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Samsung is changing its revenue-sharing policy and reducing its cut for certain apps so that developers and publishers can get more money from sales. As part of its announcements ahead of this year's upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC), the company said that it's implementing an 80/20 revenue share model for games on the Galaxy Store. Previously, Samsung had a 70/30 sharing model, wherein it took 30 percent of an app's revenue. The new model also applies to games built on the company's cloud gaming platform, which allows players to stream games without downloading them. By adopting the new model, Samsung is undercutting Google, which implements a 70/30 split. However, it's worth noting that Google only takes a 15 percent cut for the first $1 million dollars in revenue that the developer earns each year. The company will only take a 30 percent cut for earnings in excess of $1 million. Google also takes 15 percent for automatically renewing subscription purchases. Samsung's Galaxy Store is nowhere near as big Google's Play Store, but it still comes pre-installed on Samsung phones and could still be used to purchase games by millions of users around the world. An 80/20 structure would still benefit a developer even if they mainly get their business from the Play Store on Android devices. The new revenue-sharing model will take effect on May 15, 2025.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/samsung-will-cut-its-galaxy-store-commission-to-8020-for-games-130008053.html?src=rss
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The Mac Studio is Apples ultimate performance computer, but this years model came with a twist: Its equipped with either an M4 Max or an M3 Ultra processor. The latter might seem like a step backward, since nearly all Macs (except the Mac Pro) are now equipped with M4 chips. However, the M3 Ultra is indeed Apples best-performing processor, which makes the new Mac Studio its fastest computer ever. While the M3 Ultra model appears highly capable for creative pros and engineers, it starts at $4,000 and goes way up from there. Im intrigued by that model based on benchmarks I saw elsewhere, of course. However, the M4 Max model I received for this review is the one that most people will want, as the base configuration is half the price. For power users doing tasks like video editing or designing games, its the Mac of choice, and its even a decent deal by Apples standards. Hardware The Mac Studios design hasnt changed since the original M1 Ultra version from 2022. That isnt a bad thing since the aesthetic has aged well and it takes up very little desk space. Its about the size of two old Mac minis (prior to the recent update that made them even smaller) stacked together and has the same polished aluminum case. Everything has a premium feel, even the environmentally friendly packaging and flexible power cable. Up front, theres an SDXC card slot that supports UHS-II speeds (300 MB/s), along with a pair of 10Gbps USB-C ports (theyre Thunderbolt 5 on the M3 Ultra version). Around back, youll find four Thunderbolt 5 ports that now offer up to 15 GB/s throughput (capital B), triple the speeds of the 2023 Mac Studio with Thunderbolt 4. You also get a 10Gbps ethernet port and two USB 3.1 (Type A) slots, along with an HDMI port and 3.5mm headphone jack. All of that is enough to connect plenty of disk drives, monitors and peripherals. Inside, the M3 Ultra version is arguably overkill with up to a 32-core CPU, eight more than the Mac Studio M2 Ultra. The GPU comes with 80 cores, another record for Apple Silicon, along with a 32-core Neural Engine for on-device AI and machine learning. Unified memory starts at 96GB and goes up to a massive 512GB (with up to 819 GB/s of bandwidth) and 16TB of SSD storage. With all those items maxed out, the Mac Studio costs a hair-raising $14,099. Steve Dent for Engadget The M4 Max model is more modest but still impressive. The top-end configuration comes with a 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU, over 546 GB/s of unified memory bandwidth and up to 8TB of storage. These specs align pretty closely with the MacBook Pro M4 Max but at a lower price, by the way. At the $1,999 base price, you get a 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU and 16-core neural engine. All M4 Max models start with a decent 36GB of unified memory, though my test unit came with the maximum 128GB in a $3,699 configuration. The processor, memory and storage arent upgradeable after purchase, so youll want to choose wisely when ordering. Thats a challenge in itself, as Apple isnt very flexible with the system configurations. For example, the base $1,999 14-core M4 Max Mac Studio can only be configured with 36GB of RAM. If you want more, you need the 16-core version which automatically bumps memory up to 48GB and adds $500 to the price. Id say the latter option is the sweet spot at $2,499, netting you the faster processor and enough unified memory for most content creation. Engineers and others looking for even more performance may want the M3 Ultra version, as it allows for up to 512GB of RAM and puts two additional Thunderbolt 5 slots up front. In-use: A rocketship for content creators Mignon Alphonso for Engadget The Mac Studio with M4 Max destroyed most synthetic benchmarks, showing the highest single-core Geekbench 6 CPU score for any PC weve tested. It falls just below the Mac Studio with M2 Ultra on the multicore Geekbench 6 test. It even beats the latest Mac Studio M3 Ultra in single-core performance, though its topped by that model in multicore tests. GPU scores are similarly impressive and the ATTO dis peak throughput is the best weve seen to date with write speeds up to 8 GB/s. However, the best way to evaluate a machine like this is to feed it some content creation jobs and see how quickly it chews through them. Video editing is the sternest test for most machines, so I tried Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve with a mix of 4K, 6K and 8K video (RAW and MP4) to challenge it. All of those files easily played through in their native formats with no hiccups on a 4K timeline, thanks to the M4 Maxs ability to decode RAW and 10-bit H.264 or H.265 files on the fly. It was still able to handle real-time playback of a single layer of 8K video with color correction added and only struggled when I tried to play two or more 8K video tracks at the same time. Overall, it provides a smooth and glitch-free editing experience that enables power users to get work done quickly. Geekbench 6 CPU Geekbench 6 GPU Cinebench 2024 Mac Studio (M4 Max, 2025) 4,090/26,394 116,028 190/2066 | GPU 16,598 Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 2023) 2,013/28,402 121,938 N/A iMac (M4, 2024) 3,751/15,093 35,520 171/881 GPU 4,425 Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) 3,925/22,456 70,197 178/1,689 GPU 9,295 Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Max, 2024) 4,054/25,913 114,112 181/2,042 GPU 16,490 Surface Laptop 7(Snapdragon X Elite, 32GB) 2,797/14,400 19,963 123/969 Encoding is equally rapid. It took me one minute and 51 seconds to output a 3.5 minute timeline in 4K with the same mix of 4K, 6K and 8K footage using the GPU. For comparisons sake, my MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro processor took over twice as long at four minutes and 10 seconds. The Mac Studio showed the same prowess with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, providing fast and fluid editing for even RAW photos that were 100MB or larger. Note that when doing GPU- or CPU-intensive tasks like video encoding, the fan will kick in and the chassis can get warm, but that didnt happen often. In any case, the Mac Studios larger size and bigger fan provides better thermal performance than the Mac mini. To test the machines AI capabilities, I ran a 75 minute podcast through Apples Whisper transcription tool and it took a minute and 32 seconds to convert it to text. The latest MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro processor took two minutes and 11 seconds for the same task, and my MacBook Pro M3 Pro did it in three minutes and thirty-seven seconds. On top of content creation, I played Baldurs Gate III, a game that puts moderate demands on a PC. The Mac Studio was up to the task, delivering smooth gameplay at high settings and 1440p resolution (though it was somewhat limited by the Studio Monitors anemic 60Hz refresh rate). I again noticed that the Mac Studio got fairly hot and the fans kicked in during gaming sessions. Still, GPU performance surpassed most PCs except those with high-end GPUs, based on a quick comparison to our recent tests and GeekBenchs database. To that end, the only thing limiting the Mac Studio as a gaming machine is the sparse choice of games for macOS. Should you buy the Mac Studio? Steve Dent for Engadget Content creators may wonder if they need to splurge on the Mac Studio, or if a Mac mini will do the job. After all, you can get the Mac mini M4 Pro with 24GB of RAM for $1,399 instead of the Mac Studio M4 Max and give up just a single Thunderbolt 5 port and 12GB of unified memory, saving $600. If you regularly edit 4K (or higher) videos or render 3D graphics (or play games), youd be better off with the Mac Studio. For less demanding jobs, a Mac mini will likely suffice. The Mac Studio M3 Ultra is another animal altogether, with the extra cores and higher memory capacity aimed at engineers or AI developers. At $4,000, it's mostly overkill for everyone else. The Mac Pro also exists, but its so expensive that its really only for studios and big companies, meaning the Mac Studio is now the high-end Mac for most professionals.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apple-mac-studio-m4-max-review-a-creative-powerhouse-123000265.html?src=rss
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I went to CES with Engadget for the first time this year and, among the robots, laptops, TVs and more robots, the most exciting products I saw were ones trying to make our homes more eco-friendly in the most low-effort ways possible. I saw an induction stove, a window-mounted heat pump, a battery back-up system and a few other promising appliances these are user installable, work with standard 120V outlets and do their part in lowering a homes carbon footprint. A couple are coming to market this year, while others are still on the road towards wide availability. When I first thought of decarbonizing my home, solar panels on the roof immediately came to mind. So I took out a loan and did exactly that. Well, I didnt do it it took many months of the solar company filing permits on my behalf and two days of skilled technicians crawling all over my roof and installing complicated-looking boxes and tubes on the side of my house to get it done. Last month, my electric bill was $6, but it wasnt a low-effort process. In contrast, these new appliances I checked out dont require calling a contractor for installation and you'll be able to get your hands on some of them later this year. Since theres no installation, people who live in apartments and condos or otherwise can't permanently install appliances where they live can use them. But these products arent cheap. The hope is, as the popularity of accessible, user-installable green tech grows, the prices go down. In the meantime, I will keep daydreaming. Amy Skorheim for Engadget The first thing to really catch my eye at CES was a plug-in backup battery from BioLite, a brand I knew from making camp stoves that can recharge your phone. The Backup by BioLite is the companys first non-outdoor item and comes in either a 1.5kWh size or a dual-unit 3kWh system. The single unit houses an inverter and a battery, while the Complete configuration adds an additional battery bank to the inverter/battery set. It mounts on a wall either vertically or horizontally and sticks out less than three inches so it can live behind a fridge which a BioLite rep told me is a primary place the company sees it being used. To use it, you plug the Backup into your wall and plug the fridge (or any other appliance) into the Backup. The battery steadily fills itself while also passing power to the appliance. If the power goes out, the battery automatically kicks on to power your icebox, sending an alert to the app to tell you about the outage. So far, this probably sounds more like power security as opposed to an eco solution, but because the app allows you to schedule the Backup to come on at a regular time, you can actually take one of your biggest energy hogs off the grid during peak usage times. The Backup should start shipping this summer and its something Im seriously considering. While I have solar panels, I didnt pay the (considerable) upcharge to get batteries. With the Backup, I could schedule the fridge to run on battery power at night, then swap to direct power during the day while the sun feeds the roof panels and refills the battery. The dual-unit, Complete Backup configuration costs $3,000, but currently qualifies for a 30 percent tax credit due to its watt-hour size and the fact that you mount it on the wall (but I dont think anyone is counting on that perk to still be a thing for long). Plus, if you reserve now, you'll get a 10 percent discount. Amy Skorheim for Engadget When I checked out the Backup at CES, I was introduced to two other companies BioLite had invited to share its booth, Copper and Gradient. Copper was showing off the Charlie plug-in induction stove. While researching indoor air quality for our air purifier guide, I learned that natural gas stoves arent just less-than-stellar in terms of ecological impact they can also be pretty bad for our lungs. That prompted me to look into induction cooking, but I was worried my cotton-wrapped, nearly one-hundred-year-old copper wiring would not be up to the task of an upgrade. Yes, all induction stoves are plug-ns but nearly all of them require a 240V outlet, like a dryer uses. If youre replacing a gas stove, chances are theres a 120V outlet behind it. If you want to switch off of gas, you need to call an electrician to run the new wiring. That could be a simple operation Ive seen estimates online for as little as a couple hundred bucks. But if you have older wiring (thats me) or if youre renting or otherwise cant upgrade your electrical, you might just be stuck with gas. But the Copper Charlie can run on a standard outlet thanks to the (big!) 5kWh battery inside. In short, the battery fills itself when youre not cooking. When you fire up a burner or the oven, the battery kicks in to make up the difference between what a standard outlet can supply and what the induction appliance needs. In a power outage, it can cook three to five meals. It also looks swanky, with deep blue enamel inside the oven and reclaimed wood on the knobs and handle. The price tag is swanky too; Like the Backup, the Charlie currently qualifies for a tax credit to bring the cost as low as $4,200, but if you dont count on that, youll pay around $6,000. Thats not unheard of for an induction cooker, but it's not cheap. Still, if its between that and never getting off gas, Id consider it. Amy Skorheim for Engadget Biolites other booth-mate at CES, Gradient, showed off their own plug-in appliance, the Gradient All-Weather window heat pump. Ive been curious about heat pumps after learning that heating represents the biggest energy demand for most homes. Surprisingly, cooling requires significantly less energy (though its often the largest electricity draw as many homes use a gas or fuel oil for heat). Heat pumps work similarly to AC units, running a refrigerant (Gradient uses a more eco-friendly one) that travels through compression coils, absorbing and releasing heat as it moves from indoors to outdoors. To heat a home, the coils draw heat from the outdoor air (yes, even when its cold outside) and release the heat inside. To cool the air, the heat pump performs that process in reverse. Gradient claims a 30 percent higher efficiency over window air units. When it comes to heating, that ratio could go significantly higher, especially if its replacing fossil fuel combustion. Again, no professional installation is required, any standard 120V outlet will work and it also looks far more attractive than window AC units. Instead of replacing your view with a grille and some vents, the saddle bag design hangs down on either side of a window and creates a nice shelf for plants or other bric-a-brac. But heres the bad news: Despite being at the Consumer Electronics Show, these window units arent yet available to consumers. Gradient told me theyre currently focusing on business-to-business sales to help grow the company and have a bigger impact on greenhouse emissions. But theres still hope that a direct-to-consumer, plug-and-play heat pump will one day come to be. Zoltux Of course, all of this electrification is less beneficial if your area relies on non-renewable resources for grid power, so I was curious to see if any solar generation products at CES had the same user-instalable ease. One company, Zoltux, is working on a plug-in solar kit for US homes based on the balcony solar technology thats popular in parts of the EU, particularly Germany. Basically, you clamp a solar panel on a balcony, or any other sun-facing spot outside your home, and plug it into a microinverter which syncs the PV energy to the grid, allowing a standard outlet to feed power to your home. Zoltux is only in the launch phase and the company will have plenty of regulatory and technical issues to overcome in bringing plug-and-play solar kits to homes in the US, but Im wishing them all the luck. Jackery As for what currently exists, companies like Jackery, Anker and
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