TechNews

When a new model of the PS5 was quietly released recently, people talked about a new screw, and how it might have better wi-fi. One thing that wasn’t known until now is that the console’s mini-refresh has a much smaller heatsink, and that a video filmed comparing it to the existing model shows it running at higher temperatures.

YouTuber Austin Evans got hold of one of these new consoles from Japan recently, and in tearing it apart found that when you open the things up it’s pretty clear right away that the changes between models are more dramatic than a new screw.

The first thing he found was, OK, that new screw used to attach the PS5 to its base is good. But it doesn’t take long before he notices that while running the same game at the same time the new console’s fans sound different than the launch model, suspecting this was down to a difference in cooling systems, which was sorta correct!

Testing the console’s temperature externally, he found that the newer model was consistently running at 3-5 degrees celcius hotter than than the original, that it was drawing a few more watts while in operation and was oh so slightly quieter, though those latter two values were by fairly insignificant margins.

It’s opening the new PS5 up that we can really see where Sony has made changes between the launch model and this one, which is currently only on sale in Japan and Australia. This new console is around 300g lighter, and comes at a time when Sony announced earlier this month that the PS5 was “no longer selling at a loss”, and it looks like both those things might be related when you take a look at their heatsinks.

Look at that! The original model had a much larger heatsink, plus a large copper backing plate, while the new version has a lot less. To at least partially compensate for this, Sony has included a new fan design in the console, one that has much larger blades:

In response to his findings, a few people have questioned Evans’ capture of external temperatures, to which he replied:

Couple people mentioning higher exhaust temps COULD mean the cooler is doing a better job dissipating heat. The thing is, Sony removed a SIZABLE amount of the heatsink on this new model. With fewer fins and smaller heatpipes it simply isn’t as efficient at moving the heat out of the console.

Think about it as if it were a PC. If I remove a large CPU heatsink in favor of a smaller one the exhaust coming off my system would be hotter as the overall system temps are higher since the weaker cooler can’t cope. That’s exactly what’s going on here IMO.

It’s also important to note that this isn’t a case of comparing two radically different consoles. Was this an all-new revision of the PS5, then it could be argued that a smaller heatsink could just be a result of new and improved chips and technology elsewhere in the console. But this isn’t an all-new revision, almost everything else is the same PS5 as we’ve had since last year, only now with less cooling.

Now, some context: none of this is terrible news. Consoles are revised constantly throughout their lifespans, sometimes with major new models, other times with minor tweaks like this, and every single time this happens corners are cut, not just to keep costs down but also to adjust things based on months and years of findings. And a console running three degrees hotter doesn’t mean it’s going to suddenly melt into a puddle of white plastic on your entertainment unit.

But if these findings are consistent across games and for long periods of time, a potential temperature increase on a PlayStation console isn’t something we should just shrug off, either. As they note in the video, this is something Sony have struggled with for years; I had two PS3 consoles overheat, and myPS4’s heat + fan noise problems got so bad towards the end that I simply stopped playing the thing, so seeing Sony cutting corners on temperature control so early in the console’s lifespan, when we haven’t seen the real effects of longterm use yet, isn’t great.

In the meantime, one of the other things people were wondering about with this revision was whether the console’s shoddy wi-fi had been improved, and while Evans couldn’t confirm this with a proper wi-fi test, he did note that the new PS5’s wi-fi module did have different cabling and cable colours.

You can watch the full video below:

A lot has changed since Pokemon Diamond and Pearl first released in 2006, including the addition of Fairy-type Pokemon. There are still a lot of questions about Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, but we now know that Fairy-type Pokemon will be represented in the remake when it releases this fall! The discovery was made by @eclipse_tt on Twitter, who shared an image showing that the move “Charm” will be Fairy-type in the game (in the original Diamond and Pearl, it was Normal-type). Notably, two Pokemon that first appeared in Sinnoh have retroactively been made Fairy-types: Togekiss and Mime Jr. Presumably, this means that change will also be preserved in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

The original Tweet from @eclipse_tt can be found embedded below.

UPDATE BDSP

✨ Fairy-Type confirmed if you are still wondering!@eclipse_tt pic.twitter.com/4d5NVSODBX

— Eclipse 🌑 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝐤𝖗𝖆𝖎 𝖀𝖒𝖇𝖗𝖆! (@eclipse_tt) August 22, 2021

Most Pokemon fans probably won’t be too surprised to find out that these altered Pokemon types will be incorporated in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Typically, Pokemon remakes have incorporated these types of changes, rather than switching back. When Pokemon: Let’s Go released on Nintendo Switch in 2018, the Gen I remake similarly kept Clefairy and Jigglypuff’s Fairy-type designations, despite the fact that Fairy-type Pokemon were not added until Pokemon X and Y.

It will be interesting to see if the addition of Fairy-type Pokemon leads to new Sinnoh region strategies! Fairy-type Pokemon have an advantage over Dragon-types, but there aren’t any Dragon-type gyms in Sinnoh. However, a strong Togekiss or Mr. Mime could be helpful against the Pokemon League Champion Cynthia and her Garchomp.

Fans still have a few months to think about their team and how they want to play, however! Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will release exclusively on Nintendo Switch on November 19th. In the meantime, you can check out our previous coverage of the game right here.

Are you happy that Fairy-type Pokemon will appear in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl? Will this have an impact on your strategy in the game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

A new PS5 model started appearing in Australia, Japan, and parts of the US earlier this month, with a new stand design and a mysterious reduction in weight. Thanks to a teardown video from YouTuber Austin Evans, the mystery has now been solved: Sony has changed the heatsink that helps cool the PS5.

The new heatsink is significantly smaller than the original, and makes up for the entire weight reduction of 300 grams (0.6 pounds), according to Evans. It’s not clear why Sony has swapped out the heatsink so early on in the PS5’s lifecycle, but Evans does note that his particular unit ran hotter as a result — with rear exhaust temperatures around 3 to 5 degrees higher. That could be down to manufacturing variance, though.

Image: Austin Evans (YouTube)

Sony uses this heatsink to cool the PS5, and the console has a heat pipe with a shape and airflow that’s designed to create the same level of performance as a vapor chamber. The heatsink, hard copper plate, and aluminum dissipation fins all take up a significant amount of space inside the PS5, and contribute greatly to its overall size. It’s interesting to see Sony reduce the size of this part, and I’m hoping this could be the first sign of the company working towards a smaller PS5 model. The PS5 is the biggest game console in modern history.

Evans does conclude that the changes make the PS5 worse though, due to the extra heat he recorded. That could well make the launch PS5s more desirable, if it’s something we see replicated elsewhere. “I don’t think there’s any argument that this is a worse console, at least for thermals and for cooling,” says Evans. “As far as I’m concerned I’d rather have a launch PS5.”

The revision comes just as Sony reveals it’s no longer selling the $499 version of the PS5 at a loss, and after reports last year suggested Sony was battling to keep the PS5 costs down thanks in part to its expensive cooling solution. Evans has only opened up a Digital Edition version of the PS5, so we don’t know for sure whether Sony has also changed the cooling unit on the model with a disc drive.

There’s a new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC leak making the rounds and it has Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite fans excited for its implications. However, it looks like Nintendo fans are getting their hopes up for nothing, as according to a prominent Nintendo insider and leaker, there’s nothing to the leak, which is usually the case with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate leaks.

Long story short, a recent leak surfaced with “evidence” that the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character, which will also be the final DLC character according to Nintendo, will be purple. And of course, this instantly makes Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fans think of Waluigi, one of the most in-demand DLC characters, though some of this demand is more meme than genuine.

That said, taking to Twitter, the aforementioned insider and leaker, Samus Hunter, shot down the leak as incorrect.

Someone asked me to cover this leak, i did some research and this file has nothing to do with the Smash site. They are “standard” setting created by other company that Nintendo use for it’s website.
So there isn’t a specific colour for the next fighter#SmashBrosUltimate pic.twitter.com/LAT0oQB59N

— Samus Hunter | Nintendo Leak inside (@SamusHunter2) August 23, 2021

At the moment of publishing, Nintendo hasn’t addressed the initial leak nor the follow-up from Samus Hunter. We don’t expect this to change for a variety of reasons, however, if it does change, if Nintendo does provide some type of comment, we will update the story accordingly.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available via the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch Lite. For more coverage on the best-selling and critically-acclaimed platform fighter, click here or, alternatively, check out the relevant links right below:

As always, feel free to hit the comments section with your thoughts or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. Who do you want to see added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the final DLC character?

While some of us have mostly abandoned calls for endless text messages, there are others who actually like or need to make and receive phone calls. That’s kind of hard to do with some iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models right now though, which Apple says emit no sound when people make or receive calls. Good news is Apple will fix these phones for free.

Apple announced a worldwide service program for iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models—not including the iPhone 12 mini or the iPhone 12 Pro Max—with no sound issues on Friday. The company explained that “a very small percentage” of the devices may experience sound issues due to a faulty component on the receiver module, or earpiece. Apple said phones with this issue had been manufactured between October 2020 and April 2021.

This is the first service program for the iPhone 12, according to Apple’s website.

If your phone has this issue, Apple or an Apple authorized service provider will analyze it to determine whether it’s eligible for a free repair. You can also choose to send Apple your phone for repair using its mail-in service.

The service program will cover iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro devices for two years after you bought it. However, if your receiver’s messed up, I imagine you have a deep desire to get it fixed as soon as possible. Also, FYI, getting your receiver fixed doesn’t extend your phone’s standard one-year Apple warranty.

Apple points out that if your phone has any damage that impedes the repair, such as a cracked screen, you’ll have to get that fixed before it can address your earpiece’s issues. In some cases, you’ll have to pay for that additional repair.

All in all, even if you don’t make a lot of phone calls, like me, you shouldn’t ignore a phone with this issue. In my case, it could be the delivery person trying to find my door to hand me my dinner. No dinner, no fun.

Earlier this week, Destiny 2‘s Season of the Lost started, bringing with it new missions, storylines, and exotic gear. One particular piece of exotic gear, some fancy new boots for Hunters, quickly became popular (and hated) as they allowed players to basically break the way Destiny 2 plays in PVP. Now, Bungie has nerfed the boots, leaving Hunters who love to dance feeling quite sad.

The exotic boots in question are the Radiant Dance Machines, which first appeared in Destiny, but have now reappeared in Destiny 2 alongside the new season. Originally, in the first game, these exotic boots increased your movement speed while aiming down your sights. In Destiny 2, these Hunter boots now allow you to use your dodge ability multiple times in a row for a short period of time as long as you are close to an enemy. This led to some problems.

As explained by Gamespot’s Phil Hornshaw, these boots could be paired with additional items that add new traits to your dodge ability. The right combos could break the way Destiny 2 plays. One example given is folks using the Dynamo mod for Void-based helmets. This mod gives players super energy whenever they use dodge and can also be stacked. With the right build and a bit of practice, players could easily fill up their super bars in a short amount of time.

As you might expect, this was quickly exploited by Destiny players, leading to complaints that exotic was broken and overpowered. So last night, seemingly in response to this feedback, Bungie temporarily disabled the new boots in PVP and Gambit modes. Like that town in Footloose, Bungie has declared no more dancing! Stop dancing! STOP IT! (You can still use the boots outside these modes.)

Bungie community managers and Destiny 2 players had some fun on Twitter after the ban on dancing Hunters was announced. Though some also questioned why these boots shipped in the game like this. To be clear: Players aren’t using a glitch to get all these dodges and super powerful abilities. They are just using the Radiant Dance Machines as intended, letting them dodge more and making their dodge-related traits more effective in the process. This seems like an issue of Bungie not expecting Destiny players to take advantage of new powerful gear.

But whatever, let’s not worry about that and instead listen to the song “Safety Dance” which is slightly related to this story and which is now stuck in my head.

“We can dance if you want to, we can leave your friends behind…”

Let’s be real: The iPhone in your pocket is probably close to 10 or 20 percent battery life by the time the sun starts going down. That means that by the time a cell phone would come most in handy, it’s completely dead. Bumming a charge from someone else is normally an option, but then you end up being the person standing next to the bar by yourself side-eyeing your phone and waiting for it to get back to a fifth of the way charged so you can leave.

The best charger to use is this new Apple MagSafe Duo Charger.
It typically retails for $150 and is currently 20% off for just $120. The charger is already an Amazon favorite with 4.6 out of 5 stars.

The MagSafe Duo Charger is notable because it can charge two different devices at once. You can charge an iPhone, an Apple Watch, your AirPod case, and more. Even better: It’s completely wireless, which eliminates the biggest reason most of us have owned four or five different chargers in the last couple of years–those fragile wires that seem to fray if you simply nudge your phone an inch outside of the stretch radius. The charger folds in on itself, making it easy to carry anywhere. Instead of having to ask someone if you can use their wired charger, you can simply and discretely plug this charger into an outlet and, as long as your phone is next to or on top of it, charge it very quickly, along with any other Apple device.

The MagSafe Duo Charger has impressive utility, far outperforming most common chargers. You can pick up an Apple MagSafe Duo Charger
for $120 with the current 20% discount, and never buy a wired charger again.

Price subject to change

This content is from our partner StackCommerce. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

In addition to the standard navigation capabilities, however, Google Maps also comes with a series of extras, some less noticeable than others but still playing a key role in the overall experience with the app.

One of these features is how Google Maps adapts to various types of displays and cars. For example, if you own a right-hand-drive car, Google Maps can automatically adjust its user interface to display the essential information closer to the driver.

So for example, regardless of the type of car you own (left- or right-hand-drive), Google Maps always show the most important navigation details closer to the driver, which makes perfect sense given the app should be first and foremost used by the person behind the wheel

But as it turns out, a recent change in Google Maps has made the whole thing extremely confusing for many users, as the layout in right-hand-drive cars has been reset to look like in a left-hand-drive model when running the app on Android Auto.

Needless to say, such a layout change is as unexpected as it gets, sometimes making Google Maps a lot harder to use, especially with the navigation enabled.

On the other hand, it’s not exactly clear what triggered this change in Google Maps. Google itself has confirmed it’s investigating reports that Google Maps uses the LHD configuration in RHD cars, and this appears to be a suggestion it’s all just a bug and not the intended behavior.

Is there anything you can do to restore the right mode in your car? Not really, pretty much because the generic workarounds available right now don’t seem to be making any difference. Resetting Google Maps, clearing the cache, and all the other typical tricks don’t restore the expected behavior in Google Maps, with users forced to stick with some essential information displayed closer to the passenger rather than the driver themselves.

Just as expected, users are warning that such a change makes Google Maps not only more confusing and harder to use, but also distracting and, in some cases, dangerous.

“Nearly had a crash today because the map now shows on the left side of the screen away from the driver which is very distracting,” someone explains on the official Google forums where tens of users have already reported the same problem on Android Auto.

“This really needs a fix! In its current form it’s distracting, unusable, and dangerous as it requires you to look all the way to the passenger’s side of the screen,” someone else added.

In the meantime, who exactly has a bigger chance of being hit by this problem? As it turns out, the whole thing happens mostly in RHD cars, and while it’s not yet clear if LHD models are impacted as well, I’m seeing more and more people complaining of Google Maps suddenly changing the layout overnight.

And now, some good news. Google has confirmed that it’s already investigating the problem, though, on the other hand, there’s no ETA as to when a fix could be released and Google Maps could therefore return back to normal.

Unfortunately, those who’re struggling with this problem and consider Google Maps confusing and even dangerous behind the wheel have no other option than to switch to another navigation app, at least until Google comes up with a fix.

There are several worthy alternatives available out there, but there’s no doubt one of the best is Waze, another Google-owned navigation solution that also helps you avoid heavy traffic in a specific region. On the other hand, Waze lacks support for offline maps, as it needs permanent Internet access to retrieve reports from other users and determine the fastest route to a destination.