Review: Schlage Sense Remains a Top Option Among HomeKit-Enabled Smart Locks

Following my review of the Yale Assure Lock SL deadbolt with HomeKit support last month, a number of readers highlighted the Schlage Sense as another satisfactory HomeKit option worth considering. As it turns out, I’ve been using the Schlage Sense on my front door for quite some time, so it’s worth taking a look at how Schlage’s offering has held up over time.

The Schlage Sense deadbolt was one of the first HomeKit-enabled smart locks, launching over two years ago, yet it remains one of the most popular smart locks on the market among Apple users. In fact, Apple continues to feature the Schlage Sense in its online and retail stores, although it is currently listed as unavailable for both online orders and in-store pickup even though it remains on the shelves at some Apple retail stores.

Unlike the Assure Lock SL that comes in only a single design (albeit with a few color options), the Schlage Sense comes in two different styles that fit in with many of Schlage’s other hardware products: a classic Camelot style and a more modern Century style, with Matte Black, Satin Nickel, and Aged Bronze finishes available depending on style.

I’ve been using a Camelot-style Schlage Sense on my front door, paired with a matching non-locking Camelot doorknob to ensure I can’t be accidentally locked out of my house due to a locked doorknob. The pairing looks good together, with the Camelot style offering a hint of elegance even with a prominent keypad.

Installation

Installation of the Schlage Sense is straightforward, and Schlage includes step-by-step directions to walk you through the process. As long as you’re replacing an existing deadbolt and everything is lined up properly, installation takes just a few minutes and only requires a screwdriver. Just slide the deadbolt assembly into the edge of the door and sandwich it with the interior and exterior portions while connecting the two sides with a cable. A few screws pull everything together, and once you insert the batteries you should be ready to configure the lock.

As is common with smart deadbolts, the interior portion of the Schlage Sense is quite large, which is a rather unfortunate visual look. But with space required for the lock cylinder, electronics, and four AA batteries, there’s only so much that can be done to reduce the size.

Setup and App

Programming and setup are handled through the Schlage Sense app [App Store], which walks you through the process of pairing the lock with your phone over Bluetooth and configuring your lock options such whether the lock beeps as you press the keypad, automatic relocking, and one-touch locking where you don’t have to enter a code. The lock also has an optional alarm mode which can beep when the door is opened or closed or sound an alarm when forced entry is detected.

You can register for a Schlage account and add the Sense or just go straight to HomeKit, allowing the deadbolt to integrate with other HomeKit accessories. The HomeKit setup process is dead simple, requiring just a few steps. With an Apple TV, iPad, or HomePod around the house, you can use HomeKit to view the lock status and lock or unlock from anywhere, but if you don’t want to use HomeKit, Schlage offers a $70 Wi-Fi adapter to provide remote access.

The app also lets you set up multiple user codes to limit access to your home. When adding a code, you’ll have the option of specifying certain days and times when the code will work, which is handy for pet-sitters and others who need only temporary access to your home.

The main screen of the app gives you quick access to lock status, and a simple tap anywhere on the large lock graphic locks or unlocks the deadbolt. Of course, with HomeKit integration, you can use the Home app or Siri to perform the same functions.

The app also lets you see a history of lock events, showing what days and times the deadbolt was locked and unlocked, with details such as whether it was locked or unlocked via the exterior touchscreen or interior thumb turn, as well as which user code was used for an exterior unlock.

The app won’t win any design awards and there’s a little layout issue on iPhone X, but it doesn’t interfere with any of the app’s functions.

General Operation

The Schlage Sense operates smoothly, with a satisfying heft to the thumb turn on the interior and simple keypad operation on the outside. Entering a user code on the keypad requires pressing the “Schlage” button at the top of the pad, which lights up the keypad, and then entering the four-digit code that unlocks the door. The same process locks the door from the outside unless you’ve turned on one-touch locking, which immediately locks the door when you press the Schlage button without the need to enter a user code.

While unlocking and locking, the Schlage Sense can utilize two different power levels to assist with moving the motorized deadbolt. The lock will first attempt to extend or retract the deadbolt at a lower power level, but if it is unsuccessful due to alignment being off or pressure being placed on the door that provides more resistance, the lock will increase power and try again. The motor is fairly noisy at both power levels.

The higher power undoubtedly burns through batteries more quickly (how much I’m not sure), but if your installation has everything lined up properly the higher power should rarely be needed. About the only time I’ve had the high-power mode activate is when trying to lock and I didn’t quite get the door closed all the way. I’ve also triggered it a few times when I failed to wait for unlocking to complete before trying to push the door open and the pressure of pushing the deadbolt against the door jamb prevented the bolt from retracting under the low-power mode.

HomeKit

Adding the Schlage Sense to your HomeKit home is a simple process of scanning the HomeKit code during the setup process. Once it’s part of your home, you can view and control the lock via the Home app on iOS or through Siri. You can also add it to automation routines with rooms, scenes, and triggers such as a “Good Night” scene to secure your house at bedtime.

Schlage Sense also works with Amazon Alexa and should be receiving an update soon to offer support for Google Assistant.

Bugs

I did have an issue related to the release of iOS 10.2 where I became unable to apply firmware updates to my Schlage Sense. At the time, Schlage customer service told me it was a known issue with some users and that I would be notified when an app update was released to address the issue. Over time, I also began getting less and less life out of each set of batteries, and I was never able to get firmware updates working again on the lock. After a couple months of waiting for a fix that never came and my battery life running down to just a week per set rather than the 6–12 months I should have been seeing, I contacted support again and they quickly sent out a free replacement.

Since that time, the only issue I’ve run into is an occasional bug where the deadbolt has been unlocked but still thinks it’s locked. It’s a very rare issue that I only notice when I try to one-touch lock the door from the keypad and nothing happens because it’s waiting for me to enter an unlock code.

Other than these two issues, the Schlage Sense has been reliable throughout the time I’ve owned it, and I’ve never found myself unable to gain access to my house. I do have smart locks and keypads on all of the entrances of my house to help provide peace of mind should any of them fail, and as a result I haven’t carried house keys on me when leaving the house in years.

Wrap-up

Over two years after its launch, the Schlage Sense remains one of the most popular HomeKit-enabled smart locks, and it’s easy to see why. It comes from a trusted brand that has helped it gain visibility in Home Depot, Lowe’s and other retailers where homeowners shop for their door hardware, and the exterior keypad has a nice look that’s not too bulky while still able to accept a traditional key. The two different styles give you options to fit in with different looks, and when I had an issue with the lock Schlage was quick to send out a replacement.

The Schlage Sense is available in Camelot and Century styles, with the Camelot available in Satin Nickel or Aged Bronze and the Century available in Satin Nickel or Matte Black. The list price is $229, but some retailers such as Amazon typically have prices closer to $200, with third-party retailers through Amazon sometimes going even lower.

Note: Schlage/Allegion provided the Schlage Sense to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

Tags: HomeKit, Schlage, Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt
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Microsoft confirms new Surface products will arrive later this year

New Surface hardware will likely arrive soon according to comments made by Microsoft executives during the company’s fiscal third quarter results conference call on Thursday. Microsoft said its Surface business grew 32 percent year over year, and the company expects that number to grow even higher in its fiscal fourth quarter and into fiscal 2019 starting July 1 due to an updated Surface hardware portfolio. 

“We expect Surface revenue growth in the high teens as we continue to transition to the latest products in our portfolio,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Microsoft. She added that the company also saw better than expected performance from its latest Surface Book. 

Microsoft experienced tremendous growth across the board in its fiscal third quarter, with its Azure-branded cloud platform leading the pack with a 93 percent year-over-year growth. Following behind Azure is Dynamics 365 with a 65-percent growth, Office 365 commercial with a 42 percent growth, and LinkedIn with a 37 percent growth. Microsoft’s entire gaming division grew 18 percent year-over-year while its Xbox software and services alone grew 24 percent. 

“Our results this quarter reflect the trust people and organizations are placing in the Microsoft Cloud,” Nadella said in a press release. “We are innovating across key growth categories of infrastructure, AI, productivity, and business applications to deliver differentiated value to customers.” 

According to Microsoft, LinkedIn sessions grew 30 percent in the third fiscal quarter, leading to a 37 percent increase in revenue compared to the same quarter in fiscal 2017. Meanwhile, subscriptions to Office 365 in the mainstream market reached 30.6 million, a 12 percent increase in revenue. Office 365 in the commercial sector jumped 42 percent, which helped the overall commercial products and cloud services revenue to increase 14 percent year-over-year.  

The hint about new Surface hardware in the next several months should come as no surprise. Microsoft’s BUILD developer conference begins May 7, 2018 and could serve as a launch platform for new Surface devices.  Microsoft is due to refresh its Surface Studio, Surface Laptop, Surface Book, and Surface Pro hardware. There’s also some kind of a Surface Notepad or Surface Phone supposedly in the works as well. 

Other interesting tidbits pulled from the conference call include an increase in Windows OEM revenue of four percent, and an increase in search revenue of 16 percent. It’s Enterprise Services revenue jumped eight percent while its server products and cloud services increased 20 percent. Overall, its Intelligent Cloud revenue hit $7.9 billion, up 17 percent. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) review
• New code in Windows 10 preview hints at a Surface Phone arrival
• New Microsoft patent hints at potential design of Surface Phone
• Five years on, Microsoft’s Surface has made your PC better
• Most Windows 10 devices across the globe now have Fall Creators Update

Price hike: Amazon is about to increase Prime membership to $119 a year

Amazon will soon raise the cost of its Prime membership by $20, meaning subscribers will have to fork out $119 a year to make use of its benefits.

And there’s more stirring in Amazon’s massive retail pot, including footballs and cheese balls. Amazon announced the price hike for the Prime shipping and entertainment package during a conference call with investors on Thursday.

Amazon shared other surprises in the same call, including a new deal with the National Football League and the next step with its nationwide chain of Whole Foods stores.

You won’t need to switch channels to watch football. For the tidy sum of $130 million, Amazon and the NFL agreed to stream Thursday night football games online, Reuters reported.

While you’re watching the game, you also may be able to order a tray of organic food snacks from Whole Foods with your Amazon Fire TV without leaving your chair. Amazon told investors the company’s plans to deliver Whole Foods grocery orders directly to doorsteps are in the works.

Amazon had a surprise for Wall Street in the call, too. The company had almost double the expected first-quarter 2018 profits. Reuters reported financial analytics company FactSet said investors expected Amazon’s first-quarter operating profits would be just over $1 billion, but the final number could be as much as $19 billion, almost twice as much.

That profit call was good news for Amazon’s stock price, which jumped 7 percent to a record high and incidentally added $8 billion to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ net worth, Reuters reported.

The Prime price bump

Prime’s $20 increase goes into effect for new sign-ups on May 11. The raise for Prime membership renewals kicks in a little later, on June 16.

It’s the first rise since 2014, when Prime membership increased from $79 to $99.

The news of the increase in its annual Prime membership fee comes a couple of months after Amazon bumped up the cost of its monthly fee for Prime, pushing it from $10.99 to $12.99, working out to almost $156 year. The monthly option launched at the end of 2016 for those unable to pay the lump sum, or who want to use the service for a short time period.

It’s impossible to say what effect, if any, this latest increase will have on Prime customers. Amazon will be betting on most current members taking the hit, though the higher sum may well deter some people from signing up for the first time.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos surprised many last week. For the first time since Prime’s launch in 2005, he revealed membership numbers for the service, stating that more than 100 million people globally are now signed up.

Bezos also pointed out that in 2017, Amazon shipped more than 5 billion items via Prime worldwide. More people signed up to the service than in any previous year, both worldwide and in the U.S. Launching Prime in Mexico, Singapore, and the Netherlands in 2017 will certainly have given its Prime membership numbers a boost.

It’s not yet clear if, or by how much, Amazon will increase the cost of its Prime services outside of the U.S. If the price for Prime goes up by $20 for all those members this year, the raise adds $2 billion to Amazon’s coffers.

Amazon Prime currently offers members free access to a library of online movies, TV shows, originals, and music tracks, as well as a small number of Kindle books. A range of fast and free delivery options for orders made on its site are also a big part of the package, with members in some locations able to receive deliveries in under an hour for a fee, or in under two hours for free.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Prime members can get 5 percent off Whole Foods with the Amazon Rewards Visa
• Amazon reveals there are over 100 million Prime members
• Amazon does it all, including these 8 services you may have never heard of
• The best movies on Amazon Prime right now (April 2018)
• Amazon Prime Now to merge with AmazonFresh, resulting in layoffs

How to enable VoLTE on the Samsung Galaxy S9

VoLTE facilitates calls with much higher audio quality.

VoLTE is great as it lets you place voice calls over LTE, facilitating higher audio quality than traditional voice calls. U.S. carriers started rolling out VoLTE nearly five years ago, and most phones on sale today offer the feature as standard. VoLTE saw a massive uptick in emerging markets like India last year following the arrival of Jio, which continues to be the only carrier in the country with 4G calling.

Samsung has been offering VoLTE compatibility on its phones for a few generations now, and the feature should be enabled automatically as soon as you slot in a VoLTE-ready SIM. However, if you’ve switched carriers or are looking to activate an unlocked phone, here’s how to get started with VoLTE on your Galaxy S9.

Open Settings from the app drawer or home screen

Tap Connections

Tap Mobile networks

Toggle VoLTE calls to On

My carrier (Jio) primarily uses VoLTE for calls, so there’s no option to turn it off, but you should be able to see a toggle to enable or disable the feature. You’ll also see different options on the Mobile networks menu depending on your S9 or S9+ model (I’m using the Exynos-based SM-G965F).

Do you use VoLTE on your Galaxy S9 or S9+? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

How to prep your OnePlus 5 or 5T to upgrade to the OnePlus 6

OnePlus has seen massive success with its self-proclaimed flagship killers over the last few years, and the next iteration is just around the corner. Not only have we seen leaked photos of the OnePlus 6, but the company itself has already confirmed various characteristics of its upcoming release, including some polarizing changes like a glass back and the inclusion of a display notch.

If you’re on a OnePlus 5 or 5T and itching to upgrade, there are a few things you might want to do ahead of the OnePlus 6’s debut on May 16.

Back up your info

There’s nothing worse than starting over without any of your old information. Before switching to a new phone, you should always back up your data! There are a few ways to do this, and I always recommend storing important information in more than one place as a failsafe.

Back up your important data to more than one place.

One of the most straightforward ways to back up your information is to plug in a USB-C cable and copy files directly to your computer. Your phone will appear in your computer’s file manager as an external drive, and while you won’t be able to move over certain information like contacts or app data, you can at least make copies of all of your photos, videos, and any files you might’ve downloaded on your phone. Put it all somewhere you won’t forget about or accidentally delete, and maybe consider throwing everything onto an external hard drive while you’re at it.

For a more remote method that you can manage directly from your phone, I always prefer cloud backups. Things won’t be quite as centralized — your information will likely be scattered across a few different cloud services — but it’s all still easy to keep track of, and most of it is handled automatically, so your job may be done before you even start. Your contacts should already be stored in your Gmail account, and if you’ve been using Google Photos rather than OnePlus’s default gallery, your photos and videos are likely already backed up, as well. For all else, you can save important files in Google Drive (or any other cloud service, for that matter).

Wipe your data

Once all of your data is backed up, you may want to make some money back on your phone to chip away at the cost of the OnePlus 6. Of course, before you send it off to a total stranger, you’ll want to wipe it clean of your personal information. That’s just as easy on the OnePlus 5 and 5T as on any other Android phone.

Open the Settings app.
Scroll to the bottom and tap Backup & reset.
Tap Factory data reset.
Tap the switch next to Erase internal storage to ensure your photos and videos are deleted from the phone.
Once you’re ready, tap Reset phone.

As is always the case, you’ll want to make absolutely sure you have everything safely backed up elsewhere before you do a factory data reset on your phone. Once you’ve completed the reset process, there’s no going back to recover older data — at least, not without some serious knowledge.

Sell your phone

Unless you have a spare phone handy, you should probably hold off on this step (and the last one, really) until you’ve already received your OnePlus 6. But OnePlus phones retain their aftermarket value surprisingly well, so you might be able to cover most of the cost of the upgrade by selling your old phone online.

There are plenty of outlets to help sell your phone online. If you prefer the local route, you can try your hand at Craigslist, but it might be safer to list the phone somewhere like Facebook Marketplace. If, instead, you’d like to just receive the money on PayPal and drop your older OnePlus off at the post office, you might fare better with sites like eBay, Swappa, or Gazelle. Swappa has long been my site of choice, since it verifies IMEIs to ensure that no phones listed are on financing plans or have been reported lost or stolen.

What’s your plan?

Are you rocking the OnePlus 5 or 5T right now? Do you plan on upgrading to the OnePlus 6 once it’s available? Let us know in the comments below!

OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5

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• All of the latest OnePlus 5T news
• Join the discussion in the forums

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I use Google Assistant every day on Google Home, but never on my phone

Not having other options makes the decision pretty easy.

Google’s vow when launching Assistant was that it’d be an ever-present service available on all of your most-used devices with a consistent experience and knowledge base no matter where you accessed it. That in many cases has ended up being true — with a few exceptions, you can talk to Google Assistant on different devices and expect the same results. That is, of course, if you actually use Google Assistant on multiple devices. In my case, I find myself using Google Home on a daily basis … but I almost never use Google Assistant on my phone.

Google Home has become a part of my daily routine.

Throughout the course of the day, I’ll always find reasons to use Google Assistant on one of my two Google Homes. I’ll use the Home Mini on my nightstand as an alarm or to listen to a podcast for a few minutes in the morning. In the kitchen, I’ll ask my Google Home to give me a weather report for the day and then play some music while I prepare breakfast. Later in the day my girlfriend and I will no doubt have some bevy of questions that are quickly answered by the nearest Home, not to mention cooking timers and frequent reminders. Sure, I’m not using it for the most advanced features — we explicitly don’t have any home automation gear — but the point is that I always use Google Home for something throughout the day. I find it works quite well and I’m rarely frustrated with its inability to do what I want purely using voice.

So why is it that I haven’t launched Google Assistant on my phone in weeks? Well, it’s simple: I have a better way to get the information I need on my phone. A big screen, with a bunch of powerful apps that I’m accustomed to using that don’t necessarily have hooks into Google Assistant. By just unlocking my phone, opening up the app that I know I need and finding what I want, I remove any uncertainty I’d have that Google Assistant on the phone would be able to do what I want. Yes, Google Assistant on my phone can offer up weather information or answer a random question just like my Google Home can — but the difference is that I expect to do far more than that on my phone. And I don’t want to talk to it for a small subset of things when I still have to interact with the display for everything else.

In short, it’s the fact that I have a display and touch available to me that makes Assistant on a phone superfluous in almost all cases. Google Home, on the other hand, only has voice interaction, and so my expectations for what it can do are limited — therefore I only give it queries for what I know it can reasonably handle. By comparison, using voice on my phone is far more likely to come up short of what I need it to do considering the wide range of things my phone is capable of, pushing me to then do that thing a second time with the screen — at that point I might as well skip the whole thing and go straight to touch.

When you have a better way of interacting with a device, you take it — touch is better than voice in most cases.

Yes, there are situations in which touch isn’t an option, like when I’m driving using Android Auto, or if I’m elbow-deep in some dishes in the sink — but those situations are fringe cases, not daily requirements. We all have years of experience using smartphones with touch, and when that’s a viable option for interaction we’ll always take it. That’s not a slight on how useful Google Assistant is — I’ve found in my daily life that it certainly is useful — but that touch is just a faster, more accurate way to get things done on a phone. And phone screens just keep getting bigger to facilitate that.

Whether this is actually an “issue” from Google’s perspective isn’t quite clear. Clearly Google Assistant has to be really good on the Home in order for people to keep using it, considering it’s the only way to interact with the device. But on a phone … Google Assistant feels like it’s there for cross-compatibility and completeness more than as a tool to be used on a daily basis to truly change how we interact with our phones. Google obviously admitted that voice isn’t perfect for all use cases when it launched typing support in Assistant on phones … but could it eventually go further to make phone-specific changes to the way Assistant works? I think it needs to, because right now it isn’t compelling enough to make me talk to my phone.

Google Hardware

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• Which Chromecast should you buy?

Google Wifi: Google
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Google Home: Google
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Chromecast Ultra: Google
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Do you have a secondary/backup phone?

Two phone life.

Although they were a brand-new type of technology just a few short years ago, smartphones have become ubiquitous at this point. They last longer, are more affordable, and just about everybody carriers one nowadays.

Some people, however, go the extra mile and carry two devices. This is sometimes done as a way to experience two different operating systems (such as Android and iOS), but in other cases, a secondary phone is held onto for backup/emergency situations.

One of our forum users recently reached out to the Android Central community for suggestions on what a good backup phone would be for them to pick up, and these are a few of the responses.

JREwing
04-20-2018 05:50 PM

“

Motorola G5S Plus here. never had to use it. For $229, it’s a great backup.

Reply

Chromium 4
04-20-2018 06:16 PM

“

I would suggest an LG V20. I’ve had one for going on 2 years and it is a tank of a phone: rugged design, decent dual cameras, removeable battery, expandable storage, great audio/DAC set up for headphone listening and IR blaster for those times when you can’t find the remote. You can probably find one on Swappa for around your price range.

Reply

Theot
04-20-2018 09:11 PM

“

The G5 series is a very capable daily driver for the average user. I know a couple people with them and they love them. You can’t go wrong with it as a backup.

Reply

donm527
04-21-2018 10:07 AM

“

I have my iPhone 6s as backup and spent the $30 for a fresh battery from Apple so should be good for at least another two years and will probably be supported up to iOS 13. Can’t go wrong with an iPhone when you just want a solid emergency backup phone.

Reply

Now, we want to hear from you – Do you carry a backup phone? If so, what is it?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Honor 7X will be updated to EMUI 8.0 in the U.S. on April 30

A new face unlock feature is included with the update.

The Honor 7X is one of the best phones you can buy for under $200, and as Hayato reported in late March, it’s made even better with EMUI 8.0 (Honor’s custom version of Android Oreo). EMUI 8.0’s been available as a beta for the Honor 7X for over a month now, but on April 30, it’ll be pushed to all users in the United States.

EMUI 8.0 includes all of the Oreo features we’ve come to know and love, such as picture-in-picture, Google’s Autofill API, the new emoji style, etc. Honor’s also included a heap of its own features, and some of them sound pretty great.

Most notably, EMUI 8.0 adds a new face unlock system to the 7X. Similar to what we’ve seen on the OnePlus 5T and other handsets, face unlock on the 7X allows you to quickly access your phone using the front-facing camera. It’s not as secure as the iPhone X’s Face ID, but it’s still a very welcome touch.

Also included with the update is the ability to connect two Bluetooth devices at once, access Android’s navigation buttons anywhere using a floating navigation dock, restore photos you accidentally deleted in Honor’s Gallery app, and the Settings menu has been drastically simplified.

If you’ve been holding off on the 7X, now’s looking like the perfect time to finally pick one up.

See at Amazon

Android Oreo

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• How to get Android Oreo on your Pixel or Nexus
• Oreo will make you love notifications again
• Will my phone get Android Oreo?
• Join the Discussion

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery lets you live your best wizard life [Game of the Week]

Update April 27 2018: Become the top wizard in your class in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Then, unwind with some sci-fi FPS action in Destiny Warfare!

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

Every Harry Potter fan has dreamed about enrolling at Hogwarts and living out their very own magical adventure, making Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery one of the more anticipated mobile games to come out this week!

This is a mobile RPG game set 12 years before Harry’s first year at Hogwarts so while the students are all brand new characters, you’ll definitely recognize the professors and the rest of the supporting cast from the books and movies. You get to do it all — from exploring Diagon Alley for supplies, to getting sorted in your Hogwarts House, to attending classes and going on secret adventures The game features really sharp graphics and is faithful to the source material. Build up your stats by doing well in classes and making decisions that affect your character’s courage, empathy and knowledge.

The game is built around an energy system, so you may occasionally need to take breaks from the game to recharge or use in-game currency to buy more energy (in-app purchases are available to buy more in-game currency, of course). Definitely worth checking out if you consider yourself to be a huge Harry Potter fan.

Download — Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Free w/IAPS)

Destiny Warfare: Sci-Fi FPS

You may initially think that Destiny Warfare is a mobile version of Bungie’s popular Destiny franchise — I know I did — but it’s not. It just heavily borrows from the look and feel of the game for a straight up multiplayer experience that not half bad.

You get a pretty standard mobile FPS experience here complete with the usual compromises — auto-fire is turned on by default and there’s only touch screen controls available at this time — but the graphics are pretty sharp and the inclusion of jetpacks adds some pretty fun variety to the firefight action.

The biggest thing holding this game back, however, is that it feels like a pay-to-win scenario. You buy gun using in-game currency, but you can also buy in-game currency with in-app purchases. The more premium weapons are vastly superior, with the “free” guns needing to be “repaired”. About the most disappointing implementation of micro-transactions I’ve seen, and yet the core gameplay is really fun, and there’s a bunch of different game modes unlocked when you reach level 10.

Worth checking out for free, but it definitely feels like you’d need to drop some cash to dominate your opponents.

Download — Destiny Warfare: Sci-Fi FPS (Free w/IAPs)

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What to play after you beat God of War

It’s time to let Kratos rest. Keep the action going with these other awesome games.

If you’ve just finished playing God of War, then you may very well have conquered 2018’s game of the year. While that’s not a total foregone conclusion just yet, it’s safe to say that the game will at least be in contention. Don’t believe us? Take a look for yourself:

Told ya so. Once you’ve come down from the high of being the old, angry version of our favorite self-made god, Kratos, you should check out some other PlayStation 4 games to keep the thrill going. These titles likely won’t be able to reach the lofty bar set by God of War, but they all deserve a look of their own.

Dark Souls 3

Comparisons between God of War and Dark Souls 3 ran rampant leading up to its launch. The games are more alike than ever, with the biggest difference being Dark Souls 3 is slightly less forgiving in difficulty. If you can get over that hurdle, you’re in for a treat.

Dark Souls 3 continues the franchise that’s known for its rich, deep lore, satisfying yet tough combat, gorgeous design, and bone-crunching boss battles. This is the kind of game that doesn’t hold your hand, and turning the wrong corner at the wrong time usually spells your immediate death.

See at Amazon

Horizon Zero Dawn

Need more evidence that the best exclusives live on PlayStation? Horizon Zero Dawn should remove all doubt. This open world game has mechanical dinosaurs. That’s all you should need to know to get excited.

But that’s only one part of what makes it awesome. Aloy — the protagonist you’ll control from her days as a wee lad onward — is a deadly archer with a knack for survival. She’ll take the hunks of metal she kills and use their parts to make even stronger weapons and traps. Of course, finding out how these hulking metallic monsters came to be will be the main plotline that keeps you interested.

See at Amazon

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

This is one of the rare games that can tell a story through combat alone. Sometimes that’s all you’ll get, as you’ll have a tough time figuring out what’s going on inside the head of Senua.

Hellblade challenges you to witness the inside of a schizophrenic’s mind. She has to battle her inner demons, all the while struggling to keep it together on the outside. As the player, it’s up to you to keep her from having a breakdown, because if you die enough times then it’s game over for good.

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God of War 3

There’s a remastered version of God of War 3 available for PS4 and you owe it to yourself to play it if you haven’t already. It’s a fair bit different compared to 2018’s God of War reboot, as young Kratos’s original trilogy ends not with him fighting the gods of Norse mythology, but those in the Greek pantheon.

Beyond a different setting, God of War 3’s gameplay is a lot different, with free-flowing action combat and the most devastating boss finishers you’ll ever execute.

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Darksiders 1 and 2

These gems from the previous generation are available on the PS4 as remastered titles. In Darksiders, you’re in control of War, one of the four horsemen. He and his brothers play a key role in the fallout of the holy war between the angels and the demons.

Darksiders is one of gaming’s most prolific attempts at retelling this classic religious story. Post-apocalyptic mayhem sets the tone for a dreadful world bursting at the seams with conflict. You’ll wield powerful weapons to drive one of the most sophisticated combat systems of modern gaming.

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Devil May Cry

I can’t lie – I still don’t know what’s going on in the Devil May Cry universe sometimes. Part of that has to do with Capcom’s chronological release order being all out of whack, as well as the game’s general plot and theme being a nightmare straight out of hell. No, really, you’re almost always fighting demons (and, in some cases, becoming one).

The story goes: Dante wants revenge for the murder of his mother, and he blames these demons for his ultimate loss. There are a ton of these demons for some reason, and Dante’s taken it upon himself to dispatch of them with dual-wielding pistol badassery.

Devil May Cry’s gameplay can be a bit frantic at times, but if you can keep up with the breakneck pace, you’ll find it’s one of the most exhilarating combat-oriented games out there. A big part of this series is being scored on your gunplay, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself spending alarming amounts of time trying to reach that coveted S rank in all your missions. Anyway, the HD collection for PS4 is a good place to start.

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Where will you do battle next?

If God of War somehow failed to fully satiate your bloodlust then you can see there’s still a whole mound of quality games to feed you. Which one will you play?

God of War for PlayStation 4: Everything you need to know!

PlayStation 4

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