The OnePlus 12 is one of the first phones to launch in 2024, and it’s an impressive one. As I said in my review back in January, “OnePlus 12 is a no-compromise smartphone that’s an early contender for Best Smartphone of 2024.” And I stand by that, six months later.

However, now you can get the OnePlus 12 for just $649. That makes it the lowest price it has ever been. This is actually the Prime Day pricing, it’s just stuck around longer than Prime Day did. This is $150 off of the regular price, which is a really great value for this phone.

This phone has just about everything you can imagine. That includes a 6.8-inch QHD+ 120Hz Adaptive refresh rate display that can get as bright as 4,500 nits. It also has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor inside, with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. There’s a 5,400mAh capacity battery inside that will keep it running all day and then some.

In my experience, the OnePlus 12 is one of the best smartphones on the market period. Never mind the best for 2024. Not only does it perform well, it has a stunning display and an incredible camera setup. OnePlus has really turned itself around in the camera department in the last couple of years. And now I almost prefer the OnePlus 12 over any other smartphone camera setup.

Now, you can pick it up for just $699—that’s $600 less than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Actually, if we compare the 512GB models of each phone, that’s around $720 cheaper, which makes this a little more insane.

Buy at Amazon

After a long and winding road, Remedy Entertainment has unveiled its multiplayer follow-up to Control. FBC: Firebreak is for teams of three, and the trios will face down waves of enemies with an intriguing arsenal of weapons. For instance, the trailer shows a gatling gun of gloopy poison and a gun with a launching piston attached to the front for aerial attacks.

Since FBC: Firebreak is set in the same world as Control (and Alan Wake II), there will be more for players to explore about this surreal place. The trailer showed off gunfights in the Federal Bureau of Control and the Oldest House, familiar settings to those who have played Control and its DLC. But with the different approach to gameplay, FBC: Firebreak isn’t intended to be a direct sequel to the psychological hit game. “I guess you could say that it’s a spin-off, but in the most positive sense of the word,” Game Director Mike Kayatta said. “It’s not designed to be some kind of lesser, bite-sized Control. FBC: Firebreak is its own, fully formed thing.”

A co-op project from the studio was first teased all the way back in 2021. Firebreak has clearly gone through some refinements from the original concept Remedy announced with 505 Games. At the time, it was also working on a free-to-play co-op shooter with the conglomerate Tencent, but the codenamed Project Vanguard was scrapped in 2023. The duo attempted to reenvision the game as a premium title, but that also fell by the wayside.

FBC: Firebreak is currently scheduled for release in 2025 on the Xbox Series X|S, PC and PlayStation 5. Remedy announced that the game will be on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass at launch, as well as on the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for Extra and Premium members.

Update, October 17, 3:55 pm ET: Article has been updated with full launch platform and service information.

It’s been 20 years since Apple discontinued the iMac G4, a unique computer with a funky half-globe base and a flatscreen LCD on a fancy hinge and adjustable arm. In its unaltered state, it’s a nice-to-look-at, nostalgic relic that’s unusable in modern contexts. I coveted it and never got to own one at the time, but thanks to Juicy Crumb’s DockLite G4, I’m using this classic iMac every day as an external monitor.

The DockLite G4 is a drop-in replacement motherboard for the iMac G4’s board that features an HDMI port, along with three USB-A and a single USB-C port, and 3.5mm ports for audio. Most importantly, it uses the iMac’s existing mounting holes and internal connectors for power and video, so all you need is a couple of screwdrivers and a prying tool — no soldering required.

It took about 30 minutes for me to open my eBay-acquired 17-inch 1.25GHz iMac G4, remove the motherboard, put in the DockLite, and close it back up, and suddenly, I could plug in whatever I wanted, from a MacBook Air to my Anbernic GBA SP knockoff. (Juicy Crumb even has a helpful video guide.) It was much easier than some alternative DIY methods.

Here are a few pictures I took of the installation process:

With the DockLite installed, my iMac now works exactly like an external display. It sleeps when my computer does (although you have to tap the iMac’s power button to turn off the backlight) and I can control the brightness in software or using hardware buttons in the back.

There are things you lose in the process, like access to the iMac’s optical drive. And you can’t run it as a standalone computer unless you go the extra mile and replace more of its internals with something like a Mac Mini. On the plus side, the installation is reversible — you can always put the original motherboard back in.

The DockLite G4 doesn’t come cheap, at $260. The price owes to the “time, effort, and money to get even a relatively simple product such as the DockLite out to market,” Juicy Crumb CEO and co-founder Timothy de Denaro told me in an email. The DockLite G4 “is a relatively low volume product,” he added, and “every unit is manually tested by myself before being shipped” to customers.

That seems fair, and it also doesn’t change the fact that I spent a lot of money and effort just to use a low-res display with bad viewing angles. Then again, I didn’t buy the DockLite G4 because I admire the quality of my iMac G4’s 21-year-old LCD. I did it because this computer looks sick on my desk, and I wanted to be able to use it every day.

Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

Of all of the many video game adaptations that are in the works right now in Hollywood, few carry quite as much promise as Amazon’s God of War TV series. The original God of War games — particularly the franchise’s 2018 and 2022 installments — already boast a cinematic quality that should make them easier to adapt for the big or small screen than most video games. Despite that fact, Amazon has made little progress on its God of War adaptation in the two years since it greenlit it with a series order.

As a matter of fact, the project has just taken a major step backward. Deadline reports that original God of War showrunner Rafe Judkins, as well as fellow executive producers Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus, have all parted ways with the project. This development comes even after the trio completed multiple scripts for the show’s intended first season and after Sony Pictures TV and Amazon MGM Studios’ shared a desire to take the series in a new creative direction.

Yumi Yang and Cory Barlog of God of War developer Santa Monica Studio are still attached to the TV show as executive producers, as are Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Yumi Land, and Roy Lee. Moving forward, Amazon and Sony reportedly plan to put together an entirely new group of writers for God of War and essentially start over from scratch.

Amazon is no stranger to high-profile video game adaptations. Earlier this year, the platform premiered its long-awaited live-action Fallout series based on the video game franchise of the same name, and it quickly emerged as one of the biggest TV hits of the year. Rafe Judkins also has a history with Amazon. The creative is the showrunner of The Wheel of Time, which premiered on Prime Video back in 2021.

It’s been previously confirmed that Amazon’s God of War series will focus on the franchise’s Norse Era. Assuming that Sony and Amazon don’t intend to entirely move away from that approach, that means the show will pick up with its protagonist, Kratos, years after he has left his bloody, revenge-fueled days as the Greek God of War behind. 2018’s God of War specifically follows Kratos as he sets off on an epic quest with his son, Atreus, to fulfill his wife’s final wish of spreading her ashes from the highest mountain peak of the Norse realm of Midgard. Along the way, Kratos and Atreus are forced to fight for their lives against various Norse gods, monsters, and other mythological figures.

It is, as of now, unclear what it was about Judkins, Ostby, and Fergus’ take on God of War that made Sony and Amazon decide to move away from it altogether. Taking into account the success of Fallout and the God of War franchise’s popularity, though, it makes sense that the studios want to take extra care with the new adaptation — even if that means potentially delaying its premiere by another several years.

In a recent podcast, Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump shared details about a call he had with Apple CEO Tim Cook regarding hefty fines imposed by the European Union. Speaking during a podcast with Patrick Bet-David, Trump revealed that Cook expressed concern over the impact of these fines on the company’s operations.

Trump says Apple CEO reached out to him regarding EU fines

The conversation reportedly took place just hours before Trump’s podcast appearance. He stated that Cook informed him about a recent EU fine of $15 billion against Apple, along with another $2 billion penalty, Reuters reported. Trump said, “He called me, saying the European Union has just fined us $15 billion. Then on top of that, they got fined another $2 billion.”

The European Union has intensified its scrutiny of large technology companies like Apple in recent years. The aim is to reduce monopolistic practices and create fair competition for smaller businesses. These investigations have led to significant financial penalties against several major players in the tech industry.

Last month, Apple faced a significant setback when it lost a lengthy court battle with the EU. The verdict required Apple to pay 13 billion euros ($14.08 billion) back taxes to Ireland. This decision is part of the EU’s wider strategy to clamp down on what it views as unfair advantages global tech firms enjoy.

Trump’s Response to Tim Cook’s Concerns

During his podcast appearance, Trump mentioned that he reassured Cook about his commitment to defending American businesses. He said he told Cook, “Tim, I got to get elected first. But I’m not going to let them take advantage of our companies. That won’t be happening.”

The remarks highlight Trump’s ongoing criticism of the EU’s regulatory actions against American companies. He has consistently argued that these measures unfairly target U.S. businesses to benefit European competitors.

The issue between Apple and the European Union is part of a broader dispute that involves several tech companies. The EU’s approach has raised questions about the balance between regulation and innovation in the digital economy. While Apple has not commented on the authenticity of the call, Trump’s remarks have brought renewed attention to the ongoing battle between Big Tech and European regulators.