We are, as I’m sure you’re well aware, in the midst of a global health crisis. As governments and health organisations around the world work to stem the spread of the virus and ease the anxiety and panic within society, there are those who are maliciously turning this crisis into opportunity.
Our security research teams have identified a number of instances where bad actors are preying on the worries of the public, tainting the good work of people and institutions trying to help, and taking advantage of our increasingly remote workforce for profit. These are troubling times, there is a long road ahead of us, and it’s important that we all be alert to additional threats riding on the coattails of the current crisis and take appropriate precautions.
What follows are examples of recent exploits we’ve been seeing that both businesses and the public need to be aware of.
With so much fear having permeated society, cybercriminals are using this to entice people to click on malicious links and provide personal information or corporate credentials. Recent phishing emails promise recipients a variety of false COVID-19 related information, from up to date infection numbers in their locality, shocking images that governments are supposedly hiding from us, and even a link to a cure. Panicky and curious users who click on these links will often find that malware infects their devices.
Attackers will also go so far as exploit people’s sense of urgency and make emails time-sensitive. It’s a similar psychological trick to how online retailers may use flash sales to lure us to make a purchase on-the-spot, although what a user gets is a lot worse than a little buyer’s remorse. An email promising free coronavirus testing for the first 10,000 respondents will get a user’s attention, especially those who may not know the warning signs of a malicious email.
Ransomware in sheep's clothing
Attackers are also using coronavirus fears to draw people to bogus, malicious apps. Most recently we found one app that presented itself as a means to track the global spread of the virus, when in fact it had a ransomware payload. To confuse and entice users these will sometimes be built on the genuine work of professionals. For example, Johns Hopkins University recently created an interactive dashboard of coronavirus infections and deaths, which has now been copied onto websites utilising drive-by downloads and malicious apps in the Google Play Store for Android devices.
Security researchers identified a new campaign where attackers are copying the Johns Hopkins map into an Android app. When the user installs the application, it encrypts the phone’s data, transmits the user’s GPS location data, and displays a message to the user that they can only retrieve their files if they pay $100 in bitcoin.
This is already turning into a lucrative black market business. Hackers on underground forums are reportedly selling £600 exploit kits that include Java code that clones the virus outbreak map and allows attackers to inject password-stealing malware, spam, malicious ads, or ransomware. Worryingly, the .jar file is reportedly able to make it through popular webmail filters and can also successfully exploit a system with a fully-patched version of Java.
Working from home woes
With public gatherings currently prohibited, remote working policies and business continuity plans are enabling workers to continue performing their duties from home. Whilst flexible working policies have been part and parcel of the modern workplace for some time, the sudden introduction of remote access solutions at scale is introducing additional work and complexity to an already overworked IT and security staff. As remote users increase, and with a limited number of technical staff to support them, it exposes a far larger attack surface for criminals to exploit.
As the scale of the need to support remote workers appeared so quickly, it’s possible that in the rush to get more remote access appliances online as quickly as possible, organisations may have bypassed traditional security reviews and change management procedures. This will have been done for benevolent reasons, most likely preventing any major disruption and ensuring business continuity, but it creates vulnerabilities within the remote access system.
For instance, traditional remote access solutions such as VPNs or firewalls need inbound access to listen for incoming connections. If organisations have not kept their appliances adequately patched and updated due to the rush, it could lead to unauthenticated access into corporate networks.
With so many employees working remotely, social engineering attackers could more convincingly call into the help desk to get user credentials reset, as this would be chalked down to a common hiccough associated with the onboarding of a significant number of remote access users. Once an attacker gains access to VPN credentials, the entire corporate network is exposed unless significant network segmentation has occurred. Network changes during a crisis are difficult, and may not be seen as top priority, so many organisations unaccustomed to supporting a large number of remote workers may well have been left vulnerable.
Lastly, the very nature of human psychology may put networks at greater risk. Employees working remotely are no longer protected by the security stack traditionally housed in a corporate data centre. Organisations rely on VPNs to send their traffic to a data centre for inspection, then out to the internet. However, end users are likely to take the path of least resistance in aid of getting their jobs done more efficiently, and forgo using a VPN for a faster browsing experience, or only use the VPN when they need to access the corporate network.
Be alert to cyberthreats
So long as coronavirus continues to disrupt our lives, both personal and professional, expect cybercriminals to exploit the situation by luring victims into clicking malicious links and installing malicious software. With all that’s going on in the world already this is a disheartening truth, but by following remote working organisational procedure, being more suspicious than ever of what you click and download, and trusting that the cybersecurity community is working tirelessly to stop these threats in their tracks, you can limit yours and your employer’s exposure.
Get your wallet out and your card ready, because the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 has been discounted by an astonishing AU$500! This is an amazing deal for one of the best smartphones Samsung has produced that will leave you in awe after every use.
The Note 10 has a stunning 6.3-inch screen and bezel-free design – this combined with an AMOLED display produces immaculate detail in pictures and videos giving you a thrilling and immersive experience.
It also comes with a nifty stylus which is one of its best features as you can take notes on the screen without having to navigate through a variety of menus. This makes it particularly useful in meetings when you need to quickly scribble something down.
The Galaxy Note 10 also takes great photos thanks to a combination of a 16MP ultra-wide lens, a 12MP regular lens and a 12MP telephoto lens. If you’re a lover of amateur photography, this phone will definitely satisfy your creative side.
To summarise, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is a top-notch smartphone with all the bells and whistles that is sure to satisfy your phone thirst. Currently on sale in Aura Black, you can grab this beauty for only AU$999 through Samsung’s official Amazon store.
Update 31/03/20:Limited food delivery slots are becoming available throughout the day at Tesco, Sainsbury's and more, but they're filling up quickly. Supermarkets ask you to visit a store in person, if you can, to help them prioritise food delivery slots for elderly or vulnerable customers. If you need to order food online, keep checking your local online supermarket throughout the day. A number of meal delivery services are still operating too - details below.
Online food delivery services are under strain - but we're starting to see small signs of progress. Following the government's strict advice to stay at home to help combat the spread of coronavirus, there's been a huge surge in people looking to buy food online.
That's meant it hasn't been easy to book an online grocery delivery in recent weeks. But with many online supermarkets starting to release small numbers of slots for elderly or vulnerable customers throughout the day, chances are that if you need one - and keep trying throughout the day - you'll be able to find a slot eventually.
We're assessing the situation daily, and we'll tell you which supermarkets are offering food delivery slots as soon as they open.
While the major supermarkets work around the clock to speed up the supply chain, we've taken a look at how they're dealing with the increased demand. We'll be constantly updating this page, but it looks like it'll be mid-April before new food delivery slots are opened up. You'll find full details below.
Please remember to use all food delivery services responsibly. Only order what you need to preserve stocks for others who might be in need.
Grocery delivery: our process
We signed up to all the major supermarkets below, and created a shopping basket full of popular goods. We then compared five different locations to provide a sense of what stock is available in each area and whether delivery slots are currently offered.
Your situation may differ, but the locations we covered were: London, Leeds, Portsmouth, Manchester and Bath. Here's the latest on which supermarkets are offering online grocery delivery today...
Update (31/03/20): While we saw a couple of Tesco food delivery slots pop up a few days ago for April 3, we're now not finding any in the areas we're testing. However, we have heard from people who checked back regularly throughout the day and managed to book a slot.
Tesco CEO Dave Lewis has reached out to customers in a new message this week: "We know that it's difficult right now to get a delivery slot for online shopping. We are at full capacity for the next few weeks and we ask those who are able to safely come to stores to do so, instead of shopping online, so that we can start to free up more slots for the more vulnerable."
Tesco has a decent selection of food items online, but getting hold of them at the moment can be tricky. Most brands are in stock, but eggs, hand soap, pasta, milk and bread are the exception, with some items sold out.
According to Tesco, new food delivery slots are offered up as and when they're available each day.
How to sign up for an account
Enter a valid email address and password, and confirm whether you have a Clubcard or not. You’ll receive one automatically upon registering if you don't. Fill in your personal details, including your phone number and UK Postcode. You can then select if you’d like to receive offers and vouchers from Tesco or not.
Benefits and perks
Online shoppers can collect Clubcard points and Tesco has begun price matching Aldi on both its own-brand and branded products. A Delivery Saver pass is also available for regular customers, and comes with the added benefit of priority delivery slots during the busy Christmas and Easter periods.
Coronavirus measures and policies
Customers who shop online are encouraged to shop in-store where possible to help free up delivery slots for the elderly customers and those who are self-isolating.
Due to increased demand, Tesco isn’t accepting any new Delivery Saver customers right now either. A restriction of only three items per customer on every product line is in place, and multi-buy promotions have also been removed.
An 80 items limit is now in place for all online orders.
Sainsbury's
Next delivery slot:March 31 - April 1(last updated 30/03/20)
Unless you’re already registered as a Sainsbury’s online customer, Sainsbury’s has paused all new online registrations.
Update 30/03/20): If you have an existing account, food delivery slots are now showing for March 31 and April 1, but some users still can't book a delivery slot as the elderly and more vulnerable are being prioritised first. The amount available will vary depending on your area, put it's a positive sign that Sainsbury's are beginning to cope with the unprecedented demand. The company offers a click & collect service but this is still unavailable.
In a message to customers, Sainsbury's Chief Executive Mike Coupe has provided more insight into how the company is delivering to the elderly or vulnerable: "Many of you have written to me to tell me you are elderly or vulnerable and are struggling to book online delivery slots. We are doing our absolute best to offer online delivery slots to elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers. These customers have priority over all slots."
Sainsbury's revealed that their customer Careline has had "one year's worth of contacts in two weeks".
Mike Coupe went on to add, "I apologise to our regular online customers, who I know are feeling very frustrated at not being able to book slots. Please bear with us and I hope you can understand why we feel the need to prioritise elderly and vulnerable customers at the moment."
How to sign up for an account
Due to the huge increase in online orders, new registrations have been paused for the time being. To sign up for a Sainsbury’s online account, enter your email address and fill in your details on the following page. Once you’ve finished, you can start shopping.
Benefits and perks
You can collect and spend Nectar Points with each online food shop. A Delivery Pass is also available, which can help you save up to £156 per year.
Coronavirus measures and policies
Elderly customers and those deemed as vulnerable will be offered priority delivery slots.
Asda
Next delivery slot: none currently available (last updated 30/03/20)
Update (30/03/20): Asda will still let you register as new online customer, but online delivery slots are not available up until April 19. Click & Collect slots are also unavailable.
Similar to Ocado, Asda has now implemented a queue system to deal with the high volumes of traffic its website is receiving. There's no estimate as to where you are in the queue, though, or how long you'll have to wait. Items such as pasta, hand soap and toilet roll are also in high demand.
In an email to customers, Asda CEO Roger Burnley has shared some information regarding how the company is working to deliver online shopping: "We're providing our drivers with hand sanitiser and gloves, and making as many online shopping slots available as we can. We're encouraging those that are able to safely shop in person to do so - this allows us to deliver to the highly vunerable."
Roger Burnely went on to add "If you are self-isolating or have additional needs, please advise us in the 'other information' section when placing your order."
How to sign up for an account
Registering is quick and easy with Asda (it says as much on its website), simply enter your email, a password and then enter your delivery postcode and you’re good to go. You can choose whether to receive exclusive offers and the latest info from Asda too if you’d like.
Benefits and perks
Competitively priced and with a Delivery Pass available, Asda online shoppers can save up to £80 and £100 by choosing a 6-month or 12-month pass. Offers are clearly highlighted on the Asda website, so you’re never likely to miss a cracking deal.
Coronavirus measures and policies
Customers are limited to a three item maximum on all food, toiletries and cleaning products when ordering online.
When placing an online delivery order, anyone who is self-isolating is advised to fill in the ‘Other information’ section to advise where their order should be left, i.e. on the doorstep.
Ocado
Next delivery date: none currently available(last updated 30/03/20)
Update (30/03/20): No more slots are available, according to Ocado's website. The company has seemingly ditched its queuing system in favour of a daily update that states whether or not delivery slots are available.
The company is also bringing order cut-off times forward, so customers are encouraged to complete their order in one session to avoid disappointment later. If you visit the Ocado website you’ll be placed in a virtual queue, which can take up to four hours (the brand has paused the app due to high demand).
In an email to existing customers on 25 March, Ocado Retail CEO Melanie Smith has said that "no matter how hard we work, we will not have enough capacity to serve the unprecedented levels of demand".
She went on to say that "new delivery slots will be released every day for the coming week, as and when we have capacity".
Iit's currently unclear whether Ocado are allowing new customers. If you do not have a delivery booked already, Ocado's website notes that there is "limited availability over the next few days".
How to sign up for an account
You can sign up to Ocado using a Facebook and PayPal account, or simply fill in your details such as your email address and postcode to register.Tick the box if you’d like to opt out of Ocado’s offers, vouchers and gifts before you hit ‘Register’.
Benefits and perks
New customers can enjoy three months free delivery with Smart Pass, and Ocado also offers one-hour delivery windows.
Coronavirus measures and policies
Ocado had to temporarily suspend its service due to high demand, but is now its back online. Customers can only book one delivery slot every seven days to free up more slots for other customers.
Some products are limited to one or two per order, and a small number of bulky items have been removed from sale to make more room in each delivery van. The company has shared how stockpiling has affected its service during the coronavirus outbreak.
Anytime Smart Pass members who joined before 2020 will be placed in a temporary priority queue so they can book a delivery slot each week. Ocado will send an email and text message between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00 to give members access to the queue.
Morrisons
Next delivery slot: none currently available(last updated 30/03/20)
The Morrisons website has recovered after being down for a few days, but there are still no delivery slots available at this time. There is also a very small selection of pasta.
How to sign up for an account
To sign up for a Morrisons online account, firstly enter your postcode to check if Morrisons deliver in your area. Once you’re given the all clear, enter your details and a password to register. You can also receive tailored offers, coupons and communications from Morrisons.
Benefits and perks
You can use a Facebook account to sign in, and Morrisons Quick Shop fills your trolley with the top things you might be wanting to buy with a single click. A Delivery Pass is also available with regular choices for those looking to do their weekly shop online.
Coronavirus measures and policies
Orders must be finalised 48 hours before delivery. Morrisons are working on introducing a number of measures to help reduce the amount of substitutes and missing items that some customers are encountering with their online food shops:
Waitrose
Next delivery slot: none currently available (last updated 30/03/20)
Waitrose is still accepting new customer registrations - however, all delivery and click & collect slots are unfortunately unavailable right now. You can still amend or cancel existing orders, though.
Update 30/03/20: Waitrose has updated its website to inform customers its supporting the vulnerable and elderly by giving them priority access to its home delivery and Click & Collect slots.
It doesn't look like many will open up in the near future either, as the brand isn't confirming any new slots at the moment - but that could well just be a lack of communication to the social media team:
How to sign up for an account
Signing up to Waitrose is simple - just fill in your details, such as your address and contact number, then click ‘next’ and you can start shopping straight away.
Benefits and perks
Waitrose has a number of attractive introductory offers, including a £30 saving on your first three online grocery shops. The website also includes hundreds of recipes and lists the ingredients so you can quickly add them to your basket.
Coronavirus measures and policies
The company has paused its online voucher codes along with any offer incentives until further notice. Some products have are restricted for a limited time, with customers only allowed to buy a maximum of two packets of toilet roll and three of any specific grocery item.
Entertainment products are also no longer available to order online for the foreseeable future. Substitutions for online orders cannot be returned to your driver if they have been handled, and drivers will not enter homes.
All online deliveries will be bagged as well to make them easier to collect quickly.
As many of us get used to working from home for the foreseeable future, it's more important than ever to have one of the best home printers in your house. Just like in the office, you need a printer in your household that can handle printing without a snag. After all, your time at home is now just as important as your time at work ever was, especially given the current situation and compulsory work from home periods.
The best home printers need to be more versatile than regular printers since the modern household needs to print out a wide range of documents. You'll often find you need to print out forms and documents in your day to day.
Plus, a home printer that can do an excellent job printing your holiday snaps will save you from shelling out a lot of money. And, unlike big and bulky business printers, these are all-in-one printers that take up a small bit of space.
No matter what size of household and family demands you have, you’ll find the best home printer for you on this list. And, our price comparison tool makes sure you get the best deals on the one you pick as well.
The Brother MFC-J6945DW is a monster printer. It’s incredibly efficient, being able to print for up to a year without having to change its ink cartridge. And, it’s also a feature-rich and intuitive machine perfect for any home or small business office. You can print to it from just about any device wirelessly and, for mobile, you don’t even need a network to do it, thanks to its NFC (near field communication) technology that connects directly to the printer. While interfacing with its 9.3cm colour display, you can even print from and scan to the cloud.
Thanks to its 6-colour individual ink system, the Canon Pixma TS9160 delivers exceptional photo quality results. The Canon also is very flexible with its connection capabilities, allowing for both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to print. And you’re not limited to any device. If you want to print from a tablet or smartphone or even from the cloud, the Canon can handle it. The printer also comes with some photo-specific features such as Photo Blue ink as part of the six-colour system and built-in creative filters to add something a little extra to your photos. Lastly, this printer comes in a choice of three different two-tone colour options, giving you some cosmetic choices that you don’t really see with printers.
Whether you’re trying to run a more eco-friendly household or you’re just fed up with having to run out go get ink at the most inconvenient times – in the middle of printing your important documents, for example – you might love the Epson EcoTank ET-7750. It's a multi-function printer that sits at the top of the EcoTank product tree and although price is alarming, it's worth every penny. The five-colour refillable ink tank system is a huge improvement in image quality thanks to the addition of a dedicated photo black pigment ink, and the build quality is streets ahead. This machine can also handle A3/magazine-sized paper and boasts fast duplex print speeds and high-resolution photo printing.
When we tested it, this was the smallest laser printer around and likely to remain so. Being as small and inexpensive as an inkjet, yet with all the speed, economy and consistency of a laser, the LaserJet Pro M15w is in many ways the ideal home printer. It manages to hold one hundred sheets of paper and print on them at the respectable rate of 19ppm. There’s no duplex mode, sadly, and no display, but at this price it’s hard to argue.
This humble all-in-one can scan and copy, but its real strength is in printing photos. Frustratingly, there’s no Ethernet port, nor a USB port for printing from a flash drive and it churns very slowly, but the results are surprisingly good for such an affordable inkjet. The supplied starter cartridges are rather light on ink, but if you replace them with high-capacity carts, then the running cost is competitive too.
Known as Epson's all-rounder, this all-in-one inkjet printer admittedly costs a pretty penny up-front, but delivers low-cost performance in the long run thanks to its high-yield ink tanks and two years worth of ink included – according to Epson, you can get a total of total of 15,000 text pages (or 12,000 color pages) just from the ink that comes supplied in the box, which is exceptionally great value. If you're looking for a great printer for your home office that will go the distance before needing to be topped up again, the Epson WorkForce ET-4750 is a great option.
This stout laser printer takes up relatively little space, given its high capacity for paper and toner. It means you can keep printing quickly and efficiently and with lower running costs than an equivalent inkjet. The display is rather fiddly, but in all other respects, this colour printer is easy to use and can be relied upon for immaculate mono and colour documents time after time.
This big Brother blurs the line between home and office printer by combining the fast print speed and high capacity of a laser machine with the superior photo finish of an inkjet. We would recommend it for both applications because although it is smaller than the laser equivalent MFC-L8690CDW, the inkjet MFC-J6945DW can handle A3 paper. There’s really nothing that this fully featured 4-in-1 can’t do and it carries out all tasks satisfactorily.
If you want all the functionality of a photocopier-style four-in-one, but can’t justify the expense of a premium machine, then the Lexmark MB2236ADWE is likely to fit well in your office. The smaller size is an advantage and the price is attractive. Printing is fast enough and so is the quality provided you stick to dedicated laser paper. It’s a pity there’s no Wi-Fi Direct facility, or an active front USB input, but that aside, you're getting a lot for your money here.
The Brother HL-L2300D specs are impressive for the price: it promises 26ppm print speeds, has 8MB of RAM on board and delivers a maximum resolution of 2,400 x 600 dpi. The paper tray holds 250 sheets, there's a second single-sheet paper feed for labels, envelopes and thicker media, and the printer can print double-sided without any human intervention. Of course, you won't find any bells or whistles here, but honestly, its simplicity is refreshing. With no overly complex Wi-Fi or cloud features to configure, installing the HL-L2300D is as simple as plugging a cable into it, and that means there's no danger that it'll go in a huff when you need to print something important. It's compact, quiet and impressively fast, and it offers a lot of bang for your buck. Double-sided printing is particularly good to have in a printer that costs so little to buy and run.
PS5 (or PlayStation 5) is the next-generation PlayStation, releasing in late 2020. So far, Sony has remained pretty tight-lipped about its next-gen console - to the point that we still don't know what it will look like - but the company recently gave us our first official look behind the curtain during its first PS5 reveal event.
PS5 lead system architect Mark Cerny provided us with a deep dive into the PS5's system architecture, revealing the technical inner workings of the PS5.
And while we're still waiting to find out what the console will look like, and which games we'll be playing on it, at least we now know (almost) precisely how the console's innards will work, and how powerful they'll be.
So what else do we know about the PS5 so far? News began trickling out about the console in early 2019, when Mark Cerny, confirmed that the company was working on the successor to the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro. We know the next console will have 4K ray-tracing, a solid state drive and backward compatibility with a huge swath of the PS4's game catalogue.
Want all the juicy details? Here's everything we know about the PS5 so far – and what we hope will be revealed the closer we get to launch.
What is it? The Sony PS5 is the next-gen PlayStation console, replacing the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro.
When will it release? "Holiday 2020" in the US, says Sony, so between October and December 2020.
What can I play on it? Only a few titles have been confirmed, but expect all of Sony's big franchises, as well as in-development exclusives like Ghost of Tsushima.
Will PS5 have VR? Oh yes. The next-gen console will be compatible with current PSVR hardware, and there are also rumors of PSVR 2.
What will the PS5 cost? The PS4 and PS4 Pro were both $399 / £349 at launch, but we expect the PS5 will cost somewhat more. Leaks have suggested around the $499 mark.
Can I play PS4 games on the PS5? The PS5 will definitely be backwards compatible with "almost all" PS4 games - earlier generations are still to be confirmed. It will launch with support for the majority of the top 100 PS4 games, according to Sony's Mark Cerny.
Sony has officially confirmed that the PS5 will release "in time for Holiday 2020" in the US, so likely some time between October and December 2020. A leak has suggested that the release date will be November 20, 2020 but that's yet to be confirmed – but it's in the right window, and it would leave time before Christmas to get those orders in.
This would put the PlayStation 5 in direct competition with Microsoft's Xbox Series X, which is releasing during the same period. Game on.
Sony hasn't officially confirmed a PS5 price yet and, according to the company, that's because it hasn't actually decided how much the next-gen console will cost.
In a quarterly earnings call (via Spiel Times), Sony's chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki revealed the company still hasn't nailed down the PS5 price.
"What is not very clear or visible is because we are competing in the space, so it’s very difficult to discuss anything about the price at this point of time, and depending upon the price level, we may have to determine the promotion that we are going to deploy and how much costs we are prepared to pay," Totoki explained.
“First, we must absolutely control the labour cost, the personnel cost, it must be controlled, and the initial ramp up, how much can we prepare initially, we will work on the production and the sales and we will have to prepare the right volume as we launch this," Totoki continued.
“It’s a balancing act it’s very difficult to say anything concrete at this point of time," Totoki said. But we do know that Sony is aiming for "the best balance so that we will be profitable in the life, during the life of this product."
While Sony may not have a price nailed down, there have been rumors about how much the PS5 could cost. One such rumor has suggested that the console will cost $499 in North America when it launches.
Naturally this should be treated with skepticism, but it would be welcome news if the console did launch at this price, as it's only $100 more than the launch price of the PS4 and PS4 Pro.
However, a report in Bloomberg suggests that the rising costs of DRAM and NAND flash memory parts – crucial for the smooth functioning of the console’s onboard processor, and also in high demand for new smartphone releases – makes balancing the books for the PS5 retail price difficult, and that Sony may even be putting off its pricing decision to figure out what cost to put on consumers.
The report states that manufacturing costs are expected to hit $450 per console unit – around £350 / AU$670. That makes it highly likely the RRP will start above that, not lower than £470, and probably closer to the $499 price tag that the Xbox One (and Xbox One X) first launched with.
Microsoft’s plans for the Xbox Series X are key here, as Sony could well decide to sell the hardware at a slight loss to stay competitive with the other console. The PS4 benefited from a lower cost than the Xbox One, and Sony likely won’t be keen to reverse that for this generation.
We can expect that the console's price will be in line with the technology it uses, but Sony will also have to be aware of its competition. It's unlikely, with the Xbox Series X, that Microsoft will repeat the mistake it made by launching the Xbox One at a prohibitively high price point, so Sony will have to ensure that it doesn't make a similar mistake by making the PS5 too expensive.
When it comes to the PS5 and Xbox Series X, players see 'affordable price' as the most important factor according to a Twitter poll by Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon. Boon asked Twitter users what the most important thing was for them when it comes to next-gen consoles.
The poll received a total of 50,295 responses, with a 37.5% majority of users saying 'affordable price' was the most important factor. 'Plays last-gen games' (AKA backwards compatibility) came second with 30%, 'better graphics' received 19.2% of votes, while 'exclusive games' was the least important with just 13.2% of votes.
It's worth noting that a Twitter poll isn't exactly reflective of the overall player base, especially as it's unlikely younger players will be on the platform. So, while this poll can be useful as a steer, the reality is likely to be a lot more complex. Regardless, we expect price to be a key factor in whether players pick up a PS5 or Xbox Series X - even if it's not the most important.
External storage: USB HDD support (PS4 games only)
Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray drive
Sony finally lifted the hood on the PlayStation 5 during its first official PS5 reveal event, giving us a better idea of the specs the next-gen console will offer. But what do we think?
What's interesting so far is Sony's commitment to custom silicon, with a full focus on raising gaming capabilities to the next level, without alienating developers now comfortable with developing on the PS4. Custom hardware in the PS3 proved to be a difficult element for devs to get their heads around, but the PS5 aims to be as developer-friendly as possible.
The importance of the SSD As has already been explored, the SSD is key to the PlayStation 5 experience. Internal storage will be built in at 825GB for the custom SSD – that's less than you'll find in the Xbox Series X, but with just as clever an implementation of the technology.
SSDs don’t just load faster, but allow for bigger open worlds, theoretically. Developers don’t need to make games with smaller worlds due to the limitations of mechanical hard drives, while SSDs will also allow system memory to be used more effectively.
SSDs have more bandwidth, so data can be loaded from the SSD when it’s needed, rather than heaps of potentially needless data being loaded into RAM. In pure gameplay terms that means that games will suffer less from texture pop-in, while load times will be hugely reduced when using a game's fast-travel option. Booting up from standby should be generally much faster, too.
You'll also have more control over how you install and remove games, meaning you could just install a game's multiplayer mode rather than the full block of data. This will allow for launch of direct gameplay, allowing players to jump straight into aspects of different games (such as match-making, continue save game etc) without having to boot up the full game.
This means you could be able to jump into Overwatch match-making, for example, straight from your home screen and would prevent the need to take steps such as booting up an entire game and selecting particular games modes. It would also make it easier for players to quickly jump between the games they have installed.
As for expandable storage, Sony appears to be allowing for off-the-shelf NVMe PC drives, rather than proprietary storage systems that Xbox will primarily be relying on. However, there aren't many drives on the market right now that use the PCIe 4.0 interface required – they need to be capable of at least a 5.5GB/s transfer speed.
"NVMe PC drives will work in PlayStation 5," said Cerny. "The only problem is that PC technology is significantly behind PS5. It'll take some time for the newer, PCIe 4.0-based drives with the bandwidth required to match Sony's spec to hit the market."
PS4 games on the PS5 will work just fine if saved to a regular HDD, however, so you won't need to tap into that precious SSD space unnecessarily.
A custom processor and GPU – what that means for backwards compatibility We were already aware that Sony will be using AMD's Zen 2 CPU processor tech, with eight cores and 16 threads. The reveal stream, however, also revealed that the PS5 will be delivering 3.5GHz frequencies – so, the PlayStation 5 would be running 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (at variable frequencies) over the PS4's 8x Jaguar Cores at 1.6GHz. That's a huge jump in performance.
Move over to the GPU, and you're looking at the AMD RDNA 2 GPU, itself customized. It makes use of 36 compute units capped at 2.23GHz. A compute performance peak of 10.28TF was stated.
What's smart is that the combination makes it simple for the PS5 to easily handle PS4 backwards compatibility – through GPU architecture rather than hours of coding. Almost all of the top 100 PS4 games will be fully compatible at launch. PS4 games will be supported natively on the GPU silicon, but here the GPU seems to be emulating PS4 and PS4 Pro graphics chips, which is a strange solution, and not as interesting as Xbox Series X's method, which will also be capable of upscaling previous Xbox generation games and adding HDR to previously HDR-less titles.
Tempest 3D audio tech Perhaps the biggest reveal of the day was the 3D audio support, thanks to the new Tempest Engine. It's an incredibly powerful system: if the PSVR can support "50 pretty decent sound sources," according to Cerny – with the PSVR's distinct audio system being one of the more complex audio systems in gaming at the moment – the PS5's Tempest Engine can support hundreds.
The example Cerny used described it in terms of rainfall. Today, the sound of rain in a game is a single audio track, but the PS5 would theoretically be capable of letting you hear individual raindrops, in relation to where the player character is.
"Where we ended up is a unit with roughly the same SIMD (single instruction, multiple data) power and bandwidth as all eight Jaguar cores in the PS4 combined," said Cerny.
"If we were to use the same algorithms as PSVR, that's enough for something like five thousand sound sources – but of course we want to use more complex algorithms, and we don't need anything like that number of sounds."
Perhaps best of all is the way you'll get to experience this – even a lowly pair of headphones at launch will be able to take advantage of the sense of presence and directionality Sony is promising here, with the company also committing to later support multi-speaker surround systems with the tech.
But this is an ongoing project for Sony. To accurately model surround data positioning, Sony needs to create a Head-related Transfer Function, or HRFT, map. Essentially, that's a distinct algorithm that works best if the system knows the precise shape of your ears.
"Maybe you'll be sending us a photo of your ear, and we'll use a neural network to pick the closest HRTF in our library," Cerny teased. "Maybe you'll be sending us a video of your ears and your head, and we'll make a 3D model of them and synthesize the HRTF. Maybe you'll play an audio game to tune your HRTF, we'll be subtly changing it as you play, and home in on the HRTF that gives you the highest score, meaning that it matches you the best.
"This is a journey we'll all be taking together over the next few years. Ultimately, we're committed to enabling everyone to experience that next level of realism."
There's still no official reveal of what the PS5 will look like. So for now, we're dealing with speculation. We've seen several leaked images of the PS5 dev kit, with each showing the same console design, along with the above render based on one of those images, courtesy of Let's Go Digital).
What does the render above show us? There are a number of buttons: on/standby, reset, eject (for the double-layer 100GB-reading Blu-ray drive), system initialization and network initialization, all on the front-left. There are also a number of status lights, numbered '0' to '7', which likely relate to CPU cores engaged, but which could also be status lights for controllers connected.
To the right are six USB ports (one USB 2.0 and five likely USB 3.0 ports – the final port being obscured by a cable). A small circle above could well be a camera built into the console, according to earlier patent filings.
Interestingly, rubber feet appear to be on the top side of the console, suggesting that devs are being encouraged to either flip the console for stress testing and convenience, or to stack them when working on demanding games.
However, these images should only really be used to speculate on what the final design of the consumer console will be, rather than considering it wholly indicative on the machine to come. If we look at older PlayStation dev kits, the final product rarely resembles the dev kit.
Dev kits are specially designed to be robust, and to support a console working under extreme load so as to allow the developers to push their creations to the maximum without frying the hardware they're working on. They're also designed to help developers find any flaws in the final PS5 consumer hardware design.
With Sony still several months away from the launch of the PlayStation 5, there's plenty of time for its team to create something a little less alien-looking.
While we may not know exactly what the PS5 will look like, Sony did reveal the PS5's official logo at CES 2020. It's essentially just the PlayStation 4 logo with a '5' replacing the '4'.
But Sony PlayStation president, Jim Ryan, did tease during Sony's CES keynote that “there’s plenty to share about the PS5 in the months ahead. And we look forward to sharing more details, including the content that will showcase the platform and the future of gaming”.
We're expecting Sony to host another PS5 reveal around June or July to reveal the console's price and design - similarly to how it did with the PS4.
The PS5 will come with a new controller, according to Sony. The PS5 controller (we don't know the official name yet, though DualShock 5 is a good guess) will include haptic feedback to replace the DualShock 4's rumble technology, designed to improve the controller's feedback and therefore player immersion.
The PS5 controller will also feature adaptive triggers, which Sony says have "been incorporated into the trigger buttons (L2/R2)". These adaptive triggers will allow developers to program the resistance of the triggers to simulate actions more accurately.
In an interview with Business Insider Japan (translated by Gematsu), SIE CEO Jim Ryan said: “3D audio and the haptic feedback support of the controller are also things that, when you try them, you will be surprised at how big a change they are. Even just playing the racing game Gran Turismo Sport with a PlayStation 5 controller is a completely different experience. While it runs well with the previous controller, there is no going back after you experience the detailed road surface via haptic control and play using the adaptive triggers."
The majority of the PS4 library, including PSVR games, will be supported by the PS5; that much is known. But we're now hearing more about confirmed – and rumored – PS5 games.
But what about third-party titles? We've had confirmation that Gearbox's new IP Godfall is coming exclusively to PS5, as is a title from Bluepoint Studios that's rumored to be a Demon's Souls remake. We will also see a remake of THQ Nordic's cult classic Gothic, Gollum, WRC 9, Dying Light 2 and Outriders land on PS5. In addition, Ubisoft has confirmed that Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods and Monsters are all coming to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 - with a new Assassin's Creed and Far Cry also rumored to be coming to the platforms. We also know Rainbow Six Siege will be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X from launch.
In addition, not only has EA has said that Battlefield 6 will be coming to Xbox Series X and PS5, but the company has sung the praises of the incoming next-generation machines during an investor call.
"The power of the new consoles is gonna be substantially greater than existing consoles," said EA CFO Blake Jorgensen.
"We can do a lot more [with PS5 and Xbox Series X]. Things we’re doing will blow people’s minds."
While this is a good start, we're expecting plenty more third-party games to be announced in the coming months.
According to a survey by GDC, when it comes to developer interest it seems the PS5 is already beating Xbox Series X – and the Nintendo Switch.
That's according to GDC's State of the Game Industry 2020 survey, which surveyed 4,000 game developers on a variety of industry topics ahead of GDC 2020 in March. And, of course, the next-gen consoles were top of the agenda.
When asked which platform they planned to launch their next project on, 23% of those surveyed said the PlayStation 5, while 17% said the Xbox Series X and 19% said the Nintendo Switch .
When it comes to the platform devs are most intrigued by, the PS5 once again leads the pack when it comes to consoles, with 38%, but the Switch only just behind on 37%. Again, the Xbox Series X is seriously lagging behind, piquing the interest of just 25% of devs.
The survey also revealed that 10% of developers are currently working on a game for the next-gen consoles.
However, while we know of a few third-party games in the pipeline for the PS5, there's still no confirmation on what the PS5's launch titles will be, but we're expecting first-party games to take the lead.
In addition, Sony has confirmed that the PS5 will prioritize AAA games over indie games in an effort to focus on "serious gamers".
PS5 games: all the games confirmed and expected on the PlayStation 5
Rumors have cropped up suggesting that Sony will double down by launching the PlayStation 5 Pro at the same time as its base-model PS5.
Spotted by Wccftech, noted Japanese games journalist Zenji Nishikawa made the claim in a video on his YouTube channel, and while that kind of thing wouldn't normally be considered a rock-solid lead, Nishikawa has been proven correct in the past with his predictions about the PS4 Pro and Switch Lite.
According to Nishikawa, the PS5 Pro will cost around $100-$150 more than the basic PS5 console. The report states that Sony is taking this approach because it has "acknowledged the interest in a high-end model and wants to give players what they want right from the beginning of the generation".
NeoGaf user FXVeteran (via TweakTown) has since added fuel to the fire by claiming Sony plans to release two PlayStation 5 models at the same time: a PS5 Pro and a PS5, with the PS5 Pro being "top of the line" to compete with the Xbox Series X's potential iteratively more powerful versions.
While a PlayStation 5 Pro is likely on the cards, we don't think it'll release at the same time as the regular PS5. In our opinion, it's more likely that Sony will wait around three years (2023) before giving the console an upgrade - usually this happens mid-cycle and the PS5 lifecycle is estimated to be around six to seven years.
Tired of future-gazing? Why not check out the best PS4 games right now.
Asics has released a trio of new sports shoes in a VR showroom, including its first pair of running shoes with a carbon fiber plate.
Following the success of Nike's VaporFly running shoe, and the decision not to ban such designs at the (now delayed) Tokyo 2020 Olympics, it was only a matter of time before Asics followed suit with its own carbon plate design.
The Asics Metaracer is a distance running shoe that features a carbon fiber plate for improved stability, a redesigned toe-spring shape to reduce strain on your calf muscles, and a redesigned mesh upper to keep your feet cool.
The company tested a prototype carbon fiber-plated shoe with triathlete Jan Frodeno in the 2019 Ironman World Championship, but this is its first official reveal.
The launch was originally scheduled to take place at the Asics Innovation Summit in Japan, but travel restrictions meant the organizers switched to a 'virtual innovation lab', where attendees were able to see the design in three dimensions and listen to presentations from home.
Faster, higher
Asics also used the VR event to unveil a new track shoe; its first without metal spikes, which are traditionally used to provide sprinters with extra traction, but add extra weight. The Metasprint replaces the spikes with a honeycomb carbon fiber outsole that offers comparable grip, but is substantially lighter than traditional designs.
Asics claims that the lack of spikes also means improved power transfer with every step, which in turn leads of faster speeds.
The third and final design in the new lineup is the Metarise – a volleyball shoe designed to help you jump higher when attacking the ball. A beveled heel and sole, together with winged midsole support, help set you up for higher jumps, while Asics' proprietary Flytefoam provides a soft landing.
Pricing and availability are yet to be confirmed, but it will be particularly interesting to see how the cost of the Metaracer compares in an increasingly competitive niche.
At less than USD300, including delivery from Aliexpress (which delivers globally), this desktop PC from Chinese manufacturer Ipason is probably the most affordable Ryzen-based workstation on the market - and it can double as a gaming PC too.
Based on the Ryzen 3 2200G APU, it can trounce Intel Core i3-800T CPUs usually found in devices at this price. Its CPU benchmark (6840 points) is achieved using four cores clocked at up to 3.7GHz and more than 6MB cache.
Its Radeon Vega 8 Graphics offers eight graphics cores clocked at up to 1.1GHz and delivers one of the best graphics performances from an integrated video subsystem. Ipason claims that it should offer the same experience as an Nvidia Geforce GT1030 discrete GPU.
As expected, it comes with a mATX motherboard, which means connectivity options are limited. It features an HDMI port, six USB connectors, an Ethernet LAN plug and three audio inputs. There is, however, room for expansion thanks to the generously-sized casing (available in black or white).
Add in 8GB of memory (sadly, single RAM module) and a 120GB SSD and you've got a fairly decent base unit.
Note, the bundle lacks a keyboard and a mouse, which could prove more challenging to procure due to the current global pandemic.
Governments around the world are asking everyone to stay indoors to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, and Australia is no different. With lockdown laws in place, and many of us now either working from home, or having more time on our hands indoors, we find ourselves in need of a good home office setup or a more comfortable gaming arena.
You can score up to AU$150 off selected gaming chairs from the 2018 Series, which includes one of our top recommendations, the Secretlab Omega. It’s a chair that’s got numerous customisation options and sturdy construction with premium materials.
There are plenty of adjustable tweaks you can make to get this chair feeling just right, from the angle of the backrest to the position of the armrests, and almost every conceivable adjustment in between.
You can tailor the look of your chair with a number of upholstery options to choose from at checkout, including pleather (polyurethane leather), fabric and genuine leather, though the price will vary depending on which you opt for.
To truly save a packet, Secretlab’s 2018 collection is seeing the biggest price drop. The genuine leather options have the deepest discount and are now down to AU$849, while the pleather choices are available for as low as AU$434.
While it’s not as big a discount as mentioned above, Secretlab’s 2020 version of the Titan is AU$30 off, bringing the pleather option down to AU$569 – nothing to be sniffed at for a choice gaming chair. Alternatively, you can go for another one of our top picks from the 2020 range – the Secretlab Omega in pleather for AU$519.
You’ll need to hurry if you want to spend the coming weeks in comfort, as this sale ends on April 2. Check out savings on the full 2020 range or the 2018 range from Secretlab.
