Tag:

Strong

DAAPrivacyRightIcon
Product Reviews

The Social Network 2 is coming next fall and stars Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg

by admin


The long-awaited sequel to The Social Network will hit theaters next fall, according to a report by Deadline. The official release date is set for October 9, 2026, which is just about 16 years after the first film dropped.

We also have plenty of other information, including the full cast and the actual name of the movie. The official name is The Social Reckoning, which makes sense as the movie follows recent events in which Facebook got into legal and political trouble when a whistleblower alleged that the company knew the platform was harming society but did nothing about it.

The cast is being led by Jeremy Strong from Succession, who takes over Zuckerberg duties from actor Jesse Eisenberg. Mikey Madison is playing the aforementioned whistle blower Frances Haugen and The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White portrays Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horowitz.

Bill Burr is also appearing in this flick, though we don’t know in what capacity. The Hollywood Reporter has suggested he will play a fictional character invented for the film that will be an amalgamation of several people. Aaron Sorkin is both writing and directing this one. He wrote the first movie, but David Fincher directed it.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EA Sports FC 26 Review - Strong Potential
Game Reviews

EA Sports FC 26 Review – Strong Potential

by admin



Like almost every annual sports game, EA Sports FC 26 is exactly what you would expect it to be: an iterative upgrade on last year’s game. To EA’s credit, it’s a pretty good upgrade, all things considered. This is partly due to how off the mark EA FC 25 was, but also because of a concerted effort to solve some of the series’ longstanding issues by focusing on player feedback. The end result is an interesting attempt to appeal to every type of player. It’s not wholly successful in this ambition, but EA FC 26 is at least a step in the right direction.

The headlining change is a shift to two distinct playstyles. The series has always felt somewhat different when played online compared to offline, but the feeling is now much more pronounced and extends beyond the foibles of online netcode. Competitive and Authentic gameplay presets make a marked difference in how the match engine handles. You can choose between either one when playing offline, but online modes, such as Ultimate Team, are locked into the Competitive playstyle (even when playing Squad Battles against the CPU).

The Competitive preset is all about player skill. The pace of the game is rapid, with passes ping-ponging between players’ feet, and the spotlight is on dribbling, skill moves, and consistently high-scoring matches. Despite this proclivity for attacking football, defending has also been improved. Successful tackles actually regain possession, rather than knocking the ball right back to the attacking player’s feet, so a lot of the frustration from previous entries has been exorcised.

That’s not to say you won’t feel outmatched, though. The midfield in online games is practically nonexistent when defending. There’s so much space, passes are so fast, and it feels so responsive that it only takes a couple of passes to reach the edge of the opposition’s box. This, then, is where the vast majority of tackling occurs. I’ve tried preventing this by playing two defensive midfielders and setting instructions for them to stay back, but it makes no difference; players off the ball are too static. With so much of the game spent near the boxes, it only takes one missed tackle or a burst of speed for the attacking team to go clean through on goal. As a result, games are typically high scoring, with scorelines like 5-4, 6-2, and 8-7 being the norm.

Goalkeepers are marginally better–less likely to parry the ball back into dangerous areas–but keeping a clean sheet (or limiting your opponent to fewer than two goals) is still a miracle. There’s a significant element of skill involved in defending, mainly because you can’t just rely on the AI to do it for you, but the odds are still heavily stacked against you. If there were more of a midfield battle, tackling wouldn’t be as risky, and this would lead to fewer chances for each team overall. In its current state, Competitive matches are enjoyable when you have the ball, but mostly overwhelming when you don’t. It’s still an improvement on last year’s game, where frustration was the prevailing feeling when playing online, but it’s not without issues.

The Authentic preset, on the other hand, can be enabled when playing offline, altering the gameplay to provide a closer approximation of real football. The pace is significantly slower, placing a greater emphasis on each individual phase of play, with tactical midfield battles, physical defending, and methodical build-up play. Other variables can also affect matches, such as wind altering the trajectory of crosses and a wet pitch causing the ball to either skid across the surface or slow down. Authentic offers a more considered way of playing, although, like previous games in the series, the CPU isn’t the most appealing opponent. It’s either too easy to play against or slightly overpowered and able to keep possession of the ball for long stretches of time, so you’ll likely need to tinker with the sliders to find a suitable balance.

It’s a shame there’s no way to use the Authentic preset online, but the single-player Manager Career is at least more interesting this time around. A new Manager Live feature lets you play out different scenarios and challenge yourself beyond the norm. There’s one that tasks you with avoiding relegation after beginning the season with a 20-point deduction, and another that asks you to lead Real Madrid to a domestic double while starting Jude Bellingham in at least 25 matches. Others are centered on being top of the table at Christmas or earning a certain amount of money in transfer fees. It’s a different way to play that freshens up the experience for those who enjoy playing through multiple careers, especially if you fancy an extra challenge.

Unexpected Events is another new feature that throws a few curveballs at you throughout a season. These random scenarios inject some personality into the off-field aspect of Manager Career, breaking up the drudgery of simulating from one match to the next. This can result in your plans being disrupted by losing two players for the next game because they clashed in training and injured one another, or ate some dodgy food the night before. Another player might come to you feeling homesick, forcing you to make a decision, or the club might get taken over by new owners, altering your expectations and increasing the transfer budget. Football Manager players are no strangers to events like this, but they bring some of the unpredictability of real-world football to EA FC’s career mode, forcing you to adapt to an ever-changing landscape.

Ultimate Team has also undergone some adjustments, introducing new features while course-correcting with others. In the latter’s case, I’m referring to Rivals and the reintroduction of relegation, which banishes the days of being stuck in a division you’re clearly not good enough for. Progression in Rivals has also been improved by adding bonus objectives that can net you in-game coins and extra points for the weekly rewards. In one game, I earned 2,000 coins by starting a Team of the Week player in my team, then added more points by scoring two consecutive goals, fulfilling two of the objectives.

Doing this feels crucial because there are fewer rewards in general, and most of those you do receive are untradeable. This is part of EA’s attempt to slow the game’s power curve, which even replaces Ultimate Team’s previous season pass with a game-wide pass, allowing you to earn XP in career mode, Ultimate Team, and Clubs for rewards in all three modes. I’m not a fan. If I’m playing Ultimate Team, I don’t particularly care about unlocking FIFA 15 legend Seydou Doumbia as a manager in career mode; I’d rather have more packs and players to upgrade my team.

To compound the issue, the season pass has also been gutted to make room for a premium version that requires real money to purchase. This always feels like an egregious practice outside of free-to-play games, but especially when the series has featured a free season pass for the previous few years. It’s commendable that EA wants to slow down the power curve, but it remains to be seen how effective this will be, given that people willing to spend real money can earn more rewards from the season pass and purchase numerous packs in the in-game store.

This is one of the legacy issues that will, unfortunately, never go away, simply because it makes money. Others, such as inconsistent tackling, inaccurate passing, and a stale career mode, have thankfully been addressed in positive ways. The Competitive preset still favors the attacking team a little too much, and in an attempt to appease every type of football fan, EA Sports FC 26 misses the target. It’s close, though. There are flaws on and off the pitch, yet this is the best the series has been for a short while. It might not walk away with a trophy this year, but it’s getting closer to glory.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Asus TUF Gaming F16
Product Reviews

Asus TUF Gaming F16 review: Strong gaming performance offset by skimpy SSD, short battery life

by admin



Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware


Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

If you’re looking to enjoy some 1080p gaming without shelling out a lot of money, we had the chance to review the new Asus TUF Gaming F16 gaming laptop. It uses Nvidia’s entry-level RTX 5050 GPU with an added twist. While some laptops have opted for a higher-tier RTX 5060 with lower TDPs, the TUF Gaming F16 is packing a potent 115-watt RTX 5050 that helps to level the playing field for gaming.

The TUF Gaming F16 is an imposing laptop thanks to its 16-inch frame, and it manages to incorporate a generous assortment of ports, an RGB keyboard, a numberpad, and a 165 Hz IPS display. Given its as-tested MSRP of $1,199, the TUF Gaming F16 offers strong performance, but that comes with a couple of caveats.

Design of the Asus TUF Gaming F16

One word can be used to describe the TUF Gaming F16’s design: understated. While the TUF Gaming F16 is first and foremost a gaming machine, it features a clean exterior, finished in black and light grey. The aluminum lid is minimalistic, with just the letters “TUF” and the accompanying logo embossed in the top corner.

There are some interesting touches, including the rear exhaust panel with triangle- and rhombus-shaped cutouts. There’s also a nifty four-leaf status LED at the top of the rear deck (behind the display) – it blinks to signify power status, drive access, etc.

Image 1 of 7

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

There are two USB Type-A ports on the right side of the chassis. You’ll find another USB-A port, two USB Type-C ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, an HDMI port, a GbE port, and a proprietary power receptacle on the left side.

The laptop has a nice, solid feel. The plastic used throughout the chassis is of high quality, and the aluminum lid is a nice touch, especially at this price.

The laptop measures 10.59 x 3.94 x 1.07 inches and weighs 4.95 pounds. For comparison, the Acer Nitro V 16S AI measures 14.08 x 10.39 x 0.79 inches and weighs 5.5 pounds, while the Alienware 16 Aurora is 14.05 x 10.45 x 0.89 inches and weighs 5.64 pounds.

Asus TUF Gaming F16 Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally

CPU

Intel Core i7-14650HX

Graphics

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 Laptop GPU (8GB GDDR7, 2,092 MHz max boost clock, 115W max graphics power)

Memory

16GB DDR5-5600 (2x 8GB)

Storage

512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

Display

16-inch, 1920 x 1200, IPS, 16:10, 165 Hz,

Networking

Realtek RTL8852CE Wi-Fi 6E (MT7925), Bluetooth 5.3

Ports

2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, HDMI 2.1, 3.5 mm audio jack, Gigabit Ethernet

Camera

1080p

Battery

90 WHr

Power Adapter

280 W

Operating System

Windows 11 Home

Dimensions (WxDxH)

10.59 x 3.94 x 1.07 inches

Weight

4.85 pounds

Price (as configured)

$1,199.99

Gaming Performance on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Our TUF Gaming F16 review unit features an Intel Core i7-14650HX processor, 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory, and a GeForce RTX 5050 GPU with 8GB of GDDR7 memory. The TUF Gaming F16’s RTX 5060 pushes pixels to a 16-inch, 1920 x 1200 display with a 165 Hz refresh rate.

When testing new gaming laptops, I like to break out Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to get a feel for how the system will perform. At the native 1200p resolution with the Ultra preset, I averaged around 90 frames per second (FPS) through most scenes in the game. Heavy action on-screen caused the frame rates to dip to the 70 FPS range, but the play experience was generally excellent.

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Price (as-tested)

CPU

GPU

Display

Memory

Storage

Battery

Weight

Ethernet

Wireless

Asus TUF Gaming F16

$1,199

Intel Core i7-14650HX

GeForce RTX 5050

16-inch, 1920 x 1200

16GB DDR5-5600

512GB

90 WHr

4.85 lbs

1 GbE

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Acer Nitro V 16S AI

$1,299

AMD Ryzen 7 260

GeForce RTX 5060

16-inch, 1920 x 1200

32GB DDR5-5600

1TB

76 WHr

4.55 lbs

1 GbE

Wi-Fi 6E

Alienware 16 Aurora

$1,499

Intel Core i7-240H

GeForce RTX 5060

16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 120 Hz

32GB DDR5-5600

1TB

96 WHr

5.64 lbs

1 GbE

Wi-Fi 7

Before I delve into our usual gaming benchmark suite, it’s worth noting that the RTX 5050 in the TUF Gaming F16 has a maximum total graphics power (TGP) of 115 watts. For comparison, the RTX 5060 in the Nitro V 16S AI has a TGP of just 85 watts, while the 16 Aurora’s RTX 5060 has an 80-watt TGP. The advantage in available TGP plays highly in the TUF Gaming F16’s favor in gaming benchmarks, even though the RTX 5060 used in the two competing laptops is technically a more powerful chip.

Taking a look at Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Highest settings), the TUF Gaming F16 delivered 95 FPS at 1080p and 90 FPS at 1200p. Those numbers weren’t too far off the pace of the Nitro V 16S AI, which hit 98 FPS at 1080p and 91 FPS at 1200p. The 16 Aurora was one frame per second faster at 1080p.

Image 1 of 5

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

When shifting over to Cyberpunk 2077 (Medium settings), our TUF Gaming F16 review unit managed 30 FPS at 1080p, equaling the performance of the 16 Aurora. The Nitro V 16S AI achieved 32 FPS at 1080p and 27 FPS at 1200p, which was actually just behind the TUF Gaming F16.

Far Cry 6 (Ultra settings) saw the TUF Gaming F16 push its way to the front of the pack, with 90 FPS at 1080p and 86 FPS at 1200p — the Nitro V 16S AI well behind, at 82 FPS and 79 FPS, respectively. The 16 Aurora pulled up the rear (not by much), with 81 FPS at 1080p.

It was another three-way race in Red Dead Redemption 2 (Medium settings), with our review unit easily keeping up with the other two competitors. The TUF Gaming F16 and Nitro V 16S AI scored identically, with 68 FPS at 1080p and 64 FPS at 1200p.

Finally, the Borderlands 3 benchmark (Badass settings), saw the TUF Gaming F16 hit 81 FPS at 1080p and 75 FPS at 1200p, compared to 82 FPS and 81 FPS, respectively, for the Nitro V 16S AI. The 16 Aurora was the leader at 1080p with 83 FPS.

The overall sentiment here is that despite being a lower-level SKU in the RTX 50 Series, Asus’ implementation of the RTX 5050 with a 115W TGP and a 2,092 MHz max boost clock allows it to remain competitive with the TGP-capped RTX 5060 competition.

Metro Exodus remains our go-to benchmark for gaming laptop stress testing. Our review unit averaged 65.62 FPS at 1080p across 15 loops using the RTX benchmark preset. The CPU performance cores averaged 3.0 GHz, and the efficiency cores averaged 2.53 GHz. The RTX 5060 GPU also ran at 2.53 GHz.

Productivity Performance on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Our review unit has a Core i7-14650HX “Raptor Lake” processor, which has 8 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores. That processor is paired with just 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory, instead of the 32GB found on the competing laptops (while the Aurora was far more expensive as tested, the Acer was $100 more). SSD storage is also a bit on the stingy side at 512GB, which doesn’t leave a lot of space for games after you take into account the standard Windows 11 Home install.

The TUF Gaming F16 started strong in the Geekbench 6 synthetic CPU benchmark, achieving a single-core score of 2,710 and a multi-core score of 15,013. That performance put it slightly ahead of the Acer (Ryzen 7 260) and Alienware (Core i7-240H) contenders in single-core, with a healthier margin of victory for multi-core.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Things turned ugly in our file transfer test, which involves copying 25GB of mixed media files. Asus is using a 512GB Micron 2500 Series PCIe 4.0 SSD, rated for 6,600 MBps sequential reads and 3,650 MBps sequential writes. In our test, the SSD only managed 775.5 MBps compared to 1,170.12 MB/s for the 16 Aurora. The Nitro V 16S AI left our review unit in the dust, more than doubling its results (1,838.88 MBps). Going with a 512GB SSD was already painful, but the lagging performance just adds insult to injury. In the real world, I noticed some sluggishness when installing games onto the SSD.

Our Handbrake benchmark involves transcoding a 4K video file to 1080p. The TUF Gaming F16 completed the task in 3 minutes and 33 seconds, easily dispatching the other two systems. The Nitro V 16S AI took nearly a minute longer to complete the transcode (4 minutes and 32 seconds).

Display on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Like many mainstream gaming laptops, Asus has adopted a 16:10 aspect ratio for the TUF Gaming F16’s display, meaning that you get a 1920 x 1200 resolution. An IPS panel is employed here, accompanied by a relatively brisk 165 Hz refresh rate. An anti-reflective layer is used on the display.

Compared to the Nitro V 16S AI and 16 Aurora, the TUF Gaming F16 comes up short in overall panel brightness — at least on paper. We measured 298.4 nits compared to 312.2 for the 16 Aurora and 391.8 nits for the Nitro V 16S AI. However, in the real world, I never felt wanting for additional brightnessin an indoor setting. The screen did wash out a little when using the laptop outside on a partly cloudy day, but it was still usable without straining with the brightness maxed out.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Testing with our colorimeter showed that the TUF Gaming F16’s panel outperformed its peers, capturing 86.8 percent of the DCI-P3 and 122.2 percent of the sRGB color spaces. In practice, there was little to complain about with respect to how colors were represented on the display. The anti-reflective coating might blunt colors just a tad compared to a glossy finish, but everything that I threw at the TUF Gaming F16 looked great. I spent a few hours toiling around in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and came away impressed with how gorgeous the varying environments were.

I also watched a few episodes of my new favorite TV show, The Pitt, on the display. Unlike some previous medical dramas, which lean heavily on unrealistic darkened set design to create a certain mood, The Pitt is bathed in the stark bright lights of a typical hospital. There’s nowhere to hide under these illuminating conditions. From the various colors of the scrubs worn by nurses, interns, and doctors, to their lifelike gushes of blood (and other bodily fluids) that shoot across the screen, I felt fully immersed in the frantic emergency room environment.

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

The TUF Gaming F16 uses a full-size keyboard plus a dedicated numberpad. The keys have 1.7 mm of travel and are adequately spaced to occupy as much of the width afforded by the 16-inch frame as possible. While the majority of the keys feature black keycaps, the WASD keys are clear, which allows more of the RGB coloring to shine through when enabled.

Speaking of RGB, the TUF Gaming F16 uses a single-zone RGB setup (compared to four zones for the Acer) that can be configured with the Armory Crate app. You can also quickly change Aura Effects using the Fn + F4 key combination.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

In addition to the standard assortment of keyboard keys, there are also four dedicated keys on the top row of the deck. You’ll find volume up/down, microphone, and Armoy Crate keys.

Using the keyhero.com typing test, I averaged 90.87 words per minute with 96.43 percent accuracy using the keyboard, which is slightly above my typical typing performance.

Our review unit features a large 5.1 x 3.3-inch touchpad that allows my fingers to glide over the surface easily. The surface also provides a satisfying click.

Audio on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

The TUF Gaming F16 only comes with two speakers, but they are punching well above their weight when it comes to performance. The speakers are loud, clear, and equally adept at producing remarkable sound in games, movies, TV shows, and music.

Playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, I could hear the distinct sounds of boots hitting metal ladders as I climbed them, the audible grunts pulling myself up to a platform, the “glug glug” of pouring a bottle of wine, and the crack of Indy’s iconic whip. Of course, this was with the volume raised to about 30% to overpower the laptop’s twin cooling fans.

I also took the time to slink into the melodic tranquility of “Mujahedin and Opium,” a John Barry track from the James Bond film, The Living Daylights. The song is a perfect mix of percussion, strings, and soaring brass that gives it a majestic quality (and is probably one of my favorite pieces in the lengthy catalog of James Bond soundtracks). I felt that the TUF Gaming F16 captured the raw essence of the piece, and I’m not embarrassed to admit that I might have played the song on repeat a dozen times or so.

Upgradeability of the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Eleven Phillips head screws affix the bottom panel to the TUF Gaming F16’s main chassis. Once removed, the panel easily lifts off, revealing the internal comments. Immediately visible at the bottom is the 90 WHr battery, and directly above it sit the two 8GB DDR5-5600 modules.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

To the right of the DDR5 modules is the first M.2 bay, which is occupied by the 512GB Micron 2500 Series SSD. If you switch your attention to the left side of the mainboard, you’ll find the Realtek Wi-Fi 6E/Bluetooth combo card and the second M.2 slot, which is unused.The second M.2 slot and the replaceable RAM allow people to fix my qualms with part selection, assuming they’re willing to open the system up themselves.

Battery Life on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Although the TUF Gaming F16 uses a rather large 90 WHr battery, it didn’t fare as well as the assembled competition in endurance testing. Our battery test consists of web browsing, video streaming over Wi-Fi, and conducting OpenGL tests with the screen brightness set at 150 nits. With its Raptor Lake processor built on a legacy Intel 7 (10-nanometer) process node, our review unit lasted just 6 hours and 57 minutes. For comparison, the 16 Aurora lasted 9 hours and 41 minutes, while the Nitro V 16S AI lasted another 30 minutes.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Keep in mind that our battery benchmark does not take into account gaming, so the 115-watt RTX 5050 will likely fare worse than the 80- to 85-watt RTX 5060s used in the other two laptops.

Heat on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Asus uses a twin-fan cooling system on the TUF Gaming F16, and the setup does help to keep system temperatures in check. You can definitely hear the fans spin up when gaming, although the sound output is about typical for this class. The fan noise can get grating after a while, but cranking up the speakers to a moderate level drowns out the calamity. The best option is to choose from one of the best gaming headsets.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

During our stress test, we measured skin temperatures of 88 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad and 96 F between the G and H keys. The underside of the chassis came in at 97.5 degrees, while we saw upwards of 112 F above the F7 key.

During the Metro Exodus stress test, the CPU package measured 79 degrees Celsius (C). Meanwhile, the RTX 5060 ran at an average of 2.53 GHz at 80 C.

Webcam on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Unlike some of the more recent mainstream gaming laptops we’ve reviewed that cram in lower-resolution 720p webcams, the TUF Gaming F16 thankfully opts for a 1080p unit. However, the results weren’t as promising as I would have hoped. While the overall resolution seemed slightly better than the 720p webcams I’ve recently encountered, the colors were somewhat washed out and not as well saturated. My skin typically appears brown in webcams, but it looks a bit greyer on the TUF Gaming F16.

Overall, the webcam was just adequate, and I wouldn’t chalk it up as being anywhere near the top of its class. If you want to use it for videoconferencing for work meetings, where you’ll just appear as a tiny head in a sea of other talking heads, it’s adequate. However, opt for one of the best webcams if you need a higher-quality picture.

Software and Warranty on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

When it comes to preinstalled apps, the TUF Gaming F16 is relatively unencumbered by needless fluff. The most prominent app is Armory Crate, which is Asus’s all-in-one utility that monitors everything from CPU/Memory/GPU/Fan status to performance modes. Armory Crate is also where you’ll find controls for the Aura RGB effects on the keyboard. The Game Library features can also keep track of and allow you to set performance profiles on a per-game basis.

Other installed apps include MyAsus, which has system diagnostics capabilities, can assist with system updates, and allows you to get in contact with Asus customer support. There’s also the CapCut video editor, Dolby Access for switching audio profiles, and GlideX, which allows you to share screen access across multiple devices (i.e., a laptop, smartphone, and tablet).

The TUF Gaming F16 comes with a one-year warranty.

Asus TUF Gaming F16 Configurations

Our review unit is the TUF Gaming F16 (FX608J), which features a Core i7-14650HX processor, 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory, a 512GB SSD, a GeForce RTX 5050 GPU, and a 16-inch 165 Hz 1200p IPS display. The laptop carries an MSRP of $1,199.99, but Newegg currently sells it for $1,109.99.

The FX608JH configuration swaps in a lower-performing Core i5-13450HX processor and only comes with 8GB of DDR5-5600 memory.

The top configuration is the FX608LP, which includes a Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, 32GB of DDR5-5600 memory, a GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, a 165 Hz 1600p display, and a 1TB SSD. It can be had for $1,579.99 at B&H Photo Video.

Bottom Line

The Asus TUF Gaming F16 is an interesting entry into the mainstream gaming laptop sector with solid pricing that appears to make it a true contender at first glance.

After all, its 115-watt RTX 5050 had no trouble keeping up with more miserly RTX 5060 GPUs in the two competing laptops in game tests. The screen is big and colorful, and the speakers are a joy to listen to.

However, things quickly fall apart when you realize that you’re only getting 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory, and your $1,200 outlay is rewarded with a skimpy 512GB SSD. To add insult to injury, storage performance lagged well behind the competition. Most laptops in this price range give you double the RAM and double the storage space. While you could upgrade this system to fix these problems, that would be easier to swallow at a $999 price point.

Battery life was also just average, with the TUF Gaming F16 lasting just under 7 hours compared to over 10 hours for the Acer Nitro V 16S AI.

In my opinion, the Nitro V 16S AI is the better overall laptop, boasting far superior battery life, comparable gaming performance, twice the storage space, and twice the RAM. It’ll cost you $100 more, but it’s well worth the extra coin.

Asus TUF Gaming F16: Price Comparison



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Decrypt logo
GameFi Guides

Dogecoin ETF Sees Strong Debut, But Rex-Osprey Is Already Plotting a Riskier DOJE Fund

by admin



In brief

  • Rex-Osprey’s DOJE ETF delivered substantial trading volume upon its debut Thursday.
  • The issuer is now seeking approval for a leveraged ETF product that grants 1-1.5x leveraged exposure to DOJE.
  • Beyond the leveraged long exposure, its objective is to send weekly distributions to holders.

Rex-Osprey’s DOJE, the first U.S. spot Dogecoin ETF, produced strong trading volumes when it hit the market on Thursday, landing in the top five for ETF rollouts so far this year. And its issuer has already filed for a riskier, leveraged play on it. 

In a filing registered with the SEC on Thursday, Rex-Osprey applied to launch the REX DOJE Growth & Income ETF, an exchange traded product that aims to offer between 105-150% exposure to the price return of DOJE on a single day.

“Because the fund seeks daily leveraged investment results, it is very different from most other exchange-traded funds,” the filing reads. “As a result, the fund may be riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage.”

The REX DOJE Growth & Income ETF portfolio will be composed of three separate components: leveraged long exposure in the underlying Dogecoin ETF (DOJE), a covered call strategy to generate income, and investment in short-term treasuries or money market funds.

Its primary objective is to pay weekly distributions, with a secondary objective of earning daily investment results between 1-1.5x the percent change of DOJE. 

The leveraged investment filing is not new to Rex-Osprey, which offers a variety of leveraged ETF plays, offering greater exposure but more risk for investors. 

Its latest prospectus makes it well known that this additional risk is not for everyone. 



“The fund is not suitable for all investors,” it reads. “The fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking targeted daily leveraged investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage, and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently.”

Because of the daily leveraged makeup, the firm also notes that beyond a single day the fund will lose if DOJE’s return is flat, and it’s also possible the Growth & Income ETF will lose even if the DOJE ETF increases over more than a day. 

Additionally, the prospectus indicates that there is no guarantee the strategy will be implemented properly, or that it will be able to pay weekly distributions.

Dogecoin (DOGE) is down 6% in the last 24 hours to $0.265. The leading meme coin has jumped more than 22% in the last month, but remains around 64% off its 2021 all-time high of $0.73.

Rex-Osprey’s standard DOJE ETF began trading on Thursday and generated about $17 million worth of trading volume, putting it in the top five for first-day volume among ETF launches this year, according to Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas.

The Rex-Osprey XRP ETF, meanwhile, also launched on Thursday and saw much stronger demand, topping this year’s list of new fund rollouts with nearly $38 million in trading volume.

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
The iPhone Air makes a strong statement
Product Reviews

The iPhone Air makes a strong statement

by admin


The iPhone Air is as much a statement as it is a phone. It says something about the person using it: that they don’t mind giving up a few things for a phone that’s meaningfully thinner and lighter.

That they can give up all those extra cameras on the back and just live with one. That they, well, went out and bought The New iPhone — one that makes everyone go “Whooooaaa” when they hold it for the first time. That’s a hell of a lot of things for a 6.5-inch slab of titanium and glass to say, but then again, the iPhone Air isn’t your average phone.

You’ve already heard this a lot, but I’ll go ahead and say it because it bears repeating: the iPhone Air is shockingly thin and light. On paper, its dimensions might not seem dramatically different from your garden-variety phone. It’s 5.64mm thick compared to the 7.95mm iPhone 17, and it weighs 12 grams less. Isn’t this a lot of fuss over a few millimeters? Maybe, but I challenge you to pick up this phone for yourself and not be at least a little surprised at how much lighter it feels in your hand. When it comes to the device that’s constantly in your hand, pocket, or bag, those millimeters make a big difference.

$999

The Good

  • Easier to carry thanks to its slim profile
  • Remarkably light and more pleasant to use for long periods of time

The Bad

  • Battery drains quicker than a standard phone
  • No ultrawide camera

But you don’t get a dramatically thinner phone without giving up a few things. And those things, boiled down to two categories, are battery life and camera versatility. Neither is a disaster. There’s enough battery power to get most people to the end of a day, and image quality from the single rear camera is good enough to satisfy someone who’s not too picky. But if you ask anyone which two things they’d most want improved on their next phone, they’d probably list those very features. Depending on the phone you’re upgrading from, this might be more of a lateral move.

For those two reasons, the iPhone Air won’t be the right device for most people considering a new iPhone. But for someone who’s not too demanding of their phone, the Air is going to feel pretty special.

That Liquid Glass look.

So we’ve established that picking up and holding the iPhone Air for the first time is pretty cool. How about after that initial reaction wears off? After using the Air for the past week, the effect has been similar to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. I got used to the lightness a day or two in, but the Air kept surprising me in little moments here and there, easily fitting into a pocket or a bag where other phones dare not go. Walking around San Francisco, I kept the Air comfortably (without a case) in my jeans’ front pocket, which is something I can usually only get away with using my iPhone 13 Mini.

My overall impression using the Air is the same as with the S25 Edge: the slim profile might be the headline attraction, but the lighter weight is the real benefit. Putting the Air in my backpack’s slimmest pockets is great; holding the phone and scrolling without having to periodically adjust my grip is awesome. And for the occasion where you might actually hold the phone to your ear and talk to someone that way, it’s just a bit more comfortable than usual. Those little moments are when you’ll really appreciate the Air’s weight as its best feature.

That’s not to say this is a small phone. Like the S25 Edge, it’s a big phone with small phone energy. It’s still a stretch getting my thumb all the way across the 6.5-inch screen. It’s a little smaller than the Edge in every dimension — just a little shorter, slimmer, and less wide. But the edges are also slightly curved compared to the flat sides on Samsung’s phone, making the Air feel a little less secure in my hand. I like the look of the Air’s frosted Ceramic Shield back, but it’s hard to get a secure grip on it. I’m not a case person, but I’d make an exception for this phone.

What’s the point of a thin phone if you’re just going to put a case on it? The weight, for starters. Apple’s own MagSafe case for the Air is so light it hardly feels any heavier than without the case. There’s the bumper case, too, which helps with the grip issue. Both cases make it a little harder to get the Air into the slim pockets it could fit into otherwise. But you don’t totally give up the benefits of a thin and light phone if you want to use it with a case.

The bumper is back, baby.

I’ve heard some concerns that the iPhone Air’s camera bar might make it feel off-balance and top-heavy, but it didn’t feel that way to me as I used it over the past week. The phone still wobbles when you set it down on a flat surface and tap the screen, which isn’t unique to the Air. The long camera bump helps mitigate this a bit, and the clear MagSafe case corrects the problem altogether. One more good reason to add a case.

The Air gets Apple’s latest chip, the A19 Pro, minus one GPU core compared to the version of the chipset in the 17 Pro. There’s no vapor chamber cooling here as there is on the Pro models this time, and you’ll feel exactly where the processor is as soon as it starts heating up. I didn’t encounter any workloads in my day-to-day that caused the Air to stutter or drop the screen brightness. A short Diablo Immortal session warmed up the phone considerably, but not enough to impact performance.

In the no-news-is-good-news department: I haven’t noticed any unusual behavior from Apple’s house-made cellular and networking chips. The C1X cellular modem is an updated version of the chip that debuted in the iPhone 16E that doesn’t offer super-fast but hard-to-find mmWave 5G, but does support the sub-6 GHz 5G I use most frequently. Between this and the N1 networking chip, I haven’t seen any red flags waving on this path Apple is taking away from its reliance on Qualcomm chips for connectivity.

The Air with MagSafe battery pack makes for a thicker phone than the 17 Pro Max.

Now for the less-good news: battery life is just okay. And honestly, that’s a pretty good outcome for the Air; the situation could have been worse. If you’re a light user and you spend most of your time on Wi-Fi, you might never have a problem with the battery.

Personally, it makes me a little too anxious to see that battery indicator drop into the 20s before dinnertime, though in fairness I was going pretty hard on the battery with around five hours of screen-on time. On a much lighter day on my home Wi-Fi, three hours of screen-on time took the battery down to around 40 percent by bedtime. I’d call that within the bounds of acceptable, if a little on the low end for a $1,000 phone.

Decent battery life after week one of using a phone doesn’t really concern me. I worry more about how that battery performance will hold up a year from now. If it’s lackluster now, it’s only going to get worse as the battery naturally degrades. Apple’s recent track record here isn’t stellar, either. That’s something to bear in mind if you’re the kind of person who wants to buy a phone once every five years and not have to think about another purchase in between.

You can buy a little peace of mind in the form of a $99 MagSafe battery pack. Its dimensions are specifically tailored to the Air’s; it doesn’t fit properly on either of the 17 Pro phones. But because the Air’s camera bar is slimmer, there’s more room on the back of the phone for the battery pack. You can put it on a 17 Pro or Pro Max, but it doesn’t align quite right and will hang off the bottom edge of the phone (though it does stay put on a Pixel 10 Pro XL). The battery is itself a lighter, slimmer version of the original MagSafe battery pack, though when you actually put it on the Air you’ll notice that you’re no longer using a super-thin, super-svelte phone. The whole thing is heavy enough that it’s unpleasant to hold and use for too long, but it’s a good enough solution if you’re out and about or want a recharge at home without being tethered to a wall outlet.

You’ll have to make do without an ultrawide.

On the subject of limitations: that camera. I mean, technically there are two of them — the 48-megapixel rear camera and a new 18-megapixel selfie camera that does some cool stuff. But there’s just one sensor and lens on that rear camera bump, even though the Galaxy S25 Edge managed to fit a second one. The single rear camera feels justifiable on the $599 iPhone 16E; on the Air it feels like a real concession.

It’s a tradeoff that a lot of people will be fine with, and the 26mm-equivalent camera includes sensor-shift stabilization to help keep shutter speeds and ISOs lower in dim light. It’s the smaller sensor used by the regular 17 rather than the larger one in the Pros, which is a difference that manifests in edge cases. With the 17 Pro you can manage a decent amount of detail from low light portraits with the 2x crop zoom; on the Air, fine detail gets smoothed away at the 2x setting. Otherwise, portrait mode photos are fine.

In addition to the 2x crop there’s also the 28mm- and 35mm-equivalent settings that use detail from a full-resolution capture to do a kind of digital zoom upscaling without looking too digital zoom-y. But more than the telephoto, I missed the ultrawide — especially in those situations where I couldn’t move back any farther. Some shots just call for the drama of a 13mm-equivalent view, you know?

The loss of the ultrawide bothers me, but the Air gains some selfie camera updates that might matter more to this phone’s target audience. The new front-facing camera on the Air and the 17 series uses a square format sensor that can rotate automatically between portrait and landscape orientations without losing a bunch of resolution in the process. You can rotate or zoom in and out manually, or let Center Stage take the wheel. It’s kind of wild to see it in action, and I think it’s something group selfie-takers will come to rely on without thinking about it.

The other cool new selfie feature is Dual Capture, which records video from the front- and rear-facing cameras at once. You’ve been able to do this in third-party camera apps, but now it’s baked right into the native camera app. The selfie capture is overlaid on the rear-camera video as a picture-in-picture window that you can move to any corner of the frame — but only as you’re recording, not after the fact. Initially I was skeptical that I’d really use this feature, but I can already think of a handful of times in the recent past that I either wish I’d had it or remembered to use it. Mostly, I’m thinking of the videos I take of my kid where I’m just a disembodied voice that he’s talking to. They’re basically the historical record of where we went and what we were doing, so it would be nice to be able to look back on some of them and see that I was actually there too.

Right at home.

There’s one more statement that the iPhone Air makes, and it comes directly from Apple. It’s a declaration of what the company can achieve now, and a hint of what’s to come. After all, if you’ve made one super-slim phone, you can just double that and add a hinge to make a folding phone, right? Even if it’s not that simple, the Air asks us to remember that there’s still innovation going on in mobile hardware, despite the last decade or so of phones looking pretty same-y.

But that’s speculation. In the here and now, I’ve been trying to suss out who exactly the Air is for. And I think this is a device that lends itself to a life of ease. It’s for someone who is unbothered by a short battery and potentially shorter battery lifespan. It’s for someone who can let go of the photos they missed because they couldn’t zoom out. For someone who fits that description, it’s a rewarding device to use. And it sure makes a statement.

Agree to continue: Apple iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we’re going to start counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.

To use any of the iPhone 17 (and iPhone Air) models, you have to agree to:

  • The iOS terms and conditions, which you can have sent to you by email
  • Apple’s warranty agreement, which you can have sent to you by email

These agreements are nonnegotiable, and you can’t use the phone at all if you don’t agree to them.

The iPhone also prompts you to set up Apple Cash and Apple Pay at setup, which further means you have to agree to:

  • The Apple Cash agreement, which specifies that services are actually provided by Green Dot Bank and Apple Payments Inc. and further consists of the following agreements:
  • The Apple Cash terms and conditions
  • The electronic communications agreement
  • The Green Dot Bank privacy policy
  • Direct payments terms and conditions
  • Direct payments privacy notice
  • Apple Payments Inc. license

If you add a credit card to Apple Pay, you have to agree to:

  • The terms from your credit card provider, which do not have an option to be emailed

Final tally: two mandatory agreements, seven optional agreements for Apple Cash, and one optional agreement for Apple Pay.

0 CommentsFollow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.

  • Close

    Allison Johnson

    Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

    PlusFollow

    See All by Allison Johnson

  • AppleClose

    Apple

    Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

    PlusFollow

    See All Apple

  • Featured VideosClose

    Featured Videos

    Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

    PlusFollow

    See All Featured Videos

  • iPhoneClose

    iPhone

    Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

    PlusFollow

    See All iPhone

  • Phone ReviewsClose

    Phone Reviews

    Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

    PlusFollow

    See All Phone Reviews

  • ReviewsClose

    Reviews

    Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

    PlusFollow

    See All Reviews

  • TechClose

    Tech

    Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

    PlusFollow

    See All Tech



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
HBAR Retreats After Strong Run Amid Late Wave of Sell Pressure
NFT Gaming

HBAR Retreats After Strong Run Amid Late Wave of Sell Pressure

by admin



HBAR saw sharp selling pressure in the final hour of trading on Sept. 16, erasing earlier gains. The token slipped from $0.237 to $0.235 between 13:15 and 14:14 UTC, a 1.05% decline, after hitting an intraday high of $0.2385. The move marked a reversal from the preceding 23-hour stretch, when HBAR had climbed steadily from $0.23 to $0.24.

The late-session selloff was accompanied by a spike in trading activity, particularly between 13:45 and 13:51 UTC, when volumes surged past 5.6 million — nearly double the baseline for the session. The pattern suggests institutional distribution, as the cryptocurrency broke through successive support levels at $0.237, $0.236, and ultimately $0.235. Failure to recover above these levels left momentum deteriorating into the close.

Despite the abrupt reversal, HBAR’s broader 23-hour performance reflected underlying resilience. The token advanced roughly 1% during that period, trading within a wide range of $0.231 to $0.239 and showing strong buying activity earlier on Sept. 16. However, the inability to sustain higher levels in the face of concentrated sell pressure underscores the fragility of recent bullish sentiment.

Technical Indicators Display Mixed Market Signals
  • HBAR navigated within a $0.01 range spanning $0.23 floor and $0.24 ceiling, delivering a 3% total fluctuation.
  • Key resistance materialized at the $0.24 threshold where price reversed on elevated volume of 72.03 million during the 13:00 hour.
  • Support established around $0.23-$0.23 zone with multiple successful defense attempts.
  • Volume intensified substantially throughout the decline, particularly during 13:45-13:51 when selling momentum accelerated with volumes surpassing 5.6 million.
  • The technical configuration indicates HBAR sustains bullish momentum with considerable institutional interest demonstrated by above-average volume during key reversal points.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Clovers' Hideki Kamiya feels "very strong responsibility" to protect workers from layoffs
Esports

Clovers’ Hideki Kamiya feels “very strong responsibility” to protect workers from layoffs

by admin


Clovers studio head and chief game designer Hideki Kamiya feels “a very strong responsibility” to protect the studio during the current climate of industry layoffs.

In a wide-ranging interview with VGC, Kamiya said the studio has a “deep commitment” to its staff and wants to prioritise taking care of them.

“That means we can’t just say, ‘oh, the project has failed and didn’t go well, goodbye everyone.’ We really have a deep commitment to keep the company going for these people, who we’re grateful to,” he said.

“Of course, I understand there are circumstances that force large companies to make layoffs, but for us, that’s a route that we don’t want to go down. We want to take care of our staff.”

VGC noted there are less stories relating to layoffs, cancelled projects, and studio closures with Japanese companies compared to the West.

“I can’t say for sure since I don’t have experience in overseas development, but I feel that Japan does have a culture of respecting creators,” said Clovers CEO and president Kento Koyama.

“In the West, I imagine there’s always a constant push and pull between marketing-driven decisions and creative decisions. For us, we feel there is a willingness to place a bit more trust in the creative side.”

Kamiya added: “What it feels like when working with Japanese publishers is that the development culture feels closer to mind, and they tend to be more understanding towards creators.”

He also shared his thoughts on the cancellation of Scalebound, an action RPG developed by PlatinumGames and published by Microsoft Studios, suggesting things may have gone differently had they worked with a Japanese publisher.

“I don’t mean that the game would necessarily have been completed and released, but I imagine the process itself would have played out differently,” he said.

“For me personally, overseas publishers seem to have a much stronger desire to see a finished product as quickly as possible. If it had been a Japanese publisher, I feel they might have given us more leeway.”

Kamiya made it clear that the “failure of Scalebound was ultimately the responsibility of PlatinumGames, myself as director included.”

This experience hasn’t dissuaded him from working with overseas publishers, however. “I feel if the opportunity ever comes again, we’ll find a way to take advantage of both sides’ strengths.”

Speaking of PlatinumGames, Kamiya said he hasn’t received “any contact from them, officially or unofficially” regarding the founding of Clovers.

As for his feelings for the studio, Kamiya said the key point is that “the mindset towards game development is different” between the two studios.”

“Not to say one is better, one is worse, one is good, one is bad – they’re just different,” he explained. “And if the company and the individual don’t have the same mindset, then no one is happy.

Kamiya and Koyama also provided insight into Clovers’ partnership with Capcom, describing it as a “really beneficial”.

“Clovers was founded with funds from Koyama and myself, and it wasn’t a very large amount,” Kaymiya said. “But after going to Capcom and getting this Okami project, it allowed us to come into this office, hire staff, and step up the way we have, so it has been extremely beneficial for us.”

He made it clear, however, that Capcom has no capital involvement in their studio.

“Our company is funded solely by our own capital […] This is our own company, so in that sense, there’s no financial connection to Capcom.

“[This] means that the possibilities are basically endless. We would be interested in working with different publishers as well, possibly through self-publishing, so that’s definitely a part of our goal and strategy.”



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
'Strong Chance' Of US Forming Strategic Bitcoin Reserve In 2025
Crypto Trends

‘Strong Chance’ Of US Forming Strategic Bitcoin Reserve In 2025

by admin



There is a high likelihood that the United States government will form the highly anticipated Strategic Bitcoin Reserve by the end of this year, says Galaxy Digital’s head of firmwide research, Alex Thorn.

However, other industry executives are less confident.

“I still think there’s a strong chance the US government will announce this year that it has formed the strategic Bitcoin reserve (SBR) and is formally holding BTC as a strategic asset,” Thorn said in an X post on Thursday.

“Market seems to be completely underpricing the likelihood of such an announcement,” Thorn added.

Several developments hint that the plan is moving forward

While US President Trump signed the executive order officially establishing the Strategic Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve and US Digital Asset Stockpile in March, a formalized strategic plan has not been confirmed yet. 

Source: Alex Thorn

However, several recent developments suggest that the plan is still progressing. On Tuesday, US lawmakers introduced a bill directing the US Treasury to examine and produce a report on the feasibility and technical considerations of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Meanwhile, on July 31, Cointelegraph reported that Trump’s crypto liaison confirmed that the administration is still keen on a strategic Bitcoin reserve, despite only briefly mentioning it in its recently published crypto policy report.

Not all crypto market participants agree it will happen so soon, however. CoinRoutes’ former chairman, Dave Weisburger, said it is more likely to happen in 2026.

Some Bitcoiners fear that the US stalling could push them behind

Weisburger added that he has “made the point many times that this administration is too smart to announce ANYTHING until AFTER they accumulate to their initial target.”

Some prominent Bitcoin advocates worry that the US could fall behind if they delay accumulating Bitcoin any further.

Related: Bitcoin reserve, stablecoin regulations big 2025 market catalysts, says VC

Jan3 founder Samson Mow told Magazine in June that the US “has to start” acquiring Bitcoin this year, or risk other countries beating them to it. “The risk is that the US is front-run by Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Kyrgyzstan, a key emerging player in Central Asia’s crypto market, advanced a bill to establish a state cryptocurrency reserve.

Meanwhile, on Aug. 6, Indonesian Bitcoin advocate group, Bitcoin Indonesia, said they recently met with Indonesian officials to discuss how the strategy could drive economic growth in the country.

Magazine: Meet the Ethereum and Polkadot co-founder who wasn’t in Time Magazine



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
XLM/USD (TradingView)
NFT Gaming

XLM Demonstrates Strong Recovery Amid Late-Session Volatility

by admin



Stellar’s XLM navigated a volatile 24-hour trading session from Sept. 11 to Sept. 12, oscillating between $0.384 and $0.400 before closing near $0.393. The token saw early strength, advancing to session highs around $0.400, but selling pressure in the final hours pushed prices back toward support levels at $0.392. Market analysts note this late-session distribution activity underscores the corrective movement that has weighed on XLM despite its otherwise resilient performance.

The pullback coincided with rising competition in the payments sector. New entrant Remittix has launched with a 15% USDT referral incentive and secured $25.2 million in funding, sharpening challenges to incumbents like Ripple’s XRP and Stellar’s XLM. The aggressive go-to-market strategy highlights intensifying rivalry in the cross-border payments arena, a sector long dominated by these two tokens.

At the same time, some technical strategists see long-term upside for XLM. Elliott Wave projections suggest the token could stage a 400% rally toward $1.96, a move that would place Stellar’s market capitalization in the $60–$71 billion range. That outlook hinges on broader adoption trends and the resilience of Stellar’s ecosystem as competition ramps up.

Adding to market intrigue, a digital asset researcher has suggested Ripple and Stellar may be collaborating on a unified global financial infrastructure that leverages Zero-Knowledge cryptographic protocols. While unconfirmed, such a move would represent a significant step in aligning blockchain networks to enhance security, privacy and interoperability across global finance.

XLM/USD (TradingView)

Technical Metrics Assessment
  • XLM established a comprehensive trading range of $0.02 representing 4% volatility spanning $0.38 to $0.40.
  • Sustained bullish momentum maintained throughout opening 17 hours with 3% advancement supported by increased volume participation.
  • Session peak of $0.40 achieved at midnight on 12 September before encountering technical resistance.
  • Support foundation established around $0.39 threshold containing the pullback during closing seven hours.
  • Final 60 minutes demonstrated bearish pressure with decline from $0.39 to $0.39 confirming broader corrective trend.
  • Intraday summit of $0.39 at 11:24 before sharp reversal at $0.39 resistance threshold.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Ethereum price reclaims $4,500 amid strong exchange outflows
NFT Gaming

Ethereum price reclaims $4,500 amid strong exchange outflows

by admin


Ethereum has reclaimed the $4,500 level as institutional demand and steady accumulation reinforce confidence in its long-term outlook.

Summary

  • Ethereum trades at $4,518, up 2.5% on the day but still 8.6% below its August 24 all-time high.
  • On-chain data shows 1.7M ETH was accumulated in the $4,300–$4,400 range, led by Binance outflows.
  • Futures open interest hit record highs on CME, reflecting growing institutional participation.

Ethereum (ETH) rose back above $4,500 on Sept. 12, trading at $4,518 at press time, up 2.5% in the past 24 hours. 

The second-largest cryptocurrency is currently only 8.6% below its peak of $4,946 on Aug. 24. Although ETH has increased 4.4% in the last week, it has still dropped 2.8% over the previous month.

Trading volume for Ethereum reached $36.38 billion in the past 24 hours, down slightly by 0.30%. According to Coinglass data, derivatives volume increased 5.7% to $97.32B, while open interest climbed 2.64% to $61.72B, showing fresh positioning in the futures market.

ETH accumulation builds around $4,300–$4,400

In a Sept. 11 post on CryptoQuant, contributor Crazzyblockk noted that buyers have been steadily accumulating ETH in the $4,300–$4,400 range, with nearly 1.7 million ETH added to long-term wallets. He cited Binance as being crucial because it handled the most outflows during this accumulation phase.

While ETH deposits into Binance started from levels close to $3,150, the average cost basis for these withdrawals is approximately $4,300, indicating that long-term holders are shifting their positions as new demand increases.

Institutions drive ETH futures demand

PelinayPA, another CryptoQuant contributor, noted that open interest in CME futures has increased to all-time highs, especially for short-term contracts with maturities of 1-3 months. Longer-dated contracts are also seeing growth.

She likened the structure to previous Ethereum cycles, in which open interest was low during the 2021–2022 bull market, crashed during the 2022 bear market, and then steadily recovered from 2023–2024.

Strong institutional participation is evident in the current market, she said, with high open interest fueling both upward momentum and the possibility of more severe corrections during expiries. According to PelinayPA, if leverage does not unwind too quickly, ETH may test the $6,800 resistance by year’s end.

Ethereum price technical analysis

Price action supports a constructive outlook. ETH is still trading above its 20-day moving average, which is near $4,406, while the upper Bollinger Band at $4,654 is acting as resistance.  The relative strength index is at 58 and indicating steady demand without approaching overbought territory.

Ethereun daily chart. Credit: crypto.news

Momentum has turned positive. However, conflicting signals from oscillators and the MACD imply that short-term pullbacks are still feasible. Traders might target the $4,900–$5,000 range if the price maintains a breakout above $4,654. If it fails to hold above $4,158, ETH may be vulnerable to a decline toward the $4,000 mark.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Close