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The best Labor Day sales on 4K TVs from Sony, Samsung, TCL, and more
Gaming Gear

The best Labor Day sales on 4K TVs from Sony, Samsung, TCL, and more

by admin


Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, which is a bit sad, but it’s a great time to get a deal on a fancy, new TV. The US holiday is happening just before the start of the 2025-2026 NFL season, the World Cup qualifiers, and the lead-up to the MLB post-season games. This sports trifecta means you can take advantage of Labor Day sales on 4K TVs, whether you’re planning on hosting big at-home viewing parties, or you just want to tune in alone.

Right now, you can save hundreds of dollars on high-end OLED TVs like Samsung’s S90D or Sony’s Bravia 8 II. If you don’t want to spend as much, you can pick up a 70-inch 4K TV from Insignia for well under $400. That’s just a taste, but we’ve got more deals below that should suit gamers, cinephiles and sports fans alike. Many of these TVs are at or matching their lowest prices, and, as always, there’s no guarantee that Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals will beat these prices.

Insignia’s massive 70-inch F50 4K TV is on sale for $329.99 ($170 off), its lowest price ever at Best Buy. In terms of specs, it’s about as basic as they come, with a 60Hz refresh rate screen and three HDMI 2.0 ports. It’ll be just fine for watching sports and movies on, but 60Hz means it can’t display PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PC, or Nintendo Switch 2 games at their fastest-possible frame rates, but 60 frames per second isn’t so bad. The F50 supports HDR10 for more contrast-rich and accurate colors when viewing TV shows, movies, or games that support the format.

The TV runs Amazon’s Fire OS, and has Alexa voice capabilities built into its included remote, so you can use your voice to search for content. You can also utilize Alexa to change the TV’s volume and input without manually navigating through menus. If you have an Alexa-enabled camera, such as the Blink Mini, you can ask it to fetch a live video feed, which will appear as a picture-in-picture frame at the top of the TV screen. The F50 also supports AirPlay, so you can mirror your Apple device’s display onto the TV. It doesn’t have every bell and whistle, but Insignia’s F50 is a solid 4K TV, especially considering its size and price. If you want a smaller TV, Amazon and Best Buy are offering the 55-inch model for around $189.97 ($160 off), which matches its all-time low price.

If you want a more premium 4K TV than the Insignia model above (without breaking the bank, of course), TCL’s 55-inch QM6K comes with a surprising amount of features for its roughly $449.99 ($350 off) sale price at Best Buy. The TV has a 144Hz panel, which will make fast-paced console or PC games display with fabulous fluidity compared to using a 60Hz screen. It has a full-array local dimming panel for even lighting across all dimming zones (negating the bloom effect that some cheaper TVs exhibit in dark scenes).

The TV has two HDMI 2.1 ports, which can carry a 120Hz 4K signal that modern game consoles and PCs can take advantage of. Its two HDMI 2.0 ports top out at 60Hz, which is suitable for a Blu-ray player or perhaps a Google TV 4K Streamer streaming device. The TV runs on TCL’s AIPQ Processor, which the company says analyzes what you’re watching or playing to optimize its brightness, color, and contrast in real time. If you want a larger TV, you can get the 65-inch model for $549.99, which matches its all-time low at Amazon and Best Buy. Interested in the 98-inch model as seen at the top of this post? It’s down to $1,799.99 at Best Buy (was $2,999.99).

OLED TVs are more affordable than ever before, and this Labor Day deal on Samsung’s 65-inch S90D is proof. Its currently down to around $1,197.99 ($500 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The OLED panel is the star spec, of course, delivering better contrast and brightness control than any other type of screen tech. Its other specs are good, too. The TV has a 120Hz panel and four HDMI 2.1 ports, letting consoles and PCs display at 4K/120Hz. It runs on a processor that can upscale non-4K video to look better on a higher-resolution set, and can analyze what you’re watching to make objects in the foreground look closer than the background. The S90D doesn’t support Dolby Vision (typical with Samsung TVs, unfortunately), but does have HDR+ for more accurate color.

The TV has Amazon Alexa built-in, and it runs Samsung’s Tizen operating system, so you can access TV shows and movies with your voice using a microphone built into the remote. The S90D can also access Samsung’s Gaming Hub, which allows you to play games from your Steam library directly from the TV (via Wi-Fi or ethernet) rather than manually connecting it to a PC.

If you want an even larger OLED TV, the 77-inch S90D is around $1,797.99 ($602 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart.

Samsung’s The Frame TV Pro can display artwork when you’re not actively watching video or playing games on it, and the 65-model for an all-time low price of around $1,797.99 ($400 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo. The TV’s standout feature is its “Art Mode,” which allows you to display an image from Samsung’s Art Store. The store has over 2,000 images, including classics like Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, and requires a subscription that costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.

Another interesting aspect of the Frame TV Pro is that you don’t need to connect video sources directly to it. Samsung’s Wireless One Connect Box contains four HDMI 2.1 ports, and sends an audio and video signal wirelessly from devices to the TV. Samsung also includes a wall mount with the Frame TV Pro.

The Frame TV Pro has a 120Hz panel, making it great for fast-moving games and other high frame rate content. Plus, its processor can upscale lower-resolution video, and can automatically adjust video settings based on what you’re watching and your environment. The Frame TV Pro has a matte display, which won’t show glare from light sources as much as an LCD or OLED screen, so the image on screen will look a little more canvas-like. The TV also has a thick white bezel around the screen, and you can pick up an optional frame to fit around the outside to make it look even more like a painting.

For a bigger model, the 75-inch Frame TV Pro is on sale for around $2,497.99 ($700 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo.

Sony’s Bravia 8 II was recently voted the best TV of 2025 by a panel of experts (including The Verge’s Nilay Patel), and the 65-inch model is matching its all-time low price of around $2,998 ($1,000 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The 4K OLED has a 120Hz panel, and its custom AI processor optimizes its color and contrast based on what you’re watching and playing. It has two HDMI 2.1 ports (which take full advantage of its refresh rate) and a pair of HDMI 2.0 ports that top out at 4K/60Hz.

Sony says the Bravia 8 II has studio calibration modes for Netflix, Prime Video, as well as its own Sony Pictures Core streaming service. The panel who favored the TV were comparing images on the Bravia 8 II against a $43,000 Sony reference monitor. Based on its performance in those tests, we’re confident the Bravia 8 II can display video better than top OLED TVs from Samsung, LG, and Panasonic. Although, you’ll pay a heftier price for it.

The TV has Google Assistant built in, can be controlled by an Alexa-enabled speaker, and supports AirPlay 2. Sony has also discounted the 55-inch model to around $2,298 ($1,200 off) at Walmart and Best Buy.

Update, September 1st: Updated to reflect current pricing and availability.

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Product Reviews

Get up to $500 off gear from Apple, Dyson, Shark, Sony and others

by admin


Labor Day marks the unofficial end to summer as the weather starts to get crisper and students head back to school for the new semester. It also marks a good time to check out the tech deals available across the web. While seasonal holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day are not the boon for tech sales that shopping events like Amazon Prime Day are, they can present good opportunities to save on things like laptops, tablets, smart home gear and more.

Here, we’ve curated the best Labor Day sales on tech we could that you can still get before the holiday weekend is over. Since this time of year does overlap with the back-to-school season, students should be first in line to check out these deals. If you need some new gadgets for college, or refreshed tech to help you out in your first job after graduating, now’s the time to see if you can get it for less. Student discounts are handy and exclusive to those who can prove their student status, but the good thing about Labor Day sales is that anyone can take advantage of them — student ID not required.

Best Labor Day sales: Engadget’s top picks

Apple

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M4) for $799 ($200 off): Apple’s latest MacBook Air is the top pick in our guide to the best laptops, and it earned a score of 92 in our review. The M4 model isn’t a major refresh overall, but that’s not a bad thing — the design remains exceptionally thin, light and well-built, with long battery life and a top-notch keyboard and trackpad. Now it’s a bit faster thanks to the updated chipset.

Apple iPad (11-inch, A16) for $299 ($50 off): Apple’s entry-level iPad is, unsurprisingly, the best iPad option for those on a budget. It has solid performance thanks to the A16 chipset, 128GB of storage in the base model and good battery life.

Apple iPad Air (11-inch, M3) for $449 ($150 off): The latest iPad Air is a relatively minor update; the only big addition is a more powerful M3 chip. However, we still recommend this iPad over the base model in our iPad buying guide: Its display is more color-rich and better at fending off glare, its speakers are more robust, it works with Apple’s best accessories and its performance should hold up better in the years ahead.

Sony WH-CH520 wireless headphones for $35 (50 percent off): Sony makes headphones at all price ranges, and the WH-CH520 provides good sound quality and long battery life at an affordable price. They support custom EQ with Sony’s mobile app, multipoint connectivity, a built-in microphone and up to 50 hours of battery life.

Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum for $500 ($500 off): Dyson made one of the most impressive robovacs with the 360 Vis Nav. It has some of the strongest suction power of any robot vacuum I’ve tried, and its impressive obstacle avoidance allows it to move around furniture and other objects with basically not intervention from humans necessary.

Anker MagGo Qi2 10K power bank for $72 (20 percent off): Our current favorite power bank for iPhones, this 10K portable battery attaches magnetically to iPhones and powers them up quickly thanks to Qi2 technology. The built-in kickstand makes it easy to prop up your phone while it’s recharging, and the LCD display handily shows you how much power is left in the bank itself.

Anker Laptop Power Bank (25K, 100W) for $95 (30 percent off): One of our top picks for the best power banks, this 25K brick from Anker has two built-in USB-C cables so you never have to remember to bring one with you. It has a durable build and delivers a speedy charge to all devices, and as the name implies, it can handle powering up items as big as a laptop.

Sonos Era 300 for $359 (20 percent off): Sonos’ Labor Day sale discounts headphones, speakers and sets by up to 35 percent. One of the best deals is on the Era 300 speaker, which is an excellent option particularly if you want a home speaker than supports spatial audio. It has great sound quality, Trueplay tuning and Bluetooth plus in-line option for connectivity. Also available at Amazon.

Eufy 11S Max robot vacuum for $149 (46 percent off): This model is one of our favorite budget robot vacuums thanks to its slim design that lets you get underneath furniture more easily and strong suction power for its size. Note that it does not have Wi-Fi connectivity, but it comes with a remote that lets you control the robot to your liking.

Cosori 9-in-1 air fryer for $90 (25 percent off): One of our picks for the best air fryers, this Cosori model has a spacious six-quart cooking basket and nine prep modes to choose from. In our testing, it consistently crisped up all kinds of foods, from frozen appetizers to raw proteins, and it has a nifty safety feature with its built-in basket release button.

Google Pixel 10 smartphone + $100 Amazon gift card for $799 ($100 off): More of a pre-order deal than a Labor Day deal, this bundle includes a free gift card when you order the latest Google Pixel phone in advance. You’ll find different gift card deals at Amazon depending on which phone you go with: the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL have a $200 gift cards included, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold comes with a free $300 gift card.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft (16GB) for $220 ($30 off): This is the latest version of Amazon’s color ereader that has half of the storage of the original model, but otherwise functions the same. That makes it a little cheaper to start off, but you’re still getting a 7-inch color e-paper display, full access to the Kindle shop and a waterproof design. We also appreciate that the Colorsoft comes with no lockscreen ads by default.

Amazon Kindle (16GB) for $90 (18 percent off): The latest entry-level Kindle has a lightweight, compact design, a six-inch screen with adjustable front light, up to six weeks of battery life and gives you access to the entire Kindle ebook store.

Blink Outdoor 4 security cameras (3 camera system) for $100 (47 percent off): Some of our favorite security cameras, Blink Outdoor 4 devices support 1080p video, two-way talk, motion alerts and night vision. The most convenient thing about these is that they’re totally wireless and run on AA batteries that can last up to two years before you need to replace them. That combined with their weather-proof design allows you to place them both inside and outside.

ESPN Unlimited with Disney+ and Hulu (with ads) for $30/month ($6/month off): ESPN’s new streaming service is officially available now, and new subscribers can get Disney+ and Hulu included for one year when they sign up. The regular price of the new ESPN Unlimited plan is $30 per month, but this bundle offer throws in Disney+ and Hulu (with ads) for one year at no extra cost. If you want to break it down, you’re essentially getting each of the three services for $10 monthly with this offer.

NordVPN deal — Get up to 77 percent off two-year plans: Most of NordVPN’s two-year plans are on sale right now. You’ll get 77 percent off the Prime tier, bringing the price down to $189 for 27 months of service (Nord throws in an extra three months for free). Arguably the best plan for most people is the Plus tier, which is 73 percent off and down to $108 for the 27-month term.

MasterClass deal — Get 50 percent off one-year subscriptions: You can sign up for one year of MasterClass access for as low as $5 per month thanks to this sale that runs through September 1. A subscription lets you watch hundreds of online video classes taught by experts in their fields, and subject matter ranges from writing to cooking to sports.

Best Labor Day sales on tech

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Product Reviews

Sony is hosting a State of Play showcase for 007 First Light on September 3

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Sony has lined up its next PlayStation State of Play showcase, and this one is all about a single game. It will focus on 007 First Light, the long-awaited James Bond adventure from Hitman studio IO Interactive. It starts at 2PM ET on September 3 and you can watch it on the PlayStation YouTube and Twitch channels (there’ll also be a version of the video with English subtitles on YouTube). You can also just hit the play button on the YouTube video above when the time is right.

The showcase will run for over 30 minutes and it will feature a deep dive into gameplay, including a full playthrough of a young Bond’s first mission. Over on the PlayStation Blog, IOI said to expect “everything from high-speed car chases to on-foot stealth sequences and shootouts.” Following that, IOI will offer up more details on 007 First Light gameplay. Perhaps we’ll also get a release date or narrower window for the action-adventure game, which is slated to hit Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2026.

In the meantime, you can get a taste of just why IOI was able to land this gig by checking out Hitman World of Assassination, a bundle of all three of the main Hitman games from the last decade. Hitman WOA just hit iOS last week, and you can play through the first location for free. It’s also available on PC and consoles.



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Product Reviews

Tech from Apple, Dyson, Sony and others is up to 50 percent off

by admin


Labor Day marks the unofficial end to summer as the weather starts to get crisper and students head back to school for the new semester. It also marks a good time to check out the tech deals available across the web. While seasonal holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day are not the boon for tech sales that shopping events like Amazon Prime Day are, they can present good opportunities to save on things like laptops, tablets, smart home gear and more.

Here, we’ve curated the best Labor Day sales on tech we could find this year. Since this time of year does overlap with the back-to-school season, students should be first in line to check out these deals. If you need some new gadgets for college, or refreshed tech to help you out in your first job after graduating, now’s the time to see if you can get it for less. Student discounts are handy and exclusive to those who can prove their student status, but the good thing about Labor Day sales is that anyone can take advantage of them — student ID not required.

Best Labor Day sales: Engadget’s top picks

Apple

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M4) for $799 ($200 off): Apple’s latest MacBook Air is the top pick in our guide to the best laptops, and it earned a score of 92 in our review. The M4 model isn’t a major refresh overall, but that’s not a bad thing — the design remains exceptionally thin, light and well-built, with long battery life and a top-notch keyboard and trackpad. Now it’s a bit faster thanks to the updated chipset.

Apple iPad (11-inch, A16) for $299 ($50 off): Apple’s entry-level iPad is, unsurprisingly, the best iPad option for those on a budget. It has solid performance thanks to the A16 chipset, 128GB of storage in the base model and good battery life.

Apple iPad Air (11-inch, M3) for $449 ($150 off): The latest iPad Air is a relatively minor update; the only big addition is a more powerful M3 chip. However, we still recommend this iPad over the base model in our iPad buying guide: Its display is more color-rich and better at fending off glare, its speakers are more robust, it works with Apple’s best accessories and its performance should hold up better in the years ahead.

Cosori 9-in-1 air fryer for $90 (25 percent off): One of our picks for the best air fryers, this Cosori model has a spacious six-quart cooking basket and nine prep modes to choose from. In our testing, it consistently crisped up all kinds of foods, from frozen appetizers to raw proteins, and it has a nifty safety feature with its built-in basket release button.

Sony WH-CH520 wireless headphones for $38 (46 percent off): Sony makes headphones at all price ranges, and the WH-CH520 provides good sound quality and long battery life at an affordable price. They support custom EQ with Sony’s mobile app, multipoint connectivity, a built-in microphone and up to 50 hours of battery life.

Anker MagGo Qi2 10K power bank for $70 (22 percent off): Our current favorite power bank for iPhones, this 10K portable battery attaches magnetically to iPhones and powers them up quickly thanks to Qi2 technology. The built-in kickstand makes it easy to prop up your phone while it’s recharging, and the LCD display handily shows you how much power is left in the bank itself.

Anker Laptop Power Bank (25K, 100W) for $95 (30 percent off): One of our top picks for the best power banks, this 25K brick from Anker has two built-in USB-C cables so you never have to remember to bring one with you. It has a durable build and delivers a speedy charge to all devices, and as the name implies, it can handle powering up items as big as a laptop.

Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum for $500 ($500 off): Dyson made one of the most impressive robovacs with the 360 Vis Nav. It has some of the strongest suction power of any robot vacuum I’ve tried, and its impressive obstacle avoidance allows it to move around furniture and other objects with basically not intervention from humans necessary.

Shark AI Ultra robot vacuum for $298 (50 percent off): This Shark robot vacuum is a version of one of our favorites and it comes with a auto-empty base that can hold up to 60 days worth of debris. It has strong suction power and home mapping capabilities, so you can tailor cleaning jobs to your liking in addition to putting the robot on a cleaning schedule.

Eufy 11S Max robot vacuum for $159 (43 percent off): This model is one of our favorite budget robot vacuums thanks to its slim design that lets you get underneath furniture more easily and strong suction power for its size. Note that it does not have Wi-Fi connectivity, but it comes with a remote that lets you control the robot to your liking.

Google Pixel 10 smartphone + $100 Amazon gift card for $799 ($100 off): More of a pre-order deal than a Labor Day deal, this bundle includes a free gift card when you order the latest Google Pixel phone in advance. You’ll find different gift card deals at Amazon depending on which phone you go with: the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL have a $200 gift cards included, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold comes with a free $300 gift card.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft (16GB) for $220 ($30 off): This is the latest version of Amazon’s color ereader that has half of the storage of the original model, but otherwise functions the same. That makes it a little cheaper to start off, but you’re still getting a 7-inch color e-paper display, full access to the Kindle shop and a waterproof design. We also appreciate that the Colorsoft comes with no lockscreen ads by default.

Amazon Kindle (16GB) for $90 (18 percent off): The latest entry-level Kindle has a lightweight, compact design, a six-inch screen with adjustable front light, up to six weeks of battery life and gives you access to the entire Kindle ebook store.

Blink Outdoor 4 security cameras (3 camera system) for $100 (47 percent off): Some of our favorite security cameras, Blink Outdoor 4 devices support 1080p video, two-way talk, motion alerts and night vision. The most convenient thing about these is that they’re totally wireless and run on AA batteries that can last up to two years before you need to replace them. That combined with their weather-proof design allows you to place them both inside and outside.

ESPN Unlimited with Disney+ and Hulu (with ads) for $30/month ($6/month off): ESPN’s new streaming service is officially available now, and new subscribers can get Disney+ and Hulu included for one year when they sign up. The regular price of the new ESPN Unlimited plan is $30 per month, but this bundle offer throws in Disney+ and Hulu (with ads) for one year at no extra cost. If you want to break it down, you’re essentially getting each of the three services for $10 monthly with this offer.

NordVPN deal — Get up to 77 percent off two-year plans: Most of NordVPN’s two-year plans are on sale right now. You’ll get 77 percent off the Prime tier, bringing the price down to $189 for 27 months of service (Nord throws in an extra three months for free). Arguably the best plan for most people is the Plus tier, which is 73 percent off and down to $108 for the 27-month term.

MasterClass deal — Get 50 percent off one-year subscriptions: You can sign up for one year of MasterClass access for as low as $5 per month thanks to this sale that runs through September 1. A subscription lets you watch hundreds of online video classes taught by experts in their fields, and subject matter ranges from writing to cooking to sports.

Best Labor Day sales on tech

More Labor Day sales

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.





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A promotional image created by Sony, showing its PlayStation 5 consoles next to its PlayStation Portal remote player.
Product Reviews

Claimed Sony PS6 handheld console specs promise a miracle of next-gen, cutting-edge processor architectures at a price that’s barely enough for today’s hardware

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PS6 Dockable Handheld Leak: AMD Canis Specs CRUSH XBOX Ally X! – YouTube

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With the current crop of consoles from Microsoft and Sony nearing the end of their natural product cycles, tech rumours are abound as to what hardware and systems the next generation will have. Amongst a whole raft of claims as to what the PlayStation 6 will be like are a list of specifications for Sony’s return to the handheld market, with a beefy custom AMD chip at the heart of it all.

Now, before I go any further, let me get one thing out of the way first, and it’s the source of these claims: Moore’s Law is Dead. The tech YouTube channel’s modus operandi is all about rumours, leaks, speculation, and at times, pretty wild predictions. But hey, even if you spray about in a raging gale, something will eventually land on target.

On to the nitty-gritty, then. MLID claims Sony is planning a handheld PlayStation for its PS6 portfolio. Not a major shock announcement, as the company has done this before. Something else that won’t raise any eyebrows is that it’s apparently going to be powered by a custom AMD chip, codenamed Canis.


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The specs for it, though, are a tad more of a surprise. Manufactured on TSMC’s N3 process node and coming in at 135 square millimetres in size, the CPU size of Canis is alleged to have four Zen 6c cores and two Zen 6 Low Power cores. That’s a little bit like AMD’s Ryzen AI 340, which sports two Zen 5 and four Zen 5c cores. However, unlike that laptop APU, MLID is suggesting that games will run on the 6c pipelines, with the handheld’s operating system being handled by the two LP cores.

There are no architectural differences between AMD’s normal Zen and Zen-c cores (at least, not in Zen 5) other than what clock speeds they can reach, but given that it’s also being claimed that the ‘PS6 handheld’ will be backwards compatible with PS5/PS4 games, I’m not sure how four, low-clocked cores are supposed to handle software designed for up to eight cores.

PS5’s CPU cores take up a tiny slice of the die, on the right. (Image credit: Fritzchens Fritz)

And that’s before one begins to question why Sony would choose to go with an architecture that AMD hasn’t released yet, when it’s historically chosen an older design that’s well-tested, proven, and predictable. Oh, and cheap. Very cheap.

Moving onto the GPU section of the APU, Canis is supposed to have 16 RDNA 5 compute units. To put this into perspective, the Steam Deck has eight RDNA 2 CUs, and the Asus ROG Ally X has 12 RDNA 3 CUs, so the compute unit count isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

However, just as with the CPU section, I’m not overly convinced that Sony would go for what would be a cutting-edge GPU architecture for the release. Even the expensive PS5 Pro is still using what’s fundamentally an RDNA 2-powered GPU, albeit with some hefty modifications.

Where things get a bit silly are the claimed clock speeds and performance for the handheld’s GPU: around 1.65 GHz in docked mode and up to 75% of a PS5’s native rendering power. Sony’s current console has a GPU with 36 CUs, with a top clock speed of 2.2 GHz, and requires a power budget of 180 W.

The PS5 Pro’s GPU is mighty for a console but quite old in tech terms. (Image credit: Sony)

While RDNA 5 rumours have yet to settle down into any semblance of sensibility, no amount of architectural wizardry can really overcome a 56% deficit in CUs with a 25% short fall in clock speed to that kind of degree. Well, perhaps it can, if the rendering resolution is low enough or the actual graphics workload leans more towards favouring AMD’s current shader design than for RDNA 2.

Just as with many handheld gaming PCs, Sony’s effort will apparently use LPDDR5X-8533, but rather than using a 128-bit wide bus, Canis is purported to sport a 192-bit bus, resulting in the total amount of RAM reaching 48 GB. That’s not impossible, as handhelds really do benefit from having considerably more than 16 GB of RAM, as it’s shared across the CPU and GPU.

Having watched MLID go through the specs, I was unconvinced by the CPU description, on the fence by the GPU (but not at all by the performance claims), and reasonably okay with the RAM specs. However, it wouldn’t be a MLID video if there wasn’t at least one really bonkers prediction, and in this instance, it’s the price: between $399 and $499.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The Switch 2’s retail price is $450, and it is a far weaker collection of hardware, with the main SoC manufactured on an old, cheap process node. Top-end handheld gaming PCs that are more akin to the above claimed specs are typically double the cost. Heck, even the PlayStation Portal is $200 and there’s practically nothing inside that beyond a basic Qualcomm chip, a smattering of RAM, and a pokey 16 Wh battery.

Sony wouldn’t set the price that low for a platform that isn’t going to sell anywhere near as many units as a normal console. It can afford to get away with a tiny profit margin with the PS5 because it hauls the money back via the millions of games sold each year for the console. A PS6 handheld would have to be physically profitable, and given that the specs are all next-gen architecture, on an expensive process node, $500 would surely be nowhere near enough.

Anyway, you can make up your own mind about MLID’s claims about the handheld or the other PS6 bits and pieces. Better yet, you can play your own game of ‘Guess the next-gen console specs’ and make a video of it, because everyone’s predictions will be just as valid as each other until the hardware itself finally appears.

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Sony finally makes the PlayStation refund process easier, killing the support chat bot
Game Updates

Sony finally makes the PlayStation refund process easier, killing the support chat bot

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Sony has pushed an update live to the PlayStation store that makes refunds considerably easier.

The new process, which can only be done on the PlayStation website or app, goes as follows: navigate to the PlayStation store and select the three dots in the top right corner to access your transaction history. From there, you should be able to select your past purchases and request refunds.

Previously, PlayStation users would have to use an online assistant, basically a chat bot, to negotiate a refund. The requirements for a refund remain the same: only a product bought within the last 14 days is valid, and you can’t have begun the process of downloading or playing it. That is, unless what you bought is faulty, in which case these requirements may be circumvented.

Here’s a Eurogamer video to cheer you up.Watch on YouTube

It’s a nice little update that should make those 2am reflex purchases of Detroit Become Human feel a little less rancid the next day. Also, anything that takes away those pesky chat bot supports is a good update in my book. This comes alongside a selection of other improvements made to the PS Plus store as of late, including additional accessibility options and Apple Pay support.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.



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Concord's heroes eat at a diner.
Game Reviews

One Year After Concord, What Has Sony Learned From The PS5 Flop?

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What has Sony learned from its biggest gaming blunder one year later? Why is Ubisoft’s CEO headed to court five years after a sexual harassment scandal rocked the company? And how many more copies will Hollow Knight sell as everyone rushes to play it ahead of Silksong‘s launch next month? Welcome back to Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku‘s daily roundup of gaming news and culture. Take cover. The end-of-year game release onslaught is about to begin.

Sony is taking steps to avoid another Concord

How did Sony slow-walk its way into a live service debacle that cost it over $200 million? A year after Concord launched, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst explained what the company is doing to avoid releasing another expensive game that no one wants to play.  “I don’t want teams to always play it safe, but I would like for us, when we fail, to fail early and cheaply,” he told the Financial Times. He promised more info sharing between studios and executives and said, “We have since put in place much more rigorous and more frequent testing in very many different ways. The advantage of every failure is that people now understand how necessary that [testing] is.”

What about Sony’s live-service plans moving forward? Hulst didn’t say the company is backing off its online multiplayer push, but he did hand-wave away prior commitments to launch nearly a dozen live-service projects by 2026. “The number is not so important,” he said. “What is important to me is having a diverse set of player experiences and a set of communities.” FairGame$, expected to be the next multiplayer game in Sony’s pipeline, recently lost its studio head after a bad internal review.

Ubisoft’s CEO has been summoned to appear in court

The French publisher faces a fresh lawsuit from the same victims who recently testified against former senior members of the company over sexual harassment allegations, including ex-chief creative officer Serge Hascoët. “This new case is being brought by the same plaintiffs, a union and four people, and is based on the same facts at those for which three former employees were tried and convicted this past June, following an investigation by the public prosecutor’s office,” Ubisoft executive vice president Cécile Russeil wrote in an email to staff on August 22.

CEO Yves Guillemot was subpoenaed to testify on October 1, though it’s unclear if the new litigation will be able to compel any new information to surface about the company’s workplace culture reckoning five years ago. “Ubisoft will continue to cooperate with the justice system in this matter, as it has done over the past five years in the review of the facts related to this case,” Russeil told VGC in a statement. Guillemot’s son was recently made co-CEO of a new business group within Ubisoft that oversees its most profitable franchises, including Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is getting free DLC

Assassin’s Creed Mirage players, we have a surprise coming your way later this year!

📖 New story chapter & missions set in 9th century AlUla
🎮 Gameplay improvements for the base game and the new location
🎁 All for free

Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/8CjB3MRvfR

— Assassin’s Creed (@assassinscreed) August 23, 2025

The 2023 game has new content coming on the horizon. It takes place in AlUla, Saudi Arabia. The new story update will arrive before the end of 2025 and comes after a report that Ubisoft received funding from the Saudi government-backed Public Investment Fund, which has recently been flooding the games industry with cash.

Switch 2 games with only game key cards won’t be eligible for preservation in Japan’s National Diet Library

The archival body will only take “physical media that contains the content itself,” according to a new report from Famitsu, translated by Automaton. “Since a key card, on its own, does not qualify as content, it falls outside of our scope for collection and preservation,” a representative of the library said. While all first-party Nintendo games are contained on the physical Switch 2 carts, most third-party releases have opted for the game key card solution, meaning most will no longer be accessible if and when the servers eventually shut down sometime in the future.

Hideo Kojima wrote a concept for Death Stranding 3 but doesn’t want to make it

The longtime director told PlayStation Arabia that Death Stranding 2 was his finale for the series, but that he has already scripted what a sequel might be about. “So I have that in data,” he said, according to a translation by Genki. “I hope that someone will create it for me.”

Peak is finally Steam Deck verified

The summer Steam hit, which has already sold over 10 million copies, received a new update that fixes some bugs and gets the game working on Valve’s handheld. Unfortunately for speedrunners, however, a major game-breaking trick no longer works. “Made fog walls taller so you can’t shoot over them to win the game in a minute with the Scout Cannon exploit,” read the patch notes.

Hollow Knight is skyrocketing up the Steam charts

Silksong is out in less than two weeks, and everyone who never finished Hollow Knight is busy catching up. The game currently has over 35,000 concurrent players on Steam, nearly double its April 2022 peak. Not bad for an eight-year-old game that’s already sold over 15 million copies. If the sequel sells another 15 million, it will officially be a bigger franchise than Metroid.

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Concord's Failure Led To Increased Oversight, Says Sony Exec
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Concord’s Failure Led To Increased Oversight, Says Sony Exec

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In 2024, Sony shut down its live-service shooter Concord after only two weeks, as it became one the publisher’s most prominent failures. According to Sony Interactive Entertainment chief executive of studio business Hermen Hulst, the biggest lesson from Concord was that more oversight is needed during the development process.

“We have since put in place much more rigorous and more frequent testing in very many different ways,” Hulst told Financial Times. “The advantage of every failure … is that people now understand how necessary that [oversight] is.”

Hulst went on to explain that he wants Sony’s PlayStation studios to make big swings when conceiving future franchises. However, he would also like to catch the failures before they launch.

“I don’t want teams to always play it safe,” noted Hulst. “But I would like for us, when we fail, to fail early and cheaply.”

Following Concord’s demise, Sony subsequently re-committed to live-service titles. Regarding future titles in that genre, Hulst downplayed the importance of how many live-service games are available and said, “What is important to me is having a diverse set of player experiences and a set of communities.”

One of Sony’s next live-service launches is slated to be Marathon, the new game by Bungie. That title has already drawn unfavorable comparisons to Concord, and it was delayed indefinitely in June. Since then, reports have emerged that Bungie is losing its independence to PlayStation Studios. Last week, Bungie’s longtime boss Pete Parsons announced his departure from the company after two decades.

Marathon is expected to be released before the end of Sony’s fiscal year, which runs through March 31, 2026.



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Hermen Hulst, managing director and co-founder of Guerrilla Games, speaks during a Sony Corp. event ahead of the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Monday, June 15, 2015.
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After cancelling 8 of the 12 live service games Sony promised to release by 2025, PlayStation studios boss says the number doesn’t really matter: ‘What is important to me is having a diverse set of player experiences’

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By the time Sony started printing money releasing its exclusives onto PC, the company had made a name for itself delivering the biggest and best singleplayer games on the market. Its run of solo PS4 exclusives from Bloodborne to The Last of Us Part 2 was so strong that it blew Microsoft’s console strategy out of the water, in a way that the Xbox has arguably never recovered from. Even we PC heads with our vast Steam libraries had to acknowledge those games were pretty great.

Yet for the PlayStation 5, Sony decided it would almost completely ignore that legacy, and instead be all about live service. In 2022, former CEO Jim Ryan promised Sony would make and release 12 live-service games by 2025. As of 2025, only one of these—Helldivers 2—has enjoyed a successful launch. Seven were cancelled before release. Three are supposedly still in development (including the deeply troubled Marathon) and one of them was Concord.

It’s a strategy that has, so far, proven catastrophic, leaving the PS5 largely bereft of quality first-party exclusives. But if you thought gazing upon this virtual graveyard might cause Sony to reconsider its priorities, think again.


Related articles

Concord – Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Games – YouTube

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Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group CEO Herman Hulst was recently asked about Sony’s live-service strategy by the Financial Times (via GamesRadar), as part of an in-depth article about the company’s broader business strategy. “The number [of live-service releases] is not so important,” Hulst told the FT. “What is important to me is having a diverse set of player experiences and a set of communities.”

Instead of changing strategy to avoid massive live-service failures like Concord, or cancellations like The Last of Us Online, Hulst says he basically wants Sony to fail better. “I don’t want teams to always play it safe, but I would like for us, when we fail, to fail early and cheaply.”

To change these massive failures into, er, smaller failures, Hulst says PlayStation has implemented several new safeguards, such as “more rigorous and more frequent testing in many different ways.” According to the FT, this includes a higher priority on group testing, more cross pollination of ideas within Sony, and “closer relationships” between top executives. “The advantage of every failure…is that people now understand how necessary that [oversight] is.”

I would be more convinced by what Hulst says if Sony had demonstrated its PS4-era strategy no longer worked before going all in on chasing the theoretical live-service money train. Those glossy singleplayer titles were often enormously expensive to make, and selling games in general has become significantly harder over the last five years. But while Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 seems to have been a commercial disappointment, God of War: Ragnarok was the fastest-selling PlayStation title ever on launch in 2022, and had sold 15 million copies a full year before it came to PC in September last year.

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PS5 prices increase from tomorrow in the U.S. as Sony "navigates a challenging economic environment"
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PS5 prices increase from tomorrow in the U.S. as Sony “navigates a challenging economic environment”

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Sony is increasing the price of the PlayStation 5 in the U.S. as of tomorrow, August 21.

In a brief statement posted to the PlayStation Blog during Gamescom, the megacorp said that from tomorrow, the updated recommended retail price for all variations of the PS5 — base, digital edition, and PS5 Pro — will increase to:

  • PlayStation 5 – $549.99
  • PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – $499.99
  • PlayStation 5 Pro – $749.99

Previously, the PS5 retailed for $499.99, the digital edition $449.99, and the PS5 Pro for $699.99.

“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment. As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on August 21.”

Accessory prices remain unchanged, and Sony confirmed it had “no other price changes to announce for additional markets.”

We recently learned that Forza Horizon 5’s PS5 port has surpassed three million copies sold, making it the top new PS5 game of 2025 thus far.



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