๐ชฆ RIP Redbox, ๐ธ 1st Samsung camera pics, ๐ง Severance Season 2, ๐ Xbox is broken
10 tech stories in the quickest format possible
Todayโs 10-story newsletter is below my Samsung camera pics โคต๏ธ
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๐ธ 1. First nighttime photos with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 camera
![Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 photo Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 photo](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa881004-9ad7-4291-9f07-bff5c71c233c_2798x2835.jpeg)
๐ธ I uploaded the first nighttime photos from the Galaxy Z Fold 6
๐ Samsungโs 50MP camera captures NYC well in ๐ paid subscribe post
๐ Iโll upload 20-30 more photos tonight of daytime and nighttime shots
๐ฐ All Samsung discounts (below) end on July 23; devices ship July 24
๐ฌ Look out for my full reviews & scores next week after more testing
My Samsung reviews will land in your inbox next week โ after more testing but before those massive pre-order discounts (linked below) end on July 23.
In the meantime, Iโve been wearing the Galaxy Ring and taking photos with the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 before they officially ship to you. The Fold 6 cameras havenโt changed much since my Z Fold 5 review,ย and I favor certain night shots seen in myย iPhone 15 Pro review, but Samsungโs 50MP camera still doesย NYC justice. And I dig this yearโs wider foldable design, a form factor Apple doesnโt offer โ yet.
The result โ without edits โ is below, followed by the affiliate links for discounts.
![Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 camera photo Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 camera photo](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4dd8effb-88ae-482f-bdea-e1498ba95e03_4000x3000.jpeg)
I have uploaded more photos in this post (sparing your inbox) to demonstrate how well Samsungโs slim foldable phone can capture the NYC skyline at night.
*Some prices listed include part of the Reserve campaign (if you signed up)
๐ For paid subscribers only (bottom of the page)
๐ฆ ๐ฅ $100 PlayStation Gift Card for $83
Use funds for PS5 digital games or your PS+ renewal
๐ฉ $50ย Xbox Gift Cardย forย $41
๐ฉ $100ย Xbox Gift Cardย forย $83
๐ฉ 50% off Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $26 (MSRP is $51 and will go up in September)
โก๏ธ Iโll put the codes at the very bottom of this page until they run out
๐ฆ 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) / MS Office (Mac)
Todayโs 10-story newsletter continues below the calendar โคต๏ธ
๐ Your Tech Calendar
๐จ Today: Walmart Deals end
โฝ๏ธ July 14, Sun: UEFA Euro 2024 final
๐ฆ July 16, Tue: Amazon Prime Day begins
๐ July 16, Tue: EA Sports College Football 25 - preorder now
๐จ July 17, Wed: Amazon Prime Day ends
๐ July 18, Tue: Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition - preorder now
๐ฎ July 21, Fri: Asus ROG Ally X release date
๐ฅ July 26, Fri: Summer Olympic Games begin
๐ฑ Aug 13, Tue: Google Pixel 9 & Watch 3 launch event
๐ชฆ 2. RIP Redbox โ the disc-rental kiosks are going away forever
๐ข Redboxโs parent company Chicken Soup for the Soul is being liquidated
๐ญ It means the 24,000 remaining Redbox disc-rental kiosks will soon be gone
๐ฟ Redbox kiosks rented physical discs of movies & video games for $1
๐ Redbox initially launched with 12 kiosks in 2002 and has rented more than one billion DVDs nationwide
Remember Redbox? You havenโt used it in a while, have you? Well, now youโve done it! All of the red movie rental kiosks are going to be hauled away with no return date (and plenty of late fees now that itโs in liquidation).
Believe it or not, the movie rental kiosks first started showing up 22 years ago (2002), offering an automated way to rent DVDs, Blu-rays, and video games. Netflix and streaming killed Blockbuster, but it just went back for seconds.
๐ง 3. Severance season 2 finally gets a release date โ and a trailer
๐ Season 2 of Severance comes to Apple TV+ on January 17, 2025
โณ Season 1 was released on February 18, 2022, so itโs been quite the wait
๐คฉ The show stars Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, Christopher Walken and Patricia Arquette
๐ฟ Severance is about a team who underwent a procedure that surgically divides their memories between their work and their personal lives
No Waffle Party for you in 2024 ๐ โโ๏ธ๐ง! New episodes of Severance wonโt be coming to Apple TV+ until 2025, almost three years after the show first came to us.
Severance Season 2 will premiere on January 17, 2025, nearly three years after Ben Stillerโs sci-fiction psychological thriller first made its way to Apple TV+. Whatever is happening inside the fictional Lumon Industries in season 2 wonโt be fully understood when the first two episodes drop on January 17. Like a lot of Apple shows, episodes of the 10-episode second season will be released on Fridays through March 21, 2025.
You know this episode-slow-drip pain if youโre currently watching Presumed Innocent (recommended) on Apple TV+ right now.
๐ 4. Walmartโs big anti-Prime Day sale ends tonight
๐๏ธ Walmart 10,000 deals are expiring right before Amazon Prime Day
๐ท๏ธ Walmart+ is 50% off until the end of today
โ๏ธ Price cuts span gaming, TVs, monitors, computers, LEGOs, toys, headphones & speakers, smartwatches, smart home and kitchen deals
๐ Best sellers: $69 AirPods, $169 AirPods Pro, $35 LEGOs & 4KTVs
โก๏ธ The Shortcut to all deals
๐ฎ Walmart Gaming deals
๐บ Walmart TV deals
๐ฅ๏ธ Walmart Monitor deals
๐งฑ Walmart LEGOs deals
๐งธ Walmart Toys deals
๐ก Walmart Home deals
๐ฝ๏ธ Walmart Kitchen deals
๐ฎ 5. Mobapad Nintendo Switch Dock review: a desirable upgrade but not essential
๐ Review Score: 3 out of 5
Pros:
โ ๐ Smart integrated design solution
โ ๐ก Visual charging indicators
โ ๐ Switch fits into the Dock smoothly w/o risk of scratching the screen
โ ๐ก๏ธ Built with temperature control & safety in mind
โ โก Charges Switch Pro Controller or Mobapad Chitu controller
โ ๐ Reduces charging time of controller by 20%
Cons:
โ ๐ No HDMI-CEC support
โ ๐ No Ethernet port
โ ๐๐ Contact adapters need to stay connected to your controller
โ ๐ Charging can be a bit finicky when a controller is placed
๐ธ 6. Sony ZV-E10 II is a camera for vertical video content creators
๐ธ Sony ZV-E10 II packs a sharper 26MP back-illuminated APS-C sensor
๐ฏ Almost than 2x larger 759-point phase-detect autofocus system
๐น Added touch Cinematic Vlog mode and Creative Look shooting modes
๐ง Sony also announced an updated Sony E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II lens
๐ท๏ธ Sony ZV-E10 II will be available by the end of July 2024 for $999
๐ฆ Sony E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II lens releases in August for $299
๐ 7. Microsoft broke another promise with its new Xbox Game Pass deal
๐ Microsoft has backtracked on another one of its promises
๐ค In May, the Xbox president said subscribers will โget every single one of our games, day one, on Xbox Game Pass.โ
๐คฌ That will no longer be the case from September 12 if you subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Standard
๐ฐ Microsoft is raising the prices of all its Xbox Game Pass tiers, including Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
๐๏ธ Get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at a great discount before the price hike
โ๏ธ 8. Switching between iCloud Photos & Google Photos just got easier
๐ธ Apple & Googleโs new photo + video transfer tool will make it easier to switch
๐ The transfer tool is rolling out over the next week
๐ Itโll directly transfer images & video. No need to download files to your device
๐ Apple says itโll be available to users in over 240 countries & regions
๐จ Transferring photos & videos to iCloud Photos using the tool will not automatically delete them from Google Photos
๐ก 9. SpaceXโs Starlink Mini no longer requires an invite
๐บ๐ธ Starlink Mini is now available to anyone in the US
๐ Starlink Mini was previously only an add-on for current Residential subscribers
๐ฐ It costs $599 for SpaceXโs laptop-sized all-in-one dish
๐ธ Monthly fees for service are $50 for Mini Roam or $150 for Regional services
๐ Weโll have a Starlink Mini review up soon (I tested it out)
Iโve been testing the Starlink Mini this month, and itโs been wonderful to have internet anywhere on Earth from space (and SpaceX) when I travel. It works remotely but also in densely populated areas (in my case use case, during NYCโs Macyโs fireworks, where people couldnโt even send simple text messages on 5G).
While I reached download speeds of 160 Mbps, upload speeds havenโt impressed me so far. I tried to livestream the fireworks on X, but couldnโt get more than 5 to 10 Mbps. But I have to continue testing the Starlink Mini in more remote areas. Right now, the impressive download speeds make it great for backpackers, RVs and boats.
๐ฟ 10. Three-minute Gladiator 2 trailer has more likes than dislikes on YouTube
๐ฟ Ridley Scottโs historical epic sequel is in theaters on November 15
๐คฉ It stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington
๐ But the trailer has more dislikes than likes on YouTube right now
๐ค Unknown: will Russell Crowe, star of the 2000 film, will make a cameo?
๐ I love the top YouTube comment: โSo Denzel is basically portraying Denzel as an ancient Roman.โ See you in November, no matter how many dislikes it gets.
๐ Bonus: $100 PlayStation & Xbox gift card deals, 50% off Xbox Game Pass
Weโre expanding our discount codes for paid subscribers as a pack-in. Itโs sort of like CD-ROM pack-ins for subscribers of 90s magazines.
๐ฌ Canโt afford it? Totally fine. Iโm opening up more ways to be a paid subscriber for people who canโt 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!
๐ฆ $100 PlayStation giftcard for $83
โ Xbox Game Pass discount 50% off $26 (Microsoftโs MSRP is $51 and soon to be a lot more)
๐ฉ $50ย Xbox Gift Cardย forย $41
๐ฉ $100ย Xbox Gift Cardย forย $84
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