Forward-looking: Most highly recommended microSD cards offer maximum read speeds of around 250 MB/s, but the impending release of the Nintendo Switch 2 has increased demand for significantly faster memory cards. Just as microSD Express technology begins to gain mainstream acceptance, one vendor has introduced a new standard that doubles the theoretical performance. Adata has unveiled a new performance standard for SD Express cards, boasting a 1.6 GB/s maximum read speed and a 1.2 GB/s write speed – roughly double the fastest models currently available. Although the company hasn't disclosed release details, users shopping for Nintendo Switch 2 memory cards will have another, faster (and likely more expensive) option. The SD Express standard was introduced in 2018 with version 7.0, offering read speeds of up to 1 GB/s by leveraging NVMe SSD technology. However, because few portable devices required such high transfer rates, SD Express languished in obscurity for years, while most users and manufacturers stuck with more affordable and established options. Also read: microSD and SD Card Buying Guide Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2 handheld could change that when it launches on June 5. It is expected to be the first mass-market device to require microSD Express cards, and stores across Japan have already reported selling out of them. Games purchased on physical Switch 2 game cards or installed on memory cards will benefit from significantly faster load times compared to the original Switch. For example, Nintendo recently demonstrated that The Legend of Zelda titles can load new areas more than twice as quickly on the Switch 2, taking just a few seconds. Lexar microSD Express card Online retail listings show that only SanDisk and Lexar currently offer microSD Express cards, featuring read speeds of around 900 MB/s. Adata has raised the bar with the new SD 8.0 standard, although it remains unclear how quickly other vendors will follow suit. // Related Stories Adata has yet to reveal pricing details, too, but these next-gen memory cards are unlikely to be cheap. SanDisk's 256 GB SD 7.0 cards start at $60, while Lexar's 512 GB models retail for around $100. In addition, Adata recently announced several new flash memory and SSD products. The UE720 is a USB 3.2 Gen2 flash drive with read and write speeds of 500 MB/s and 450 MB/s, respectively, available in capacities up to 256 GB. The company's new EC680 M.2 SSD enclosure uses a USB 3.2 Gen2x1 interface and a Type-C connector to achieve read/write speeds of approximately 1,050/1,000 MB/s. It supports 2230, 2242, and 2280 form factors.

At last: Get ready to close the gate of Oblivion. Bethesda just made it official. The Elder Scrolls IV Remastered launched today. Much of the game has been rebuilt from scratch so it's not just a cosmetic refresh. It's got a modernized UI, streamlined leveling, and much more. A massive leak last week revealed almost everything fans wanted to know about the long-rumored Oblivion remake. The cache included screenshots and side-by-side comparisons. An Xbox Support representative even let it slip that the game would launch on April 21. Well, it's a day late, but Bethesda greeted us this morning with a live feed officially revealing the reboot, and from the looks of it, all the rumors were true aside from the release date. Even some of the side-by-side comparisons appear to have come straight from Bethesda's presentation (masthead). However, Bethesda managed to throw us a few surprises. The most pleasant is that TES: Oblivion Remastered is available as of "right now." The April release is somewhat surprising. May seemed more likely, but maybe that was just me being pessimistic. What's more surprising is that it is available on most platforms, including PlayStation 5! Considering Microsoft has kept most of Bethesda's newer titles away from its biggest rival, it is remarkable that it didn't at least make it a timed exclusive. Xbox may view the Oblivion remake differently than new releases like Starfield and TESVI, which are exclusives (for now). Whatever the case, it's a smart move - millions of PS5 owners will snap this title up, substantially boosting sales. Also read: 26 Years of The Elder Scrolls On appearances alone, there is little reason that fans shouldn't pick up this carefully done remaster unless it turns out to be buggy, a real possibility given Bethesda's track record. It is one of the finer makeovers I have seen recently. It looks gorgeous. I've included screenshots throughout, but please do check out the live footage in the masthead - stills just don't do it justice. The game didn't just get a new coat of paint. Design studio Virtuos rebuilt all models and environments from scratch. Virtuos said it used the Oblivion game engine as the heart of the game while Unreal 5 produced the stunning visual aesthetic and special effects. "We've leveraged nearly every major feature from the latest version of Unreal 5," said Virtuos Executive Producer Alex Murphy. Utilizing Unreal Engine clearly paid off in spades. The only real question is, did developers give the old Oblivion engine any love? I recall revisiting Oblivion on the PS3 a few years ago and had to give up because the control scheme felt too clunky and outdated. Virtuos said that it updated a lot of gameplay elements, like the user interface and experience. Leveling is not as janky anymore - no more hopping around like a crazy rabbit just to level up that agility stat. However, Murphy failed to mention anything about the game controls. Overlooking control modernization would be a rookie misstep, so here's hoping that Virtuos remembered something so simple yet fundamental to the player experience. Some fans in the forums questioned whether Bethesda would include the two Oblivion DLCs, Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles, or if it would split them off to sell separately and push a deluxe bundle. Good news: Oblivion Remastered includes all original DLC. Bad news (depending on how you view it): There is a deluxe version, which offers two weapon and armor skins, a digital artbook, and the soundtrack. The Standard Edition is $50, while the Deluxe costs $60. If you don't want to commit to the deluxe bundle, you can always upgrade later for $10. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is available on PC through Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. // Related Stories I'm anxious to hear early reviews, especially from our readers. It will also be interesting to see if this opens the doors for other TES remasters. Morrowind, anyone?

Lenovo seems to be really trying hard to make a grand slam in the world of gaming tablets — making them a household name instead of something that you only hear about if you’re in the know. As a result, they’re iterating fast, and there seems to be some sort of effort to empty out stock quickly, even on newer products. To put it all more concretely, we just talked about the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 this January, when CES stuff was going on. Now, there are rumors of an upcoming Lenovo gaming tablet already circulating. It was enough to make me double, even triple check what I was reading. It also seems to be enough for Lenovo to put the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 on sale, bringing it below the $500 mark. If you buy now, the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 can be yours for just $490, which is $60 less than its usual $550. Tap the button below to see it for yourself or keep reading to see why this tablet has been so well-received and you don’t need to wait for Lenovo’s next foray into the gaming tablet space. Related The Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 is a strong and powerful tablet, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. Its screen is 8.8 inches diagonally, has a 2.5K resolution, and refreshes at an impressive 165Hz. It has Wi-Fi 7 for great gameplay and super quick downloads, and a metal body for a lifespan that should last years. While all of these stats combined come together to paint the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 as a capable gamer’s tablet, that isn’t all it has uses for. In fact, our Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 hands on review showed how the tablet could be useful for non-gamers as well. Advanced cooling features, we argued, are great for gamers and non-gamers alike. Similarly, the USB-C passthrough ports are great for simultaneously charging the tablet while connecting to a monitor for a larger screen — that’s great for creating a spectacular spectator experience for games and other activities. Again, this tablet can be yours for just $490. That’s a discount of $60 off of the usual $550 for a very fresh tablet available to you if you tap the button below. Of course, you can always check out other tablet deals, but you’re unlikely to find a deal on a tablet any newer than this one today. Editors’ Recommendations

Table of Contents Table of Contents Reading Coach with Click to Do Read with Immersive Reader Search your cloud photos with just a few words Add your words to the dictionary in Voice Access AI enhancements in progress In a Windows Insider blog post, Microsoft announces some exciting new features coming to Windows 11, including Reading Coach integration, improved Voice Access, and AI-enhanced Search. These upgrades are part of preview build 26120.3872 in the Beta channel. However, some upcoming features will only be available on Copilot+ PCs, a new category of AI-powered devices that run on Snapdragon (ARM-based) chips. Beyond the features highlighted in this preview, more Copilot+ features are already on the horizon. For example, Microsoft recently confirmed that Recall, which raised privacy concerns, is coming to Windows 11 in build 26100.3902 (KB5055627), now available in the Release Preview Channel. That means it’s just one step away from general release and likely to arrive soon on eligible Copilot+ devices. Recommended Videos So, what new features are coming to Copilot+ PCs, and how do you know if your PC will be compatible with them? Here’s a list of the upcoming features and who can access them. Related Luke Larsen / Digital Trends One of the most practical new features in the update is the addition of Reading Coach to the Windows 11 “Click to Do” feature. This action uses AI to suggest context-aware tools. Microsoft says you can improve your reading fluency and pronunciation with the “Practice in Reading Coach” Click to Do action. You only need to highlight the text recognized by Click to Do on your screen, and then select the ‘Practice in Reading Coach’ option. Once you’re done reading, the Reading Coach gives you feedback and guides you on where there is room for improvement. This is a valuable tool since it gives users a judgment-free way to improve their skills at their own pace. Applying the feedback helps build confidence over time. And, since the feature is always available on your Copilot+ PC, you can practice whenever it fits your schedule, which I find very convenient. Microsoft The fewer distractions you have when reading, the better, and that’s what Microsoft aims to deliver with Immersive Reader. You can access this feature the same way you would Reading Coach, and you can customize the text’s appearance by changing the font, size, spacing, or background theme. While Immersive Reader was initially designed to assist readers with dyslexia and dysgraphia, it offers helpful tools for everyone. For instance, the feature reads the text aloud for you, uses syllable breaks to split words, and highlights verbs, nouns, and adjectives. Another feature that visual learners will love is the picture dictionary option, which shows unfamiliar words with pictures to help users understand them more easily. The picture dictionary feature is great since not everyone grasps information in the same way. I prefer visuals when learning something, since they help speed up the learning process. Who hasn’t understood something better when you were shown an image of what they meant? Good news for Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area, since they can search for pictures saved in the cloud using their own words via the Windows Search box. For example, you can use words like ‘dog on the beach’ and get pictures that fit that description. Being able to search for a picture this way is a huge time-saver since not everyone can remember the exact name they gave a file to find it. The updated search brings together cloud and local results, so everything is displayed in one place. Not too long ago, Microsoft announced this feature in a Windows Insider blog post that Windows Search would get an AI upgrade, allowing users with a Copilot+ PC with a Snapdragon processor to use both semantic and lexical indexing to search for specific photos. Although the feature is currently available for Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft has confirmed that support for AMD- and Intel-powered PCs is coming soon, but a specific timeframe was not provided. I hope it’s sooner than later. 36122466 – definition of word vocabulary in dictionary aga7ta / 123RF Stock Photo Voice Access in Windows 11 is getting smarter, and one of the most useful enhancements is the option to add specific words to the dictionary. If you use hard-to-pronounce or uncommon terms, adding them can help improve dictation accuracy. Even words you typically struggle with won’t be an issue anymore; you’re teaching it your personal vocabulary. Microsoft says this feature will be available in all currently supported languages, including French, English, Spanish, Chinese, and German. Microsoft’s new features are genuinely helpful, especially for accessibility. Immersive Reader, for example, can make a real difference for users with dyslexia or dysgraphia. The only downside right now is that you’ll need a Copilot+ PC with a Snapdragon processor to use them. Hopefully, support for other Copilot+ PCs won’t be far behind. Tools like Picture Dictionary are a great example of how AI can make everyday tasks more intuitive, especially for visual learners. Editors’ Recommendations

Altman’s resignation opens up the opportunity for future deals between OpenAI and the nuclear-energy startup. Oklo shares fall after hours.

Partnerships between the state, its universities and its national labs demonstrate the Mountain West’s ambitions in quantum technology.

The ‘Ted Lasso’ actor struggles to land on a stage persona in his funny if uneven comedy special.

Mmm, cookies? Google won’t ditch third-party cookies in Chrome after all Google will no longer prompt you to disable third-party cookies in Chrome. Ryan Whitwam – Apr 22, 2025 3:36 pm | 13 Credit: Getty Images Credit: Getty Images Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Google has made an unusual announcement about browser cookies, but it may not come as much of a surprise given recent events. After years spent tinkering with the Privacy Sandbox, Google has essentially called it quits. According to Anthony Chavez, VP of the company's Privacy Sandbox initiative, Google won't be rolling out a planned feature to help users disable cookies. Instead, cookie support will remain in place as is, possibly forever. Beginning in 2019, Google embarked on an effort under the Privacy Sandbox banner aimed at developing a new way to target ads that could preserve a modicum of user privacy. This approach included doing away with third-party cookies, small snippets of code that advertisers use to follow users around the web. Google struggled to find a solution that pleased everyone. Its initial proposal for FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) was widely derided as hardly any better than cookies. Google then moved on to the Topics API, but the company's plans to kill cookies have been delayed repeatedly since 2022. Until today, Google was still planning to roll out a dialog in Chrome that would prompt users to turn off third-party cookies in favor of Google's updated solution. According to Chavez, Google has been heartened to see the advertising industry taking privacy more seriously. As a result, Google won't be pushing that cookie dialog to users. You can still choose to disable third-party cookies in Chrome, though. Maintaining the status quo While Google's sandbox project is looking more directionless today, it is not completely ending the initiative. The team still plans to deploy promised improvements in Chrome's Incognito Mode, which has been re-architected to preserve user privacy after numerous complaints. Incognito Mode blocks all third-party cookies, and later this year, it will gain IP protection, which masks a user's IP address to protect against cross-site tracking. What is Topics? Chavez admits that this change will mean Google's Privacy Sandbox APIs will have a "different role to play" in the market. That's a kind way to put it. Google will continue developing these tools and will work with industry partners to find a path forward in the coming months. The company still hopes to see adoption of the Privacy Sandbox increase, but the industry is unlikely to give up on cookies voluntarily. While Google focuses on how ad privacy has improved since it began working on the Privacy Sandbox, the changes in Google's legal exposure are probably more relevant. Since launching the program, Google has lost three antitrust cases, two of which are relevant here: the search case currently in the remedy phase and the newly decided ad tech case. As the government begins arguing that Chrome gives Google too much power, it would be a bad look to force a realignment of the advertising industry using the dominance of Chrome. In some ways, this is a loss—tracking cookies are undeniably terrible, and Google's proposed alternative is better for privacy, at least on paper. However, universal adoption of the Privacy Sandbox could also give Google more power than it already has, and the supposed privacy advantages may never have fully materialized as Google continues to seek higher revenue. Ryan Whitwam Senior Technology Reporter Ryan Whitwam Senior Technology Reporter Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he's written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards. 13 Comments

"Price" is locked, but fees aren't Taxes and fees not included: T-Mobile’s latest price lock is nearly meaningless T-Mobile makes 5-year price guarantee after refusing to honor lifetime price lock. Jon Brodkin – Apr 22, 2025 3:00 pm | 19 A T-Mobile store on April 3, 2020, in Zutphen, Netherlands. A T-Mobile store on April 3, 2020, in Zutphen, Netherlands. Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more T-Mobile is making another long-term price guarantee, but wireless users will rightfully be skeptical since T-Mobile refused to honor a previously offered lifetime price lock and continues to fight a lawsuit filed by customers who were harmed by that broken promise. Moreover, the new plans that come with a price guarantee will have extra fees that can be raised at any time. T-Mobile today announced new plans with more hotspot data and a five-year price guarantee, saying that "T-Mobile and Metro customers can rest assured that the price of their talk, text and data stays the same for five whole years, from the time they sign up." The promise applies to the T-Mobile "Experience More" and "Experience Beyond" plans that will be offered starting tomorrow. The plans cost $85 or $100 for a single line after the autopay discount, which requires a debit card or bank account. The price-lock promise also applies to four new Metro by T-Mobile plans that launch on Thursday. T-Mobile's announcement came three weeks after Verizon announced a three-year price lock. If the promise sounds familiar, it's because T-Mobile made lifetime price guarantees in 2015 and 2017. "Now, T-Mobile One customers keep their price until THEY decide to change it. T-Mobile will never change the price you pay for your T-Mobile One plan," T-Mobile said in January 2017. When a similar promise was made in 2015, then-CEO John Legere said that "the Un-contract is our promise to individuals, families and businesses of all sizes, that—while your price may go down—it won't go up." Taxes and fees not included T-Mobile raised prices on the supposedly price-locked plans about a year ago, triggering a flood of complaints to the Federal Communications Commission and a class action lawsuit. There were also complaints to the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces laws against false advertising. But so far, T-Mobile hasn't faced any punishment. Besides the five-year price guarantee, there's at least one more notable pricing detail. T-Mobile's previous plans had "taxes and fees included," meaning the advertised price was inclusive of taxes and fees. With the new Experience plans, taxes and fees will be in addition to the advertised price. This will make the plans cost more initially than customers might expect, and it gives T-Mobile wiggle room to raise prices during the five years of the price guarantee since it could increase any fees that are tacked onto the new plans. The fine print in today's press release describes taxes and fees as "exclusions" to the price guarantee. "Fees" can refer to virtually anything that a carrier chooses to add to a bill and isn't limited to the carrier's actual costs from taxes or government mandates. For example, T-Mobile has a "Regulatory Programs and Telco Recovery Fee," which it acknowledges "is not a government tax or imposed by the government; rather, the fee is collected and retained by T-Mobile to help recover certain costs we have already incurred and continue to incur." This can include the cost of complying with legal obligations, "charges imposed on us by other carriers for delivery of calls," and the cost of leasing network facilities that are needed to provide service, T-Mobile says. In other words, T-Mobile charges a separate fee to cover the normal expenses incurred by any provider of telecommunications services. The promise is thus that the base price of a service plan won't change, but T-Mobile gives itself wide discretion to add or increase fees on customers' monthly bills. "Guarantee means that we won't change the price of talk, text, and 5G smartphone data on our network for at least 5 years while you are on an Experience plan," T-Mobile said today. T-Mobile's terms and conditions haven't been updated, but the terms address price promises in general, saying that price locks do not include "add-on features, taxes, surcharges, fees, or charges for extra Features or Devices." T-Mobile Consumer Group President Jon Freier, who has been with T-Mobile for about two decades, seemed to recognize in an interview with Fierce that customers are likely to be wary of new promises. "One of the things that we've heard from customers is that the more definition that we can put in terms of timing around the guarantee, the more believable and useful that guarantee is," he said. "So we chose to roll out with five years." Freier asserted that "we are absolutely signing up for the guarantee for the next five years." Freier even mentioned the 2015 guarantee in a video announcement today, saying that T-Mobile is now "evolving this promise and expanding it across our portfolio." T-Mobile fights price lock lawsuit There is a better chance that T-Mobile will keep the latest promise, since it is limited in scope and lasts only five years, while the lifetime price lock was supposed to last for as long as customers chose to keep their plans. The lifetime price lock did last for more than five years, after all. But T-Mobile has shown that when it breaks a promise, it is willing to accept the public backlash and fight users in court. A class action lawsuit over the nullified lifetime price lock is still pending in US District Court for the District of New Jersey. T-Mobile is trying to force plaintiffs into arbitration, and the sides are proceeding with discovery on the matter of whether the named plaintiffs "executed valid opt-outs of Defendant's arbitration agreement." A joint status update in March said that T-Mobile refused to produce all the documents that plaintiffs requested, arguing that the "burden of collecting these documents far outweighs their potential relevance to the allowed scope of discovery." T-Mobile tried to give itself a way out when it introduced the 2017 lifetime price lock. Although a press release issued then made the promise sound absolute, a separate FAQ essentially nullified the promise by saying that T-Mobile was only promising to pay a customer's final bill "if we were to raise prices and you choose to leave." Customers who tried to hold T-Mobile to the lifetime price promise were not mollified by that carveout, given that it was published on an entirely separate page and not part of the price-lock announcement. While customers may find it difficult to fully trust T-Mobile's new guarantee, they can at least take a look at the carveouts to get a sense of how solid the new pledge is. We already noted the taxes and fees caveat, which seems to be the biggest thing to watch out for. This category on its own makes it easy for T-Mobile to raise your bill without technically breaking its promise not to raise the price of "talk, text and data." Guarantee “worthless based on T-Mobile’s previous actions” The new plans are not yet live on T-Mobile's website, so it's possible a more detailed breakdown of caveats could be revealed tomorrow when the plans are available. The website for T-Mobile's separate Metro brand has a slightly more detailed description than the one in the press release. While details could differ between the main T-Mobile brand and Metro, the Metro page says: 5-year guarantee means we won't change the price of talk, text, and 5G smartphone data on our network for at least 5 years while you are on an eligible plan. Guarantee also applies to price for data on wearable/tablet/mobile Internet lines added to your plan. Your guarantee starts when you activate or switch to an eligible plan and doesn't restart if you add a line or change plans after that. Per-use charges, plan add-ons, third-party services, and network management practices aren't included. As you might expect, wireless users commenting on the T-Mobile subreddit were not impressed by the price promise. "Price guarantee is worthless based on T-Mobile's previous actions. They might as well save the ink/electrons," one user wrote. Many users remarked on the removal of "taxes and fees included," and the specific end date for the price lock that applies only to the base price. "This is them saying we are sorry we screwed consumers," one person wrote. "Now we will be more transparent about when in the future we will increase your rates." Jon Brodkin Senior IT Reporter Jon Brodkin Senior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 19 Comments

Sam Falconer Like many young children, Sijbren Otto was fascinated by the history of life and wanted to dig up dinosaurs when he grew up. But life doesn’t always go to plan, and he ended up becoming not a palaeontologist in the field, but a chemist in the lab. Still, maybe that wasn’t such a departure from his childhood dream. Thanks to a surprise discovery, his work would take him closer than any fossil ever could to the heart of one of the most profound questions about life on Earth. In 2010, Otto stumbled upon some of the first synthetic molecules that could self-replicate. Since then, he has been trying to coax them into states that look intriguingly like life. “We’ve been building on them to make them do more and more lifelike things – not only replicate, but also metabolise and evolve,” he says. That simple chemicals can behave in this way is startling enough. But recently, Otto’s experiments have also offered tentative evidence that life may best be described as a novel state of matter, an idea proposed by Addy Pross, a chemist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. “It’s a bridge that brings the physical and the biological worlds together,” says Pross. The hope is that studying the physical processes that underpin life may explain how it originated and illuminate its nature. Already the results are suggesting that Darwinian evolution may be just one facet of a more general evolutionary principle that also applies to the non-living world. In which case, researchers argue, evolution…