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🍎 iPhone 16e is essentially the 4th gen iPhone SE with big changes
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🧠 At $599, it’s the cheapest way to get Apple Intelligence on an iPhone
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📺 6.1-inch all-screen OLED finally ditches the home button
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🤳 12MP TrueDepth camera with Face ID on the front
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📸 48MP 2-in-1 camera with 2x cropped zoom on back
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⚙️ Apple’s powerful A18 chipset and C1, its first cellular modem
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⚡ Wireless charging, but like the SE, continues to lack MagSafe
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🎨 Two iPhone 16e colors: black and white
Max and I tackled iPhone 16e news on The Shortcut over the last 24 hours first for paid subscribers, and we’ll go hands-on with Apple’s new iPhone as soon as it launches Friday, February 28.
📱 What is it? An overhaul of the iPhone SE series, finally ditching the home button in favor of Apple’s 12MP TrueDepth front camera with Face ID. During winter time in NYC, my glove-wearing self appreciates that upgrade.
🆚 Our iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16 buying guide notes that the 16e is $200 cheaper than the iPhone 16 and, interestingly, touts the first Apple-designed cellular modem, the Apple C1. It’s one reason Apple can claim stellar battery life on the 16e.
🔜 Review soon: Of course, The Shortcut will judge all that more in our forthcoming iPhone 16e review next week. Pre-orders start at 8am ET/5am PT this Friday.
The Shortcut’s Kevin Lee now has three reviews of new Nvidia RTX GPUs, the premier gaming and AI graphics card ranging from $750 to $2,000. Nvidia’s DLSS 4 and multi-frame generation push new boundaries with 4K 240fps and 8K 120fps.
📊 Benchmarks: Substack has enabled us to create fancy tables & graphs, so you’ll know about the power of each RTX GPU before spending up to $2,000.
🚨 Restock alerts. These graphics cards are seriously impressive – and, equally, seriously tough to find in stock. That’s where I come into play with my X alerts.
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✅ 🎮 Fantastic for 4K 60fps ultra setting gaming without DLSS or MFG
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✅ 🏃♂️ Only 5-10fps behind the Nvidia RTX 5080 in some games
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✅ 🧑🤝🧑 Multiframe Generation has improved with higher fps and fewer artifacts
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❌ 🫰 Good luck finding it at its starting $749 price
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❌ 📏 Physically huge for a mid-range graphics card
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❌ 🔌 Requires a 12-pin PCIe power adapter
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✅👯♂️ Multi-frame generation is a true revelation that makes 200, 300, and even 400 fps gaming possible at 4K
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✅ ⚡️ Finally a GPU fast enough for 4K 240fps and possibly 8K 120fps displays
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✅ 📐 New DLSS 4 transformer model improves lighting, scaling, and motion
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✅ 🤏 Smaller, two-slot design makes this GPU a better fit for more PC builds
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❌🤑 $2,000 price tag will be a steep investment for most people
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❌🪭 Double flow-through design doesn’t work for vertical GPUs or dual-chamber cases
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❌👾 Multi-frame generation can introduce large blotches of artifacts
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✅ 🎮 Drives 4K 60fps for most games
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✅ 📺 Multi-Frame Generation pushes 4K 120fps & higher on gaming displays
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✅ 🖼️ DLSS 4 Transformer Model improves super-resolution textures & lighting
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✅ 🫰 No price increase over the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super
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❌ 🔌 Higher energy draw than the RTX 4080
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❌ 👾 MFG can produce some noticeable stuttering
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❌ ⏸️ Moderate to small performance increase over the Nvidia RTX 4080
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🎮 Former PlayStation boss made a bold PS6 prediction
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📆 Shuhei Yoshida believes the next-gen console will release in 2028
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👀 He says 2027 feels too early and we’ll also see the new Xbox in 2028
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👴 PS5 would be 8 years old if the PS6 were released in 2028
We’ve seen the PS6 release date speculated for 2027 (by TV manufacturers last year) and 2028 (by the former PlayStation boss this week). Either way, Sony hopes that current PS5 owners will buy a PS5 Pro in the meantime, and it may have that rumored PSP 2 handheld to tide everyone over until 2028.
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📎 Humane’s AI Pin will no longer work at the end of the month
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🪦 Calling, messaging, AI queries and cloud access will all end
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🧱 It makes the wearable AI device a $700 brick
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😡 Refunds are only available to those who purchased the AI Pin on or after November 15, 2024
The Humane AI Pin was one of two high-profile devices that promised to revolutionize how we interact with the world using artificial intelligence. Led by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, Humane launched its AI wearable to rather scathing reviews.
However, unlike the Rabbit R1, which also launched to harsh reviews but continues to receive updates today, anyone who paid $700 for the Humane AI Pin will have nothing but an expensive memento by the end of this month.
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✅ 💰 A value: $329 for a titanium Ultra-rivaling smartwatch
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✅ ⌚ Stylish circular design with a big, bright 1.5-inch display
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✅ 🔋 Astounding 5-day battery life in the normal smart mode
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✅ 🏃♂️ Advanced health tracking with 100+ different workouts
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✅ 👑 New rotating crown makes cycling through the UI easy
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✅ ⚡Travel-friendly charger can detach from the USB cable
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❌ 📐 Only comes in one larger size, unlike Pixel Watch 3
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❌ 📶 WiFi-only model, so no LTE or cellular version
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❌ ❤️ ECG measurements aren’t available in the US
The OnePlus Watch 3 is striking in design, battery life and overall value, making it the biggest surprise hit to launch from the ‘Never Settle’ brand since the OnePlus Open. The company is on a roll in 2025, as evidenced by our equally glowing OnePlus 13 review and OnePlus 13R review.
At just $329 – and $30 cheaper on its site with promo code TIME1010 during the pre-order – the OnePlus Watch 3 steals many “Ultra” features found in its chief rivals: the pricier Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Google Pixel 3. It has 100+ workout presets and a titanium bezel around a 1.5-inch circular display (though the actual watch case is stainless steel). You won’t find many compromises on this Android Wear watch, which, unlike the OnePlus Watch 2, now has a rotating crown.
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🎧 Spotify could finally give its users Hi-Fi audio quality in 2025
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👨🎤 The rumored “Music Pro” tier is said to include the Hi-Fi feature
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💵 Pony up: better audio could cost an extra $6 per month
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🎟️ To sweeten the deal, Spotify will reportedly offer discounts on concert tickets and DJ remixing features
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🤷 It’s unclear whether the feature will actually ship, given how long it’s been
Spotify’s Hi-Fi audio support has been rumored for four straight years, and in the year 2025, it could finally happen. Spotify is currently targeting this year to release its new “Music Pro” tier, Bloomberg reports.
Music Pro would finally fulfill the company’s 2021 promise for better audio and finally catch up with Apple Music and Amazon Music in offering higher fidelity streaming. That said, some people may turn their nose at paying the rumored extra $5-$6 per month to enable high-quality streaming.
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🥇 Sci-Fi thriller Severance is now the most-viewed Apple TV+ show
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📈 It has reportedly led to a 126% increase in Apple TV+ subscribers
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⚽️ GOAL! It knocked out Ted Lasso, the previous record-holder
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🙏 Fans have had to wait three years for Severance Season 2
If you’re currently watching Severance Season 2 on Apple TV+, you’re not alone. The hit show has broken Apple TV+ records to become the platform’s number one series (overtaking Ted Lasso) based on the number of unique viewers.
Viewing numbers are expected to climb as the series progresses, with new episodes dropping each week. According to Deadline, the series has led to a 126% increase in Apple TV+ subscribers. That should please CEO Tim Cook when Apple’s booming “Services” revenue is read aloud during the company’s next earnings call.
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✅ 🔧 Smaller design and added built-in tripod
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✅ 🎯 ActiveTrack 7.0 follows well and reacquires quickly
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✅ 📲 Multifunction module adds tracking to every single app
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✅ 🔋 More than triple-sized battery
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✅ 🎙️ Added DJI mic support
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✅ 💸 $10 cheaper than the previous Osmo Mobile 6
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❌ 😵💫 Still can’t move in a full 360°
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❌ 💰 The $90 DJI Osmo Mobile 7 is a better value
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❌ 👎 ActiveTrack 7.0 still works best within the DJI Mimo app
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❌ 🎛️ Multifunction Module required ActiveTrack 7.0
Don’t buy this perfectly fine $149 DJI Osmo Mobile 7P; buy the $89 DJI Osmo Mobile 7 instead. Yes, the 7P offers 3x the battery life of DJI’s previous phone gimbal, adds a built-in tripod, and improves its ActiveTrack tech, but the cheaper OP 7 offers most of the same year-over-year improvements for a much lower price.
Both the Osmo Mobile 7P and Osmo Mobile 7 tragically still don’t support full 360° movement. But they can finally track subjects outside of DJI’s Mimo app thanks to the new Multifunction Module. It basically adds an AI tracking camera to the side of the smartphone clip.
However, it’s not nearly as smart as the $159 insta360 Flow 2 Pro, which can zoom, keep framing, and follow you in a full circle. The $149 DJI OP Mobile 7P seems more attractively priced than the $159 insta360 Flow 2 Pro, but for $10 more, DJI’s biggest rival has a much smarter gimbal, especially for iPhone users.
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🤖 Microsoft has revealed a new generative AI model for Xbox
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🗡️ Muse was trained using Ninja Theory’s battle game, Bleeding Edge
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🙌 Muse could take older back catalog games and optimize them for any device
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📆 Microsoft has said it will share more details about AI this year
Microsoft’s new generative AI model, Muse, could have big implications for backward compatibility and the preservation of older games.
The AI technology was trained on Ninja Theory’s multiplayer battle arena game, Bleeding Edge, and will allow game creators to develop a real-time playable AI model and create new gameplay experiences during the creative process.
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⏰ Alarmo is no longer exclusive to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers
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💰 The $99.99 Nintendo-themed alarm clock is now on general sale
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📆 The device was first released in October 2024 to paid members
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🫨 Alarmo touts a motion sensor to prevent you from oversleeping
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🎵 Pleasantly wake up to iconic Nintendo music tracks
Alarmo is now on general sale after previously being exclusive to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. The sound alarm clock, as Nintendo calls it, costs $99.99 and lets you wake up to iconic tracks from several Nintendo Switch games.
Alarmo isn’t an ordinary alarm clock. It has fun tech, like a motion sensor that detects whether you’ve gotten up or are still snoozing. However, it’s primarily designed for solo sleepers, so bear that in mind before you rush out and buy one.
