📆 PS5 pre-order timing, 📱 iPhone 16 date, 🎧 AirPods 4, 🍄 Nintendo Museum, 🚕 Robotaxi milestone

10 tech stories in the quickest format possible

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🎮 1. PS5 Pro pre-orders may start next month if Sony follows its usual timing

A concept image of a PS5 Pro (it probably won’t look this cool)

• 📆 Pre-orders for a rumored PS5 Pro could start in late September

• 🎮 Both PS5 & PS4 Pro pre-orders began in September

• 🇯🇵 Sony will reportedly reveal PS5 Pro at the Tokyo Game Show

• 🎮 Get PS5 Pro pre-order alerts: follow Matt Swider on X

• 🔔 Turn on my X notifications to get instant restock alerts

You could be pre-ordering PS5 Pro this time next month. Sony’s mid-cycle console refresh will enhance the graphics of the best PlayStation 5 games.

We’re in the dark about PS5 Pro release date news, but looking at the PS5 and PS4 Pro pre-order timing gives us some idea. Sony scheduled pre-orders for both the PS5 and PS4 Pro in September 2020 and 2016, respectively, soon after their reveals.

Another sign PS5 Pro is close? A Chinese chip maker saw their sales increase thanks to “new PS5, Xbox and Switch models,” according to that company’s CEO. It suggests that a PS5 Pro was approved and may fix Sony’s falling PS5 console sales.

Ask Matt Swider on Twitter or Instagram for hand-picked deals from Walmart / Best Buy / Amazon / B&H / Samsung / Google / GameStop / Xbox / Microsoft Office (PC) deal / MS Office (Mac) deal

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📱 2. New credible iPhone 16 release date hint surfaces from an Apple Store opening

The iPhone 15 Pro Pro and Pro Max hero image from our review (Image credit: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

• 🍎 The iPhone 16 release date is a little more certain today

• 🏬 A new Apple Store opens September 16 in LA, reports Bloomberg

• 🛍️ The timing lines up with an iPhone 16 release date on September 20

• 🚀 Apple’s launch event is rumored for September 10 (the prior week)

The one question I keep getting asked (this happens annually) is, “When is the iPhone launch event?” Everything I’m seeing suggests Tuesday, September 10. I’m ready for those new iPhone 16 colors and to follow up on my iPhone 15 Pro Max review.

The latest evidence is buried in Mark Gurman’s Bloomberg newsletter, in which he says Apple is launching a new Apple Store in Del Amo Mall in Torrance, California (near where I used to live in lovely Hermosa Beach). It’s a great fit for the sprawling outdoor LA mall. More important than the prime SoCal location for you is the timing. Gurman’s sources suggest that the store will open on September 16.

Since Apple likes to line up store openings with new product launches, it makes sense that the iPhone 16 release date would be that Friday, September 20.

• Note: Not all Apple leaks should be believed. An Apple event invite “leak” has been circulating, and it mentions September 10. The invite was an obvious fake – even if the date is likely right.

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🚕 3. Waymo reaches 100,000 robotaxi rides per week ahead of Gen 6 rollout

(Image credit: Google)

• 💰 Waymo now provides 100,000 paid driverless trips a week

• 🆕 Waymo’s new Gen 6 self-driving tech should be less expensive

• 🌧️ The car will be able to handle different weather conditions

• 🚘 Waymo says it’s on a mission to be “the world’s most trusted driver”

• 🔤 The company is owned by Alphabet, the parent of Google

I got to ride in a Waymo vehicle last week in San Francisco after the Google Pixel 9 launch event. The experience was pretty mindblowing, even for a seasoned techie like myself. No one was in the driver’s seat while the steering wheel rotated about. It even waited to make a left turn against oncoming traffic that included a bus!

My Waymo ride in San Francisco (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

I decided not to look up “Waymo accidents” before a friend hailed the completely driverless car. I survived. The fact that Waymo is providing more than 100,000 paid robotaxi rides per week (reports CNBC) is also mind-blowing.

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🎶 4. AirPods 4 may be one of two new Apple earbuds this Fall

AirPods Pro 2nd Gen may be refreshed in 2025, but the AirPods 4 may get trickle-down features in September (Image: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

• 🚀 Apple could launch two new AirPods at its September event

• 🆚 AirPods 4 may get active noise cancellation, a Pro-exclusive feature

• 🔌 Its cheaper non-Pro AirPods may transition from Lightning to USB-C

• 👀 Current AirPods owners may get new firmware that adds new features

• 💪 Apple needs to corner budget wireless buds amid new competition

📈 What was the best-selling item via The Shortcut’s links during Amazon Prime Day? Apple’s cheapest AirPods. They may be getting two sequels next month.

🎵 AirPods 4 may get ANC at a lower price than the Pro’s, per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, which could easily make them Black Friday’s top-selling item.

🎧 Sadly, still no sign of AirPods Max 2 (AirPods Max is $120 off at Amazon). Two years ago, I decided to hold off on buying them until there was a slightly lighter USB-C version, thinking they were around the corner. I should have gotten them then.

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🏛️ 5. Nintendo Museum opens on October 2

The Nintendo Museum in Japan

• 🇯🇵 The Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, Japan, opens on October 2

• 🍄 It features several interactive exhibits and homages to Nintendo’s past

• 💴 Tickets cost 3,300 yen (~$20) for adults and 2,200 yen (~$15) for teens

• 🎟️ If you’ll be in Japan and would like to go, tickets can be reserved now

If you’re a Nintendo fan, you may want to visit the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, Japan. The museum, which showcases the history of Nintendo and includes several interactive experiences, opens its doors on October 2, and tickets are available now.

The Nintendo Museum is bound to be a popular attraction for gamers, and you can expect a lot of money to be spent in the museum’s gift shop.

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🔫 6. Borderlands 4 is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X and PC in 2025

See the Borderlands 4 teaser trailer below

• 🎮 The popular looter shooter RPG is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X and PC

• 🍿 90-second teaser trailer premiered during the Gamescom 2024 livestream

• 📆 It’ll arrive in 2025, so hopefully, the game will get PS5 Pro graphical perks

• 🤣 Best comment: Gearbox’s apology letter for giving us the Borderlands movie

Get ready for an intergalactic Vault hunt with your best buddies. Borderlands 4 is coming in 2025, according to its big reveal during today’s Gamescom 2024 livestream.

The popular looter shooter RPG – best enjoyed with parties of up to 4 friends – will come to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X (and S) next year. Its 90-second teaser trailer just dropped but didn’t reveal too much. It seems like its crazy cast of Vault Hunters will be traveling to a new planet to continue their frenzied mayhem and destruction.

Here’s the trailer:

By the time Borderlands 4 launches, we’ll already have Sony’s PS5 Pro console and maybe a new Xbox, so my one question: will there be a graphics perk if you play on an upgraded console? Maybe developer Gearbox can tell us that when Sony officially reveals its new mid-cycle console refresh and those PS5 Pro pre-orders go live.

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🎙️ 7. Apple Podcasts now has a web app

(Image credit: Apple)

• 🎧 You can now listen to Apple Podcast through your web browser

• 🧑‍💻 The app works on Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari

• 🪞 The web app will mirror the iOS and Mac Podcasts app

• 📍 Apple recently launched Apple Maps for web

• 🎵 It also has web apps for Apple Music and Apple TV

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🤖 8. Procreate rejects generative AI art

(Image credit: Procreate)

• ✋ Illustration app Procreate released a message saying, “AI is not our future”

• 👋 It ruled out ever using generative AI: it’s “ripping the humanity out of things”

• 🔒 Procreate also promised that users’ work is protected, and it will not access it

• 🙈 They also said user activity isn’t tracked in its apps

Given the fact that The Shortcut just had an Indian blog copy of our news story so blatantly that I complained to Google (and they actually got back to me), I applaud Procreate’s against-the-grain move. There’s good AI and bad AI – and it shouldn’t completely replace creatives.

• ⏪ Flashback to our June story: Perplexity AI is STEALING from The Shortcut

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💰 9. You can get an iPad for just $199

iPad 9th gen is on sale (Image credit: Apple)

• 😲 The iPad 9th gen is available for just $199 at several US retailers

• 📉 Its MSRP is $329, so you’re saving $130 at Amazon and Best Buy

• ⏲️ The deal is available for a limited time

• 💪 This iPad is more than capable, but it isn’t as powerful or as colorful as the iPad 10th Gen

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🤐 10. Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket could be our latest bad habit

• 📆 October 30 is when the new Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket launches

• 🙌 It brings the world of card trading to iOS and Android devices

• 🆕 A new trailer shows off how you can collect packs, trade and battle

• 🤩 It’s bound to be popular among Pokemon fans when it releases

Here’s the trailer:

⬆️ Tap the 🌟 icon button on this page ⬆️

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