🚨 PS5 Pro, 📱 iPhone 16, 🎧 AirPods 4, ⌚ Apple Watch 10, 🎮 Nintendo Switch 2

10 tech stories in the quickest format possible

Tuesday’s 10-story newsletter ends with discount codes below ⤵️
Get a FREE premium subscription by referring friends to The Shortcut

🚨 1. PS5 Pro reveal – here’s the pre-order date and store links

• 🎮 Sony’s PS5 Pro pre-order date is September 26; releases November 7

• 🔗 My PS5 Pro pre-order placeholder links are below (for when sales go live)

• ⚙️ PS5 Pro has a 67% faster GPU, 28% faster memory, 45% faster rendering

• 🤩 That means better graphics & smoother frame rates (Performance + Fidelity)

• 🗄️ 2TB SSD, Astro’s Playroom pre-installed, WiFi 7 and 8K graphics

• 💰 PS5 Pro will cost $699; the stand and disc drive are separate

• 🚨 Sony’s PlayStation hardware has a history of selling out

Welcome to the biggest debate for September 10. No, not that other debate tonight. I’m talking about whether or not to pre-order a PS5 Pro or an iPhone 16 this month. I’ll review both for you, but let’s start with PS5 Pro.

🔖 My PS5 pre-order placeholder links

These aren’t active yet, but these links will forward to the proper retail pages when PS5 Pro pre-orders go live on September 26:

PS5 (left) vs PS5 Pro (right) graphics comparison (Image credit: Sony)

How to get free PS5 Pro pre-order alerts

• 🚨 Get my instant alerts: Your best chance to find PS5 Pro pre-orders at stores in the US is to follow Matt Swider on X – and turn on notifications.

It’ll look like my other restock notifications with direct links to US stores:

🙌 When will we go hands-on with PS5 Pro? September 26 is my guess. This year marks the first time Sony will attend TGS since 2019, and I suspect Sony will show up with more than just its cute Astro Bot game for PS5, and it’s far too soon to reveal Sony’s PSP 2 handheld (maybe next year) or PS6 (likely in 2017).

🤔 Is PS5 Pro worth it? Most people in my replies on X say “No,” especially since the disc drive is sold separately. I feel like consumer tech launches are higher in price nowadays, not just due to inflation (though that’s a major part of it) but also to make room for built-in price drops later on. I’ve noticed a dramatic trend in higher-priced Samsung TVs, but the price drops weeks later. RIP, early adopters’ wallets.

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

📱 2. iPhone 16 offers screen upgrades, bigger batteries and a surprise button

• 📐 Bigger 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro & 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max screens

• 🏎️ iPhone 16 gets the Apple’s A18 chip, iPhone 16 Pro the A18 Pro chip

• 🔘 New dedicated camera control button on the side of the iPhone

• 📸 5x zoom on both Pros & 👐 new 48MP ultra-wide (up to 12MP)

• 🏃‍♂️ 4K120 slo-mo video & 🎙️ studio-quality mics and mixing

• 🔋 Longer battery life & faster wireless charging (faster than Samsung S24)

• 🛍️ Pre-orders start this Friday, September 13

• 📅 All four phones go on sale next Friday, September 20

If you followed our Apple event liveblog, you’ll know that the new iPhone 16 is coming next Friday, and, for me, the highlights are the bigger Pro screens (with less bezel around the border), the bigger batteries, and the dedicated camera button.

I’ll have a full iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro review – just like I reviewed the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year. You can pre-order the new iPhones starting at 8am ET on Friday.

---

🎵 3. AirPods 4 launch – with and without active noise cancellation

• 🔊 AirPods 4 redesign; add pressure-sensitive controls & spatial audio

• ⚡ 10% smaller AirPods 4 case with USB-C & wireless charging

• 🔕 AirPods 4 with ANC offers Pro-level transparency & voice isolation

• 💰 The price is $129 (without ANC) and $179 (with ANC) for September 20

Did you do a double-take during the Apple keynote? Yes, there are TWO versions of AirPods 4 – one with noise cancellation and one without.

Both versions share a new refined shape and smaller case. The buds themselves have been upgraded with a new acoustic architecture, promising richer bass and crystal clear highs via the same H2 chipset found in the AirPods Pro 2.

---

⌚ 4. Apple Watch 10 gets an Ultra-level screen upgrade in a compact design

• ⌚ The largest Apple Watch screens yet – 42mm & 46mm

• 📺 Apple’s first wide-angle OLED display for viewing at any angle

• 🪶 10s: 10% thinner and 10% lighter than prior models

• 😴 Sleep apnea detection like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra

• 🔈 There’s a speaker that can be used for media playback

• 💰 Starts at $399, with pre-orders open now ahead of September 20

The new Apple Watch 10 celebrates the 10th anniversary of Apple’s first wearable - announced one decade ago to the day (September 9, 2014). I still recall scrambling to get a unit so I could review Apple Watch 1 on TechRadar alongside Gareth Beavis.

This new version shows how far we’ve come with smartwatches thanks to a sleeker design, a bigger screen, better performance, and sleep apnea detection.

---

🎧 5. AirPods Max: a small but meaningful tweak after four years

• 🎧 No new AirPods Max 2 this time, but Apple make two small changes

• 🔌 It finally gets USB-C, ditching the Lightning port after four years

• 🤔 But it still has Apple’s older H1 chip (H2 is in the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2)

• ⚙️ The H2 chip has better ANC, adaptive transparency & longer battery life

• 💰 The new AirPods Max will cost $549 starting on September 20

• 📉 The original AirPods Max (2020) have dipped to $399 during sales periods

I may have bought the original AirPods Max at the exact wrong time. I’ve wanted them before leaving for IFA 2024 in Berlin, but my package room was closed during Labor Day, and I opened them up minutes before the new AirPods Max were revealed.

I held off buying them for so long because I wanted them to have USB-C. The new ones have that, plus coming in new colors:

• Blue

• Orange

• Purple

• Starlight

• Midnight (Black)

The question is: do I return the old edition and get my $399 back to buy the new AirPods Max with USB-C for $549, or do I stick with Lightning and save $150.

For some reason, the Midnight color is disassociated with the other colors on Amazon, so here are two buttons for your convenience.

6. Apple Watch Ultra 2 gets a new color: Black Titanium

• ⌚ There’s no Watch Ultra 3, but we did get a new color of Apple’s sports watch

• 🪨 Black Titanium joins the Natural Titanium color starting September 20

• 📆 Natural Titanium has been the only Ultra case color for three years

• 🔈 Apple Watch 10 has a speaker for playback & big screen in a light design

• 🔋 But Ultra 2 has dual-frequency GPS, a brighter screen & more battery

🦻 7. Apple AirPods Pro 2 will become clinical-grade hearing aids

• 🦻 Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 will become hearing aids in the future

• 🏛️ Apple expects approval from the FDA and other regulators “soon”

• 🤫 A hearing protection mode will be able to mimic concert earplugs

• 📋 A hearing aid test (privately stored) can be shared with a doctor

I think this was the best new feature Apple revealed during its launch event – and you won’t even need to buy a new product necessarily. The existing AirPods Pro 2 can act as a hearing aid, removing the stigma of getting tested for and wearing hearing aids.

It still needs FDA approval, but Apple sounds optimistic on that timeline. I can’t wait to see how much loud NYC traffic has affected my hearing. 🗣️🚕 🚑 👷‍♂️📣

---

🤩 8. Every PS5 Pro-enhanced game: all the PlayStation 5 titles that will benefit

• 😱 Sony’s PS5 Pro can enhance existing PlayStation 5 games

• 👍 Games can benefit from smoother frame rates and sharper visuals

• 🤩 Ray tracing support can also be added to make a game look more realistic

• 👇 We’re rounding up every PS5 Pro-enhanced game available right here

Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro can deliver almost double the power of the standard PS5, so gamers won’t have to choose between Fidelity mode (better graphics) and Performance mode (better frame rates).

But which games will be PS5 Pro-enhanced? The Shortcut has a list!

Every PS5 Pro-enhanced game so far

• 🔦 Alan Wake 2

• 🥷 Assassin’s Creed: Shadows

• ⚔️ Demon’s Souls

• 🐉 Dragon’s Dogma 2

• 🗡️ Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

• 🏎️ Gran Turismo 7

• 🪄 Hogwarts Legacy

• 🦖 Horizon Forbidden West

• 🕸️ Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

• 🔧 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

• 🚗 The Crew Motorfest

• 🔫 The First Descendant

• 🏹 The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

---

📽️ 9. New XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro outdoor projector has Google TV and a low price

• 📽️ XGIMI announced the MoGo 3 Pro at IFA 2024

• 🎒 It’s designed to be taken anywhere with 1080p resolution and Google TV

• ☕ It’s roughly the size of a large coffee tumbler

• 💲 You can order it now starting at $449

---

🎮 10. First Nintendo Switch 2 game may have been revealed – and it's a big one

• 🤞 Nintendo Switch 2 might get one of the best MMORPGs

• 🙌 Final Fantasy 14’s director hinted the game could come to Nintendo’s next console

• 👏 The game recently launched on Xbox consoles after years of PlayStation exclusivity

• 🔜 Nintendo Switch 2 could be revealed this month in a dedicated Nintendo Direct presentation

Nintendo may be getting Square Enix’s popular MMORPG, Final Fantasy 14. The game’s director has said the publisher is working to get its titles on Nintendo’s next console, which could see more Final Fantasy games come to Nintendo Switch 2.

It’s likely that the Switch 2 will be revealed this month, as Nintendo has held a Direct presentation every September for the last eight years. The console is expected to release around March 2025, but could slip to April/May.

⬆️ Tap the 🌟 icon button on this page ⬆️

🔒 Bonus: $100 PS, $50 Nintendo & Xbox gift card deals; 50% off Game Pass

• 🟦 $100 PlayStation giftcard for $88

• 🍄 $50 Nintendo Gift Card for $44

• 🟩 $50 Xbox Gift Card for $44

• ❎ 50% off Xbox Game Pass for $28 (Microsoft’s MSRP is $51 and soon to be $60 for 3 months)

We’re expanding our discount codes for paid subscribers as a pack-in. It’s sort of like CD-ROM pack-ins for subscribers of 90s magazines.

😬 Can’t afford it? Totally fine. I’m opening up more ways to be a paid subscriber for people who can’t spare the $5/mo ($4.16/mo) to keep us going. Support us in other ways by referring your friends & family to The Shortcut. Help us grow!