PS6 will be 20% faster than next gen Xbox suggests leaked specs
We're now at that stage in the generation where new consoles from Sony and Microsoft are becoming imminent but nothing official has been announced, other than that they exist.
It's still not certain what year they'll be released – either 2027 or 2028 – but a new rumour claims it's the former for the PlayStation 6, which means the next gen Xbox won't be far behind. That in turn means we'll almost certainly get an official reveal next year, with a small chance of this year (the Xbox Series X was unveiled at The Game Awards in December).
The release dates won't be set in stone yet, but the latest rumour also deals with the supposed power of the machines and, if true, it seems the new PlayStation will once again beat its Xbox rival, by a relatively significant margin.
For many fans, the new generation seems to be arriving too early, especially as there was such little improvement in graphics from the PlayStation 4 to 5. That implies there'll be even less between the PlayStation 5 and 6, but rather than looking for some new selling point this latest leak implies that Sony is going all out to make their next console as powerful as possible.
Anonymous insider KeplerL2 has been leaking information on both consoles for some time now, although this appears to be because of information he gets from AMD sources, rather than directly from Sony or Microsoft.
Writing on the forum NeoGAF, KeplerL2 states that the PlayStation 6's chip design has already been finalised and should reach the A0 tapeout step (the first time the finished chip is manufactured) this autumn, which means the console itself should be ready for sale roughly two years later.
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Because AMD is providing chips to both next gen consoles it means that anyone that has insider information from them is able to make quite specific comparisons.
KeplerL2 claims that the PlayStation is equivalent to a Radeon RX 9070 XT graphic card, while the next gen Xbox is closer to a less powerful RTX 5080. That would make the PlayStation 6 roughly 20% more powerful than its would-be Xbox rival, which is roughly the same as the difference between the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
Supposedly the next gen consoles will have every feature of AMD's latest Blackwell microarchitecture 'and then some'. This is likely to include path-tracing, a new and even more realistic evolution of ray-tracing.
There are more technical details in KeplerL2's original posts, as well as links to related patents, but the problem with tech specs, whether official or unofficial, is they only give a very limited idea of what a console is capable of, with the actual graphics being far more dependent on the skill, or lack thereof, of the developer. Not to mention practical and monetary limitations. More Trending
The PlayStation 5 might be 20% more powerful than the Xbox Series X on paper but that is barely evident in reality, with most multiformat games looking all but identical.
If next gen Xbox hardware sales perform even worse than the Xbox Series X/S then publishers may be convinced to focus more solely on the PlayStation 6 but that will be something that Microsoft will be trying its level best to convince them not to do.
Pricing is impossible to predict at this point, given Trump's ever-changing tariffs, but supposedly the idea is that the PlayStation 6 should be less than the £699 PS5 Pro and ideally the same as the £449/$499 launch price of the PlayStation 5.
There's no mention of the frequently rumoured new PlayStation handheld, in this new batch of rumours, but also no attempt to suggest it doesn't exist.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘A million calls an hour': Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians
One afternoon in late 2021, Microsoft's chief executive, Satya Nadella, met with the commander of Israel's military surveillance agency, Unit 8200. On the spy chief's agenda: moving vast amounts of top secret intelligence material into the US company's cloud. Meeting at Microsoft's headquarters near Seattle, a former chicken farm turned hi-tech campus, the spymaster, Yossi Sariel, won Nadella's support for a plan that would grant Unit 8200 access to a customised and segregated area within Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. Armed with Azure's near-limitless storage capacity, Unit 8200 began building a powerful new mass surveillance tool: a sweeping and intrusive system that collects and stores recordings of millions of mobile phone calls made each day by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Revealed here for the first time in an investigation by the Guardian with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, the cloud-based system – which first became operational in 2022 – enables Unit 8200 to store a giant trove of calls daily for extended periods of time. Microsoft claims Nadella was unaware of what kind of data Unit 8200 planned to store in Azure. But a cache of leaked Microsoft documents and interviews with 11 sources from the company and Israeli military intelligence reveals how Azure has been used by Unit 8200 to store this expansive archive of everyday Palestinian communications. If you have something to share about this story, you can contact Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham using one of the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. To send a message to Harry and Yuval please choose the 'UK Investigations' team. Signal Messenger You can message Harry using the Signal Messenger app. Use the 'find by username' option and type hfd.32 Email (not secure) If you don't need a high level of security or confidentiality you can email SecureDrop and other secure methods If you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform. Finally, our guide at lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each. According to three Unit 8200 sources, the cloud-based storage platform has facilitated the preparation of deadly airstrikes and has shaped military operations in Gaza and the West Bank. Thanks to the control it exerts over Palestinian telecommunications infrastructure, Israel has long intercepted phone calls in the occupied territories. But the indiscriminate new system allows intelligence officers to play back the content of cellular calls made by Palestinians, capturing the conversations of a much larger pool of ordinary civilians. Intelligence sources with knowledge of the project said Unit 8200's leadership turned to Microsoft after concluding it did not have sufficient storage space or computing power on the military's servers to bear the weight of an entire population's phone calls. Several intelligence officers from the unit, which is comparable to the US National Security Agency (NSA) in its surveillance capabilities, said that a mantra emerged internally that captured the project's scale and ambition: 'A million calls an hour'. The system was built to sit on Microsoft's servers behind enhanced layers of security developed by the company's engineers with Unit 8200's instructions. The leaked Microsoft files suggest that a large proportion of the unit's sensitive data may now be sitting in the company's datacentres in the Netherlands and Ireland. Disclosures about the role of Microsoft's Azure platform in the surveillance project come as the US tech giant faces pressure from employees and investors over its ties to Israel's military and the role its technology has played in the 22-month offensive in Gaza. In May, an employee disrupted a keynote speech by Nadella in an act of protest, at one point yelling: 'How about you show how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?' After the Guardian and others revealed in January Israel's reliance on Microsoft technology during the war in Gaza, the company commissioned an external review of the relationship. The review, Microsoft said, had 'found no evidence to date' that Azure or its AI products were 'used to target or harm people' in the territory. A senior Microsoft source said the company had held conversations with Israeli defence officials and stipulated how its technology should be used in Gaza, insisting Microsoft systems must not be employed for the identification of targets for lethal strikes. However, Unit 8200 sources said intelligence drawn from the enormous repositories of phone calls held in Azure had been used to research and identify bombing targets in Gaza. One of the sources said that when planning an airstrike on an individual located within densely populated areas where high numbers of civilians are present, officers would use the cloud-based system to examine calls made by people in the immediate vicinity. The sources also said use of the system had increased during the campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 60,000 people in the territory, the majority of whom are civilians, including over 18,000 children. According to health officials in Gaza, at least 60,000 people have been killed during Israel's current military campaign, launched after the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 which killed nearly 1,200 people. The actual death toll is likely to be significantly higher, as the figure only includes Palestinians killed by bombs or bullets whose bodies have been recovered, leaving out thousands trapped under the rubble or killed by starvation and other indirect victims of the campaign. According to the data – which includes the deaths of militants – women, children, and elderly people account for approximately 55% of the recorded deaths. But the initial focus of the system was the West Bank, where an estimated 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation. Unit 8200 sources said the information stored in Azure amounted to a rich repository of intelligence about its population that some in the unit claimed had been used to blackmail people, place them in detention, or even justify their killing after the fact. 'When they need to arrest someone and there isn't a good enough reason to do so, that's where they find the excuse,' one said, referring to the information stored in the cloud. A Microsoft spokesperson said it had 'no information' about the kind of data stored by Unit 8200 in its cloud. They said the company's 'engagement with Unit 8200 has been based on strengthening cybersecurity and protecting Israel from nation state and terrorist cyber-attacks'. 'At no time during this engagement,' they added, 'has Microsoft been aware of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft's services, including through the external review it commissioned.' The driving force behind the cloud project – described by one source as a 'revolution' within the unit – was Sariel, commander of Unit 8200 between early 2021 and late 2024. A career intelligence officer, Sariel was a strong advocate for projects of this scale. Following a 2015 wave of deadly so-called 'lone wolf' attacks by young Palestinians, many of whom were teenagers unknown to the security services, Sariel had overseen a significant expansion of the volume of Palestinian communications that Unit 8200 intercepted and stored. His answer was to begin 'tracking everyone, all the time', said an officer who worked for Sariel at the time. Instead of traditional surveillance of specific targets, Sariel's project relied on mass surveillance of Palestinians in the West Bank and used novel AI methods to extract insights. 'Suddenly the entire public was our enemy,' said another source who worked on the project, which sought to predict whether someone represented a threat to Israeli security. One system developed in this period, sources said, scanned all text messages between Palestinians in the West Bank and assigned each message a risk rating based on an automated analysis of whether it included words deemed to be suspicious. Still in use, the system – known as 'noisy message' – can identify text messages in which people talk about weapons or discuss wanting to die. When Sariel became Unit 8200 commander in early 2021, he prioritised forging a partnership with Microsoft that would give the unit the ability to go further and capture and analyse the content of millions of phone calls each day. At his meeting with Nadella later that year, Sariel does not appear to have explicitly stated his plan to store Palestinian phone calls in the cloud, referring instead to 'sensitive workloads' of secret data, according to internal records of the meeting. But documents suggest that Microsoft engineers understood the data stored in Azure would include raw intelligence, including audio files, while some Israel-based Microsoft staff, including alumni of Unit 8200, appear to have known about what the unit hoped the joint project would achieve. 'You don't have to be a genius to figure it out,' one source said. 'You tell [Microsoft] we don't have any more space on the servers, that it's audio files. It's pretty clear what it is.' Microsoft's spokesperson said: 'We are not aware of Azure being used for the storage of such data.' They said Unit 8200 was simply a customer of its cloud services and Microsoft 'did not build or consult with Unit 8200' on a cloud-based surveillance system. However, in early 2022, Microsoft and Unit 8200 engineers worked quickly and closely together to design and implement advanced security measures within Azure to meet the unit's standards. 'The rhythm of interaction with [the unit] is daily, top down and bottom up,' one document noted. Among Microsoft staff, the project was shrouded in considerable secrecy and engineers were told not to mention Unit 8200 by name. Under the plan, vast troves of raw intelligence material would sit in Microsoft's datacentres overseas. Files suggest that by July this year, 11,500 terabytes of Israeli military data – equivalent to approximately 200m hours of audio – was held in Microsoft's Azure servers in the Netherlands, while a smaller proportion was stored in Ireland. It's unclear if all of this data belongs to Unit 8200; some may belong to other Israeli military units. According to the files, Unit 8200 informed Microsoft that it planned to move over time as much as 70% of its data, including secret and top secret data, into Azure and was willing to 'push the envelope' with the kind of sensitive and classified information that intelligence agencies normally held on their own servers. 'They're always trying to challenge the status quo,' one executive noted. Asked about Sariel's meeting with Nadella, Microsoft's spokesperson said it 'is not accurate' to say the CEO provided his personal support for the project with Unit 8200. They said Nadella 'attended for 10 minutes at the end of the meeting' and there was 'no discussion' of the content of the data the unit planned to move into Azure. However, according to internal Microsoft records of the meeting seen by the Guardian, Nadella offered support for Sariel's aspiration to move so much of the elite surveillance unit's data into the cloud, described earlier in the meeting as including sensitive intelligence material. 'Satya suggested that we identify certain workloads to begin with and then gradually move towards the 70% mark,' one record states. It adds that Nadella said 'building the partnership is so critical' and 'Microsoft is committed to providing resources to support.' Several months before meeting Microsoft CEO Nadella in 2021, Sariel had published a book about artificial intelligence under a pen name – revealed by the Guardian to be the spy chief's – in which he urged militaries and intelligence agencies to 'migrate to the cloud'. Known within Israeli intelligence as a tech evangelist, Sariel valued what he characterised to colleagues as a friendly relationship with Nadella, according to a senior intelligence source. 'Yossi bragged a lot, even to me, about his connection with Satya,' they said. (Microsoft denied that Nadella and Sariel had a close relationship.) 'He sold [the partnership] internally and got a huge budget,' another former intelligence colleague said. 'He claimed it was the solution to our problems in the Palestinian arena.' Sariel declined to comment and referred the Guardian's questions about the project to the Israel Defence Forces. An IDF spokesperson said its work with companies such as Microsoft was based on 'legally supervised agreements'. They added: 'The IDF operates in accordance with international law, with the aim of countering terrorism and ensuring the security of the state and its citizens.' After publication, the IDF issued a new statement. 'We appreciate Microsoft's support to protect our cybersecurity. We confirm that Microsoft is not and has not been working with the IDF on the storage or processing of data.' For its part, Microsoft viewed the multiyear partnership as a lucrative commercial opportunity. Executives anticipated hundreds in millions of dollars in revenue and 'an incredibly powerful brand moment' for Azure, according to the files. '[Unit 8200's] leadership hopes to expand the mission-critical work tenfold in the coming years,' one executive noted. As Unit 8200 began to make use of Azure's storage capabilities in 2022, intelligence officers rapidly grasped the new powers at their disposal. 'The cloud is infinite storage,' one source familiar with the system said. Calls – which include calls made by Palestinians to international and Israeli numbers – are typically retained in the cloud for about one month, though storage can be scaled up, allowing the unit to keep hold of calls for longer periods of time when needed, several intelligence sources explained. This allows the unit to go back in time and retrieve the phone conversations of people who become of interest, they said. Previously, surveillance targets would need to be pre-selected for their conversations to be intercepted and stored. Several of the sources insisted the cloud-based system had prevented deadly attacks against Israelis. One said 'saving lives' of Israelis was the principal motivation behind Sariel's vision for the system. But it notably failed to prevent the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023 in which nearly 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel and 240 people were kidnapped. In the wake of the attacks, Sariel faced criticism for his apparent prioritisation of 'addictive and exciting' technology over old-fashioned intelligence methods, which some critics said contributed to the disaster. Sariel resigned last year, accepting responsibility for '8200's part in the intelligence and operational failure'. In the ensuing war in Gaza, the cloud-based system pioneered by Sariel has been put to frequent use alongside a series of AI-driven target recommendation tools also developed on his watch and debuted by the military in a campaign that has devastated civilian life and created a profound humanitarian crisis. Israel's destruction of Gaza's telecoms infrastructure has reduced the volume of phone calls in the territory but sources said the information held in the cloud remained useful. According to one, enthusiasm for the system had grown among intelligence officers working on Gaza as the war progressed and they saw the military is 'heading towards long-term control there'.
Metro
4 hours ago
- Metro
GTA Online age check settings confirmed real as screenshots leak
Rockstar's rumoured age verification system for GTA Online appears to be real, as a reliable leaker unearths menu screens showing it in action. The UK's Online Safety Act has led to a wave of newly implemented age checks across porn sites and social media, but it's creeping its way into gaming, too. Platforms like Discord have already rolled out age verification systems to access certain features and age-restricted content, and a leaker earlier this month claimed Rockstar was planning to add something similar to GTA Online. A week later, and the same leaker has posted further evidence that age verification in GTA Online is happening – this time via actual screenshots. In a post on X, Tez2, a long-serving dataminer for Rockstar titles, posted screenshots of the menu screens showing the age check settings. 'A preview of age assurance in-game,' they wrote. 'This is not active yet.' One screenshot shows a splash screen for GTA Online with 'please verify your age to access online features' emblazoned across the bottom. Another screenshot shows new toggles in the settings menu, with the option to 'verify age' at the top and buttons below it to turn on online access, store access, and Snapmatic upload, presumably once you've confirmed your age. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Based on these screenshots, it's unclear what options there'll be to verify your age, but it will likely involve some kind of facial recognition scan or credit card details, based on what's been implemented elsewhere. More Trending Rockstar hasn't officially announced any age check systems for GTA Online yet, but it certainly makes sense to avoid any blowback from these new laws – especially ahead of GTA 6 next year, which will likely become another focal point of controversy. The big question, if these age checks are rolled out, is whether this might impact the sales of GTA 6 to some degree. Although considering adults have been buying 18+ games for underage teens for decades, this will likely just become another minor nuisance for parents who aren't that bothered about their offspring attending a virtual strip club. GTA 6 is set to launch on May 26 next year across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, but there are concerns it could be delayed again. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: EA Sports FC 26 hands-on preview – a bigger change than you think MORE: Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary leaks are fake but what is Nintendo planning? MORE: Genshin Impact sparks fan fury as it shuts down PS4 version
Geeky Gadgets
8 hours ago
- Geeky Gadgets
Microsoft and OpenAI's Partnership Changes and What It Means for the Future of AI
What happens when two of the most influential forces in artificial intelligence—Microsoft and OpenAI—sit down to renegotiate the terms of their partnership? The answer could reshape the trajectory of the tech industry itself. With AI rapidly advancing toward milestones like Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), the stakes in these discussions are higher than ever. Microsoft, a long-time investor in OpenAI, relies heavily on its innovative technologies to maintain a competitive edge, while OpenAI seeks to recalibrate its financial and structural strategies to scale innovation. The outcome of this high-stakes exchange could redefine not only the relationship between these two giants but also the broader dynamics of AI collaboration. What compromises will be made, and what ripple effects will follow? Bloomberg Technology provides more insights into the critical issues driving these talks, from revenue-sharing disputes to the ethical balancing act of OpenAI's mission-driven objectives. Readers will gain a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes negotiations that could influence how AI technologies are developed, distributed, and monetized in the years ahead. As the clock ticks on time-sensitive investment opportunities, the urgency of these talks adds an extra layer of complexity. This exchange isn't just about corporate strategy—it's about the future of AI innovation and its impact on society. What's at stake for Microsoft, OpenAI, and the world they're helping to shape? Microsoft and OpenAI Negotiations Microsoft's Strategic Need for OpenAI's Technology A key focus of the negotiations is Microsoft's need to maintain uninterrupted access to OpenAI's advanced AI technologies. This is particularly vital as the industry moves closer to achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a milestone that could redefine the role of AI in society. Since 2019, Microsoft has made significant investments in OpenAI, with its Azure cloud platform serving as the foundation for OpenAI's services. This partnership has allowed Microsoft to integrate innovative AI capabilities into its ecosystem, enhancing its competitive edge. However, the rapid pace of AI advancements has introduced new challenges. Without updated terms, Microsoft risks losing access to OpenAI's innovations, especially if AGI becomes a reality. The renegotiation aims to establish safeguards that ensure Microsoft's continued integration with OpenAI's technologies, securing its position as a leader in the AI space. By doing so, Microsoft can continue to use AI to enhance its products and services, meeting the growing demands of its customers. OpenAI's Vision for Corporate Restructuring From OpenAI's perspective, the renegotiation presents an opportunity to revise its corporate structure to support its long-term goals. OpenAI is seeking greater financial flexibility to attract substantial new investments, potentially from major players like SoftBank. By modifying its charter, the organization aims to scale its operations and accelerate the development of its AI technologies, making sure it remains at the forefront of innovation. This restructuring, however, must be carefully managed to balance financial growth with OpenAI's mission-driven objectives. The organization has long emphasized its commitment to making sure that AI benefits humanity as a whole. As it adapts to the increasing demands of the AI market, OpenAI must navigate the complexities of aligning its financial strategies with its ethical principles. These changes could position OpenAI to expand its influence while maintaining its core values. Microsoft OpenAI Partnership Negotiations Watch this video on YouTube. Here are additional guides from our expansive article library that you may find useful on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Time-Sensitive Negotiations and Revenue Sharing The urgency of these discussions cannot be overstated. Certain investment opportunities may diminish if OpenAI's restructuring is not finalized by the end of the year. Both Microsoft and OpenAI are acutely aware of this time constraint, with high-level discussions between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasizing the need for swift action. The time-sensitive nature of these negotiations adds a layer of complexity, requiring both parties to align their priorities and reach an agreement quickly. Another critical aspect of the talks is revenue sharing. OpenAI is advocating for a larger share of the value generated from its technology, reflecting its growing impact and the increasing demand for its AI solutions. Since Microsoft's initial investment, OpenAI has significantly expanded its capabilities, and the renegotiation offers an opportunity to recalibrate the financial terms of their partnership. For Microsoft, this adjustment must be carefully weighed against its broader strategic goals, including maintaining its competitive position in the AI market. Striking the right balance in revenue sharing is essential for making sure the partnership's sustainability and mutual benefit. Implications for the Future of AI The ongoing negotiations between Microsoft and OpenAI underscore the high stakes involved in partnerships within the AI industry. These discussions are not merely about financial terms; they touch on the broader trajectory of AI development and deployment. The involvement of top executives like Altman and Nadella highlights the strategic importance of this partnership for both organizations. As the AI landscape continues to evolve, the outcome of these talks could set a precedent for how technology companies collaborate to drive innovation. The decisions made here will influence not only the future of Microsoft and OpenAI but also the direction of the AI sector as a whole. With AGI on the horizon and external pressures mounting, this renegotiation represents a pivotal moment for the tech industry and society at large. The stakes are high, and the results of these discussions will likely have far-reaching implications for years to come. Media Credit: Bloomberg Technology Filed Under: AI, Technology News Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
