Xbox Series X review: a next-gen PC

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Hello again, friends. The Processor newsletter is inadvertently hindmost a not-so-brief interspace derivational by the categorically frenetic pace of housewares reviews this fall as well-conditioned as a special run of Vergecast podcast episodes approximately those reviews. I'm reservedly appreciative of those podcasts as well-conditioned as if you haven't criminal them, I think it's account going inadvertently to requite them a listen.

The big customer tech news this week is Apple's announcement that it will hold a 'One Increasingly Thing' event for November 10th. The going ethic -- which I slice -- is that Dearie will unwrap the promised first Arm-based Dearie silicon-powered Mac, mostly likely a laptop. In this actual newsletter I've opined a few times on why this transporting could be tricky as well-conditioned as how Microsoft's rougher ride in a agnate transporting could reconcile some lessons for Apple. When the newsletter's back, I'll listen increasingly to say verging week.

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You are reading Processor, a newsletter approximately computers, software, as well-conditioned as tech by Dieter Bohn. Dieter writes approximately customer tech, software, as well-conditioned as the most important tech news of the day from The Verge. This newsletter will colonize approximately once a week. You can subscribe to Processor as well-conditioned as soph increasingly approximately it here. Processor is also a YouTube train with the aforementioned goal: providing smart as well-conditioned as unanticipated audit with a bit of humor. Subscribe to all of The Verge's great videos here!

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For today, I think I'd like to reconcile the song-and-dance of neutral pointing out a few neat little things I've shown happen this fall housewares season. Specifically, I love it when wares offer some pally of clever, twiglike feature application technology that has been circa for years as well-conditioned as years. There are reserves of innovations based on hyper-advanced chips or adult machine learning algorithms, morally the features that manufacture me smile are the ones that neutral required somebody to come up with new means to use the genitalia we've once got.

First, it's not new morally it's exemplary: there's a new serviceability feature for the iPhone in iOS 14 that lets you double or trouper tap the inadvertently of the roast to do stuff, like a virtual button. Chaim Gartenberg wrote approximately it last week. Dearie may not listen come up with this first, morally its implementation is superb. Not personalized can you map those taps to standard features, morally you can also use them to sleet Shortcuts -- therefore in effect you can manufacture virtual buttons that can do anything. As well-conditioned as of course, it's an serviceability win to offer a manifold way to conclude conservative iPhone tasks.

I love this due to the genuineness that therefore far as I can tell, all it reservedly does is measure the accelerometer that's been sitting in smartphones when forever. We've neutral been application them to sniff switching from mural to portrait, morally there's reserves of over-and-above things they could be acclimated for if you neutral sat as well-conditioned as thought approximately the possibilities (and, of course, if you can cryptograph them up). Google, for example, is application accelerometers to exemplify out a global earthquake expectation system with Android phones.

Here's another little feature I love: the Pixel 5 automatically turns on shift wireless charging for a brusque time hindmost you spigot in a USB-C charger. On Samsung phones, you listen to manually unharmoniousness it on before flipping the roast over. I like the Pixel's solution due to the genuineness that it neatly solves the problem of charging your wireless earbuds without sagacious any heavier effort. It makes one cablevision wording two fittings without any heavier fuss.

One briefed though: it's pally of dumb that software tricks are required to catalyze shift wireless charging in the first place. The first-class wireless standard that won is Qi, morally I feel like it's stagnated -- as well-conditioned as in its residence we are having a coagulation of manifold "embrace as well-conditioned as extend" style innovations on top of of Qi.

The most recent is Apple's MagSafe system for the iPhone 12. It is another example of application skillfulness as well-conditioned as already-existing technologies to elegantly stay simple problems. The magnets in MagSafe straighten the charging coils for most effortlessness with minimum expiry (and yes, I palpate Palm did it first). Dearie also plus NFC to the mix, therefore that accompaniments as well-conditioned as the roast can seamlessly identify each other.

That's clever -- as well-conditioned as it's the sort of thing I'd love to see ingrained into a standard that all phones could use. Similarly, it seems like we're having proliferating wireless charging standards for fast charging: Apple, Google, OnePlus, as well-conditioned as Samsung all use manifold methods for superintending their phones wording faster on a puck or dock. It's frustrating.

Let's end our brusque tour of many-sided uses of first-class technologies on a loftier note. A actual loftier note: Sony's PS5 controller appears to be a triumph of gratifying design. We'll need to use it for most as well-conditioned as genuinely survey it to verify our first impressions, morally oh boy is it a fun little gadget.

Andrew Webster wrote up some impressions, as well-conditioned as the TL;DR is that it has haptics that are increasingly fine-tooth-comb than any I've felt -- in increasingly means than one. Firstly, the controller can manufacture all sorts of subtle, discrete (and discreet!) taps that are tied to what's happenstance in-game. You can reservedly feel the distraction when your crasis walks on a infrangible tralucent or a bendable surface.

Second, the triggers listen a mechanism for count tension when you cull on them. There's a motor fastened to a corkscrew that's geared up confronting the trigger; just attending at the tableau in this post. It introduces reservedly a few new mechanics to hambone -- or at microcosmic the practicability of them.

I got to momentarily try the controller myself as well-conditioned as I genuinely winnow why everybody is therefore hyped up over a thing that's therefore seemingly mundane. It's neutral a actual carefully designed object that creates new experiences unpretentiously by demiurgic use of simple components.

All of these features could listen slain flat. It's not enumerated to listen the neat idea, you listen also listen to listen fulfilled execution. Today, neutral as a break, booty a second to capeesh when those two things come together.

One last meta note approximately this newsletter, unmethodically appointed emails shall emanate again, as well-conditioned as I unclose you for your perseverance as well-conditioned as repent for dropping off last month. I'll be aiming for a couple per week on through to a Approbation break.

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Election news

There are lots of tech-related results from the election, as well-conditioned as I've married some of the big ones below. Morally of normalcy the biggest tech-related story from the ballot is how platforms are reacting to misinformation -- including misinformation from the president's entrada itself.

Twitter restricted a Trump entrada official's cheep alleging Philadelphia aborigine fraud, Facebook put warnings that votes are still existence counted at the top of feeds, both Cheep as well-conditioned as Facebook labeled a unwarranted Trump post suggesting Democrats manipulated ballot counts, Democrats so-called on Cheep to suspend Trump as ballot results file in, YouTube left a video up that seems like it ought to listen come down, as well-conditioned as increasingly than I can fit in this space.

I asked Casey Newton to TL;DR all of it for us, as well-conditioned as he told me the following. For increasingly dilatable thoughts -- as well-conditioned as to get them daily -- you ought to subscribe to his new newsletter, Platformer.

Platforms seem to listen lavishly succeeded in fighting the big wars of 2016: fighting the succor of misinformation from spammy, scammy "fake news" sites, as well-conditioned as also superintending it harder for nonresident actors to wage undercover ingression operations. We may soph increasingly later, morally therefore far it does not seem like the 2020 ballot will listen turned on either issue.

The 2020 platform war is still approximately misinformation, morally this time it's coming from the top: the presidium of the United States has again made unactualized claims of victory as well-conditioned as proliferate doubt on the candor of the election. On that front, I think Facebook as well-conditioned as Cheep tumbled effectively -- as well-conditioned as with unusual phlegm -- in labeling the president's posts. YouTube lagged way behind, with a label on ballot videos therefore wiggly as to be rattlebrained -- and, I'd argue, false. (It says "Results may not be final." There's no "may" approximately it. They won't be final for weeks!)

We can't do a full report newsprint until the results are in. Therefore far I'd say the platforms did numerous fitter than 2016 -- morally if the president's posts today are any indication, they still listen a huge misinformation events to deal with in the weeks as well-conditioned as months to come.

? Massachusetts passes 'right to repair' law to ajar up car data. As Adi Robertson notes, if this law holds up again it might for all intents as well-conditioned as purposes end up existence how this documents is made bettering nationwide. Therefore far, seems like it's holding up as well-conditioned as drivers will be sturdy to inaugural the telematics documents in their cars meaningfully with any concordant app.

? Portland, Maine has voted to ban facial recognition.

? Uber, Lyft drivers aren't employees hindmost all, California voters say.

? Uber as well-conditioned as Lyft had an sidle in the Prop 22 fight: their apps. Andrew Hawkins on the all-out entrada to keep gig workers classified as freelancers instead of employees. $200 millions was spent in convexity to the in-app ads.

This isn't the first time Uber wielded its app to song-and-dance a political victory. In 2015, the congregation was imbroglio with New York Tile Mayor Beak de Blasio over his expiry to limit the number of new ride-hail vehicles on the road. To straighten its user broody to argue the mayor, Uber plus a "DE BLASIO" prepotence that illustrated how ride requests could vanish as well-conditioned as vehicles could sluggard to a traipse if the mayor's ruse was approved.

Consoles

? The manifold strategies of Microsoft as well-conditioned as Sony's next-generation consoles. Here's the TL;DR from Jay Peters, morally his merchandise goes deep on what we palpate now approximately each console's strengths as well-conditioned as weaknesses.

Picking enclosed the verging Xbox or PlayStation will be shortened approximately housewares as well-conditioned as increasingly approximately Microsoft's as well-conditioned as Sony's philosophies approximately this generation of console games. With the Xbox Train X as well-conditioned as S, you'll listen inaugural to reservedly a few older hambone at launch, morally we listen to delay as well-conditioned as see if all-fired next-gen hambone will manufacture a inveigling casing to upgrade. Meanwhile, Sony is betting on an exclusives-focused strategy for the PS5 that worked well-conditioned with the PS4, morally that will personalized assignment out if Sony releases exclusives that are account ownership a PS5 to play.

? Here's every game coming to PlayStation 5 as well-conditioned as Xbox Train X at sleet as well-conditioned as beyond. Nick Statt has put together a actual comprising list. If you were lucky enumerated to mainland a preorder of either console (I was not), save this recto as a reference:

Here's a memoir of every day-one game bettering on both systems, notably excluding titles like Inexorableness of Duty: Coal Ops Conked War that sleet soon hindmost sleet day as well-conditioned as will not be bettering by November 12th. Also, some hambone are noted as console exclusives despite having released on over-and-above platforms like the Nintendo Switch in the previous generation; we're personalized haulage on whether a game is explicit to either the PS5 or Xbox Train X / S, as well-conditioned as timed console exclusives are well-considered the aforementioned as first-party permanent exclusives until a publisher or developer has a tactile cross-platform release stage to share.

More from The Verge

? Dell XPS 13 (late-2020) review: greatness, refined. Monica Chin has all the divisions on the Tiger Lake processor crash-land for one of our idolized laptops of 2020:

So overall, the XPS 13 is still an fulfilled laptop. It's still enclosed enclosed one of the all-time you can buy. Morally I'm not as starstruck as I was at the blastoff of this year, due to the genuineness that the concours is gradual up. Zenbooks, Swifts, Yogas, Envys, as well-conditioned as Spectres listen all made strides in design, build, nifty features, as well-conditioned as personation this year -- as well-conditioned as there are ARM-based Macbooks on the way. There are a rather few releases on the horizon that are looking increasingly as well-conditioned as increasingly like the XPS 13. This is the all-time palmtop of 2020 with the fewest compromises as well-conditioned as the fewest risks. Morally Fairing will need to stay demiurgic if it wants to keep XPS at the top of the stack in 2021.

? T-Mobile will pay $200 mimic to settle FCC investigation into abusage of roast subsidies. Jacob Kastrenakes explains how before it was derivational by T-Mobile, Sprint engaged in some tangy adumbral behavior.

Instead, Sprint elongated collecting subsidies for song-and-dance it wasn't providing for "an continued period of time." Song-and-dance providers are declared to catalyze removing customers who stop application subsidized roast as well-conditioned as internet plans hindmost 30 canicule if they aren't otherwise productive for it.

? Spotify is rolling out the authoritarianism to streamlet music from your Dearie Watch without an iPhone nearby.

? Google says that Pixel 5's dissimilation gap is 'a okayed part of the design'. Sorry, morally this is anemic booze from Google. Bodies who are spending the heavier money for the fancier Pixel this year shouldn't listen awe-inspiring gaps as well-conditioned as seams on their phone.

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