Massive Sonos Brexit price hike coming: Buy your Playbar, Sub and speakers before it arrives

Sonos is putting up the prices of all its speakers and accessories, by as much as £100.

It blames the enormous price hike on Brexit, claiming that the dramatic fall in value of the pound can no longer be sustained by the company, considering it pays for all its components in US dollars.

“Over recent months, there has been a significant change on the US Dollar to GBP exchange rate. As a result, our existing pricing has become unsustainable and, like many other companies, we have to increase prices for all products priced in GBP,” it said on its website.

This means that, from 23 February 2017, all Sonos products will be considerably more expensive.

The largest jumps in price are with the Sonos Playbar and Sub. Each will rise by £100 from £599 to £699.

The Play:1 will rise to £199 (from £169), the Play:3 to £299 (from £259) and the Play:5 to £499 (from £429).

Sonos Connect, Connect:Amp, Boost and the Playbar Wallmount will all be more expensive from 23 February too, costing £349, £499, £99 and £39.

• Which Sonos speaker is best for you? Play:1, Play:3, Play:5 or Playbar
• Sonos is planning a new speaker with built-in Alexa voice control
• Sonos tips and tricks: Get the most out of your multi-room system
• What is Sonos Trueplay and how does it work?

Thankfully, because Sonos has given us all a heads up, it means we can still get its kit for the current prices (perhaps a little cheaper if you shop around).

Amazon.co.uk, for example, has all the items in stock for you to buy now to avoid the hikes:

• Buy the Sonos Playbar for £549 here
• Buy the Sonos Sub for £549 here
• Buy the Sonos Play:1 for £167.99 here
• Buy the Sonos Play:3 for £239 here
• Buy the Sonos Play:5 for £429 here
• Buy the Sonos Connect for £249 here
• Buy the Sonos Connect:Amp for £385 here
• Buy the Sonos Boost for £79 here
• Buy the Sonos Playbar Wallmount for £34.95 here

Planet Earth II coming to 4K Blu-ray in HDR, out on 13 March for £40

It has long been rumoured that, as Planet Earth II was shot and rendered in 4K, a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release would be forthcoming. And so it now is.

BBC Worldwide has announced the release of the nature documentary series in 4K with HDR (high dynamic range) picture tech, which will present the content in the very best possible way. It also has a 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack.

It’s coming on 13 March, costs £39.99 and is available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk now (just click on this link). The set also includes the standard Blu-ray edition.

It won’t be the first time you could see Planet Earth II in 4K, the Beeb added a short clip as a trial on BBC iPlayer.

However, few could see the HLG (hybrid log gamma) presentation as few manufacturers have TVs or boxes able to show it. The 4K HDR video on the UHD Blu-ray version is therefore the ultimate in picture quality you can attain at present.

• What is HDR, what TVs support HDR, and what HDR content can I watch?
• Best 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players 2017
• 17 best 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays available to buy now

“The picture quality is astonishing,” said Lesley Johnson, operations director for BBC Worldwide.

“For the first time viewers can experience at home the picture quality viewed in the edit suite. The vastly improved compression of UHD Blu-ray with HDR means the experience is up to 10 times better than any broadcast or streaming service can provide.”

All Nintendo Switch owners do get a free game after all, of sorts

One of the biggest issues highlighted about the Nintendo Switch so far is that it comes without an included game. And with games costing up to £60 a pop, it adds a considerable fee on top of the existing £280 cover price.

Both the Wii U and Wii came with packaged games, Nintendo Land and Wii Sports respectively, and many thought the same would be the case with the Switch. Sadly, that’s not to be. Not from day one anyway.

Never fear though. If you’ve blown your budget on the console itself and have to save up to buy a full title, there will still be something playable on the device in the meantime. Nintendo is releasing a free “preview” of Splatoon 2 that will be available to play online for three days at the end of March.

• Nintendo Switch preview: Return of the king?
• Nintendo Switch pre-order stock available again, get one while you can
• All the Nintendo Switch games: Launch titles and every game for 2017 revealed
• Nintendo Switch: Release date, price, specs and everything you need to know

Free open betas is not a new thing in gaming, with online multiplayer games often offering testing phases for PS4, Xbox One and PC, but it’s a first for Nintendo. It also marks a new dawn for online gaming for the company, with a more open ecosystem rather than the walled garden approach adopted in the past.

Splatoon 2 and the preview build can also be played over a LAN network on up to 10 docked Switch consoles, with eight playing and two onlookers in a new Private Battle Spectator mode. It allows for professional style local tournaments.

Eight player matches can be played wirelessly too.

You can download and play the Splatoon 2 preview build from 24 to 25 March. Sessions will run in one hour intervals at the following times:

Friday 24 March

• From 7pm GMT

Saturday 25 March

• From 4am GMT
• From 12pm GMT
• From 8pm GMT

Sunday 26 March

• From 5am BST
• From 1pm BST

The Morning After: Monday, February 13 2017

It’s Monday, and over the weekend Intel says its chips are getting (predictably) better, although not to a revolutionarily degree. We play with the ultimate, if unofficial, NES, and see a streaming-only album win a Grammy.

The ultimate NES comes with an appropriate price tag.
The Analogue Nt Mini wants to be the last NES you’ll ever buy

Trying to play an NES cartridge on Nintendo’s original, 30-year-old hardware can be an exercise in frustration. The console’s ancient composite cables offer terrible image quality on modern televisions, and getting games to actually run is a ballet of resetting, jostling and, of course, blowing on game cartridges. While Nintendo’s own NES Classic Edition and the Wii U and 3DS virtual consoles offer refuge for the casual gamer’s nostalgic yearnings, collectors looking for a more authentic experience have had to compromise. Is it better to play on the original, but unreliable, hardware, or an NES clone plagued with compatibility issues? Sean Buckley says that with the Analogue Nt Mini, you may not have to tolerate either.

They’ll still be better.
Intel’s 8th-gen Core processors won’t be revolutionary

Intel has revealed that its 8th-generation Core processors, due in the second half of 2017 will be built on a 14-nanometer process for the fourth time in a row. The company is shy on what these new chips will entail, but it’s claiming that it’ll manage another 15 percent performance improvement — in tests at least — like it did with the 7th-generation Core designs you see now.

Real-time weather reports from tiny drones.
NASA’s tiny airborne probes could help improve weather forecasts

It’s not easy to gather airborne weather data beyond major airports. Airliners have had a sophisticated probe system (TAMDAR Edge) for over a dozen years, but that doesn’t help much in those remote areas where you may only see smaller airplanes or drones. NASA is close to covering this gap. It recently started test-flying a relatively tiny, lightweight version of TAMDAR Edge aboard an Ikhana drone. The tech promises real-time weather data on virtually any aircraft, filling in local atmospheric conditions even in barren places like the Arctic.

Bigger courses and faster drones
Drone Racing League lands a title sponsor for the 2017 season

It doesn’t have the cachet of something like the Winston Cup (yet), but the Drone Racing League says its 2017 campaign will be called the Allianz World Championship Series. In another move cribbed from traditional motorsports, the drone pilots will have sponsors too. This season is airing on TV again with 12 hour long episodes that will come to ESPN/ESPN2. Those identical DRL Racer 2 drones will fly through 3D courses at more than 90mph, with the league promising bigger courses and faster drones this season.

But wait, there’s more…

• Chance the Rapper wins the first Grammy for a streaming-only album
• ‘Splatoon 2’ preview arrives on Nintendo Switch in March
• Liquid battery could last for over 10 years
• After Math: Baby come back

Sonos to raise prices by up to 25 percent over Brexit

If you live in the UK and have been mulling a Sonos purchase recently, take note: the company’s prices will soon be going up. Through an online support page, the company has confirmed that its premium speakers and soundbars will be rising by up to 25 percent on February 23rd. Some tweaks are marginal, such as a £30 rise for the £169 Play:1 (soon to be £199). Others are more significant, however. The larger Play:5, for instance, is rising £70 to £499, while the Playbar and Sub are climbing £100 to £699 each. The Connect:Amp, meanwhile, is going up £100 to £499.

The reason, unsurprisingly, is Brexit. “We pay for everything we make in US dollars,” the company said in a statement. “Over recent months, there has been a significant change on the US Dollar to GBP exchange rate. As a result, our existing pricing has become unsustainable and, like many other companies, we have to increase prices for all products priced in GBP.” Some fans are calling the decision “outrageous,” “business suicide” and “frankly nuts” in the company’s online forums. “Really disappointed Sonos is jumping on the Brexit band wagon as an excuse to raise prices. Sonos will not be top of my list when it comes time to upgrade,” one user said.

Sonos isn’t the first to bump up its prices following the EU referendum vote. The OnePlus 3 got a minor price hike last July. HTC followed suit with a hefty increase for its Vive VR headset in August. Apple shifted some hardware prices in September, before Microsoft raised it cloud and business software rates in October. Tesla has since followed suit, upping the prices of its premium electric cars. Most recently, Apple has adjusted the price tiers for apps in the App Store. Sonos is merely the latest to compensate for the falling pound — it almost certainly won’t be the last.

Source: Sonos

Nikon cancels DL compacts amid ‘extraordinary’ losses

Nikon has cancelled the DL series premium compact cameras it was hoping to pit against Sony and Panasonic. The lineup was supposed to launch in June of 2016, but was delayed due to problems with the electronics. Since then, its rivals have released new models (the RX100 Mark V and Panasonic DMC-LX10) putting the company significantly behind. Because of all that (and a soft market) Nikon thought the DL compacts weren’t likely to be profitable.

The lineup was supposed to feature three high-end models with 20.8-megapixel, 1-inch sensors: a DL18-50mm walking-around model (above), DL24-85m zoom and a DL24-500 superzoom (below). The DL24-85 model would have gone up against Sony’s RX100 Mark V and the Panasonic DMC-LX10 while the DL24-500 would rival Sony’s pricey RX10 III compact zooms.

The news comes amid a lot of turmoil at Nikon, which is undergoing a “fundamental” restructuring. It also revealed today that it’s shedding over 1,000 employees via voluntary retirement, and that it took an unexpected loss due to problems with its semiconductor lithography business. Overall all, its sales are down 8.2 percent over last year.

The failure of the compact line-up has got to be a big blow for Nikon. Other than the aging Nikon 1 series (which is reportedly foundering, too) it has nothing in the booming mirrorless category and now, no premium compacts either. Meanwhile, its rivals, especially Sony and Fujifilm, are releasing popular and desirable large-sensor cameras like the XT-20 mirrorless and aforementioned RX100 Mark V.

That means in the high-end market — which is the only place for camera-makers to be these days — Nikon is strictly a DSLR company. While it certainly has the engineering chops to make something its fans want, it had better pull something out of the hat soon.

Via: Nikon Rumors

Source: Nikon

Apple’s Carpool Karaoke series gets its first trailer

It’s been six months since Apple acquired the keys to the viral juggernaut that is Carpool Karaoke. In that time, we’ve learned that the iPhone maker plans 16 half-hour episodes that will include celebrities like Alicia Keys, Ariana Grande, John Cena and Will Smith, but there’s been little talk about how it will stand alone from the original Late Late Show segment. Thanks to a new trailer, we now have some idea of the route Apple is taking: much of it is staying the same, but an Apple budget will also take the series in a couple of new directions.

First, is additional confirmation that British host James Corden won’t front host every instalment. He does appear in some, but the trailer also shows shots of Billy Eichner riding shotgun with Metallica and John Legend driving Alicia Keys (although Corden is shown in the back seat in a later shot). Second, the teaser highlights that some parts of the show won’t take place in a car at all. Shaq and John Cena are shown hanging out in a bakery, John Legend welcoming a choir in a laundromat and Will Smith whizzing by the Hollywood sign in a helicopter.

Although Apple is ready to market its new series, during the Grammys no less, there’s still no word on when the episodes will be released. The company says it’s “coming soon” to Apple Music, which likely means you’ll need a subscription to view them.

Prince’s classic albums are back on Spotify and other streaming sites

Why it matters to you

If you’re a Prince fan who loves to stream music, you’re all set.

Prince fans keen to stream the late music legend’s vast catalog of work can now hop onto most leading streaming sites and do just that.

Coinciding with Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, the arrival of Prince’s music on services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora comes 10 months after the artist’s untimely death at the age of 57.

Prince devotees who prefer streaming to digital downloads can now hit their favorite music service for all the classics, including Purple Rain, Dirty Mind, 1999, and Sign O’ The Times.

In protest at Spotify’s free streaming tier and in support of his fellow artists, Prince pulled his catalog from music streaming services in the summer of 2015. But a short time later the artist struck a deal with Jay Z’s Tidal service to host much of his work.

“After one meeting, it was obvious that Jay Z and the team he has assembled at Tidal recognize and applaud the real effort that real musicians put in2 their craft 2 achieve the very best they can at this pivotal time in the music industry,” Prince said in a statement at the time.

More: Iconoclastic and impossibly original, Prince was literally a symbol for revolution

However, following the artist’s death in April last year, his estate moved to ink a deal to get Prince’s tracks back on all of the major streaming sites, a process leading to Sunday’s launch.

Commenting on the return of The Purple One’s catalog to online music services, Cameron Strang, chairman and  CEO of Warner Bros. Records said: “Prince recorded his most influential and popular music during his time with Warner Bros. and we are deeply aware of our responsibility to safeguard and nurture his incredible legacy.”

He added that the record label was “thrilled to be able to bring Prince’s music to his millions of fans around the world via streaming services, fittingly on music’s biggest night.”

LG G6 will feature a Quad DAC for “the best smartphone sound”

LG has said it will implement a Quad DAC in the upcoming G6 flagship smartphone in a bid to improve the sound quality. The DAC will be made by ESS, an expert in its field, and will combine four DACs onto a single chip. LG claims this will reduce noise interference from neighbouring electronics by up to 50 per cent more than if it were to use a single DAC.

• LG G6: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know

It’s not the first time LG has fitted a Quad DAC to a smartphone, that accolade belongs to the V20 smartphone released in 2016, but the one fitted in the G6 will be able to control the left and right audio channels separately. This will let users fine tune the balance of sound to their liking and let them “feel the stereoscopic feeling of listening to music directly at the concert scene.”

The G6’s Quad DAC also promises to reduce distortion to 0.0002 per cent, so essentially nothing, and leave listeners with crystal clear sound.

The LG G5 featured interchangeable modules, one of which was a Hi-Fi quality DAC made Bang & Olufsen. While it was a good sounding module, the inconvenience of having to change it out ultimately made the G5, in our opinion, a bit of a misfire. With the G6, LG will ditch the modules and opt for a unibody design instead, whether it will be able to hold its own against competition from the likes of Apple and Samsung remains to be seen. The LG G6 will be the first flagship phone to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress on the 26 February in Barcelona.

Nikon scraps DL compact camera line promised last summer

Although they were officially announced a year ago and expected to be released in June 2016, Nikon’s DL series of compact cameras has been canned.

The long-awaited Nikon DL24-85mm f/1.8-2.8, DL:18-50mm f/1.8-2.8 and DL24-500mm f/2.8-5.6 models will no longer be brought to market and that section of the market is no longer a concern for the company.

There was a lot of interest in the three compacts, each of which promised a 20.8-megapixel 1-inch sensor. However, Nikon now believes there is no profitability in releasing them in 2017 – six month after the original on-sale date came and went.

Nikon cites issues with the “integrated circuit for image processing” as the main reason for their original delay. It has also posted a statement about the cancellation, which reveals a shrinking of camera sales generally.

“It has been decided that sales of the DL series will be canceled due to concerns regarding their profitability considering the increase in development costs, and the drop in the number of expected sales due to the slow-down of the market,” the company said.

“We sincerely apologise to all those affected by this decision, especially those customers who waited so long for the cameras to be released, retailers and others whose business will be affected, for the inconvenience this decision may cause.”