If you’re a Switch 2 owner itching for something new to play and you happen to be partial to an Annapurna Interactive game, then boy is it your lucky day. The prolific indie publisher has announced that five of its titles are coming to Switch 2, three in the form of next-gen upgrades and two for the first time on Nintendo platforms.
The magnificent and are available starting today, complete with 120Hz and 4K upgrades for Nintendo’s latest console. First-time buyers can grab Sayonara Wild Hearts for $13, while 2024’s Lorelei and the Laser Eyes costs $25. The upgrades are free if you already own either game on Switch, and Sayonara Wild Hearts also adds the previously unavailable Remix Arcade mode for the first time. This speeds up gameplay and removes loading as you chase high scores.
Next month, May 28, cyberpunk cat adventure is also getting the Switch 2 treatment, sporting improved 4K visuals, a frame rate boost and, fittingly given its feline focus, mouse controls. The Switch 2 port will be available to purchase digitally from the eShop for $30, but it’s not clear if this will also be a free upgrade for those who bought Stray on Switch.
Katamari creator Keita Takahashi’s charmingly weird puzzle-adventure To a T skipped Nintendo consoles when it launched last year, so it’s nice to see that one coming to Switch 2 on June 11 (digital-only, $20). A few weeks later on June 23, cozy narrative game arrives on both Switch and Switch 2. It’ll cost $25 on the eShop, with no word on a physical version.
Annapurna Interactive released a lot of its games on Switch, and that trend happily looks set to continue throughout the Switch 2 generation. The musical turn-based RPG came to Nintendo’s latest console at launch earlier this month, with stylish adventure game also arriving on Switch 2 on May 7.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop is a great machine, and this high-specced model has just picked up a discount.
Microsoft’s latest Surface Laptop is now available for £1,499.99, down from £1,910.68, saving you just over £410.
Save 21% on a Microsoft Surface Laptop
Most laptops compromise, but the Surface Laptop delivers it all, and with £410 off, this laptop is well worth a look.
The headline spec is the Snapdragon X Elite processor, which Microsoft positions as faster than the MacBook Air M3 for everyday productivity tasks, and it sits alongside 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and a 1TB SSD that together mean you are unlikely to feel throttled whether you are running creative applications, video calls, or multiple browser sessions simultaneously.
That performance headroom matters more with this machine than with most, because the Snapdragon X Elite includes an NPU capable of running Copilot Plus features such as Recall, which lets you search your activity history using plain language rather than filing through folders and apps manually.
The 15-inch PixelSense Flow touchscreen produces a native resolution of 2736 by 1824 pixels with HDR support, which gives the display range and contrast that holds up well for anything from editing documents to watching video during a long commute or flight.
Battery life is rated at up to 22 hours based on local video playback, and the chassis weighs 1.66kg, so you are getting a machine that could genuinely replace a bag full of adapters and a portable charger for most travel days.
For someone who wants a large-screen Windows laptop with AI features built in at hardware level rather than bolted on through software, the Surface Laptop at this price represents a meaningful reduction on a machine that originally sat well above the £1,500 mark.
Our experts have tested and ranked the top portable computers across every category in our best laptops 2026 guide, and if you are buying for college or university, our best student laptops 2026 picks are worth a look before you decide.
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Meta is planning to cut 10% of its workforce, amounting to 8,000 employees, according to a report from Bloomberg. Meta also will not hire for 6,000 roles that are currently open.
According to an internal memo sent to employees Thursday and viewed by Bloomberg, Meta told staff that the cuts will begin on May 20. Reuters had earlier reported on Meta’s plans for sweeping layoffs.
TechCrunch has reached out to Meta for comment.
“We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,” chief people office Janelle Gale told employees, according to the memo. “This is not an easy tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here.”
Meta spent tens of billions on its metaverse efforts, which largely failed. The company has also had to make major investments in its AI efforts in order to keep up with competitors in the space — earlier this month, it debuted a completely overhauled AI product called Muse Spark.
Hackers have compromised Docker images, VSCode and Open VSX extensions for the Checkmarx KICS analysis tool to harvest sensitive data from developer environments.
KICS, short for Keeping Infrastructure as Code Secure, is a free, open-source scanner that helps developers identify security vulnerabilities in source code, dependencies, and configuration files.
The tool is typically run locally via CLI or Docker, and processes sensitive infrastructure configs that often contain credentials, tokens, and internal architecture details.
Dependency security company Socket investigated the incident after receiving an alert from Docker about malicious images pushed to the official checkmarx/kics Docker Hub repository.
The investigation revealed that the compromise extended beyond the trojanized KICS Docker image to VS Code and Open VSX extensions that downloaded a hidden ‘MCP addon’ feature designed to fetch the secret-stealing malware.
Socket found that the ‘MCP addon’ feature downloaded from a hardcoded GitHub URL “a multi-stage credential theft and propagation component” as mcpAddon.js.
According to the researchers, the malware targets precisely the data processed by KICS, including GitHub tokens, cloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) credentials, npm tokens, SSH keys, Claude configs, and environment variables.
It then encrypts it and exfiltrates it to audit.checkmarx[.]cx, a domain designed to impersonate legitimate Checkmarx infrastructure. Moreover, public GitHub repositories are automatically created for data exfiltration.
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It is important to clarify that Docker tags were temporarily repointed to a malicious digest, so the impact depends on when they were pulled. The dangerous timeframe for the DockerHub KICS image was from 2026-04-22 14:17:59 UTC to 2026-04-22 15:41:31 UTC.
Affected tags have now been restored to their legitimate image digests, and the fake v2.1.21 tag was deleted entirely.
Developers who have downloaded the above should consider their secrets compromised, rotate them as soon as possible, and rebuild their environments from a known safe point.
While the TeamPCP hackers, responsible for the massive Trivy and LiteLLM supply-chain compromise, claimed the attack publicly, the researchers could not find sufficient evidence beyond pattern-based correlations to confidently attribute it.
BleepingComputer has reached out to Checkmarx, an application security testing company, for a statement, but a comment wasn’t immediately available.
Meanwhile, the company published a security bulletin about the incident, assuring users that all malicious artifacts have been removed, and their exposed credentials were revoked and rotated.
The firm is currently investigating with help from external experts and has promised to provide more information as it becomes available.
Users of the compromised tool are recommended to block access to ‘checkmarx.cx => 91[.]195[.]240[.]123’ and ‘audit.checkmarx.cx => 94[.]154[.]172[.]43,’ use pinned SHAs, revert to known safe versions, and rotate secrets and credentials if compromise is suspected or confirmed.
The latest safe versions of the compromised projects are: DockerHub KICS v2.1.20, Checkmarx ast-github-action v2.3.36, Checkmarx VS Code extensions v2.64.0, and Checkmarx Developer Assist extension v1.18.0.
AI chained four zero-days into one exploit that bypassed both renderer and OS sandboxes. A wave of new exploits is coming.
At the Autonomous Validation Summit (May 12 & 14), see how autonomous, context-rich validation finds what’s exploitable, proves controls hold, and closes the remediation loop.
Two weeks ago, Anthropic announced that its new model, Claude Mythos Preview, can autonomously find and weaponize software vulnerabilities, turning them into working exploits without expert guidance. These were vulnerabilities in key software like operating systems and internet infrastructure that thousands of software developers working on those systems failed to find. This capability will have major security implications, compromising the devices and services we use every day. As a result, Anthropic is not releasing the model to the general public, but instead to a limited number of companies.
The news rocked the internet security community. There were few details in Anthropic’s announcement, angering many observers. Some speculate that Anthropic doesn’t have the GPUs to run the thing, and that cybersecurity was the excuse to limit its release. Others argue Anthropic is holding to their AI safety mission. There’s hype and counter–hype, reality and marketing. It’s a lot to sort out, even if you’re an expert.
We see Mythos as a real but incremental step, one in a long line of incremental steps. But even incremental steps can be important when we look at the big picture.
We’ve written about Shifting Baseline Syndrome, a phenomenon that leads people—the public and experts alike—to discount massive long-term changes that are hidden in incremental steps. It has happened with online privacy, and it’s happening with AI. Even if the vulnerabilities found by Mythos could have been found using AI models from last month or last year, they couldn’t have been found by AI models from five years ago.
The Mythos announcement reminds us that AI has come a long way in just a few years: The baseline really has shifted. Finding vulnerabilities in source code is the type of task that today’s large language models excel at. Regardless of whether it happened last year or will happen next year, it’s been clear for a while this kind of capability was coming soon. The question is how we adapt to it.
We don’t believe that an AI that can hack autonomously will create permanent asymmetry between offense and defense; it’s likely to be more nuanced than that. Some vulnerabilities can be found, verified, and patched automatically. Some vulnerabilities will be hard to find, but easy to verify and patch—consider generic cloud-hosted web applications built on standard software stacks, where updates can be deployed quickly. Still others will be easy to find (even without powerful AI) and relatively easy to verify, but harder or impossible to patch, such as IoT appliances and industrial equipment that are rarely updated or can’t be easily modified.
Then there are systems whose vulnerabilities will be easy to find in code but difficult to verify in practice. For example, complex distributed systems and cloud platforms can be composed of thousands of interacting services running in parallel, making it difficult to distinguish real vulnerabilities from false positives and to reliably reproduce them.
So we must separate the patchable from the unpatchable, and the easy to verify from the hard to verify. This taxonomy also provides us guidance for how to protect such systems in an era of powerful AI vulnerability-finding tools.
Unpatchable or hard to verify systems should be protected by wrapping them in more restrictive, tightly controlled layers. You want your fridge or thermostat or industrial control system behind a restrictive and constantly-updated firewall, not freely talking to the internet.
Distributed systems that are fundamentally interconnected should be traceable and should follow the principle of least privilege, where each component has only the access it needs. These are bog standard security ideas that we might have been tempted to throw out in the era of AI, but they’re still as relevant as ever.
This also raises the salience of best practices in software engineering. Automated, thorough, and continuous testing was always important. Now we can take this practice a step further and use defensive AI agents to test exploits against a real stack, over and over, until the false positives have been weeded out and the real vulnerabilities and fixes are confirmed. This kind of VulnOps is likely to become a standard part of the development process.
Documentation becomes more valuable, as it can guide an AI agent on a bug finding mission just as it does developers. And following standard practices and using standard tools and libraries allows AI and engineers alike to recognize patterns more effectively, even in a world of individual and ephemeral instant software—code that can be generated and deployed on demand.
Will this favor offense or defense? The defense eventually, probably, especially in systems that are easy to patch and verify. Fortunately, that includes our phones, web browsers, and major internet services. But today’s cars, electrical transformers, fridges, and lampposts are connected to the internet. Legacy banking and airline systems are networked.
Not all of those are going to get patched as fast as needed, and we may see a few years of constant hacks until we arrive at a new normal: where verification is paramount and software is patched continuously.
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Rivian has begun production of its R2 SUV. However, you can’t get one just yet: The first customer deliveries (of the most expensive version) aren’t expected until later this spring.
On Wednesday, CEO RJ Scaringe drove the first electric SUV off the production line at the company’s Normal, IL, factory. A storage and logistics building at that factory was damaged by a tornado last weekend, with Wednesday’s rollout event seemingly designed to reassure nervous customers and investors.
“We are really excited to be producing R2 for our customers,” Scaringe is quoted as saying in a news release. However, Rivian CFO Claire McDonough told Reuters that customers won’t be able to configure their vehicle orders until June. Electrek reports that these first units rolling out now are going to Rivian employees.
Rivian
If you were drawn to the R2’s $45,000 starting price, well, Rivian won’t have any of those for a while. First off the line (this spring) is the Launch Package, starting at $57,990. A Premium trim, expected late 2026, will cost $53,990. Then, in the first half of 2027, a Standard (RWD long range) variant arrives at $48,490. And as for that headline-grabbing $45,000 base-model R2, I hope you like waiting. It won’t be here until late 2027.
The Rivian R2 was revealed in 2024. Smaller and lighter than the flagship R1, the company is positioning the EV as its answer to Tesla’s best-selling Model Y. All versions of the new two-row SUV are rated for at least 300 miles per charge. Each trim has a native NACS charge port. The vehicle can charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in under 30 minutes when using a DC fast charger.
Apple is reportedly working on bringing no fewer than six new product categories to market soon, in part as Tim Cook’s swansong as CEO of the company.
Following the news that Apple CEO Tim Cook will be replaced by Ternus in late 2026, a new report has detailed the products his teams are working on. Speaking during an interview with TBPN, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple has products in six new product categories in the works. This is alongside its usual product refreshes, like new iPhones, iPads, and more.
Apple’s 2024 Apple Vision Pro release was the last time it entered a new category. The spatial computer has so far failed to capture the imagination of the larger market, but that hasn’t deterred the company from entering new markets in the future.
Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
The Apple TV 4K has remained one of the more consistent products in Apple’s lineup. Updates have improved performance and added features, but the overall experience has stayed largely the same. It has been reliable, polished, and predictable.
That may not hold true for much longer.
The next Apple TV 4K is shaping up to be a more meaningful update, not because of a single feature, but because of how several changes come together. The rumored shift to a new chip, deeper integration of Apple Intelligence, improvements in video and audio handling, and a stronger role in the smart home ecosystem all point toward a device that is being repositioned rather than simply upgraded.
One of the most important rumored upgrades is the move to the A17 Pro chip, replacing the A15 Bionic in the current model.
The immediate assumption is better performance, which will certainly be part of the story. Faster app launches, smoother multitasking, and more responsive navigation are expected outcomes. The more significant implication lies in what the A17 Pro enables.
This chip is the baseline requirement for Apple Intelligence, and the Apple TV is currently one of the few Apple products that does not support it. Bringing that capability to the television shifts the device from being a passive content player to something more interactive and context-aware.
Apple Intelligence is closely tied to the next evolution of Siri, which is expected to move well beyond basic voice commands. Features such as app intent integration, personal context awareness, and on-screen understanding are all part of this transition.
In practical terms, this changes how users interact with their TV.
Instead of relying on specific phrasing or limited commands, interactions become more natural. A viewer could ask who an actor is, request a summary of a scene, or understand why a moment in a show matters, and the system would respond with awareness of what is currently on screen. This extends across apps, rather than being limited to a single platform.
The impact becomes even more noticeable when the Apple TV is used as a smart home hub. Actions such as responding to a doorbell notification or controlling connected devices can be handled through contextual commands that take into account both what is happening on screen and what the user is trying to do. This creates a more seamless interaction model that feels less like issuing instructions and more like direct control.
As hardware evolves, video technologies tend to follow, and this update could coincide with improvements in Dolby Vision capabilities.
Features such as enhanced black detail aim to improve visibility in darker scenes without compromising artistic intent. Adjustments based on ambient lighting conditions help maintain consistent picture quality across different environments. Additional optimizations for sports and fast-moving content focus on improving clarity and motion handling.
These changes build on Apple’s existing calibration tools but move toward a more adaptive system that responds dynamically to viewing conditions rather than relying solely on manual adjustments.
Another rumored addition is Apple’s N1 networking chip, which consolidates Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread connectivity.
For a device that already functions as a smart home hub, this has clear practical benefits. Improved network stability leads to more responsive smart home controls, faster pairing with devices, and more reliable communication between products within the Apple ecosystem.
Features such as AirPlay also benefit from stronger connectivity, reducing latency and improving consistency when streaming or sharing content across devices. These improvements may not always be immediately visible, but they address some of the underlying friction that affects everyday use.
There is also continued speculation around a built-in camera.
At present, video calling on Apple TV requires using an iPhone as the camera, which introduces additional steps and setup. A dedicated camera with features such as Center Stage tracking would simplify this process and make it more accessible.
This also opens the possibility of multiple product tiers. A standard Apple TV 4K could remain focused on media consumption, while a higher-end version incorporates features that support communication and more advanced smart home interactions. Recent software updates, particularly in FaceTime functionality, suggest that Apple is preparing for this type of hardware integration.
Audio pass-through is another long-requested feature that may be introduced with this update.
Currently, the Apple TV handles audio decoding internally. While this works well in many cases, it can limit flexibility when used with dedicated audio equipment such as receivers. Pass-through would allow external systems to handle decoding directly, improving compatibility with a wider range of audio formats and setups.
For users with more advanced home theater configurations, this represents a meaningful upgrade that aligns the Apple TV more closely with high-end audio systems.
Current expectations place the launch around spring 2026, a window that aligns with Apple’s broader push into smart home products.
If new devices such as smart displays, connected cameras, or other home accessories arrive alongside it, the Apple TV becomes part of a more cohesive ecosystem. It already serves as a central hub, but with deeper integration and AI-driven capabilities, its role could expand into something more active within that environment.
What stands out across these rumored updates is the direction they collectively suggest.
The Apple TV 4K has traditionally been positioned as a premium streaming device with strong performance and a polished interface. These changes indicate a move toward a broader role that combines entertainment, smart home control, and intelligent interaction.
The success of that shift will depend on execution. Features like Apple Intelligence and enhanced Siri need to work reliably across different scenarios to deliver on their promise.
If they do, this could represent one of the more meaningful updates the Apple TV has seen in years, not because it changes what the device is, but because it expands what it can do.
Microsoft is rolling out a useful feature for Office users this week. The company has introduced Agent Mode inside Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, a more powerful version of the Copilot experience that Microsoft calls “vibe working.”
This is now the default experience for Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers. It is also available on Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans.
Until now, Copilot within Office apps has been largely a passive assistant. It could answer questions, but struggled to take direct action inside your documents.
Sumit Chauhan, President of the Office Product Group at Microsoft, acknowledged this gap. She noted that when Copilot first launched, the underlying AI models simply weren’t capable enough to command the applications directly.
Models have shown significant improvement in instruction following and multi-step reasoning over the past year. Agent Mode is built on those improvements and can now execute complex edits without losing your original intent.
Quite a lot, actually. A sidebar shows you every step Copilot is taking in real time, so you’re never left guessing what it changed. In Word, it can draft, rewrite, restructure, and adjust tone. In Excel, it makes changes directly inside your workbook, adding formulas, tables, and visuals to turn raw data into actionable insights.
In PowerPoint, it can update existing decks with fresh information while respecting your company’s template styling. In fact, early data from Microsoft shows engagement in Excel jumped 67%, satisfaction rose 65%, and new user retention increased 50%.
Microsoft says deeper editing for complex workflows and more transparency around changes are next on the roadmap. The company has been making several Copilot-related moves lately, from launching smarter research tools in Copilot Cowork to cleaning up its presence in Windows 11 apps and doubling down on its positioning as a serious productivity tool.
Hades 2 was selected as one of CNET’s best games of 2025, but don’t take our word for it. The game won Best Action Game at the 2025 Game of the Year awards, Best Game on Steam Deck at the Steam Awards and a bevy of other accolades. If you haven’t had the chance to play this stellar sequel yet, you can play it on Xbox Game Pass now.
Xbox Game Pass, a CNET Editors’ Choice award pick, offers a wide selection of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC or mobile device for as little as $10 a month. And with a subscription to the higher-tiered Game Pass Ultimate ($30 a month), you can access hundreds of games, including new ones the day they’re released, each month.
Here are the games Microsoft plans to bring to Game Pass in April. You can also check out other games the company added to the service in March, including Cyberpunk 2077, and more options in our list of the best gaming subscriptions.
On Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass now.
Following the events of the original game, the Titan of Time Chronos has returned and laid waste to the Underworld and Earth. As the immortal princess Melinoe, you’re tasked with stopping the titan and restoring the mythic world. Each time you venture out, you’ll learn more about the world around you and discover the true cause of all the destruction and pain.
Now on PC, joining Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, Game Pass Essential and PC Game Pass.
This online multiplayer survival game is coming to PC. An unknown virus has turned the population of the post-Soviet country of Chernarus into zombies, and you’re one of the last few survivors. You’ll have to scavenge for supplies among the ruins while fighting off zombies and other survivors alike. But how far will you go to save yourself?
New to Game Pass Premium. Previously on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Lead your faction to build a great empire that can crush your enemies in this fantasy strategy sequel, which is still in early access. You can play as warriors descended from the stars, cursed knights or hive-minded beasts, but each faction has its strengths, weaknesses and unique philosophies that can influence the rest of the game. And fending off enemies is just one challenge. You’ll have to adapt to the changing environment as well. Will you expand as the tides reveal new treasures, or focus on improving your defenses?
New to Game Pass Premium. Previously on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
The Federal Bureau of Control is under attack from otherworldly forces, and it’s up to you and your versatile unit to restore order. You’ll fight chaotic entities, leeches and a monster made of sticky notes using guns, grenades and other supernatural weapons. You can play this first-person shooter game on your own or take on the chaos of the FBC with friends in three-player co-op.
On Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass now.
This might not be the classic RollerCoaster Tycoon, but it’s close enough. You’ll build your own roller coasters and water slides, manage your amusement park and create unforgettable experiences for your guests. It’s unclear if you can launch your coasters off the rails into waiting crowds. Will report back later.
On Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass now.
I have long dreamed of opening my own bookshop, and until I come into a lot of money, this game will have to do. You can stock your bookshop with different genres and items for sale, set up shop in scenic locations — like near a lighthouse — and get to know the locals in this cozy management game.
New to Game Pass Premium. Previously on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Get ready for a more immersive matchday experience in the latest installment of the long-running Football Manager franchise. You can build a star-studded squad with new transfer tools, and this entry features official Premier League licenses and women’s football for the first time in the series’ history.
On Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass now.
Can AI ever be human? I’m not talking about ChatGPT or Gemini, but REACH, an AI trapped in a human’s body, in this narrative platformer game. You’ll explore an alternate 1980s America that’s scarred from nuclear catastrophe as you try to uncover the secrets of the Phoenix Corps, the same group that created you. It’s a cyberpunk Frankenstein with plenty of exploration and fluid action sequences.
On Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass now.
A thaumaturge is a miracle worker or magician, and in this roleplaying game, you’re a master of mystical arts that allow you to peer into the hearts and minds of others. After the death of your father, you returned to an alternate 1900s Warsaw to investigate his death, fight supernatural forces and uncover the truth.
New to Game Pass Premium. Previously on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
A fanatical cult is trying to open gates to the demonic realm of Oblivion, and it’s up to you to stop them and seal the gates forever in the remastered version of this classic open-world RPG. You can rediscover the world of Cyrodiil (or experience it for the first time in updated glory), encounter unique characters and save the land.
On Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass now.
As the NHL regular season winds down, the playoffs and the fight for the Stanley Cup are heating up. And with the latest installment in this EA Sports franchise, you can ensure your favorite team brings home the cup. This entry in the series introduces new gameplay mechanics, such as Ice Q 2.0 and a goalie crease control system, to add additional challenges. So if you want to see the Florida Panthers win the cup back-to-back, or you want to make absolutely sure that never happens, this game is for you.
On Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass now.
Modern Warfare redefined the Call of Duty series when it was released almost 20 years ago, and the rebooted version of the classic game drops you right back to where it started. You’ll control CIA and SAS special forces as they attempt to stop rebels from the fictional Republic of Urzikstan. And if the campaign’s not enough, you can hone your skills in the immersive, fast-paced multiplayer.
New to Game Pass Premium. Previously on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Your family’s dream project has been to build a rocket, and you’re going to fulfill their dream in this cozy, machine-building RPG. But first, you have to build clever contraptions, convert local resources and become the heart of your community before you can complete your ultimate rocket-building task.
New to Game Pass Premium. Previously on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Miho goes to the pantry to grab a potato for his grandmother’s soup when he lands in a fantastical land. Now he has to find his way back home by following in the footsteps of a mysterious traveler from long ago. You’ll meet quirky characters, gather exotic ingredients and take in vibrant environments in this world of magical realism inspired by Latin America.
On Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass now.
From the creators of the indie darling Vampire Survivors comes this turn-based, deck-building, roguelite game. You’ll explore dungeons that might look familiar to Vampire Survivors veterans, fight monsters and build chaotic, broken decks along the way. So be tactical in your choices or blast away every chance you get!
On Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass now.
Kiln is about creating beautiful pottery filled with artistry and wonder… and smashing it all to pieces in the arena. This online, multiplayer party brawler pits you against others to see which pottery design can withstand the heat and which can dish out a beating.
Watch this: Your Phone is Disgusting: Let’s Fix That
Game Pass Essential costs $10 a month and offers access to a relatively small library of games compared with Game Pass Premium and Ultimate. While Microsoft doesn’t regularly add many games to Essential’s library, the company added these two on April 8.
While Microsoft is adding the above games to Game Pass, it also removed five games from the service, including GTA 5. That means you’ll have to buy these games separately now if you still need to complete your main campaign or any sidequests.
For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you.
The D900 takes all the things that Topping is very good at and evolves them to their logical conclusion. This is truly state of the art decoding and performance that very few brands can get anywhere near. This is the best device of its kind anywhere near the price
Sounds incredible
Good connectivity
Very well made and attractive
No RCA outs
Can be little reluctant to connect
Remote is a bit clunky
Source
USB Audio, i2S, coax, optical, AES and Bluetooth
Audio quality
Supports PCM to 768kHz and DSD512
Connectivity
XLR outputs
In the space of a few years, Topping has gone from being completely unheard of to a mainstay of affordable hi-fi.
From not much over £100, the company offers a range of deeply capable digital to analogue convertors and headphone amplifiers. They have an unerring habit of doing more for less than most of their key rivals and they have a determinedly loyal following as a result.
What you see here is different to almost anything that Topping has built before. Sure, it’s still a DAC (and just a DAC, I’ll come to that in due course) but the manner in which it does digital to analogue decoding is something pointedly different to almost anything else.
The overwhelming majority of devices on the market make use of off the shelf components from two producers; ESS and AKM. There are then a smattering of smaller concerns; Texas Instruments, Wolfson and Crystal but the result is the same; the actual business of conversion is handled by a fixed piece of silicone.
The D900 joins a tiny number of devices where there this isn’t the case. The manner in which it turns a digital signal into an analogue one is bespoke and designed to maximise the areas of performance that Topping feels is important. This is not without risk; Topping has a formidable reputation built on great implementations of ESS and AKM DACs.
The D900 is at once an argument that there might be a bit more to the business of decoding being made to people who seem quite settled with what there is and a step outside Topping’s own comfort zone of expertise. How does it fare?
In the UK, the D900 is available from a selection of retailers for £1799. It can be ordered online from some authorised retailers and there should be no issue securing one from any location in the UK. In the USA the D900 is available for $1799, reflecting a larger market and different sales model. In Australia it is available for $3099.
It is possible at the time of writing to find online locations shipping the D900 direct from the Far East, usually with a reduction over the UK retail. These units will not have a UK warranty however so it would be best to be careful about doing so.
The D900 is a three quarter width design at 330mm. It is perfectly possible when you unbox it from the (really well thought out) packaging that you might find it slightly underwhelming but I suspect that feeling should pass pretty quickly.
The D900 arrives looking sober to the point of minimalist. I have to say I feel this is the right approach and I really like it. The D900 has a quiet seriousness to it that should sit in most systems very effectively. The standard of build is excellent and it whispers rather than shouts a level of quality. It is exclusively available in silver.
The main focal point on the front panel is a small display. This can show input and incoming sample rate information as well as settings menus and both an old fashioned output VU meter and more modern graphic equaliser style interface. The display isn’t terribly large and can’t be read at a huge distance but it’s useful to have when setting the D900 up.
There is a small but no less sturdy remote handset too. This has been a bit of a mixed bag for me in use; there have been points where it hasn’t been responsive at all, but it’s useful to have; particularly if you intend to use the D900 as a preamp in your system. The remote also combines with the display to simplify settings menu access although the menu tree for this is not as intuitive as it could be.
As hinted at earlier, the D900 is a DAC and not a DAC headphone amp (and this is why the D900 is a ‘D’ and not a ‘DX’). If you want to go all in, Topping makes the entirely analogue A900 to partner the D900 and this is a formidable looking device with sockets for any occasion.
It does mean that the D900 isn’t as all singing and dancing as some of its more affordable brethren but allows it to focus on a smaller range of tasks. How much of an issue this will be to you is almost certainly going to depend on what equipment you have kicking around already.
Getting the D900 up and running wasn’t completely straightforward. It would not connect at all to the Chord Electronics 2Go/2Yu streaming head unit over USB and fought me for some time to connect to the usually viceless Eversolo T8.
First it didn’t want to be seen and then, once it was, it proceeded to lock incorrectly, resulting in garbled, high speed sound. Once it was sorted, it stayed sorted but I had to put the effort in.
The principle focus of the D900 is its decoding. It isn’t the first time Topping has implemented this system; that was the D90 III Discrete which uses a simplified version but the D900 takes it to its logical conclusion.
The system is called PSRM which stands for Precision Stream Reconstruction Matrix. It is a ‘1 bit’ system (a notional ideal that dates back to the early days of CD where, so long as the signal is handled correctly before it reaches the actual decoder, it boasts the scope for excellent measured performance) and incorporates discrete 1-bit modules that convert digital audio streams into analogue voltage by turning each audio sample into a very fast train of 1-bit pulses.
The waveform is in turn defined by the density of the pulses and it’s shaped by an analogue reconstruction filter. This is the same as an off the shelf Delta Sigma DAC but Topping controls the entire process rather than buying in a chip that gets on with it. Where the D90 III had 16 of these modules, the D900 has 32 of them.
These modules are powered by a bespoke power supply that employs a voltage-reference power supply that is purely resistive. It uses digital switching logic operating at the nanosecond level for maximum performance.
The business of turning this signal into a usable output is undertaken by a new, proprietary I/V conversion circuit composed of low distortion integrated op-amps and ultra-low-noise discrete components carefully selected after repeated testing.
If this all makes your eyes glaze over, you can focus on the fact that the claimed measurements (that the D900 has achieved when independently measured) are state of the art.
This formidable hardware is made available to an extensive selection of inputs. There are seven wired connections; two optical, two coax, one AES, one USB (on both USB-C and B connections) and an i2S connection; a very high performance option derived from pro audio.
These are augmented by Topping’s excellent Bluetooth implementation. Sample rate handling via USB and i2S is PCM to 768kHz and DSD to 512 with other connections having lower overall sample rate handling.
The situation with regards outputs is a little less comprehensive though. Output is exclusively via XLR with both fixed and variable level examples fitted. Topping says it’s perfectly ok to use XLR to RCA adapters should you need to but you’ll need to budget for those if that’s the way you want to go.
Something you do get is Topping Tune. This allows you to adjust a ten band EQ to tweak the output of the Topping to better suit the output relative to the room. What’s quite interesting about this software is that Topping has elected to make it desktop software that can be adjusted on a screen you can actually see without squinting.
From there, adjustments are communicated over USB to the device itself. I’ve found Topping Tune a bit tricky to actually uninstall from a Mac but, if you own the D900 rather than have it turn up for review, this should be less of an issue.
In keeping with most Topping devices, the D900 has a volume control and can be used as a preamp. If you have no further interest in an analogue source, it can be used directly into a power amp or active speakers to streamline your system.
Topping’s priority in their circuit design is low distortion and the best signal to noise ration they can manage; in this case a claimed harmonic distortion below -140dB and a signal-to-noise ratio of 131dB.
This is great in an abstract sense but what does it mean? When you listen to the sublime Fink Meets the Royal Concetgebouw Orchestra on the D900, the effect is subtly but noticeably different to how it often sounds. The opening Berlin Sunrise builds from silence… but on the Topping it’s not silent. In the seven seconds before the orchestra actually starts, the D900 finds the tiniest rustling and stirring of 100 plus people getting ready to perform. It’s buried in the noise floor of the recording… but the D900 finds it.
It’s not simply about these random artefacts either. As the this track builds and builds, there is a logic and order to the orchestra that makes it sound like a believable body of musicians. Different instruments play out from different sections and you can discern individual musicians rather than single body of’ strings’ or ‘brass.’ It’s the difference between a reproduction and a performance and the Topping excels at it.
It doesn’t have to be an orchestra either. Listen to the pounding and dramatic GO! on Santigold’s Master of my Make-Believe and the Topping doesn’t unpick the dense levels of production but it ensures that the whole performance is just that little more intelligible and orderly than it was before.
It does this with astonishing consistency too. Mid-seventies Trojan Records outing that sounds like it was saved to a tape and then left at the bottom of the sea? Not a problem. Absolute perfection from Blue Note? Delivered as intended. The Topping doesn’t alter or even tweak what you hear, it simply delivers more of it.
What I have found most impressive about this is how well it handles less than perfect recordings. You can give the D900 ii by Meat Puppets; a brilliantly entertaining and hugely influential album but one that is in no way shape or form hi-fi and the D900 does its work at opening it out and finding detail but the chaos and energy of the album is left intact.
This isn’t a ‘save for best’ style DAC, it’s a genuinely engaging and listenable device with all the things you choose to play on it.
The single most important thing is that you can’t hear the technology at work when you listen to the D900. For some of you reading this, this might sound anticlimactic; why go to all the effort? It reflects that the hardware is a means to an end rather than the end in itself.
It’s also worth noting that to achieve this as early on in the development of the technology is notable. Companies like Chord Electronics and dCS who also use bespoke decoding took rather longer to achieve the same feat and it represents a considerable technical achievement on Topping’s part.
The Topping represents the state of the art in digital decoding and it does so at price where almost everything else uses off the shelf decoding options. This is a taste of the truly exotic; a part of the digital market that has, at times, been in danger of pricing itself out of existence, at a price that isn’t too crazy. It combines this with a useful and comprehensive spec too
Detail aspects of the D900 aren’t as easy to live with as some key rivals. The slightly reluctant remote, reluctance to connect the first time and the absence of RCA connections make for a device that is fractionally more demanding than some rivals and that might need a bit of extra work on your part to get up and running.
There is some mild but genuine jeopardy to Topping building the D900. There will always be a subset of people who feel it represents Topping somehow ‘selling out’ and building something that, even if it does measure better, was a contradiction to the affordable brilliance of what the company has been doing so far.
If it wasn’t actually better, it would have looked pointless; a device that wasn’t any improvement over its more conventional brethren. The fact that the company was willing to take the risk and build it should be commended.
We test every DAC we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find.
We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
This model does come with built-in Bluetooth 5.1 support with LDAC streaming.
| Topping D900 DAC Review | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | – |
| Size (Dimensions) | 330 x 210 x 57 MM |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| Resolution | x |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Audio Formats | Up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM, DSD512, LDAC Bluetooth, SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Inputs | USB-C, USB-B, two optical, two coaxial, AES, IIS-LVDS |
| Outputs | XLR pre, XLR line |
| Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise | -140 dB |
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