Handhelds
Latest Andru Edwards Videos
The Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 Console Is Gorgeous and Game-Free
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Video Games,
Nintendo finally made a Switch 2 that doesn't look like every other Switch 2. The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition, shown off at Tuesday's Zelda Direct, is a black console with gold Triforce patterns across the back, dark green Joy-Con 2 controllers with Triforce detailing (and, per Siliconera, Zelda pixel art on the back of the right one), and a black dock with one big gold Triforce on the front. The wrist straps match too. It launches October 29, one week before the Ocarina of Time remake arrives on November 5.
It's the first special-design Switch 2 hardware since the system came out last year, and the first time the Joy-Con 2 has shipped in a color other than black. I'd have bought it for the dock alone. Then I read the fine print.
Click to continue reading The Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 Console Is Gorgeous and Game-Free
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Switch 2 Owners Are Getting Banned, and Nintendo Isn’t Saying Why
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Video Games,
Turn on your Switch 2 and find that Nintendo Switch Online is gone, the eShop won't load, and the screen is showing error code 2124-4508. Nintendo's own support page is blunt about what that means: the console has been permanently banned from connecting online for breaching the user agreements. A growing number of Switch 2 owners have been staring at that message since Saturday, and plenty of them say they have never run a pirated game.
The complaints piled up on the r/NintendoSwitchHelp subreddit over the weekend. One owner posting as OutlandishnessHour37 bought a console through the Indonesian marketplace Tokopedia back in June. Another, MathPrestigious, bought from Yodobashi Camera in Japan and got banned two days after taking it home. On the Chinese social app RedNote, at least 150 people have posted about losing network features. The reports stretch across Asia, Europe and the United States, though a pile of social posts is not a reliable way to measure how big a problem actually is.
Click to continue reading Switch 2 Owners Are Getting Banned, and Nintendo Isn’t Saying Why
Zelda Gets a 40th Anniversary Direct Tuesday, Switch 2’s Winter Slate Lands Wednesday
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Handhelds, Video Games,
Nintendo is running two shows next week, and the first one belongs entirely to Link. The Legend of Zelda gets a half hour to itself on Tuesday morning, then the company comes back Wednesday to talk about what you can actually buy before the end of the year.
The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct airs Tuesday, September 8 at 7am PT / 10am ET and runs roughly 30 minutes. A general Nintendo Direct follows Wednesday, September 9 at the same time, running about 45 minutes and focused on Switch 2 games launching this winter. Both stream on Nintendo's YouTube and Twitch channels.
Nintendo’s Free Switch 2 Update Crams Eight Mario Kart Players Onto One Screen
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Video Games,
Picture your TV chopped into eight little rectangles, each one holding a friend, a kart, and a red shell with their name on it. That's now something you can do in your living room.
Nintendo pushed out a free Switch 2 update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with no real warning, and the big change is local split-screen for eight players, up from a cap of four. This is a game that shipped on Wii U in 2014 and again on Switch in 2017. Twelve years on, it's still growing new features.
The Switch 2 Costs $500 Today, and $450 Is Probably Gone for Good
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Video Games,
Consoles are supposed to get cheaper as they get older. Starting today, the Nintendo Switch 2 costs $50 more than it did yesterday, and yesterday was the last day you can buy one at the price it shipped with.
Nintendo of America moved the standard Switch 2 from $449.99 to $499.99 on September 1, 2026. That is the plain box: console, two Joy-Con, no game. If you have been circling this purchase since launch, you have until stores close.
Click to continue reading The Switch 2 Costs $500 Today, and $450 Is Probably Gone for Good
The iPad mini Is Finally Getting the One Upgrade That Actually Matters
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Rumors,
The iPad mini has always been the tablet you actually hold. Not the one you prop on a stand to type an email, but the one you read on in bed, thumb through on the train, or hand to a kid in the back seat. And for two years it has been coasting on the same screen it has had since forever. That is about to change.
Apple is reportedly planning to ship a new iPad mini this October, and for once the update is not just a spec bump. This is the mini's biggest overhaul in roughly five years, and the headline feature is the one thing that matters most on a device you stare at from six inches away: the display.
Click to continue reading The iPad mini Is Finally Getting the One Upgrade That Actually Matters
What Apple Silicon Means for the Mac w/ Guest Rene Ritchie!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Features, Handhelds, PC / Laptop,
Apple is about to swap out Intel chips for their own self-made processors in the Mac line, and Rene Ritchie joins us to talk about what this means, and how it will change the Mac for the average consumer. We also discuss iOS 13.6, the moves Microsoft is making with the Xbox Series X and xCloud, along with a lightning round of tech topics!
LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW
- Subscribe to Geared Up!
- New AirPods Features in iOS 14
- Why Apple Silicon will Make Macs Better
- Rene Ritchie on YouTube
- Geared Up on YouTube
- Jon Rettinger on YouTube
- Andru Edwards on YouTube
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Listen to the episode in the player above or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go!
Apple Changes the Mac Forever, iOS 14, and more w/ Guest Mark Gurman!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Wearables, Corporate News, Displays, Features, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Smart Home, PC / Laptop,
Apple dropped some major news during its WWDC virtual keynote, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman joins the show as we talk about all of the announcements. Mark currently works for Bloomberg, and has been reporting on Apple since he was 15 years old, breaking major news since the very beginning of his career. We talk about his biggest scoops, the business of breaking news, Apple’s AR & VR headset plans, and of course all the news coming out of WWDC - macOS 11, iOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW
- Subscribe to Geared Up!
- New AirPods Features Coming in iOS 14
- iPhone Finally Copies Android
- iPhone OS 1.1.3 Leak
- Mark Gurman on Bloomberg
- Geared Up on YouTube
- Jon Rettinger on YouTube
- Andru Edwards on YouTube
SPONSOR: National Car Rental - skip the line with the Emerald Club. Go National. Go Like a Pro.
Listen to the episode in the player above or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go!
Geared Up: The Future of Foldable Phones, & Apple’s Key Advantage w/ Guest Michael Fisher!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Podcasts,
This week Michael Fisher joins the show to talk about foldables like the Galaxy Z Flip, Galaxy Fold 2, and what makes this tech so exciting. We also dive into Apple’s advantage in chip-making, and how the iPhone SE may be the ultimate iOS trojan horse. We’ve also talk about our favorite tech for getting through social isolation, and much more!
LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW
- Subscribe to Geared Up!
- iPhone SE Unboxing & First Impressions
- iPhone SE Feature Overview
- OnePlus 8 Pro vs iPhone 11 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip: 10 Things Before Buying
- Geared Up on YouTube
- Jon Rettinger on YouTube
- Andru Edwards on YouTube
SPONSOR: National Car Rental - skip the line with the Emerald Club. Go National. Go Like a Pro.
Listen to the episode in the player above or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go!
Geared Up: Riding in Tesla’s Cybertruck, & Samsung Tech Day w/ Special Guests Ben Sullins & Jim Elliott
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Design, Features, Handhelds, Internet, Science, Storage, Transportation,
This week we talk about the newly-announced Tesla Cybertruck, Tesla’s take on what a modern (if not futuristic) pickup truck should be, along with thoughts on riding inside the vehicle. Joining us for that segment is Tesla expert Ben Sullins from Teslanomics. Ben and Jon were on-hand at the Cybertruck reveal event, while Andru watched from home, left out from the annals of history. We also have an interview with Samsung Semiconductor’s Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing Jim Elliott, talking about the new tech we can expect in upcoming Samsung smartphones, as well as how 5G, autonomous driving, high-bandwidth memory, and more are changing the future!
LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW
- Video: Riding in the Tesla Cybertruck
- Video: Samsung Tech Day Announcements
- Geared Up on YouTube
- Jon Rettinger on YouTube
- Andru Edwards on YouTube
SPONSOR: National Car Rental - skip the line with the Emerald Club. Go National. Go Like a Pro.
Listen to the episode in the player above or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go: