Splatoon 2 players eagerly awaiting the release of Splatoon 3 on Nintendo Switch will be rewarded with a ton of bonuses to speed up their gameplay progression.
A blog post on Nintendo’s website revealed that players who have save data for Splatoon 2 stored on their Nintendo Switch will be given somewhat of a head start in the new game.
Three main weapons can be unlocked immediately instead of having to wait until a certain level has been reached, meaning players can keep battling with their favorites from Splatoon 2 without having to rank up a ton first.
Anarchy Battles – Splatoon 3’s new ranked mode – will also be available from the start, and players will be matched in all modes with players who shared a similar skill level in Splatoon 2. Nintendo also states that these players will start the game with a higher rank depending on their rank in the second game, but didn’t specify if the level would be matched exactly, if players would be granted a few bonus ranks, or whatever else.
“Five out of five Squid Research Lab scientists recommend transferring data from Splatoon 2 if you have it,” the post said.
While all of these features will eventually be available to brand new Splatoon players, it appears Nintendo’s intention is to allow veteran players to get straight back into the competitive action they experienced in the five year old Splatoon 2.
This system also stops these veteran players from matchmaking with new ones, meaning there should be a more even playing field for everyone involved when Splatoon 3 is released on September 9.
Splatoon 3 – 132 Screenshots
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Are you hunching over your phone like a creepy little goblin? Samsung’s latest earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, could help you break that habit with “neck stretch reminders.” It’s a weird feature, but hey, anything’s better than neck or back pain.
The “neck stretch reminders” were discovered by @MilesAboveTech in Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro settings. When this feature is enabled, Galaxy Buds 2 Pro will track your head movements and notify you if your head is bent downward for 10 minutes. (These earbuds include head tracking for 360-degree “spatial audio,” which emulates a real-world surround sound setup.)
So with the new Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro it can give you neck stretch reminders 😗 pic.twitter.com/tfyOV58Idk
And oddly enough, the earbud settings include instructions for stretching your neck. This is the kind of thing we’d expect to see in an Apple product (the Apple Watch reminds you to breathe), so we’re surprised to find it in Samsung’s earbuds.
But this feature is probably Exclusive to Samsung smartphone users. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro’s “spatial audio” feature only works on Samsung Galaxy devices, and @MilesAboveTech has only shared screenshots of “neck stretch reminders” on a Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Either way, we’re excited to see Samsung go the extra mile for such a niche, bizarre, and helpful feature. It’s clear that the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are very unique, though it seems that only Samsung Galaxy smartphones can fully take advantage of these buds.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Samsung’s new top-of-the-line true wireless earbuds support higher quality sound and active noise cancellation (ANC), but you only get all the features when using them with a Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet.
The Audi S8 has been priced for Australia. Wearing a triple-digit price tag, this traditional fast sedan packs over 400kW of power from its petrol V8
The 2023 Audi S8 has landed in Australia priced from $273,400 before on-road costs and options.
The S8 is Audi’s flagship sedan and represents a blend of luxury, speed and a hint of old-school class arguably not offered by SUVs.
Audi’s S8 executive express has been priced from Australia
Arriving in facelifted form, Audi’s new luxury sedan has had a mild makeover. There is a broader ‘single frame’ grille, new Matrix LED headlights, 21-inch alloy wheelswith red brake calipers and a black styling pack fitted as standard.
Audi offers the new S8 in nine exterior colors with three upholstery options – including cream and black ‘Valcona’ leather – to tailor this luxury sedan to your liking.
Audi’s S8 is a rival for the BMW 750i ($277,900 before on-road costs), new Mercedes-Benz S580 L ($335,100) and Lexus LS500 F Sport ($195,830).
With a $273K price tag the S8 won’t be for everyone
In Australia, only the S8 is available to order now, with Audi yet to announce pricing of A8 50TDI and long wheelbase 50TDI L grades. If you want about the S8’s size but more sporting, Audi will sell you an RS6 Avant or RS7 liftback.
Is there anything new inside the S8?
The S8’s cabin has matured, but not changed massively since the fourth-generation ‘D5’ A8 was introduced globally in 2017.
Just like in the latest RS6, the S8 scores a pair of 10.1-inch touch screens in the centre; one to wake care of music and infotainment functions, and the lower to look after HVAC controls.
Inside the S8 has been blinged up in its latest iteration
A customizable 12.3-inch digital driver’s display returns for the new S8 with navigation, live traffic and satellite imagery. There’s also a 23-speaker, 1920-watt Bang & Olufsen sound system fitted as standard.
The S8 is a car intended to indulge rear seat passengers. As such, electrically-adjustable outboard rear seats feature, as do electric sunblinds and a panoramic sunroof.
Those in the front of an S8 won’t be left wanting, with power front seats that feature heating, ventilation and massage function, as well as a heated steering wheel.
What’s under the S8’s bonnet?
The S8 is powered by the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 as the RS6. In S8 trim, the V8 produces slightly less power (420kW vs 441kW) but the same 800Nm torque figure. An eight-speed automatic sourced from ZF is the only transmission.
The S8 is available to order now
With AWD fitted and an electronically controlled ‘Quattro Sport’ limited slip differential as standard, the S8 is capable of hitting 100km/h in 3.8 seconds.
The new S8 features a revamped 48 volt mild-hybrid system that allows longer stop-start operation at traffic lights and the ability to ‘coast’ down hills on the motorway.
Audi says the S8s clever fuel-saving tech saves 0.8L/100km, resulting in a combined ADR consumption figure of 10.5L/100km for the new S8.
There’s also active air suspension – Audi’s terminology is ‘predictive active suspension – that uses cameras and other onboard sensors to rapidly adjust the S8’s chassis based on the road ahead.
Elden Ring‘s faith stat is pretty flexible to build around, particularly because developer FromSoftware baked so many incantations and spells into the game. Still, it tends to see very little use at high levels, as YouTuber Your Average Gamer put it in an email to Kotaku DotCom, folks claim it’s not as good as other in-game stats like the health-defining vigor. In an effort to prove the masses wrong, Your Average Gamer took their ardent belief in faith and put it to the test. Not only did they take on the hardest difficulty possible, they also absolutely demolished a variety of bosses, including ones like Radagon and the Elden Beast, in a single attack. It’s nuts!
Matthew “Your Average Gamer” Farnkopf is a YouTuber dedicated to putting together “crazy Elden Ring builds.” They’ve got a video on destroying Malenia in 90 seconds, another breaking down the effectiveness of Godrick the Grafted’s Great Axe, and a different one on the ultimate status effect build. In short, Matt has spent a lot of time with Elden Ring since it dropped on February 25. And yet, it’s still notable they were able to find a one-shot build powerful enough to take out two of the game’s hardest bosses, Radagon of the Golden Order and the Elden Beast, with an assortment of equipment and incantations on New Game Plus Seven, the highest difficulty option Elden Ring currently has to offer. Every round of new game plus retains all your gear and stats while increasing the overall damage output and health pool of the enemies around you, meaning Your Average Gamer’s run is some seriously gnarly shit.
It looks like Matt’s just throwing things to be throwing things during the fight, but there’s actually an order to the madness. As they explained in a short video detailing what they’ve dubbed the “ultimate PvE build,” Matt first casts the Howl of Shabriri and Golden Vow incantations for some initial status effects, like madness buildup for attack power and attack negation, respectively. They then poison themselves to increase their intelligence stat and temporarily boost lightning attack damage, the latter is especially important when paired with the sole attack spell Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike, a late-game ability you find in the labyrinthine legacy dungeon Crumbling Farum Azula. After a quick buffing session, Matt turns to their gear for even more buffs — the Gravel Stone Seal to up the damage of Dragon Cult/lightning-related incantations, the Jellyfish Shield for 20% increased damage for 30 seconds, and the Kindred of Rot’s Exultation Talisman to raise attack power by 20% for 20 seconds when there’s poisoning or rot nearby, among others — before entering the battle arena to show the final bosses what’s up.
It was curtains once Matt stepped in front of Radagon. They cast the Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike, a multi-hitting attack that sends down several bolts of lightning to strike in a determined area, and watched as the hammer-wielding god’s health bar melted away in seconds. The same thing happened to the colossal Elden Beast, and y’all, I’m gagging RN.
ReadMore:Elden Ring Fans Rejoice As Dreaded Bloodhound Step Nerfed In Enormous Gameplay Update
matt canopy Kotaku over email that they wanted to dispel the myth permeating the game’s community that “faith [builds aren’t] nearly as good as magic.” It took them “nearly 20 hours of trial and error” to find the right combination of gear and incantations to do the necessary damage to slay Radagon and the Elden Beast in one shot, and the results were stunning.
“I was primarily inspired to prove that something that many said couldn’t be done could actually be done…even on the hardest difficulty,” Matt said. “When I pulled this off on Journey Three, that gave me hope that it was technically possible. Once again to prove how powerful faith can be!”
Matt, to put it plainly, loves faith. It’s one of their favorite stats to construct characters around, and a central theme to the game overall. Still, getting things just right to accomplish this feat was quite the headache, something that forced them to “quit two separate times” because of how time-consuming it was becoming. Regardless of the frustrations, Matt said they were “glad [to have] stuck it out” in the end.
“So I’m physically disabled,” Matt said. “I have ongoing day-to-day stomach issues that can get/have gotten severe at times. I had just gotten over a flare-up of Colitis that I had to go to the ER for. After failing so many times throughout several hours, I found myself possibly going back into another flare-up. So I relaxed, calmed myself down, and spaced out my time. From then on I set hours I would do it and took the pressure entirely off myself. The moment I said ‘OK, if someone else does it that’s fine,’ I was able to relax. Shortly after, I was able to achieve it anyway!”
Doing a one-shot kill in Elden Ring is impressive but not entirely new. There was one Redditor back in April who killed the notorious Tree Sentinel in one hit and another speedrunner that created a glass-cannon build to bonk bosses with a single swing of their hammer in May. While it may not be that fresh, slaying FromSoftware’s infamously challenging enemies in one hit is still a cool sight to see. I wish I were patient enough to do this.
While Matt’s Beaten Elden Ring several times now, he’s not done with the game. They’re hoping FromSoftware adds new content in the form of “very challenging bosses, much like Dark Souls 3‘s DLC” or “another late game spike that would test us yet again.” Until then, Matt is trekking through the Lands Between once more looking for new builds to experiment with.
“I’ve retired the lightning build/character,” Matt said. “He’s kind of a legacy to me now. I’m starting a new build fresh, and I’m going to focus on exploring and the next cool build I can come up with. Elden Ring is a fantastic game, and the community is amazing! And remember ‘Seek Lightning!’”
It’s worth noting that while FromSoftware dropped patch 1.06 for the game, Matt said their ultimate PvE build is still effective against the game’s bosses. If you want to try out Matt’s full build for yourself, here you go:
Elon Musk shared a picture of a spacecraft on Twitter with the caption, “This will be Mars one day.”
SpaceX founder Elon Musk is known for his ambitious projects with his goal to colonize Mars being the most prominent one. The tech billionaire has, on various occasions, talked about taking humans to the Red Planet saying that it has a “great potential”. He once even proposed the idea of becoming a “multi-planetary species” by building a city on Mars.
In the latest from Mr Musk on his Mars obsession, he has envisioned the day when a rocket successfully lands on the Martian surface. He shared a picture of a spacecraft on Twitter with the caption, “This will be Mars one day.”
The rocket seen in the photo is SpaceX’s Starship project, a reusable rocket system that the company is currently working on. SpaceX recently conducted a static engine fire test of a Starship booster at its Starbase site in South Texas, US. According to SpaceX, the rocket system has been designed to “carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.”
Elon Musk has not just imagined the possibility of colonizing Mars but seems pretty confident about it. In a recent tweet, he wrote that “Mars may be a fixer upper of a planet, but it has a great potential!”
Mars may be a fixer upper of a planet, but it has great potential!
Responding to this, a user asked him about the estimated timeframe for humans to create a civilization on Mars. He asked, “Elon, What do you think is the estimated timeframe for creating a self-sustaining civilization on Mars? 20 years? Self-sustaining meaning not relying/dependant on Earth for supplies.”
20 to 30 years from first human landing if launch rate growth is exponential.
Assumes transferring ~100k each rendezvous and ~1M total people needed.
Replying to the user, Elon Musk said that it would take two to three decades from the first human landing on Mars to set up a colony on the planet. “20 to 30 years from first human landing if launch rate growth is exponential,” Mr Musk wrote.
Really squeezing in these final last minute delays here to make 2022 as sparse as possible for new releases, and while this may not be the last, it’s one I definitely saw coming. Portkey Games and WB have announced that the Harry Potter RPG Hogwarts Legacy will be delayed until February 10, 2023, with a Switch version coming later than that.
Previously, it seemed rather worrisome that Hogwarts Legacy was one of the only major releases left in 2022 without a fixed premiere date, which was just listed as “December 2022” for most of this year. Reports all the way back in January of 2022 suggested this was having some development issues and would be pushed to 2023. But the 2022 window had been set for a while, and Hogwarts Legacy was already delayed out of 2021.
I wrote an article about this whole situation, and how a Hogwarts Legacy delay seemed inevitable, just a few days ago. The points I raised, in addition to the ones already mentioned were:
“First, the scale of the game seems incredibly ambitious from what we have seen so far, and even though technically it already slid from 2021 to 2022, it would not be unusual for a game this big to move even further back. Especially given how much is riding on this one for WB and the beleaguered Harry Potter brand.”
“Frankly, we have not seen all that much from the game. The biggest showcase was a State of Play feature back in March, but we are approaching six months after that and have not gotten anything of real significance from the game besides what was shown there. Kind of unusual for a game that should be starting to ramp up promotion for a holiday release.”
It’s a hugely ambitious game that we have not seen that much of, about to come out in a year full of more major delays than perhaps any in history. So no, suffice to say I am not shocked about how this played out.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy
WB
As for whether development is indeed “troubled,” I have no idea. Delays are beyond common with major releases, so there’s really nothing to gather one way or another from the fact it’s getting pushed back again. 2022 is a particularly rough year given that we have COVID production issues from the past two years before that now coming home to roost, which are leading to present day delays.
que was shown from Hogwarts Legacy did look pretty good, there just…wasn’t all that much of it, in the grand scheme, and we hadn’t seen anything significant for months, when it was supposed to be out just a few more months from now. I am guessing one aspect of this will be some new, larger showcase before this February date, but no word on that yet. Stay tuned.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the hero killer seriesand The Earthborn Trilogy.
I picture a scene from a heist movie. The bank boasts of its new, ultimate security force inside the locks, walls, and lasers. And the heist crew looks for ways to subvert that system. Can we slip one of our people into the defense force? Use bribes or threats to compromise a guard? Maybe just find a guard who’s sloppy?
While it’s a lot more technical, finding a technique to subvert the Early Launch Antimalware (ELAM) system in Windows, as described by Red Canary’s principal threat researcher Matt Graeber in his Black Hat briefing, it is similar to that scenario.
Graeber explained that an ELAM driver is secured against tampering, and it runs so early in the boot process that it can evaluate other boot-time drivers, with the potential to block any that are malicious. “To create this driver, you don’t have to implement any early launch code,” Graeber explained. “The only thing you need is a binary resource with rules that say which signers are allowed to run as Antimalware Light services. And you have to be a member of the rather exclusive Microsoft Virus Initiative program.”
“I had to investigate how the rules are implemented,” said Graeber. He then described just how he analyzed Microsoft Defender’s WdBoot.sys to determine the expected structure for these rules. In effect, each rule says that any program signed with a specific digital certificate is allowed to run as an Antimalware Light service, which affords it serious protections.
It’s not possible to swap in an unapproved driver, since each must be Microsoft-approved. And anti-tampering constraints mean it’s equally impossible to subvert an existing driver. “ELAM is an allowlist for Antimalware Light services,” Graber mused. “What if it’s overly permissive? Does there exist an ELAM driver that may be overly permissive?”
A Grueling Search
Graeber relied on many resources in his search for a lax driver, among them VirusTotal Intelligence. You may be familiar with VirusTotal’s free malware check, which lets you submit a file or a hash and have it checked by around 70 antivirus engines. VirusTotal Intelligence provides much broader access to detailed information about just about every file and program in existence.
“Hunting for ELAM drivers, I got 886 results from VirusTotal,” said Graeber. “I filtered the list to validate results and got it to 766. I identified many vendors with ELAM drivers, some of them odd.” Here, Graeber showed a list that included one blank vendor name and several that looked incomplete. “If some of the vendors are odd, maybe there’s one rule set that’s odd.”
In the end, he discovered five certificates from four security companies that, as he hoped, provided a way to subvert ELAM. Without going into detail about certificate chains, I have determined that any program with one of these in its certificate chain could run in the protected Antimalware Light mode. All he had to do was cross a list of such programs with VirusTotal’s list of malware to get a rogue’s gallery of malicious programs with the potential to run protected.
How to Weaponize This Weakness?
At this point, the talk stepped off the technical deep end. Graeber described searching the LOLbins for an abuseable executable, coming up with a suitable version of Microsoft Build, and getting past various obstacles to let him run arbitrary code. I’m sure the bright programmers in the audience were nodding along in admiration.
After a live demo, Graeber noted the possibility of various payloads. “Your own malware is protected, and you can kill other protected processes,” he said. “We effectively killed the Microsoft Defender engine in the demo.” The code is public, though Graeber mentioned that “I had to change some filenames to protect innocent vendors.”
How to Detect and Mitigate This Attack?
“This is abusing the features of ELAM, not a vulnerability,” said Graeber. “I can’t begin to speculate why any of those certificates would be allowed. Shame on Microsoft! Let’s hope for a robust fix in the future. Vendors, I’m not shaming any of you here. I don’t even blame vendors for the overly permissive drivers, since Microsoft allowed them. I encourage any vendor to audit the rule sets of your signed ELAM drivers. You wouldn’t want to be the one who ruined the entire ecosystem.”
Graeber does hold out hope for a fix. “I reported this to Microsoft in December of 2021,” he said. “They acknowledged the issue, and the Defender team really owned this. They’ve taken it very seriously and sent notification to Microsoft Virus Initiative members. If you’re a member, you already know.”
He concluded by offering resources for other researchers to duplicate his work. That might sound like he’s putting weapons in the hands of malware coders, but fear not. Graeber supplied the framework for further investigation, but anyone trying to use it will have to duplicate his search for a permissive driver and an abuseable payload.
Still, the picture of malicious software taking over the secure bunker that ELAM provides and killing off the defending programs is alarming. Let’s hope the security community, Microsoft in particular, comes up with a defense quickly.
Every Apex Legends season is distinct in its own way, but the game’s seasons always bring new content to the game in the form of battle passes, new legends, and map changes. However, new bugs often sneak in with major seasonal updates as well as new content. Most bugs are incredibly frustrating, but every once in a while, one appears that gives players an advantage (and a good deal of amusement), as is the case with a new bug that allows Newcastle players to go flying down hillsides at record speed while reviving a downed squadmate.
The bug–which, as one Redditor aptly noted, effectively turns the mobile defender into a full-blown ambulance–is the result of one of the recent buffs Newcastle received in the Season 14 update. The buff in question increased the speed at which Newcastle drags a downed teammate while utilizing his passive ability, Retrieve The Wounded.
While the game’s developers did aim to improve his passive ability, the intended effect was probably not meant to send Newcastle and his teammates bobsledding down slopes on their knockdown shields mid-revive. Previous unintended “features”–including one that allowed Caustic to stack barrels of Nox Gas on Gibraltar’s Gun Shield–have historically been resolved quickly. The super-speed revive bug will likely be patched in the future, so curious players should make the most of it before it’s removed from the game.
Apex Legends is free to play on console and PC. A mobile version of the game, Apex Legends Mobile, is available for download on Android and iOS devices.
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The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
The Hisense U8G was one of our favorite TVs of 2021 thanks to its fantastic picture quality and strong list of features for a reasonable price. Its successor, the Hisense U8H, is even more impressive, with wider color and higher contrast. It’s otherwise similar to the U8G, so you shouldn’t feel pressured to upgrade from last year’s model, but if you’re shopping for a new TV, the U8H is one of the best values available today. As far as cost, Hisense specifies both a suggested retail price of $1,399.99 and an “everyday” price of $999.99 for the 65-inch version of the U8H we tested to make it seem like the TV is perpetually on sale. Amazon is selling the TV for the higher suggested price at launch, but might drop to the “everyday” price over time as more units reach retail channels. Either way, the U8H is an excellent value, and worthy of our Editors’ Choice award.
Editors’ Note: this review is based on testing performed on the 65U8H, the 65-inch model in the series. Apart from the screen-size difference, the 55-inch 55U8H ($1,149.99 suggested retail price, $699.99 “everyday” price) is identical in features, and we expect similar performance.
A Simple, Familiar Design
The U8H uses an increasingly common TV design, in which a thin metallic band runs along the sides and across the top of the screen, while a wider, brushed metallic strip serves as the bottom bezel. It’s a simple, classy look that the Hisense U6H, the Vizio M50QXM-K01, and a variety of other TVs share. The bottom bezel sports a chrome Hisense logo in the middle, a trapezoidal protrusion for the infrared sensor, a power button, Google Assistant indicator lights, and a far-field microphone array complete with a mute switch. The TV stands on two long, thin metal feet and has standard VESA screw holes for wall mounting.
The power cable plugs into a port on the right side of the rear panel, but all other connections are situated on the left side. Four HDMI ports (one eARC, two 4K120), a USB-A port, a 3.5mm composite video input, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an antenna/cable connector face left, while an optical audio output, an Ethernet port, and a second USB-A port face directly back.
The included remote is the same one you get with the U6H. It’s a rectangular wand made of black plastic with a large circular navigation pad near the top. Power, input, settings, and Google Assistant buttons sit above the pad, along with a combination pinhole microphone/indicator LED. Home, back, and live TV buttons reside directly below the pad, as well as playback controls, a volume rocker, and a channel rocker. Farther down, dedicated service buttons offer instant access to Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, Peacock, Tubi, and YouTube.
Google TV, With AirPlay Support Coming Soon
Hisense opts for the Google TV smart TV platform on the U8H, which provides plenty of apps and features. All major video streaming services are present, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, Twitch, and YouTube. This platform supports Google Cast for streaming content from your Android phone or Chrome tab. An update planned for October will add the same Apple AirPlay connectivity features the Hisense U6H has.
Google TV also unlocks access to Google Assistant, and the U8H has far-field microphones that enable hands-free use. Like with a smart display, you can simply say, “Hey, Google,” to summon the voice service. Google Assistant is useful for looking up content, controlling the TV and any compatible smart home devices on your network, and searching for general information like weather reports and sports scores.
High Contrast and Wide Colors
The Hisense U8H is a 4K LED-backlit LCD TV with a 120Hz refresh rate. It supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and hybrid log gamma (HLG). It has an ATSC 3.0 tuner, too.
We test TVs with a Klein K-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software. Out of the box, in Theater Day mode with an SDR signal, the U8H shows a peak brightness of 711 nits with a full-screen white field and 1,410 nits with an 18% field. With an HDR signal in the same mode, the TV shows a peak brightness of 842 nits with a full-screen field and 1,982 nits with an 18% field. In both cases, the black level is an excellent 0.01cd/m^2 for an effective contrast ratio of 198,226:1. That performance soundly beats the U8G (88.168:1). The U8H doesn’t, however, reach the levels of the Samsung QN90B. That model offers similar peak brightness (1,700 nits with an HDR signal and an 18% white field), but boasts OLED-challenging contrast with effectively perfect black levels because of its miniLED backlight.
The U8H also has an array backlight system and seems to turn off the lights completely for black sections, but it displays some light bloom whereas the QN90B shows little to none. Light bloom is one of the factors that has kept LED TVs from challenging OLEDs on black levels, though the trade-off for OLEDs is a far dimmer screen. For reference, our Editors’ Choice-winning OLED TV, the LG C2, has a peak brightness of just 570 nits with an HDR signal and an 18% white field.
Although we measured the best contrast numbers on the U8H with the Theater Day mode, we recommend the Filmmaker mode for watching movies. The latter has a dimmer peak brightness of 1,877 nits with an HDR signal and an 18% white field, but better preserves shadow details and highlights. It also displays slightly more accurate colors than the Theater Day mode, though the black levels between the two are identical.
The above charts show the U8H in Filmmaker mode with an SDR signal compared against Rec.709 broadcast standards, and with an HDR signal compared against DCI-P3 digital cinema standards. SDR colors are well balanced but a bit oversaturated past broadcast standards, though that isn’t a big deal because they’re still less intense than HDR colors and won’t hurt the viewing experience. HDR colors are impressive and exceed the DCI-P3 color space, though cyans and magentas start to drift a bit green and red, respectively. Fortunately, they aren’t significantly skewed, so colors still generally look accurate out of the box.
BBC’s Planet Earth II looks excellent on the U8H. The picture is bright and colorful. The TV shows well-saturated and natural greens and blues for plants and water, respectively. Fine details like fur and bark come through clearly both under direct sunlight and in shade.
The red of Deadpool’s costume in the overcast opening scenes of dead pool is vibrant and balanced; it doesn’t appear faded or purple at all. The yellows and oranges of the flames in the burning lab fight scene are bright and vibrant, with nicely varied highlights against fairly dark, though not inky, shadow details.
In the party scenes of The Great Gatsby, the cuts and textures of black suit jackets and dark hair come through without appearing washed out, while the whites of balloons and shirts in the same frames look quite bright. This film shows how the TV’s Filmmaker mode tamps down a bit on the backlight and produces better black levels at the expense of a slightly dimmer (but still quite bright) picture.
Colors fade slightly when you view the TV from an off-angle, but not to a significant degree. When you entertain a group of people, everyone should be able to see the screen just fine regardless of where they sit. The U8H doesn’t offer the perfect off-angle color retention of TVs like the LG C2, but it’s far better than more budget models.
Solid Gaming Chops
Gamers, especially AMD-based PC gamers, should like the U8H. Its 120Hz panel features variable refresh rate (VRR) and AMD FreeSync Premium.
The TV is also quite responsive. Using an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix, we measured an input lag of 8.1ms in Game mode. That falls under the 10ms threshold we use to determine if a TV is among the best for gaming. Predictably, with Game mode off, that input lag jumps to 86.5ms.
A Worthy Successor and an Excellent Value
The Hisense U8H is a fantastic TV for the price and a worthy successor to the U8G. It offers excellent contrast, wide and generally accurate colors, strong gaming features and performance, and hands-free Google Assistant with Google Cast support (and Apple AirPlay arriving soon). The TV is a strong value at its $1,399.99 suggested retail price and a truly impressive value at its “everyday” price of $999.99 for the 65-inch model, earning it our Editors’ Choice for midrange TVs. It stands alongside the similar TCL 6-Series 4K Google TV ($1,299.99 for the 65-inch version) as one of our top value picks, though the TCL isn’t as bright, and lacks AMD FreeSync for gaming and Apple AirPlay for casting.
If you want to save even more money, the Hisense U6H (effectively $549.99 for the 65-inch variant) features the same excellent Google TV interface. It’s not as vibrant, bright, or responsive, however. If you want to splurge, the LG C2 ($2,499.99 for the 65-inch model) remains our favorite OLED TV because of its incredible (though slightly dimmer) picture quality, while the Samsung QN90B ($2,599.99 for the 65-inch variant) pushes the limits of contrast performance for an LED TV.
Samsung and Google are big names in the Android world, and both also offer their own signature true wireless earbuds. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are the latest in a line of many models and sit at the top of the Galaxy Buds family, while Google positions the Pixel Buds Pro as the ultimate Android buds. But which set of earbuds is right for you? We’ll cover what you need to know in this Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro vs Google Pixel Buds Pro comparison.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro vs Google Pixel Buds Pro: Design
Kris Carlon/Android Authority
When placed next to each other, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and the Google Pixel Buds Pro look somewhat similar. Both have small buds with ear tips that sit close to their bodies, and both models mirror some of the design aesthetics of Android phones from their respective brands.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro claim to be 15% smaller than their preceding models and to have better airflow. The Pixel Buds Pro, meanwhile, are close in look and size to the cheaper Pixel A series buds. However, their new case is now IPX2 rated, while the buds themselves are IPX4 rated. Samsung’s previous Galaxy Buds Pro were IPX7 rated, and the new models are too. That means you can immerse the Samsung buds for up to 30 minutes, and they should survive.
Overall, the two models are pretty similar when it comes to design.
Samsung’s buds are a bit more durable than Google’s offering.
Google claims the batteries in the Pixel Buds Pro last seven hours with active noise-cancelling (ANC) enabled, which our tests confirmed. You can also net up to 20 hours total with the charging case. Disabling ANC lets the buds go for up to 11 hours and 31 hours total with the charging case.
Samsung claims the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro can go for up to five hours with noise-cancelling enabled. The charging case will take that to 18 hours total. We’ll have to test this to be sure. If you drop them into the charging case with ANC on, you reach a total of 18 hours of battery life, according to the manufacturer. Without ANC, that climbs to 29 hours.
Both USB-C and wireless charging are options for either model.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro vs Google Pixel Buds Pro: Features
Despite being Google’s signature offering, the Pixel Buds Pro only support the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs, which is odd for Android-tailored buds. On the other hand, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer AAC and SBC, and, if you use a Galaxy device, the Hi-Res Samsung Scalable Codec. The latter is better for latency reasons, but it’s only available if you buy into the larger ecosystem.
This is where the two models diverge further. The Pixel Buds Pro lets you connect to almost any Android device in a similar manner. If you use the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro on a non-Galaxy device, you will get most, but not all, of the same features. You won’t get automatic device switching and 360 audio, for instance. Although the Pixel Buds Pro do support Bluetooth multipoint, so you can connect to two devices simultaneously.
controls
Both the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and the Pixel Buds Pro feature multifunction controls. You can swipe back and forth on Google’s buds to change the volume and tap them in various ways to access some settings. However, with most of these functions baked in, you can’t customize their controls.
On the other hand, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro let you use the Samsung Wearables app to remap controls and tweak things. This app works with all Android devices, but certain functions will only work with Galaxy phones.
Both sets of buds are made primarily for Android, but Samsung’s model is tailored for Galaxy phones.
The new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro feature SmartThings Find, which can alert you if you leave your buds behind. Google offers a Find My service, as well; you’ll have to enable it before losing your buds.
Either model of earbuds let you use voice commands to control functions, but they differ in their approach. Pixel Buds Pro use Google Assistant to interact with your voice, while the default voice assistant for Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is Bixby, but you can change to another voice assistant if you want.
Noise canceling
The Pixel Buds Pro are Google’s first set of earbuds with real ANC, and they do a decent job of it. Meanwhile, the first-generation Galaxy Buds Pro already managed to slightly edge out the ever-popular AirPods Pro when it comes to noise-cancelling.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro tout that they have an extra 3dB of attenuation when compared to their predecessor and “intelligent noise-cancelling.” It is unclear if Samsung means this across every frequency as an average or in a particular range.
Both of these models have three sizes of ear tips to choose from, so you can find a fit that delivers good isolation. However, in our experience, the ear tip fit test in the Google Pixel Buds Pro app seems to indicate that all of the tips are an ideal fit, which isn’t the case. Samsung’s ear tip fit test is usually a little more reliable in that regard.
Sound
The Google Pixel Buds Pro tend to emphasize both lows and highs a bit too much, which isn’t awful but might be noticeable to you depending on your listening habits. We’ve not had the chance to test the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro yet, but while their predecessor had a bass boost, overall, they did not amp up either end of the spectrum nearly as much.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro support 24-bit audio playback but only with Galaxy devices. The Pixel Buds Pro aren’t compatible with any Hi-Res audio standard.
Samsung’s buds also give you Dolby Atmos support, while Google doesn’t offer spatial audio support at the time of this writing. It is set to arrive with a future firmware update, however.
The Pixel Buds Pro don’t have a true equalizer. Instead, they rely on a volume EQ that doesn’t help all that much. Samsung gives you some EQ presets to use, which is a little better.
Price and colors
Google Pixel Buds Pro
Active noise canceling Google Assistant Real-time translations
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Improved fit and comfort Better ANC
The Google Pixel Buds Pro come in Charcoal, Fog, Coral, and Lemongrass and sell for $199.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro were made available for pre-order from August 10 ahead of an official sale date of August 26, 2022. You can snag them in White, Graphite, or Bora Purple.
Specs
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Pixel Buds Pro
Dimensions
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Earbud: 19.9 x 21.6 x 18.7mm Case: 50.1 x 50.2 x 27.7mm
Pixel Buds Pro
Earbud: 23.7 x 22.3 x 22mm Case: 63.2 x 25 x 50mm
weights
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Earbud: 5.6g Case: 39.6g
Pixel Buds Pro
Earbud: 6.2g Case: 62.4g
Bluetooth-connectivity
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Bluetooth 5.3 SBC, AAC, Samsung Scalable Codec
Pixel Buds Pro
Bluetooth 5.0 SBC, AAC
water resistance
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
IPX7
Pixel Buds Pro
Earbuds: IPX4 Case: IPX2
listening time
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
5 hours with ANC, 8 hours without ANC With case: 18 hours with ANC, 29 hours without ANC
Pixel Buds Pro
7 hours with ANC, 11 hours without ANC With case: 20 hours with ANC, 31 hours without ANC
Charging
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
USB-C Wireless
Pixel Buds Pro
USB-C Wireless
Speakers and microphones
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
2-Way Woofer and Tweeter three microphones
Pixel Buds Pro
Custom-designed 11mm dynamic speaker driver three microphones
Device compatibility
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Android 7.0 or later 1.5GB of RAM or more iOS:Bluetooth only Windows 10: Galaxy Buds app TV: Samsung 2022 TVs and later
Pixel Buds Pro
Android 6.0 or later iOS:Bluetooth only Laptop/Desktop: Bluetooth only
Colors
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
White, Graphite, Bora Purple
Pixel Buds Pro
Charcoal, Fog, Coral, Lemongrass
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro vs Google Pixel Buds Pro: Which should you buy?
Kris Carlon/Android Authority
The choice between the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and the Pixel Buds Pro will likely come down to the phone you have (or want to buy).
Google’s offering is targeting all Android users. While they are missing some features at launch and lack a reliable low-latency Bluetooth codec, they will integrate nicely with the overall ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Samsung really tailors the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro to work best with Galaxy devices. They will also work well with other Android phones, but the experience won’t be quite as fully featured.
