Microsoft is significantly raising the prices of the Xbox Series X and Series S, along with new games and accessories. The Series S will now start at $380, up from $300, while the Series X will begin at $550, a $100 increase. Additionally, the company is increasing the prices of almost all its first-party products and peripherals, with a basic controller now costing $65. Microsoft is also implementing price increases in various regions around the world.
Despite these price hikes, Microsoft is not attributing them to tariffs. The company stated, “We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development.” It is uncommon for a mid-generation console to see a price increase; usually, companies opt for a slightly updated iteration instead.
In other news this week, Samsung’s chief financial officer Soon-cheol Park expressed concerns about the impact of US tariff policies on demand. The uncertainty surrounding tariffs and stronger export controls on artificial intelligence products are expected to affect sales. Furthermore, the company anticipates that tariffs will lead to higher prices for components used in their mobile phones, resulting in more expensive smartphones in the future.
Another recent development in pricing is DJI’s popular Ozmo Pocket 3 vlogging camera, which has seen a significant price increase. The camera now costs $799, up from its launch price of $520 (which was previously raised to $620 last month). This price hike has made the base camera more expensive than the Creator Kit available at launch.
On a different note, a startup co-founded by Sam Altman has introduced its World eyeball-scanning identity verification system in the US. This technology uses spherical objects called Orbs to scan users’ irises and create a unique IrisCode, which is then used to generate a World ID for the user. This ID can be used to log into integrated platforms such as Minecraft and Reddit.
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