Technologies

Warning: Nationwide Emergency Alert Test Is Happening Tomorrow on Your Phones, TVs

Heads up: Radios, phones and TVs across the US will be hit with an emergency message on Wednesday.

The nationwide alert system will be tested on Wednesday, which will see your phone, TV and radio receive emergency messages. The US Federal Communications Commission and Federal Emergency Management Agency are trialing their US-wide emergency alert systems on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

The Emergency Alert System, or EAS, for TVs and radios is being tested at the same time as the Wireless Emergency Alerts, or WEA, system for phones. It’s the seventh nationwide EAS test and the second test to all cellular devices in the US.

Here’s everything you need to know about the test next week.

What to know about the emergency alert test

At around 2:20 p.m. ET/11:20 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Oct. 4, cell towers will begin broadcasting an emergency alert for 30 minutes. If your phone is in range of a cell tower, you’ll get a message that says: «THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.»

The emergency alerts will be in English or Spanish, depending on your phone’s set language. The phone alerts will be «accompanied by a unique tone and vibration» to make them as accessible as possible.

The alert sent on TVs and radios will last for 1 minute and will state: «This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.»

If a severe weather or other event occurs on Oct. 4, the test will be postponed until Oct. 11.

What kind of events trigger emergency alerts?

These are the types of WEA and EAS alerts that could be sent to you in nontest situations:

Public safety alerts.
AMBER alerts during child-abduction crises.
Presidential alerts in case of national emergencies.

There are also alerts sent for imminent threats such as:

Extreme weather and natural disaster alerts from the National Weather Service, like flash floods, tornados, tsunamis, severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, typhoons, storm surges, extreme wind, dust storms and snow squalls.
Active shooters.
Human-made disasters.
Blue Alerts for when law enforcement officers are attacked.
Other threatening emergencies.

WEA messages are unaffected by network congestion.

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.