News
Google Home smart speaker gets Mini and Max versions
The smart speaker market gets two new entries from Google today. The Google Home family grows with smaller and larger siblings, which are designed to meet their competition from Amazon and Apple.
The Google Home Mini is a smaller companion to the standard Google Home smart speaker, and is also the cheapest in the family. It’s designed like Amazon’s Echo Dot, with its miniature and friendlier-looking form factor. It connects with other speakers wirelessly and can stream music to a Chromecast-enabled speaker if you want it to.

It has Google Assistant built in like any other Google Home product. It’s actually meant to get the digital assistant into more rooms and corners of your home, but has its own speaker so it can talk and play music.

The Google Home Mini will only cost US$ 49 and comes in three color options: chalk, charcoal, and coral. It’s now up for pre-order and will be available starting on October 19.
The Google Home Max, on the other hand, is a huge desk speaker that’ll compete with the Apple HomePod due to its size. It has two 4.5-inch woofers for deep bass and two tweeters for the high notes, which are all hidden behind a stylish fabric cover.

Of course, the Home Max has Google Assistant that’ll respond even when you’re playing music, thanks to the speaker’s far-field microphones. It has a feature called Smart Sound, which automatically tunes the speaker for the room size and to the audio you’re listening to — may it be a song, podcast, or phone call.
The Home Max features touch controls and supports Bluetooth and Google Cast for wireless music playback from any compatible device. It also has access to YouTube Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, Pandora, and iHeartRadio for streaming. If you want to go wired, it still has a 3.5mm audio port.

The Google Home Max will retail for US$ 399 and is coming sometime in December. It’s actually fifty bucks more expensive than the HomePod, but Google will throw in a 12-month ad-free YouTube Music subscription with every purchase.
SEE ALSO: Amazon introduces Echo Spot: your next bedside smart clock
[irp posts=”21301″ name=”Amazon introduces Echo Spot: your next bedside smart clock”]
It’s been a while since GPU companies focused on making chips for consoles. With how the industry is going now, chips feel like they’re destined to end up in the suffocating deluge of AI servers. Now, however, AMD is showing signs of healing by teasing the next-generation Xbox.
In the latest earnings call (via Engadget), AMD CEO Lisa Su teased that the next-gen Xbox, built with a custom AMD SoC, is “progressing well to support a launch in 2027.”
The subtle tease is vague enough to obscure any details about the upcoming console but clear enough to confirm that it’s coming. Since the Xbox Series X|S has been out for several years now, it’s not surprising that Microsoft is thinking about what’s coming next.
However, it’s still intriguing that Microsoft is going for another console. Previous reports have speculated that the company might focus on delivering games, especially through the Game Pass. Lately, both the PlayStation and the Switch have thoroughly dominated the console market ahead of the Xbox. Handheld consoles are likewise impressive, too.
Other reports have speculated that the upcoming generation will focus on delivering both a gaming and a PC experience. With the Steam Machine coming soon, it seems natural that the next consoles will be usable PCs as well.
SEE ALSO: Match Pulse: ROG Xbox Ally X
Gaming
Overwatch reinvents itself with a new story and five new heroes
And it’s not “Overwatch 2” anymore.
Overwatch 2 was not a disaster for the popular multiplayer shooter franchise. It did, however, make the game more polarizing. For 2026, Blizzard is shaking things up once again, starting by dropping the “2” from Overwatch 2.
During its scheduled showcase, the new-and-improved Overwatch will feature annual storylines that will keep the game fresh for years to come. The system will go live on February 10. By then, the year-long event called Reign of Talon will start with Season 1.
As the name suggests, this year will be all about the villain-coded Talon organization, and it’s going to be more story-driven. Right off the bat, a new cinematic sees Vendetta seemingly kill Doomfist and take over the leadership of Talon.
Blizzard says that the year will see ten new characters introduced to the roster. In fact, five of those will already be playable starting in Season 1.
Without a doubt, the highlight character for this round is the formerly cancelled Jetpack Cat. The character was first rumored all the way back in 2017 but will now be fully playable this season. The flying feline hero is a support character that can hook another hero to a location while healing them. Their ultimate reverses this by having them crash land onto enemies and then hooking one to, ideally, drop them off the map.
Jetpack Cat will join four other heroes. Anran, who is also affiliated with the Overwatch faction, deals fire damage. Domina, who, along with the next three heroes, works with Talon, is a shield-based tank. Emre imagines an evil version of Soldier: 76. Finally, Mizuki is a Talon-affiliated healer.
Besides a new story and heroes, Overwatch will feature new game modes and improvements across the board. The new Season 1 starts on February 10.
Gaming
The Nintendo Switch is now Nintendo’s best-selling console ever
Meanwhile, the Switch 2 just crossed 17 million units sold.
The Nintendo Switch 2’s success was bound to happen. After enormous success with the original Switch, Nintendo is practically destined to also put up impressive numbers for the console’s recently released sequel. Today, the company has whipped out some proof. The Nintendo Switch 2 officially sold 17.37 million units, as of December last year.
Nintendo shared the console’s numbers through an investor’s report. Despite coming out only eight months ago, the Switch 2 is already putting up impressive numbers. With those numbers, the console is already Nintendo’s fastest selling platform to date.
For comparison, the original Switch sold less than half of what Switch 2 has sold in the former’s first eight months. Though the second console is still miles away from its predecessor’s total numbers, it’s already well on its way. In fact, Nintendo already expects the Switch 2 to break 19 million units by the end of the quarter.
The second Switch isn’t the only console reaping the rewards of its hard work. The original Switch has also crossed a major milestone. As of last year, the console has sold 155.37 million units, making it Nintendo’s bestselling console ever. It just overtook the Nintendo DS, which sold 154.02 million units.
With that, the Switch 2 has a mountain to climb, just to reach the same heights that its predecessor already attained. For sure, the console’s ongoing success is buoyed by the goodwill established by the original. Now, the question is whether the Switch 2 can sustain its growth on its own.
To help, the console is expecting significant first-party titles including Pokémon Pokopia and Meetup in Bellabel Park, a Super Mario Bros. Wonder DLC.
SEE ALSO: The Nintendo Switch is nearing the end of its lifecycle
-
Reviews2 weeks agoHONOR X9d 5G review: Tougher, more long-lasting and optimized
-
Gaming2 weeks agoNow playing: Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERGRADE on Switch 2
-
Gaming2 weeks agoForza Horizon 6 launches on May 19
-
Gaming2 weeks agoNintendo’s latest toy is Super Mario Wonder’s Talking Flower
-
Gaming2 weeks agoYou can now race as teams in Mario Kart World’s Knockout Tour
-
Accessories2 weeks agoG-DRAGON is CASETiFY’s first ever Global Brand Ambassador
-
News2 weeks agonubia joins durability competition with launch of V80 Max
-
Gaming1 week agoNew DRAGON BALL game project “AGE 1000” for 2027 announced

