‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ first impressions

It's Thursday, April 27, 2023.

One of the most anticipated games of the year is almost here. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom may seem to feature the same basic graphics, map layout and general mechanics as its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, but it breaks new ground with Link’s new skills – Ascend (shooting to the ceiling), Recall (rewinding time for an item), Fuse (combining items and weapons for countless effects) and Ultrahand (building machines). These can seemingly help fight enemies or get you from A to B. I’m now pretty excited for May 12th. Check out all of our impressions from a 75-minute playthrough.

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

LG launches a new SuperSlim Gram laptop with a 15-inch OLED display

'Black Mirror' returns in June with its 'most unpredictable season yet'

Japan's ispace confirms Hakuto-R failed its lunar landing

Amazon knocks up to 41 percent off Govee smart lights

Palantir shows off an AI that can go to war

Microsoft rolls out iOS support for Phone Link syncing to all Windows 11 users

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

Beats Studio Buds+ leak on Amazon with a May 18th release date

The earbuds will have a transparent design option.

Amazon

What are Nothing Ear 1s? Beats might release its next-gen Studio Buds model on May 18th. MacRumors spotted an Amazon listing that showed images and details for Apple's Beats Studio Buds+. The earbuds, listed for $170 or $20 more than the current model, will have a transparent option that puts their internal components on display, similar to Nothing's design. The Studio Buds+ microphones are three times larger than the current model's and have a more powerful processor. Those components enable 1.6 more active-noise canceling power and a transparency mode.

Continue reading.

'Indiana Jones 5' will feature a de-aged Harrison Ford for the first 25 minutes

The technology used old LucasFilm footage of Ford for accuracy.

The news that LucasFilm's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny would feature a de-aged Ford came at the end of last year, but an interview with director James Mangold in Total Film just revealed it will be for almost a fifth of the film's running time. The news of Ford's extended return to his 30s comes a few months after Disney, which produced the movie alongside LucasFilm, announced it had built an AI that could make an actor appear older or younger with relative ease at the end of last year. The researchers behind the AI noted it would only work with real people if there were images available of the person in those poses and lighting at a younger age.

Continue reading.

UK regulator blocks Microsoft's Activision Blizzard merger over cloud concerns

Regulators say it'll hand Microsoft too much power.

The UK’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, has announced it will block Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard. The CMA said the deal risks creating a monopoly player in cloud gaming. It added that, if the deal concluded, Microsoft would have a market share of between 60 and 70 percent, an “incentive to withhold [Activision Blizzard] games from competitors and substantially weaken competition in this important growing market.”

Continue reading.

Tile's latest accessory helps track your cat

It's a modified Tile sticker with a silicon collar attachment and costs $40.

Tile

The $40 Tile for Cats tracker from Life360 is a modified version of the Tile Sticker with a silicon collar attachment and 250-foot Bluetooth range. The idea is to give you peace of mind that your cat is somewhere in the house, and then help you figure out exactly where the sneaky floof is hiding. The attachment can stretch up to 1.7 times without breaking and is water resistant, so it'll continue to function even if hit with a few drops.

Continue reading.