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The 7 best moments in Xbox history

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 19:08:25 +0000

As Microsoft turns 50, we look back on the original announcement, Halo, Xbox Game Pass, and more moments that define Xbox.

In just a few days, Microsoft is turning 50 — a colossal milestone for the massive Redmond tech firm, and one that's inspired many of us here at Windows Central to reflect on the company's many peaks and valleys over the years.

Of course, one of Microsoft's most notable ventures is Xbox, a gaming brand that started with the firm's announcement of a new console at the turn of the century and still continues strong today with powerful modern systems, popular services and programs, and noteworthy initiatives. Indeed, Xbox has grown into a core pillar for Microsoft's business — and in recognition of how far it's come, I thought it would be fun to look back at seven of my favorite moments from that journey (in chronological order).

Without further ado, here are some of the most iconic, memorable, and impactful moments in Xbox's history that wowed the industry, brought fans valuable features and opportunities, and changed gaming forever.

The reveal of Xbox

Where else to start, if not where it all began? Following Microsoft's initial announcement of its plans to make a new console in 2000, former CEO and co-founder Bill Gates famously unveiled the original Xbox system during the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2001. And he didn't do it alone; halfway through his presentation, none other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson — still wrestling in the WWF (now the WWE) at the time — came on stage, engaging in an entertaining back-and-forth chat with Gates without missing a beat.

"The Xbox is everything The Rock is: cutting edge, powerful, exhilarating — and like The Rock, it will be the most electrifying thing coming out this year," Johnson said, acting talent that would eventually land him a prosperous film career on display. "And what The Rock is to sports entertainment and the WWF, the Xbox will be to the video game industry: a breakthrough, and certainly an original."

I was only a toddler at the time, so I wasn't fortunate enough to experience this moment live. Growing up as a huge fan of Xbox, though, I've always looked back at this reveal of Microsoft's first console fondly.

Halo's revolutionary impact

The cover art for Halo: Combat Evolved.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The Xbox's impressive performance capabilities surpassed that of competing systems like Sony's PlayStation 2, but that advantage wouldn't begin to bear fruit until later in 2002. Microsoft needed a strong title to pair with the console at launch, and that game ended up being Halo: Combat Evolved — a first-person shooter from Bungie, which was best known for the Marathon series at the time.

Released on November 15, 2001 alongside the Xbox, Halo quickly garnered widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike, and stands tall as one of the most revolutionary shooters in gaming history. With open-ended level designs that brought the genre outside of repetitive corridors, the introduction of a two-weapon limit that drove players to make strategic decisions about their arsenal, a simple, intuitive, and controller-friendly control scheme, and advanced enemy AI that hold up even today, Halo pioneered the shooter market on console, inspired lasting changes to the process of making FPS games moving forward, and became the Xbox's killer app.

Halo continued to be a critical part of the Xbox brand for many years, with 2004's Halo 2 skyrocketing the popularity of Microsoft's Xbox Live online multiplayer service and both Halo 3 and Halo: Reach enjoying immense success on the company's follow-up Xbox 360 console. It's less important to Xbox today, but I'll always think of it as the console's flagship franchise regardless.

Xbox Live defined the console multiplayer experience

The iconic Xbox Live logo from back in the day.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Exactly one year after Xbox's explosive launch with Halo: Combat Evolved, Microsoft debuted Xbox Live — a multiplayer network that brought online functionality to the console. And while Live wasn't the first attempt by a manufacturer to do this — Sega and Nintendo had tried before, for example — it was the one that lead to the development of the networks we enjoy today.

While previous console multiplayer experiences were entirely managed by individual games and their studios, Xbox Live pioneered the idea of one unified network that all games hooked into, along with features like persistent handles for players and an account-based friends list that made squadding up with friends easier than ever. It also fully supported voice chat, with Microsoft even including headsets with Xbox console purchases.

Xbox Live gave Microsoft a noteworthy edge over its competitors, with Xbox firmly leading in the online gaming space thanks to the network's functionality and big titles like Rainbow Six 3 and Halo 2 (among others). Though now known simply as the "Xbox network," Live has remained at the heart of Xbox for over 20 years.

Xbox One Backwards Compatibility was a huge win

For this next one, we're fast-forwarding to 2015 — a time when Xbox's reputation, after the prosperous years of the Xbox 360 era, had fallen far after consumers were greatly disappointed by 2013's Xbox One. The new system was more expensive than Sony's PlayStation 4 as a result of the included Kinect motion sensor, but also less performant; this left it in a very poor position against the PS4, giving Sony a huge head start in the new generation.

Microsoft would eventually decouple the Kinect from Xbox One purchases to reduce the console's price, and also began to claw back hearts and minds with impressive new features. And if you ask me, the most significant and important of these was Xbox One Backwards Compatibility. This function (first revealed by Xbox head Phil Spencer during E3 2015) allowed you to play 100 of the most popular Xbox 360 games on Xbox One via emulation, with countless additional games and even titles from the original Xbox console becoming available over time.

Xbox's backwards-compatible library has only continued to swell since then, and the program is fully supported on Xbox Series X|S, too. With the new consoles able to play almost all non-Kinect Xbox One titles (with enhancements!), that means it's possible to play games from four generations ago with a system from 2020. Put simply, that's awesome, and compared to Nintendo or PlayStation — platforms that often don't support backwards compatibility and charge for purchasing old games you already own on new consoles — it makes Xbox stand out as particularly friendly to longtime gamers.

Xbox Game Pass changed everything

A neon sign advertising Xbox Game Pass.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

There's no way I could write this list up without talking about Xbox Game Pass, which has become a core component of Microsoft's gaming business in the last decade. First made available in early June 2017 (has it really been eight years? Good grief), the buffet-style service enticed customers with an attractive offer: for $10 a month, you could get access to 100 Xbox One and backwards compatible Xbox 360 games, including big-name exclusives like Halo 5: Guardians and other popular titles.

Over time, both the Xbox Game Pass games list and the program itself grew rapidly, with Microsoft eventually committing to releasing all new first-party titles on Game Pass on day one, starting with Rare's 2018 pirate multiplayer game Sea of Thieves. The company then introduced Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $15, including Xbox Live Gold in the package and giving subscribers a chance to save a little money; when Xbox Game Pass for PC — now simply called PC Game Pass — came out for Windows PC, it was also included in Ultimate.

Naturally, questions about profitability and sustainability have come up, though Phil Spencer has said it's "completely sustainable" in the past. In an interview, Microsoft Games Marketing vice president Aaron Greenberg also noted that Game Pass isn't a "a big profit play," explaining that it's meant to attract new customers and bring success in the long term.

Today, games come and go from the Game Pass library of 400+ titles, and Ultimate has gotten a price increase up to $20 (though you can get it for far cheaper) along with access to Xbox Cloud Gaming. Fundamentally, though, it works as it always has, and Microsoft's "the best deal in gaming" marketing has paid off; Game Pass has 34 million subscribers as of 2024, though those numbers do now factor Xbox Live Gold members into account since Xbox Game Pass Core recently replaced that service. Regardless, it's undeniable that Game Pass has become an absolute juggernaut of a program.

The wonderful Xbox Adaptive Controller

Another of my favorite Xbox moments came just a year after Game Pass' launch: the introduction of the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a highly customizable accessibility controller for modern Xbox consoles and Windows PCs. The device's debut was a huge step forward for Microsoft's commitment to making gaming more accessible for everyone, and continues to be used widely today.

With two large programmable buttons and a whopping 19 3.5mm jacks on the gamepad's rear that allow you to hook up a wide variety of accessibility-friendly input devices, the controller fully lives up to its namesake, adapting to the needs of the person using it. Because of the device's modular nature, it's possible to create setups that significantly mitigate the impact of a wide variety of different disabilities.

Indeed, the Xbox Adaptive Controller is fantastic, and it's gone on to inspire other pieces of accessibility hardware like the Access controller for PS5 and the Proteus controller Microsoft designed with Byowave. Earlier this month, Microsoft also released the Xbox Adaptive Joystick after showing it off at the firm's 15th annual Ability Summit.

The Activision Blizzard acquisition

This graphic shows a number of the franchises Microsoft gained ownership of when it acquired Activision Blizzard.

(Image credit: @Klobrille on Twitter (X))

It feels like it would be wrong to cap this piece off with anything other than Microsoft's monumental acquisition of Activision Blizzard King (ABK), with the $69 billion merger finally going through in October 2023 after 20 long months of scrutiny from regulatory bodies around the world. The acquisition gave Microsoft ownership over some of the biggest gaming franchises in history, including the likes of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Candy Crush alongside many others.

Many old and new titles alike from ABK have come to Game Pass in the wake of the deal, including games like Diablo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Additionally, it also gives the company the option to make new games from Activision Blizzard exclusive to Xbox and Windows PC, though it can also choose to sell them on PlayStation for maximum profit as it's done with Call of Duty thus far.

The merger was also widely seen as a good thing for workers at Activision Blizzard, as it came after the publisher became embroiled in controversy after a lawsuit claimed a "frat boy" culture was fostered in the workplace. The hope was that under Microsoft leadership, company culture would be far healthier; generally, employees at the firm seem to be satisfied with their experience, though I should note that the company has faced scrutiny for major layoffs that have occurred in recent years.

Ultimately, it's only been about a year and a half since the acquisition went through, and that's not much time in the world of game development. With that in mind, I'm not surprised that it hasn't borne much fruit yet, but whatever's next for all the teams at ABK will undoubtedly play a huge role in Xbox's future.

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Elon Musk’s xAI buys Elon Musk’s X for $33 billion on paper

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 07:20:19 +0000

Musk says this move is ‘blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.‘

A few years after buying Twitter for $44 billion, Elon Musk announced that his AI business xAI has acquired the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. In a tweet, he described it as an all-stock transaction, valuing xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion, including $12 billion in debt it had as part of his takeover. “This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach,” writes Musk.

In response to a deal cementing about $11 billion in lost value since the 2022 sale, X CEO Linda Yaccarino posted, “The future could not be brighter.”

Despite failing so far to make X an “everything app,” Musk has tied these two ventures together closely since launching xAI in the summer of 2023, saying that access to the vast trove of data from Twitter / X would give it a major advantage, and prominently placing xAI’s Grok tool within the social app. This week, Grok launched an integration beyond X, joining Telegram.

The arrangement is also a reminder of a previous Musk deal combining two companies he controlled. Tesla Motors acquired SolarCity, a company with Musk as its largest individual shareholder and his cousin Lyndon Rive as CEO, for $2.6 billion in 2016 and dropped “Motors” from its name. Musk didn’t mention Tesla in the announcement, after already proclaiming “I have, like, 17 jobs” at a hastily-announced all-hands meeting for the car company last week — it’s unclear if this deal adds to or subtracts from the number.

Today’s tweet also didn’t mention his ambition for the service to handle “someone’s entire financial life,” but it does repeat his claim of X as “the digital town square.”As we noted in January, xAI staffers were also X employees, with company laptops and access to its code base. Musk had also previously claimed X investors would own 25 percent of XAI, but as of January, that had not materialized for X employees with shares in the company.

While X’s valuation had reportedly dropped since the 2022 takeover before recently rebounding, the value of xAI has risen along with other companies in the space like Nvidia and OpenAI, where Musk has gone from co-founder and early investor to rival and legal antagonist since walking away in 2018. The Wall Street Journal reported xAI had been valued at $50 billion in an investment round last November, more than double its $24 billion valuation during another funding round in the spring of 2024.

Elon Musk:

@xAI has acquired @X in an all-stock transaction. The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt).

Since its founding two years ago, xAI has rapidly become one of the leading AI labs in the world, building models and data centers at unprecedented speed and scale.

X is the digital town square where more than 600M active users go to find the real-time source of ground truth and, in the last two years, has been transformed into one of the most efficient companies in the world, positioning it to deliver scalable future growth.

xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach. The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge. This will allow us to build a platform that doesn’t just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress.

I would like to recognize the hardcore dedication of everyone at xAI and X that has brought us to this point. This is just the beginning.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

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Is AI a fad? 76% of researchers say scaling has "plateaued" — but firms like OpenAI continue splurging billions into a dead end

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Most AI researchers think current AI strategies are "very unlikely" to succeed, and that top AI labs are plunging billions into a dead end for scaling.

As generative AI becomes more advanced and sophisticated, it's becoming more apparent that the technology requires large investments for rapid progression. For context, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman indicated that it'd "take $7 trillion and many years to build 36 semiconductor plants and additional data centers" to fulfill his ambitious AI vision.

Interestingly, several reports have emerged countering the progressive breakthrough, suggesting AI is a fad. Another report suggested that 30% of AI projects will be abandoned by 2025 after proof of concept.

Despite claims that top AI labs like Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI have hit a scaling wall and are unable to develop advanced AI models, they continue to invest wads of cash into their AI advances. For instance, OpenAI's $500 billion Stargate project designed to facilitate the construction of data centers across the United States for foster its AI advances.

However, as it now seems, even AI researchers have little faith in the current AI strategies and have expressed doubts on their capability to achieve significant milestones such as artificial general intelligence (AGI) or superintelligence.

According to the study spotted by Futurism, 76% of the AI researchers that participated in the study indicated that current AI strategies are "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to succeed.

For context, the study featured 475 AI researchers and was conducted by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence scientists. The study seeks to establish the success rate of the current AI approaches based on achievements.

As you may know, a lot of effort goes into scaling AI advances, from data centers to hardware to the resources required to train and run AI models. Top AI labs use AGI as the highest honor in this regard, signifying an AI system that surpasses human cognitive capabilities.

In that regard, top AI labs dig deep into their pockets to edge closer to this feat. However, the companies find themselves between a rock and a hard place, on the verge of bankruptcy.

Last year, OpenAI was on the verge of bankruptcy, with projections of making a $5 billion loss within a year because of its heavy investment in AI scaling. However, top investors, including Microsoft, NVIDIA, SoftBank, and Thrive Capital raised $6.6 billion through a round of funding to keep its business afloat, pushing its market valuation well beyond $157 billion.

DeepSeek's ultra-cheap model makes difficult to state AI progression's case

DeepSeek ruffled some feathers with its more cost effective AI model.

(Image credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg)

While speaking to the NewScientist, Stuart Russel, a computer scientist at UC Berkeley indicated:

"The vast investments in scaling, unaccompanied by any comparable efforts to understand what was going on, always seemed to me to be misplaced. I think that, about a year ago, it started to become obvious to everyone that the benefits of scaling in the conventional sense had plateaued."

Money isn't the only issue riddling AI's progression, energy is a major factor. Did you know that Google and Microsoft alone consume enough energy to power 100 countries?

Elsewhere, the emergence of Chinese startup DeepSeek with its cost-friendly AI model has raised concern among investors and stakeholders. It's model surpasses OpenAI's proprietary AI model at a fraction of the cost, potentially suggesting that money isn't necessarily the decipher key to AI scaling.

OpenAI is also exploring a similar approach with a technique known as text-time compute with its latest models. The approach allows its model to spend more time thinking instead of blurting out a response almost instantly like before.

However, Arvind Narayanan, a computer scientist at Princeton University doesn't think this approach will salvage the situation either. "But this approach is unlikely to be a silver bullet," added Narayanan.

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Star Citizen Alpha 4.1 lands with orbital lasers, mini sandworms, alien NPC, and more

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 17:59:02 +0000

Cloud Imperium Games advanced its community-funded sci-fi space sim Star Citizen to Alpha 4.0 just before the start of 2025, adding a whole new system to explore with its own planets and moons. The studio has now returned to offering smaller, more focused content updates. Released today, the Alpha 4.1 - Orbital Assault update brings new locations, sandbox missions, a certain alien mission giver, and even some miniature sandworms.

The main feature of Alpha 4.1 is the new sandbox activity Align and Mine, which lets players work together across two moons to activate an orbital mining beam, all for cracking open a planet for its valuables. Here's a rundown straight from the developer about this new activity:

Players will need to navigate the facility buildings to grab keycards to unlock new areas leading to the final terminal to align the satellite to the orbital station above. Once all 3 ground locations have been aligned and the batteries from each location acquired, players need to navigate the station above and use the batteries to power the Orbital mining beam. Once active, players will then head back down to the ground bunker for the final beam activation that will shoot down from space, breaking open a new Cave with valuable hand and ground vehicle mineables.

While Cloud Imperium has been teasing giant sandworms in videos for many years now, it seems their actual gameplay implementation is near. The latest update has added Juvenile Valakkar for players to battle. Found on some moons, the burrowing worm fauna will attempt to keep their distance while traveling through the ground while throwing rocks.

Meanwhile, Wikelo arrives as the first alien contact players can interact with in Star Citizen. This Banu Collector can be found in the Stanton system, hoping to trade with humans for weapons, armor, and ships.

Other features of this update include two new Arena Commander maps, the Parallax laser assault rifle, ship collision physics updates, many more dynamic conversation lines for NPCs, and much more. The complete patch notes can be found here.

Star Citizen Alpha 4.1 - Orbital Assault update is now available for all backers.

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NVIDIA is at it again... More "crumbs" for gamers... (JayzTwoCents) [Video]

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 06:23:54 +0000

JayzTwoCents (4.19M subscribers)

March 28, 2025

Video length: 18m 25s

5060 and 5060Ti Rumors seem to be very plausible... and if these rumors are true then you should avoid them at all costs...

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Hogwarts Legacy reportedly no longer getting an expansion or Definitive Edition

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 06:22:00 +0000

Hogwarts Legacy went on to become the best-selling game of the year in 2023, even beating out Call of Duty. However, it seems Warner Bros. ongoing financial issues are even affecting the magical world that Avalanche Software built for gamers. According to a new report, the story content and the new special edition the game was set to receive have now been canceled.

The original report about an expansion pack incoming for Hogwarts Legacy happened back in 2024, which said the upcoming content was attempting to shore up Warner Bros. falling revenue after the disappointing launch of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

However, according to some sources speaking to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, this paid story content has been canceled entirely by Warner Bros. The unannounced Definitive Edition had met the same fate, per the report, which would have offered the base game and expansion as a single package.

Per the first report, the expansion would have included a "new story quest, side quests, activities, and outfits." According to Schreier, Avalanche Software had been working with Arkham and Suicide Squad developer Rocksteady Studios on this expansion project, which would have introduced previously cut content from the base game, including a companion.

The reasoning behind the cancellation is reportedly related to the price that the publisher wanted to charge players, which had seemed too much when considering the amount of content that would have been offered.

It was only last month that Warner Bros. closed down three of its game development studios, while also canceling the AAA Wonder Woman game that had been in development for years. It's said that the Hogwarts Legacy sequel is still in development at Avalanche Software.

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Path of Exile 2 gaining Huntress class, five new ascendancies, Rogue Exiles, and much more

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 06:21:14 +0000

Grinding Gear Games just revealed its first content update for Path of Exile 2. Dubbed Dawn of the Hunt, this release for the early access action RPG is adding a brand-new spear and buckler-wielding class, five new ascension classes, a wealth of more endgame encounters, over 100 new items, and more.

The new Huntress class is described as a "dexterous and ferocious spear-wielding warrior" that can use the weapon for both melee and ranged combat. Players are also able to parry incoming attacks with a buckler, stunning enemies in the process and preparing them for counters, including devastating elemental attacks.

The studio says that the Huntress features some of the longest attack and ability combo chains it has ever created for any class. 20 new spear skills are being introduced to bolster the class as well.

Meanwhile, the five new ascendancy classes players are getting access to for building their characters are these:

Ritualist (Huntress) - The Ritualist sacrifices flesh and blood, unleashing corrupted lifeforce upon their foes. She delved into the forbidden depths of Azmeri traditions, wielding blood sacrifice and plague as weapons.
Amazon (Huntress) - A peerless hunter who thrives on precision and elemental fury. The Amazon Ascension forges warriors into elite hunters, sworn to protect Azmeri Elders with lethal precision.
Lich (Witch) - The Lich tears their own soul apart, becoming a master of undeath and chaos. The Lich is a master of Chaos and Curses who can use her own life to enhance her Energy.
Smith of Kitava (Warrior) - The Smith of Kitava forges weapons of destruction in fire and suffering. Embrace sheer power and take Smithing skills to greater heights by resonating with the insatiable one - Kitava.
Tactician (Mercenary) - the Mercenary Tactician brings military-grade brutality to the battlefield. As a former trained Blackguard Elite, the Tactician is able to decimate the monsters of Wraeclast while earning a healthy income at the same time.

Raise Spectre and Summon Rhoa Mount are brand-new abilities entering the game, too, letting players summon monster souls and call a Rhoa to mount and fight, respectively.

Dawn of the Hunt also carries eight new maps with unique encounters inside warped realities. This includes the mirrored monster fights in The Fractured Lake, the boss rush-like challenge of The Phaaryl Megaliths, and more. Four new strongboxes, four new corrupted essences, a corruption cleansing mechanic for maps, and more are included here.

Another addition is the Rogue Exiles. These NPC exiles are hostile and will always challenge the player to a fight to the death. Aside from having access to skills like dodge roll and unique combinations of powers, just like the player, these are described as unique encounters that feature much higher combat intelligence compared to normal enemies.

Here's what the studio added regarding the endgame rebalance the update brings, aimed at reducing the amount of busy work players are forced to do right now:

Dawn of the Hunt significantly rebalances the endgame. The number of towers has been drastically reduced but they have been made much more powerful. Tablets now affect twice as many areas and running higher tier Maps in Towers increases this number further still. In addition, each Tower will be able to consume up to three Tablets at once.

The Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt content update is slated to land across PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 on April 4 at 12 pm PT. The studio recommends starting over in a fresh economy to get the recommended experience with the new season. The full patch notes for version 0.2.0 will be coming sometime next week.

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Assassin's Creed Shadows hits three million players, with 40 million hours spent in-game

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 18:34:57 +0000

Ubisoft has been announcing the player milestones that Assassin's Creed Shadows has been hitting since its launch last week. Just a few hours after launching on March 20, the feudal Japan-set RPG experience had already reached one million players. A day later, Ubisoft was celebrating the title, reaching two million players across all platforms, and it even confirmed that it had beaten the launch performances of Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey. A week later, the three million mark has been hit.

Once again, the announcement arrived via a social media post from the French video game maker, confirming over three million players have so far jumped into Assassin's Creed Shadows. Alongside it, some additional numbers were shared about the massive launch.

According to Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed Shadows is now in second place for achieving the biggest day-one sales revenue in the history of the franchise. While the studio didn't name it here, the first place is taken by Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which massively exceeded Ubisoft's expectations in 2020 thanks to a pandemic boost and its launch alongside the latest generation consoles.

Meanwhile, Shadows had also performed well in the PlayStation Digital Store. Ubisoft says it saw the biggest day-one sales on the Sony platform for its latest title across all launches from other Ubisoft franchises. Lastly, the game's three million players have already spent over 40 million hours in-game with the dual protagonists.

Ubisoft is also preparing at least one expansion for Assassin's Creed Shadows. The Claws of Awaji story DLC is slated to arrive later this year, taking players to a new island that is a host to a fresh enemy faction. It will be available to everyone who pre-ordered the base game as a free add-on, while others will be able to purchase it separately.

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TSMC’s $100 billion pledge won’t resurrect US chipmaking, says Intel’s ex-CEO

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 18:34:19 +0000

US must boost R&D to gain "semiconductor leadership."

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s pledge to spend an extra $100 billion on advanced manufacturing plants in the US will do little to help the country restore its global lead in chipmaking, according to Pat Gelsinger, who was forced out as chief executive of Intel late last year.

His comments come less than a month after the White House hailed the investment from TSMC, the world’s largest chip manufacturer, as an important milestone in efforts to bring production of the most advanced semiconductors back on to US soil.

“If you don’t have R&D in the US, you will not have semiconductor leadership in the US,” Gelsinger said. “All of the R&D work of TSMC is in Taiwan, and they haven’t made any announcements to move that.”

The former Intel chief added, however, that President Donald Trump’s tariff threats had at least been “incrementally beneficial” for the US by giving chip manufacturers like TSMC more incentive to locate their facilities in the country.

The Trump administration has leaned heavily on TSMC amid doubts about Intel’s ability to regain the global manufacturing lead it lost to the Taiwanese company a decade ago.

Gelsinger’s departure late last year was widely seen as a repudiation by the company of his complex turnaround plan, which included trying to rebuild Intel’s manufacturing base. His successor, Lip-Bu Tan, appointed earlier this month, has yet to set out his strategy.

The former Intel chief executive would not comment on whether he had fallen out with Intel’s directors over strategy, but indicated he had lost their confidence less than four years into his five-year plan.

“I wasn’t done with the five-plus years when the board made a directional change,” he said.

TSMC has said that the only development work it plans to carry out it in the US will be on the process technology it already has in production, and that its core research and development will remain in Taiwan.

“Unless you’re designing the next-generation transistor technology in the US, you do not have leadership in the US,” said Gelsinger.

He was speaking in an interview this week after becoming a partner at Playground Global, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that specializes in “deep tech” investments, including in fields like quantum computing and new chip making technologies.

Despite losing out in the cutting-edge process technology used in chip manufacturing, Gelsinger said the US still had a global edge in many advanced technologies that are likely to determine future leadership in artificial intelligence.

He also brushed off suggestions that Chinese AI company DeepSeek, which shocked US technology experts and investors with its low-cost technology earlier this year, had posed a serious challenge to American companies.

“DeepSeek was good engineering, it wasn’t core innovations. It wasn’t major breakthroughs,” he said.

Start-ups backed by Playground include xLight, whose advanced lasers could play a part in future generations of lithography needed to make chips. Other investments include PsiQuantum, the first quantum computing company that has embarked on building a large-scale quantum machine, and d-Matrix, one of a number of start-ups trying to leapfrog Nvidia in making the chips needed to run AI systems, a task known as inference.

While at Intel, Gelsinger failed to make up ground against Nvidia in AI chips, though he said this week that new technologies were needed to bring AI into the mainstream.

“AI, as exciting as it is, is much too expensive,” he said. “We have to have dramatic reductions in the cost of inference for it to be truly deployed in every aspect of humanity.”

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Microsoft will be live streaming the 50th Anniversary Copilot Event

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:00:48 +0000

Earlier this month, Microsoft sent out invitations to the press for an in-person event celebrating its 50th anniversary on April 4, 2025, at its Redmond, WA, campus. In addition to an employee-only anniversary celebration, Microsoft will share its vision for consumer AI with new updates to Copilot during the event.

Microsoft has now confirmed that the 50th Anniversary Copilot Event will be streamed live at 9:30 AM Pacific Time on Friday, April 4, 2025. The event will feature Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, and several other past and present Microsoft leaders.

The company is also marking its 50th anniversary in various ways. Microsoft has created an interactive timeline showcasing its journey, which anyone can explore. Additionally, a dedicated microsite provides more details on its 50-year history, featuring iconic photos. Microsoft has also announced a new initiative to support the Puget Sound region, where it has deep roots.

Founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Microsoft moved its headquarters to Bellevue, Washington, in 1979—part of the Puget Sound area. To give back to the community, Microsoft is honoring 50 local changemakers by awarding each a $50,000 grant to support their efforts in addressing regional needs.

Microsoft is also offering the following special content to celebrate its 50th anniversary:

It is selling a 50th-anniversary collection of totes, hoodies, pins, and more at its official merchandise store. Additionally, Microsoft is attempting to set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the most users to complete an online multi-level artificial intelligence lesson within 24 hours. You can learn more about Microsoft AI Skills Fest here.

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The Witcher 4 won't be here until at least 2027, CD Projekt confirms

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 19:44:14 +0000

It was in December of last year that CD Projekt surprised everyone with a new Witcher game announcement. The fourth installment would continue the saga that Geralt of Rivia began but with Ciri at the helm, focused on being a brand-new origin story for a new type of Witcher. While the trailer reveal may have had some fans hoping for a relatively quick release for the game itself, it doesn't look like the developer has any plans like that.

During CD Projekt's latest earnings call, the company said to investors that The Witcher 4 is at least a couple of years away from launch. In the call, the company said that it will still hit its financial targets "even though we do not plan to release The Witcher 4 by the end of 2026."

"We are not going to announce the precise launch date for the game yet," says CD Projekt CFO Piotr Milobovich during the call's Q&A session. "All we could share now to give more visibility to investors is that the game will not be launched within the time frame of the first target for the incentive program, which ends December 31, 2026."

CD Projekt has already announced that it is building The Witcher 4 as the first game in a brand-new trilogy. Following the post-2026 launch of the first entry, the company said that its development teams have the "potential" to release the complete trilogy by 2032. Use of generative AI to assist developers was also a point of discussion. CD Projekt said that it will not be using these tools to avoid legal issues like copyright and IP ownership, at least for its current projects.

The Witcher 4 will be Unreal Engine 5-powered, and its debut cinematic trailer is the level of fidelity that the studio hopes to achieve in the game itself. Considering the launch window though, it's unclear if the studio will be bringing the game to next-generation platforms or releasing it as a cross-generation title that also comes out on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.

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No Man's Sky Relics update lets you become an alien paleontologist

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 19:43:02 +0000

Hello Games isn't slowing down its content updates for No Man's Sky. Following the massive Worlds Part II update from a couple of months ago, the universe exploration sci-fi experience today received patch 5.6, the Relics Update, for all players, letting them dig out hidden fossils from the planets they explore.

Players can now excavate and collect these procedurally generated prehistoric bones from alien creatures for display. The studio says hundreds of variations are available to be found. Exactly how these bones are presented will be up to the player, either in singular displays or in larger mounts where entire extinct beings can be created, all depending on their creativity with fossils.

Bones can even be packaged and sold in the galactic market or traded with players when they visit some newly built museums of others.

Unfortunately, accessing these fossil beds to find these rare bones of ancients won't be easy. Hello Games has added two new types of Guardians to protect them from excavations. These come in the form of re-animated stones and massive living statues with their own special attacks. Watch the gameplay trailer for the update below for a look at the enemies in action.

The update also brings a new time-limited expedition for players to jump into, and it's all about being a space paleontologist. The expedition will run for the next six weeks, and those who complete the expedition will receive a "fleshless creature of animated bone" to keep. Other features added in this update include rare skeletal lifeforms in planets, a "titanic bone-worm," bone-related cooking recipes, and more.

No Man's Sky Relics update is now available across PC (Steam and Xbox app), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch systems. Read the complete changelog for patch 5.6 here.

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Obsidian's classic Baldur's Gate successor 'Pillars of Eternity' is getting a surprise turn-based mode later this year, alongside other updates

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 19:42:09 +0000

Obsidian has announced a new turn-based mode for the original Pillars of Eternity coming later alongside a new patch that's just gone

Obsidian Entertainment has made a couple of huge announcements for the original Pillars of Eternity. The first one is that a new patch has just gone live for the game which includes general bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements for combat, presentation, quests, dialogue, UI, and more. The full patch notes can be viewed on the game's official website forums.

The second, and biggest announcement is that Obsidian will be introducing a new turn-based combat mode for Pillars of Eternity later this year. There's currently no specific date on when turn-based combat will be added but Obsidian Entertainment says it will release more details at a later date.

In the meantime, Obsidian Entertainment has released a small gameplay video on its social media accounts giving players a sneak peek at what turn-based combat will look like once it's fully finished development (which you can see below).

For those unaware, Pillars of Eternity normally uses a 'real-time strategy with pause' combat system where you command your heroes in real-time while occasionally pausing the game to give them direct commands and to give yourself time to plan your next move.

This new turn-based combat system is planning to implement makes the game play more akin to Baldur's Gate 3 or Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader where each character be it party members or enemies, takes turns based on their place in the initiative order to move into position and smite each other.

We are living a renaissance of turn-based combat in RPGs and I love it!

Over the past couple of years, we have been seeing turn-based CRPGs becoming popular again thanks to titles like Baldur's Gate 3 and Wasteland 3, enabling the rise of modern hits like Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader and promising upcoming PC titles like Shadow of the Road.

Obsidian Entertainment didn't need to go back and include a new turn-based mode for the original Pillars of Eternity, especially since it's currently busy developing The Outer Worlds 2 and making updates for the recently released, Avowed but I'm so glad it did.

I always preferred turn-based combat in my RPGs but now that Pillars of Eternity is getting a turn-based combat mode, it may finally convince me to try out the game for myself.

Who knows? Perhaps this turn-based mode could be an experiment Obsidian Entertainment is conducting to see if it could lead to the idea of a Pillars tactics game becoming a reality. Either way, I can't wait to finally experience one of the best PC games Obsidian Entertainment has ever made, when the turn-based combat mode drops for Pillars of Eternity later this year.

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'World of Warcraft' is having a quiet renaissance right now, but there's still a big problem

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 19:40:29 +0000

World of Warcraft's Season 2 "Undermine" patch is absolutely fantastic, with a roadmap and content spread that looks better than it has in years. But is it enough to achieve real growth?

World of Warcraft has entered its 21st year in operation, which makes it a true rarity within its genre, and potentially within the industry in general. It remains the world's most popular subscription-based MMORPG, with millions of players funding large ongoing story and PvE content drops every few months, with large world-growing expansions every 1.5 years or so.

WoW has enjoyed something of a renaissance recently. The "current" retail version of the game has received what may end up being remembered as one of its best expansions ever, with The War Within.

The latest content patch delivered an entire new city, new raid, new quest hub, ambitious new story beats, and more. Beyond that, Blizzard has thrown the rulebook out of the window, aggressively pursuing what players say they want, rather than what Blizzard thinks they want — WoW: Classic delivers the nostalgic experience people of a certain age yearn for.

WoW: Hardcore's new perma-death mode has become social media fodder, creating emergent and shareable hijinks ideal for the streaming era. Blizzard has also been experimenting with "remixed" events, retelling previous storylines with new gameplay elements. Despite it all, World of Warcraft has remained relevant, 20 years after the fact.

As a long-time player, I feel like World of Warcraft is enjoying something of a quiet renaissance right now. Emphasis on quiet, because part of me wonders how ready World of Warcraft is to go truly loud right now.

World of Warcraft 'The War Within' Season 2 patch is absolutely phenomenal

The new zone "Undermine" serves as the goblin home city, a major new quest hub, and a brand new raid.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

I need to preface this with an admission of bias. I am a goblin, and have been since Cataclysm 15 years ago. But let's put that to one side for a moment, and speak purely analytically: WoW's Undermine update is absolutely peak.

Undermine was fairly long in development, but the results speak for themselves. Undermine has been long established in lore as the goblin home city, and it's pretty clear that Blizzard wanted to deliver on those expectations.

For those who don't know, World of Warcraft goblins are a bit steampunky thematically, wielding their engineering prowess (or lack thereof) in the construction of various mechs, tanks, robots — many of which are prone to spontaneously explode.

The goblin's iconic penchant for chaos and their hyper-capitalistic society makes for a uniquely poignant setting given the current state of, well, everything, but Blizzard adeptly satirizes its themes with grace and good humor, but it's not all light-hearted neon-washed fun.

Gallywix gets his long-awaited comeuppance in Undermine.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

Undermine is run by a heartless kingpin known as Gallywix, who has a long history of general villainy. Players join other goblin mainstays like Gazlowe to lead something of a revolution in the city, uniting the disparate cartels against Gallywix — who seems to have aligned himself with saga antagonist Xal'atath.

While Undermine is full of crazy inventions and wacky hijinks, Blizzard also confidently injects genuinely heartfelt moments into proceedings, while also pushing forward the overarching saga

I won't spoil for those who haven't experienced the story yet, but it was, for me, the best mid-expansion storyline in years, and beefy, with plenty of high-quality cutscenes, voice acting, and juicy lore. I also have to give a big shout out to the music and soundtrack here — absolutely sublime filthy jazz and blues is a breath of fresh air.

On top of it all, Blizzard baked Undermine with new dynamic driving mechanics, a mountain of reward tracks to grind out, a new raid, a new dungeon, new delves — so much stuff, I find myself discovering new things almost daily. But, is it too good?

Hear me out.

My goblin transmog wardrobe has expanded exponentially thanks to Undermine.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

Can a patch be too good? As Blizzard seems to want to raise the bar in every way for World of Warcraft, I find myself worrying about how poor the "new player" experience continues to be for the game.

I've written about it before, but years later, nothing major has really been done to improve things.

New players in WoW get dumped into a very dull, generic zone called Exile's Reach, which tutorializes the basics of the game in a patronizingly easy and poorly paced island of banal linearity. The original WoW starting experience put players into a huge world, immersing them in a racial starting zone steeped in player fantasy-building lore.

The non-linear levelling experience of the original World of Warcraft is simply unmatched, and not really available to experience in the modern game in an intuitive way.

Players can opt in to it, but the content is painfully outdated, creating story continuity issues, replete with pacing problems born of WoW's updated levelling speed.

World of Warcraft's new raid, Liberation of Undermine, takes place in a crazy hotel-casino that makes Las Vegas look classy.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

The reason I worry that Undermine might be too good and the upcoming Midnight expansion with its player housing might be too good is that the quality bar Blizzard has reached lately seems like it must be very expensive.

And it's all content geared almost entirely to veteran, end-game players. There's been little to no investment in actually improving the experience for completely new players, besides the bare minimum.

I feel like without a solid starting zone experience, players won't as easily get invested in their characters, or in the over-arching story of the game. I also feel like they won't learn the ins and outs of the game in a well-paced way, instead being sped through the bare basics and then thrown into the deep end with a rapid delivery of new systems and mechanics.

Selfishly, if WoW is to maintain the quality bar that I am thoroughly enjoying right now, I'm concerned that not enough investment is being made to find those shiny new players.

Although my concerns might be totally unfounded. WoW Classic Hardcore has been popping off on socials after all, and maybe players don't mind the starting experience as much as I presume.

My current conspiracy theory is that, with zones like Undermine for goblins, the revamp to the Eastern Kingdoms in World of Warcraft: Midnight, and previous recent new zones like Bel'ameth for night elves, might be part of a gradual effort by Blizzard to create new starting zone experiences for different races. But there's no real evidence that'll happen.

I sincerely hope the new World of Warcraft development cycle is sustainable, either way, because it's absolutely fantastic. Is there a universe where World of Warcraft can return to the numbers seen during the Wrath of the Lich King days? I want to believe the answer is yes, but perhaps the landscape has simply changed too much.

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Apple's WWDC 2025 conference is coming June 9

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 02:04:34 +0000

It is time for Apple developers and enthusiasts to mark their calendars: Apple has officially announced the date of this year's Worldwide Developer Conference, or WWDC. In 2025, WWDC will be held online only from June 9 to June 13.

“We’re excited to mark another incredible year of WWDC with our global developer community,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “We can’t wait to share the latest tools and technologies that will empower developers and help them continue to innovate.”

Be there for the reveal of the latest Apple tools, frameworks, and features. Learn to elevate your apps and games through video sessions hosted by Apple engineers and designers. Engage with Apple experts in labs and connect with the worldwide developer community. All online and at no cost.

As usual, the keynote on June 9 will be streamed online on Apple's official website, the company's YouTube channel, and the Apple Developer app. Developers and students will also have an opportunity to watch the keynote at Apple Park, meet with Apple experts, and participate in group labs and special activities.

To most developers, WWDC is all about learning new dev tools and capabilities for their projects. For regular users, though, the most exciting part is the latest iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and other updates. In 2025, Apple is expected to announce a big iOS revamp (the biggest since iOS 7) and talk a lot about its AI efforts, which, so far, are not doing very well.

Although Apple plans to host a special celebration on June 9, all four days of the conference will be held online, with free access for developers and students. You can learn more about the event on its official website. Microsoft, on the other hand, has its annual developer conference scheduled for May 19-22.

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Monster Hunter Wilds' Title Update 1 Showcase reveals new monsters, Gathering Hub, launch date, and the return of a fan-favorite monster in the future

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 17:41:45 +0000

Monster Hunter Wilds' first Title update is stacked with all kinds of content from hunting new monsters, a massive Gathering Hub, new quests, and the return of a fan-favorite

Monster Hunter Wilds has recently received a gameplay showcase stream hosted by Capcom. This showcase has shown a metric ton of new gameplay footage and information regarding the game's Title Update 1, which is now confirmed to launch on April 4, 2025.

Here's everything you need to know about all the content coming soon in this update from new monsters, the Gathering Hub, quests, info regarding the next title update, and more.

Disclaimer

SPOILER WARNING: This page contains spoilers for the finale of Monster Hunter Wilds' Low Rank story, so read at your own risk.

New monsters

The gameplay showcase begins by highlighting a new monster being added to Monster Hunter Wilds' monster roster, Mizutsune. This creature is a water-elemental Leviathan that attacks its prey with fast claw strikes, water breath beams, and spitting giant bubbles that cause players to become slippery and fall over when hit.

Once players reach Hunter Rank 21 in High Rank, they will be able to talk to an NPC named Kanya in the Scarlet Forest region and receive the quest that will unlock Mizutsune for hunting.

Arch-Tempered monsters return from Monster Hunter World

(Image credit: Capcom)

The next big piece of news regarding monsters is that Arch-Tempered monsters from Monster Hunter World have been confirmed to return in Monster Hunter Wilds. Arch-Tempered monsters are an especially difficult class of monsters that are stronger than Tempered Monsters.

They hit like trucks, have lots more health to burn through, and even feature new attacks separate from their regular counterparts. Overcoming these foes will reward players with unique Gamma armor sets, complete with new cosmetic looks and passive abilities to use.

The first Arch-Tempered monster that Monster Hunter Wilds will receive will be an Arch-Tempered version of Rey Dau. Players will be allowed to hunt this creature once they reach Hunter Rank 50 and when the Event Quest for Arch-Tempered Rey Dau goes live, which, according to Capcom, is "April 29 to May 20 (PDT)."

Players will get a chance to face the High Rank version of Zoh Shia in the 1st title update.

(Image credit: Capcom)

The last piece of monster news is that Monster Hunter Wilds Title Update 1 will include a High Rank version of Zoh Shia. This unholy abomination was the final boss of Low Rank that players only got to fight once, but now they'll get to hunt it again and earn special gear for defeating it.

The quest for hunting the High Rank version of Zoh Shia will unlock for players once they reach Hunter Rank 50. Afterward, Zoh Shia will begin showing up randomly in the Wyvern's Wakening section of the Ruins of Wyveria on the world map and can be made into a quest.

Grand Hub

Convene with your hunting friends at the new Grand Hub.

(Image credit: Capcom)

The next section of the gameplay showcase focuses on a new Gathering Hub being added to Monster Hunter Wilds called the Grand Hub.

This place is a gigantic online multiplayer hub where players can gather to form parties before embarking on hunts, eat meals prepared by the Palicos, and have fun playing mini-games such as fishing, arm wrestling, and barrel bomb bowling.

Players can even sit down and relax listening to a Diva singing at night, a returning feature from Monster Hunter 4.

The Grand Hub will be unlocked for players once they talk to Tetsuzan in the Suja, Peaks of Accord campsite upon reaching Hunter Rank 16.

On a side note, the Squad Information Counter will be relocated from the Windward Plains to the Grand Hub once it unlocks.

Arena Quests

Take on special challenges in Monster Hunter Wilds' Arena Quests

(Image credit: Capcom)

The next section of the gameplay showcase reveals that Monster Hunter Wilds will be getting Arena Quests in the Title Update. Arena Quests are special challenges where players hunt monsters in an enclosed arena and post their kill times on online leaderboards to see who has the fastest kills.

There will also be new Challenge Quests and Free Challenge Quests available as limited-time Event Quests that will reward players with cosmetic pendants upon completion.

Arena Quests and Challenge Quest will force players to wear specific armor sets and weapons and will only allow up to two players. Meanwhile, Free Challenge Quests will let players wear whatever gear builds they want and allow up to 4 players to join or summon NPC support hunters to fill in for missing players.

Arena, Challenge, and Free Challenge Quests will be made available once you unlock the Grand Hub and talk to Ricardo at the Arena Quest Counter there.

Alma outfits, DLC content, and roadmap

The classic 'Potion flex' animation from the old Monster Hunter games is now back as a free emote.

(Image credit: Capcom)

The showcase begins to wind down by covering miscellaneous content additions coming in the 1st Title Update. These include the ability to change your Handler Alma's outfit after completing a side-quest, upcoming free and paid DLC content which includes stickers, emotes, poses, accessories, layered armor, and more.

These will be made available in DLC content packs or sold individually.

Capcom has confirmed that more Event Quests will be added later and that Seasonal events from Monster Hunter World will be returning in Monster Hunter Wilds. The first of these seasonal events will be the Spring-themed Festival of Accord: Blossomdance, which Capcom says will launch on "April 22, 2025," and last until "May 6, 2025 (PDT)."

This event will allow players to take up previously released Event Quests and take on new ones to earn unique gear, pop-up camp decorations, emotes, and more.

Content roadmap for Monster Hunter Wilds up until May.

(Image credit: Capcom)

Capcom then revealed a content roadmap for Monster Hunter Wilds mentioning all the content updates the game will receive up until the end of May.

In addition to everything we just discussed, the roadmap mentions that Monster Hunter Wilds will feature a collaboration with another Capcom franchise that's yet to be named, along with additional features.

Lagiacrus is finally coming back!

After many years, Lagiacrus will get a next-gen makeover in Monster Hunter Wilds

(Image credit: Capcom)

Capcom then closes the event by releasing a teaser for the next title update which is set to launch during the Summer of 2025, and it confirms that it will feature the return of Lagiacrus, the flagship monster of 2009's Monster Hunter Tri.

Fans have been begging and pleading for this classic monster to return in a traditional Monster Hunter game ever since it last appeared in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate in 2017. Now after 8 long years, Lagiacrus will finally make its next-gen comeback in Monster Hunter Wilds this summer.

This content update is already looking to fix a ton of my problems with the base game and more

To say that there will be a lot of content to look forward to for Monster Hunter Wilds post-launch would be an understatement. While I'm worried about whether or not this Title Update 1 will address my criticisms regarding the base game's balance and difficulty, it already looks like it will immediately fix the post-game problems I have with the game.

The Grand Hub looks amazing, Mizutsune and Arch-Tempered Rey Dau look exciting to fight, and I'm glad we're going to be able to fight High Rank Zoh Shia so soon rather than having to wait for the final Title Update to fight the final High Rank boss as we did in Monster Hunter Rise.

Not to mention, I'm so happy to see Lagiacrus finally coming back in the next Title Update later this year, as it was on my wishlist for Monster Hunter Wilds, and it's one of the coolest monsters in the entire Monster Hunter series.

Will this Title Update also feature hidden surprises that Capcom is not willing to publicly divulge to surprise players? Join the hunt to find out when Monster Hunter Wilds' Title Update 1 launches on April 4, 2025.

Monster Hunter Wilds, the next-gen successor to one of Capcom's best Xbox games and best PC games, Monster Hunter World, is now available for purchase after launching on February 28, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.

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Apple barred from Google antitrust trial, putting $20 billion search deal on the line

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 17:38:39 +0000

Google's sizeable payments for Safari defaults could be ending.

Apple has suffered a blow in its efforts to salvage its lucrative search placement deal with Google. A new ruling from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals affirms that Apple cannot participate in Google's upcoming antitrust hearing, which could leave a multibillion-dollar hole in Apple's balance sheet. The judges in the case say Apple simply waited too long to get involved.

Just a few years ago, a high-stakes court case involving Apple and Google would have found the companies on opposing sides, but not today. Apple's and Google's interests are strongly aligned here, to the tune of $20 billion. Google forks over that cash every year, and it's happy to do so to secure placement as the default search provider in the Safari desktop and mobile browser.

The antitrust penalties pending against Google would make that deal impermissible. Throughout the case, the government made the value of defaults clear—most people never change them. That effectively delivers Google a captive audience on Apple devices.

Google's ongoing legal battle with the DOJ's antitrust division is shaping up to be the most significant action the government has taken against a tech company since Microsoft in the late '90s. Perhaps this period of stability tricked Google's partners into thinking nothing would change, but the seriousness of the government's proposed remedies seems to have convinced them otherwise.

Google lost the case in August 2024, and the government proposed remedies in October. According to MediaPost, the appeals court took issue with Apple's sluggishness in choosing sides. It didn't even make its filing to participate in the remedy phase until November, some 33 days after the initial proposal. The judges ruled this delay "seems difficult to justify."

When Google returns to court in the coming weeks, the company's attorneys will not be flanked by Apple's legal team. While Apple will be allowed to submit written testimony and file friend-of-the-court briefs, it will not be able to present evidence to the court or cross-examine witnesses, as it sought. Apple argued that it was entitled to do so because it had a direct stake in the outcome.

Apple seeks search partner, must have $20 billion

If this penalty sticks, Apple could be looking for a new suitor. Something has to be the default search provider in Safari and other Apple products. It could continue using Google without getting paid, but the company will surely look to recoup some of that lost Google money. Regardless, there aren't many options.

Google is in this situation specifically because it has a monopoly in search; whether or not it abuses that monopoly is a question for the courts (but it's not looking good). However, that doesn't change the fact that, as a monopoly, Google has almost no competition. Microsoft has tried for years to make Bing competitive, and Microsoft is no lightweight on the Internet. Yet Google Search continues to own 90 percent of the market.

Credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto

Aside from regional options like Yandex in Russia and Baidu in China, it's slim pickings out there. Bing is really the only major alternative to Google, but would Microsoft pay for Safari placement? It's unlikely that any smaller boutique search provider like Kagi DuckDuckGo could fulfill the needs of Apple, but it would be interesting to see a smaller player get a boost on Apple's platform. Having a viable competitor—whoever it may be—on Apple devices could start changing the balance of power in search.

Last year, Anthropic also attempted to be heard in the case after the government proposed forcing Google to sell off its AI investments—like the multibillion-dollar stake it owns in Anthropic. Anthropic wanted to provide witness statements to the court, but the government's reversal on AI funding made this a moot point. That may help Google's AI search efforts down the road, but it would require AI search to be something people want to use—the jury is out on that.

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Bill Gates claims three professions will remain indispensable (for now) but "AI will replace humans for most things" eventually

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 17:37:15 +0000

Microsoft's co-founder believes only coders, energy specialists, and biologists will survive AI's hostile takeover.

Generative AI is reshaping the world by essentially automating redundant and repetitive tasks to give professionals ample time to focus on more important things. But on the back of that, there's a rising concern among professionals that this technology will eventually take over their jobs.

For instance, a study revealed that 54% of banking jobs can be automated using AI. It's unclear if the banking sector will embrace the change, especially with the critical privacy and security issues riddling AI.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently predicted that AI would replace humans for most things. However, the philanthropic billionaire indicated that it'd be mostly up to humans how they interact with AI, choosing what to preserve for themselves. He jokingly indicated that no one would like to watch computers playing baseball.

Building on this premise, Gates recently shared more insights about the AI revolution, indicating that AI is gaining broad adoption across organizations, leaving professionals redundant at work.

However, not all hope is lost, at least for three professions greenlit by the billionaire as future-proof in the emerging AI era. According to Gates, coders, energy experts, and biologists are safe from the hostile AI takeover.

Interestingly, over the past few months, I've covered multiple reports suggesting that coding might be dead in the water with the rapid prevalence of AI. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang discouraged the youth from exploring a career path in software engineering, suggesting they might have better luck in biology, education, manufacturing, or farming.

AI can't code at human-level yet

Coding and programming on a laptop.

(Image credit: Getty Images | Krongkaew)

While multiple reports and the ever-emerging proprietary AI models suggest coding might be the first profession on AI's chopping block, Bill Gates says human professionals are essential to the process (via Axios).

OpenAI's o1 reasoning model has posted great results across various benchmarks, including coding, prompting some users to question the importance of hiring software engineers. As you may remember, Salesforce's CEO Marc Benioff recently indicated that the company is "seriously debating" on hiring software engineers in 2025.

It's apparent that AI can generate code, but Bill Gates says human professionals are still essential for the process, as they'll help identify and correct errors, refine algorithms, and bolster AI development.

Interestingly, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently indicated that AI would eventually replace software engineers, suggesting that there's an urgent need to master AI tools.

As for biologists, Gates claims argues that AI is great at diagnosing diseases and analyzing DNA but reiterates that the technology lacks the creativity for biological research and scientific discovery.

On the other hand, the billionaire says AI won't replace energy experts because the field is too complex to be fully automated.

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Forza Motorsport celebrates 20 years with a return of a long-awaited track

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 18:19:27 +0000

Turn 10 Studios is getting ready for Forza Motorsport to turn 20. The original Forza Motorsport was released on May 3, 2005, and in just several weeks, the franchise will celebrate its 20th birthday. To mark the occasion, developers are teasing a long-awaited track, Fujimi Kaido, as part of the birthday update.

The original Forza Motorsport came to life on the original Xbox. The second, third, and fourth installments arrived on Xbox 360, while the Xbox One generation gave us Forza Motorsport 5, 6, and 7. The eighth version of Forza Motorsport arrived on Xbox Series X|S and PC in October 2023, and despite quite the rocky start, it has been steadily improving over the last year and a half.

With the 20th anniversary upon us, Turn 10 Studios is showing a preview of what is coming to the game in its celebratory May update, beginning with "the eagerly awaited return of a track considered truly legendary in the Forza community."

Turn 10 Studios says its development team has been busy recreating the track "to modern standards" and that it is the biggest track project to date. The track is 10.24 miles long and features 144 turns going up a 2,711 ft summit.

Our goal is to recapture the magic of drifting with your friends on the massive stretches of serpentine Japanese mountain roads at Fujimi Kaido, and we can’t wait for you to slide sideways once again as we now work to refine and polish this Forza original track for integration into the game this May.

Of course, one track is not enough for such a big occasion, so gamers can expect a drop of highly requested cars, new driving suits, special events, themed Rivals challenges, and more. More details about the anniversary update will be available as we get closer to the month of May.

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Raspberry Pi launches PoE+ Injector for remote power supply

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 18:18:03 +0000

Raspberry Pi just announced the Raspberry Pi PoE+ Injector to help you power Raspberry Pi devices that are not easy to connect to a power supply. For those unfamiliar, PoE stands for Power-over-Ethernet and allows you to power your Raspberry Pi via an Ethernet cable while also supplying internet connectivity

Microchip was selected by Raspberry Pi as its partner to develop the Raspberry Pi PoE+ Injector. The $25 accessory can be used with the 2018 Raspberry Pi 3B+ and newer if it features PoE support. The Injector requires you to supply your own IEC mains lead; you probably already have one lying around. If you need to pick one up, many of the Raspberry Pi Approved Sellers will be able to sell one to you.

“Many of our favourite Raspberry Pi applications, from garden webcams to industrial controllers, involve putting our products in out-of-the-way locations, where they act as a bridge between the network and the physical world.” Raspberry Pi said, explaining the need for its new product. “But the more out-of-the-way the location, the more challenging it is to get power.”

“PoE offers one solution to this problem, allowing you to send power from Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) to a Powered Device (PD) over the same four-pair cabling used to carry Ethernet data. All Raspberry Pi SBCs since 2018 have been able to function as a PD, when equipped with an optional PoE or PoE+ HAT.”

In addition to releasing the Raspberry Pi PoE+ Injector, the company said that it was close to releasing the Raspberry Pi PoE+ HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5. It called the upcoming product the company’s “smallest, most efficient" Powered Device (PD) accessory.

You can find out more about the Raspberry Pi PoE+ Injector over on the Raspberry Pi website.

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I reviewed MSI Claw 8 AI+ and ROG Ally X — Here's which PC gaming handheld you should actually get

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 18:16:24 +0000

ROG Ally X and MSI Claw 8 AI+ are both fantastic, but one handheld offers much better performance than the other.

When the original white ASUS ROG Ally launched in 2023, I was extremely eager to check out this gaming handheld. I eventually conducted both Windows Central's ROG Ally review and then later the ROG Ally X review.

More recently, I got my hands on the elusive MSI Claw 8 AI+ and was able to run it through a series of benchmark tests for my MSI Claw 8 AI+ review.

Now that I've officially tested both Windows 11 devices, I can compare them and show you how similar they are in certain respects, as well as point out the ways in which they outdo each other. Let's dive in.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Specs

The ROG Ally X is shorter, thinner, and lighter than the MSI Claw 8 AI+.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Before we compare these handhelds in different categories, take a gander at the MSI Claw 8 AI+ specs and the ASUS ROG Ally X's specs. I've included the original white ROG Ally's info as well.

Header Cell - Column 0	MSI Claw 8 AI+	ROG Ally X	ROG Ally
Price	$899.99	$799.99 \| $899.99	$499 \| $649
OS	Windows 11	Windows 11	Windows 11
Display	8-inch FHD+ (1920 x 1200), 16:10, IPS Touchscreen, 100% sRGB (Typical), 500nits (Typical) IPS-Level panel	7-inch (1920 x 1080) 16:9 IPS LED touchscreen, 500nits, 73% DCI-P3	7-inch (1920 x 1080) 16:9 IPS LED touchscreen, 500nits, 73% DCI-P3
Refresh rate / VRR	120Hz / Yes	120Hz/ Yes	120Hz/ Yes
Processor	Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 258V Integrated SoC	Z1 Extreme	AMD Ryzen Z1 \| Z1 Extreme
Graphics	Intel Arc 140V GPU	AMD Radeon RDNA 3 Graphics	AMD Radeon RDNA 3 Graphics
Memory	32GB LPDDR5x-8533	24GB LPDDR5X	16GB LPDDR5X
Storage	1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD	1TB \| 2TB	512GB
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 7 + Bluetooth v5.4	Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.2	Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.2
Ports	2 x Thunderbolt 4 / DP/ USB Type-C (w/ PD 3.0 Charging), 1 x microSD Card Reader, 1 x Audio combo jack, 1 x Power button with Finger Print Sensor	1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB 4 (Thunderbolt 4 compliance), 1x microSD card reader, 1x audio jack	1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1x ROG XG Mobile Interface, 1x microSD card reader, 1x audio jack
Touchpad	No	No	No
Detachable controllers	No	No	No
Color	Sandstorm (light brown and black)	Black	White
Dimensions	299 (W) x 126 (D) x 24 mm (H)	279.9 (W) x 111.0 (D) x 24.6mm (H)	279.9 (W) x 111.0 (D) x 21.2mm (H)
Weight	795 g	678g	608g
Battery	80Whr	80Whr	40 Whr

Now that you've taken a look, I'll discuss what these handhelds' differences and similarities mean for you as a prospective owner.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Price & value

ROG Ally X offers a 7-inch IPS touchscreen, AMD Z1 Extreme chip, 24GB RAM, and either 1TB or 2TB SSD.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

The ROG Ally X comes with 24GB RAM, an 80Whr battery, and an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip.

It has a starting price of $799.99 at Best Buy for the 1TB SSD configuration, or you can go up to $899.99 for the 2TB SSD version.

Of course, there's also the option of going with the original Z1 Extreme ROG Ally, which sells for $649.99 at Best Buy due to it only having 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 40Whr battery.

Meanwhile, the 1TB MSI Claw 8 AI+ with its $899.99 MSRP is $100 more than ROG Ally X's starting price.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ has an 8-inch IPS touchscreen, Intel Core Ultra 7 SoC, 32GB RAM, and 1TB SSD.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

There's also the new MSI Claw 7 AI+, which is relatively similar to the 8 AI+ but with a black casing, smaller 7-inch IPS display, and 512GB SSD. It sells for $799.99 at Best Buy.

We'll dive more into specs and performance later, but suffice it to say that the price differences between these devices is relatively understandable given the much stronger gaming capabilities of MSI's handhelds.

That said, there's no denying that the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is far more expensive.

I thoroughly enjoy gaming on my ROG Ally X handheld and find that a 1TB SSD is honestly enough space for most people, so going with the starting configuration might be best for many people.

TL;DR: PRICE WINNER: The ASUS ROG Ally X starting price is $100 less than MSI Claw 8 AI+. If you want to save money, you can even go with the original Z1 Extreme ROG Ally, which is $400 less than the Claw. Just expect shorter battery life, less RAM, and a smaller SSD.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Performance

AAA games can run relatively smoothly on the ROG Ally X if the right settings are in place.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

I can easily say the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V-toting MSI Claw 8 AI+ is one of the very best gaming handhelds and outshines the ROG Ally X's AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme in terms of performance.

In fact, I've tested quite a few gaming handhelds over the last few years, and none of them have performed nearly as well as the Intel Lunar Lake MSI Claw 8 AI+ when running more intensive and graphically demanding games.

There can still be stuttering and some screen tearing depending on what titles I'm playing, but the FPS (frames per second) is notably higher on MSI Claw 8 AI+, and games tend to run smoothly overall.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ got the highest average FPS I've ever seen on a handheld when running more intensive games.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Cyberpunk 2077 handheld benchmark results
Default Graphics Setting	MSI Claw 8 AI+ Avg. FPS	Legion Go Avg. FPS	Ally X Avg. FPS*	Ally Avg. FPS*
Low	59.01 FPS	36.43 FPS	26.45 FPS	21.64 FPS
Steam Deck	59.27 FPS	36.43 FPS	29.13 FPS	23.86 FPS
Ray Tracing: Low	57.20 FPS	35.76 FPS	27.22 FPS	21.86 FPS

*The handhelds achieved these results when AFMF 2 was not enabled.

As one example, when I ran the MSI Claw 8 AI+, Lenovo Legion Go, ROG Ally X, and original ROG Ally through the same Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark test multiple times at different default graphics settings, MSI's handheld tended to get nearly double the FPS that the ROG Ally X managed.

To be fair, I usually use my ROG Ally X with AMD Fluid Motion Frames 2 (AFMF 2) enabled, which tends to double the FPS results. So, there are still ways to get the Ally X to perform much better than it does out of the box if you're willing to make adjustments.

Still, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ impressively does higher FPS and provides better overall performance without me needing to go into the software and tweak settings, which makes it more convenient.

TL;DR: PERFORMANCE WINNER: The MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers the most impressive performance I've ever seen in a handheld to date. If you want the smoothest playing experience possible right now, you'll want the latest MSI Claw rather than the ROG Ally X.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Display

The MSI Claw 8 AI+'s large 8-inch screen feels notably larger in person, but the ROG Ally X screen's glass doesn't reflect as much grey.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Both handhelds have IPS displays that offer relatively similar picture quality, VRR (variable refresh rate) support, and a max 120Hz refresh rate. Because of this, motion clarity isn't perfect, but it is good on both.

When seen side-by-side, it's easy to see how much more of a presence the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s larger 8-inch IPS touchscreen has compared to the smaller ROG Ally X 7-inch IPS touchscreen. I feel more pulled into my games using the larger MSI display.

I used a colorimeter on both screens and discovered that they produce a relatively similar color gamut, but the MSI Claw did produce slightly better results overall.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X displays
Row 0 - Cell 0	MSI Claw 8 AI+	ROG Ally X
Color gamut results	99% of sRGB, 76% of AdobeRGB, and 77% of P3	98% of sRGB, 73% or AdobeRGB, and 75% of P3
Aspect ratio	16:10	16:9
Max Brightness	469 nits	536 nits

This test also showed me that the MSI Claw produces a max brightness of 469 nits while the Ally X produces a max of 536 nits, which isn't a huge difference. It is possible to play these devices outside and make out the details on the screen, but only if it isn't too bright out.

One thing I have noticed in person is that the glass over the MSI Claw 8 AI+ screen tends to reflect gray more than the ROG Ally X's glass does. So, blacks and dark tones look more accurate on the Ally X.

TL;DR: DISPLAY WINNER: Thanks to its larger 8-inch display, VRR support, and respectable color gamut, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers the nicer display.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Controls and ports

There are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a microSD card reader, volume buttons, and a headphone jack on the top of the MSI Claw 8 AI+

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

The overall layout for button and offset joystick placement is basically the same between the ROG Ally X and the MSI Claw 8 AI+, but the latter handheld is a bit wider, taller, thicker, and heavier (more on that in the next section).

It's worth noting that the MSI Claw features Hall Effect joysticks and triggers, while the ROG Ally X does not. This means the Claw cannot experience stick drift and offers better precision overall.

I'm going to preface this next part by saying that I've put several dozen, if not hundreds, of hours on my ROG Ally X, so I'm not sure if I've reduced the fresh feel of the button presses or not.

That said, when comparing the resistance and feel of the handhelds' various buttons, I noticed that the MSI Claw 8 AI+ D-Pad and bumpers felt a little snappier and a bit more satisfying to use. Otherwise, there isn't much of a difference between the devices' button responsiveness.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+'s power button doubles as a fingerprint reader, but it doesn't always work properly.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

As is common with handhelds, both the Claw and the Ally X have a button on either side of the display to bring up either a command program or a quick side menu for adjusting settings (more on that later).

Along the top of either handheld is a power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader. Both of these biometric readers regularly have issues and don't work all of the time, but they can be a convenient way to log in when they do work.

The ROG Ally X has a USB-C port, USB4 port, volume buttons, microSD card reader, and headphone jack on the top.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Outside of that, both handhelds have a microSD card reader, volume buttons, and a headphone jack on top.

One big difference is that the ROG Ally X has one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port and a USB4 port, while the MSI Claw 8 AI+ has two superior Thunderbolt 4 ports.

You'll be able to charge either device with one connection and use the other one for an accessory, but Thunderbolt 4 offers faster link speeds than USB-C and USB4.

TL;DR: CONTROLS & PORTS WINNER: Unlike the ROG Ally and Ally X, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ houses Hall Effect joysticks that won't drift, and it features two Thunderbolt 4 ports for your charging and accessory needs.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Grip ergonomics and comfort

The MSI Claw's back-side casing isn't flat.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

It feels more comfortable holding the ROG Ally X.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

When it comes to dimensions, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ measures 11.77 inches wide, 4.96 inches tall, 0.94 inches deep, and weighs 1.75 pounds.

Meanwhile, the ROG Ally X is 11.02 inches wide, 4.37 inches tall, 0.83 inches deep, and weighs 1.49 pounds.

There are two small back buttons on the back of the ROG Ally X.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

The MSI Claw 8 AI+'s back buttons get in the way of the grips.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

I personally find the ROG Ally X the more comfortable handheld to hold between the two because its grip areas are more rounded, and the back buttons don't get in the way of my grip as much.

Additionally, I don't like the feel of the hard textured plastic on the back of the MSI Claw 8 AI+ casing. The ROG Ally X is smoother and feels better in my hands.

Of course, grip accessories like the one seen in my JSAUX ModCase for ROG Ally X review can add texture and better ergonomic grips to handhelds.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is still relatively new at the time of writing, but it's likely that similar third-party grip accessories will release for it as well.

TL;DR: COMFORT WINNER: This will largely be a matter of preference, but I find that the ROG Ally and ROG Ally X are more comfortable to hold for long stretches.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Software and games

ASUS Armoury Crate and MSI Center M provide assistance, game launchers, system settings options, and more.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Both the ROG Ally X and MSI Claw 8 AI+ are Windows 11 devices that function like a small gaming laptop with controllers attached.

This means they both can be used to surf the web, access various gaming services, run programs, and more.

As I mentioned earlier, there's a button on the left side of either handheld display that brings up a full command program; it's called MSI Center M on Claw 8 AI+, and Armoury Crate on ROG Ally X.

These programs give quick access to system setting adjustment, RGB customization, a game launcher, a game store, user assistance, and more.

Additionally, pressing a button on the right side of the screen brings up a smaller side menu filled with things like a real-time monitor, on-screen keyboard, screen recording, and more that are easier to access during games.

Armoury Crate and MSI Center M are useful, but they can both be a bit limited and clunky.

Of the two, the Ally X's Armoury Crate is designed better and provides far more manual customization options, so it's the best choice if you want to have more control over your handheld.

You can adjust the joystick RGB lighting or turn it off.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ has Hall Effect joysticks.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

RGB lighting can also be customized or turned off on ROG Ally X.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

ROG Ally X does not have Hall Effect joysticks.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

I also like that the ROG Ally X allows me to manually adjust VRAM, which is something I cannot do on MSI Claw 8 AI+.

That all said, MSI Center M is clean and easy to navigate. This device also has an AI Engine mode, which automatically optimizes the system so you don't have to make adjustments yourself.

As such, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ might be more appealing for people who just want something that works well and doesn't require as much fine-tuning.

TL;DR: SOFTWARE & GAMES WINNER: Although both devices run Windows 11 and can access the same gaming services, the ROG Ally and Ally X provide more customization options to help you get the device running the way you want it.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Battery life

ROG Ally X offers more customization options like the ability to manually adjust VRAM.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

During battery life testing for both my ROG Ally X review and my MSI Claw 8 AI review, I learned that these devices tend to last for roughly the same amount of time.

They both house 80Whr batteries and tend to run for about two hours and 10 minutes when the screens are around 200 nits brightness and either is playing a game like Cyberpunk 2077.

That said, they can last a few hours longer if on lower settings and if you're playing a less straining game.

While two hours and 10 minutes isn't very long in terms of gaming sessions, this considerably longer battery life than many other handhelds on the market can provide.

TL;DR: BATTERY LIFE WINNER: We have a tie. Both the ROG Ally X and the MSI Claw 8 AI+ utilize an 80Whr battery that tends to last two hours and 10 minutes when running more graphically demanding games. This is longer than the 45 minutes that the ROG Ally's 40Whr musters.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Comparison chart

The MSI Claw 8 AI+'s triggers and bumpers press down in a satisfying way.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Category	Winner
Price	The ASUS ROG Ally X has a more affordable starting price than the MSI Claw AI+.
Performance	Due to its newer Intel SoC and higher RAM, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers much better performance than the ROG Ally and Ally X.
Display	This category goes to MSI Claw 8 AI+ due to its larger 8-inch touchscreen that produces a respectable color gamut while offering up to 120Hz and VRR support.
Controls & ports	Thanks to its Hall Effect joysticks and triggers, as well as its dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is the winner here.
Software & games	Both devices might run Windows 11 and can largely access the same games, but the ROG Ally and Ally X provide more customization options to help you get the system running the way you want.
Battery life	Tie. The ROG Ally X and MSI Claw 8 AI+ both have 80Whr batteries that run longer than the original ROG Ally.
Grip	This might change depending on your preferences, but I personally find that the ROG Ally and Ally X are more comfortable to hold due to their ergonomic grip shapes.
Best overall	If you want to play the latest AAA games and have them run as smooth as possible then the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is the better choice. However, if you don't tend to play more demanding games the ROG Ally X is cheaper and still offers solid performance.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ROG Ally X: Which should I buy?

MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers better gaming performance overall, and is ideal for people who largely play AAA games.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

In all honesty, I love and can recommend both the ROG Ally X and MSI Claw 8 AI+, but they do fit slightly different situations.

You should get ROG Ally or ROG Ally X if...

Why you can trust Windows Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

✅ You tend to play older titles or games with simpler PC requirements

While I can and have used my ROG Ally and Ally X to play the latest and greatest AAA games, the handhelds can sometimes stutter and struggle in the process. Meanwhile, if I play classic titles, 2D platformers, or cute pixel-graphics games my Ally handhelds can handle them a lot more easily.

You should get MSI Claw 8 AI+ if...

✅ You love playing the latest AAA games and intensive titles

Obviously, I can't promise that every PC game will run smoothly on a Windows handheld, but it's more likely to be able to run well on MSI Claw 8 AI+ over all other handhelds currently on the market.

Source

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Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years.

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of February): 874

RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Microsoft Weekly: useful Windows 11 updates, dying OneNote, and plenty of builds

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 17:08:02 +0000

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at a big chunk of new Windows 11 preview builds, new Microsoft 365 apps, dying OneNote, useful updates for Windows 11's Settings app, gaming news, and more.

Table of contents:

Windows 10 and 11 news
Windows Insider Program
Updates are available
Reviews are in
Gaming news

Windows 11 and 10

Here we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And of course, you may find a word or two about older but still supported versions.

Remember that bug from last week where recent Windows 11 Patch Tuesdays would uninstall Copilot? Microsoft fixed that real quick. The company applied a snappy patch to prevent Windows 11 from removing Copilot and restored the app on affected systems. By the way, you can always uninstall Copilor yourself if you are not a fan of it.

Another week, another Windows 11 version 24H2 issue was fixed. This time, Microsoft resolved a long-standing bug (going all the way back to October 2024 when version 24H2 was launched) with Asphalt 8 compatibility, preventing users from updating to the latest Windows 11 release.

Windows Insider Program

Here is what Microsoft Released this week for testing in the Windows Insider Program:

	Windows 11	Windows 10
Canary Channel	27818	Not Applicable
Dev Channel	26120.3576	Not Applicable
Beta Channel	26120.3576 22635.5090 22635.5097	Not Applicable
Release Preview Channel	26100.3613	-

As usual, Windows enthusiasts discovered hidden bits and pieces in the latest Windows 11 preview builds. Microsoft is working on a special FAQ section for the "About" page, where users will find useful information about how their hardware affects performance, what is the latest Windows version, and more.

Also, the Start menu received new controls that will help you keep everything tidy and organized via context menus. You can right-click an app and use the new option to move it left or right, create a new folder, or move the app to an existing one.

Microsoft also expanded the rollout of new features in Snipping Tool, Notepad, and Paint to more insiders. Now, Beta and Release Preview insiders can try document summarization and recent files in Notepad, shape straightening in Snipping Tool, and a reworked Cocreator panel in Paint.

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

Users in Europe noticed that Microsoft stopped bundling its Surface Pro tablets with a charger. Now, the Surface Pro 11 comes in a slim box with no charger by default, forcing buyers to spend extra 90 EUR (~$98) for a 65W power adapter. Microsoft says the change is "to support EU initiatives to reduce e-waste."

On the browser side this week, we have a list of 10 useful Microsoft Edge keyboard shortcuts to improve your productivity. The list includes some less-known shortcuts, such as paste and go, auto-adding www and com, toggling between tabs and search results, and more. Microsoft also released a small Edge patch in the stable channel to address security issues and update time zones.

Vivaldi 7.2 has been released. The update delivered significant performance improvements for page loading, the address bar, and other areas of the browser. You will also find there a new dashboard widget, the ability to set priority for certain keyboard shortcuts, and improved mail account controls.

Next, we have Firefox 136.0.2, another bug-fixing update for the recently released major version. This week's Firefox update fixed problems with automatic cookie deletion, high CPU usage on Windows systems, a few user interface issues, and more.

Microsoft 365 Home and Family subscribers now have a new perk. OneDrive on the web allows Microsoft 365 subscribers to summarize and compare files. Plus, you can ask various questions about your files.

Other Office updates include a new privacy feature on mobile devices that lets you view shared documents without a Microsoft Account. It is now available in Office for iPhone and iPad. Also, Microsoft launched two new companion apps for Microsoft 365 subscribers to make it easier to find contacts and files. However, those apps might not be for you.

Finally, Microsoft announced not-so-good news for OneNote users on Windows 10. In October 2025, the app will go down alongside the operating system, and it will stop receiving security updates, new features, etc. Customers are now recommended to upgrade to the desktop OneNote for Windows app from the Microsoft 365 suite.

Other notable updates include the following:

And here are the newest drivers released this week:

Nvidia 572.83 WHQL with more fixes for the RTX 50 series, including black screens and OC issues. Nvidia also updated its Nvidia app with new DLSS features and more options from the Control Panel.
AMD 25.3.2 with Assassin's Creed Shadows support and several important fixes.
Intel 32.0.101.6651 non-WHQL with Assassin's Creed Shadows support

Reviews are in

Here is hardware and software we reviewed this week

Robbie Khan published a preview of his POCO F7 Ultra review, a powerful phone with flagship specs that is set to launch next week, on March 27.

We also have a review of the Cuktech S15 Ultra, a very powerful power bank with high-power powers, insanely fast charging, a useful display, and a sleek design. But since it is a bit pricey, consider some of its quirks before pulling the trigger. Check out my full review here.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts and more.

This week, we published an early access review of 33 Immortals, a hellish 33-player roguelike with fun, chaotic cooperative multiplayer, massive fights, and no-frills actions. Some rough surfaces are here and there, but overall, the game is solid and promising.

During the 15th annual Microsoft Ability Summit, the company announced the launch of the new Xbox Adaptive Joystick for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. This gamepad makes gaming more accessible to people with physical limitations, and it is now available for purchase in the Microsoft Store for $29.99.

Microsoft appears to be preparing a major update for the Xbox app on Windows to turn it into a single place for all your PC games. Users noticed that a screenshot published in the official blog includes a "Steam" tag, suggesting you will be able to access your Steam games within the Xbox app.

The second wave of Xbox and PC Game Pass games in March 2025 is here. It packs Atomfall, Blizzard Arcade Collection, Train Sim World 5, and more. Also, Towerborne is coming to Xbox and Xbox Game Pass in April. Some titles will soon leave the subscription, so check out the complete list here.

Fallout 76 received a big new update with some interesting twists. The season 20 update is now available, allowing everyone to play the new Leap of Faith questline, which, in the end, turns you into an irradiated ghoul, unlocking new gameplay mechanics, radiation immunity, and more.

A big update is also coming to Minecraft. At Minecraft Live, Mojang announced a massive graphics revamp for the game, promising dynamic shadows, reworked lighting, volumetric fog, and other visual goodies.

This week, Nvidia's GeForce NOW streaming service received Assassin's Creed Shadows, Wreckfest 2, Aliens: Dark Descent, Fable Anniversary, Quake Live, and other games. If you own these titles, you can now stream them from Nvidia's cloud. Useful if you are waiting for a new GPU or do not have a powerful PC at all.

Deals and freebies

The Epic Games Store is giving away Jurassic World Evolution 2. You can grab this dino sim for free until March 27. More deals, discounts, and specials are available in our weekly Weekend PC Game Deals series.

Other gaming stories include the following:

Microsoft Weekly image background by jhenning on Pixabay

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Paul's Tech News - I Hope This GPU Ratio is Wrong [Video]

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 17:06:00 +0000

Paul's Hardware (1.51M subscribers)

March 23, 2025

Video length: 12m 05s

0:00 Welcome to Paul’s Tech News - March 23, 2025

1:47 GPU Availability Still Sucks, But Could Improve Soon for RX 9070

5:54 RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti Delay Rumored after Failure to Announce at GTC

7:32 NVIDIA Rubin GPU Architecture will be followed by Feynman in 2028

TECH BRIEFS

9:14 Valve begins the war on handheld Windows with a SteamOS general release

10:01 PCI Express 7.0 hits 'final draft' status, peak 512 GB/s data rate

10:47 Elecom’s world-first Na-ion power bank has 10x more charging cycles than Li-ion

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The WIRED Guide to Bluetooth

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 17:02:32 +0000

We explain everything you need to know about Bluetooth, the long-standing wireless connectivity standard.

Almost everyone uses Bluetooth every day, but what is it exactly? Bluetooth is a ubiquitous wireless connectivity standard that connects our headphones, speakers, smartwatches, and smart rings with our phones; headsets, keyboards, and mice with our laptops; and can even be used to broadcast audio to individuals or large audiences in public places with Auracast.

In this Bluetooth guide, I'll briefly explain how it works, review its two-decade history to describe the differences between versions, and examine what’s next for the standard.

How Does Bluetooth Work?

Bluetooth enables supported devices to connect wirelessly using high-frequency radio waves. Bluetooth relies on the same 2.4-GHz frequency band as 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi but, thanks to adaptive frequency-hopping (AFH), it avoids crowded frequencies and limits interference. Bluetooth also uses lower power, has less range, and isn't as fast as 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi.

Bluetooth has had its share of vulnerabilities, but it’s not too difficult to stay secure, and the latest versions are far more secure by design. Everyone has encountered Bluetooth pairing problems and annoying glitches—we have a guide to help you fix Bluetooth issues—but it's a robust standard that remains enormously convenient and, consequently, hugely popular. Every version of Bluetooth is backward compatible, meaning a Bluetooth 5.3 device can connect to a Bluetooth 4.0 device. But the features and functionality are always limited by the older device.

Companies employ Bluetooth in many proprietary features, like Apple’s AirDrop and Google’s Quick Share. While the U1 chip in Apple devices enables ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to determine the direction of your phone and help you share files with nearby devices, AirDrop uses Bluetooth for the initial discovery process and then switches to Wi-Fi to transmit files. Google merged Nearby Share with Samsung’s Quick Share in 2024, and much like AirDrop, it uses Bluetooth to establish a connection and then Wi-Fi to transfer files.

These are just two examples. Google also has a standard called Fast Pair that quickly connects a wireless device with a smartphone, and it uses Bluetooth too.

History of Bluetooth

Bluetooth is named after King Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson—the logo is a combination of his runes for his initials—who had a literal blue tooth (it was dead). He united Denmark and Norway in 958. This short-range radio technology grew from a 1996 meeting between Intel, Ericsson, and Nokia. The first version didn’t land until 1999, but Bluetooth didn’t take off until a few years later.

The standard is managed by a not-for-profit Bluetooth Special Interest Group, or Bluetooth SIG, and it's headquartered in the US. While there are thousands of members, the most influential companies help shape the direction of the standard and include companies like Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, Apple, Microsoft, Lenovo, and Google.

Every version brought myriad incremental improvements to make Bluetooth faster, more efficient, more secure, and less buggy, but we’re just going to run through the headline features here.

Bluetooth 1.2 in 2003 figured out how to avoid Wi-Fi interference and enabled quicker pairing, helping to popularize the standard.
Bluetooth 2.0 in 2004 brought EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), tripling the data rate from 1 to 3 Mbps.
Bluetooth 2.1 in 2007 brought SSP (Secure Simple Pairing), enhancing security and reducing power draw.
Bluetooth 3.0 + HS (High Speed) in 2009 bumped rates up by initially connecting via Bluetooth and then switching to Wi-Fi.
Bluetooth 4.0 LE (Low Energy) landed in 2010 and, as the name suggests, reduced power requirements even further.
Bluetooth 4.1 in 2013 allowed Bluetooth devices to communicate with each other.
Bluetooth 4.2 boosted data rates and IoT connectivity in 2014.
Bluetooth 5 in 2016 increased the potential range massively, going from around 50 meters to well over 200 meters. But range is dependent on the power class, and there are three classes. Class 1 devices have the greatest range and use the most power, Class 2 are limited to around 10 meters, and Class 1 is only 1 meter.
Bluetooth 5.1 in 2019 brought faster pairing and better tracking accuracy.
Bluetooth 5.2 in 2020 allowed for multiple simultaneous data streams and better control over the power and signal required by connected devices.
Bluetooth 5.3 in 2021 brought improvements in audio quality, increased power efficiency, and wider compatibility.
Bluetooth 5.4 in 2023 improved security and reduced latency, but it also included functionality aimed at retailers, allowing them to monitor and change electronic shelf labels (ESL). Devices that support ESL are expected to ship in 2027.
Bluetooth 6.0 is the latest version, announced in 2024. It includes a precise tracking capability called Channel Sounding that enables two devices to accurately measure the distance between them, alongside various efficiency improvements.

How to Use Bluetooth

One of the main reasons Bluetooth is so popular is because it's easy to use. You can generally turn Bluetooth on via the settings of your phone or computer and find a menu of available devices to connect with. Sometimes you need to put the device you want to connect with into pairing mode, which may involve holding down a button (refer to the device manufacturer). There's usually a pairing pop-up on one or both devices so you can accept the connection.

Bluetooth support is built into the chipsets of many devices, but if your computer or laptop lacks it, you can always add it via a dongle, like this Asus Bluetooth 5.0 Adapter ($18) or this one from Plugable ($17). If range is an issue, this popular Techkey Bluetooth 5.3 Adapter ($22) includes an antenna to boost it.

You can also add Bluetooth functionality to headphones, speakers, or car stereos that lack it with something like the 1Mii Bluetooth 5.3 Music Receiver ($17), but the device must have a 3.5-mm port or jack. We have also tested and like Scosche's Bluetooth Radio Transmitter for cars ($30), which adds Bluetooth connectivity to vehicles without it through the cigarette lighter port.

What’s Next for Bluetooth?

The most exciting new feature on the horizon for Bluetooth is Auracast. Announced by the Bluetooth (SIG) in 2022, the idea is that you will be able to broadcast and join audio streams in public places by selecting a stream from a list (as you currently do to join a Wi-Fi network), by scanning a QR code, or by tapping where you see an Auracast logo.

Auracast will allow several people to connect to the same audio stream simultaneously and could be used to watch a movie together on a smartphone in the back of the car, get audio from TVs in public spaces like the gym, or enhance accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing who could stream audio directly to their hearing aids at a public concert.

The catch is that devices must support Bluetooth 5.2 or later and the Public Broadcast Profile (PBP) to receive Auracast streams. It will likely take a while for devices with transmitter capabilities to roll out, though we may see plug-ins to enable this in the short term. Venue adoption is another piece of the puzzle, as they will have to deploy Auracast broadcast transmitters, so it may be a few years before this is widely available.

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I tested MSI Claw 8 AI+ and compared it against Steam Deck — Here's why one of these handhelds reigns supreme

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 16:58:28 +0000

Steam Deck is far more affordable, but MSI Claw 8 AI+ is far more powerful, so which one should you get?

I've spent the last couple of weeks testing and comparing the Steam Deck versus the MSI Claw 8 AI+ to see how these gaming handhelds compare against each other and to figure out the best use cases for each.

So, if you're trying to decide for yourself if you should get the newer MSI Claw 8 AI+ or the older Steam Deck, I'm here to help.

On this page, I compare handheld performance, game compatibility, battery life, displays, controls, and more. Let's dive in.

TL;DR: I've included quick comparison sections throughout this article, so you only have to read as much as you want.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Specs

The Steam Deck runs SteamOS while MSI Claw 8 AI+ runs Windows 11.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

I'll compare the MSI Claw 8 AI+ against the Steam Deck in several categories throughout this page, but let's start off by looking purely at their specs.

Header Cell - Column 0	MSI Claw 8 AI+	Steam Deck LCD / Steam Deck OLED
Price	$899.99	$399 \| $529 \| $649 / (OLED - $549 \| $649)
OS	Windows 11	Steam OS
Display	8-inch FHD+ (1920 x 1200), 16:10, IPS Touchscreen, 100% sRGB (Typical), 500nits (Typical) IPS-Level panel	7-inch (1280 x 800) 16:10 IPS touchscreen, 400nits / (OLED - 7.4-inch HDR OLED, 1280 x 800 up to 1,000 nits)
Refresh rate, VRR	120Hz, Yes	60Hz, No / (OLED - 90Hz, No)
Processor	Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 258V Integrated SoC	Semi-custom AMD APU code-name "Aerith" (TSMC 7nm)
Graphics	Intel Arc 140V GPU	8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0 - 1.6 GHz
Memory	32GB LPDDR5x-8533	16 GB LPDDR5 @ 5500 MT/s over 4x 32-bit memory channels = 88GB/s total bandwidth
Storage	1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD	64GB eMMC \| 256GB NVMe SSD / 512GB NVME SSD
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 7 + Bluetooth v5.4	Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.3
Ports	2 x Thunderbolt 4 / DP/ USB Type-C (w/ PD 3.0 Charging), 1 x microSD Card Reader, 1 x Audio combo jack, 1 x Power button with Finger Print Sensor	1x USB-C port, 1x headphone jack, 1x microSD card slot
Touchpad	No	Yes, two
Detachable controllers	No	No
Color	Sandstorm (light brown and black)	Black
Dimensions	11.77 (W) x 4.96 (D) x 0.94 (H) inches (299 (W) x 126 (D) x 24mm (H))	11.73 x 4.6 x 1.93 inches (298 x 117 x 49 mm)
Weight	1.75 lbs (795 grams)	1.47 lbs (669 grams)
Battery	6-Cell, Li-Polymer, 80Whr / 65W USB Type-C PD 3.0	40Whr 83 mins - 7 hours \| (OLED 50Whr 3 - 12 hours)

Now that you've been able to compare the basic specs, I'll elaborate on them and discuss what these differences mean for you as a potential handheld owner.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Price & value

MSI Claw 8 AI+ is significantly more expensive than Steam Deck.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Over the last few years, gaming handhelds have become an increasingly popular way to enjoy PC games. Hell, these days, I do the vast majority of my PC gaming sessions on one of these portable devices rather than my gaming laptop.

It's important that a gaming handheld provides the necessary features and conveniences to make these gaming sessions enjoyable. But, arguably more importantly, you need to choose one that fits into your budget.

As you saw in the previous spec table, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ sells at an astronomical $899.99 at Best Buy, which makes it one of the most expensive handhelds currently on the market.

There's also technically an MSI Claw 7 AI+ that's relatively similar but with a 7-inch display and only 512GB SSD, which sells for $799.99 at Best Buy.

It might not be nearly as powerful, but the Steam Deck is comparatively very affordable.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Meanwhile, the Steam Deck is available in the lower-priced LCD version with 256GB RAM, which starts at just $399.00 at Steam and the costlier OLED version with 512GB RAM, which starts at $549.00 at Steam. The costliest Steam Deck OLED comes with 1TB SSD and has a $649.00 MSRP.

Depending on the kind of games you intend to play on your handheld, a Steam Deck could suit your needs while costing a lot less.

TL;DR: PRICE WINNER: Even the most expensive Steam Deck OLED only gets as high as $649.00, making it much less expensive than the MSI Claw 8 AI+. So, the $399.00 Steam Deck LCD is the significantly less expensive option here.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Performance

MSI Claw 8 AI+ lets you swap between Gamepad Mode and Desktop Mode for better performance between

games and Windows 11's interface.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

While the low-priced Steam Deck — with its relatively modest semi-custom AMD APU (accelerated processing unit) with 8 RDNA 2 graphics — has been optimized to work incredibly well with compatible games, it doesn't offer nearly as powerful internals as the Intel Lunar Lake-toting MSI Claw 8 AI+.

You see, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ has one of the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 258V AI-boosted processors with integrated Intel Arc 140V Graphics.

As I stated in my MSI Claw 8 AI+ review, it's one of the few handhelds right now that uses an AI-boosted Intel CPU (central processing unit), which technically makes this handheld an AI PC.

When it comes to game performance, the Steam Deck can usually handle a wide range of titles, including classics and simple graphics games like 2D platformers (think Ori and the Blind Forest) or pixel graphics titles (like Stardew Valley), but it can also struggle with some of the latest AAA games.

For instance, the new Claw can run STALKER 2, Avowed, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but on Steam Deck, these same games can fail to boot up, suffer from extreme stuttering, or even cause the Steam Deck to crash repeatedly, which is obviously frustrating.

That said, many developers optimize their games for Steam Deck — even more graphically demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077.

The good news is that if a game has been optimized for Steam Deck, then it usually runs very well on Valve's handheld, providing controller support, good-sized text, and running with respectable frames per second (FPS).

Game pages on Steam will show one of these four symbols to indicate Steam Deck compatibility.

(Image credit: Valve)

In case you don't know: Steam game pages have "Steam Deck Compatibility" sections that clarify how well a game will run (or if it will run) on Valve's handheld.

A green checkmark means a game works great and is "fully functional on Steam Deck."
A yellow i means a game is playable but might have certain issues like small text.
A grey circle with a slash through it means a game is unsupported.
A grey question mark indicates that compatibility is unknown.

As a Steam Deck owner, these symbols are very helpful. However, you sometimes have to take a gamble with a game and hope that it plays well on Deck.

So, what is game performance like on Steam Deck versus MSI Claw 8 AI+?

Cyberpunk 2077 handheld benchmark results
Default Graphics Setting	MSI Claw 8 AI+ Avg. FPS	Steam Deck LCD Avg. FPS	Legion Go Avg. FPS	Ally X Avg. FPS*	Ally Avg. FPS*
Low	59.01 FPS	27.30 FPS	36.43 FPS	26.45 FPS	21.64 FPS
Steam Deck	59.27 FPS	29.48 FPS	36.43 FPS	29.13 FPS	23.86 FPS
Ray Tracing: Low	57.20 FPS	27.84 FPS	35.76 FPS	27.22 FPS	21.86 FPS

*These FPS results were achieved on ROG Ally and Ally X with AFMF2 turned off. Enabling AFMF2 on Ally handhelds increases FPS significantly.

As one example, during Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark testing, the Steam Deck LCD was able to get an average 29.48 FPS when on the Steam Deck graphics default. This is similar to the results of the ASUS ROG Ally and Ally X.

However, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ runs games far more smoothly and managed to get an average of 59.27 FPS when also running Cyberpunk 2077's benchmark at the same Steam Deck graphics default.

That's slightly more than double the FPS the Steam Deck LCD achieved, and looks a whole lot smoother in person.

You can play more graphically demanding games through the cloud on Steam Deck with services like NVIDIA GeForce NOW.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Of course, you can also use a program like NVIDIA GeForce NOW on Steam Deck to run a graphically demanding game like Cyberpunk 2077 on a distant server while streaming locally on your handheld to reach much higher FPS on the handheld.

You'll just want to make sure you have a good internet connection to take advantage of this.

TL;DR: PERFORMANCE WINNER: It depends. If you tend to play less graphically-intensive games or older classics, then the Steam Deck should suit you just fine. However, if you want to play the latest and greatest AAA titles on handheld, then MSI Claw 8 AI+ will serve your needs better.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Display

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ has a somewhat large 8-inch IPS touchscreen that supports VRR and up to 120Hz.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

There are a lot of tradeoffs when comparing the Steam Deck's 7-inch LCD or OLED touchscreens against the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s larger 8-inch IPS touchscreen.

Size is the most immediately obvious difference, and I can tell you that I feel more mesmerized by my games when using the larger 8-inch MSI Claw screen over the smaller 7-inch Steam Deck displays.

Of course, having a larger screen can also make it easier for people with visual impairments to make out details.

Color, contrast, resolution, and motion clarity

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The Steam Deck LCD touchscreen only offers 1280x800 resolution.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

On a different note, OLED panels like the one in the Steam Deck OLED offer some major visual improvements over IPS LCD displays such as more vibrant hues, TrueBlack, crisp details, etc,

So, if you really care about color and picture quality, an OLED display might be the best choice for you.

For my MSI Claw 8 AI+ review, I conducted both a color gamut test and a brightness and contrast test on the handheld's screen using a colorimeter.

In my testing, the Claw's 8-inch display produced 99% of sRGB and 77% of P3, which aren't as good as an OLED's color gamut results but still respectable (the closer to 100%, the better).

The Claw also produced a max brightness of 469 nits, which is pretty standard.

Meanwhile, in our sister site Tom's Guide's Steam Deck OLED review, they found that the Steam Deck LCD produced 68% sRGB, 48% P3, and a max brightness of only 169 nits, while the Steam Deck OLED produced 143% sRGB, 101% P3, and a max brightness of 597 nits.

This being the case, the Steam Deck LCD, while still decent looking in person, has the worst color gamut of the three, followed by MSI Claw 8 AI+ and unsurprisingly topped by Steam Deck OLED.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ can run far more graphically demanding titles that the Steam Deck struggles to open.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

MSI Claw vs Steam Deck display comparison
Row 0 - Cell 0	MSI Claw 8 AI+	Steam Deck OLED	Steam Deck LCD
Max brightness	469	597	169
sRGB	99%	143%	68%
DCI-P3	76%	101%	48%
Max resolution	1920x1200	1280x800	1280x800
Max refresh rate	120Hz	90Hz	60Hz

However, color isn't the only important factor for a gaming display.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ provides a much higher 1920x1200 resolution and impressive 120Hz refresh rate compared to the Steam Deck's 1280x800 resolution and LCD 60Hz refresh rate or OLED 90Hz refresh rate.

Plus, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ supports VRR (variable refresh rate), which helps improve game motion clarity by syncing frame rates with system output to eliminate screen tearing.

For this reason, I always value screens that promote smoother gameplay over better color and contrast.

TL;DR: DISPLAY WINNER: There's no denying that the 7-inch Steam Deck OLED offers the best color and contrast. However, the larger 8-inch MSI Claw 8 AI+ display does a better job of reducing screen tearing and stuttering thanks to VRR support and its higher refresh rate. Plus, it also offers a much crisper resolution along with its respectable color gamut, brightness, and contrast.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Controls and ports

The Steam Deck offers two touchpads, but the MSI Claw 8 AI+ has Hall Effect joysticks.

(Image credit: Valve)

Simply by looking at the Steam Deck LCD / OLED and MSI Claw 8 AI+, you can see there are some pretty notable control differences, but some of these go deeper than surface level.

I'll start off by saying that both versions of the Steam Deck have inline joysticks in order to accommodate the touchpads underneath. Many people love these touchpads since they can give more minute control in menus and more mouse-heavy titles.

It's definitely not a bad setup. However, I much prefer the feel of MSI's offset joysticks. Not to mention, Claw 8 AI+ offers Hall Effect joysticks and triggers to prevent drift issues and provide more precision, so you can count on them to last longer.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ has two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a microSD card reader.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

As for ports, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers two Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the Steam Deck only has the one USB-C port.

This is a big difference not only because Thunderbolt 4 is notably faster than a basic USB-C, but also because this means you can plug an accessory into the MSI Claw and still have the other port ready for another accessory or even recharge the handheld at the same time.

TL;DR: CONTROLS & PORTS WINNER: The MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers Hall Effect joysticks, which means they won't suffer from stick drift. Plus, the joysticks are offset, which feels better then the Steam Deck's inline sticks. Meanwhile, it also offers two Thunderbolt 4 ports instead of just one USB-C port. If the Claw had Steam Deck's touchpads it would be absolutely perfect in this area.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Software and games

Since it runs Windows 11, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is basically just a small gaming laptop with controllers attached.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

One of the biggest differences between these handhelds is that the Steam Deck runs the Linux-based SteamOS while the MSI Claw 8 AI+ runs Windows 11, just like a basic gaming laptop.

If you know how to use them, SteamOS and Windows 11 can both offer a lot of freedom in their own ways.

SteamOS accesses your library of games from your Steam account.

From a user perspective, this makes the Steam Deck feel more console-like with a simplified interface that can easily launch games, shop for more titles, or adjust settings.

While the Steam Deck only works with Steam out of the box, going into the Steam Deck's desktop mode allows you to surf the web and download new apps or workarounds (like Decky Loader) for accessing other gaming services outside of Steam.

Programs like Decky Loader help you access more game services on Steam Deck.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

Meanwhile, MSI Claw 8 AI+ runs Windows 11, which means it can do anything that a Windows laptop can do. I used mine to surf the web right out of the box, download programs, and access any other gaming services (such as Battle.net, Epic Games, and more).

There's no denying that the computer world mostly runs on Windows over Linux. As such, it's a lot easier to find compatible apps and programs for Windows 11 over SteamOS.

The problem is that Windows 11's interface isn't optimized for handhelds, so it can feel weird to navigate at first, and you might need to turn off bloatware or troubleshoot a lot more than on Steam Deck.

By the way, we can help you troubleshoot with our Windows guides.

You can use the Steam Deck like a normal Linux computer if you go into Desktop mode. (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

If I connect my Windows 11 handhelds to a docking station (like the one in my JSAUX 6-in-1 Multifunctional Docking Station review), I can connect a display, keyboard, and mouse and easily use my handheld like a normal Windows computer.

You can also do this with Steam Deck (and there's a large community of Linux lovers out there who do), but it might be less intuitive for people who don't know how to use the Linux desktop mode. Still, it's never too late to learn.

I'm an outlier in that I like the freedom using Windows 11 on my handhelds gives me over SteamOS. However, the vast majority of people I've talked to prefer the simplicity SteamOS on handheld offers over Windows 11.

That said, SteamOS is supposed to be coming to more handhelds in the near future, so you could install it on MSI Claw 8 AI+ once it's available. In the meantime, there are workarounds like Bazzite to bring SteamOS to MSI Claw.

On a different software note, the Claw comes with MSI Center M installed, a program that works as a game launcher, setting adjustment tool, and more.

However, I was disappointed to find that it doesn't give me as many options for manually adjusting system settings as ROG Ally does. For instance, as of the time of writing, there's no way to manually set VRAM on the Claw.

TL;DR: SOFTWARE & GAMES WINNER: While having Windows 11 on the MSI Claw 8 AI+ provides more freedoms, it also adds a lot of unnecessary bloat. Meanwhile, Steam Deck's SteamOS is far simpler and easier to navigate for basic gaming purposes.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Battery life

You might want to turn off the RGB lighting around the joysticks to improve battery life slightly.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

MSI's handheld has the largest battery capacity between the Steam Deck LCD 40Whr battery, Steam Deck OLED 50Whr battery, and Claw 8 AI+ 80Whr battery.

That said, the battery life you get out of your handheld will be different depending on the settings you put the system at and the intensity of the programs you're running.

Graphically demanding games pull more power than simple 2D pixel graphics games.

For instance, when I put my MSI Claw 8 AI+ screen at roughly 200 nits and had it to do average office tasks like surf the internet, run Gimp, join video calls, and more, it was able to last up to 14 hours, but when I had it run Cyberpunk 2077, it only lasted about two hours and 10 minutes.

Row 0 - Cell 0	Steam Deck LCD	Steam Deck OLED	MSI Claw 8 AI+
Overall battery life	2-8 hours	7-10 hours	10-14 hours
Playing Cyberpunk 2077	45 minutes	1.5 hours	2 hours

To be clear, this is about an hour and 15 minutes longer than many other Windows handhelds can play Cyberpunk 2077, which is impressive in comparison. However, battery life still feels short for people who prefer long gaming sessions.

Meanwhile, the Steam Deck LCD tends to run between two and eight hours, while the Steam Deck OLED only tends to run between seven and 10 hours, depending on the kind of game being played and the settings they are set at.

I personally tend to play with my handhelds plugged in or connected to a docking station if I want to enjoy longer gaming sessions.

TL;DR: BATTERY LIFE WINNER: The MSI Claw 8 AI+ can last longer than the Steam Deck LCD and Steam Deck OLED, even when playing more graphically demanding titles.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Grip ergonomics and comfort

I personally don't like the feel of the indented hard plastic on the back of the MSI Claw 8 AI+.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Many people I know experience numbness or at least discomfort when holding handhelds, especially ones with lacking grip areas.

Unfortunately, neither the Steam Deck nor the MSI Claw 8 AI+ are ideal when it comes to comfort; the internals feel relatively balanced, but the devices are still somewhat bulky and don't have the most ergonomic grips.

Additionally, both devices are on the heavier side within the handheld world, with the Steam Deck weighing in at 1.47 pounds and the Claw 8 AI+ coming in at 1.75 pounds.

For comparison, the extremely popular (though gripless) Nintendo Switch only weighs 0.71 pounds.

Many people attach grip accessories to the Steam Deck to make it more comfortable to hold.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Being under two pounds might not sound like a lot, but remember that you'll be holding these things at an angle the whole time, which puts strain on your hands and wrists.

That's why many people turn to grip case accessories like the one seen in my Satisfye StylthGrip for Steam Deck review.

This all said, I personally think that the Steam Deck feels better in my hands due to its more grabbable case design and lighter weight.

Plus, I prefer it when my fingers feel the Steam Deck's flat back casing rather than the textured hard plastic found on the back of the MSI Claw 8 AI+.

TL;DR: COMFORT WINNER: Honestly, neither the Steam Deck nor the MSI Claw 8 AI+ are all that comfortable to hold for long stretches, but I'd argue that the Deck's lower weight and more grabbable grips makes it the winner here.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Community and tutorials

There are tons of Steam Deck users out there who can help you do crazy things like put Windows 11 on Steam Deck.

(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)

The Steam Deck was the first PC gaming handheld to go mainstream. That, combined with its many quality features, has helped it develop a relatively humongous and loyal community. If you need to find a tutorial for your own Steam Deck, it probably already exists. If you simply want to geek out with other owners, it's very easy to do so.

For starters, I recommend looking at our own Steam Deck guides or joining the Steam Deck subreddit, which has 865K members as of writing.

Now, there is an MSI Claw following, but it's significantly smaller than the Steam Deck community.

This means it might be harder to find solutions to specific Claw problems you might encounter, and there are fewer people to talk about the system with, but they are still out there.

If interested, you can join the MSI Claw subreddit, which currently has 5.2K members.

TL;DR: COMMUNITY WINNER: There is a massive and loyal Steam Deck community out there, which makes it easier to find tutorials, talk with fellow Deck owners, and learn more about the system. Meanwhile, there is an MSI Claw community, but it isn't nearly as large, so there isn't as big of a resource to pull from.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Comparison chart

MSI Claw 8 AI+ has Hall Effect joysticks unlike the Steam Deck. (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Category	Winner
Price	Steam Deck LCD and even Steam Deck OLED are noticeably more affordable than MSI Claw 8 AI+.
Performance	Optimized games can run really well on Steam Deck, but the more powerful hardware in the Claw 8 AI+ allow it to play more games than the Steam Deck can.
Display	There's an argument that the Steam Deck OLED offers the best color and contrast, however, the Claw 8 AI+ is better overall since it supports VRR, has a good color gamut, and offers a much higher resolution and refresh rate.
Controls & ports	Thanks to its offset Hall Effect joysticks and dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ has the better controls and connections, even if it doesn't have touchpads.
Software & games	SteamOS on Steam Deck offers a simpler interface for accessing games and adjusting settings than the Windows 11 MSI Claw 8 AI+.
Battery life	With its 80Whr battery, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ can last longer than Steam Deck (40Whr or 50Whr battery) when playing the same graphically demanding games.
Grip	While neither handheld has the best ergonomic design, the Steam Deck has slightly better grips and weighs less.
Community	The Steam Deck has a relatively massive user base, which makes it easier to find advice, tutorials, and a community to interact with.
Best overall	If you're looking for a handheld that can run just about any game thrown at it, go with MSI Claw 8 AI+. If you want an affordable option or something that you can use to play classics and less demanding titles, then the Steam Deck is your handheld.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs Steam Deck: Which should I buy?

The Steam Deck's two touchpads give better control with certain menus and games.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Both the Steam Deck and the MSI Claw 8 AI+ can be a fantastic fit depending on what you're looking for in a gaming handheld, but they do solve very different problems.

You should get Steam Deck if...

✅ You mostly play classics and less processor-straining titles

The Steam Deck can play a wide variety of titles, but its internals aren't very powerful compared to MSI Claw. If you don't see yourself trying to play the latest and most graphically demanding games, then Steam Deck could suit you perfectly.

✅ You want the most inexpensive PC gaming handheld available

Compared to ROG Ally, Legion Go, MSI Claw, and other PC gaming handhelds, the Steam Deck LCD is still one of the most affordable devices out there.

You should get MSI Claw 8 AI+ if...

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is the most powerful Windows 11 PC gaming handheld to date.

(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

✅ You love playing the latest AAA games and intensive titles

There's no guarantee that every game that comes out will run smoothly on handhelds, but of the devices out right now, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers the very best gaming performance by far. So, if a game is going to be able to run on a handheld, it will be MSI Claw 8 AI+.

✅ You want a handheld that won't have drift issues

Since the MSI Claw 8 AI+ has Hall Effect joysticks and triggers, it won't experience stick drift and will offer finer precision than the Steam Deck controls.

In terms of overall performance, there's no denying that the MSI Claw 8 AI+ blasts the older Steam Deck out of the water.

Its newer internals can not only run titles that the Steam Deck fails to boot up, but it far outperforms other handhelds in terms of FPS and motion clarity as well.

Plus, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ has a larger 8-inch display and an 80Whr battery to help you enjoy games in a more immersive fashion for longer.

That all said, the Steam Deck can still be a great choice for you if you simply want something that's more affordable and doesn't need it to play the latest and greatest titles.

Plus, many people prefer the simple SteamOS interface to dealing with Windows 11.

Of course, SteamOS is supposed to become available for more handheld devices in the future, so you might still be able to put SteamOS on your MSI Claw 8 AI+ down the road.

Source

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