Technologies

Game Handhelds Came Back This Year. Here’s What It Means for Gaming in 2023

The Nintendo Switch got new competition, and the future of gaming looks like it’ll be in our hands

Thanks to the Nintendo Switch, iPads, phones, VR headsets, and a ton of new gaming handhelds, I’m not gaming on my TV much anymore. In fact, gaming seems to be everywhere else other than the big panel hanging on my wall. Of course, that’s been the case before 2022. But thanks to the arrival of the Steam Deck and other handheld hardware, it feels like something’s finally happening that I’ve been waiting on for years: gaming tech is starting to become Switchified. I dreamed this would happen back in 2017.

Valve’s Steam Deck was the biggest new handheld arrival by far this year, and its popularity stands out on several fronts: as a gaming PC, it shows how software is finally starting to get more flexible and mobile, hopping between screens in a way that felt well overdue. But also, as another vehicle for streaming game services, it shows how gaming tech is starting to unbundle in a lot of strange ways.

The Nintendo Switch remains an aging, but strong, console. Mobile gaming feels like it’s starting to accelerate, thanks to cloud streaming apps and more excellent game controller cases, plus developments from mobile chip manufacturers like Qualcomm and new gaming tablets like the Razer Edge. Similarly, Logitech’s G Cloud handheld, arriving recently, is another flavor of mobile: a type of Android-based mobile device, but made to lean on game streaming.

And I didn’t even mention my favorite quirky indie handhelds, the Analogue Pocket and Panic Playdate, which have helped me rediscover tons of old games and plenty of indie newbies, too.

Can we also count VR headsets as handhelds? No, not really, although future devices like the Pimax Portal show some possibility for handhelds and VR to dovetail in ways you may not have been thinking about.

Here’s why it all matters.

Steam Deck: PCs can be handhelds now

Valve’s Steam Deck did it. The handheld Steam-compatible game system seemed like an impossible dream before it launched, but the hardware really does play tons of PC games well, and has proven to be one of the biggest gaming surprises of this year.

Valve doing it shows how other manufacturers could give it a go, too: in fact, companies like Dell and Razer already have, in a sense, via previous prototype experiments. The Steam Deck lives, though, and now there’s no reason not to make more of them.

The Steam Deck’s easy sleep/wake functions and its TV docking make it feel every bit as modular as a Switch, even if its controllers don’t detach. It’s the flexibility of the Steam Deck’s OS that shows a lot more promise. Running a variety of games or even apps, and being able to stream games, gives it the possibilities that we’d hoped the Nintendo Switch might gain someday. The Switch’s older processor limits what it can do, but the Steam Deck advances those ideas five years forward. Really, we knew this already with phones in our pockets that are as powerful as laptops, but gaming handhelds can do a lot more at also being full-fledged machines to connect to a much more cross-platform world.

I’m really curious where Valve goes next: in particular, to VR. Valve’s been active in VR for years, and is expected to make its own standalone «Deckard» VR headset in the near future. Could a new Steam Deck be compatible? It seems more than likely.

Stream Machines: Games can live anywhere

In a sense, Logitech’s G Cloud handheld and the Razer Edge tablet have a lot in common. CNET didn’t love the G Cloud, but the idea of it — an Android tablet with controls and the ability to stream games — is like a custom-made version of what you can already do with a phone or tablet and a game controller. The Razer Edge feels like a more advanced version of a similar idea, building a modular tablet with controllers around a higher-powered Qualcomm processor that’s capable of running games better, but also of streaming games as well.

These both remind me of the promises made way back by the Nvidia Shield, a tablet that was way ahead of its time and began to play with game streaming back in 2014.

Streaming games have finally come of age, both in the cloud and locally from console to handhelds. You may very well be doing this already with your phone or tablet. But, between the rise of very good game controller cases like the Backbone One and Razer Kishi and these types of specific standalone devices, it looks like mobile options could be multiplying.

Analogue Pocket and Panic Playdate: Rise of the new indies

Analogue’s ultimate retro handheld, the Pocket, and Panic’s crazy crank-enabled Playdate are very different pieces of hardware. Yet, they both point to a similar trend in gaming. The Pocket plays original Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and even Sega Game Gear game cartridges (with an adapter), and can run virtual hardware cores to recreate other game platforms. The Panic Playdate has its own season of included indie games that beam onto the handheld via Wi-Fi once a week. Both, however, can also sideload indie efforts made to run specifically on these systems.

Gaming portals like itch.io have become my most-visited places, as I check to see what experimental games people make available for Pocket or Playdate. Indie game designers create amazing efforts for all sorts of platforms: you don’t need a Playdate or Pocket for them. But these systems feel like vehicles that are ready to bring more indie efforts to life, and both feel like they’re living entirely outside of the world of the big game studios and hardware manufacturers. Maybe there’s room for more experimentation like this.

Could VR and AR be a doorway to more?

Arriving soon, the Pimax Portal is a curious sign of how tech could merge. Pimax, a manufacturer of VR headsets, is making a Switch-like Android gaming handheld that can also dock into a VR headset, becoming a handheld and standalone VR system all at once. It’s a return to the «VR goggles» concepts of early phone-based hardware like the Samsung Gear VR and Google’s Daydream, but in a potentially far more optimized and advanced format. I haven’t tried the Portal yet, but am really curious to. It’s an idea I could see more companies trying out, especially if it works better than those old limited-motion phone goggles.

Many upcoming VR headsets and AR glasses will start connecting with phones and smaller puck-like processors: the Magic Leap 2 is made this way, and Qualcomm’s next wave of AR glasses are designed to work with phones. Valve’s rumored standalone VR headset, Deckard, could possibly do the same with future Steam Decks.

Maybe Apple has similar plans in mind for how its VR headset will work with its phones and iPads. As headsets get smaller, more glasses-like, and lean on passthrough cameras and AR more, handheld accessories like game systems seem like a natural fit.

Nintendo had the right idea by making those Switch controllers slide off and work as little motion-sensitive magic wands…maybe the future of mobile gaming has been right in front of us all along.

Where this leads to in 2023

We’re already overdue for a truly new Nintendo Switch, and the Steam Deck seems bound for a sequel (although maybe not in 2023). We know a new wave of stand-alone VR headsets is on its way, and new phones and tablets are perpetual givens. The success of the Steam Deck, in particular, seems to open the door in ways that should impact both PC and console gaming. The Steam Deck was announced back in the middle of 2021, which means competitors have had a long time to prepare. But I’m also excited to see where truly decoupled indie gaming hardware could go: The Pocket and Playdate show all sorts of ways handhelds could live beyond traditional app store gateways. Cloud-connected gaming opens new pathways across hardware, too. It’s time for any mobile hardware to be more aware and flexible in its gaming strategies, because all the pieces are there. Of course, the handheld game system you’re most likely to be using in 2023 is your phone, but expect more dedicated gaming hardware to push the boundaries, too.

Technologies

iOS 17 Cheat Sheet: Your Questions on the iPhone Update Answered

Here’s what you need to know about new features and upcoming updates for your iPhone.

Apple’s iOS 17 was released in September, shortly after the company held its Wonderlust event, where the tech giant announced the new iPhone 15 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. We put together this cheat sheet to help you learn about and use the new features in iOS 17. It’ll also help you keep track of the subsequent iOS 17 updates.

iOS 17 updates

Using iOS 17

Getting started with iOS 17

Make sure to check back periodically for more iOS 17 tips and how to use new features as Apple releases more updates.

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

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See all photos

Technologies

Get Ready for a Striking Aurora That Could Also Disrupt Radio Communications

Don’t expect the storm to cause a lingering problem, though.

A geomagnetic storm is threatening radio communications Monday night, but that doesn’t mean you should be concerned. In fact, it may be an opportunity to see a colorful aurora in the night sky.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a geomagnetic storm watch after witnessing a coronal mass ejection from the sun on Saturday. The watch, which was issued over the weekend and will expire after Monday, said the onset of the storm passing over Earth on Sunday night represented a «moderate» threat to communications. As the storm continues to pass through, it could deliver a «strong» threat on Monday night that could cause radio communications to be temporarily disrupted during the worst of it.

Even so, NOAA said, «the general public should not be concerned.»

A coronal mass ejection occurs when magnetic field and plasma mass are violently expelled from the sun’s corona, or the outermost portion of the sun’s atmosphere. In the vast majority of cases, the ejection occurs with no real threat to Earth. However, in the event the ejection happens in the planet’s direction, a geomagnetic storm occurs, and the Earth’s magnetic field is temporarily affected.

In most cases, geomagnetic storms cause little to no disruption on Earth, with radio communications and satellites affected most often. In extreme cases, a geomagnetic storm can cause significant and potentially life-threatening power outages — a prospect that, luckily, the planet hasn’t faced.

Switching poles

Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic poles switch, with the north pole and south pole swapping positions. During those cycles, the sun’s activity ramps up as it gets closer to pole-switching time. The height of its activity is called solar maximum, and scientists believe we either may be entering the solar maximum or may be already in it.

During periods of heightened solar activity, sunspots increase on the sun and there’s an increase in coronal mass ejections, among other phenomena. According to NOAA, solar maximum could extend into October of this year before the sun’s activity calms and it works towards its less-active phase, solar minimum.

Even when geomagnetic storms hit Earth and disrupt communications, the effects are usually short-lived. Those most affected, including power grid operators and pilots and air traffic controllers communicating over long distances, have fail-safe technologies and backup communications to ensure operational continuity.

But geomagnetic storms aren’t only about radios. In most cases, they also present unique opportunities to see auroras in the night sky. When the storms hit, the plasma they carry creates a jaw-dropping aurora, illuminating the night sky with brilliant colors. Those auroras can be especially pronounced during the most intense phases of the storm, making for nice stargazing.

If you’re interested in seeing the aurora, you’ll need to be ready. The NOAA said the «brunt of the storm has passed» and even if it lingers into Tuesday, there won’t be much to see after Monday night.

Technologies

Last Total Solar Eclipse for 20 Years Is Coming: How to See and Photograph It

It’s your last chance until 2044.

Get your eclipse glasses ready, Skygazers: the Great American Eclipse is on its way. On April 8, there’ll be a total eclipse over North America, the last one until 2044.

A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking the sun and turning an otherwise sunny day to darkness for a short period of time. Depending on the angle at which you’re viewing the eclipse, you may see the sun completely shrouded by the moon (called totality) or some variation of it. The more off-angle you are and the further you are from the path of the eclipse, the less likely you’ll be to see the totality.

The 2024 total solar eclipse will happen on Monday, April 8. The Great American Eclipse will reach the Mexican Pacific coast at 11:07 a.m. PT (2:07 p.m. ET), and then traverse the US in a northeasterly direction from Texas to Maine, and on into easternmost Canada. If you want a good look at it, but don’t live in the path of totality, you shouldn’t wait much longer to book accommodation and travel to a spot on the path.

Or how about booking a seat in the sky? Delta Airlines made headlines for offering a flight that allows you to see the entire path of totality. Its first eclipse flight, from Austin, Texas, to Detroit sold out quickly. But as of Monday, Delta has added a second flight from Dallas to Detroit, which also covers the path of totality. The airline also has five flights that will offer prime eclipse viewing.

Not everyone can get on one of those elusive eclipse-viewing flights. Here’s a look at other options to nab a chance to see this rare sight and what to know about it.

Total solar eclipse path

The eclipse will cross over the Pacific coast of Mexico and head northeast over mainland Mexico. The eclipse will then make its way over San Antonio at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET on April 8 and move through Texas, over the southeastern part of Oklahoma and northern Arkansas by 2:50 p.m. ET.

By 3 p.m. ET, the eclipse will be over southern Illinois, and just 5 minutes later, will be traveling over Indianapolis. Folks in northwestern Ohio will be treated to the eclipse by 3:15 p.m. ET, and it will then travel over Lake Erie and Buffalo, New York, by 3:20 p.m. ET. Over the next 10 minutes, the eclipse will be seen over northern New York state, then over Vermont. By 3:35 p.m. ET, the eclipse will work its way into Canada and off the Eastern coast of North America.

Best places to watch the Great American Eclipse

When evaluating the best places to watch this year’s total eclipse, you’ll first want to determine where you’ll have the best angle to see the totality. The farther off-angle you are — in other words, the farther north or south of the eclipse’s path — the less of an impact you can expect.

Therefore, if you want to have the best chance of experiencing the eclipse, you’ll want to be in its path. As of this writing, most of the cities in the eclipse’s path have some hotel availability, but recent reports have suggested that rooms are booking up. And as more rooms are booked, prices are going up.

So if you want to be in the eclipse’s path, and need a hotel to do it, move fast. And Delta’s eclipse-viewing flight from Dallas to Detroit has just four seats left at the time of publication.

Eclipse eye safety and photography

As with any solar eclipse, it’s critical you keep eye safety in mind.

During the eclipse, and especially during the periods before and after totality, don’t look directly at the sun without special eye protection. Also, be sure not to look at the sun through a camera (including the camera on your phone), binoculars, a telescope or any other viewing device. This could cause serious eye injury. Sunglasses aren’t enough to protect your eyes from damage.

If you want to view the eclipse, you’ll instead need solar viewing glasses that comply with the ISO 12312-2 safety standard. Anything that doesn’t meet that standard or greater won’t be dark enough to protect your eyes. Want to get them for free? If you’ve got a Warby Parker eyeglasses store nearby, the company is giving away free, ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses at all of its stores from April 1 until the eclipse, while supplies last.

If you don’t have eclipse viewing glasses handy, you can instead use indirect methods for viewing the eclipse, like a pinhole projector.

Read more: A Photographer’s Adventure With the Eclipse

In the event you want to take pictures of the eclipse, attach a certified solar filter to your camera. Doing so will protect your eyes and allow you to take photos while you view the eclipse through your lens.

There’s also a new app to help you both protect your eyes and take better photos of the eclipse on your phone. Solar Snap, designed by a former Hubble Space Telescope astronomer, comes with a Solar Snap camera filter that attaches to the back of an iPhone or Android phone, along with solar eclipse glasses for protecting your eyesight during the event. After you attach the filter to your phone, you can use the free Solar Snap Eclipse app to zoom in on the eclipse, adjust exposure and other camera settings, and ultimately take better shots of the eclipse.

2024 eclipse compared to 2017

The last total solar eclipse occurred in 2017, and many Americans had a great view. Although there are plenty of similarities between the 2017 total solar eclipse and the one coming April 8, there are a handful of differences. Mainly, the 2024 eclipse is going to cover more land and last longer.

The 2017 eclipse started over the northwest US and moved southeast. Additionally, that eclipse’s path was up to 71 miles wide, compared with a maximum width of 122 miles for this year’s eclipse. Perhaps most importantly, the moon completely covered the sun for just 2 minutes, 40 seconds in 2017. This year, maximum totality will last for nearly four-and-a-half minutes.