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Winners and Losers: N64 goes 4K, while leaks dampen the most exciting Kindle launch in years
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OPINION: We’re in the tech release busy season now, and things don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.
This week we’ve seenApple drop a surprise AI-infused iPad Mini,Google unleash Android 15to the masses (of Pixel users) andOppo confirm its upcoming Find X8 will have a camera buttonsimilar to the one on the iPhone 16.
That’s not all however, as there have been two particular stories that have caught my eye. Read on to find out more.
Winner: Analogue’s 4K N64 is here (sort of)
Analogue – a brand perhaps best known for its wonderful GameBoy recreation (the Pocket) – is back once again with the objective of allowing us to play nostalgic games in the best quality possible.
A year ago, Analogue first teased a device that could play N64 titles – and now it’s been fully detailed. TheAnalogue 3Dis a dinky console that will bring classic Nintendo 64 cartridges into the 4K era.
The console boasts full compatibility with N64 games from the nineties thanks to its use of FPGA technology to recreate how the original N64 runs. This is the same tech the brand used with the portable Pocket.
There’s no region lock, so you’ll be able to play cartridges from anywhere, and the console features 4K upscaling that can output the N64’s old-school 3D visuals in Ultra HD.
This is a ten-fold increase in the console’s original resolution so classic titles like GoldenEye should look wonderfully crispy on modern TVs. Disappointingly, Analogue hasn’t chosen to recreate the console’s iconic funky controller, although those original pads will work and there are four ports to plug them into. There’s Bluetooth too, so controllers can be paired that way.
The price for all this? Well, the Analogue 3D will retail for $249.99 (around £190) and will be available to pre-order on October 21 with an on-sale date sometime in 2025.
Now, if the Pocket is anything to go by – quantities will be limited, selling out quickly and will rarely get restocked. So if you’ve got a load of N64 cartridges gathering dust, you might want to get in on those pre-orders quickly.
Loser: Leaks jump the gun on the biggest Kindle launch in memory
We have been waiting for new Kindles for ages. Ever since we reviewed theKobo Libra Colourearlier in the year, we have been eagerly awaiting a colour display-toting Kindle to add some extra oomph to cookery books and graphic novels.
After a great deal of waiting, that device is finally here in the form of the Kindle Colorsoft. it looks fantastic, taking the basis of the Paperwhite and adding a colourful display. While we haven’t got it in our hands yet, it looks to be just about everything we would want.
The Colorsoft wasn’t the only new Kindle announced this week, there was a new Scribe with a tweaked design, a lighter basic Kindle that comes in a slick new Matcha hue and a faster Paperwhite. This looks to be the biggest Kindle overhaul in years, even if it looks like we have finally said goodbye to the Oasis line.
However, the launch itself was a little odd, mostly down to numerous leaks including some from Amazon itself.
First off,UK retailer John Lewis accidentallydetailed the Kindle (2024) early, showing off the product itself alongside details like its battery life, storage size and price. It even revealed that a Kids Edition would arrive too.
To make matters worse,Amazon’s Spanish site then temporarily unveiled the entire range– including the Colorsoft, along with full US pricing and images for each new Kindle. For such a monumental step forward for the brand, this sort of launch can’t have gone down well. An official launch shortly followed, but the surprise was gone.
Of course, a slightly botched launch doesn’t take anything away from the actual products – all of which I am excited to properly put to the test, but for Amazon’s first colour Kindle to be revealed in such a messy way just feels like a bit of a shame.
We’ve extensively covered the new devices since launch, comparing theAmazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) vs the Kindle (2024)and theKindle Colorsoft vs Kindle Paperwhite (2024). We have also broken down the wholeKindle 2024 rangeso you can see which one is for you.
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Max is the Editor of Trusted Reviews, and has been a mobile phone and technology specialist for over nine years. Max started his career at T3 straight after graduating from Kingston University. Max ha…
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
