We finally have a price and release date for both models of the PlayStation 5, so it’s time to take another look at how the new Sony console generation measures up to the competition. Last week we found out about the cheaper, lower-specced Xbox Series S and, while we know how it differs from the Series X, how does it look next to the disc-less Digital Edition of the PS5? Check out the table below for all the specs we know to date — we still don’t have the exact size dimensions or weight of the Xbox Series S, though we’ll be sure to update this post once that info is revealed.

	PlayStation 5	PlayStation 5 Digital Edition	Xbox Series X	Xbox Series S
Price	$500	$400	$499	$299
Dimensions	390 mm x 104 mm x 260 mm (15.35 x 4.09 x 10.24 inches)	390 mm x 92 mm x 260 mm (15.35 x 3.62 x 10.24 inches)	151 x 151 x 301 mm (5.94 x 5.94 x 11.85 inches)	Not available, but 60 percent smaller than the Series X
Weight	4.5 kg (9.92 pounds)	3.9 kg (8.6 pounds)	4.45 kg (9.8 pounds)	Not available
CPU	Custom AMD Zen 2, 8-core 3.5 GHz	Custom AMD Zen 2, 8-core 3.5 GHz	Custom AMD Zen 2, 8-core 3.8 GHz (3.6 GHz with SMT)	Custom AMD Zen 2, 8-core 3.6 GHz (3.4 GHz with SMT)
GPU	Custom RDNA 2, 10.28 TFLOP, 36 CU at 2.23 GHz	Custom RDNA 2, 10.28 TFLOP, 36 CU at 2.23 GHz	Custom RDNA 2, 12.15 TFLOP, 52 CU at 1.825 GHz	Custom RDNA 2, 4 TFLOP, 20 CU at 1.565 GHz
RAM	16 GB GDDR6 256-bit	16 GB GDDR6 256-bit	16 GB GDDR6 320-bit	10 GB GDDR6
Memory bandwidth	448 GB/s	448 GB/s	10 GB at 560 GB/s, 6 GB at 336 GB/s	8 GB at 224GB/s, 2 GB at 56GB/s
Internal storage	825 GB SSD	825 GB SSD	1 TB PCie Gen 4 NVME SSD	512 GB PCie Gen 4 NVME SSD
I/O throughput	5.5 GB/s (raw), 8-9 GB/s (compressed)	5.5 GB/s (raw), 8-9 GB/s (compressed)	2.4 GB/s (raw), 4.8 GB/s (compressed)	2.4 GB/s (raw), 4.8 GB/s (compressed)
External storage	USB HDD support	USB HDD support	1 TB expansion card, USB HDD support	1 TB expansion card, USB HDD support
Physical media	4K UHD Blu-ray	None	4K UHD Blu-ray	None
Output resolution	4K	4K	4K at 60 fps (target 120 fps)	1440p at 60 fps (target 120 fps)
Connectivity	Ethernet 10/100/1000 WiFi 802.11ax	Ethernet 10/100/1000 WiFi 802.11ax	Ethernet 10/100/1000 WiFi 802.11ac dual band	Ethernet 10/100/1000 WiFi 802.11ac dual band

Note: The PS5 has an M.2 slot so the internal storage can be expanded.

It’s September again, which means it’s time for another Apple event. But not iPhones this time. Today we’re getting a peek at new tablets and watches. Yes, that’s right, “watches” plural, because the company is releasing a budget-minded model alongside its flagship wearable. The exterior design never really changes much, so we need to look under the hood to see how these new Apple Watch devices measure up to each other as well against their rivals from Samsung. Of course, this is only a glimpse at their potential, and you’ll need to wait for our full reviews to see this year’s Apple Watch models put through their paces.

	Apple Watch Series 6	Samsung Galaxy Watch 3	Apple Watch SE	Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
Price	$399 and up	$400 and up	$279 and up	$230 and up
Dimensions	40 mm: 40 x 34 x 10.74 mm 44 mm: 44 x 38 x 10.74 mm	41 mm: 41 x 42.5 x 11.3 mm 45 mm: 45 x 46.2 x 11.1 mm	40 mm: 40 x 34 x 10.74 mm 44 mm: 44 x 38 x 10.74 mm	40mm: 40mm x 40mm x 10.9mm 44mm: 44mm x 44mm x 10.9mm
Weight	Not available	41 mm: 48.2g 45 mm: 53.8g	Not available	40mm: 26 or 37g 44mm: 30 or 44g
Display	40mm: Retina LTPO OLED (324 x 394) 44mm: Retina LTPO OLED (368 x 448)	41 mm: 1.2-inch (30mm), Super AMOLED (360 x 360) 45 mm: 1.4-inch (34 mm), circular Super AMOLED (360 x 360)	40mm: Retina LTPO OLED (324 x 394) 44mm: Retina LTPO OLED (368 x 448	40 mm: 1.2-inch Super AMOLED (360 x 360) 44 mm: 1.35-inch circular Super AMOLED (360 x 360)
Processor	Apple S6	Exynos 9110 (dual core, 1.15 GHz)	Apple S5	Exynos 9110 (dual core, 1.15 GHz)
RAM	Not available	1 GB	Not available	1.5 GB
Storage	32 GB	8 GB	32 GB	4 GB
WiFi	802.11b/g/n, dual-band	802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz	802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz	802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz
Bluetooth	v5.0	v5.0	v5.0	v5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GPS	GPS, GNSS	A-GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GNSS	GPS, Glonass
Health sensors	Heart rate, blood oxygen, ECG	Heart rate, blood oxygen	Heart rate	Heart rate, blood oxygen
Water resistance	5 ATM	5 ATM, IP68	5 ATM	5 ATM, IP68
Battery	Up to 18 hours	41 mm: 247 mAh 45 mm: 340 mAh Up to 48 hours	Up to 18 hours	40 mm: 247 mAh 44 mm: 340 mAh Up to 60 hours
Operating System	watchOS 7	Tizen 5.5	watchOS 7	Tizen 5.5

With so many adults and kids working at home, new iPads really couldn’t have come soon enough. And Apple more than delivered today with the announcement of the 8th-generation iPad and the latest iPad Air. There are plenty of great visual improvements to the latter, like more colors and a new, larger all-screen design. But the introduction of an A14 chip and other tech upgrades are also worth noting, so we’ve lined up the new iPad Air’s specs against its similarly-sized competition. However, for a full accounting of the new slate’s strengths, you’ll need to keep a look out for our full review later this fall.

	Apple iPad Air	Samsung Galaxy Tab S7	Amazon Fire HD 10	Microsoft Surface Go 2
Price	$599 and up	$200 / $280 / $380	$150 / $190	$400 and up
Dimensions	9.74 x 7 x 0.24 inches (247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm)	9.99 x 6.51 x 0.25 inches (254 x 165 x 6.4 mm)	10.3 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches (262 mm x 159 mm x 9.8 mm)	9.65 x 6.9 x 0.33 inches (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm)
Weight	WiFi: 1 pound (458g) LTE: 1.01 pound (460g)	1.1 pound (499g)	1.11 pound (504g)	WiFi: 1.2 pounds (544g) LTE: 1.22 pounds (553g)
Display	10.9-inch (276.9 mm) Liquid Retina	11-inch (278.1 mm) Super AMOLED	10.1-inch (256.5 mm) LCD	10.5-inch (266.7 mm) PixelSense Display
Resolution	2360 x 1640 (264 ppi)	2560 x 1600 (234 ppi)	1920 x 1200 (224 ppi)	1920 x 1280 (220 ppi)
Processor	Apple A14 Bionic	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus (3.09 GHz octa-core)	Mediatek  MT8183  (2 GHz octa-core)	Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y (dual-core 1.7 GHz) 8th-gen Intel Core m3 (dual-core 3.4 GHz)
Memory	Not available	8 GB	2 GB	4 GB / 8 GB
Internal storage	64 / 256 GB	512 GB	32 / 64 GB	eMMC: 64 GB, SSD: 128 GB
External storage	None	microSD	microSD	microSD
Rear camera	12 MP	13 MP, 5 MP	2 MP	8 MP
Front camera	7 MP	8 MP	2 MP	5 MP
WiFi	802.11ax	802.11ax	802.11ac	802.11ax
Bluetooth	v5.0	v5.0	v5.0	v5.0
Battery	28.6 WHr (10 hours)	7,040 mAh (15 hours)	6,300 mAh (12 hours)	26.8 WHr (10 hours)
OS	iPadOS 14	Android 10	Fire OS 7.3 (Android 9)	Windows 10 Home

This week was a real deluge of big news about the next Xbox, including its price, release date and the announcement of a cheaper, less powerful version. So now that we know what’s coming this November, gamers are wondering where to spend their cash. Are the robust specs under the hood of the Xbox Series X worth the extra $200? Or could you get by just fine with the more diminutive Series S? We’ve got the major points below so you can compare the two, but the real test will come when we review both systems this November. 

	Xbox Series X	Xbox Series S
Price	$499	$299
Dimensions	151 x 151 x 301 mm (5.94 x 5.94 x 11.85 inches)	Not available, but 60 percent smaller than the Series X
Weight	4.45 kg (9.8 pounds)	Not available
CPU	Custom AMD Zen 2, 8-core 3.8 GHz (3.6 GHz with SMT)	Custom AMD Zen 2, 8-core 3.6 GHz (3.4 GHz with SMT)
GPU	Custom RDNA 2, 12.15 TFLOP, 52 CU at 1.825 GHz	Custom RDNA 2, 4 TFLOP, 20 CU at 1.565 GHz
RAM	16 GB GDDR6 320-bit	10 GB GDDR6
Memory bandwidth	10 GB at 560 GB/s, 6 GB at 336 GB/s	8 GB at 224GB/s, 2 GB at 56GB/s
Internal storage	1 TB PCie Gen 4 NVME SSD	512 GB PCie Gen 4 NVME SSD
I/O throughput	2.4 GB/s (raw), 4.8 GB/s (compressed)	2.4 GB/s (raw), 4.8 GB/s (compressed)
External storage	1 TB expansion card, USB HDD support	1 TB expansion card, USB HDD support
Physical media	4K UHD Blu-ray	None
Output resolution	4K at 60 fps	1440p at 60 fps

For years most of our attention has been focused on flagship handsets from companies like Apple, Google and Samsung. But since last year’s release of the excellent Pixel 3a, midrange devices have gotten a lot more interesting. Today Google finally announced the Pixel 4a, which cuts a few corners but still delivers fast performance and even a flagship-level camera for the low price of $350. But it isn’t your only choice if you want a great phone in the midrange. We lined up the Pixel 4a’s specs against those of the iPhone SE and Samsung’s Galaxy A51 to see how these devices measure up under the hood. (We didn’t include the OnePlus Nord since it’s not available on the US.) If you want the full scoop on the Pixel 4a, though, be sure to check out our full review.

	Pixel 4a	Galaxy A51	iPhone SE (2020)
Pricing	$349	$350	$399 / $449 / $549
Dimensions	144 x 69.4 x 8.2 mm (5.7 x 2.7 x 0.3 inches)	158.5 x 73.6 x 7.9 mm (6.24 x 2.89 x 0.31 inches)	138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches)
Weight	143g (5.04 ounces)	172g (6.07 ounces)	148g (5.22 ounces)
Screen size	5.81 inches (147.6 mm)	6.5 inches (165.1 mm)	4.7 inches (119.38 mm)
Screen resolution	2340 x 1080 (443 ppi)	2400 x 1,080 (405 ppi)	1,334 x 750 (326 ppi)
Screen type	FHD+ OLED	FHD+ Super AMOLED	Retina HD LCD
Battery	3,140 mAh	4,000 mAh	1,821 mAh
Internal storage	128GB	128 GB	64 / 128 / 256 GB
External storage	None	None	None
Rear camera(s)	12.2MP, f/1.7	Quad camera: Wide: 48 MP, f/2.0 Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2 Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4 DoF: 5 MP, f/2.2	12MP, f/1.8
Front camera(s)	8 MP, f/2.0	32 MP, f/2.2	7MP, f/2.2
Video capture	1080p at 30 fps	4K at 120 fps	4K at 60 fps
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G	Samsung Exynos 9611	Apple A13 Bionic
CPU	2.2 GHz octa-core	2.3 GHz octa-core	2.65 GHz hexa-core
GPU	Adreno 618	Mali-G72 MP3	unnamed quad-core
RAM	6 GB	4 GB	4 GB
WiFi	Dual band, 802.11ac	Dual band, 802.11ac	Dual band, 802.11ax
Bluetooth	v5.1	v5.0	v5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes	Yes
Operating system	Android 10	Android 10	iOS 13
Other features	USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack	USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack	IP67 certified, Lightning connector, Qi wireless charging

My comparison focused on the supposed benefits of Vivo’s micro gimbal camera, which means in most cases, it’s the X50 Pro’s 48-megapixel f/1.6 camera versus the S20 Ultra’s beastly 108-megapixel f/1.8 shooter. Coincidentally, both main cameras output 12-megapixel images by way of pixel-binning, except the latter uses 3×3 combos instead of 2×2 to mimic even larger pixels for higher efficiency. The S20 Ultra switches to its 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera for its “super steady” mode, which I’ll talk about as well later.

For the sake of convenience, I mounted both phones side by side onto the same handheld rig, which I used mainly for video shoots and general still shots. For long-exposure shots in the dark, I would hold the phones one at a time instead to ensure maximum handheld stabilization.

Richard Lai/Engadget

Before I headed out, I walked around my apartment with my makeshift rig to get familiar with it, and I also used that opportunity to see how the cameras performed indoors with natural lighting. As I expected, the X50 Pro’s camera had better video stabilization, and as a bonus, it offered more natural colors and better dynamic range. 

That said, Vivo’s footage was too soft — I struggled to make out the titles on my bookshelf even when I went up close. On the other side of the fence, the S20 Ultra did well with sharpness — it could perhaps even go a little easier on the sharpening, but it was certainly better than the X50 Pro’s, nonetheless.

I made the same observation with the footage I got from walking under the nice weather. The X50 Pro once again beat the S20 Ultra with more realistic colors but fell behind in sharpness. With more background noise present, I started noticing that the X50 Pro had better audio quality as well; the S20 Ultra’s footage sounded muddier and lacked details in the higher frequencies.

Whenever I picked up my pace or made sudden movements, the micro gimbal camera proved its worth by keeping the video steadier than the S20 Ultra’s jumpy video, but it could only handle so much stabilization — it eventually struggled to keep up when I started sprinting.

This is where the S20 Ultra’s “super steady” mode comes in. Once you toggle this, the camera app switches to the ultra-wide camera, in which it uses purely electronic stabilization and cropping to compensate for extreme movements. In this mode, the S20 Ultra easily tamed the shakiness from my sprinting, with the trade-off being reduced sharpness and slight wobbling from electronic stabilization.

Richard Lai/Engadget

The X50 Pro has a similar mode dubbed “ultra stable,” but rather than switching to its 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, it continues to use the main camera but with a more powerful electronic stabilization (by increasing the cropping angle). Sadly, this couldn’t cope with my sprinting, and it didn’t seem to make much difference compared to normal mode. Vivo’s product manager admitted that such a mode would be more effective on an ultra-wide camera, which would provide more headspace for cropping, but the team opted for the main camera’s better image quality instead.

Switching back to normal video mode on both phones, I was later surprised that the S20 Ultra managed to have better stabilization than the X50 Pro when I walked down a set of stairs. This is likely because Vivo’s micro gimbal only does dual-axis stabilization, so it lacks the third axis to dampen this particular motion. This just goes to show how far we’ve come with electronic stabilization. But of course, maybe someday a future iteration of the micro gimbal will be able to cover all three axes.

I got to the harbor soon after it went dark, and things got interesting. While the S20 Ultra aced the X50 Pro in terms of sharpness during the day, it was the opposite at night. The Samsung phone applied heavy noise reduction to its night-time footage, so a lot of fine details on both distant skyscrapers and nearby banners were missing. Distortion from Samsung’s stabilization also became more apparent as the surrounding got darker — the whole footage would shake with almost each step I took.

While the X50 Pro’s night time footage appeared a little darker, it easily beat the S20 Ultra in all other aspects. More details were preserved, colors were more accurate, and stabilization was better. The cleaner audio quality came in as a bonus to better capture the atmosphere of the light and sound show.

I once again switched to “super steady” / “ultra stable” mode on both phones to see how they would perform in the dark. Again, the difference wasn’t apparent on the X50 Pro, but at least the image quality was similar. The S20 Ultra’s footage, on the other hand, was severely under-exposed, to the point where most of the skyscrapers had almost disappeared into the dark. Such is the limitation of the slower f/2.2 ultra-wide camera used in this mode.

Richard Lai/Engadget

I then shifted my focus to still photography, in order to test Vivo’s claims of better low-light shots using the gimbal camera. Indeed, much like the videos, the X50 Pro’s stills produced more accurate colors and preserved more details on the buildings. The S20 Ultra tried to make up ground by artificially sharpening its shots, but you can’t save what’s already lost.

Long exposure is apparently also a strong suit of Vivo’s micro gimbal camera, so I shifted to another location to try some late night street photography. Even with exposures of as long as 0.5 seconds, the X50 Pro still took sharper and more natural images than the S20 Ultra in most occasions. The gimbal camera’s better dynamic range also meant billboards were less washed out in the X50 Pro’s shots.

Flagship phones have risen in price dramatically in the past few years, forcing buyers on a budget to make a lot of compromises when it came to power and performance. However, some manufacturers have risen to the challenge, finding ways to deliver flagship specs at a lower price point. Today Apple unveiled a new iPhone SE in that vein. It’s got the same processor as its more expensive siblings, making it a very attractive option, but there are plenty of Android handsets also worth a look. We’ve lined up some of the better mid-range devices out there, including the Pixel 3a — mostly because we haven’t gotten a good look at the Pixel 4a just yet. For a deeper dive into the new iPhone, come back in a few weeks for our full review.

	iPhone SE (2020)	Pixel 3a	Galaxy A51	Moto G Stylus
Pricing	$399 / $449 / $549	$299	$350	$300
Dimensions	138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches)	151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2 mm (6.0 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches)	158.5 x 73.6 x 7.9 mm (6.24 x 2.89 x 0.31 inches)	158.55 x 75.8 x 9.2 mm (6.24 x 2.98 x 0.36 inches)
Weight	148g (5.22 ounces)	147g (5.19 ounces)	172g (6.07 ounces)	192g (6.77 ounces)
Screen size	4.7 inches (119.38 mm)	5.6 inches (142.2mm)	6.5 inches (165.1mm)	6.4 inches (162.56mm)
Screen resolution	1,334 x 750 (356 ppi)	2,220 x 1,080 (441 ppi)	2400 x 1,080 (405 ppi)	2,300 x 1,080 (399 ppi)
Screen type	Retina HD LCD	FHD+ gOLED	FHD+ Super AMOLED	IPS LCD
Battery	Up to 13 hours of video playback	3,000 mAh	4,000 mAh	4,000 mAh
Internal storage	64 / 128 / 256 GB	64 GB	128 GB	128 GB
External storage	None	None	None	microSD
Rear camera(s)	12MP, f/1.8	12.2MP, f/1.8	Quad camera: Wide: 48 MP, f/2.0 Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2 Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4 DoF: 5 MP, f/2.2	Three cameras: Wide: 48 MP, f/1.7 Ultrawide: 16 MP, f/2.2 Macro: 2 MP, f/2.2
Front camera(s)	7MP, f/2.2	8MP, f/2.0	32 MP, f/2.2	16 MP, f/2.0
Video capture	4K at 60 fps	4K at 30 fps	4K at 120 fps	4K at 30 fps
SoC	Apple A13 Bionic	Qualcomm Snapdragon 670	Samsung Exynos 9611	Qualcomm Snapdragon 665
CPU	2.65 GHz hexa-core	2.0 GHz octa-core	2.3 GHz octa-core	2.0 GHz octa-core
GPU	unnamed quad-core	Adreno 615	Mali-G72 MP3	Adreno 610
RAM	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB
WiFi	Dual band, 802.11ax	Dual band, 802.11ac	Dual band, 802.11ac	Dual band, 802.11ac
Bluetooth	v5.0	v5.0	v5.0	v5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Operating system	iOS 13	Android 9.0	Android 10	Android 10
Other features	Lightning connector, IP67 certified	USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack	USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack	USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, stylus

The next generation of consoles is coming, with plenty of emphasis on how much power these things have — the better to render modern graphics. Last week we got a look at what’s inside Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, and today we’re finally seeing what’s under the hood with the PlayStation 5. As usual, we’ve lined up their specs for a side-by-side comparison, though for a final verdict we’d wait to see what games each system has lined up and Engadget’s full review when both systems launch later this year.

It’s been yet another Pixel phone launch preceded by a ton of leaks, but we’re still glad to see the official unveiling of Google’s latest flagship. This 5.7-inch device may only have two rear cameras, but the software’s been refined even further to include better Night Sight and HDR+. That’s to be expected in the wake of more intense competition on the camera front from Samsung and Apple. To see exactly how this specs battle is shaking out, check out the table below, and stay tuned for our full review of the Pixel 4 later this month.

Surface Pro devotees can rejoice, for the Pro 7 is here, bringing with it a new 10th-gen processor. But is that enough to get Pro 6 owners to upgrade, or for shoppers to ignore a recent discount on last year’s machine? You can take a peek at the changes in the table below and, for a deeper dive into Microsoft’s newest hybrid, keep an eye out for our hands-on today as well as our upcoming review in a few weeks.