(Microsoft)

Microsoft’s Xbox joins the handheld race with a new console dropping this year

Microsoft announced its new handheld less than a week after Nintendo’s Switch 2 was released to the public.

6/9/25 2:39PM

Well, Microsoft gave Nintendo four days to be the newest handheld in town before announcing its own mobile console: the ROG Xbox Ally.

Xbox says this new handheld, the first of its kind for the console maker, will hit stores in time for this holiday season.

Like its latest plug-in consoles, Microsoft’s new handheld will come in two forms: a standard edition and a higher-powered version. The device is built together with Asus, which already makes a handheld PC gaming device (the ROG Ally X — hold the Xbox).

While Xbox hasn’t disclosed a retail price for the handheld yet, the ROG Ally X currently sells for $900. If the Xbox device were priced similarly, it would be $300 more expensive than its non-mobile counterpart, the Xbox Series X.

That price point would probably be a tough sell for gamers, who have groaned at Nintendo’s $450 Switch 2 — though that doesn’t seem to have stopped them from buying it. Sony’s PlayStation Portal, which is a cloud device and much simpler than Xbox’s handheld, retails for $200.

By releasing a handheld, Xbox joins the mobile gaming foray, adding pressure to Nintendo’s Switch 2, Valve’s Steam Deck, and Sony’s Portal. But with tariffs squeezing the industry (Sony’s even weighing US-built PlayStations) and multiple battle-tested rivals already on store shelves, most of the pressure may be on Xbox to prove itself in the space.

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Disney is no longer considering spinning off ESPN, reports Business Insider

Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, is said to have decided against spinning off sports giant ESPN, according to reporting by Business Insider.

The House of Mouse may still seek other partners to take minority stakes in ESPN, per the report. The NFL gained a 10% stake in the company last year in a deal that saw ESPN acquire NFL Network.

There’s been an ongoing push for several years to spin off ESPN, both inside Disney and from analysts and activist investors. Earlier this year, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro downplayed rumors that emerged amid D’Amaro’s takeover, saying he’s heard the rumor since “the day [he] started at ESPN eight years ago.”

Disney shares were essentially flat in after-hours trading following the report.

Disney has decided to keep ESPN

Disney shares were essentially flat in after-hours trading following the report.

Saleah Blancaflor4/28/26

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” strutting toward a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Gird your loins. “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” the highly anticipated sequel from Disney and 20th Century Studios starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, comes out this week.

Over the past few months, the studio ramped up its marketing, so you may have seen the fictional Runway magazine with Blunt’s Emily Charlton on the cover at a newsstand pop-up, or come across brand partnerships with L’Oréal Paris, TRESemmé, Tweezerman, or Diet Coke — the list goes on. The global press tour has also taken over social media, with the main cast — and their outfits — traveling across Mexico City, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, New York City, and London to promote the movie. Hathaway and Tucci even appeared throughout a “Jeopardy!” category on Monday night.

But what do critics think of the movie? While the embargo for formal reviews lifts on Wednesday, April 29, at 12 p.m. ET, the embargo for social media reactions has already lifted, and according to critics from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, AwardsWatch, and other publications, the general consensus seems mostly positive.

AwardsWatch Editor-in-Chief Erik Anderson posted on X that the sequel “has no right to be as good as it is.” He added, “Just the right kind and number of callbacks and earned nostalgia, Anne Hathaway continues to be our most vibrant star.”

Meanwhile, THR Senior Editor Alex Weprin referred to it as “a biting media parody wrapped up in high fashion,” while Variety Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay called it “the perfect sequel that exceeded all expectations.”

To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. And while “The Devil Wears Prada 2” hits theaters in only a few days, prediction markets are currently pricing in odds that the movie will score above 65% on the site. That’s all.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ First Reactions Say the Sequel Is ‘Charming,’ ‘Genuinely Heartwarming’ and Destined to ‘Be a Massive Hit’

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Millie Giles

OFF THE WALL

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The Michael Jackson biopic has hauled $217 million in its global weekend debut

Over the weekend, “Michael” moonwalked to the biggest-ever opening for a biopic.

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Justin Bieber’s music keeps surging on streaming after Coachella

You better belieb it. After Justin Bieber headlined the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California, Billboard reports the pop star is experiencing the biggest non-Super Bowl catalog bump this year, with his music tripling in streams just days after his first set on April 11.

Following Bieber’s performance on Weekend 2 at Coachella on April 18 (which included appearances from Billie Eilish and SZA), his streams climbed even higher.

On Monday (April 20), Bieber’s streams reached a new high for the year, amassing 32.4 million official on-demand US streams, according to Luminate, which is a 12% increase from his total the previous Monday (just over 29 million) and a 5% gain from the previous Tuesday (30.9 million), his previous high-water mark for 2026.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Since the Coachella bump, he’s had a total of six days with at least 30 million streams, compared with only four days in all of 2025, when he released his “Swag” album.

Spotify reported that following Bieber’s first Coachella set, the pop star reached No. 1 on Spotify’s Global Top Artist chart, with his catalog surpassing 77 million streams in a single day, which marked his biggest streaming day of the year.

While prediction markets currently show that Bruno Mars is in the lead at 74% for the artist with the most monthly Spotify listeners at the end of April, Bieber could slowly catch up with a week left in the month. The “Baby” singer is currently in second place, with his odds at 27%.

Justin Bieber’s Post-Coachella Streams Aren’t Done Spiking Yet

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Since the Coachella bump, he’s had a total of six days with at least 30 million streams, compared with only four days in all of 2025, when he released his “Swag” album.

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