Technologies

‘Hey Disney’ Brings Mickey and Crew to Your Amazon Echo

You can subscribe to the new voice assistant for $6 a year.

Amazon and Disney on Thursday launched a new voice assistant in the US called Hey Disney! that brings Disney games, stories and more to most Echo devices. You can subscribe to the voice assistant for $6 a year, but it’s also included in an Amazon Plus Kids subscription.

To subscribe and set up the voice assistant, you can say, «Hey Alexa, introduce me to Hey Disney.» Once the voice assistant is enabled, characters such as Mickey Mouse, Rocket and Groot, C-3PO and others can give you the weather, set timers and more on your device. You can also play games with, and hear stories from, different Disney characters.

Another unique Hey Disney feature, which CNET demoed at CES 2023, is Soundscapes. These combine ambient music and sound effects to make it feel like you’re in a Disney-themed location, such as sitting on the forest moon Endor from Star Wars or walking about the Magic Kingdom.

Watch this: ‘Hey Disney’ Comes to Amazon Echo Devices

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The new voice assistant doesn’t entirely replace Alexa, but operates as its own voice assistant. So if Hey Disney can’t give you an answer, Alexa can still help out.

Hey Disney works on most Echo devices, but it won’t work on the Echo Show 15, first-generation Amazon Echo, Echo Auto, Fire Tablets, Fire TV and Echo on-the-go devices.

Amazon and Disney’s launch of Hey Disney comes as anticipation builds for Amazon Prime Day 2023. While Prime Day’s exact date is still unknown, we suspect it will be on July 11 and 12.

Technologies

Honor’s Shimmering Magic V Flip 2 Has Arrived to Outshine Samsung’s Galaxy Flip

The flip foldable, releasing in China, includes a limited edition model co-designed by Jimmy Choo.

Honor has unveiled a new flip phone in China, and the company is billing it as, «the ultimate selfie device.» The Magic V Flip 2 includes an ultra-wide portrait mode, AI photography features and a playful, sparkly design.

The Magic V Flip 2 adds another device to Honor’s increasing lineup of foldable phones. So far, it’s only releasing the Magic V Flip 2 in China, starting on Aug. 28. It will sell for RMB 5,499 or about $766 USD.

The Magic V Flip2 appears to be geared toward influencers and fashionistas — a limited edition version of the new phone is co-designed by fashion icon Jimmy Choo and is, «inspired by the subtle shimmer of crystals.» It comes in deep sea blue and has a crushed stardust design, according to Honor’s press release.

Honor is also touting the phone’s 5,500mAh battery, which it says is the largest on the market for a flip phone. The also phone features a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 50 MP selfie camera. The Magic V Flip 2’s closest competition may be Samsung’s Galaxy Flip 7 FE, which is about $200 more expensive than the Magic V Flip 2.

Technologies

Silksong, Long-Awaited Hollow Knight Spinoff, Gets Release Date: Sept. 4

Announced in 2019, Team Cherry’s follow-up is coming sooner than expected, and it’s on Game Pass on Day 1.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is the follow-up, announced back in 2019, to one of the most beloved indie games of the last decade. In a special announcement video on Thursday, Australian developer Team Cherry revealed that the wait is almost over.

Silksong will be released on Sept. 4, according to the new trailer. The almost two-minute video reveals some of the new enemies and bosses in the upcoming spinoff and ends with the surprise release date.

Originally, Silksong was going to be a DLC for Hollow Knight. However, numerous delays resulted in it being pushed back again and again. Glimpses of the game would show up here and there over the years, but it was this year that it received the most attention from Nintendo as part of its Switch 2 lineup, and from Microsoft, which confirmed it would be available on Xbox Game Pass.

Hollow Knight: Silksong will be available on PC, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PS4 and PS5. It will be available on Day 1 for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

Technologies

PS5 Prices Go Up Today. Here’s How Much and Why

You can expect to pay more for a new PlayStation, thanks to «a challenging economic environment.»

Sony will increase the prices of its PlayStation 5 consoles in the US, starting today. This follows the trend of console manufacturers such as Microsoft and Nintendo raising prices for their hardware in response to tariffs.

The PlayStation-maker posted about the price change Wednesday. The jump in price is $50 more than the current price for each model.

The new prices are:

PlayStation 5: $500 to $550
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition: $450 to $500
PlayStation 5 Pro: $700 to $750

«Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,» Sony said in a post about the price increase.

As of Thursday morning, retailers and Sony’s online store have yet to update the console prices. This jump in price also will likely affect recently released PS5 bundles such as the Astro Bot bundle and Fortnite Cobal bundle.

Sony says accessories have not been affected by the change and this cost hike only affects the US.

In May, Microsoft increased the price of the Xbox Series consoles and Nintendo hiked the original Switch console price and Switch 2 accessories this month.

While the companies didn’t point to the tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump as the reason for the hardware price jump, it would explain the trend in recent months.