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Its January and for many of us in the northern hemisphere, that means staying inside to escape the cold. To help you while away the hours, Xbox is adding another dozen-plus titles to Game Pass over the next couple of weeks. Lets jam through them in chronological order of introduction to the service, starting with Lonely Mountain: Snow Riders (cloud, PC and Xbox Series X/S via Game Pass Ultimate and PC). This multiplayer skiing game is a day one addition to Game Pass. A whole heap of games are coming to the service on Wednesday. Flock (console via Game Pass Standard) is another multiplayer game but this ones a co-op adventure that sees you collecting adorable critters with your buds. Gigantic: Rampage Edition (cloud, console and PC via Game Pass Ultimate PC and Standard) is a MOBA that I enjoyed my time with. Its a revival of a game that was previously shut down but this time there are no microtransactions. One of last years more intriguing games, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, also joins the Game Pass Standard lineup on console on Wednesday, along with pixel art platformer Magical Delicacy. In addition, Game Pass Standard members will be able to check out the absolutely wonderful open-world adventure Tchia on Xbox Series X/S. That was my second-favorite game of 2023. Eagle-eyed detectives out there may enjoy the acclaimed The Case of the Golden Idol, which will be on Game Pass Standard on console as of January 22. It wasnt for me, but it might be for you! Tomorrows final Game Pass addition is for the Ultimate and Standard tiers. The intergalactic sandbox Starbound will be available on cloud and console (it was already on PC Game Pass). January 28 sees the introduction of another couple of day one games. Theres been some buzz about action RPG Eternal Strands and you can find out what thats all about on cloud, console and PC via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap will debut on the same variants of Game Pass, but not Xbox One, just Series X/S. On January 29, puzzle platformer Shady Part Of Me will hit cloud, PC and console across all three Game Pass variants. The following day, Sniper Elite: Resistance will join the Ultimate and PC flavors of Game Pass as a day one newcomer. Theres yet another day one introduction to Game Pass this month in the form of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector (cloud, PC and Xbox Series X/S on Ultimate and PC Game Pass). This is a highly anticipated follow-up to a well-reviewed RPG from 2022. If you havent played the original yet and youre a multi-platform gamer, good news! Citizen Sleeper hits the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for Extra and Premium subscribers today. Moving into February, Xbox has announced another Game Pass addition for that month. February 4 brings Far Cry New Dawn to cloud, console and PC by way of all three Game Pass offerings. Last but not least, Xbox has revealed which titles are leaving Game Pass on January 31 across cloud, console and PC. They are Anuchard, Broforce Forever, Darkest Dungeon, Deaths Door, Maquette and Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem. On top of all of that, Xbox is hosting a Developer Direct showcase this Thursday with fresh looks at Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and a mystery game. You never know, perhaps one of those will suddenly hit Game Pass as a surprise day one release this week too.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/januarys-xbox-game-pass-additions-include-sniper-elite-resistance-and-tchia-160856192.html?src=rss
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There are a lot of factors to consider when shopping for wireless earbuds. Some people want the best active noise cancellation (ANC) performance while others are more interested in features that enable all-day wearing. Some folks desire a seamless interaction with their phone and some are searching for the absolute best sound quality. If you fall into that last category, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 ($399) is worth considering. The company has consistently produced some of the best audio performance youll find in over-ear headphones. But its wireless earbuds werent quite on the same level. They delivered great clarity and ample consideration of subtle details in songs. Still, though, there was work to be done to construct a fuller, more immersive soundstage. With the Pi8, the company has overhauled its sound platform, adding new, larger drivers for even more nuance and enhanced low-end tone. Unfortunately, though, there are still some areas where Bowers & Wilkins needs to improve in order to truly rival the best. Whats good about the Pi8? Bowers & Wilkins introduced an all-new design on the Pi8, offering a completely different shape than the Pi7 S2. This model has a more uniform, oval shell, which I think lends a refined look compared to its predecessor. The company also chose to use interesting details, like a microphone grill that spans the width of the earbuds, to hide components that have historically been prominently displayed. Yes, that outer area still accepts taps and long presses for calls and audio playback, and those actions garner quick responses. The biggest update to the Pi8 is sound quality. Larger 12mm carbon cone drivers power the audio, which is a change from the 9.2mm dynamic drivers inside the Pi7 S2. Bowers & Wilkins also opted for 32-bit digital signal processing (DSP), up from 24-bit on the previous model. These earbuds also support aptX Lossless, while the earlier version used aptX Adaptive. The company says all of these changes, particularly the new drivers, reduce distortion and offer better high-frequency detail. I found these claims to hold true. The Pi8 has enhanced detail compared to the Pi7 S2, which is a feat because those earbuds already offered excellent clarity. Instruments like guitars stand out on albums like mewithoutYous emo/post-hardcore Catch for Us the Foxes. On that record, the two guitars have a dialog or interplay going on during most of the songs, and you can clearly hear both playing their parts. The guitars also seem to float above the booming kick drum and grooving, droning bass lines. Aaron Weiss mostly spoken-word vocals also cut through the mix with all the emotion and metaphor he loads them with. Billy Steele for Engadget Bass performance has also improved on the Pi8. Its never overpowering, but you get chunky kick drum sounds for rock and metal that drive the songs rather than drowning everything else out. No Cures thrashing metal album I Hope I Die Here is an excellent example of this. Drums are there to guide the thick guitar riffs through the heavy breakouts and groovier verses, but everything remains nuanced and distinct. Despite the vocals being entirely screamed, you can easily pick out every word instead of them fading into the mix. Bowers & Wilkins extended the battery life on the Pi8 to 6.5 hours with ANC on. Thats 90 minutes longer than the Pi7 S2. That figure also inches closer to the likes of Sonys WF-1000XM5 which stands at eight hours of noise-canceling listening. Bowers & Wilkins has once again included wireless transmission in the charging case, allowing you to use the Pi8 at times when a Bluetooth streaming source isnt an option like in-flight entertainment. This tool isnt novel to the companys products as others, like JBL, have baked it in as well. However, wireless transmission still isnt so common that Id say its readily available elsewhere. Whats not so good about the Pi8? The biggest downside to the Pi8 is the price: $399. Sonys WF-1000XM5 were $300 at launch, although theyre usually available for around $200, and theyve been at the top of our best earbuds list since then. Bowers & Wilkins gear has always commanded a premium over Sony and others, and thats exactly whats happening here. While the Pi8 does have more nuanced and detailed sound than the M5s, Sony and others offer advanced features that make your life easier. For example, Sonys flagship model can automatically pause audio when it detects that youre speaking. It can also automatically adjust sound settings based on your location to help streamline your day. These types of tools could go a long way to expanding the range of the Pi8. The basics are all well covered on Bowers & Wilkins latest set, but theres nothing additional here feature-wise, which makes its cost become a significant disadvantage. Billy Steele for Engadget This extends to the limited customization on the Pi8. There is a 5-band EQ in the cmpanys app for fine-tuning the sound profile, and you can change what a long press does. However, you can only select between ANC/ambient sound (left) and voice assistant (right) or volume controls (up on the right, down on the left). Having to forgo the ability to cycle between noise cancellation and transparency mode in order to get on-board volume adjustments is a significant sacrifice. Both of those actions are frequently used, and it would be nice to not reach for my phone to do them both. Active noise cancellation is another area the Pi8 lags behind its rivals. Id describe it more as noise reduction, since the technology here struggles with constant distractions like fans and white noise machines. Like a lot of earbuds, this model also has issues with human voices, but those are less of a concern at around 50 percent volume. ANC performance was just okay on the Pi7 S2 as well, so its still an area the company could improve to further close the gap to the likes of Bose. The final verdict on the Pi8 Bowers & Wilkins continues to impress me with the sound quality it produces. The companys Px7 S2e headphones are my pick for best overall sound quality and Ill likely bestow the same honor for earbuds to the Pi8. Simply put, few companies are creating sound profiles with the amount of detail, nuance and depth that Bowers & Wilkins consistently delivers. Audio performance is definitely the main reason to consider buying these earbuds. But there are other very important things that ANC earbuds need to do. You should be able to count on them to block a lot of noise, and the Pi8 isnt great at that. I think advanced features like speech detection, adaptive noise control and other automated tools are important as we head into 2025 as well. Add the ability to customize controls and settings to a high degree to that list too. Those are missing on the Pi8, and I can appreciate that some people probably wont care. But in my opinion, $400 earbuds should be all-inclusive and nearly flawless. The Pi8 shows this company is well on its way, but also that it still has work to do.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/bowers--wilkins-pi8-review-excellent-sound-comes-at-a-high-price-160032718.html?src=rss
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Accounts Center is a single space allowing users to manage their Facebook, Instagram and (even) Meta Quest log-ins. Today, Meta has announced that WhatsApp is joining the list of supported apps, enabling you to reshare statuses and posts across all of your platforms. In addition, you can use single sign-on to log back into your WhatsApp account. Meta has announced the change today, but it will take time before WhatsApp support is added to everyones Accounts Center, so patience may be required. In addition, Meta has pledged to add more features that can be shared across multiple platforms, like AI stickers, avatars and its AI-crafted selfie creations. Those worried about whether this may affect WhatsApps end-to-end encryption may rest easy, as Meta has said none of these changes will impact your messages privacy and security. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-lets-users-add-whatsapp-to-their-main-accounts-center-150023247.html?src=rss
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