News

It looks like Mario and Sonic aren’t the only video game characters worth getting the LEGO treatment, as the company is gearing up to welcome another iconic property into its collection. Set for 2024, LEGO is slated to partner up with Nintendo once again to release a collection of Animal Crossing sets. 

Update: LEGO has officially revealed the new Concorde Plane (10318) landing in September. Go check it our in our launch coverage.

Ensuring that the LEGO news doesn’t die down as the week comes to a close, today we’re able to offer a first look at yet another new creation landing this fall… or should I say taking off? Coming next month, the new LEGO Concorde Plane will stack up to over 2,000 bricks as set number 10318.

Check out these new Spigen Samsung Galaxy Watch bezel protectors. The new Galaxy Watch 6 is set to begin shipping next week, pre-order deals are already live, and Spigen is looking to add an extra special touch of horological design to the experience. While I for one don’t normally champion any kind of a case wrapping around the dials of Apple Watches, Galaxy wearables, or otherwise, these new Spigen bezels have caught my eye. Pulling a design directly from what you would see on the bevy traditional dive/sport watches inspired by the world-famous Rolex Submariner (and many others before and after it), it adds a special sort of track to both protect the bezel on the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and add a touch of design interest for a whole lot less than most good diver timepieces. Head below for a closer look.

Listen to a recap of the best deals and news from 9to5Toys each day at noon. 9to5Toys Daily is available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed. New episodes of 9to5Toys Daily are recorded every weekday. Subscribe to our podcast in iTunes/Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they are available.

• AirPods Pro 2 even better with conversational awareness and discounted $199 price (Save $50)
• Rare discount brings Google’s new 2nd Gen Pixel Stand charger to your Pixel 7/Pro at $71
• Samsung’s 85-inch Frame 4K TV displays digital art and now it’s $1,895 off at new $2,403 low

A couple new TP-Link Kasa Matter smart light switches have made their way on to Amazon. The new Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung-backed smart home standard helps to unify gear from across various platforms, allowing what were once incompatible smart home upgrades to speak with one other and we are really starting to see it take hold across a broad range of products. The standard has begun to makes its way into the TP-Link Kasa lineup in major way, delivering a relatively affordable way to add universal intelligent upgrades to your space, and now it’s on to the latest KS205 and KS225 TP-Link Kasa Matter smart light switches. Head below for more details. 

ESR today is expanding its lineup of MagSafe accessories with some of its very first offerings that pack true 15W charging speeds for iPhone 14 and the rest of your Apple kit. Well timed to debut ahead of all the new Apple smartphones next month, there are three new models being revealed today including a 3-in-1 MagSafe stand and car mount which are seeing launch discounts at Amazon.

As the LEGO catalog wraps up for 2023, we can now share a complete list of all the new additions to the annual Advent Calendar releases. These festive kits always end up launching a bit before the actual holiday season rolls around, and now all of them have been revealed.

Lately I have been listening to the new Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones, which just launched at the very beginning of summer. With a feature set that packs active noise cancellation, multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, and 50-hour battery life, the functionality I am most excited to talk about moves past all of those standouts to put bass in the spotlight.

Today Audio-Technica is officially introducing a couple new Ice Blue sets of its popular ATH-M50x over-ear headphones. The ATH-M series lineup has been around for years, in both wired and wireless formats, and today AT is expanding the collection with a new crowd-sourced limited-edition Ice Blue colorway in both wired and wireless formats known as the ATH-M50xIB and ATH-M50xBT2IB. Both are now, or will very soon be, available for purchase and you’ll find all of the details down below. 

Listen to a recap of the best deals and news from 9to5Toys each day at noon. 9to5Toys Daily is available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed. New episodes of 9to5Toys Daily are recorded every weekday. Subscribe to our podcast in iTunes/Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they are available.

• Save $450 on Apple’s 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook at its best price of the year at $1,549
• Satechi’s all-new 16-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 dock hits $294 (Reg. $350), slim model at $160
• Rare discount lands on Aqara’s new HomeKit Smart Lock U100 with Apple Home Key at $174

With all of the news on the 2024 LEGO lineup, I am sure that the Christmas creations for this holiday season are the last thing on your mind. I mean, it is only August after all. But that isn’t stopping us from showing you two of the upcoming creations debuting something before December.

Today we’re checking out the latest from DJI, the Osmo Action 4 – and there are some impressive but familiar features here but also some things that I kind of thought would have been ironed out by the fourth generation of this camera. Let’s dive in and check it out.

Yesterday, we shared the news on what to expect from 11 upcoming LEGO Star War sets due out in the first half of 2023. The final one of those wasn’t all too exciting, with us simply noting that would be another UCS kit in May. Hardly shocking, right? But today we’re back to offer a little extra insight on the upcoming collectors model. Arriving as part of the May the 4th festivities, we’ll see a new UCS TIE Interceptor.

Twelve South today is launching a new, and more affordable addition to its lineup of MacBook stands. The new Curve SE arrives at the bottom of its current lineup, delivering the same ergonomic upgrade as some of the more premium models in the collection – just at half the price.

The new Monopoly Barbie board has arrived. Barbie has taken the world by storm with record-breaking numbers at the box office and even an official custom Xbox console design. So it was only a matter of time before Hasbro stepped in with a special edition version of its iconic real estate tycoon board game. Much like the official Super Bros. Movie version that launched shortly after Mario and friends broke a few records of their own on the silver screen, Hasbro has now brought special dream house-themed elements, game rules, and tokens to the first official Monopoly: Barbie Edition board game. Now available for pre-order ahead of launch this fall, all of the details you need are down below. 

Over the past month, we’ve been sharing what to expect from the new LEGO Marvel CMF Series 2 releases, and today they’re finally being revealed. With 12 new characters from Disney+ shows arriving in the second round, the new minifigures will debut next month.

Listen to a recap of the best deals and news from 9to5Toys each day at noon. 9to5Toys Daily is available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed. New episodes of 9to5Toys Daily are recorded every weekday. Subscribe to our podcast in iTunes/Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they are available.

• Apple’s 12.9-inch M2 iPad Pro has never sold for less with $149 discount to $1,050 low
• First ever discount lands on new Level Lock+ with Apple Home Keys at $284 (Reg. $329)
• Logitech MX Mechanical Mini Keyboard sees rare discount down to $127 (Reg. $150)

Today, Lexar is officially announcing its brand new gaming SSD known as the NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4×4. The brand is opting to stick with Gen4 architecture and to keep prices particularly accessible as opposed to reaching up to the breakneck power of something like the new Crucial T700 lineup that clocks in at 12,400MB/s (still currently on sale). Even still, the new NM790 easily keeps up with most of the big brands in the space while offering prices far lower than almost all of them. All of the details you need on the new Lexar gaming SSDs are waiting after the jump. 

After just reporting on what to expect from the 2024 LEGO Star Wars lineup, we’re circling back to the 2023 action with yet another new set reveal. Today, we’re getting a first look at the new LEGO Coruscant Guard Gunship. Arriving next month, the new build arrives as LEGO set number 75354 and completes the September set lineup.

Update: The Stormcloud Vapor Xbox controller is now at a new $59.99 Amazon low from the regular $70 price tag.

The latest special gamepad from Microsoft has now been unveiled in the form of the new Stormcloud Vapor Xbox controller. The special gamepad follows the first-of-its-kind wireless pizza-scented Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles models we featured recently with a much more standard setup you’ll actually be able to purchase. Presenting a smokey blue-gray treatment, the new Stormcloud Vapor Special Edition Controller is now available for pre-order, and you can get a closer look down below. 

Earlier this spring, Anker showed off its new Prime charging lineup and we got a hands-on look at what to expect. Now the new devices are finally shipping, just in time for all of the new Apple reveals happening next month. Ranging from its latest GaN chargers to all-new power banks with much of that same Gallium nitride tech in tow, we’re breaking down the new releases.

The largest collection of new LEGO sets of 2023 are here. Each year, the LEGO Group launches a new series of sets as part of its summer collection, and now for August, over 100 builds are landing on store shelves. Including the latest from LEGO Star Wars, Marvel, and other popular themes, August is delivering all the summer 2023 sets.

While there has been a recent push for the convenience of true wireless earbuds, Beyerdynamic is taking a different approach with its neckband design Blue Byrd ANC in-ear headset. There are pros and cons to this throwback style of earbuds, and we went hands-on to see how it performs in the real world. Be sure to hit the video below to see all of the details.

It’s now time to take a closer look at the latest model Samsung PRO Plus microSD cards. The brand’s storage business has had a solid run over the last couple years delivering the T7 Shield portable SSD we went hands-on with previously – an updated version of the standard issue T7 that’s easily one of the most popular models among 9to5Toys readers – alongside its popular range of microSD cards. Earlier this year back in April it refreshed its top-of-the-line memory cards with the latest-generation PRO Plus models, pushing the transfer speed capabilities to keep up with the competition and once again offering tech users another compelling choice for gaming consoles, Android handsets, camera rigs, and more. Head below for a closer look at the latest Samsung PRO Plus microSD memory cards in the latest addition to the ongoing Tested with 9to5Toys series. 

8Bitdo has unveiled its latest gaming accessory in the form of the new Retro Mechanical Keyboard. In true 8Bitdo fashion, it is delivering on the vintage Nintendo vibes with a design heavily inspired by vintage NES and Famicom hardware that looks like it could have come out alongside the original home consoles back in the mid-1980s. These new keyboards are, in fact, made for Windows and Android users, loaded with modern keycaps and switches, hot-swappable tech, and most notably, a pair of external Super Buttons. Now available for pre-order via the official Amazon listings, you can get a closer look at the new 8Bitdo Retro Mechanical Keyboard below. 

Reports suggest we might very well see the next-gen Nintendo console as early as next year. Now quickly approaching the seventh year since the introduction of the Nintendo Switch, rumors were bound to start surfacing on the next-gen Nintendo console. We having been teased with a Nintendo Switch Pro for years already that never came to fruition – although you could argue that was always going to be the OLED model that eventually did see the light of day – and now the rumor mill is turning its attention to the next-generation of Nintendo hardware. 

elago just launched some of the most adorable Apple Pencil 2 cases we’ve seen yet. While in most cases the Apple Pencil cases we see out there are just for adding some extra grip and scratch protection for your iPad stylus, and these elago models certainly do all that, they also deliver a heavy dose of cute to your writer with mini silicone LINE Friends characters. elago is no stranger to fun gimmicky gear like this that adds a ton of character to your otherwise stark white Apple accessories – it already offers loads of stands, cases, and covers featuring the LINE Friends characters – and these new Apple Pencil models are no exception. Head below for more details and a closer look. 

We haven’t even gotten to the biggest LEGO Star Wars collection of the year yet, and we are already turning our attention to 2024. The summer lineup will have to wait, as now 9to5Toys can report on what to expect from next year’s batch of winter and spring creations from a galaxy far, far away. There are so many kits that should excite builders, including a Droid Battle Pack, Podracing Diorama, and so much more as part of the LEGO Star Wars 2024 sets.

Earlier in the month, 9to5Toys was able to report on what to expect from the second batch of collectible Marvel minifigures. Now with the collection getting closer to hitting store shelves, we can do more than just tell you about as 12 of the upcoming characters, but also show you them!

In what can really only be described as some fun, yet completely unexpected Friday LEGO news, 9to5Toys today can now report that the year will culminate in a set no one saw coming. Bringing one of the most iconic vehicles in all of science fiction into your collection, the Dune Ornithopter will be getting the LEGO treatment in November as a new 1,300-piece creation.

Plugable, a brand known for producing well-made and competitively-priced docking stations, hubs, and more, unleashed its latest Thunderbolt 4/USB4 dock last week, and it’s time for some hands-on impressions. Its latest comes in the form of an 11-port hub complete with USB4 specs for Windows users, Thunderbolt 4 action, dual HDMI display support (more on this below), card readers, and just about everything else you might expect from something in this category. Alongside an ongoing launch price drop on Amazon, we have now had a chance to give the new Plugable USB-C Docking Station a run for its currently discounted money and we are now ready to hit you with the latest entry in the ongoing Tested with 9to5Toys series. 

Listen to a recap of the best deals and news from 9to5Toys each day at noon. 9to5Toys Daily is available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed. New episodes of 9to5Toys Daily are recorded every weekday. Subscribe to our podcast in iTunes/Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they are available.

• Save $50 on Apple Watch Ultra styles at the second-best prices of the year of $749
• Apple’s official Magic Keyboard is down to its best price of the year at $70 with rare discount
• Eve’s new Door and Window sensor with Matter falls to $42.50, plus OG HomeKit model at $30

Levi’s will soon be bringing the signature stylings of Princess Mononoke to its lineup of denim and other apparel. It’s been 26 years since the Studio Ghibli movie first premiered, and since then it has become one of the essential viewings for the genre. Now Levi’s is looking to bring some of the animated feature’s unique visuals to your wardrobe with a new collection dropping next month.

The new “first-of-its-kind” SKYVIEW lamp made its official debut last week, and we are now ready to weigh in after putting it to the test. The not quite smart lamp actually has a number of intelligent features in tow, most of which surrounding research done in the way outdoor light conditions can effect our mood and productivity levels, but it also syncs up with the sunset/sunrise conditions in your neck of the woods to provide “light as it was meant be experienced” directly on your nightstand, workspace, or living room end table as well. Head below for our hands-on review of the now available new SKYVIEW lamp. 

Pokémon TCG Obsidian Flames is set to officially launch next month. Ahead of time, the Pokémon Company was kind enough to send over some of the packs for me to open, giving me a first look at the debut of Tera Type EX Pokémon releases, fresh full art designs, and everything else that’s new for the latest Scarlet and Violet expansion.

As we reported previously, PlayStation 5 Spider-Man 2 console bundle pre-orders kick off today in most of the world. The new Spider-Man 2 PS5 is also being joined by the limited edition console covers, allowing existing owners to bring the Spidey vibes to their setup alongside the new themed DualSense controller. We have all of the details you need down below on how to ensure you get a chance to score one – some items (especially the console bundle and covers) will likely sell out quickly, so you’re going to want to be ready for when everything goes live later this morning. Head below for everything you need to know about the PlayStation 5 Spider-Man 2 console bundle, Spider-Man 2 PS5 covers, and the Spider-Man 2 DualSense controller.

Earlier this year, Belkin launched a new addition to its lineup that looks to simplify traveling with your Apple Watch. The new Belkin BoostCharge Pro at first glance looks to arrive with some pretty unremarkable specs at first glance – 10,000mAh batteries with 20W USB-C are hardly anything to be excited about. But where the new release does standout from everything else on the market is the built-in Apple Watch fast charger.

A new elago MacBook sleeve has now surfaced on its official Amazon storefront. elago is a brand any 9to5Toys reader will be familiar with – they make those awesome Game Boy style AirPods cases, retro Mac-inspired stands, and these magnetic iPad holders we reviewed previously, just to name a few. But today, it is turning its attention to the MacBook space to offer up Apple laptop users (and every other laptop user for that matter) a clean, minimalist new sleeve to house your daily driver. Head below for a closer look. 

Listen to a recap of the best deals and news from 9to5Toys each day at noon. 9to5Toys Daily is available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed. New episodes of 9to5Toys Daily are recorded every weekday. Subscribe to our podcast in iTunes/Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they are available.

• Apple’s new 15-inch M2 MacBook Air returns to all-time low with $100 discount to $1,199
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 6/Classic pre-orders come with $50 gift cards and extra bands from $300
• Land one of Apple’s official MagSafe chargers while they’re down to $29 (Reg. $39)

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons are now playable on Switch Online. While you’re likely still exploring every nook and cranny of Nintendo’s latest version of Hyrule in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, two classic Zelda titles have now landed on Nintendo Switch Online. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons are about as brilliant a Zelda experience as they are oddball entries in the series and now anyone with a standard Nintendo Switch Online subscription can enjoy them in all of their glory. Head below for more details. 

It’s time to start up our roundup of the best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 cases to sheath your upcoming new foldable handset. Samsung took to the stage this morning to unleash its new smartphones, deals have already gone live on both of them, and we have now had a chance to gather up some of the best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 cases that are now available for purchase. Alongside a suite of new models coming directly from Samsung starting at $40 and ranging from silicone and eco-leather models right up to the S Pen-equipped variants for the new Fold 5, we are also seeing a plethora of models from some of the better value-packed third-party brands with models already available for purchase. We will update this post as more come down the pipeline. But until then, you’ll find the best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 cases now available for purchase down below the fold.

Pikmin 4 is finally here. If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the past few days exploring what the miniaturized world filled with treasure and funky creatures has to offer. And if you haven’t been, then let this be my chance to convince you why Pikmin 4 is entirely worth all of the hype.