means you might never have to wait for an update again
😢 It’s yet another great Xbox feature that will get little to no attention
👀 10. Coppola’s Megalopolis trailer is well worth a watch
Megalopolis is an upcoming film from the legendary director Francis Coppola, and the first teaser trailer has been released. It’s set in a reimagined modern America following a devastating disaster and features a star-studded cast including Adam Driver (Star Wars), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bed), Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man), Aubrey Plaza (Black Bear) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix).
With a budget of $120 minutes and a pleasing digestible run time of 138 minutes, Megalopolis could be the next big movie that’s worth trekking to the cinema for. It’s due to release on May 16 and Coppola says, “Our new film Megalopolis is the best work I’ve ever had the privilege to preside over”.
📆 Francis Coppola’s next film is out on May 16
🤩 It includes a star-studded cast
🇺🇸 The film is set in a reimagined modern America after a devastating disaster
🤔 It’s described as a epic science fiction drama
🔒 We’ll have discount codes Friday and all next week for paid subscribers
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 magazines. Stay tuned for new codes Friday and a special discount coming all next week.
