Digital Foundry confirmed: PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro have prevalent VRR stuttering problemsSony and third-party games affected, Xbox works fine. Feature by Oliver Mackenzie Contributor Additional contributions byRichard LeadbetterPublished on March 29, 2025 We've received a continuous stream of reports over the last few months suggesting there's a problem with PlayStation 5: VRR support has an issue where game performance can be interrupted by a continuous, obvious stutter that manifests every eight seconds. Various theories have been shared and discussed online, covering a range of displays and firmwares but after spending some time investigating the problem, we can confirm it is a real problem, impacting both PS5 and Pro consoles - and based on our tests, it will impact any VRR-compatible display.To fully understand the issue, it's important to explain how VRR - variable refresh rate - works in general and more specifically on PlayStation consoles. Until VRR arrived, the most stable performance in console games was to see frame-rate locked to 60fps or 30fps. An even delivery of frames is sent to the display, synchronising with the refresh rate of the panel. At 60fps, a new frame is displayed with each new refresh of the screen. At 30fps, a new frame persists for two refreshes. As the name suggests, VRR operates with a variable refresh rate. Instead of the console needing to synchronise with the display update, the console itself is in charge of when the refresh happens - typically whenever a new frame is ready to be presented.With VRR, a game doesn't need to run locked to 60fps or 30fps to present to gamers in a consistent manner - as long as frame-rates remain broadly similar, gameplay still looks smooth, even if a game is operating in, for example, a variable 50-60fps or 100-120fps 'window'. It's a boon to players and can even be considered a 'fix' of sorts to variable frame-rates, reducing stutter considerably and removing screen-tearing completely in titles that exhibit it.So, what's the problem with PlayStation? The most obvious example of the stuttering issue presenting itself occurs in titles that support 120Hz VRR with unlocked frame-rates - games like The Last of Us Part 1 and 2, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Diablo 4, for example. What happens is that gameplay works just fine for around 20 minutes, but at some point soon after that, a noticeable stutter manifests every eight seconds, give or take a few frames. The point of VRR is to bring consistency to variable frame-rates and the 'magic' is lost when the game stutters so noticeably in so regular a cadence.Oliver Mackenzie and Alex Battaglia share their impressions on the much-discussed PS5 VRR issue. In this video, you'll see how the problem manifests and our methodology in isolating the issue.Watch on YouTubeIf you have a VRR-compatible panel, you may have access to a refresh rate monitor. Disregarding more complex elements of VRR not relevant to the discussion (low frame-rate compensation, etc), these read-outs tell you how often the console is driving the display to update itself with a new frame. It's the closest you'll get to a console equivalent to a PC-style frame-rate meter. Thanks to the inclusion of these meters, we've noted that the stuttering causes the refresh rate counter to momentarily spike up to 120Hz in the most obviously affected titles. So, in a game like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 on PS5 Pro, for example, we can see frame-rates in the 60-70fps range thanks to the onscreen display - and when a stutter kicks in, there's that telltale, momentary jump to 120Hz.Since refresh rate monitors are so common across so many different TVs and monitors - with the same 120Hz 'tell' occurring on all tested screens, we are able to discount some of the reasons suggested for PS5/Pro VRR stutter. There's been the suggestion that the problem is limited to LG OLED TVs, or TVs based on LG OLED panels. Others believe the problem only kicked in after a non-specified LG OLED firmware update. However, we've tested a Samsung mini-LED display, an LG OLED TV, an LG OLED PC monitor with HDMI 2.1 VRR support and even an Eve Spectrum monitor. All have refresh rate meters, all exhibit stutter and all show momentary spikes to 120Hz when a stutter kicks in. At this point, all evidence indicates that it is not the display that is the source of the problem, but rather PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro consoles. The spike to 120Hz does suggest that the console is dropping out of VRR 'in the moment' and returning to a fixed refresh rate, causing the stutter.At this point we should stress that this is a Sony-specific issue only. Xbox VRR remains robust and in multi-platform games that exhibit the problem on PlayStation, the Microsoft console works just fine.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Quite why this is happening is unclear. We've tested a total of 19 games now, finding that many games have the problem, while others seemingly do not. The evidence suggests that if the output frame-rate of the console does not vary so much, the stutter is less likely to happen. We can see the impact of the problem easily in Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered for example, but it's far more difficult to see if it's a problem in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, running on the same engine and likely using the same Sony libraries.While developers have to actively support VRR, especially to support 120Hz VRR, Sony offers a back-up solution for existing games with no support. This support is at the system level, activated within the PlayStation's front-end. It is limited to 60Hz and only allows VRR to work within a 48Hz to 60Hz 'window'. Reports that Elden Ring has a similar 20 minutes of smooth play followed by a stutter every eight seconds are confirmed. So, the evidence points away from this being a problem introduced by game developers and points more towards an issue with how PS5 and PS5 Pro output a VRR signal.Of the 19 games we tested, this table shows games where we can categorically confirm there is a problem and conversely, titles where VRR works just as it should. Our general test methodology was to load a game, go away and do other things, then return 30 to 60 minutes later to check for stutter. Of course, it may well be the case that titles that are unaffected may simply require more time before the issue kicks in - but the point is that we can confirm there is a problem that Sony needs to fix.Confirmed Affected GamesConfirmed Unaffected Games*Diablo 4Dragon's Dogma 2Elden RingImmortals of AveumHogwarts LegacyGod of War RagnarokThe Last of Us Part 1Gran Turismo 7The Last of Us Part 2Kingdom Come Deliverance 2Marvel's Spider-Man RemasteredMetaphor RefantazioRatchet and Clank: Rift Apart* Unaffected within the scope of our testing - other factors may cause the issue to manifestLooking at the table, it's difficult to find any common link between games that exhibit the issue and those that don't. It's not a third-party developer problem as Sony games can be impacted. It's not an engine problem as games running on the same underlying technology can sit in either category - Resident Evil 4 and Dragon's Dogma 2 both use the RE Engine, for example. However, the inclusion of Elden Ring would suggest that it's more likely a system-level issue: FromSoftware released that game before VRR was even supported, meaning that the PS5's system software is handling all aspects of that game's VRR presentation.The only other common factors we have are that many games that support completely unlocked - and therefore more variable - frame-rates have the problem when VRR is active. In game modes where there is less variability, the problem is less likely to present. Titles that run consistently well at 120fps, 60fps, 30fps or even 40fps with VRR enabled seem to work fine.That said, where the issue does obviously manifest, clearly this is a big issue - the whole point of VRR is to 'smooth out' games where frame-rate is variable, so in that respect, the stuttering is clearly a problem. First of all, you can simply disable VRR in the system software menu and play with a standard fixed refresh rate. Thankfully, that's not exactly a major problem on most of the affected games we've found. The only other workable solution is to restart the game every so often when the issue emerges. Obviously, this is not ideal. We've informed Sony of all of our findings and would hope to see this addressed. We'll report back on this in due course.

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Elon Musks AI startup, xAI, has acquired his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in an all-stock deal, he announced in a post on X Friday.xAI has acquired X in an all-stock transaction, Musk said. The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt).Musk went on to describe the two companies futures as intertwined. He added, Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent.The acquisition places X the highly influential social media platform Musk purchased in 2022 under its former name, Twitter firmly under the umbrella of Musks AI startup, which he founded in 2023 to compete with OpenAI. While xAIs products, including its AI chatbot Grok, were tightly integrated into the X platform before this deal, Fridays acquisition further combines two of Musks most high-profile companies.According to publications including The Wall Street Journal, shares of X and xAI will be exchanged for shares of a new holding company called xAI Holdings Corp. The WSJ also reports that executives at both companies believed that it would be easier to raise money for a combined entity.Musk who also leads Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink notes in his post that this deal values X at $33 billion (lowered from an enterprise value of $45 billion due to the companys $12 billion in debt). Musk originally purchased X for $44 billion in October 2022 and took it private. However, the valuation has swung dramatically in recent years. At one point, Fidelity valued X at less than $10 billion.In the months since the inauguration of President Donald Trump for whom Musk aggressively campaigned and for whom Musk now serves under as a special adviser leading DOGE Xs valuation has risen, largely because investors believe the platform more influential now. Musk said in his post on Friday that X has more than 600 million active users.Musk launched xAI in 2023 and has since beefed up the startup with industry-leading AI researchers from Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and OpenAI, and built out the massive AI data centers needed to catch up with other frontier AI developers. To fuel these efforts, Musk has gone on a historic fundraising campaign, including a $6 billion funding round in December that valued the startup at $45 billion. According to Musk, xAIs valuation is now even higher, at $80 billion.xAI has largely been successful in its mad dash to catch up with OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. In February, the startup released Grok 3, a frontier AI model thats competitive with the industrys leading AI models on benchmarks measuring math, science, and coding.But xAIs successes have not stopped Musk from meddling with OpenAI, a startup he co-founded with Sam Altman. Musk is currently trying to thwart OpenAIs for-profit transition which it needs to complete to secure future funding in more ways than one. The billionaire owner of xAI has made OpenAIs for-profit transition the centerpiece of his lawsuit against OpenAI. Musk also submitted a $97 billion takeover bid for Altmans startup in February. OpenAIs board promptly rejected the idea, but it already may have driven up the market price for OpenAIs assets.One of the major advantages that xAI has over OpenAI and other startups is its access to X. The large body of posts that X has accumulated over the years gives xAI a significant advantage in the race for AI training data. Further, X gives Musks AI startup a huge consumer app to reach users in.Musk has a history of blurring the lines between his many companies, which has landed him in legal trouble before. With xAIs acquisition of X, the two are now effectively one and the move suggests that Xs true value may lie in advancing Musks broader AI ambitions.This story has been updated with additional details about the structure of the deal.

CoreWeave began trading on Friday with more of a shrug than a war cry. The company priced at $40 on Thursday, below the $47- $50 price range announced. It also trimmed the number of shares offered.All told, CoreWeave raised $1.5 billion and nabbed a $14 billion market cap on Day 1, instead of a hoped-for $3 billion+ raise and a much higher valuation. Shares also opened at $39 (ouch!), and closed at $40. A lukewarm reception.Still, the companys IPO lands as the largest AI-related listing to date, and the biggest U.S. tech IPO since the heady days of 2021.Sitting in an ordinary white hoodie in a bland conference room, and talking with a detectable Jersey accent, Chief Strategy Officer Brian Venturo told TechCrunch that he feels very lucky.Thats because it all started when he and his hedge fund friends had some extra time on their hands after their last venture together went south.He had been working as portfolio manager for the energy industry hedge fund, Hudson Ridge, founded by CoreWeave cofounder and CEO Michael Intrator. They had built an ML model to help them pick investments in the data-heavy energy industry. There they met their cofounder, Brannin McBee, who ran the data firm they used.But after the U.S. veered into its fracking boom era, they closed Hudson Ridge, leaving a lot of time on our hands, Venturo says.Next up: crypto. The wanted to get in, but first wanted to understand from the commodity side, how is this made, Venturo said. So we started doing mining on the pool table in our Manhattan office.Thousands of GPUs in a warehouseLike eating potato chips, one GPU turned into 10. Ten turned into 1,000. The rigs moved from pool table to closet.Next thing we knew, we were in the most cliche place possible. We were in my grandfathers garage in New Jersey, he joked. Then their friends in finance wanted in so they bought more.We were the largest Ethereum miner in the world for like two and a half years, he says. At one point, we had 50,000 Nvidia consumer GPUs.These were chips meant for playing video games on consumer PCs, not running 24/7 in a warehouse with no air conditioning or no ventilation, he said. So the cofounders built crazy automation and health checking [systems] to run these low grade GPUs in the harshest environments.The team knew they wanted to use their GPU empire for other things, like maybe AI training. But they also needed to learn how.So they connected with EleutherAI, an open source group working on an LLM. CoreWeave offered access to their GPUs in exchange for help learning about AI training and announced a partnership in 2022. We thought we were just going to learn how the infrastructure worked, Venturo says. But EleutherAI was working with hundreds of people building AI startups and it was this total springboard moment for us.The good will from working with EleutherAI led these startups to become paid customers. It was total luck started the training business, Venturo said.Stability AI got wind of CoreWeave through EleutherAI, and became a customer. The founders needed more capital to build better infrastructure.They went to dinner with Magnetar investors and I was literally pounding on the dinner table, convincing them of the future of AI, Venturo said. Magnetar wrote them what he said was a $100 million check.Open source paves the wayOpenAI learned of CoreWeave through its work with the open source community. And Microsoft learned of the company through OpenAI. Microsoft became its biggest customer because it was OpenAIs biggest investor and sole cloud provider at the time.Thats no longer the case. And OpenAI recently signed a $12 billion deal of its own with CoreWeave, bumping Microsoft from being its biggest customer.Today CoreWeave has 32 data centers and 250,000 GPUs, including Nvidias difficult to obtain Blackwell chips, which supports AI reasoning, the company says.Venturo acknowledges that much has been made about CoreWeaves jaw-dropping $7.6 billion in debt, much of it due to be repaid in two years, FT reports. Against CoreWeaves $1.9 billion in revenues (even with, it says, $15 billion under contract), the debt is a big reason why investors have been cautious.However, Venturo insisted that CoreWeave has structured each customer deal to cover the debt used to buy the GPUs needed. More than that, though, he realizes that three hedge fund guys turned crypto miners who are now running an influential AI training infrastructure have been on a wild rideTheres so many pieces of luck along the way, its crazy, he said.

Central Falls, Rhode Island, is not necessarily known for its residential architecture, but like any good industrial city, there are some excellent examples of Victorian houses from the mid-late 19thcentury to be discovered! This isthe Edward L. Johnson House on Cross Streetin Central Falls. The house was built around 1886 forMr. Johnson, a manufacturer,who resided herefor some years with his wife, who founded thePawtucket Womens Club in 1899and was an activemember of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The house is an excellent example of the Queen Anne architecture style, from the various siding types including clapboard and patterned shingling; its steep cross-gable roof; and its variety of windows, including a shallow bay on the first floor and oval and half-round windows in the 2nd-floor porch.

DJI Osmo Action 4. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNETThe DJI Osmo Action 4 Essential Combo is $90 off, available at $199. The Adventure Combo is 23% off, available for $309 (a $90 discount). The Standard Combo is $209, a $90 discount.DJI might not be the first name on people's lips when it comes to action cameras, but the company that's better known for its drones also has a really solid line of action cameras.And its latest device, the Osmo Action 4 camera, has some very impressive tricks up its sleeve.Also:The best drones: Which flying camera is right for you?So, what sets this action camera apart from the competition? Let's take a look. details View at Amazon First off, this is not just an action camera -- it's a pro-grade action camera.From a hardware point of view, the Osmo Action 4 features a 1/1.3-inch image sensor that can record 4K at up to 120 frames per second (fps). This sensor is combined with a wide-angle f/2.8 aperture lens that provides an ultra-wide field of view of up to 155. And that's wide. Build quality and fit and finish are second to none. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNETFor when the going gets rough, the Osmo Action 4 offers 360 HorizonSteady stabilization modes, including RockSteady 3.0/3.0+ for first-person video footage and HorizonBalancing/HorizonSteady modes for horizontal shots. That's pro-grade hardware right there.Also: This thumb-sized camera is my new 'must-have' for travelingThe Osmo Action 4 also features a 10-bit D-Log M color mode. This mode allows the sensor to record over one billion colors and offers a wider dynamic range, giving you a video that is more vivid and that offers greater detail in the highlights and shadows.This mode, combined with an advanced color temperature sensor, means that the colors have a true-to-life feel regardless of whether you're shooting outdoors, indoors, or even underwater. The DJI Osmo Action 4 ready for action. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNETI've added some video output from the Osmo Action 4 below.There are examples in both 1080p and 4K. To test the stabilization, I attached the camera to the truck and took it on some roads, some of which are pretty rough. The Osmo Action 4 had no problem with that terrain.I also popped the camera into the sea, just because. And again, no problem.I've also captured a few time-lapses with the camera -- not because I like clouds (well, actually, I do like clouds), but pointing a camera at a sky can be a good test of how it handles changing light.Also:My go-to camera setting for the smoothest phone videos. Just don't abuse itTimelapses with action cameras can suffer from unsightly exposure changes that cause the image to pulse, a condition known as exposure pumping. This issue can also cause the white balance to change noticeably in a video, but the Osmo Action 4 handled this test well.All the footage I've shot is what I've come to expect from a DJI camera, whether it's from an action camera or drone -- crisp, clear, vivid, and also nice and stable.The Osmo Action 4 is packed with various electronic image-stabilization (EIS) tech to ensure that your footage is smooth and on the horizon.It's worth noting the limitations of EIS -- it's not supported in slow-motion and timelapse modes, and the HorizonSteady and HorizonBalancing features are only available for video recorded at 1080p (16:9) or 2.7K (16:9) with a frame rate of 60fps or below.On the durability front, I've no concerns. I've subjected the Osmo Action 4 to a hard few days of testing, and it's not let me down or complained once. It takes impacts like a champ, and being underwater or in dirt and sand is no problem at all.Also:This $15 accessory unlocks the GoPro's game-changing camera featureYou might be thinking that this heavy duty testing might be hard on the camera's tiny batteries, but you'd be wrong. Remember I said the Osmo Action 4 offered hours of battery life? Well, I wasn't kidding. The Osmo Action 4's ultra-long life batteries are incredible. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNETDJI say that a single battery can deliver up to 160 minutes of 1080p/24fps video recording (at room temperature, with RockSteady on, Wi-Fi off, and screen off). That's over two and a half hours of recording time.In the real world, I was blown away by how much a single battery can deliver. I shot video and timelapse, messed around with a load of camera settings, and then transferred that footage to my iPhone, and still had 16% battery left.No action camera has delivered so much for me on one battery. The two extra batteries and the multifunction case that come as part of the Adventure Combo are worth the extra $100. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNETAnd when you're ready to recharge, a 30W USB-C charger can take a battery from zero to 80% in 18 minutes. That's also impressive.What's more, the batteries are resistant to cold, offering up to 150 minutes of 1080p/24fps recording in temperatures as low as -20C (-4F). This resistance also blows the competition away.Even taking into account all these strong points, the Osmo Action 4 offers even more.The camera has 2x digital zoom for better composition, Voice Prompts that let you know what the camera is doing without looking, and Voice Control that lets you operate the device without touching the screen or using the app. The Osmo Action 4 also digitally hides the selfie stick from a variety of different shots, and you can even connect the DJI Mic to the camera via the USB-C port for better audio capture.Also:This creative tablet is the best thing to happen to my photographyAs for price, the Osmo Action 4 Standard Combo bundle comes in at $399, while the Osmo Action 4 Adventure Combo, which comes with two extra Osmo Action Extreme batteries, an additional mini Osmo Action quick-release adapter mount, a battery case that acts as a power bank, and a 1.5-meter selfie stick, is $499.I'm in love with the Osmo Action 4. It's hands down the best, most versatile, most powerful action camera on the market today, offering pro-grade features at a price that definitely isn't pro-grade. Everything included in the Action Combo bundle. DJIDJI Osmo Action 4 tech specsDimensions: 70.544.232.8mmWeight: 145gWaterproof: 18m, up to 60m with the optional waterproof case Microphones: 3Sensor1/1.3-inch CMOSLens: FOV 155, aperture f/2.8, focus distance 0.4m to Max Photo Resolution: 36482736Max Video Resolution: 4K (4:3): 38402880@24/25/30/48/50/60fps and 4K (16:9): 38402160@24/25/30/48/50/60/100/120fpsISO Range: 100-12800Front Screen: 1.4-inch, 323ppi, 320320Rear Screen: 2.25-inch, 326ppi, 360640Front/Rear Screen Brightness: 75050 cd/mStorage: microSD (up to 512GB)Battery: 1770mAh, lab tested to offer up to 160 minutes of runtime (tested at room temperature - 25C/77F - and 1080p/24fps, with RockSteady on, Wi-Fi off, and screen off)Operating Temperature: -20 to 45 C (-4 to 113 F)This article was originally published in August of 2023 and updated in March 2025.Featured reviews

The Govee Star Light Projector is an absolute game-changer for my kid's nighttime routine, and its potential is limitless - especially at this price.

Google's Pixel 9aGoogle Keyword BlogGoogle has confirmed a launch date of April 10 for the Pixel 9a in the US, UK and Canada. The mid-range smartphone follows in the footsteps of the critically acclaimed Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL. It also follows the lineage of the Pixel 6a, 7a and 8a,The Pixel 9a brings with it a new look, building on the knowledge and hardware of the more advanced models, yet has to be tailored to a more casual consumer. I sat down with Googles Group Product Manager Isaac Reynolds to discuss the latest family addition.Pixel 9as New Design LanguageThe first thing that avid Pixel watchers will spot is the lack of the camera bar across the rear. While this was tweaked in the Pixel 9 to be more rounded and isolated, it became a substantial part of the Pixel brand. Its now been replaced with something that stands out in the market.Its moved to a completely flat rear case."This is the first shift of the platform in a long time, Issac tells me. A few interesting things are hidden beneath the new flat design. One of those is the biggest battery weve ever put in an A series; it has 25 percent better battery life than the Pixel 8a."Thats to be expected, given the Pixel 8a boosted the battery endurance time to more than eleven hours compared to the Pixel 7as ten hours. This 25 percent jump suggests close to fourteen hours of mixed-use from the new handset, although well need to wait for independent reviews to measure the real-world use after the 9a launches.Google remains all-in on establishing artificial intelligence as part of the mobile experience, so it will come as no surprise that Gemini AI is part of the Pixel 9a package, including the latest addition of Gemini Live with Video. When you buy a 9a, you're going to be one of those first in line to get the latest Gemini features from Google, as you'd expect with any Pixel phone."Pixel 9as Macro Focus AdditionThe biggest indicator of the Pixel 9as place in the portfolio comes with one of the camera features being Macro Focus. Crucially, this uses the main camera lens rather than the ultrawide lens or a dedicated macro lens used by other smartphones from several manufacturers. Why include this in the Pixel 9a? Is macro back in fashion?"I don't think macro goes out of fashion, Issac counters. The simple desire to take a picture from four to six inches away has always been there, and people are just pressing the wrong feature into use.You can use portrait mode to take pictures of people. Yet In a restaurant, I will see this happen, where people look at their food hungrily, but then they go, Wait, I need to get my portrait mode for my food."They're about six or eight inches away. And they've added that bokeh of the background blur. That's what Macro Focus does. The use case has always been there; people have been pressing Portrait Mode into service for this use case, which isn't really the right one, and there are limits on the distances."These arent grand staged pictures; they are fast moments that live briefly on social media as the ephemera of modern life. Yet the clichd view of social media as a place of pictures of food is a clich because it is so popular and increases digital engagement (Digital Engagement on Social Media).Pixel 9as UI ChoicesThe fast moments have driven many choices in the Pixel 9a, as illustrated in the Camera apps user interface across the whole Pixel range.We've aired on the side of less complex cameras across the whole lineup. When you go into the Pixel 9 Pro, you find all the same patterns, designs, looks and feel. Its just that every menu has a little bit more in it. You open the options, and maybe it's six things, not three things. Maybe the controls panel is eight things, not two things."Yet the Pixel 9a has fewer options than the 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL. Again, thats designed to help keep the idea of casual snaps as part of the 9as look and feel."I don't care if you are capable of hiking out into the country to find your one beautiful scenery and wait for four hours. When you're out at the birthday party with your kid and all your friends around, you don't want to be stuck behind the camera; you want to be participating. Youre still going to 'get in, click the button, get out.'Pixel 9a Is The Casual ChoiceThere is a different flavor to the two strands of Pixel coming through my time with Issac; the Pixel 9a and Pixel 9 are more casual smartphones than the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL, living up to the professional tag. They all have the same starting point in terms of research and developmentbe it core silicon such as the Tensor Mobile chipsets, the software built around Gemini AI, or the choices made in the hardware for displays, batteries, and camerasbut the decisions differ on what to offer in each handset."The Pixel 9a isn't about pushing the cutting edge. Its about offering the most affordable entry point to this premium product, with just the essentialslike good battery, seven years of security and safety feature updates, and a camera for snapshots and casual photos.""Those customers don't need a professional tool. Overwhelmingly, the upgrade is "I want to take better snapshots."There are still questions that the Pixel 9a needs to answer: Is that upgrade sentiment going to be evident to consumers? Will Gemini AI run as smoothly as other Pixels in the smaller memory of the Pixel 9a? Can it find an audience when it is so close in price to the Pixel 9? These questions will have to wait for the reviews that will arrive shortly after 9a goes on sale.Now read more about the Pixel 9a, Googles Android plans, and more smartphone news in Forbes weekly news digest for mobiles

Linus Sebastian Linus Tech TipsBy any measure, Linus Tech Tips is one of the most successful YouTube channels in the world with more than 16 million subscribers and 8 billion views. But what Linus Sebastian has built goes far beyond a channel. Its a diversified, vertically integrated media companyone that continues to grow in scale, influence, and sustainability.In a detailed (and very on-brand) video posted to the Linus Tech Tips channel this week, Linus and his team broke down exactly how their business made money in 2024. While they no longer disclose exact revenue figures, the percentage split reveals how the business has evolved over the last 8 years.MerchThe single largest source of revenue in 2024 was LTTStore.com, which accounted for 55% of total revenueup from just 15% in 2020. That growth has been driven by product innovation, fulfillment efficiency, and sheer scale.Back then, two of our biggest product families didnt exist yethand tools and bagswhich now make up about half the revenue, the team explained in the video.LMG even flipped the modelgoing from being sponsored to becoming a sponsor themselves. We recently flipped the script and went from sponsor to sponsorer, choosing some of our favorite creators to show off all of our products, said COO Nick Light.AdSense: Share Shrinking, Revenue GrowingAdSense made up a smaller percentage of revenue in 2024 than in previous yearsdown from 26% in 2020. But thats not a decline in performance; its a reflection of how fast other areas of the business are growing.Just because its a smaller percentage does not mean that its less money, said another team member. It means that LMG is far less reliant on our Google overlords than we used to be.61.5% of YouTube revenue came from traditional ads, while 37.3% came from YouTube Premiumdespite Premium users only making up 29% of views. Shorts, by comparison, underperformed: one 13-million-view short earned just $1,300.LMGs top channels for AdSense were the main Linus Tech Tips channel (76%), ShortCircuit, and TechLinked.SponsorsSponsorships made up 21% of total revenue in 2024, broken down into:9% from in-video ad reads12% from fully sponsored videosLMG now works with over 150 sponsors across 13 categories. PC parts made up 34.6% of sponsor revenue, followed by SaaS (25.5%) and lifestyle brands (13.6%).A sponsor can buy airtime on our channel, but they can never buy our opinion, Linus said. And if a sponsor doesnt like it, well just drop themlike weve dropped so many others.FloatplaneFloatplane, LMGs proprietary paid video platform, contributed 7% of revenueup 1% from the year before. Despite subscriber losses after the August 2023 great reset, the platform bounced back thanks to stronger exclusive content and new offerings like 4K video and event access.You are the boss when you choose to directly support us on Floatplane, Linus told viewers.Affiliate LinksAffiliate marketing brought in 3% of revenue. These are links typically found in video descriptions or on LMGs websites that generate a commission when users make a purchase.From Scrappy Creator to Scaled OperatorWhat makes Linuss story so compelling is how deliberately hes built LMG from the start.Unlike most creators that I meet, I was never a one-man shownot even for one day, Linus told Colin and Samir in a December 2024 interview. I always had someone operating a camera, operating a timelineusually both.In the early years, money was tight: We almost ran out of money If I didnt nail things, we just wouldnt have had money to pay paychecks. I had what I called the one-take policy.Today, the company employs over 100 people. Linus has stepped back from daily operations (he hired a CEO in 2023), but remains deeply involved in scripting, creative direction, and writing.If there's anything that I am as a creative, I would say its that Im a writer My canvas is a blank sheet of paper.Even as the business has matured, its core philosophy hasnt changed. The audience is the boss, Linus said. And its the hardest boss in the world.A great case study for the Creator EconomyWhat Linus has built is far beyond the solo creator + AdSense model. Its an independent media company with:Owned IPA direct-to-consumer merch lineA proprietary subscription platformMulti-channel ad revenueProduction-for-hire capabilitiesAnd a highly engaged communityAs an investor in creator-led businesses, Ive seen firsthand how this model of vertical integration and audience alignment can scale and is exactly the kind of structure we aim to build with the creators we partner with. I believe the next great media brand wont come from Hollywooditll be built by creators who follow this playbook.

Cutting corners: Supplies of Nvidia's RTX 50 series graphics cards are so limited that at least one retailer is selling units marked as slightly defective potentially still selling out at inflated prices. Although Nvidia claims that only a tiny number of desktop GPUs and no laptop models suffer from missing ROPs, users should carefully read each product page's fine print and use diagnostic software to confirm that nothing is amiss. VideoCardz recently spotted German retailer Alternate selling an RTX 5090 graphics card while openly acknowledging that it was missing ROP units, which can degrade gaming performance by up to 10 percent. The listing quickly disappeared, possibly having been sold despite the store's clear warning.Last month, Nvidia admitted that a fraction of one percent of RTX 5090, 5090D, 5080, and 5070 Ti GPUs shipped with slightly fewer Raster Operations Pipeline (ROP) units than advertised.Running GPU-Z confirms that some 5090s are enabling only 168 ROPs instead of the specified 176. In early March, some users also reported missing ROPs in laptop GPUs, but Nvidia stated it found no issues in mobile products.ROPs play a crucial role in the graphics rendering pipeline, but Nvidia maintains that missing units should not impact AI or other productivity workloads. If that claim holds true, someone might have purchased an RTX 5090 with this defect specifically for non-gaming use.When products sell out, Alternate sometimes offers "B-Stock" units, which may exhibit minor defects or cosmetic issues. Like refurbished or used components, most B-Stock GPUs show signs of wear or come with slightly damaged packaging. // Related StoriesDon't miss this: Cost Per Frame - Best "Value" Graphics Cards in Early 2025However, VideoCardz published a screenshot of a Zotac RTX 5090 store page that warned the GPU included only 168 ROPs. Despite the reduced performance, it was listed at the same price as a fully functional unit 2,899, which is a 670 premium over the card's 2,229 MSRP. While Alternate carries other GPUs in B-Stock, none have been reported with missing ROPs so far.Customers who knowingly purchase GPUs with missing ROPs from Alternate cannot exchange them for non-defective units, but EU regulations still guarantee refunds.Meanwhile, Nvidia has not offered any direct remedy for affected customers, stating only that it has fixed the manufacturing issue and recommending that users with concerns contact their GPU vendors.