When it comes to RPGs, the Tales of series holds a very special place in the industry, recognized for its storytelling, memorable characters, and innovative gameplay mechanics. Since its humble beginnings in 1995 with Tales of Phantasia, the series has continued to capture and retain the attention of its fans and those of the JRPG genre in general with its frequently emotional narratives, unique artstyle, and ever-evolving combat systems. Now that the Tales of series is nearly 30 years old, however, that means some of its oldest titles are due for a remaster.

The writer behind the manga Squid Girl, Masahiro Anbe, has announced that he will be releasing a new series soon. This new series will be called Akuma de Fukei (unofficially, Demon Policewoman). Akuma de Fukei is currently listed to release its first volume on June 6th, 2025, via Kodansha's Young Maga KC Special imprint. The volume has already been listed by Japanese online marketplace Rakuten.

GeForce NOW is kicking off 2025 by delivering 14 games to the cloud this month, with two available to stream this week so members can get started on their New Years gaming resolutions.This years CES trade show will open with a keynote from NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang on Monday, Jan. 6. GeForce NOW is offering members front-row seats in a virtual stadium, so they can hear the latest announcements and get hyped with livestreams no downloads or installations required.Its all powered by GeForce NOW cloud streaming and hosted by ZENOS, an innovative virtual stadium platform. Members can enter the virtual stadium starting at 3 p.m. PT on Monday, Jan. 6.In addition, gear up to participate in NVIDIA GeForce LAN 50 gaming missions starting on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 4:30 p.m. PT. Stream #GeForceGreats games to unlock incredible in-game rewards with GeForce NOW.Mission PossibleYour mission begins here.Its rewarding to be a GeForce NOW member. Unlock exclusive rewards during CES by doing what gamers do best playing the game. Members can participate in GeForce LAN 50 gaming missions even without a game-ready rig.To participate, stream the following featured GeForce Greats games on GeForce NOW and earn exclusive in-game items:Diablo IV: Creeping Shadows Mount Armor BundleThe Elder Scrolls Online: Pineblossom Vale Elk MountThe Finals: Legendary Corrugatosaurus MaskWorld of Warcraft: Armored Bloodwing MountFallout 76: Settler Work Chief Outfit and Raider Nomad OutfitComplete each games mission to become eligible for the associated reward. Rewards will be available to redeem on Thursday, Jan. 9. Theyre available on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure to jump in right away.With GeForce NOW, members can participate in the event on any supported device, whether a PC, Mac, SHIELD TV or mobile device, with access to GeForce RTX gaming rigs in the cloud for maximum performance.Front-Row Seat to NVIDIA at CES 2025Step into the action, wherever you are.Join others around the world as NVIDIA celebrates the latest advancements in gaming, technology and generative AI at CES, starting with livestreams from the GeForce LAN 50 online event thatll lead up to the shows opening NVIDIA keynote all from the comfort of home, no trip to Las Vegas needed.Enter the virtual stadium using the GeForce NOW app on PC, Mac or through a web browser for those without a GeForce NOW membership. The virtual stadium is hosted by ZENOS, which uses NVIDIAs cloud gaming infrastructure to deliver high-fidelity, low-latency streaming experiences directly via web browsers, making live events more accessible worldwide.Whos number one?Enhance the experience by signing in with a GeForce NOW membership, and create a Ready Player Me avatar and account to save digital characters for future visits. Members can link their Twitch accounts to chat, emote with other viewers in the stadium and collect NVIDIA-branded digital items, including NVIDIA foam fingers and jerseys, to customize their avatars.New Year New GamesLook for the following games available to stream in the cloud this week:Mirthwood (Steam)Slime Rancher 2 (Steam)Heres what to expect for the rest of January:Builders of Egypt (New release on Steam, Jan. 8)Hyper Light Breaker (New release on Steam, Jan. 14)Jtunnslayer: Hordes of Hel (New release on Steam, Jan. 21)Eternal Strands (New release on Steam, Jan. 27)Space Engineers 2 (New release on Steam, Jan. 27)Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap (New release on Steam, Jan. 28)Heart of the Machine (New release on Steam, Jan. 31)Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector (New release on Steam, Jan. 31)Drova Forsaken Kin (Steam)Pax Dei (Steam)Sniper Elite: Resistance (New release on Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, Jan. 30)Voidwrought (Steam)Outstanding DecemberIn addition to the 13 games announced last month, four more joined the GeForce NOW library, including the new games listed this week:Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (New release on Steam and Xbox, available on the Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass, Dec. 8)Diablo Immortal (Battle.net)Headquarters: World War II (Steam)Zenless Zone Zero v1.4 (HoYoverse)What are you planning to play this weekend? Let us know on X or in the comments below.

Nintendo Switch 2, which may not even be called that, will be released in 2025. We think. It will launch with some games, but we dont know which ones. Weve got a relatively complete, if hazy, picture of what the console will be a new, more powerful Switch, basically but we dont know what, if anything, will distinguish it from its predecessor other than that.Theres no doubt that the Switch 2s launch will be one of two seismic events in gaming in 2025, alongside Grand Theft Auto 6 (assuming Rockstars game makes its fall 2025 release window). But for a console that could reportedly launch as soon as March or April, its remarkable how much about the Switch 2 remains uncertain: the details, certainly, but also the bigger picture. Whats at stake for Nintendo? What could go wrong? And how will the rest of the industry react?Lets start by recapping what we know so far, and what we dont, before asking some of those existential questions.Heres what we definitely know about Switch 2This is everything Nintendo has said on the record about its next console:It existsIt will be backward-compatible with Nintendo Switch gamesIt will offer the Nintendo Switch Online serviceIt will use Nintendo AccountsNintendo will officially announce the console within its current fiscal year, so before the end of March 2025Thats it!Heres what we think we know about Switch 2Through well-sourced reporting and leaks, a fairly clear picture has built up of the new machine in advance of its unveiling:Its called Nintendo Switch 2.It will be released in 2025. Nintendo had planned to release it before the end of March, but there are indications this deadline has slipped, with Nintendo keen to avoid stock shortages and to have launch software ready.It will be a handheld hybrid console with detachable controllers and a dock for connecting it to a TV, just like the original Switch. (This is strongly supported by the backward-compatibility announcement.)It will be compatible with some Switch accessories, including original Joy-Con controllers (even if it wont be able to connect to them physically or charge them).The Switch 2s Joy-Cons will attach magnetically, rather than using the Switchs slide clip system, and feature Hall-effect sticks and some extra buttons.It has a cartridge slot like the Switchs, and will support physical releases.Its larger, with an 8-inch 1080p LCD screen.In terms of power, it will be close to the Xbox One/PlayStation 4 home console generation. But with custom Nvidia hardware that allows for machine-learning-powered upscaling and even ray tracing, it could get surprisingly close to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 experience.The base onboard storage will be 256 GB, expandable via microSD card. It has two USB-C ports.Here are some pretty solid guesses about Switch 2 gamesNotably, there have been no leaks or well-sourced reports about the Switch 2s software lineup. But knowing what we do about internal development at Nintendo, we can make a few informed guesses.Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, confirmed as a Switch game, might actually be a cross-generational launch title for the Switch 2, in the manner of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U and Switch) and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GameCube and Wii).Some first-party Nintendo games that are not necessarily launch titles, but probably arriving early in the life of the machine: a new Mario Kart, a new 3D Mario title, a new Animal Crossing game, and long-rumored Zelda remasters The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. We can make these guesses because of the conspicuously long gaps to the last releases in some of these franchises; its been a decade since there was an all-new Mario Kart, seven years since Super Mario Odyssey, and four years since the 46-million-selling Animal Crossing: New Horizons.Heres what we definitely dont know about Switch 2How much it will costThe exact release dateAny confirmed games (beyond a couple of minor third-party releases)What, if any, gimmicks it will have to differentiate it from the SwitchSeriously though. How much will it cost?This is the big one. Nintendo is in a good position; the Switch has built up a massive install base for the company, plus Nintendo has all its beloved properties and decades of trust in its brand to lean on. But, like all tech companies right now, its under intense pressure on pricing, and the wrong move could spell disaster.The Switch launched at $299 in 2017, and its official sticker price hasnt dropped a single cent since. This is in line with the changing trends in pricing due to chip shortages, inflation, and the slowing pace of advances in tech, this generation of consoles has not come down in price as much as previous generations did. (Its also true that demand for Switch has remained so consistent that Nintendo hasnt needed to drop prices, and it has the Switch Lite to market at a lower price point.)In this environment, Nintendo will have to figure out how to package more advanced tech while keeping the price reasonable. The Switch 2 is unlikely to be priced any lower than $349, the current cost of an OLED Switch model. $399 seems like a safe bet the same price as the base Steam Deck. Any more than this and Nintendo will face uncomfortable comparisons to the new wave of PC handhelds (a Steam Deck OLED is $549; an Asus ROG Ally is $499) and risk pricing itself out of its traditional family market.Whats at stake for Nintendo?Almost everything. As I said, Nintendo is sitting pretty right now, but the games market is changing rapidly. The cost of producing games is soaring without market growth to pay for it, margins are being eaten into everywhere, and traditional console hardware platforms are losing influence. Nintendos business model selling hardware and exclusive games to play on it is emblematic of the old ways, but even Sony publishes on PC now. If Switch 2 goes wrong, Nintendo will probably have to face the ultimate indignity of becoming a third-party publisher.At the same time, Nintendo is better protected against the winds of change than anyone else. It has vast cash reserves, incredibly valuable IP, growing multimedia clout, and a resourceful approach to technology that helps keep both hardware and software costs down. Perhaps it could weather another generation on its uppers.Nintendo has also usually taken an innovative approach to its hardware platforms that has worked out more often (Wii, DS, Switch) than not (Wii U). But this is not necessarily the time for innovation.The Switch was an attempt by Nintendo to lock down its dominant position in handheld gaming while keeping one foot in the home, and it was an amazing success. Since then, Valve, with Steam Deck, has come at the same problem from the other direction what if you could take your home game library on the go with you? and proven that its possible and that theres a high demand for it. Now Microsoft and Sony are both reportedly planning handheld consoles.The dedicated handheld space is about to become more aggressively competitive than it has ever been, and Nintendo needs to use the Switch 2 to dig in and defend its position. Thats why it has already announced backward compatibility, so the owners of the 140 million Switches Nintendo has sold can rest easy that their libraries will persist. For perhaps the first time in the companys lifespan, continuity is everything, and it cant afford to wander off on a tangent.Thats why the Switch 2 sounds as though it will be Nintendos most conservative design since the GameCube. It simply has to succeed.

Miniatures skirmish games have exploded in popularity these past few years, and with nearly a dozen high-profile titles currently in active development, the genre is poised for a breakout year in 2025. But what makes these wargames so sticky with fans?Most mainstream miniatures wargames require dozens, sometimes a hundred or more miniatures to be present on the table all at the same time. Games like Warhammer 40,000, Flames of War, and Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings fall firmly in this category. But many modern gamers simply dont have the time to paint all those miniatures, or the space in their home to store them. Thats where skirmish wargames come in.Skirmish games only require a handful of miniatures on either side of the table, often from six to 12 for each battle group. That makes the games easier to set up and tear down, and easier still to store on a shelf or in a closet. The genre thrives on collectibility, with small unit counts making it easier for players to own and field multiple factions. But they also encourage customization, with kitbashing and exotic paint jobs turning heads online and in person.Here are our picks for the nine best miniatures skirmish games on the market right now, with details on what to expect from them in the year ahead.BattleTechCatalyst Game Labs is just one of the modern stewards of the combined BattleTech/MechWarrior license, and the team there has made incredible strides at reviving the beloved tabletop game from the 1980s. With dozens of different models of mechs available for purchase online and at your local game store, its among the least expensive ways to enter the modern tabletop hobby. Miniatures always come fully assembled and ready to paint, and the game has multiple styles of play. Whether youre into fast and punchy or slow and crunchy, these big stompy boys have a lot going for them including the new BattleTech: Mercenaries boxed set arriving at retail early next year.Cyberpunk Red: Combat ZoneMonster Fight Club licensed the Cyberpunk Red intellectual property from R. Talsorian Games, whose original work on Cyberpunk 2020 became the foundation for CD Projekt Reds epic role-playing video game Cyberpunk 2077. That partnership directly led to the launch of its skirmish miniatures game, Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone, in 2023. Thanks to an affordable starter set, easy-to-assemble miniatures, and a dirt-simple ruleset, the experiment was an instant hit. Expect the latest entry, Cyberpunk Edgerunners: Combat Zone, to be another winner when it arrives at retail early next year.Halo: FlashpointMantic Games revived the Halo franchise on the tabletop in 2024 with Halo: Flashpoint, a small-unit skirmish game with loads of style. While the game draws its lore from the classic video game series, the gameplay is truly unique. It uses a cube-based movement system that encourages fast, fluid traversal of in-game terrain. It teaches incredibly quickly, and I cant wait to see how the British company expands the franchise in 2025.InfinitySpanish gamemaker Corvus Belli spent the last few years trying new things in the board gaming and 3D printing space, only to return to the venerable Infinity line late in the year. It posits a near future dominated by powerful megacorporations, and its punchy and strategic style of gameplay will appeal to fans of turn-based tactical games like XCOM 2. While the latest ruleset, known as Infinity N5, was a bit late to market, a lavish new boxed set titled Operation: Sandtrap full of gorgeous miniatures dropped in December. It features units from Panoceania and the Japanese Secessionist Army, so if you like lithe warriors with longswords youre in for a treat. Beware, though, that Corvus Belli is still making white metal miniatures, which require different tools and skills than more modern plastic miniatures.NecromundaI honestly thought that the Necromunda franchise was on the way out in 2024, but the game received an excellent new starter set this year. Representing the warlike state of what amounts to civil society in the dark and distant future, its a breeding ground for bloody, unbalanced narrative campaigns among friends as well as some of the most stunning artwork in the miniatures space. A newly published rules compendium puts everything you need to learn the game in one place. If youre looking for a crunchy and rewarding new hobby, theres never been a better time to dip in.Star Wars: ShatterpointAtomic Mass latest Star Wars license, Star Wars: Shatterpoint, burst onto the scene in late 2023. Its larger-than-usual 32-millimeter heroic scale miniatures are a joy to work with, and they take modern materials like contrast paints with ease. For newcomers, its also nice that you only need three or four miniatures for most factions to get started. Add to that the fact that there are currently 30 (!!) different squads to choose from, and you have one of the most diverse and competitive games on the market. Expect Fantasy Flight Games miniatures imprint to double down on its advantages in the new year.StargraveJoseph A. McCulloughs Stargrave is a miniatures-agnostic small-unit skirmish game that continues to earn new fans thanks to its battle-tested, highly flexible rules system. If you have some little dudes that youve previously painted for any other game system, they are more than welcome to participate in this skirmish wargame. And thats not all: Osprey Publishing also publishes McCulloughs fantasy-themed Frostgrave and the horror-themed Silver Bayonet. Between these three games there is likely a setting to suit you and your gaming group.Trench CrusadeBloated with incredible art from prolific concept artist Michael Franchina (Diablo), with rules and lore co-developed by Games Workshop veteran Tuomas Pirinen (Mordheim), Trench Crusade is perhaps the biggest success story of the year as far as miniatures gaming goes. It posits an alternate historical take on World War I where the Crusaders unlocked an actual portal to hell, turning the war to end all wars into a fight for the soul of well, everyone on the planet, basically. The Kickstarter campaign, first previewed here at Polygon, earned the pair more than $3.33 million and a throng of more than 20,000 players. The rules are available now, with physical miniatures on the way to backers in the new year. Meanwhile, 3D print files can get you where you need to go in a hurry.Warhammer 40,000: Kill TeamFollowing an excellent reboot in 2018, the fourth edition ruleset for Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team was released in 2024, much to the joy of fans and critics alike. It draws its tiny little warbands from all across the franchises fictional universe, so you can collect Tau, Sisters of Battle, Orks, and more in addition to the traditional Space Marines. An excellent new Starter Set found its way to store shelves in the fall, and new faction boxes have begun to crop up at retail. Expect this well-regarded game to continue to thrive into 2025 and beyond.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was one of two conspicuous, high-profile live-service game failures in 2024. But unlike Sony, which unceremoniously shut down Concord and swept it under the carpet when it became apparent the hero shooter wasnt panning out, WB Games seems keen to try anything to get more people playing Rocksteady Games boondoggle about the DC supervillain team.After trying out a 95% discount on Steam in November, Suicide Squad will be free to all PlayStation Plus subscribers for a month starting Jan. 7. Its one of the three free monthly games offered as part of PlayStation Plus Essential in January, the others being Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered and The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe.This is a pretty tasty trio, actually. Suicide Squad, for all the furore and disappointment surrounding it, is a not un-fun blockbuster romp that takes some wild swings in its storytelling across its now-complete run of four seasons. Itll be available on PS5 for PS Plus subscribers.Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered is the 2020 remaster of the classic 2010 Criterion Games racer the Burnout developers first entry in the Need for Speed series, and still arguably its best. Its all about high-speed police chases across a lovely open-world map with a West Coast vibe. Its available on PS4 (and playable on PS5, of course).The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is the 2022 expanded remake of the 2013 metafictional indie game. No spoilers, but its a fascinating and funny exploration of the choice or lack of it in the relationship between a games creators and its players. Its available in both PS4 and PS5 versions.All three games will be free to download for PlayStation Plus members until Feb. 3.From now until Jan. 6, its your last chance to download Decembers monthly PS Plus games: co-op megahit It Takes Two, Aliens: Dark Descent, and Temtem.

Teenage Engineering is back with another super cool music machine. The Teenage Engineering OP-XY is a new portable synthesizer and sequencer thats built for upgradeability, and has a heavier focus on layering and effects.The Swedish company has seriously refined its look, and has had a hand in some of the most interesting and influential consumer tech designs of the past few years. Recently, it helped in the design of the Rabbit R1 AI device, but the OP-XY represents a return to its own branded pieces.The sequencer offers a black and white design with a grayscale gradient that progresses along the sequencer buttons in the center of the device. Its less colorful than some of the companys other products but just as unique.The OP-XY is built as an upgraded version of some of the companys previous generation sequencers, as you might have gathered from the OP name. Unlike the OP-Z, which was designed to be used with a smartphone, the new model has a built-in black-and-white screen. Dont expect to be able to touch that screen, though; the OP-XY is exclusively controlled through the knobs and buttons dotted around its face.Also, around the exterior of the device there are a range of different ports. There are a few input options, including a 3.5mm input and a built-in microphone. Theres a 3.5mm output, which can output MIDI signals to allow the OP-XY to control external synthesizers. Lastly, theres a 3.5mm analog audio output. It can be charged through USB-C and has a 16-hour battery.The OP-XY is a step sequencer like the OP-1. The step sequencer is one of the earliest forms of creating electronic music beats. While plenty of people now turn to software for sequencing, theres still something to say for good old hardware step sequencer devices like the OP-XY.The OP-XY has a dual Blackfin CPU paired with 512GB of RAM, as well as 8GB of internal storage and eight unique synth engines. Theres also an accelerometer built into it, which allows the user to move the synthesizer around to change how it sounds.Teenage Engineerings OP-XY sequencer is available for $2,299 at teenage.engineering.com.

Welcome to a new year of Designer Desktops! If youre new here, heres the scoop: every month, we team up with designers, artists, and brands to bring you a free downloadable desktop wallpaper. Think youve got a design that deserves to be seen (and downloaded) by thousands of readers? Drop us an email or slide into our DMs were always on the hunt for fresh, creative talent!Kicking off 2025, were thrilled to introduce Ribbon, a vibrant collaboration between Designtex, a leader in applied materials for the built environment, and UK-based artist Sophie Smallhorn. Inspired by a snuffbox she stumbled upon in a museum, Smallhorn combined her lifelong love of ribbons with her expertise in color and composition to create this lively, dynamic pattern. Her starting point? A childhood favorite: collaging. Using paper and colored acetates, she played with shapes and layers, then fine-tuned the scale to perfection. The idea was to create a playful, meandering, linear composition and to utilize the layering of transparent colors, which is a common theme in my print work, Smallhorn explains.The final result captures the fluid motion of ribbons, with a subtle gridded texture adding extra depth. This collaboration highlights the transformative power of integrating art into functional design seamlessly merging Smallhorns vibrant aesthetic with Designtexs expertise in bringing innovative materials to life. Whether as a textile, wallcovering, or your new desktop backdrop, Ribbon brings an uplifting burst of energy to any space.Download the wallpapers for free with the links below for all your tech devices today!DESKTOP:102476812801024168010501900120025601440MOBILE:iPhone XS iPhone XS Max iPad ProCheck out some of Sophie Smallhorns other work:Learn more about Sophie Smallhorn here and Designtex here.View and download past Designer Desktopshere.

When I bought tickets for Anime NYC, I worried that the chaos would be overwhelming for my daughters' first convention. I started my own con-going tradition a decade ago with New York Comic Con, and I've attended countless conventions since, but Anime NYC was my twin 15-year-old daughters' first time going to an event so massive. To help, I planned to download a scavenger hunt to help guide them through the convention hall, but I couldn't find one anywhere online. So I stayed up late the night before Anime NYC, and I made an anime convention scavenger hunt myself. Credit: Jordan Calhoun / Anime NYC Like New York Comic Con, Anime NYC is held at the Javits Center, a 3.3 million square foot convention hall. Anime NYC was filled with over 100,000 people in 2024, the largest crowd yet in its seven-year history, and if you've been to a con before, you know how overwhelming and exhausting they can be: Countless events, panels, booths, and advertisements compete for your attention as you walk for miles through crowds. They're not beginner-friendly experiences, and Anime NYC was no exception. My goal for the scavenger hunt was to give our exploration more focus and to distract from the fatigue, and it worked. It made the experience much less overwhelming for my familyand a lot more fun. I might never do another convention without one. Customize this comic convention scavenger hunt You can download this comic and anime convention scavenger hunt for free to use at your next convention, or use it as inspiration to make your own. The scavenger hunt is broken down into three sections: The first section has easier searches worth one point each. With a few bonuses involved, there are a maximum of 15 points possible in the first section of the scavenger hunt.The second section has challenges that are more involved or need more social interaction with strangers, and are worth two points each. With bonuses, there are a possible 20 points in the second section. And the last section involves taking videos of group members more actively engaging with the community, each worth 5 points. With bonuses, this section is worth up to 25 points. The scavenger hunt format is malleable to most comic, anime, and gaming conventions, so you should customize it for your group and interests. For example, you may want to swap in other comic or video game characters, or raise or lower the difficulty levels based on age (or nerdiness). My family is Black and likes to notice such characters in anime, so one of our options included asking strangers if they can name five Black anime characters.How long does the scavenger hunt take?For adults, you can expect the convention scavenger hunt to take around 4-6 hours to finish. With kids, you can expect the search to be slower depending on how much walking they can handle. My family spent around six hours at Anime NYC, and out of a total possible 60 points, the winning team scored 48 points against the losing team's 47. Credit: Jordan Calhoun / Lifehacker How to make your own convention scavenger huntOf course, you can make your own scavenger hunt to be as unique as you want. The simplest scavenger hunts just need a list of items to find or tasks to accomplish, along with some basic rules around teams, time limits, and prizes. If your group is competitive, a few common questions to consider include: Whether teams can make alliancesWhether teams can sabotage each otherWhether teams can spend money for clues (This was a particular point of contention during my family's scavenger hunt, as my team paid for an autograph from an anime voice actor for a bonus point.)And a pre-agreed tie breakerScavenger hunts are a great way to organize conventionsOne of my favorite productivity quotes is, There is only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time." It reminds me that any large accomplishment can be made less daunting and more manageable by breaking into smaller tasks. I try to keep "one bite at a time" in mind whether training for a marathon, writing a book, or convincing my daughters to love conventions as much as I do: If I organize your tasks and focus on the one in front of me, the goal will happen along the way. Ultimately, a scavenger hunt can function as a great task management toolessentially a checklist, but disguised for funand I plan to use them more often for events like vacations, museums, and trips. And when I can't find a good one online, I hope to find time to keep building them on my own.

Apple Music (previously iTunes) is a behemoth of a music manager app for macOS and Windowsand it has changed and developed so much since its launch in 2001 that you may well have not come across everything this piece of software has to offer. It has evolved almost as rapidly as the digital music industry.Whether you turn to Apple Music as your default audio player or you're wondering if it's worth switching to, these lesser-known features should give you a better idea of what the application is capable ofbeyond the basics of streaming music from the web and playing local files.(The guide below describes the features as they're found in Apple Music for macOS. The same features are all available in the Windows version, but might not be in exactly the same place or on the same menu.)Build a radio station based on your favorite songIf you've got a track you're particularly taken with in Apple Music, you can build an entire radio station mix around itas long as you're a subscriber to the Apple Music streaming service. With a particular song selected in the app, open the Song menu and choose Create Station. It's a really good way of discovering new artists similar to your favorites.Switch to the mini playerApple Music comes with a useful mini player. To access it, open the Window menu and choose Mini Player to see it (click and drag on it to move it around). Via Music > Settings > Advanced you can find a checkbox to keep it on top of other program windows on macOS, so you always have access to key playback controls. You can specify when songs start and stop. Credit: Lifehacker Cut out intros and outrosYou can set timestamps for individual songs in Apple Music that tell the app where to start and stop playback whenever the song is played on any deviceso you can cut out a lengthy intro or outro, for example. Right-click on a track, then choose Get Info and switch to the Options tab, where you'll find Start and Stop fields. Click OK to confirm.Tweak your recommendationsNot every track in your library will be a five-star anthem, and you don't necessarily want the tracks that you like less to influence the recommendations you see across Apple Musiceven if you keep the tracks themselves around. To make a song have less of an influence over recommended music, right-click on it and choose Suggest Less. Use Suggest Less to tweak your recommendations. Credit: Lifehacker Clear out the duplicatesYou don't want your playlists and your Mac storage getting unnecessarily cluttered with duplicate files, which can be a problem for both local and streamed music. Open the File menu, then choose Library and Show Duplicate Items. You can then see all the tracks that are in your library more than once, and remove the extra copies you don't need.Switch to lossless audioThe Apple Music streaming service supports lossless audio nowthat's up to 24-bit/192 kHz in quality across the entire catalogand you can switch to the higher resolution sound if you don't mind the extra demands on your bandwidth and file download sizes. To enable or disable the lossless audio feature in the app, head to Music > Settings > Playback.Add comments to tracksYou can add comments to any of the tracks in your library. Just right-click on a song, then choose Get Info and head to the Details tab. You can use the comments field to label songs in any way you likeas instrumentals, or favorite songs, or upbeat songs, or golden oldiesand then set up smart playlists to pick out tracks using the comments data. Sound Check will level out the volume levels. Credit: Lifehacker Normalize the volumeIt can be jarring when different songs have been recorded at different volume levels, which leaves you continually searching for the volume slider when a new track starts. To stop this from happening, open the Music menu, choose Settings, then head to the Playback tab and enable the Sound Check feature. Apple Music then makes adjustments automatically.Skip songs when shufflingMany of us turn to the shuffle feature to save having to queue up albums and songs manually, but not all songs lend themselves to a shuffled selectionyou might want to cut out those lengthy post-rock tracks or spoken word skits, for example. To do this, right-click on a song, then choose Get Info: On the Options tab, check the Skip when shuffling box, then click OK. Playlists can be made collaborative. Credit: Lifehacker Create collaborative playlistsThis is a newer feature that may have slipped under your radar: You can now work on playlists with other people in Apple Music, which is perfect for parties or road trips for example. With a playlist on screen, click the invite people button on the right (it's an icon of a head and shoulders), then choose Start Collaborating to pick your collaborators.Customize the layoutApple Music offers more flexibility in terms of its layout than you might have realized. If you've got a playlist on screen, you can open the View menu to choose between different groupings for your tracks (including Songs and Albums). You can also select how the tracks on screen are sorted and filtered (by artist name or number of plays, for example).