The Xbox Series X is now officially in production, allaying fears of Covid-related delays preventing gamers from getting their hands on the next-gen console before 2020 is out.

There's been plenty of uncertainty around the fate of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, though both Sony and Microsoft have been adamant about working to the same "Holiday 2020" release date as originally intended. 

Now, though, it seems that things are moving on schedule, with a distribution plan designed to minimize the impact of further lockdowns and improve on the launch of the 2013 Xbox One.

• Xbox Series X vs Xbox One X: will it be worth the upgrade?
• Xbox Series X games: everything announced so far
• PS5 vs Xbox Series X: what we've learned about the two consoles

Planning for the worst

Production was confirmed by French-language site Xboxygen, with VG247 running the news through Google Translate to get the gist of what was being reported.

The translation is along the lines of this: “What we learn today is that [Xbox Series X] is in production, and that France is one of the priority countries for the delivery of machines at the end of the year.”

Why is France important? Well, Xbox France director Ina Gelbert tells the site that, "The choice we made on this launch is to be present in more countries than at the launch of the Xbox One," showing a clear attempt to one-up the middling launch of the Xbox One.

Given uncertainty around the status of retail stores or distribution channels during a global pandemic, we get the impression that Microsoft is also keen to get as many units to as many countries as possible – as early as possible – in case the supply runs into difficulties down the line.

Gelbert adds that, "Today I do not see a risk for France. But if a few days before the launch, there is a huge containment in the world… we can not do much."

Will the Xbox Series X get to everyone who wants it? For now, we're hesitantly hopeful.

• Xbox Series X frame rate in question as Microsoft passes the buck to developers

Disney Plus is already a home for many a musical, and whether you’re more into the animated sing-a-long films of Hercules and Mulan, or the spin-off High School Musical series, there are plenty of tune-filled shows and films to keep any Disney Plus subscriber occupied.

Things are changing, though, with the arrival of Hamilton, which is confirmed to be landing on the service this July 3 – far ahead of its originally planned theatrical release date in October 2021.

The award-winning musical – penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also took the starring role in its original Broadway production – took audiences and critics by storm with its mash-up hip-hop opera, which explores the politically turbulent life of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers. 

Its arrival on Disney Plus will be welcome to those of us who haven’t managed to see the show in person – a huge number, given the limited number of seats per performance and increasingly high price of tickets. If you don’t live in or near London or New York, too, your only real option is to listen to the soundtrack (which still holds up magnificently by itself).

But Hamilton coming to Disney Plus also opens the door to the many Disney stage musicals showing on Broadway and on London’s West End coming to the TV streaming service. Here’s why.

A whole new world

Disney has been a sizeable force in the world of Broadway and West End musicals for years now, including massive hit shows like The Lion King and Aladdin, to others like Tarzan or the Little Mermaid that have toured numerous countries without necessarily ending up at a massive London or Broadway theater. There’s even a stage musical for Mary Poppins!

2020 is not business as usual, though. With lockdown measures keeping cinemas, theaters, bars, and entertainment venues shut for the foreseeable future, more and more of us are looking to TV streaming services to scratch our content fix. 

Disney Plus didn’t exactly need that driver, with millions of subscribers signing up in its first few days in the US, Canada and Australia, and more coming in the months afterwards as it spread to the UK and rest of Europe. But the fact remains that live performances have been put on pause, and platforms like Disney Plus offer a way to compensate for that.

Disney has also played around with streams for musical performances, including its Disney on Broadway 25th Anniversary concert, which was filmed in late 2019 (remember 2019?) and streamed in April 2020 to raise money for victims of Covid-19.

Of course, many of Disney’s stage musicals have been shut for weeks amid lockdown measures, and so any performances yet to be filmed in full for streaming for Disney Plus are unlikely to have the opportunity in the coming weeks. London’s West End is also due to be shut until June 28, if not later, while Broadway is expected to be closed until at least September (via The New York Times).

On Disney Plus you’ll also find a filmed performance of the Broadway musical Newsies – alongside the 1992 film version starring a rather young Christian Bale.

We’d be surprised, though, if Disney didn’t have some form of video recordings for many of its other musicals – or a plan to get them – especially with its involvement in Hamilton showing an interest in bringing stage musicals to screen.

Theater videographer Bartek Podkowa (Seven Hills Film) told us that Disney would likely go ahead with “Frozen, The Lion King and Aladdin–- assuming they have pre-existing recordings. Filming new shows on the scale they're dealing with would be incredibly difficult in the immediate future, so I would expect them to start with what they already have available.”

“I hope that streamed musicals could reach audiences that might not normally consider giving a staged musical a shot, and convince them to start seeing live shows once theaters reopen,” added Podkowa – while acknowledging that “polished, high-budget” streams from Disney could squeeze out the streaming attempts of smaller theaters and venues during the extended closure.

One jump ahead

A way to binge the biggest Disney musicals in their stage form, and watch them back-to-back with the original animated films that spawned them, would be a massive addition to the Disney Plus catalogue – which, as it stands, still suffers from a lack of variety outside of its tentpole Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and Disney channels. Why not a dedicated tab for ‘Disney Plus Live’?

There are also plenty of other stage musicals that attract thousands of paying audience members every month – and if Disney was able to get the streaming rights to a number of them, its streaming service could become a home for stage musicals, current and past, for those unable or see them in person. 

Imagine seeing Matilda, Dear Evan Hansen, and Wicked next to The Last Jedi and Black Panther, or even Book of Mormon (though we don’t expect Disney bringing that to its largely family-friendly service).

We’ve seen similar measures by the UK’s National Theatre, which has expanded its usual NT Live programme into a weekly broadcast of past productions, with a strategy of limited streaming availability as to not end up replacing live performances altogether.

For now, we’ll be satisfied with Hamilton – but if Disney doesn’t have a roadmap for its stage musicals coming to Disney Plus too, it should probably start planning one. 

• Check out the best Disney Plus movies on the service

The Amazon Fire TV interface is doubling down on free TV streaming, with a new, dedicated tab for all the content on Fire TV you don't have to pay for.

Titled simply 'Free', the new tab sits on the Fire TV's navigation bar, collating together the freely available programming in one handy place.

In a blog post, senior product marketing manager Michael Polin wrote that, "The new Free tab offers customers a single destination to a curated selection from thousands of free movies, TV shows, news, and more."

• Apple TV vs Amazon Fire TV Stick vs Chromecast vs Roku: which to choose?
• Read our Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K review
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Free apps include IMDb TV, Tubi, Pluto TV, Crackle, and The CW – as well as Twitch, Red Bull, PBS and PBS Kids – for a total of over 20,000 titles to enjoy.

There's also a free News app for keeping up with the events of the day, as well as a row dedicated to free content available on Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services that you already pay for, such as Netflix or Hulu – or the more recently-added Disney Plus.

Fight fire with fire

The Fire TV platform powers a number of streaming devices, such as the Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Cube, and television sets that come with the OS built-in.

It's a smooth and zippy smart TV platform, and for years now has made a great argument for replacing your TV's operating system with a cheap streaming stick rather than upgrading to a new set entirely.

The move towards free streaming, though, seems very much in the style of other major players in the streaming and smart TV industries. Roku streaming devices have offered a similar tab for some time now, while the quickly-expanding Samsung TV Plus enables any Samsung TV owners to access up to 120 free TV channels (depending on their nation of residence).

• Best TV streaming service: where to get online TV

Via The Verge

In the past decade of Assassin’s Creed games, from the franchise’s humble beginnings back in 2009, Ubisoft has certainly got to work. We’ve had 11 mainline Assassin’s Creed games so far, jumping through so many centuries and settings that it’s hard to keep track of what world the latest one inhabits.

Whether you’re scaling Victorian buildings with a grappling hook in Syndicate, overturning ships in Black Flag, or gathering your fellow assassins about you in Brotherhood, the best Assassin’s Creed games have never lost their sense of adventure, giving players a way to visit carefully constructed worlds from across time – albeit with a little revisionism to make them more fun to play.

With the 12th entry in the franchise, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, set to launch later this year, we thought we’d bring together our definitive ranked list of the best Assassin’s Creed games so far, from the original 2009 entry that started it all to 2018’s Odyssey installment that brought us meddling assassins to ancient Greece.

While the overarching lore that connects all these games may be a bit hard to track, each AC game is still a journey unto its own – and this is our list of which should be on the top of your play pile if you haven’t tried them already.

1.  Assassin’s Creed II (2009) 

The first Assassin’s Creed sequel is also, it turns out, the Assassin’s Creed game the closest to the TechRadar team’s hearts. Launched two years after the first game, it amped up the action and intrigue with a move to Renaissance Italy, and a suave protagonist known as Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

There’s plenty of brilliant nonsense here, including an in-game Leonardo da Vinco NPC, who builds the player new weapons and items, including a flying machine (which Leonardo da Vinci actually designed). But other gameplay developments are what makes this game shine, with dual hidden blades and a new disarm mechanic.

More than anything else, Assassin’s Creed II showed how easy it was to continue the AC franchise in a whole new setting, and paved the template for the globetrotting, century-jumping entries to come.

2.  Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (2018) 

Taking the action to ancient Greece, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey offered a massive open world, bringing together some of the best aspects of the series while hewing closer to a full-on action RPG.

As a mercenary caught up in a war between Athens and Sparta, you end up travelling to some of the world’s most iconic landmarks – while an emphasis on story, branching dialogue options, and multiple endings make this one of the most engaging AC games of the franchise. (You get to fight some mythological creatures like the Minotaur, too.)

The combat in this action-heavy entry isn’t necessarily what AC does best, but the scope of this game was huge, and the gorgeous open world environment provides endless hours of joyful exploration. It’s a big AC game, and some may find it too big to finish, but it offers a freedom suitable for any assassin.

3.  Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (2010) 

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood was a direct sequel to Assassin’s Creed II, set in the same Renaissance era in Italy, and couldn’t help but feel less fresh than the previous entry – hence not ranking quite as highly. However, the way Brotherhood picks up the baton and sprints with it still makes it one of the best Assassin’s Creed games in the series.

The name Brotherhood reveals this game’s main selling point: the ability to recruit other assassins and send them on missions to further the Assassins’ cause – or summon them into battle to fight alongside you. Who said assassinating had to be lonely?

Notably, Brotherhood also introduced the first online multiplayer mode for the series, seeing players sprint and parkour their way across rooftops to try and take each other out.

4.  Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag (2013) 

Pirates! Assassins! Pirate assassins! Black Flag was a hugely exciting departure for the series, taking the action onto the high seas in the 18th century – playing as the grandfather of the protagonist in Assassin’s Creed III.

As a swarthy pirate, you end up sailing as much as you do sneaking, but there’s still plenty of land-based action that the series is known for – along with ship-based warfare, whale harpooning, and even encounters with Blackbeard himself. Truly one of the most fun games in the series.

5.  Assassin’s Creed: Origins (2017) 

After a sensible year off from releasing games – one of Ubisoft’s favorite hobbies – players were treated to Assassin’s Creed: Origins.

Playing as a desert nomad in ancient Egypt, under the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII, you’re tasked with pursuing peace and safety for the population around you as its kingdom crumbles – with a truly epic origin story for the first ever assassins (so don’t expect to see any AC entries set before this).

With Cleopatra and Julius Caesar appearing, and lots of historical easter eggs to satisfy anthropological hobbyists, Origins was a brilliant entry that got the AC formula down pat.

6.  Assassin’s Creed (2007) 

The game that started it all. The original Assassin’s Creed was truly breathtaking in its scope and ambition for last-generation platforms (it launched on Xbox 360 and PS4, with a PC port soon after).

This game setup the curious sci-fi framing device of the Animus: a machine for hacking into genetic memories held in the protagonist’s (a kidnapped bartender named Desmond) DNA. Its open-world setting in the 12th century Holy Land, with the action jumping between Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus during the Third Crusade.

Players take on the mantle of Altaïr, an assassin tasked with furthering the cause of their secret order, while gradually learning more about a mysterious artifact called the Apple of Eden, that recurs throughout the franchise.

Other games refined its formula, and others broke it, but 2007 Assassin’s Creed is what began our collective fixation with a pickpocketing, parkour, shadow-slinking assassin, and is one of the best games in the franchise for it. While the graphics and combat may not hold up today – enemies being incredibly easy to defeat simply by running around them until your health regenerated – it’s certainly worthy of its place on this list.

7. Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (2015) 

An Assassin’s Creed game set in Old Blighty? Count us in! Syndicate took the action to Victorian London, with all of the cockney accents, wood-panelled pubs, and silly hats you’d hope for. Syndicate also, for the first time, allowed players to pick their avatar’s gender, playing as either Jacob or Evie Frye (twin assassins) as they sought to free London from the cruel grip of the Templars – a welcome addition after half-hearted protestations from developers that women were… too costly to animate?

Players also got to use a dedicated grappling hook for quickly speeding up multi-storey buildings, brass knuckles for brawling in the city’s cobbled streets, and horse-drawn carriages for navigating the Victorian era world. A brilliant and imaginative setting, in a game that – despite its historical nature – showed that Ubisoft was catching up with modern day. As ever, though, some technical glitches held it back from greatness.

8.  Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (2011) 

Released just one year after 2010’s Brotherhood, Revelations was the first time Ubisoft appeared to be rushing things. It certainly felt familiar, with players filling the shoes of 21st-century protagonist Desmond, the original game’s Altaïr avatar, and Ezio from Assassin’s Creed II and Brotherhood – and it showed the franchise was in need of a refresh.

One notable addition, though, was the ‘hookblade’ – a grappling hook attachment to your iconic assassin’s blade – that helped elevate the game’s verticality and roof-jumping to a whole new level (roof level). It could also be thrown into enemies to pull them in for some good ol’ assassinating.

9.  Assassin’s Creed III (2012) 

Ubisoft needed a new setting for the AC game after Revelations, and it certainly made one. Assassin’s Creed III jumps in time to the American Revolution in the 18th century. Players take on the mantle of Connor, as a half-English, half-Mohawk character navigating colonial America. 

With a new Anvil engine, the graphics really got an upgrade, while the American Frontier was a wonderful change from the largely European settings of the previous games that pushed the limits of the open world franchise even further – with an increase in use of natural foliage for sneaking and hiding, rather than the largely urban structures we’d grown used to.

Some less-than-inspiring mission design, though, let down what could have been a truly landmark AC game.

10.  Assassin’s Creed: Unity (2014) 

Unity was the first Assassin’s Creed game to launch on the current-gen PS4 and Xbox One, with the graphical jump that you’d expect. Set during the French Revolution, with the story largely taking place in Paris, the game brought AC firmly back to Europe after many a year in the American colonies or on the Caribbean seas.

Like Rogue – which launched, for some reason, in the same year – Unity was plagued by bugs, marring what could have been an explosive arrival on a new generation of consoles. It deserves some marks for its introduction of cooperative gameplay, though, allowing up to four players to complete missions together. Now that’s unity. 

11.  Assassin’s Creed: Rogue (2014) 

Alas, poor Rogue. There was plenty of potential in this much-maligned Assassin’s Creed game, especially in putting the player in the shoes of an enemy Templar instead of a member of the Assassin’s guild. Expansion of the naval warfare in Black Flag was also hugely welcome, but some obstacles simply got in the way – namely, game-breaking bugs.

Rogue was truly the game where Ubisoft’s annual release schedule got the better of it, leading to a rushed game that launched with a huge amount of bugs and glitches, ruining immersion and leading plenty of players to ditch the story before it had really got underway (the campaign wasn’t overly long, anyway).

12.  What’s next? Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla 

With another upheaval to a new time and place, the next AC game – Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla – takes the franchise to medieval Britain, during the Viking expansion across the island nation. 

You’ll take on the role of Viking raider Eivor, who leads their clan from their native home of Norway to the shores of Dark Ages England – with a hope of settling for good. But resistance from the Saxons (and a stern King Alfred) won't exactly make it easy.

This new Assassin's Creed game leans more into RPG elements, allowing players to build and manage settlements, raid towns for resources, form alliances and even customize their character.

It will be the first AC game on PS5 and Xbox Series X, with support for Smart Delivery on the latter – meaning anyone buying it on Xbox One consoles can upgrade to the next-gen version for free too. Our first look at the gameplay didn’t show off much, but we’re likely to get more in-depth showcases in the coming months, ahead of its release in late 2020. 

There are plenty of good-looking OLED TVs around these days, and few look better than those put out by LG. The South Korean TV maker has put an immense amount of thought into its premium OLED range, nowhere more so than with the LG E Series OLED – even if it was sadly discontinued this year.

2019’s LG E9 OLED was a masterclass in panel design, offering a glass display that banished the bezel and almost appeared to be floating up from the counter – offering a truly breathtaking visual experience. More than anything else, it looked different from any other TV put out that year.

The E9 didn’t quite make the cut for 2020, though, with the new Gallery Series GX model replacing the E Series line instead. While it presumably made business sense for LG to cut the E Series – which doesn’t seem to have received nearly the amount of media attention as the cheaper (and equivalently specced) C9 OLED, or the more affordable B9 OLED at the bottom of LG’s 2019 OLED range – it’s a loss nonetheless.

• LG BX vs LG B9 OLED: is the new B Series OLED worth the upgrade?

We were disappointed not to see an EX model unveiled at CES 2020 along with the other new LG TVs being shown off, and were told simply that the E Series was no longer being pursued.

Neil Robinson, Senior Director for Strategic Projects at LG Electronics, tells us that “The E and G Series were both step-up models, so the GX can be seen as the replacement for the E9.”

Given how close the LG GX and LG WX are in terms of design – both being slim, wall-mounted televisions, with only really a soundbar to differentiate the latter – the removal of an E Series is a move away from variety, even if the GX will be sure to find an audience of its own.

It’s a shame, given the truly unique aesthetic of the E Series compared to other LG TVs. The new BX and CX models look essentially the same as each other, too, like most televisions these days. How much can you iterate on a flatscreen, after all?

Why we loved the E Series OLED

Certainly, there are plenty of subtle differences between the physical appearances of TVs, whether that’s where the TV brand’s logo sits, what kinds of feet or stands prop it up off a counter, or the thickness and quality of the display’s casing. That’s not to mention the differences in picture quality – which is really the heart of any television experience.

But that’s why the E Series felt so refreshing: offering a unique form factor amid a ceaseless catalogue of identikit rectangles. Most of LG's OLED range shares the same panel and processor, anyway, so differences in design feel even more important

In our LG E9 OLED review last year, we praised the set’s “all-glass, frameless panel” for its “open and expansive air”, as well as “a dazzling picture, with crisp detail and truly cinematic visuals”. Aside from minor irritations – the lack of HDR10+, and a patchy Bluetooth connection – the E9 was and is a knockout television to watch.

The year before? We called the E8 OLED “arguably the ultimate expression of these OLED advances, thanks to its glamorous design, niftily integrated sound system and, best of all, mesmerizingly good pictures.”

Other LG TVs have similarly intriguing design choices – including the TV stand for the C9 OLED, which is slanted to funnel audio towards the viewer – but it’s frustrating to see successful examples of this not pursued further, limited to just one or two model generations.

So where did the E Series go?

Our senior home entertainment editor, Nick Pino, speculates that “the reason not to make one this year isn’t based on any pre-existing issues [with the E Series design], but rather that LG decided it couldn’t innovate enough to warrant a new model.”

It’s possible that LG backed itself into a corner with the glass panel design. The TV market demands iteration, and the unique design constraints of a glass display may have meant there was less room to alter or improve its shape going forward compared to other designs (the GX really feels like an iteration on the W Series, rather than a standalone model).

OLED panels are also infamous for often getting damaged during production – given their sensitive, organic materials – and we can’t imagine an all-glass display offsetting worries about breakages either.

The LG E9 OLED is still on sale for those wanting something different – costing roughly half what it did at launch this time last year – and we recommend you take a look if you aren’t sold on the new Gallery Series GX OLED, which offers the only notable divergence from LG’s existing models. Processing enhancements are likely to be minimal compared to the 2020 range too.

But for those of us wanting something different from our televisions, it looks like we’ll have to look elsewhere – whether that’s Samsung’s zero-bezel Q950TS QLED, the rotating Samsung Sero TV, or Hisense’s wacky projector-TV hybrids – to do so.

• Next-gen TVs: the OLED, micro-LED, and holographic TVs of the future

If you’re after a new Samsung TV, and don’t want to settle for a run-of-the-mill LED display, Samsung’s The Frame TV may be a set worth looking at.

There are plenty of TVs out there, but sometimes you want something to really stand out from the competition. The Frame TV by Samsung is one such TV. With an aesthetic-led design, and a form factor unlike the rest of the Samsung 2020 TV range, you can be sure you’re getting something different – and with a QLED panel upgrade, it's come far from its initial 2017 iteration too.

But what exactly does The Frame TV do differently – and even if it looks good, is there a downside that might not be apparent at first glance? This guide will run you through everything you need to know about Samsung’s The Frame TV, from the pricing and sizing to the kind of panel technology powering its display.

What is the Samsung The Frame TV?

The Frame TV is one of several Designer TVs from Samsung, along with the style-focused Samsung Serif TV and rotating (yes, you read that right) Samsung Sero TV.

The Frame TV’s design is based on that of a picture frame. That means it goes all out on a thick, metallic casing – quite unlike the zero-bezel appearance of the Samsung Q950TS 8K QLED – which gives the display a firm outline and will be sure to make an impact in your living room.

There’s a number of different coloring options for the frame around the display, too: white, black, brown, beige, burgundy red, and clay beige.

You’ll also be able to make use of Samsung’s Art Mode – a setting for the television that displays artworks, photos, or paintings rather than keeping the screen black when not in use, a bit like a beefed-up smart display. You’re using up a small amount of power, of course, compared to powering the set down properly, but it means your new TV purchase can be calibrated to better match your home decor.

Art Mode can draw on hundreds of artworks from globally-renowned collections too – such as the V&A Museum, the Tate Gallery, and Van Gogh Museum.

The Frame TV can be placed on a counter, but it will likely feel most at home with its No Gap Wall Mount, which will keep the display flush to a wall and help it camouflage better with its surroundings.

Samsung The Frame TV: what sizes are available?

How much does Samsung’s The Frame TV cost? It depends, as ever, on which TV size you choose.

While the 2018 model only featured three sizes – 43-inch, 55-inch, and 65-inch – that has since expanded with a 49-inch size, as well as the massive 75-inch and miniscule 32-inch sizes for 2020.

That makes for a huge amount of variety, meaning The Frame TV is a television that can be catered to your specific living situation. Want a massive screen to put the fear of god into your children? Or a teeny, cutsey display that can fit on a shelf or be easily tidied away? The Frame TV can do it all.

The small size is unusual for such a premium set – as we usually expect second-rate parts for such small TVs. You is a drop in video resolution, from 4K UHD to just Full HD (1080p), though you also won’t really notice on such a compact screen.

We spoke to James Parker, Head of TV Product Management at Samsung Electronics UK, who told us that “24% of people replace their TV for interior related reasons, and so The Frame in 32-inch fills the void in the market for a transferable TV that can fit in with any space regardless of the size.” 

Parker added that the smaller size was specifically designed to more “seamlessly blend in with the bedroom decor” compared to other, larger versions of the set. The 32-inch model comes with a Mini One Connect Box for tidying away its (relatively smaller) cables too, as well as a “flexible lean-back stand so the Frame can be watched vertically or horizontally” just like the Samsung Sero TV.

Samsung The Frame TV pricing and offers

The 2020 model is now available across the US, UK, and Australia – for most sizes, at least. 

The smallest size (32-inch) starts at just $599 in the US, though has yet to land in the UK or Australia.

If you’re going larger than that, you’ll be paying $999 / £1,199 / AU$1,559 for the 43-inch, $1,299 for the 50-inch, $1,499 / £1,599 / AU$2,295 for the 55-inch, $1,999 / £2,199 / AU$2,695 for the 65-inch, and $2,999 / £3,499 / AU$3,995 for the 75-inch.

In the US, you can opt for a monthly fee, spread across three years (36 months) through Samsung Financing, rather than a one-off payment – while those of you in Australia can spread the cost across 50 months too. You won’t end up paying any more overall either, making this a smart way to finance your new The Frame TV.

If you’re after something cheaper, you also have the option of buying the 2019 model, which starts at $999 / £799 / AU$1,499 for the 43-inch size, jumps to $1,199 / £999 for the 49-inch (no AU model) or $1,399 / £999 / AU$2,499 for the 55-inch, and peaks at $1,799 / £1,499 / AU$3,499 for the 65-inch size.

For UK shoppers, Samsung will throw two free bezels with any purchase of a 2019 The Frame TV too – usually worth £229 – for the remainder of 2020, meaning you can swap out the bezel whenever you feel like redecorating. US shoppers, on the other hand, can get 50% off a single customizable bezel when they make a purchase.

But this is a TV, after all – so what do we make of its picture quality?

Samsung The Frame TV review: not the full picture

Samsung Designer TVs like the Frame aren’t often available for a traditional review – given Samsung views them as lifestyle (not technology) purchases, and tries to avoid these sets being compared on the basis of individual specs.

We did get to review the Samsung The Frame TV 2018 model, praising its "gorgeous, burnished metal frame" and aesthetic successes – though the middling picture quality and poor upscaling stopped us from being able to praise it further.

We found that "we had some small but consistent issues with artefacts and blocking when upscaling, especially from SDR, but not at the expense of a generally capable picture. More vivid colors on the end of the spectrum are however wont to cause trouble: the cyan and pink title screen of Killing Eve could lead to some disconcerting flashing and blocking around the letters."

We also said that "The picture comes across best with darker scenes and moodier palettes, more in keeping with the pensive gallery atmosphere of contemplating the paintings in the TV’s Art Store."

It’s clearly an issue Samsung was aware of, with the 2019 and 2020 versions of The Frame TV featuring a QLED panel rather than the 2018 model's backlit LCD.

The QLED panel for the 2019 / 2020 models is absolutely an upgrade, with higher brightness and enhanced contrast – thanks to a metallic quantum dot filter unique to QLED sets – compared to LCDs. However, we haven’t had the opportunity to review the 2019 or 2020 model ourselves.

The main issues should have been addressed, then, and if you're buying Samsung's The Frame TV it's likely for its visuals and artwork focus, rather than getting necessarily the best TV picture out there.

• What is QLED? Samsung's panel tech explained

The Nintendo Switch doesn’t have many apps outside of its growing catalogue of Nintendo Switch games – but one of the few on the console is getting a big manga content drop.

The comics e-reader InkyPen has been available on the Switch since 2018, offering an all-you-can-read comics experience for just $7.99 / €7.99 / £5.99 per month. 

Now, a new partnership with comics publisher Kodansha has added a whole host of manga to read as well, including big-hitters such as Attack On Titan, The Ghost In The Shell, Battle Angel Alita, and Fairy Tail.

While we reported at launch that InkyPen had plans “to open up to manga in the near future”, it’s only now that intention is coming to fruition. There are still a few notable gaps on the InkyPen service – no Marvel or DC comics, for one – but given how little non-gaming content available on the Switch’s home screen, we’ll take what we can get.

• Check out the best Nintendo Switch games
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• Forget the Nintendo Switch – the world's smallest gaming laptop is a specs beast

Absent apps

While the big content drop for InkyPen is a boon for Switch owners – especially those who are into manga – it does draw attention yet again to the paucity of supported apps for the Nintendo Switch.

US gamers get access to Hulu, but aside from YouTube, there’s no real TV streaming service equivalent – let’s say, Netflix, or Disney Plus – elsewhere. The additional (and more global) InkyPen and Izeno comics apps feel like secondary choices rather than top-tier applications, too.

While it’s not a bad thing that Nintendo is putting its gaming experience first, and resisting a move towards a more diluted, general-use tablet, we’d still appreciate a boutique selection of relevant apps to round out the experience on the Switch – and ensure gamers aren’t switching away to their phone or tablet whenever they want a break from gaming.

Continuing on a manga theme, adding the Crunchyroll anime streaming service would definitely be a good start.

• Here are the best anime series you can watch

Disney has an interesting relationship with movie sequels. While it often makes business sense for the company to pursue a follow-up film with the number ‘2’ in front of it, these titles have historically been seen as of secondary importance – often going straight to VHS, or DVD, whatever the ‘dump’ technology of that day might be.

That means there are plenty of Disney fans who have yet to experience the sequel stories of Hercules, The Little Mermaid, or Cinderella’s Jack Jack (he falls in love!) – which we won’t accept in a time when the Disney Plus streaming service offers a way to simultaneously reach a massive global audience of Disney aficionados.

Disney Plus is a slick portal for navigating decades worth of Disney movies and shows – not to mention Marvel TV shows and Star Wars films – and is the natural place to see some of our favorite Disney characters go through new trials and tribulations. (Happy endings don’t last in real life either, ok?)

With that in mind, we’ve brought together five Disney movies that have yet to get a sequel, and are ripe for either a second feature film or tie-in series for the Disney Plus platform. 

More than anything else, in a time of indoors-living, as more and more films are skipping cinemas and going straight-to-stream, these are the Disney films we wish we could watch back-to-back with a worthy sequel.

1. Moana (2016)

I am Moana. Thanks to Lin Manuel-Miranda’s heart-stirring lyrics, a gorgeously 3D-animated world, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson playing a loveable (if selfish) scamp of a demigod, Moana is one of the best Disney movies of recent years.

Disney is reportedly in talks to make a sequel, but with nothing confirmed, we’re still having to cross our fingers until Moana 2 gets the green light. What makes Moana so perfect for a sequel, though, is where the first film leaves off – with her island tribe travelling out across the water to search shores anew.

There’s plenty of potential for ocean-driven narratives, whether that’s the trials of constant transit, the struggle to keep a sense of community on the seas, or possibly a search for the parents that abandoned Maui (Dwayne Johnson) in the first place. More songs from the creator of Hamilton are a necessity – and more gods and goddesses from Polynesian mythology wouldn’t go amiss either.

2. Zootropolis (2016)

With Zootropolis releasing in the same year as Moana, this was the first time Walt Disney Animation Studios had put out two feature films in the same year since the release of Treasure Planet and Lilo & Stitch in 2002.

Called Zootopia in the UK, this Disney movie imagines an animal society where prey and predator live peacefully side-by-side. Cheetahs and bison, lions and sheep, have put aside their ‘historical’ differences to create a working society – that is, until predators start going beserk and reverting to feral states. It’s up to a newly-minted police office – the first bunny to join the Zootropolis force – to figure out the mystery with the help of a suave conman fox.

Despite touching on such heady topics as workplace discrimination, biological essentialism, and societal division, it’s still a breezy and enjoyable film – helped by brilliant animation and a cameo role by Shakira as a popstar gazelle.

3. Tangled (2010)

This 2020 Disney adventure reimagines the story of Rapunzel to great effect. The animation is excellent, despite it now being a decade old, with boundary-pushing CGI techniques bringing its world to life in vivid detail. It’s helped by some quirky touches, like Rapunzel’s chameleon companion – and the charmingly vain love interest, voiced by Shazam!’s Zachary Levi.

It’s a lighter story then some of the more moving Disney films out there, with spontaneously singing taverns and thuggish twins toeing the line between cut-out stereotypes and loving tribute to the fairy tale tradition. As an exploration of gaslighting, though, it’s surprisingly progressive – and there’s plenty of stories to be told now that Rapunzel is truly free and out in the world.

4. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Yes, this is a Disney movie. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a stop-motion classic from Tim Burton, the quirky mind who brought us Beetlejuice and (more recently) the live-action Dumbo reboot. It follows a demotivated skeleton living in Halloween town, and trying to put excitement into affairs by… putting himself in charge of Christmas instead. Cue plenty of spooks and ghouls, unforgettable songs, and a kidnapping of Santa Claus himself.

Is it a Christmas movie? A Halloween movie? The Nightmare Before Christmas has had us arguing the finer points of the two genres for decades now – but the main reason for a sequel is how the initial film hinted at several other worlds beyond its own, one for each major holiday. 

If there was any way to get a St Patrick’s Day and Thanksgiving crossover movie, this would be the way to do it. Or maybe just more of Jack Skellington: at this point, we’ll take anything.

• Where to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas

5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Who can forget this movie? Blending live-action with 2D animation techniques, it did the unthinkable, showing off a wide cast of beloved Looney Tunes characters alongside real-life actors – including Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd – and pulling off the combination with aplomb. 

It follows a private investigator, played by the late Bob Hoskins – yes, from that wonderfully bad Super Mario Bros. movie – looking into a murder in 1940s Brooklyn. Except, of course, that this version of Brooklyn is one where humans and cartoon characters (‘toons’) live side by side, like some kind of weird, cross-dimensional Zootropolis. 

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is unnerving, heartwarming, and a visual delight – with some breathtakingly good twists – and over 20 years later, it’s overdue a follow-up.

• Check out the best Disney Plus movies and Disney Plus shows too

Want to watch Pokémon on Netflix? The TV streaming service has bagged exclusive streaming rights to a new Pokémon animated series, Pokémon Journeys, which will land on the platform on June 12.

The story looks set to follow a young Ash and his trusty Pikachu (as usual), as well as a new companion known as Goh – which we assume has nothing to do with Pokémon Go, but we’re hoping leads to at least one knowing look at the camera during the first season.

The short trailer shows off the two protagonists, as well as a host of familiar Pokémon faces, such as Lugia, Butterfree, and Rotom – as well as Gigantamax Pokémon as seen in Pokémon Sword and Shield.

The series joins a host of other Pokémon series, including Pokémon Sun and Moon: Ultra Legends, Pokémon: The Indigo League, and even a one-minute video of Pokémon wishing you happy birthday (for the kids, or anyone needing some wholesome well-wishing in these isolated times).

• How to play Pokémon Go at home
• What are the best Netflix series?
• Pokémon Sword and Shield: is the Switch game worth it?

Gotta stream 'em all

It’s a notable achievement for Netflix, given it’s the first time a new Pokémon series is airing exclusively on the service. It comes a matter of months after a Netflix-exclusive Pokémon movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution – a retelling of the 1998 movie – came to the service, and shows that Netflix is making headway on its goal to become a home for anime and animated series.

2020 has also seen a host of Studio Ghibli movies come to Netflix worldwide – except in the US, where the soon-to-launch HBO Max is set to to get the Ghibli oeuvre.

• Every Studio Ghibli movie ranked: our definitive list

Super Mario Maker 2 is getting a pretty massive update – one that lets you create entire World Maps from your self-made Mario level creations on Nintendo Switch.

The dedicated Mario level creator already offered a host of customization options, with a variety of world styles from the 8-bit days of the NES to the 3D modelling of the Wii U. 

Until now you only had the option of making and sharing individual levels and courses, but the latest (and entirely free) update is set to massively expand the scope of your creations, letting you connect levels together in a World Map of your own design. You can even make up to eight distinct Worlds and 40 total courses, meaning you now have the freedom to create a fully-fledged Mario platforming game.

Want to create eight worlds all drowning in lava? You can do that. You can also let your player watch the slow decline of the natural world, from green fields to ghost-haunted deserts.

The Super Mario Maker 2 update is available for free when it lands on April 20. It is, according to Nintendo America's tweets about the update, going to be the last of its kind, as the "final major update" coming to the game.

We've not heard anything about a Super Mario Maker 3, though it's possible this big update is meant to tide us over until such a entry comes to Switch.

It's all coming up Mario

The Super Mario Maker 2 update might not be the only Mario-themed gift coming our way this year.

We caught word of a collection of remastered Super Mario games for Nintendo Switch to commemorate Mario's 35th anniversary. While not yet confirmed, the possibility of seeing the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Sunshine on Nintendo Switch is enough to get us salivating. There have been rumors of a new Paper Mario entry, too, though we'll be sure to keep you updated as and when he hear more.

• Here's our Super Mario Maker 2 review
• What are the best Super Mario games?
• Best Nintendo Switch games: the games to play today

Can't wait for Cyberpunk 2077 to launch in September? You're not alone – but the announcement of a pair of SteelSeries gaming headsets and accessory kits styled after the game's, well... cyberpunk aesthetic, will no doubt bring music to your ears.

These aren't new headsets, given they're essentially reskins of the existing low-latency SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless, but they do have a new and (dare we say it) dystopian flavor – and will be rolling out worldwide in the coming days.

There are two new version of the Arctis 1 Wireless. The first is the Johnny Silverhand Edition – named after Keanu Reeves highly-anticipated character, with a fetching tattoo imprinted on the right can – which will be compatible with Xbox One, PC, Android, and even Nintendo Switch.

The Netrunner Edition, on the other hand, will be compatible with PS4, PC, Android, and Nintendo Switch – but not Xbox One. Both headsets retail for $109.99 / £109.99 (around AU$170).

• Cyberpunk 2077: what you need to know
• All the PS5 games and Xbox Series X games announces so far
• Here are the cheap gaming headset deals worth checking out

SteelSeries already makes all kinds of gaming peripherals, though a press release for the announcement said it was now "the official audio partner of Cyberpunk 2077", meaning we could see further collaborations during the game's lifespan – maybe even on the PS5 and Xbox Series X?

SteelSeries also unveiled three new Arctis Pro accessory packs, "inspired by three of the major factions in Night City – Arasaka, Militech and Kang Tao" – and retailing at $34.99 / £39.99 (around AU$55).

If you already have an Arctis Pro, these packs will be a cheaper way to get a bit of Cyberpunk 2077 into your setup, with a "Cyberpunk 2077 ski-goggle headband and two new magnetic earplates" – and will be compatible with the Arctis Pro, Arctis Pro + GameDAC and Arctis Pro Wireless.

Not fussed about the new design? Check out the lower prices for the classic Arctis 1 Wireless gaming headset below:

It's all coming up Cyberpunk

This isn't the only Cyberpunk 2077 collaboration happening, either. We'd previously reported on a Cyberpunk 2077-themed Xbox One X console, set to release this coming June.

You'll naturally have to wait until September to play the game, but it's up to you whether the console will temper your impatience or taunt you with what you can't yet have. You can see the announcement trailer below:

• PS5 and Xbox Series X set to get 'full-blown next-gen' Cyberpunk 2077 – but not at launch

Anyone with a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch Lite console may have come across the irritating restriction of not being able to remap buttons, but it looks like things have now changed – for first-party controllers at least.

The latest version of the Switch’s firmware has introduced button remapping, allowing players to customize what buttons correspond to what inputs, and allowing for a greater variety of freedom when grappling with the controls for each game. 

Players have the option to save up to five button configurations for either Joy-Con, the Nintendo Switch Pro controller, and the Switch Lite button array – that’s five for each controller – meaning this isn’t a half-baked update either.

• What we want from a new Nintendo Switch console
• Here are the best Nintendo Switch games
• Nintendo Switch Lite deals and prices

However, the Nintendo support site informs us that it is "not available for other controllers", meaning any of you gaming away with third-party Nintendo Switch controllers won't be able to make use of the feature – a further slap in the face for gamers trying to support their Nintendo habit on some kind of budget. (Those official Joy-Cons are expensive!)

Other new features are largely small iterative changes to the UI, including a new bookmark option for Nintendo news items (up to 300), and a way to restrict or delete the visibility of your play activity (on the off chance you don’t want your friends knowing what you really sink your time into). There’s a new slate of avatars, courtesy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons too.

Push the button

It’s a welcome change for Nintendo Switch, and one that finally sees it catch up with the competition. 

The PS4 DualShock 4 controller allows for button remapping as a matter of course – with an optional attachment that adds two additional customizable buttons to the rear of the controller. Xbox One controllers now offer remapping, too – though the feature came to the Xbox One Elite controller first.

We’ve had our first look at the PS5 DualSense controller, which will almost certainly have the same functionality, though the next-gen leaps in features for PS5 and Xbox Series X controllers will likely leave the humble Switch Joy-Cons even further behind when the consoles launch in late 2020.

• PS5 controller: here's our first look at the next-gen controller

Via DualShockers

The LG GX and LG WX OLED TVs may look pretty similar at first glance – and they are. With the same 4K OLED panel, matching HDR format support and identical processors, these two 2020 LG TVs have a huge amount in common, and it may be difficult to know exactly how to choose between them.

The GX, in particular, may be unfamiliar to many TV shoppers out there. That’s because the G Series (or ‘Gallery Series’) OLED range is new for 2020, taking the place left by last year’s LG E9 OLED, which never got a successor.

Thankfully, there are a few differentiators between the GX and WX. This handy comparison guide will take you through the relative pricing for each model, any difference in the display sizes available, as well as what to expect from a 2020 LG OLED in general. 

You can skip to the audio section to find out the main thing that keeps these two sets apart. Otherwise, just scroll down to next section below.

• What are the best OLED TVs available today?

Pricing (and model sizes)

Firstly, how much do the LG WX and LG GX cost?

Well, neither is cheap compared to others in the 2020 LG TV range. Prices for the GX start at $2,699 / £2,299 (around AU$4,500) for the 55-inch model, with a 65-inch version coming in April, and a 77-inch model expected in May.

The WX is available in a single 65-inch model, at £4,499 (around $5,600 / AU$9,200), which launched in April. Last year’s W9 model, however, will be getting a 77-inch size later this year for those of you needing (or wanting) a bigger display.

By comparison, the cheapest LG OLED available right now, the LG B9 (2019) is currently retailing for around half the cost of the GX.

These aren’t TVs you buy for their value, though they do offer something markedly different in terms of their form factors...

Design, audio and specs

The main difference between the LG GX and WX OLEDs has to do with their audio capabilities.

The gimmick for the W Series has traditionally been – as with 2019’s W9 model – the wall-mounted ‘wallpaper-thin’ TV panel, with a detached soundbar designed to live below the television screen.

This isn’t an ideal audio solution for everyone, though, especially if you already have a soundbar or surround sound setup and don’t want to pay unnecessarily for another. The benefits of a wall-mounted television also aren’t entirely felt if it comes with hardware you need to place on a counter anyway.

That’s where the GX comes in. The LG GX OLED is similarly a wall-mounted TV, but it comes with built-in speakers attached to the display itself. The GX isn’t quite as thin as the WX as a result, but it offers a neat all-in-one solution for those not wanting a separate soundbar along with their new LG screen. The GX’s speakers and WX’s soundbar even boast the same 60W output and 4.2 channel audio – though the former model deploys downward-firing audio, and the latter front-firing.

For comparison, the 55-inch GX protrudes just 5mm from the wall, while last year’s 65-inch W9 stuck out an even smaller 3.85mm.

Both the GX and WX use the same a9 Gen 3 processor – which is also used in this year’s LG CX OLED. The low-end BX model, however, will feature a less powerful a7 Gen 3 chip.

You’ll get the same updated-for-2020 version of LG’s winning webOS smart TV platform, too, which will be a boon on either set – along with the sleek Magic Remote. Both TVs support HDR10, dynamic Dolby Vision HDR, and Dolby Atmos surround sound too, as well as Apple AirPlay 2 and the Google Assistant / Alexa smart assistants.

LG GX vs LG WX: takeaway

The LG GX is a pleasing update that corrects the impracticalities of the WX’s design. It’s odd, then, that the GX isn’t a replacement for the W Series outright.

LG decided to discontinue its E Series instead – despite it offering a unique ‘floating’ glass display – and we can’t help but feel that the GX and WX are a bit too similar to really stand out from each other.

If you’re eyeing up the pair of them, though, it all boils down to this: get the GX for built-in audio and no trailing cables, or the WX for a thinner display and add-on soundbar. In all else, there’s really not much separating one from the other. Just remember that you’ll likely need a professional installer to get either one mounted properly in your living room.

Not quite your pay grade? Check out the best deals on 2019 LG TVs below:

• Check out the cheapest OLED TV prices available

At least one voice at Bethesda has come out in favor of the new PS5 controller design, with Pete Hines – senior vice president of global marketing and comms at the gaming developer – tweeting about his experience trying out the 'DualSense' controller.

One thing is clear: the PS5 controller's advanced adaptive triggers and haptic feedback should make a difference compared to today's PS4 controllers.

When asked whether the DualSense controller feels "different" to the previous iteration – the DualShock 4 – Hines replied that, "You sort of immediately forget about a PS4 controller. I went back and forth between them and you immediately just want to use the PS5."

• Here's what we know about the PS5
• PS5 controller: a new, futuristic design
• The best DualShock 4 deals for this month

The future is haptic

These comments bode well for those thinking about buying into the next-gen PS5 console – as well as those hoping that the next fleet of games from Bethesda will make the most of the new hardware and its more more advanced inputs.

We're still waiting on release dates for both Elder Scrolls 6 and the new sci-fi RPG Starfield that got announced at E3 2018. We're yet to find out Bethesda's future plans for the Fallout franchise, too, after a botched Fallout 76 launch that has killed off a lot of appetite for the once-great post-apocalyptic series.

Adaptive triggers, for one, allow for more nuanced gripping or firing mechanics – such as how tightly an avatar character clenches their fist or how firmly they hold down a trigger – while improved haptic feedback will help you to feel the impact of both enemy fire and the environment around you.

We've only got to look at the new controller ourselves – with some mixed reactions even within the TechRadar team – but we'll be sure to give a firmer judgement when we get to the PS5 launch.

• Opinion: Wow, that PS5 controller is ugly, isn't it?

Via DualShockers

Microsoft's video game streaming service, Project xCloud, is starting to gain momentum. The platform's preview build has now rolled out to an additional 11 countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

xCloud is Microsoft's competitor to Google Stadia, allowing gamers to stream games from Xbox servers to a variety of other devices – currently just phones and tablets running Android 6.0 or higher, and some limited iOS support – and even link up an Xbox One controller too.

Gamers across the new 11 regions can now sign up for preview access, with xCloud's head of product Catherine Gluckstein writing in a blog post that, "when we’re ready to begin, you’ll receive a notification email with further instructions."

That's in addition to the US, Canada, UK and Korea – marking a massive uptick in the number of territories supported.

• Project xCloud review: here's what we thought
• Xbox Series X vs PS5: the battle for next-gen dominance
• Here are the best Xbox One games to play right now

We're told that the number of participants may be curated, given increased broadband traffic amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with Gluckstein saying that "we continue to evaluate the Covid-19 situation and will begin rolling out the Project xCloud preview across 11 Western European countries when we are confident it is sensible to do so."

She adds that, "We will take a measured approach to help conserve internet access, beginning the preview in each market with a limited number of people and adding more participants over time."

Head in the xCloud

While the preview service is still limited, with only a fraction of the supposedly thousands of games already compatible with the streaming platform, it shows that Microsoft is manoeuvring xCloud into the starting position, whenever a full launch might be.

A launch alongside the Xbox Series X console seems likely, with the next-gen Xbox hardware coming in late 2020. We'd expect xCloud to get a new (more consumer-friendly) name too – something functional like Xbox Share, Xbox Stream, or similar.

Not everyone will be able to sign up for xCloud right away, given restrictions around Android and iOS devices, but Microsoft's expansion of the preview shows that clear skies are coming.

• Xbox Series X: what we know so far

Via Pocket-Lint