Technologies
Sony Is Ending Its PlayStation Stars Program: Here’s What to Do With Your Rewards
Players have until July to earn rewards and until November 2026 to redeem them.
Sony is putting its PlayStation Stars rewards program on permanent hiatus. The program, which launched in summer 2022 and arrived in the US later that autumn, offered gamers a chance to earn points, collectibles and games by completing in-game activities similar to Discord’s Quests.
«Since launching the program, we’ve learned a lot from evaluating thetypes of activities our players respond best to, and as a company, weare always evolving with player and industry trends,» Sony said in a blog post. «Through this evaluation, we have decided to refocus our efforts and willbe winding down the current version of PlayStation Stars. We willcontinue to evaluate our key findings from this program, and are lookinginto ways to build upon these learnings.»
Got Stars? These are the dates to know
Sign-ups for Stars have been halted starting Wednesday. Existing members have until July 23 at 7:59 a.m. PT to earn points. After that, players have until November 2026 to redeem any remaining points on their account. Current PlayStation Stars members can continue to redeem Points as long as their Points don’t expire before then, but those who cancel their membership will lose all earned points.
Stars members can still access their Digital Collectibles, even after the program ends.
A representative for Sony did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
While PlayStation Stars is being shut down, it doesn’t seem to be the end of Sony’s loyalty program efforts. The official website mentions that «the current version of PlayStation Stars is ending,» and the blog post says that new members won’t be able to sign up for «this version» of the program. However, if Sony has a replacement program in the works, there are no details about what it might be or how it’ll work. This is in contrast to Nintendo’s Gold Points program, which was shut down entirely in March with no talk of a replacement.
The latest in a rough year for Sony
Fans of the popular console haven’t gotten the best news in 2025. According to Bloomberg, Sony canceled two unnamed live service games from Bend and Bluepoint in January, and several tour dates for the company’s PlayStation The Concert world tour have been moved or canceled.
PlayStation fans have also dealt with a PlayStation Network outage, rising console costs due to tariffs and the delay of Grand Theft Auto 6 until 2026.
Pair that with rising game costs, and it’s no surprise that fans have been unhappy with PlayStation Stars shutting down.
«Well, this sucks,» said a commenter going by NEOMERCER on the blog post. «I liked PlayStation Stars honestly. It did always kind of feel like it was lacking something though. Likethat extra value. Hopefully they can bring that in the future.»
Technologies
Google’s Pixel 10A Is Coming to Japan With an Exclusive Blue Edition and Special Wallpaper
This model comes with creatively designed stickers and a special look for Pixel’s 10th anniversary.
Don’t be blue: Google is releasing an Isai blue edition of the Pixel 10A to celebrate the Android phone line’s 10th anniversary, setting it apart with its own sticker set, specialized wallpaper and custom icons. But it’ll only be available in Japan.
Announced Tuesday on the Google Japan blog, the Isai blue Pixel 10A has a dark blue look and includes bonus decorations designed in collaboration with Japan’s Heralbony art company. These include an exclusive bumper case and stickers for customization.
This edition of the Pixel 10A will arrive in Japan on May 20, following the April 14 release of the Pixel 10A in its original colors of lavender, berry, fog and obsidian. The Isai blue model costs 94,900 yen, which roughly translates to $595, and includes 256GB of storage.
This makes it slightly less expensive than the US model’s 256GB edition, but it comes with a number of fun extras at no additional cost.
Google’s creation of a country-specific model for Japan may also reflect strong sales in that market. In 2023, the IDC analytics firm (via 9to5Google) reported that the Pixel 7 series accounted for 10.7% of the country’s market share, a 527% increase from 2022.
Technologies
Can’t Wait for New Emoji? Here’s How to Create Your Own on iPhone
Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can create custom emoji in a few easy steps.
Apple brought new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26.4 on March 24. The new emoji include «» orca, «» distorted face and «» hairy creature — or as we might normally call it, Sasquatch. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way, including a pickle. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.
Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.
Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.
Note: The new emoji may not display correctly for Apple users whose devices aren’t on a 26.4 software version.
How to make custom emoji
1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.
You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.
Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.
For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.
Technologies
Save Over 20% on This Handy 10,000-mAh Anker Nano Power Bank
Keep your devices charged on the go with this Anker Nano power bank, now down to just $46.
We’ve just spotted the Anker Nano 45-watt portable power bank for just $46 at Amazon right now. This saves you $14 — a 23% discount on its list price. Though it’s $6 more than the lowest-ever price we saw during Black Friday, it’s still a solid discount when you take the rising cost of tech accessories into account. It also matches the lowest price we’ve seen in 2026. It comes in four colors: black, green, pink and white. They’re all on sale for the same price.
This Anker Nano portable charger weighs approximately 8.2 ounces and measures a compact 3.21×1.99×1.42 inches. Despite its small size, it has a retractable cable and supports fast charging in compatible Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and other smartphones. It also has a large 10,000-mAh capacity and a smart display so you always know how much juice is left in your power bank.
The Nano can charge an iPhone 17 to up to 50% battery in an estimated 20 minutes, and is powerful enough to charge tablets and laptops. Need to charge your devices while charging your power bank? You can do so safely thanks to pass-through charging so you’ll never have to go without battery life.
We’ve also compiled a list of the best power banks for iPhones and for Android, in case this deal isn’t quite a fit for you.
Why this deal matters
If you travel, have a long commute time or are otherwise always on the go, a portable charger can help you keep your devices fully powered. This 45-watt Anker Nano power bank is compact, includes a loop that lets you keep track of it easily and has a built-in cable so you don’t have to keep up with extra cords. Amazon’s $14 discount makes this a solid deal for anyone looking for a compact power bank.
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