Your PS5 games are about to look a whole lot smoother thanks to this new update — here's what it does
The PS5 system update, version 25.04-11.40.00, doesn't actually specify this particular fix in its release notes. Instead, Digital Foundry highlighted the change in a post on X, referencing an email correspondence with Sony PR.
In the unlikely event you you don't get a system update message upon startup, first make sure you're connected to the internet. Head to Settings -> System, then System Software. Click "Update System Software," and you should be good to go.
Sony PR contacted me yesterday to confirm that - as already detected by some - the latest PlayStation firmware resolves the VRR hiccup issue.
Both the PS5 and PS5 Pro have long suffered from stuttering issues when using VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) for several months now. In an ironic twist, VRR is intended to diminish stuttering using some key enhancements.
These include real-time syncing of the console and TV's refresh rate and an unlocked framerate to give games that buttery-smooth look. The PS5 initially used the technology without any constraints, but a more recent system update that went out in the past few months most likely caused VRR syncing issues when playing specific games in this mode.
The problems persisted after playing for around 30 to 40 minutes across a variety of games. Luckily, the issue has been quelled across both Sony consoles, and you can rest assured that playing titles like The Last of Us Part 2, Diablo 4, and more will run smoothly in VRR mode now.
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Time Business News
14 hours ago
- Time Business News
Japan used to be a tech giant. Why is it stuck with fax machines and ink stamps?
Japan's Tech Paradox: Futuristic Aesthetics vs. Outdated Realities: In movies like 'Akira' and 'Ghost in the Shell,' intelligent robots and holograms populate a futuristic Japan, and neon-lit skyscrapers and the city's famed bullet train system come to mind. But there's a more mundane side of Japan that you won't find anywhere in these cyberpunk films. It involves personalized ink stamps, floppy disks, and fax machines—relics that have long since disappeared in other advanced nations but have stubbornly persisted in Japan. The delay in digital technology and subsequent bureaucracy are, for everyday residents, at best inconvenient, and at worst make you want to tear your hair out. 'Japanese banks are portals to hell,' one Facebook user wrote in a local expat group. A sarcastic commenter said, 'Maybe sending a fax would help,' Japan's Digital Struggles: A Delayed Transformation The scale of the problem became terrifyingly clear during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the Japanese government struggled to respond to a nationwide crisis with clumsy digital tools. They have launched a dedicated effort to close that gap over the years, including a brand-new Digital Agency and numerous new initiatives. However, they are entering the technology race decades late, 36 years after the World Wide Web was launched and more than 50 years after the first email was sent. Now as the country races to transform itself, the question remains: What took them so long, and can they still catch up? How did they get here? This was not always the case. In the 1970s and 1980s, when companies like Sony, Toyota, Panasonic, and Nintendo became household names, Japan was admired all over the world. The Walkman and games like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. were brought to the world by Japan. But that changed by the turn of the century with the rise of computers and the internet. Why Japan Fell Behind in the Digital Age: According to Daisuke Kawai, director of the University of Tokyo's Economic Security and Policy Innovation Program, 'Japan, with its strengths in hardware, was slow to adapt to software and services' as the world moved toward software-driven economies. He said that a variety of things made the problem worse. As Japan's electronics industry declined, engineers fled to foreign firms as a result of the country's inadequate investment in ICT. As a result, the government lacked skilled tech workers and had low digital literacy. Public services were never properly modernized and remained reliant on paper documents and hand-carved, personalized seals called hanko that are used for identity verification. Over time, various ministries and agencies adopted their own patchwork IT strategies, but there was never a unified government push. There were cultural factors, too. Kawai stated, 'Japanese companies are known for their risk-averse culture, seniority-based… hierarchical system, and a slow, consensus-driven decision-making process that hampered innovation.' And thanks to Japan's plummeting birthrate, it has far more old people than young people. According to Kawai, this large proportion of elderly people had 'relatively little demand or pressure for digital services' and a greater skepticism regarding new technologies and digital fraud. Japan's Digital Transformation: From Fax Machines to the Future Jonathan Coopersmith, emeritus professor of history at Texas A&M University, stated that apathy was widespread. Small businesses and individuals didn't feel compelled to switch from fax machines to computers: Why buy expensive new machinery and learn how to use it, when fax worked fine and everybody in Japan used it anyway? A possible switch would have been too disruptive to everyday services, according to larger businesses and institutions like banks and hospitals. Coopersmith, who wrote a book about the fax machine in 2015 and wrote about Japan's relationship with it, stated, 'The bigger you are, the harder it is to change, especially software.' Additionally, it posed a legal problem. Any new technology necessitates new laws, as demonstrated by the introduction of electric scooters into the road or the attempts made by nations around the world to legislate against deepfakes and AI copyright following the AI boom. Digitizing Japan would have required changing thousands of regulations, Coopersmith estimates – and lawmakers simply had no incentive to do so. After all, digitization isn't necessarily a major factor in voter turnout in elections. 'Why do I want to become part of the digital world if I don't need to?' was how he summed it up. A hanko is stamped on a banking document in an arranged photograph taken in Tokyo, Japan A global pandemic was ultimately necessary to bring about change. Japan's technological gap became evident as national and local authorities became overwhelmed, without the digital tools to streamline their processes. Japan's health ministry launched an online portal for hospitals to report cases instead of handwritten faxes, phone calls, or emails in May 2020, months after the virus began to spread worldwide. And even then, hiccups persisted. Public broadcaster NHK reported that a contact tracing app had a system error that lasted for months but didn't let people know they might be exposed. Many had never used file-sharing services or video tools like Zoom before, making it difficult for them to adjust to working and attending school remotely. In one mind-boggling case in 2022, a Japanese town accidentally wired the entirety of its Covid relief fund – about 46.3 million yen ($322,000) – to just one man's bank account. The confusion stemmed from the bank being given both a floppy disk of information and a paper request form – but by the time authorities realized their error, the man had already gambled away most of the funds, according to NHK. For anyone under 35, a floppy disk is a magnetic memory strip encased in plastic that is physically inserted into a computer. Each one typically stores up to 1.44 MB of data, which is less than the size of an average iPhone photo. The situation became so bad that Takuya Hirai, who would become the country's Minister of Digital Transformation in 2021, once referred to the country's response to the pandemic as a 'digital defeat.' According to Coopersmith, a 'combination of fear and opportunity' led to the birth of the Digital Agency, a division tasked with bringing Japan up to speed. Created in 2021, it launched a series of initiatives including rolling out a smart version of Japan's social security card and pushing for more cloud-based infrastructure. Last July, the Digital Agency finally declared victory in its 'war on floppy disks,' eliminating the disks across all government systems – a mammoth effort that required scrapping more than 1,000 regulations governing their use. But there were growing pains, too. Local media reported that the government once asked the public for their thoughts on the metaverse through a complicated process that required downloading an Excel spreadsheet, entering your information, and sending the document back to the ministry via email. 'The (ministry) will respond properly using an (online) form from now on,' wrote then-Digital Minister Taro Kono on Twitter following the move's social media backlash. Digitization as 'a way to survive' According to Kawai, businesses rushed to follow the government's lead, hiring consultants and contractors to assist in system overhauls. Consultant Masahiro Goto is one example. He has assisted large Japanese companies in all sectors in adapting to the digital world as part of the digital transformation team at the Nomura Research Institute (NRI), designing new business models and implementing new internal systems. He stated to CNN that these clients frequently 'are eager to move forward, but they're unsure how to go about it.' 'Many are still using old systems that require a lot of maintenance, or systems that are approaching end-of-service life. In many cases, that's when they reach out to us for help.' According to Goto, the number of businesses seeking the services of NRI consultants 'has definitely been rising year by year,' particularly over the past five years. As a result, the NRI consultants are in high demand. And for good reason: for years, Japanese companies outsourced their IT needs, meaning they now lack the in-house skills to fully digitize. A sign for cashless payments outside a shop in the trendy Omotesando district of Tokyo. He stated, 'Fundamentally, they want to improve the efficiency of their operations, and I believe they want to actively adopt digital technologies as a means of survival.' 'In the end, Japan's population will continue to fall, so increasing productivity is essential.' According to local media, the Digital Agency's plan to eliminate fax machines within the government received 400 formal objections from various ministries in 2021. There may be resistance in certain pockets. Things like the hanko seal – which are rooted in tradition and custom, and which some parents gift to their children when they come of age – may be harder to phase out given their cultural significance. According to Kawai, the rate of progress is also influenced by the Digital Agency's willingness to push for regulatory reform and the degree to which lawmakers will give digitization top priority when creating future budgets. Additionally, new technologies are advancing rapidly in other regions of the world, and Japan is playing catch-up with shifting targets. Coopersmith stated, 'This is going to be an ongoing challenge because the digital technologies of 2025 will be different from those of 2030, 2035.' But experts are optimistic. Kawai projects that Japan could catch up to some Western peers in five to ten years at this rate. Finally, there is a public demand for it, as more and more businesses are offering new online services and accepting cashless payments. 'People are generally eager to digitize for sure,' said Kawai. 'I'm sure that young people, or the general public, prefer to digitize as fast as possible.' Blogger Profile: Name: Usama Arshad Website link: TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Tom's Guide
17 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
I tested Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones for a month — here's the winner
Sony's latest ANC headphones are a good pair of headphones, with some key improvements over the previous model under the hood. But how do they square up against their noise-canceling nemesis? The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are the best way to block out noise, period. But how do they fare when you stack them up against Sony's newest set of cans? Let's find out. The Sony WH-1000XM6 launched with a bang in 2025 and we reviewed them favorably, highlighting their new sound signature and improved noise canceling. They have a new, if un-innovative, look, and a brand-new hard case to protect them in your bag. Yet, they still have to fend off their long-standing Bose rivals: The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones come with a super comfortable fit and better noise canceling, and are ready for the fight. But is that enough to sink Sony's flagship? To find out, I've organized a sunset duel. I've been using both headphones for the last month to work out which ones you should spend your hard-earned dollars on. The fight this time around is tricky for both of our entrants, so let's put them out of their misery. Sony WH-1000XM6 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Price $449 / £399 / AU$699 $429 / £449 / AU$645 Colors Black; Silver; Midnight Blue Lunar Blue; Deep Plum; White Smoke; Black Size Not specified Not specified Weight 8.9 ounces 8.8 ounces Battery life (rated) Up to 40 hours Up to 24 hours Connectivity Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC and LDAC support Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC and LDAC, aptX HD support support Special features Adaptive ANC, Ambient Sound Mode, DSEE Extreme Audio, Bluetooth multipoint, customizable sound, quick charge, passive mode, 360 Reality Audio ANC, Immersive Audio, Bluetooth multipoint, customizable EQ, quick charge We don't need to spend much time on this point. Both headphones will set you back between $428 and $449, depending on which sales you're looking at. That's not a small price for a pair of headphones, and marks what looks to be the new launch price point of flagship headphones from now. At $449, both models $150 cheaper than the Apple AirPods Max, and the same price as our pick for the best wireless headphones, the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3. Although the 1000XM6 are currently cheaper, the Bose headphones have a lower price floor. They've been on the market for a longer time, and we've seen their price drop significantly during deal events. You can save $20 on the Sony by buying them today, or you can wait for Black Friday or Prime Day and pick up the Bose headphones at two-thirds the price. The XM6 are a well-built pair of headphones, with compact earcups and a folding hinge so that they can fold up and fit into a case. The headband has also been widened for comfort reasons (we'll get to that), rounding out the key physical differences between the old and new models. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The case is vastly improved, however. I really like the magnetic clasp, and I've only come to like it more during my comparison period. I'm not sure about the longevity of the mechanism as of yet, but for now it's a winner. Comfort is also better, but still not perfect. I've found that the headband, while wider, still presses on pressure points across the top of my head. There are also bits inside the earcups that interfere with my piercings. The Sony WH-1000XM6 are not wholly uncomfortable — far from it — but they're less comfortable than their Bose rivals. Bose's headphones are not only more padded in all the right places, but also uses better foam inside to make sure that they remain comfortable for long periods of time. They're light, which can make them feel slightly cheap, but that does add to their overall comfort in the end. The Sony WH-1000XM6 are not wholly uncomfortable — far from it — but they're less comfortable than their Bose rivals. The case is much the same as the XM6 in terms of sturdiness, but it's slightly more compact. That makes it easier to pack into a bag when you're going on a trip or getting ready to go to work. The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are a more handsome pair of headphones as well. There's more variety to the kinds of materials used here, with metal in the folding armatures making them feel better built than the flimsy feeling XM6. Overall, thanks to a more comfortable fit, better case and more interesting style, the QuietComfort Ultra take home the points for design. After a strong start for Bose in the design and price sections, the controls section is the place where Sony is going to start clawing back some crucial points. The controls you'll find in the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones aren't really all that good. I don't like the inaccurate touch volume slider, and the multifunction button that does almost everything else is a pain to use. The two buttons on headphones are the same shape, only differentiated with a little bump on the Bluetooth pairing button. I've found skipping accidentally and initiating pairing mode unintentionally is far too easy. I don't like touch controls, but the gesture based controls on the XM6 are better than those found on the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. The touch pads on either earcup can be swiped for volume and skip, and then tapped for play/pause. I still don't like how moving my hair can be mistaken for a command, or how I can accidentally pause when I want to turn the volume up, but there are some redeeming factors. For example, the power button and ANC button are very easy to tell apart — the power button is round, and the ANC button is long. Simple and easy to use. The Sony WH-1000XM6 take the round when it comes to controls. The Sony WH-1000XM6 have an updated sound profile, and while it's not my favorite, I do prefer to the way that to the Bose sound. Sony has focused more on the vocals of your music this time around, and we've ended up with a pair of headphones with some top-notch vocal clarity. Unfortunately, I've found that means that soundstage has taken a hit. The XM5 had a very wide soundstage, and that's taken a back seat with the XM6. The new model is slightly more restricted, and spatial imaging (where everything is on the soundstage) isn't as well defined. Sony's bass-heavy sound isn't horrible, but I wish it were a little bit less in-your-face. I've found dialing it back in Sony's very solid EQ helps a bunch, but it's a shame that I have to. To be clear: The Sony WH-1000XM6 sound very good, but the likes of the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3 have shown what wireless over-ears are really capable of. The Bose straight-up sound worse than the Sony WH-1000XM6. They're bassier and warmer, and you lose some top-end detail and presence. There are going to be some people who are fans of their looser attention to detail and sloppier low-end, but the Sony sound noticeably better. You can EQ the Bose slightly with a three-band adjuster, but they never quite manage to sound as good as Sony's headphones — let alone other headphones you can pick up for the price. Both sets of headphones have good apps and well-rounded feature sets that have their fans and detractors. Both sets of headphones have good apps and well-rounded feature sets that have their fans and detractors. We'll start with the XM6. The Sony Sound app has been recently re-done, and it works very well. It can be slightly confusing for first-time users with some of the features hidden away in separate sub-menus, but once you know where everything is you'll be navigating the headphones' multiple features with aplomb. It's in the app that you'll find the noise-canceling modes. I don't really get these — I just leave my ANC on max level when I want it. Transparency is the one mode I do use frequently, however, as well as the 'off' setting, so that I can save a little battery. Inside the app there's also the EQ, and it's very good. Plenty of bands for adjustment make it very easy to dial the sound in exactly as you want it. Spatial audio is here as well, and it's much better than Bose's option. It's similar to Apple's headtracked Dolby Atmos, only it's built for Amazon Music Unlimited as opposed to Apple Music. Bose's app is also very easy to use, I find. Everything is better laid out than Sony's app, but there are fewer options for customizing your headphones. I don't miss the multi-step ANC adjustment, and I like how you can turn the ANC to transparency and back. Not off, however, for Bose does not believe in turning ANC off. To each their own, but it would be nice to have the option to save some battery life. EQ is good, although not as in-depth as Sony. It gives you ample opportunity to change the sound of your headphones in the long run, however. Giving you ample opportunity to make use of the 'off' slider is Bose's version of spatial audio. It's an in-house 'enhancement' of whatever music the headphones are playing, but I find it just makes music sound anemic. It's the best of these in-house systems, also found in the likes of the Marshall Monitor III and the Nothing Headphone (1), but it's still better left in the 'off' position. Perhaps the most important part of the whole competition here — has Sony finally caught up to the might of the Bose noise-canceling machine? Short answer: No. The longer answer is that Sony's noise canceling is better than that found on the older XM5. Thanks to a new chip and some more clever algorithm changes, the ANC handles some annoying noises better than before. But Sony where promising the best ANC, and the best ANC we have not received. They still struggle slightly with really loud noises that the Bose manage to block out, and they're less of a step up over their predecessor than I was hoping for. Perhaps that's unfair, but the Bose headphones prove that better noise canceling is possible. The Bose headphones prove that better noise canceling is possible. The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones have sat at the top of the list of the best noise-canceling headphones for a long time for a reason. They're really, really good at it. They block out more noise than just about anything else, making your commute and office time more comfortable. Transparency modes across both are good and sound natural. However, the Bose win thanks to superior ANC overall. If only it could be turned off for some extra battery life. Another quick and easy one to decide here: The Bose lose out on battery life thanks to their limited 24 hours of staying power. That's not great, and the Sony handily beat them out with 35 hours of battery. During my testing, I found that the battery life claims of both pretty much matched the expected life on the specs sheet. Remember that you can extend the XM6 to 40 hours when you turn off the ANC as well, something you can't do with the Bose headphones. Fast charging is a helpful bonus for both headphones: 3 minutes of charging the XM6 gets you 3 hours, while the Bose get 2.5 hours after a 15-minute charge. Both aren't the best around, but there is a clear winner overall. I put these two headphones head-to-head when the XM6 launched, but I didn't have both in hand at that point. Now that I've had ample testing time with both sets of headphones, I can find a clear winner — and it's Sony with the XM6. They might not look quite as pretty as the Bose or have better ANC performance, but their sound, features, and battery life ultimately win them the competition. If you're looking for the best ANC you can buy, I've found you're still better off with the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. For just about everything else, the Sony are the headphones of choice. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Sony WH-1000XM6 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Price and value (5) 3 3 Design (15) 13 14 Controls (10) 7 5 Sound quality (25) 22 20 Active noise cancelation (20) 15 20 Call quality (10) 9 9 Connectivity (5) 5 5 Battery life (10) 8 5 Total Score (100) 84 80
Tom's Guide
20 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
This breakthrough TV tech has Samsung, Sony and Hisense seeing dollar signs — here's why it could beat OLED in one big way
Here's a promise I can keep: In the coming years, you'll be hearing a lot about something called RGB Mini-LED. Recently, several companies unveiled TVs that sport this brand-new display technology, and each of these brands couldn't be more excited about the benefits RGB Mini-LEDs bring to the viewing experience. We're talking brighter pictures, improved contrast, and color volume that very well could exceed what we've seen on the best OLED TVs on the market. Here's everything you need to know about how Samsung, Hisense and Sony are putting their own spin on RGB Mini-LEDs, and why these sets could be the start of a new era in TV tech. While each TV maker exploring post-Mini-LED panel technologies is playing around with different formulas, the basic approach is similar for Samsung, Hisense and Sony. Previous iterations on LED backlighting have revolved around making the LEDs smaller with more controllable zones, thus enhancing contrast. This is why Mini-LEDs are considered the current gold standard for consumer LED TVs. However, in addition to their super-small size, RGB Mini-LEDs have an additional trick up their sleeve: color variation. RGB Mini-LEDs have an additional trick up their sleeve: color variation. Even the best Mini-LED displays on the market today use white LEDs and color filters to produce color. RGB Mini-LEDs, however, tap red-, green- and blue-colored LEDs that can be independently controlled across all dimming zones. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. This hardware upgrade allows for some seriously sensational hues. According to the brands leading the charge, RGB Mini-LED TVs are capable of covering 95% to 100% of BT.2020 (an international standard for color accuracy that industry folks use to measure a display's color production). If OLED TVs are the kings of contrast, an advantage like this would make RGB Mini-LED the undisputed kings of color. To date, even the best, quantum dot-equipped OLED TVs hover around 89% to 92% coverage of the BT.2020 color gamut. Remember: Not all TV brands are leveraging this new tech in precisely the same way. There are key hardware- and software-related differences from one brand's design to the next, and exactly how this new technology is deployed depends on a number of factors. With that in mind, let's take a look at where Samsung, Hisense and Sony stand with their take. Samsung recently unveiled the first of its TVs to bridge the gap between traditional Mini-LED and next-generation Micro-LED with the Samsung Micro RGB TV. Currently, it's only being made available in a 115-inch model, which will set you back a whopping $29,999. Samsung claims that it's capable of covering 100% of the BT.2020 color gamut. That would be higher than any TV I've measured in my ten-year history of testing TVs. The Samsung Micro RGB TV comes with a native 144Hz refresh rate, built-in smart features and Samsung's Vision AI software suite. Similar to the brand's flagship OLED, the Samsung S95F, this Micro RGB TV is dressed with a matte, glare-free finish. Credit where credit is due: Hisense was the first brand to introduce me to this next-generation TV technology earlier this year. Originally, Hisense was calling its take TriChroma LED, but according to recent press materials, this has been swapped out for the name RGB Mini-LED. Originally unveiled at CES 2025, the Hisense 116UX is launching this year in an exclusive, 116-inch version. If you're keeping score at home, that's one inch bigger than Samsung's Micro RGB TV. It'll also be available for the same eye-watering price of $29,999. The 116UX debuts alongside a slightly smaller (but still huge) 100-inch version, the Hisense 100UX. This TV is reportedly hitting shelves at $19,999. Hisense claims that the 116UX can clear 95% coverage of the BT.2020 color gamut. We've already been lucky enough to take a look at the 116UX with our testing equipment, and according to measurements, the 116UX is the brightest commercial TV we've ever tested, easily cracking the 5,000-nit mark in HDR. Of the brands tinkering with this technology, Sony is taking the most time to forge its own path. To date, Sony hasn't officially given a name to its take on RGB Mini-LED, nor has it given a name to the model we saw during a press event in Tokyo earlier this year. For now, at Tom's Guide, we're colloquially referring to the TV as the Bravia 10 and to Sony's take on the technology as Sony RGB LED. Neither of these names are confirmed. Based on what we know, Sony's version of this display operates similarly to that of Samsung and Hisense. Sony says the display covers 90% of BT.2020 and can get as bright as 4,000 nits. Unlike its competitors, Sony is currently planning on debuting this TV sometime in 2026, so we'll have to wait to get more details There's no way around it: Most people can't afford TVs in the $20,000 to $30,000 price range, and while big screens are more popular than ever, 100-inch TVs just aren't practical. But if you're hoping to put a 65-inch RGB Mini-LED TV for your living room, you'll probably have to wait a while. As time moves on, these TV-makers are banking on RGB Mini-LED being brought down to popular sizes, like 75 and 65 inches. Display technology can be tricky to scale down. When it comes to pricey, carefully engineered display hardware, it's much more cost effective to start at larger display sizes before developing a reliable way of manufacturing it at smaller size points. This is why most of these TVs are both gargantuan and expensive. But as time moves on, these TV-makers are banking on RGB Mini-LED being brought down to popular sizes, like 75 and 65 inches. In the meantime, consider RGB Mini-LED to be a bridge between the Mini-LEDs of today and the TVs of the future. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
