Category:

Product Reviews

Google Pixel Watch 4 hands-on
Product Reviews

The Google Pixel Watch 4 might look similar to its predecessor, but the changes under the hood could make a big difference

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Google Pixel Watch 4: Two-minute review

Google has released its latest crop of hardware at its Made by Google 2025 event, including phones, earbuds, and its next-generation smartwatch, the Google Pixel Watch 4. Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 or Apple Watch Series 10, the latest generation of the Pixel Watch 4 is less about earth-shattering changes and more about refinements to a working formula.

Google is sticking with the now-iconic and really quite lovely polished pebble circular build that comes in two sizes – the addition of a 45mm option alongside the 41mm model was the big change last year. That means more choice for you if the Pixel Watch sparks your interest, and ultimately lets you get the one that’s the right size for your wrist.

Google is also mostly sticking with the same prices as last year (there’s a small increase for the 45mm version in Australia). And despite the outward similarities there are some significant upgrades here, including a healthy dose of AI smarts powered by some new silicon, a forthcoming AI coach that’s part of a larger Fitbit rollout, replaceable parts, a refreshed user interface, and a new domed display that’s physically raised to the touch.

  • Google Pixel Watch (Black) at Amazon for $75

Google Pixel Watch 4: Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Component

Google Pixel Watch 4

Price

Starting at $399 / £349 / AU$579

Dimensions

41 x 41 x 12.3mm / 45 x 45 x 12.3mm

Weight

31g / 36.7g without straps

Caze/bezel

Recycled aluminum

Display

320ppi always-on display AMOLED with up to 3,000 nits brightness

Operating System

Wear OS 6.0

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor with an ML coprocessor

Memory

2GB of RAM

Storage

32GB

GPS

GPS (Dual-Frequency), Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS

Battery life

Up to 72 hours with battery saver enabled or up to 40 hours with always-on display enabled

Connection

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE

Water resistance

WR50, IP68

Google Pixel Watch 4: Dome sweet dome

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

The first thing I noticed during my hands-on time with the Pixel Watch 4 was that the display itself is not flat like on the Pixel Watch 3. Sure, we’ve seen smartwatches on which the display slopes down the sides towards the watch case, such as the Apple Watch Series 10, but the glass display here is actually domed to the point where, as you swipe across the screen, you’ll feel the surface rise or lower.

This makes the sides of the display and the graphics appearing on the edges even more sloped, a feature the new Material 3 Expressive interface uses in its animations. However, it also noticeably increases the thickness on your wrist. The domed 360 Actua display still looked rich and vibrant with crisp text or numbers, and it got considerably brighter in the demo room, which wasn’t brightly lit. Google says it can hit up to 3,000 nits, a jump of 1,000 nits compared to the Pixel Watch 3.

The third-generation Pixel Watch got a larger display than its predecessor, and the fourth-gen model goes bigger again, with 16% smaller bezels and 10% larger active display area, which Google says is made possible by the domed display.

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

I think the physical touch and interaction with the watch might take some time to get used to, but the new design delivers a theoretically more durable surface – as is the case with some dome shapes – and more space to hit touchpoints or see items presented on your wrist is certainly a win. It’s something I’m eager to spend more time exploring, and it enhances what I described in my Pixel Watch 3 review last year as the ‘polished pebble’ effect of the Pixel Watch’s looks.

The Pixel Watch 4 still boasts Corning Gorilla Glass to protect against drops or scratches, and the rest of the build here is aerospace-grade aluminum. It’s also water-resistant up to 50 meters. Another major change this year is a redesigned back, which has resulted in the moving of the charging ports in order to make this smartwatch repairable and serviceable.

Yes, you’ll notice several screws, which allow the battery to be replaced for a more sustainable design. This isn’t something that’s common for major smartwatch brands, as most devices are sealed units, so it’s a welcome step in the right direction from Google.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

This also means a pretty significant change in charger design, as you’ll no longer place this on a proprietary puck with prongs as you would the Galaxy Watch, Apple Watch, or any Pixel Watch before this. The Pixel Watch 4 charges on its side in a dock, and if you’re charging it on a nightstand this should make it easier to use the smartwatch as a small alarm clock – it’s even perfectly positioned so that you can tap the crown to snooze.

Google is also taking advantage of these charger and design changes to speed up refueling. You can now charge the Pixel Watch 4 from 0% to 50% in just 15 minutes, and Google is promising longer battery life for both sizes – up to 30 hours for the 41mm and up to 40 hours for the 45mm. Your mileage will, of course, vary depending on usage, but it’s a good step beyond the Pixel Watch 3.

Google Pixel Watch 4: A faster experience

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

While I only spent about half an hour with the Pixel Watch 4, it felt like a modern-day smartwatch that was responsive and zippy fast. Under the hood it’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Wearable Platform and a next-gen ML CoProcessor, both of which ensure that the new Material 3 Expressive interface design runs well here. It was easy enough to swipe between tiles, and I especially liked the more vibrant nature of the colors, which you can, of course, customize. Overall, this watch feels speedy compared to previous years.

Google’s new Smart Replies feature looks like a welcome innovation, especially if you’re tired of suggested replies that often lack context and are unsuited to the conversation. The Pixel Watch 4’s silicon can power an on-device large language model to generate appropriate suggested replies based on what a message says.

I even tested it with a message that referenced delays on my local train service, and the Pixel Watch 4 delivered an appropriate response. It took a few seconds, but it’s much better than the list found on previous Pixel Watches, the Galaxy Watch, or the Apple Watch.

We’ve already seen Gemini arrive on-wrist courtesy of the Galaxy Watch 8, but Google is serving up something special for its watch, and that’s a ‘raise to talk to the AI assistant’ functionality. Simply raise your wrist, and a glowing bar appears at the bottom of the display, which indicates that Gemini is listening and that you can start your request. You don’t need to say ‘Hey Gemini’ – Google has us pretty well trained in that department – and it worked well in a short demo, quickly pulling up the weather.

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

While I didn’t get to try any of the health and activity features, Google’s shipping the Pixel Watch 4 with a familiar suite that includes general activity, heart-rate, blood oxygen (SpO2), and sleep tracking. You can also take an ECG or Electrocardiogram, and there’s an improved Skin Temperature sensor for more accurate readings. You can also track over 40 workouts with the Pixel Watch 4.

The real big potential leap, though, is a promised ‘personal AI health coach’ that’s powered by Gemini and set to arrive at some point in October as a preview in the United States at first. It should go beyond ‘Workout Buddy’ on the Apple Watch and some AI features on the Galaxy Watch, but we don’t know exactly what it entails just yet. Google is promising it to be a coach of sorts that bases recommendations on your health data and that you can chat with, maybe something similar to that of Oura Advisor.

It’s shaping up to be a pretty strong smartwatch, and while the Pixel Watch 4 doesn’t usher in a tremendously radical redesign, it’s mostly about polishing and the addition of a healthy dose of AI functionality – something that Google is a big fan of. It’s likely that you don’t need to rush out for it if you already have a Pixel Watch 3, but those with an older model may want to consider an upgrade. We’ll be back with more once we’ve had time to put it through its full paces and see how the changes perform in the real world.

Google Pixel Watch 4: Pricing and Availability

If you’re looking to upgrade from, say, a Pixel Watch 2 or 3, maybe another Android smartwatch, or even getting your first one, there is a wait for when you’ll actually receive a new Pixel Watch.

Google is taking orders right now for the Pixel Watch 4 – it begins on August 20, 2025 – but the smartwatch won’t officially launch until October 9, 2025. That’s when the first shipments should arrive, depending on demand, and when you’ll find it available at retail locations.

Unlike other gadgets that have seen price hikes year over year, the Pixel Watch 4 sticks with the same price as the Pixel Watch 3. Meaning it’s priced at $349 / £349 / AU$579 for the 41mm Pixel Watch 4 with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, or $449 / £449 / AU$749 for cellular connectivity. The larger, 45mm Pixel Watch 4 is $399 / £399 / AU$669 for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, or $499 / £499 / AU$839 for connectivity.

Beyond accessing the internet with the cellular connectivity model, you’ll also need to spend more to get emergency satellite functionality on the Pixel Watch 4. There isn’t an extra monthly or annual cost – at least for two years, that’s what Google provides out of the box – but it needs to make use of the bands found in the cellular version of the watch. That could be a reason alone to get it right there.

Google Pixel Watch: Price Comparison



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Asus heard you like screens, so it put a curved '3D effect' OLED screen on your CPU water cooler
Product Reviews

Asus heard you like screens, so it put a curved ‘3D effect’ OLED screen on your CPU water cooler

by admin



ROG Ryuo IV Series ASUS InfoHub Control Guide – YouTube

Watch On

We’ve seen CPU coolers with screens before. We’ve seen CPU coolers with OLED screens before. We’ve seen CPU coolers with curved OLED screens before. We’ve even seen CPU coolers with curved, motorised OLED screens before. But have we seen a CPU cooler with a curved, movable 3D-effect OLED screen before? No, sir, we have not. Until today.

Give it up for the ROG Ryuo IV 360 ARGB water cooler, the ultimate checkbox exercise in CPU cooling, announced today at Gamescom. Its finely triangulated USP is a movable curved 6.67-inch AMOLED display that supports “3D-effect videos or customized system information”.

Asus says, “a powerful pump delivers robust cooling performance, higher flow, and lower impedance, while the pre-mounted, daisy-chained ARGB fans provide high airflow and static pressure. Its fans have a low-noise design and feature front and side lighting.”


Related articles

The cooler supports LGA 1851, 1700, AMD AM5, and AM4 CPU sockets, and features 400mm tubing for better chassis compatibility. There’s also software with support for hardware monitoring and screen content management. Oh, and there’s a white version, too, that’s otherwise identical.

Getting back to that “3D effect” thing, our understanding is that is doesn’t mean some kind of lenticular 3D, as per the Acer Predator SpatialLabs View 27 we recently reviewed. Instead, we’re talking 3D effect as in those videos that use borders and lines to frame movement, plus extreme perspective and a bit of blur. Like this demo video.

Asus doesn’t provide a specific resolution for the display, only describing it at “2K”. But that probably means 1,920 by 1,080, or something very close to that. By default, it can either display one of a number of preloaded 3D effect visuals or a user-configurable suite of hard info, such as CPU temps, fan speeds, voltages, clockspeeds and all that good stuff.

You can also splitscreen the display, so that part of it is showing hardware info, the other trick visuals. And as you can see above, the “3Dness” does actually kinda work.

As for the “movable” bit, the OLED screen is on a slider. So now you know. For the record, the radiator measures 394 by 140 by 32 mm and sports three front-and-side lit 120 mm fans. That setup delivers a rated airflow of 71.44 CFM at a noise level of 39.6 dB(A). The cooler module has a six year warranty, while the screen is covered for two years.

Finally and on the sordid matter of money, this was never gonna be cheap. US pricing hasn’t emerged, but it’s available in the UK for £322, which implies something in the region of $350. Ouch. But then if you want screens on everything, it’s going to cost you.

Best gaming PC 2025

All our current recommendations



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Earth' Finished Its First Major Arc With Action and Intrigue
Product Reviews

Earth’ Finished Its First Major Arc With Action and Intrigue

by admin


The second episode of Alien: Earth ended on not just a cliffhanger; it was a cliff-jumper. A xenomorph grabbed Joe (Alex Lawther) and jumped off a ledge, sending his sister Wendy (Sydney Chandler) on a quest to rescue him. That’s where episode three picked up, and the showdown resulted in not just a fun, gross action set piece but also some tantalizing teases of where things will go the rest of the season.

Episode three of Alien: Earth is called “Metamorphosis,” and while that certainly could refer to a few big reveals at the end of the episode, it also fits into the overall show itself. This episode marks the end of the inciting spaceship crash and slides the story to a new location, while also introducing some surprising new storylines. Basically, this is the episode where Alien: Earth began its very own metamorphosis.

To set that up, the episode began in the crashed Maginot as Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) continues to download the ship’s files and learn about what happened on board. Nibs (Lily Newmark) and Curly (Erana James) start to show frustrations over their hybrid nature, and Prodigy leader Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) tells Kirsh that he and the children are no longer on a rescue mission. They are on a collection mission and are to bring all the alien species home. He’s not going to let Weyland-Yutani have all of this mysterious cargo that literally fell into his city. Which, of course, we know is a very, very bad idea. But there kind of wouldn’t be a show without it.

After his fall at the hands of the xenomorph, Wendy finds Joe stuck to the back of a tractor-trailer. As she attempts to rescue him, he tells her it’s a trap, which is confusing. Why would the xenomorph want to trap Wendy? Is it really smart enough to do that? The answer to the second question is yes, as the xeno peeks its head into the trailer and then starts to stalk them from the roof. Wendy takes the battle to him as she stabs up into the ceiling, drawing out the xeno’s acid blood. Mayhem ensues, and just as things go quiet, the xeno stabs and grabs Joe out of the trailer and into the large hangar.

“It’s a trap!” – FX

For the second time in two episodes, Joe seems done for. But this time, Wendy takes a hook and locks it into the xeno’s inner jaw (which, as we’ve seen in other Alien movies, looks like another xenomorph). She proceeds to drag the xeno by its innards, which was just so beyond cool. Something we’ve never quite seen before. Wendy is dominating this creature, but just as she tries to trap it, it drags her into the trap with it. Again, chaos ensues, and when Joe opens the door, we see Wendy has sliced the xeno’s head clean off. But it got her too, and the scene ends with a truly unforgettable shot of the xeno, Wendy, and Joe all lying on the ground, dead or unconscious.

Meanwhile, Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) is still waiting for Wendy with the xeno eggs when Smee (Jonathan Ajayi) shows up. You can tell these two are very close, but their playful banter gets stopped quickly when Morrow (Babou Ceesay) interrupts. Last we saw Morrow, he’d captured and lost the xeno. Now he’s trying to right his wrongs. Morrow has a tense discussion with the two hybrids that piques his curiosity about what, exactly, they are. He slyly places some kind of device onto Slightly. Later, Morrow will talk to his boss, Yutani, and tell her he wants to retrieve the creatures on his own, and he’s found a way onto the Prodigy island.

With that, Alien: Earth closed the chapter of its story in the Prodigy city of New Siam. The company has cleaned up what they can from the crash, extracted all the alien creatures, and brought them back to the secret island of Neverland. As they arrive, Boy looks like a kid on Christmas morning with all the wild new species he’s now in control of. He has no problem with the fact that the others think risking a decade of research on human hybrids just to study these mysterious beings isn’t worth it. Later, when he stops by the lab for a closer look, a xeno egg starts to open, so Kirsh quickly ushers him out. Kirsh then explains, for those who might not know, exactly how a xeno comes to life. Boy responds by saying only synthetics are now allowed in the lab.

Running to a xeno. – FX

Speaking of synthetics, as Wendy is out of commission in the medical bay, Alien: Earth got to spend some time with a few of the other hybrids. First is Slightly, who we previously saw talking to Morrow on the ship. We soon learn that Morrow implanted a direct line of communication into the hybrid and is now deviously trying to get on his good side. Similarly, Curly goes to see Boy to plead her case for being his favorite of the group. She explains how she feels so much smarter and more ambitious than Wendy, who only cares about her brother. Boy seems open to the idea but is most interested in the fact that she has these feelings in the first place. Nibs, meanwhile, is looking increasingly traumatized by the fact that the eyeball octopus creature tried to pop into her body.

Eventually, Wendy wakes up. She hears something and starts to stumble through the complex towards it. As that happens, we watch as Kirsh does something every Alien movie has always talked about but never actually done: experiment on xenos on Earth. It takes some doing, but eventually, he extracts the Facehugger from the egg and then goes further to remove the xenomorph zygote from the Facehugger. The one that would’ve been implanted in someone had the Facehugger gotten out. Somehow though, the agony of this procedure extends beyond just the one Facehugger. The other eggs seem to react as well, as does Wendy. It’s almost as if she can feel the pain of the xenomorphs, and, eventually, the stress of it makes her pass out again.

Finally, Kirsh takes the xenomorph zygote and drops it in a tube with a human lung. Wendy’s brother Joe’s human lung, to be precise. Quickly, it zooms right in, ready to become a Chestburster. Prodigy will soon have its very own, fully functional xenomorph.

When is a machine not a machine? – FX

After that exciting Wendy versus xenomorph action scene, this week’s Alien: Earth was really about showing us where things are going. Wendy has an odd connection with the aliens. The other hybrids are starting to show cracks in their relationship. Morrow is trying to make friends with Slightly for some reason. And, most importantly, all of the alien creatures that Weyland-Yutani acquired on its ship for the past 65 years have now been claimed by Prodigy. That’s a lot of story to explore as we move ahead.

Assorted Musings

  • Why do we think the xenomorph tried to trap Wendy? Was it because it viewed her as a foe that couldn’t be defeated by strength alone? Or was it something more, like that it knew it had a connection to her, as teased later in the episode?
  • The man in the black rubber suit spraying the walls of Prodigy was back again this week. And, this time, we got to see him. He’s an older Asian man who likes to smoke. Why does this matter? We still don’t know, but all three episodes have shown him for some reason.
  • Did you notice that Boy Kavalier seemed to be playing with Lego when Curly came to visit him? I don’t think there’s any larger meaning behind this, but I just love that even in the future, trillionaires still love to play with Lego.
  • When Morrow is talking to Yutani, two big things happen. One, we get a sense of time, as he was expecting to talk to her grandmother. And second, he quickly dropped the information that the Maginot had been sabotaged. How? By whom?
  • After their encounter with Morrow, Slightly and Smee get questioned by Atom Eins (Adrian Edmondson), Boy’s right-hand man. He doesn’t learn much, but he does reveal that Prodigy records everything that the hybrids see, which they don’t like. That feels like a key piece of information.

What did you think of Alien: Earth episode three? Let us know below.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
DAAPrivacyRightIcon
Product Reviews

Way of the Sword might be a more forgiving kind of samurai epic

by admin


Capcom’s Onimusha series has been on a long hiatus. Combining Resident Evil-style rendered backgrounds with more agile characters, adding in demons, magic and a feudal Japan setting, the series span multiple sequels — and consoles — til the fourth entry in 2006.

Roughly two decades (and console eras) later, Capcom has returned to the series, even getting the definitive samurai actor, Tom Cruise Mifune Toshiro, to play the hero, the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. At Gamescom, the company is now demoing an early slice of Way of the Sword, which covers most (but not all) of the game shown at SGF 2025 just a few months ago.

It’s an interesting time to return to the samurai-meets-demonic-threat universe of Onimusha, following a sudden boom in games tapping into feudal Japan. Most recently, the latest Assassin’s Creed was set there, while, Sony’s upcoming Ghost of Yotei (not to mention its predecessor) both tap bushido and swordplay in historical Japan.

While I played through the demo, I made a lot of mental comparisons to Sekiro – a game that’s now several years old and still unbeaten by me. Onimusha draws together similar themes of demon forces run amok, but has a more forgiving approach. Gameplay centers around blocks and parries, plus weak and strong attacks, all while pulling in orbs dropped by dying enemies that act as the game’s currency. (Health orbs are also dropped by certain foes.)

Onimusha Way of the Sword hands-on

(Capcom)

The Oni gauntlet that absorbs these souls can also be used to see invisible demons and unlock areas that are spiritually blocked. It’ll also act like a sort-of demonic movie projector, showing what happened during the demon invasion in the area.

Early enemies were predictably sluggish demon swordsmen and archers, getting me back up to speed with how Onimusha fights play out. Even if it predictably looks lightyears ahead of its predecessors, Way of the Sword doesn’t reinvent how you cut up these demon hordes.

In comparison to other action games, guarding seems very forgiving. You can hold the guard button down, and it’ll block basic projectiles and melee attacks from all directions I spent some time leaning into exhausting stamina gauges, timing parries for one-hit Issen critical attack and batting away arrows back where they came from.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s satisfying and fun, but I’m itching to see how the series will build on what’s pretty basic attack flow. Musashi had acccess to a dual-short sword special attack, Two Celestials, that barrages the enemy with attacks and tops up his health levels.

This suggests more special attacks and magical flourishes should open up later in the game. The preview during SGF 2025 also showed ways to utilize the environment for defensive attacks, holding up wooden boards to block arrows, for instance, although that didn’t trigger during my playthrough.

Onimusha Way of the Sword hands-on

(Capcom)

The highlight of the demo was a confrontation with Musashi’s rival, Ganryu Sasaki. He’s great villain fodder — and has also been somehow gifted his own Oni gauntlet. The duel was the only time I felt under threat during the demo, and even then, I didn’t die once. There’s enough of a health meter to test yourself against Sasaki’s lavish sword attacks and lunges. Once you wear down more powerful enemies, you can make a single, concentrated attack to either glean more orbs from them or hit for heavy-duty damage.

The early taste of Way of the Sword is a fun, easy romp, so I’m curious to see how Capcom evolves the formula of Onimusha — and where the true challenges might lie.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is set to be released in 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series S|X, and PC.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Dynatrace 1
Product Reviews

I tried Dynatrace, a comprehensive and advanced observability platform for enterprises

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Dynatrace positions itself as a leader in the competitive network monitoring space, offering a complete observability platform that extends far beyond basic network metrics. While on the hunt for the best network monitoring tools of 2025, we found it to be particularly strong for enterprise environments with complex and distributed infrastructures.

TechRadar reviewers spend several weeks researching each major IT platform in the market, analyzing everything from core functionality to pricing and customer support quality. When we looked at Dynatrace, we were especially impressed by its AI-powered Davis engine, which automatically detects anomalies and performs root cause analysis across your entire stack.

While our top pick LogicMonitor remains the best overall network monitoring tool of 2025, Dynatrace offers unique strengths for organizations needing comprehensive observability beyond traditional network monitoring. Dynatrace has also been recognized as a leader in G2’s Network Monitoring for 2025 and Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Observability Platforms.

Dynatrace: Features

Dynatrace is an exceptionally feature-rich platform that goes well beyond traditional network monitoring to provide observability across applications, infrastructure, and user experience. It’s primarily geared toward enterprise organizations with complex environments distributed across multiple cloud and on-premises systems.

Features are generally well-executed, with particular strengths in automated discovery, dependency mapping, and intelligent alerting, though some users note that pure network monitoring capabilities aren’t as robust as specialized tools like SolarWinds NPM. While the premium pricing makes it inaccessible for small teams, the feature set justifies the cost for organizations looking for unified observability over point solutions.

Full-stack monitoring

Dynatrace’s flagship capability provides end-to-end visibility from user experience down to infrastructure components, automatically discovering and mapping all dependencies across your technology stack. The OneAgent technology deploys with minimal configuration and begins collecting metrics, traces, and logs immediately, supporting automatic instrumentation for hundreds of technologies without manual intervention. This eliminates the blind spots common in traditional monitoring approaches by correlating performance issues across all tiers of your environment.

AI-powered analytics

The Davis AI engine serves as Dynatrace’s differentiating factor, continuously analyzing billions of dependencies and metrics to automatically detect anomalies and determine root causes. Rather than simply alerting on threshold breaches, Davis provides context-aware insights that help IT teams understand not just what happened, but why it happened and what should be done about it. It reduces alert noise significantly while ensuring critical issues receive immediate attention with actionable remediation guidance.

Network performance monitoring

While network monitoring isn’t Dynatrace’s primary strength, the platform provides process-level network visibility that goes beyond traditional host-based monitoring. You can track network performance metrics between specific processes and services, identify connection issues proactively, and understand network topology in dynamic cloud environments. The platform automatically monitors new network interfaces and provides integrated health metrics alongside other key resource indicators.

Real user monitoring

Dynatrace captures actual user interactions across web, mobile, and API channels to provide insights into real-world performance and user experience. It tracks click patterns, page load times, and user journeys while identifying frustration points and performance bottlenecks that impact customer satisfaction. This extends beyond synthetic testing to understand how actual users experience your applications under real-world conditions.

(Image credit: Dynatrace)

Dynatrace: Ease of Use

Dynatrace comes with a modern interface that uses its Smartscape data visualization to help users understand complex environment relationships at a glance. Its automatic discovery capabilities significantly reduce initial setup complexity, with deployment typically completing in minutes without extensive configuration.

However, the sheer breadth of features and data available can create a steep learning curve for new users, particularly those transitioning from simpler monitoring tools. That said, the platform includes helpful features like in-product live chat assistance available directly within the interface, allowing users to get immediate help without leaving their monitoring environment.

Dynatrace has invested heavily in user experience improvements, with recent updates focusing on streamlining workflows and reducing the number of clicks required for common tasks. While the learning curve exists, IT teams find the investment in training worthwhile given the platform’s capabilities and the reduction in time-to-resolution it provides for complex issues.

Dynatrace: Pricing

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Plan

Starting price (paid annually)

What’s included

Infrastructure Monitoring

$0.04 per hour per host

Host monitoring for any server size, with basic dashboards and alerting

Kubernetes Platform Monitoring

$0.002 per hour

Complete observability across all Kubernetes clusters, workloads, pods and more

Synthetic Monitoring

$0.001 per request

High throughput monitoring for browser clickpaths, single pages, and APIs

Full-Stack Monitoring

$0.08 per hour per host

Complete APM and observability, AI-powered insights, OneAgent deployment, OpenTelemetry support

Dynatrace employs a usage-based pricing model that scales with your environment size and monitoring requirements. There’s no hidden fees, but you’ll be making potentially complex cost calculations for larger deployments.

It works well for organizations with predictable infrastructure sizes, plus volume discounts make it more attractive for enterprise deployments. Compared to competitors, Dynatrace sits at the premium end of the market, which reflects its comprehensive feature set but may price out smaller organizations that need simpler network monitoring solutions.

Dynatrace: Customer Support

Dynatrace offers two tiers of support: Standard Support included with all subscriptions and Enterprise Support for customers requiring enhanced service levels.

Standard Support includes in-product live chat assistance available directly within the Dynatrace interface, allowing users to connect with product experts for configuration questions and basic troubleshooting during business hours. The support team has access to product development experts for complex issues, ensuring customers can reach the right level of expertise when needed.

Enterprise Support provides enhanced response times, dedicated support resources, and expanded coverage hours for mission-critical environments. All customers also have access to comprehensive self-help resources including detailed documentation, the Dynatrace Community forum, and Dynatrace University for training and certification.

While support quality generally receives positive feedback from enterprise customers, some smaller organizations report challenges getting rapid responses during peak periods with Standard Support.

Dynatrace: Alternatives

Dynatrace occupies a unique position in the observability market, serving as both a comprehensive monitoring platform and a specialized network monitoring tool, though its strength lies more in the former. It’s best suited for enterprises with distributed environments where the AI-driven insights and visibility justify the premium pricing and complexity.

If you’re looking for pure network monitoring tools, you might find better value in specialized tools like SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor or PRTG. But for organizations looking for network monitoring and observability, Dynatrace’s main competitors include New Relic and Datadog.

Dynatrace: Final Verdict

Dynatrace delivers exceptional value for enterprise organizations requiring comprehensive observability beyond traditional network monitoring, with its AI-powered Davis engine and full-stack visibility providing capabilities that few competitors can match. It excels in complex, distributed environments where automatic discovery, dependency mapping, and intelligent root cause analysis justify the premium pricing and learning curve investment.

While pure network monitoring isn’t Dynatrace’s strongest suit compared to specialized tools, its ability to correlate network issues with application and infrastructure performance makes it valuable for organizations seeking unified observability. However, smaller organizations or those with simpler network monitoring needs may find Dynatrace overkill in both complexity and cost, making alternatives like LogicMonitor or PRTG more practical choices.

Dynatrace: FAQs

Is Dynatrace primarily a network monitoring tool?

No, Dynatrace is primarily an observability platform that includes network monitoring as one component of its full-stack approach. While it provides process-level network visibility and can monitor network performance between services, its core strength lies in application performance monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, and AI-driven analytics across the entire technology stack. Those looking for dedicated network monitoring tools might find better value in specialized solutions like LogicMonitor or SolarWinds NPM.

How does Dynatrace pricing work for growing organizations?

Dynatrace uses a usage-based pricing model where costs scale with your monitored infrastructure, measured in host-hours or GiB-hours depending on the plan. The platform offers volume discounts for larger commitments and allows organizations to exceed their minimum annual commitment on an on-demand basis without penalties. While this flexibility helps growing organizations, costs can increase significantly as infrastructure scales, making budget planning important for expansion.

What level of expertise is required to implement Dynatrace?

Dynatrace is designed for enterprise IT teams and requires moderate to advanced expertise to fully leverage its capabilities, though initial deployment is relatively straightforward thanks to OneAgent’s automatic discovery.

While the platform can begin collecting data within minutes of deployment, maximizing its AI-driven insights, custom dashboards, and advanced alerting typically requires several weeks of learning and configuration.

Dynatrace provides comprehensive training resources through Dynatrace University and offers in-product support to help teams get up to speed.

Can Dynatrace replace multiple monitoring tools?

Yes, Dynatrace is specifically designed to consolidate multiple monitoring functions into a single platform, covering application performance, infrastructure monitoring, network monitoring, real user monitoring, and synthetic testing.

This eliminates data silos and provides correlated insights across the entire technology stack, which is particularly valuable for complex enterprise environments. However, organizations with specialized needs might still require dedicated tools for specific use cases like detailed network flow analysis or specialized database monitoring.

How does Dynatrace compare to other observability platforms?

Dynatrace differentiates itself primarily through its Davis AI engine, which provides automated root cause analysis and intelligent alerting beyond what competitors like New Relic or Datadog typically offer.

It also excels in automatic discovery and dependency mapping, requiring less manual configuration than many alternatives. However, it comes with premium pricing that may exceed competitors, and some users find its comprehensive feature set more complex than needed for simpler monitoring requirements.

Check out the best IT asset management software.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hollow Knight: Silksong — Hornet, the heroine of the Hollow Knight sequel, leaping into action.
Product Reviews

After 30 minutes with Hollow Knight: Silksong, I’m desperate to play another 100 hours of its refined, needle-sharp action

by admin



Going hands on with Silksong for the first time is oddly nerve-wracking. After six years of anticipation, hype, and desperate occult rituals, the question is: can it possibly live up to expectations?

What ends up surprising me most, then, is how much the game puts me at ease. From the first moment I take control of Hornet, it’s like slipping on my favourite old pair of shoes. Six years? No, I’m back in Hollow Knight’s world like no time has passed.

That’s not to say it simply feels the same. Even missing her full range of traversal abilities, Hornet feels distinctly different from the Knight — more agile, more graceful, more precise. As soon as I try her deadly divekick attack, I can tell I’m going to need to master it for boss fights to come.


Related articles

Though the game does feel different in the hands, it’s speaking the same language. It takes mere seconds to get to grips with Hornet, from her little backwards step before turning to her quick, elegant attacks.

Immediately I’m out into a hostile but familiar world. Keys to find, shortcuts to earn, hidden items secreted just out of view. It looks sharper, but this is Hollow Knight as you know it.

The difference, then, comes in how Hornet is able to traverse it. The Knight felt like a wretch cast into the darkness and forced to learn on the fly. Hornet feels equipped and confident.

Her sprint is super fast, letting you backtrack in half the time. Her jump offers much more fine control over its height—a tool put to the test not just in platforming, but with aerial enemies to launch yourself at and fiery projectiles to leap over.

Combat pushes you to treat both air and ground as distinct angles of attack. Helmeted enemies ignore your strikes from above, forcing you down to their level, while shield-bearers constantly change which direction they guard themselves from, keeping you on the move to find your opportunities.

It comes to a head in the demo with a duel against a boss who feels like a mirror to Hornet—fast, agile, and precise in her own ways. Launching rapier thrusts and screen-filling whirlwind strikes and throwing up cheeky parries when she appears vulnerable, she forces me to lock in and make the most of my full arsenal.

That means plenty of dashes and divekicks, but also finding the right moments to launch swift throwing knives. They’re helpful for grabbing every damage opportunity, but I can’t rely on them entirely—and not just because their ammo is limited.

Getting in close and landing a few old fashioned strikes is vital, because it charges my magic bar. What’s that for? Well, it depends what kind of player you are. For the cautious, filling it to max lets you spend it for a burst of healing. But there’s a more reckless choice: spending chunks of it to launch super-charged attacks.

In the end, a little of both (and some very skin-of-my-teeth evasion) sees me through to vanquish my foe—but she jumps away off-screen before the killing blow, and I’m sure she’ll return for a harder fight later down the line.

I can’t wait to meet her again. Heading into this, my fear was that Silksong couldn’t live up to how high its expectations have climbed. In a way that’s true—if you’re hoping for a sea change for the genre, I didn’t see anything in this 30 minute slice to suggest one. It’s new but it’s safe, working in familiar metroidvania formulas.

Yet those 30 minutes sucked me right back into Hollow Knight’s world, much more than I even expected. By the end I was desperate for another 100 hours. If what you’ve been waiting for is more Hollow Knight, but even better, more refined, and needle-sharp, this seems to be it.

Best PC controller 2025

All our current recommendations



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Windows 11 Reset this PC feature
Product Reviews

Microsoft’s August 2025 security updates are breaking recovery tools on Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs

by admin



Microsoft has acknowledged an issue with its recent August 2025 security updates that prevent users from resetting or recovering their systems using built-in Windows tools. According the company, the bug affects older versions of Windows 11 including 23H2 and 22H2 as well as Windows 10 22H2, Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019/2021, and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2019/2021.

Installing this month’s security updates can potentially break the Windows recovery options for users. Those attempting to reinstall Windows without losing their personal files through the Reset this PC feature may run into failures. Similarly, the Fix problems using Windows Update feature, which attempts to reinstall the current version of the OS on your device while preserving all your apps, documents, and settings, is also broken. Microsoft has also warned that the bug could affect IT administrators who rely on the RemoteWipe configuration service provider to reset devices remotely.


You may like

Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
How the Casting of 'Andor' Brought More Powerful Women to 'Star Wars'
Product Reviews

How the Casting of ‘Andor’ Brought More Powerful Women to ‘Star Wars’

by admin


The extraordinary ensemble seen in Andor exemplified the best of Star Wars and brought more iconic heroes and villains to the franchise in two unforgettable seasons. Led by Genevieve O’Reilly, reprising her role as Mon Mothma, the women of the Disney+ series really carved out their legacies within the Lucasfilm universe.

In a behind-the-scenes featurette for Andor, casting directors Nina Gold and Martin Ware discussed discovering the immense talents of the series’ key leading ladies. Elizabeth Dulau was an utter revelation as Kleya Marki, a season two standout as Luthen Rael’s right-hand spymaster. Gold described their search for Kleya: “Obviously, Stellan Skarsgård is completely a genius. We needed to find someone to play Kleya, who [while] a young woman, could match him in authority and intensity and could go toe-to-toe with him in all situations, and [Dulau] really did that.” We’d have to agree with the sentiment because even when Kleya was no longer sharing moments with Skarsgård’s Luthen, the actress shone in some all-timer scenes, in particular that fateful hospital mission.

Ware knew that finding an equal to match Skarsgård was key for their storyline’s eventual conclusion. “With Stellan, because he kind of plays two parts in a way for quite a lot of the show, the gallery owner requires quite a lot of lightness of touch, and then he’s got the darker side, so it was just finding…”

Gold jumped in, “…Finding someone who could do that journey with him. She really had this inner command and real authority.” And it’s one fans would love to see again if Gilroy ever revisits Andor‘s surviving characters.

An Imperial baddie who we want to see get a bigger cinematic comeuppance is Denise Gough’s Dedra Mero, the overachieving Empire social climber. Gold described the cutthroat villain as an “evil mastermind.” Gough was cast after the casting directors saw her and co-star Kyle Soller on stage. “This was a real amazing showcase for their brilliance on screen. Both of their characters have really gone through a full, really big journey to go from where they started, as she was a very impenetrable, authoritarian boss.”

Ware complimented Gough’s season two transformation. “In season two, Dedra’s character, we see her in a domestic setting. We see her at home. We see her dealing with Syril’s mum. And loving Syril in her own very strange, peculiar way.” But of course her ambition leads her to abandon the simple fascist family life for bigger things that blow up in her face.

Gold and Ware had their work cut out for them insofar as what Gilroy wanted for Cassian’s romantic partner, Bix. Thankfully they found it all with Adria Arjona. “[As] soon as she did her first five words of her first audition, it suddenly became really obvious that it must be her.”

Gold explained that Bix needed to be more than just a love interest and demonstrate that she too was a capable fighter within the rebellion, which Arjona easily handled. “She had such an incredible mix of the other kind of strength and resilience of Bix and the vulnerability and willingness to go through this immense journey that Bix has to go through. She was one of the few people who we were able to get in the room to do a chemistry test with Diego [Luna], and again that just cemented it very clearly that they were really meant to be playing these parts opposite each other.” And we agree that Arjona and Luna’s performances gave Andor its heart as well as the hope the show’s lead sacrificed so much for.

According to Ware, the casting process was shaped by both the script and Andor‘s creator. “The script alone is so detailed and precise about character and intention that it’s quite easy for us to start thinking about brilliant actors to bring them to life. But then Tony Gilroy also would love to talk about other thoughts he had on the characters before we headed out there making lists and auditioning actors.”

Gold added that Gilroy’s input along the way really brought out what the galaxy needed in its heroes and villains to serve the incredible overarching story Andor brought to our screens. “It was fascinating because Tony’s interest in character is so detailed and wonderful, and he’s very flexible in his thinking,” Gold said. “When he sees something in an actor that’s not necessarily the thing that he’d originally thought, he’s quite happy to make some changes in his thought process if it seems the right thing to do. And also the writing is so appealing to actors because it is so interesting and good.”

The trio don’t even round out the rest of the supremely talented actresses showcased in Andor, but the galaxy is a better place because of them, that’s for sure. Watch the clip below!

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
OpenAI Is Poised to Become the Most Valuable Startup Ever. Should It Be?
Product Reviews

OpenAI Is Poised to Become the Most Valuable Startup Ever. Should It Be?

by admin


OpenAI is reportedly on the verge of a roughly $500 billion valuation, a figure that would make it the most valuable private company in the world—bigger than SpaceX, TikTok’s parent company Bytedance, and even public giants like Palantir. It’s a staggering number for a company with an “astronomical burn rate.” How is this even possible?

As Axios reports, there are actually two deals in play: a SoftBank-led round valuing the company at $300 billion, which won’t close until year’s end, and a secondary sale of employee shares at a far steeper $500 billion valuation. Most of the cheaper shares have already been snapped up, leaving investors to fight over the pricier ones.

One OpenAI investor—who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing an NDA—compared it to the dawn of the internet. “We’re in one of the biggest technology shifts [in history],” the investor tells me. “The outcomes continue to get bigger than people think.”

The investor argues that the math for investing at the $500 billion valuation is straightforward: Hypothetically, if ChatGPT hits 2 billion users and monetizes at $5 per user per month—“half the rate of things like Google or Facebook”—that’s $120 billion in annual revenue.

“That alone would support a trillion-and-a-half-dollar company, which is a pretty good return, just thinking about ChatGPT,” the investor says. “It doesn’t include all the rest of the stuff they’re working on, all the enterprise stuff, all the agentic stuff, all of the work they’re doing on hardware.”

Trillions of Dollars

The $5 figure is, admittedly, back-of-the-envelope math. Today, ChatGPT has 700 million weekly active users—and fewer than 10 percent of them pay for it.(OpenAI declined to comment on this figure.) The investor’s projections are ambitious, and they seem to discount the threat of major players like Google or Meta eating OpenAI’s lunch. “The half-a-trillion-dollar question now is, to what extent will OpenAI be able to retain the customers it has acquired, and simultaneously be able to bring its costs to a point where it can, in fact, monetize at [hypothetically] $5 per user per month,” says Arun Sundararajan, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

The bet here is that OpenAI is the next Facebook or Google. For investors buying in at $500 billion, “they’re expecting an IPO above a trillion in two to three years, otherwise the rate of return does not justify the investment,” says Glenn Okun, who’s also a business professor at NYU. That would mean leaping into the top 10 most valuable public companies in the world almost overnight. The investor says they have a longer time horizon than that, but “of course an IPO is the most sensible path given the scale of the company.” Though the investor admits, yes, the company would need to be valued at more than $1 trillion to make the investment worthwhile.

Stranger things have happened—particularly to OpenAI. In the first seven months of 2025, the company doubled its projected annual revenue to $12 billion, which suggests OpenAI is bringing in about $1 billion per month. Enterprise adoption has surged, too, reaching 5 million paying business users this month. Not to mention what potential advertising revenue could do to its bottom line. To the investor, these are signs of a company with the momentum to win: “People don’t like unprecedented things, because most people like to pattern-match,” the investor says. “Everything this company has done has been unprecedented, from the pace of its revenue growth to the AI technology.”



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Close