But, HTC is also giving away some premier games to Vive owners for free—provided they buy into Viveport first.
Viveport, Vive’s Game Pass-like subscription service to a library of over 200 VR experiences, currently retails for $8.99 / £8.99 per month, or £19.99 / $19.99 for three months.
If you subscribe for three, six, or 12 months before July 8, you’ll still pay the regular subscription fee. However, you’ll also get a copy of Moss VR for free, one of our favorite VR games on any headset.
Previously a PlayStation VR exclusive, Moss has you controlling the brave little squeaker Quill through a series of puzzles and sword fights. Polyarc Games, a game dev comprised of former Bungie engineers, only ported Moss to Vive and Oculus Rift last month—which makes it especially tempting as a free perk.
Moss VR | Credit: Polyarc
As another incentive to sign up, HTC is also giving away Shooty Fruity to Viveport subscribers this weekend, a cartoonish shooter in which you defend your store from mutant fruits.
Plus, HTC will give another unnamed game away for free to subscribers next weekend. You can sign up for a 14-day trial to snag Shooty Fruity and the other mystery title for free, but this method won’t get you Moss, which usually retails for $29.99 / £29.99.
Current subscribers also have the option to get Moss. Simply purchase another pre-paid subscription bundle and then add it to the end of your current subscription window.
Moss: definitive edition?
In an interview with HTC, Danny Bulla, co-founder and design director at Polyarc, described how Moss for PC arguably improves upon the PlayStation VR exclusive.
“The ability to have two tracked controllers is more intuitive when it comes to reaching into the world and interacting with things from a mechanics standpoint,” Bulla said. “Intuitively players will reach in if their hands are free and that alone helps with the immersion.”
He also praised how the PC version gives players more control over customizing graphics and settings, in a way that apparently the Sony version could not offer.
So, for Vive owners who haven’t had a chance to try the acclaimed Moss out yet, the Summer Sale offer seems like an exciting opportunity. You can find the subscription page here.
For the past few years, the next Xbox was nothing more than a fanboy’s dream. We had hoped Microsoft was working on something new, even suspected that might be the case, but until recently, we weren’t sure.
Now we can confidently say that not only is Xbox Two (a.k.a. Xbox Scarlett) now in development, but it’s closer than it’s ever been to being unveiled.
The official story starts just a few months ago when Xbox Chief Phil Spencer told the thousands of attendees at E3 2018 that the console – or, rather, series of consoles is in development: “Our hardware team is deep into developing the next generation of Xbox consoles, where we will once again deliver on our commitment to set the benchmark for console gaming.”
Since Spencer’s announcement details have slowly bubbled up all around the net on the purported system. First we got a codename – Xbox Scarlett – and now we’ve heard rumblings of the first games to be designed for the next-gen Xbox: The Elder Scrolls 6, Cyberpunk 2077 and Halo Infinite. If these all manage to launch on the console when it releases somewhere around 2020 or 2021, it could be enough to put Microsoft back on top of the gaming world.
The next Xbox is already being designed.July 11, 2017
While it’d be nice to have a new console ready for E3 2019, work hasn’t gone so far that we can expect to see the console any sooner than 2019. According to Windows Central’s Jez Corden, 2 years would be too soon to expect the new console but it would likely still be backwards compatible with the rest of the Xbox family.
Interestingly, 2019 to 2020 is around the time that analysts are predicting Sony will launch the PlayStation 5.
If you ask us, we think it’s unlikely that Microsoft would let Sony launch a brand new console without answering with its own within a year, but we don’t think the company would try to beat Sony to the post given Microsoft’s first foray into true 4K gaming hasn’t even been on store shelves even a year yet.
That said, however, that’s not going to stop us from thinking ahead to the next Xbox and what it’ll bring – corroborated by information scoured from across the web.
Xbox Two news and rumors
It will house some impressive tech
A new job listing suggests that Microsoft is hard at work on the next Xbox. The company is looking for a senior electrical engineer to “come be a part of what’s next” in Xbox hardware.
Xbox is seeking for an engineer to “lead the DRAM solutions for the Xbox console hardware development team” adding that the “DRAM solutions include DDR3, GDDR5, GDDR6 and future DRAM technologies.”
This person will be working on “currently shipping and future Xbox design projects.” It was already suggested by Jez Corden in 2017 that the next Xbox is being designed and this gives greater credence to that.
Andrew House talks the next generation
Former PlayStation chief, Andrew House, has been talking about the future of consoles at GamesBeat Summit in California recently. Though House wasn’t willing to go into specifics on the next PlayStation itself, he did say that he thinks physical media will be around for all consoles for some time to come, thanks to the need to continue breaking into new markets. One would assume this is something that would also be relevant to any future Xbox console.
In his interview, House said, “I don’t have any firm knowledge on this, but my sense is that you will see the disc around in the industry for a while. If you’re going to tap into some of these [developing] markets, then allowing for that more traditional physical purchase model as an option is probably no bad thing.”
Despite this, though, House also believes that streaming will be big in the future of gaming – an opinion which ties neatly with Microsoft’s Phil Spencer’s who emphasised the need for a ‘Netflix for video games.’ This would be, one would imagine, a natural extension of the download-based Xbox Game Pass in the next generation.
What will the new Xbox be called?
The hardest part of this future-gazing is actually trying to guess what the console might be called, given the naming progression that’s come before. Microsoft isn’t going to abandon the Xbox brand anytime soon, surely, but the subtitle is a little harder to pin down.
If it’s a brand new console generation it’d make sense to call it Xbox Two, but Xbox 720 made a retrospectively perplexing amount of sense at one point so let’s not be too confident in that.
If we’re going to really get our tinfoil hats on, looking at the naming progression we can see the latest console is the Xbox One X. If X were to be read as ten, the next console would be the Xbox One II or Xbox II (2). Okay, we’re just kidding. Regardless,Microsoft is a hard company to predict when it comes to console naming.
What will it the new Xbox be capable of?
What’s slightly easier is predicting the features that are likely to appear in this new Xbox.
The Xbox One X is a huge step forward for Microsoft, bringing native 4K gaming and near-PC power into a console. It’s currently the most powerful console on the market so where can Microsoft go from here?
We can only imagine. So that’s exactly what we’re going to do; join us won’t you?
A powerful console focused on games
We like to think Microsoft has learned a lot of lessons from the difficult launch of the Xbox One. The Xbox One didn’t have the advantage of being the only HD console option on the market like the Xbox 360 did, and additionally its launch ended up being marred by a Kinect bundle that pushed its price way higher than it should have been.
As a result, the PlayStation 4 took (and has maintained) a commanding lead in terms of market share.
Microsoft has definitely addressed a lot of these issues with the Xbox One X. It’s a piece of hardware that’s almost entirely focused on games, and it’s not bundled with any superfluous hardware. In fact, Microsoft’s gone so far as to drop the Kinect port entirely. We imagine this focus will continue into the future.
Budget and premium options
With the One S and the One X Microsoft is embracing both an iterative and a tiered model. The company is not only launching incrementally better pieces of hardware over time, but it’s also supporting previous versions of the console and allowing them to exist as budget options.
As a case in point, the One X is still expensive (much more so than the PS4 Pro), but the Xbox One S is still being presented as a worthy and attractively priced 4K upscaling alternative that will still be capable of playing all the same games, not just from this generation but the previous generation too.
However, after each console has had its chance at being the budget model, they’ve each fallen away into obscurity. We’ve already seen this with the original Xbox One, and it’s likely that the Xbox Two will eventually have the same effect on the Xbox One S.
We imagine Microsoft may want a certain degree of market saturation for the Xbox One X (or at the very least 4K TVs) before launching the Xbox Two but when the console does launch it’s less likely to feel like the same leap that moving from Xbox 360 to Xbox One did.
Trial and error, rather than a jump into the unknown
In some senses we feel that it’s reasonable to assume we’ll be slowly drip-fed a lot of the technology that will end up in the Xbox Two.
This has the big advantage of allowing Microsoft to establish what works and what doesn’t work over time rather than having to take a big leap of faith with a brand new piece of hardware.
VR and AR support is likely
We’ve learned that certain things are unimportant for consoles this generation, like motion-sensing and touch-screen, but the new technologies like VR and AR are proving to be very exciting fields for developers.
If PlayStation VR continues to grow in strength we expect Microsoft will be more clear about the Xbox One X’s stance on these headsets and much more active about developing the technology for its successor. Xbox Two could very well be the HoloLens console. If the technology flops, Microsoft can easily phase it out from its next generation plans like the Kinect but much more neatly and less to the detriment of initial sales.
Meanwhile, if the Xbox One X’s 4K visuals fail to make the console appeal as much as Microsoft hopes they will, we don’t doubt they’ll still be a feature of the Xbox Two, but they may be less of a focus in the overall marketing.
The latest and greatest audio visual technology
Recently Microsoft has been really keen on integrating the latest audio visual technologies into its consoles – Dolby Atmos support, 4K and HDR are all here. This is something we can see continuing into the next generation.
It’s clear Microsoft wants gaming on Xbox to be a full sensory experience and it’s possible that the next console will include some kind of projection system similar to Project Ariana that Razer showcased at CES 2017 whereby gaming environments were extended beyond the screen and into the player’s room. With something like this, Xbox Two has the potential to be an immersive gaming machine and we already know technology of a similar ilk was being considered in the Illumiroom project from back in 2013.
An increasingly cross-platform ecosystem
In the way that Nintendo is bridging the gap between its handheld and home console divisions with the Switch, we can see Microsoft moving its PC and console users closer as we move onto the Xbox Two.
Cross-platform play, accounts and digital purchases are being encouraged in the Windows 10 and Xbox stores and this is something we can see Microsoft continuing to push into the new generation, particularly if it’s going to continue to manufacture consoles that boast near-PC specs.
Learnings from the PC
It’s likely that the new Xbox will likely have more of a Steam-esque interface that puts games first and doesn’t confuse the customer. A system with a more indie- and mod-friendly focus is also important (we’re already seeing this with Indie@Xbox), and if the console consumer base doesn’t jibe with mid-lifecycle console upgrades, perhaps a more PC piecemeal approach with more swappable parts will be in order.
When will the next Xbox be released?
So we can agree we’re almost certainly going to get another console but will we have to wait eight years like we did between the previous generation and this one? It might end up that way, actually, but thanks to iteration it certainly won’t feel like it.
Though it won’t come as soon as two years from now, we think it’d be reasonable to expect the Xbox Two in three years, perhaps releasing in 2021. This would be eight years after the release of the original Xbox One and a good time, perhaps, to move onto the new generation. It’d also be around the time, or one year after, analysts are expecting Sony to release the PlayStation 5.
With the steady and considered steps Microsoft is making and the way the company seems to be listening to feedback from its users more than ever, we anticipate that the Xbox Two could be its most considered launch yet. In the meantime, a lot hinges on the Xbox One X.
We’ve also done some speculating about the future of the PlayStation, check out everything we want to see from the PlayStation 5.
They’re the giants of the web, one dominating search, the other king of the online shop. But when it comes to the race to rule the smart speaker space, the Amazon Echo and Google Home are pretty evenly matched.
The voice controlled audio devices promise to take the strain off your everyday life – need to set a time? Just ask the Google Assistant. Want to play your favorite spring cleaning playlist without lifting a finger? Your wish is Amazon Alexa’s command. Both voice-activated digital butlers can carry out thousands of tasks, many similar, but with some key differences between the two product ranges that you’d be wise to be aware of.
So, it’s the future of speakers – but which is for you? Amazon Echo, or Google Home? And, which specific model suits your needs? We put them head-to-head.
Amazon Echo: the different models compared
Let’s kick off with the smart speaker that started it all – the Amazon Echo. Its vanilla version is likely where you’ll want to begin – it stands 14.8cm tall and sounds pretty damn good for its price, supporting Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, with the signature blue-ring around its top that tells you when it’s listening after hearing its default wake word, “Alexa”.
The Amazon Echo Dot
Perhaps the most popular Echo of all though is the Echo Dot – it’s the cheapest of the entire bunch and is about the same size as a hockey puck. Its size means its speaker is quite tinny and weak, so it’s better suited for rooms where music playback won’t be its primary function – but you can pair it up with a Bluetooth speaker or another audio device using an AUX jack connection, which makes it perhaps the most cost-effective upgrade you could make to an aging Hi-Fi system.
Amazon’s Echo Plus
The Echo Plus has a more industrial look, standing taller than the vanilla Echo with exposed speaker grilling, and it doubles up as a smart home hub for connected devices, too, justifying its extra premium in price.
The Amazon Echo Show
The Spot and the Show are the two Amazon Echo devices to feature a screen. You can think of the Echo Spot as an upgraded Echo Dot – perfect for a bedside table, with the ability to make video calls through its circular screen. The Echo Show is essentially an Amazon Fire tablet with an Alexa speaker strapped to the bottom, letting you ask about shows available on Amazon’s services and partner apps (including the likes of BBC News), making it like a second screen for your kitchen.
Amazon’s Echo Spot
All have access to the majority of Alexa skills (think voice controlled apps) available, though only the Plus can double up as a bridge for your smart home devices – while all Echo products can talk to things like smart bulbs and thermostats, it’s only the Plus that lets you do away with individual hubs for each additional gadget family.
The boxy Echo Show aside, all Echo products are attractive – particularly the new-look fabric-covered standard Echo, and the Magic Eight Ball-like Echo Spot. Unobtrusive, they’re slightly more industrial looking than Google’s speaker option, but arguably smarter looking, too.
For more on each version of the Amazon Echo, check out the full reviews below:
Google Home: each model compared
Google’s smart speaker range is a touch smaller than Amazon’s, with just the three Google Home speakers to choose from. At this stage, none feature screens either (though these are in the works, both in house and with third-party manufacturers looking to work with Google Assistant), so it’s a pure audio experience with Google at this time.
The Google Home Mini
The smallest of the three is the Google Home Mini speaker. It, like the Echo Dot, is puck shaped (if a little more pebble-like with its softer edges), with its top side covered in a fabric speaker mesh. It’s available in a range of colors, with four flashing LED lights used to illustrate when it’s listening to your commands.
At the middle of the range is the standard Google Home, which looks considerably different. It looks a little like a small vase, with a two-tone color design (again with multiple options to choose from) and a sloping top side that houses a touch control panel.
The Google Home Max
The Google Home Max looks much more like a traditional loudspeaker, and is the largest of the bunch. It’s boxy in design, and closer aesthetically to the Google Home Mini with its mesh speaker covering. It can stand in either a portrait or landscape orientation to suit the needs of your decor.
While the vanilla Google Home is an acquired taste in terms of design, both the Mini and Max are subtly attractive, and should fit into any surroundings without much concern.
To find out more about each version of the Google Home, check out the full reviews below:
Keep in mind that, with both Alexa and Google Assistant, third-party speaker manufacturers are increasingly choosing to integrate the voice helpers into their products. So if there’s an audio manufacturer that you’re particularly fond of, it may be worth holding out to see if they’ve any plans to join either of the smart ecosystems – at this point, it’s highly likely that most all audio devices in the near future will come equipped with some sort of microphone and voice control system.
Smart features
The smart features of the Google Home and Amazon Echo lines are broadly similar – speak to them, and you’ll be able to do anything from playing back music, have general knowledge questions answered, controlling smart home gear and setting alarms and timers. And that just scratches the surface.
Both Google and Amazon are committed, long term, to improving their respective voice platforms, and each has done a good job so far of enticing third-party smart device manufacturers – from thermostat makers to smart lighting companies – to make their products compatible with each service. With a base level of commands available to each, with either a “Hey Google”, or “Alexa…” wake word uttered, control of the digital world is just a vibration of your vocal chords away.
But the two take a slightly different approach to the way their abilities are accessed. Google Home’s abilities are, by default, accessible to all – barring pairing up third-party smart home devices with your Google Home system, if you’ve made a request that the Google ecosystem can understand, it’ll carry out the required response unprompted. Alexa, on the other hand, relies on the installation of Skills – individual, app-like sets of related voice commands focussing on certain topics or abilities. Handled and activated through the Alexa app on smartphones, these can range from getting information on local transport times, or even to activating voice-controlled games.
There’s no right or wrong approach – Google’s is simpler, while Alexa’s encourages faster and broader development and support from third-parties.
Audio
As you’d expect from such a wildly varying range of shapes and sizes, you get very different sound performance across both ecosystems, let alone when comparing competing models. Here’s a general breakdown of how they sound in relation to each other:
If you can only afford the entry-level devices, and music remains a top priority for you. Go for the Google Home Mini, which sounds a lot better than the Echo Dot. Unless you hook up a Dot to another speaker over Bluetooth or the 3.5mm jack, it’s just too thin and harsh to fully enjoy.
If you’re looking for a small Echo speaker, your best best then is the Echo Spot, which despite its size offers a richer sound. The screen, however, massively increases its expense.
When you’re moving up the size scale, Google’s Home is too bass-heavy to be truly enjoyable. It also has worse clarity than the latest generation of Echo speaker and Echo Plus. So if you’re limited to around $100/£100, the Amazon Echo may be the best choice.
With a slight premium in price, and the inclusion of Dolby processing, the Echo Plus sound is more dynamic than the standard Echo, as you’d hope.
And, despite its looks, the Echo Show sounds better than the Echo Plus and Echo, though not so dramatically as to forgive it some of its other failings.
If you’re going for pure sonic superiority between the Echo and Google Home ranges however, opt for the Google Max. Its bass is well tuned, its mids and highs well defined, and its top volume levels loud without verging into highly distorted territory.
Price
There’s such a range of prices across the two speaker platforms that, in fairness, there’s something for every wallet size. It’s more about what you’re expecting to get from your smart speaker of choice. Amazon, offering the widest spread of options, hits both the most affordable and expensive price points between the two brands, with the Echo Dot at the lower end and the screen-packing Echo Show at the top. Google sits somewhere in the middle. Compare the latest pricing between the ranges below.
Verdict
There’s no easy answer to the question of whether you should buy Amazon Echo or Google Home products. Both lines are very accomplished and, so long as you temper your expectations in line with the amount of money you’re going to spend on buying into one of the lines, all sound good enough for their price points.
The choice really then comes down to the preference of ecosystem as opposed to the hardware. Are you heavily invested in Google’s services? Then Google Home is probably for you, as the two areas are only going to become ever-more-closely linked. Google’s natural language understanding is superior too, even if its voice implementation still needs some refinement.
However, in terms of sheer value for money and the already vast reach of its collaborations and abilities, Amazon’s Alexa devices seem the more sensible bet at this stage. It’s a close run race, with Google’s powerful search capabilities potentially seeing it through in the long run. But there’s something to be said for Amazon’s more focussed approach – from our experience so far, Alexa currently feels like the more reliable assistant. But that could change. Either way, place your bets – you’re unlikely to come away disappointed.
