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Path of Exile 2 is on the way, but the first game’s latest expansion, Ultimatum, launched this week. It was a bit of a mess, to put it mildly, with players stuck waiting in server queues and unable to play. However, the problems were amplified because of Grinding Gear Games’ decision to let paid streamers skip the lines and start playing right away.

As spotted by Eurogamer, Path of Exile producer Chris Wilson explained on a Reddit thread that the Ultimatum Challenge League, which is a risk/reward trial players are essentially competing against each other in, was letting players in far too slowly. “Human error” resulted in the normal trickle migration process not being run, and players continued being dumped out of the realm until an eventual fix was made several hours later.

But why was this Path of Exile situation different than the server issues that plagued a game like Outriders, for instance? Well, because not everyone was affected. Paid streamers who Grinding Gear Games has brought on board for the launch were allowed in immediately, as they were supposed to stream for two hours. Not being allowed to play was, the team thought at the time, out of the question.

“This was about as close as you could get to literally setting a big pile of money on fire,” Wilson said. “So we made the hasty decision to allow those streamers to bypass the queue.”

As you can imagine, hyping players up for new content via influencers isn’t too effective when you’re also essentially mocking their lack of ability to play. The studio won’t be doing these sorts of preferential-treatment workarounds in the future and stressed that “most” streamers did not actually ask for them to do this.

Giving some players a chance to get ahead of everyone else certainly doesn’t seem like the right move, regardless of whether you had paid them. However, based on Wilson’s comments, it seems the studio has learned a very valuable lesson in public goodwill and likely won’t make the same mistake again.

The iPhone 13 is still several months away, but more and more leaks keep popping up. A slew of CAD renders have appeared in the last couple of days, and YouTuber EverythingApplePro 3D-printed the ones for the iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 mini.

The Pro Max shows some noticeable size increases over the 12 Pro Max, notably in the camera hump. The lenses extend out further, the phone itself is a tad thicker, and the buttons and SIM tray have moved just a bit.

If you go all-in on Roku’s new Voice Remote Pro, you may end up getting one sans the Apple TV+ button seen in marketing materials.

When I was shipped a Voice Remote Pro last week, the one I received had four streaming buttons on the wand: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and Sling TV. But marketing images for the Pro depicted the remote with the Hulu button scooched over on the bottom row and an Apple TV+ button in place of a Sling shortcut. The discrepancy was initially spotted by Zatz Not Funny!, and Roku confirmed to Gizmodo that the remote with the Apple TV+ button will take a minute to begin shipping.

“The button transition on the Roku Voice Remote Pro will take a few months but in the meantime customers can use their voice to program a personal shortcut button to launch their favorite channels,” a spokesperson said.

Indeed, a pair of programmable buttons are one of a handful of great things about the Voice Remote Pro, which is also rechargeable. In addition to its “find my remote” and hands-free features, personalized shortcut keys will allow Apple TV+ subscribers to get around this hiccup fairly easily. The button issue will, however, likely be annoying to anyone who is not a Sling subscriber but is a paying customer of Apple’s service.

It’s unclear why the button was depicted in marketing materials and why the change appears to have happened so late in the game. But it does indicate that Roku has doubled down on its initiative to win over Apple users, even for a service that’s fairly new to the space and still working to build up a substantial library of originals.

Roku has aggressively expanded support for Apple users who opt for its streaming devices over Apple’s own set-top boxes, which are significantly more expensive than many of Roku’s devices. Roku finally introduced AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support on its 4K devices with the Roku OS 9.4 update, and its inclusion of the Apple TV+ button directly on its remotes further demonstrates the company’s willingness to target Apple users.

But it does appear that marketing materials jumped the gun a bit. So if an Apple TV+ button is a make-or-break upgrade requirement for you, it looks like we may have to wait a few months before we’ll start seeing it become widely available.

While we’re still waiting on exact sales numbers for last year’s newest video game consoles, select stats have begun to emerge that, at least in the US, give a clear lead to Sony’s PlayStation 5. As it turns out, the lead is historically significant.

The NPD Group, a longtime retail analyst, has confirmed via brick-and-mortar and digital sales figures that the PlayStation 5 sold more units than any other console sold in its first five months in the US.

NPD rarely confirms exact sales figures, and stitching together an estimate of PS5 sales in the US thus far is therefore a bit tricky. In early 2018, Nintendo claimed the title of fastest selling console in US history at a mark of 10 months, by which point the company had sold “more than 4.8 million” Switch consoles.

At that time, Nintendo’s announced span of sales figures included both its March 2017 launch and its subsequent holiday 2017 period. Any more granular understanding of how many of those 4.8 million Switches sold in the US in its first five months is guesswork on our part, since Nintendo otherwise lumps Switch sales in “the Americas” for its investor relations announcements. (At the 3.5-month mark, the Switch had sold 7.81 million units throughout the entirety of “the Americas.”)

And launch numbers only tell some of a console’s success story. Even the Wii U had gangbuster sales out of the gate, with a global tally in its first two months of 3.06 million. That global number for Wii U also makes me wonder: did the PS5 sell so many consoles in the US because Sony chose to prioritize the region over Japan, Europe, and other major PlayStation territories? The NPD data doesn’t say. (The same question goes for Microsoft, whose Xbox Series X/S managed to recently top India’s console sales charts—a territory that has long been known for loving the PlayStation.)

Number hunters might note that the NPD announced last month that the PS5 was the fastest-selling console in “total dollar sales” but not units; at the time, the latter was still in Nintendo Switch’s favor as a $300 console, compared to the $500 disc-based PS5 and $400 discless PS5 model. One month later, the PS5’s leadership in the first five months of sales counts for both dollar sales and units sold.

Friday’s announcement, as posted by NPD Executive Director Mat Piscatella, did not include any sales estimates for the Xbox Series X/S hardware. When we asked, Piscatella noted that the sales of both Microsoft’s and Sony’s newest consoles “lean heavily toward the disc versions,” but he did not provide additional clarification, such as percentages.

Marching toward March sales madness

Piscatella’s latest monthly report mostly screams good news for video game hardware, software, and accessory sales. The Switch is still the number-one selling console in terms of units, both in the month of March and the entire first quarter, while the PS5 claimed the highest “hardware dollar sales” for that three-month period. Americans spent $680 million on “video game hardware” in March, beating the month’s prior high of $552 million in 2008. And year-to-date hardware spending in the states is 81 percent higher this year compared to last year in the same span of time, totaling $1.4 billion.

Beyond those numbers, Piscatella’s Twitter thread breaks down digital and traditional retail sales figures for Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch games (albeit without Nintendo’s precious eShop digital sales data for its first-party games), and it points to one other interesting note about the PlayStation 5’s apparent health: the PS5-exclusive DualSense controller is the best-selling accessory “in dollar sales” for the first three months of 2021.

Kyle Orland contributed to this report.

After weeks of speculation, we know that Apple’s first big product event of 2021 will be on Tuesday, April 20. (Thanks, Siri!) What could Apple possibly have to launch after hosting not one, not two, but three events this past fall? Well, a lot actually—but save your iBong jokes, it’s most definitely not anything related to the date itself. Here’s what you can actually expect to see next week.

iPad Pros—Now With Mini LEDs

The Apple rumor mill has been buzzing about new iPads for weeks, and it’s almost a given that we’ll see a new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Also, Apple is never too coy with its event names. The “Spring Loaded” in the event name could very well be a reference to the Apple Pencil.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that the new iPads would likely have upgraded cameras and a new processor on par with the M1 chip Apple introduced with its latest MacBooks last fall. The 12.9-inch Pro is expected to feature a miniLED screen, which could improve brightness and contrast at a lower cost. Both Pro models are also expected to have a Thunderbolt port.

Don’t expect anything too radical, though. Bloomberg’s resident Apple prognosticator Mark Gurman said in a recent interview that these updates would be “iterative” and nothing too mind-blowing would be on deck. Also, even if Apple launches these iPad Pros on Tuesday, that may not mean they’ll be immediately available. There have been reports that miniLED supply chain issues could mean a delayed launch, much like how the iPhone 12 lineup came out a bit later than usual last year.

Release the AirTags!!!

AirTags, Apple’s answer to Bluetooth trackers like Tile and Chipolo, may be one of the worst-kept “secrets” ever. We’ve been hearing about these gadgets since at least 2019, but there’s good reason to believe that the time has finally come.

For starters, Apple’s been slipping its U1 ultra-wideband chip into its latest devices, including the iPhones 11 and 12, the HomePod Mini, and the Apple Watch Series 6. It’s thought that the U1 chip is meant to bolster the Find My platform, so this is further evidence that Apple’s been laying the groundwork for AirTags for some time. The other half of the equation is that in the last two weeks, Apple has boosted third-party support for its Find My network. This is huge, because it’s the equivalent of Apple waving a big flag that says: “Hey Partners! We’ve Got Big Stuff Coming Soon, So Get Ready!” If AirTags are a no-show, that roar you hear in the distance will likely be the anguished scream of tech journalists the world over.

A Long Overdue Redesign for the iMac

Given that Apple last refreshed the iMac design in 2012, now is the perfect time to visually distinguish the Apple Silicon iMacs from their Intel predecessors. Another tell-tale sign is that Apple also recently discontinued multiple iMac configurations. Historically, Apple clearing its inventory means a new version of the product is imminent.

The word is that the new iMacs will go big, upping the display size beyond the 21.5– and 27-inch models we’re all used to. It’s likely that the redesign will look similar to Apple’s Pro Display XDR monitor, meaning a possible 32-inch display, flat back, slimmer bezels, and no more metal chin. Hit-or-miss Apple leaker Jon Prosser has also claimed the new iMacs will come in an array of colors, much like the iPhone 12 lineup. In any case, even if iMacs don’t make an appearance Tuesday, you can probably expect to see them sometime this year.

A Slightly New Look for AirPods 3

We’re due for some new AirPods—after all, the AirPods 2 came out over two years ago. Leaked renders suggest the next-gen AirPods will crib the AirPods Pro design, with a shorter stem and a smaller case that supports wireless charging. They’re also thought to support touch control. However, don’t count on active noise cancellation or adaptive EQ. They’re taking inspiration from the AirPods Pro, not replacing them completely.

While the AirPods 3 are expected this year, there’s also a chance we won’t see them Tuesday. We’re in the midst of a global chip shortage that’s wreaking havoc on consumer electronics so this is a launch that could very well be delayed.

Apple Knows You Hate the Apple TV Remote

The Apple TV is another gadget that’s in line for a refresh, because it’s been nearly four years since the fifth-gen Apple TV launched in 2017. Apple is going hard on its original TV+ programming lineup, so it stands to reason it might want people to watch it on an upgraded streaming box that can better support newer TVs and upcoming formats. (Cough, 8K, cough cough). Since 2017, Apple’s also introduced Apple Arcade and Fitness+, two services that might benefit from hardware upgrades for users who want to game or work out on the biggest screen possible. Another sign that a new Apple TV might be imminent is the fact that the tvOS 14.5 beta features code that refers to an updated Apple TV remote. Why release a new remote… without a new Apple TV?

These are compelling reasons why an Apple TV could make an appearance next week but maybe temper your hopes. There’s less concrete evidence for that launch than the other products we’ve mentioned here. That said, if the Apple TV is a no-go for spring, there’s always WWDC 2021.

We won’t have to wait long to find out what Apple’s got in store. As always, the Gizmodo crew will be live-blogging the event, so be sure to tune in next Tuesday at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT.

In Microsoft’s ongoing endeavor to convert people to its rebooted Edge web browser, it’s launching a new Kids Mode that makes it easy for parents to control how their children surf the web.

Kids Mode is a free option built directly into Microsoft Edge on Windows and macOS. Enabling it is as simple as navigating to the user profile menu in the browser’s upper right corner and selecting “Browse in Kids Mode”. Parents have the choice between two versions, one for ages five to eight years and one for ages nine to 12 years. Both enable the strictest level of tracking prevention in Edge and Bing SafeSearch by default to filter out adult text, images, and videos from search results. The only difference between the two age ranges is that the older one includes a newsfeed with curated articles from MSN for Kids. Don’t worry though: It focuses on more kid-friendly topics like fun science and animal facts rather than breaking news and politics, Microsoft said.

Kids Mode also restricts what sites kids have access to, with roughly 70 popular kids sites allowed from the get-go (any additional allowable sites have to be added to the list individually). If a child tries to view a site that’s not on that list, they’re met with a cutesy block page, pictured below, that prompts them to ask an adult for permission.

In a blog post announcing the news on Thursday, Microsoft’s corporate VP Liat Ben-Zur called Kids Mode a “game-changer for parents who are juggling all the demands of life today.” Microsoft intentionally designed it to make adding and removing allowed sites as convenient as possible for parents so that they could have peace of mind when using shared devices.

Microsoft also addressed a workaround that kids might use to slip past these measures. Kids Mode restricts popular Windows keyboard shortcuts to keep users from simply exiting out of the browser and opening a new one, the Verge reports.

More than anything else, though, Microsoft designed Kids Mode with its younger users in mind, Ben-Zur said.

“[I]t became clear that the best way to keep kids from trying to leave was to make them want to stay. In other words, we set out to create the most appealing environment a kid could ever want for browsing the web.”

So, as you can see in the screenshot above, Microsoft’s visual designers went with plenty of bright colors and silly characters to make a browsing experience catered to children. It also added the option to customize the browser’s appearance so that kids could get creative and opted for a layout that’s easy to navigate.

To switch the browser back to normal, an adult must enter their Windows or macOS credentials.

Kids Mode is one of several new features it’s rolling out for Edge this month, Microsoft said Thursday. So if you’re already an Edge convert, keep your eye out for future coverage.