IPv4 addresses are set to finally run out in about a month’s time, leaving IPv6 deployment as the only viable solution for Internet growth over the long term. In October, the RIPE NCC – as the organisation responsible for allocating IP addresses to ISPs in 76 countries across Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia – announced that it had only one million IPv4 addresses left.
Any addresses that are recovered after this point will be allocated via a waiting list. But this will likely only be a few hundred thousand addresses per year – a far cry from the many millions that networks require today. In practical terms, this means increased pressure on network tools that will be forced to rely on complex and expensive workarounds to serve users in a world with fewer available addresses. The coming run-out means that it’s now time for companies to take stock of their IP resources and make sure their IPv6 deployment plans are making progress.
About the author
Nikolas manages the Registration Services (RS) team at the RIPE NCC.
A limited future for IPv4
A state of IPv4 exhaustion has existed since 2012, when the RIPE NCC reached its final allocation from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). This run-out has long been anticipated and planned for by the technical community. So while the Internet won’t suddenly break, IPv4 scarcity nevertheless remains a serious concern for many network operators.
A third of 4,000 operators surveyed recently ranked IPv4 run-out as among the top-three challenges facing their organisation, along with internet security and cloud services provision. Over half of networks (54%) stated that they will need more IPv4 addresses within the next 2-3 years. As it becomes increasingly harder to acquire blocks of IPv4, networks will find it harder to scale their Internet infrastructure for future growth. Creative approaches will be needed to find public address space to number networks with, but these are complicated, expensive and time consuming.
One of the more common workarounds is Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT), which has been used to prolong the life of IPv4 addresses by enabling a single IP address to be shared across several thousand devices. The problem is that CGNAT cannot scale indefinitely. Each time a NAT is layered, it adds complexity and increases the chances of issues in the network and when a CGNAT fails, thousands of users can be impacted.
Another widely-used workaround is IPv4 address trading – the buying and selling of addresses that are no longer needed. However, this is a very unpredictable market and the prices of IPv4 addresses are subject to the usual market forces of supply and demand. As IPv4 becomes more challenging to manage, sticking with the status quo becomes more complex and expensive.
The time is now
With exhaustion of the RIPE NCC’s remaining pool just around the corner, the need for networks to adopt IPv6 is clearer than ever. But moving to IPv6 has proven to be a hard sell. Network operators are used to working with IPv4 and many may be adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach. This is especially the case for networks that feel they have enough IPv4 addresses to last them for the immediate future.
While it might seem easier to stick with IPv4, it will get progressively harder to do so. IPv4 resources have almost been stretched to the limit as Internet companies connected an estimated 4.5 billion users and several billion more mobile devices using only 4.2 billion IPv4 addresses. In stark contrast to this, IPv6 has 340 trillion, trillion, trillion addresses available to use. This opens huge new possibilities for network configurations, efficiency and innovation, not to mention reducing dependence on the increasingly expensive and challenging IPv4 market.
But IPv6 has not been as widely adopted as hoped, even though the pace of deployments has accelerated. India and the USA have passed the 50% mark, while Germany, France and the UK have achieved 40%, 35% and 31% respectively. It is interesting that advanced economies such as Norway, Sweden and Denmark have adoption rates lower than 15%, while emerging economies such as Vietnam, Brazil, Thailand and Mexico have much higher adoption figures – 38%, 30% 29% and 28% respectively.
Mobile growth
This growth has been driven mostly by content providers and the mobile phone sector. The T-Mobile network in the U.S. runs a staggering 91% of its Internet traffic over IPv6. As far as content providers are concerned, Facebook uses IPv6 only internally and tunnels IPv4 for end connectivity. Google, LinkedIn and Netflix can all be reached over IPv6. All iPhone apps in Apple’s App Store are required to be compatible with IPv6. But only roughly 25-30% of the world’s top 1000 websites can be reached over IPv6.
IPv4 exhaustion should give IPv6 adoption a boost, but there is still some way to go. In any case, not making the move is risky and short-sighted for networks. And there are benefits to deploying IPv6 today – a network that enables IPv6 connectivity to end users will quickly see a sizeable chunk of their traffic moving over it, thanks to the big content providers enabling IPv6. Embracing the innovation, efficiency and flexibility of IPv6, is now the best way to enable the Internet growth needed as the next billion and the next generation technologies come online.
Nikolas manages the Registration Services (RS) team at the RIPE NCC.
Game Freak’s decision to feature a reduced Pokédex in Pokémon Sword and Shield has been a controversial one, but it seems the cut could be a permanent one.
In an interview with Inside Gamer (via VG247), Game Freak producer Junichi Masuda stated that the developer plans to remove the national Pokédex in future Pokémon titles.
“We now have no plans to make the Pokémon that are missing in the Galar Pokédex in-game available,” Masuda said. “That is an approach that we want to continue in the future with Pokémon games.”
You’ll never catch ’em all
(Image credit: Nintendo)
It’s understandable that Game Freak can’t fit every Pokemon into new games – there are over 800 of them; however, previous Pokemon titles feature both a regional and national Pokédex.
While the regional Pokédex lets you track the Pokémon you find in that specific game, the national Pokédex keeps track of all the Pokémon you’ve found across all games to date, and allows you to trade them into your most recent game through the Pokémon Bank.
This means that while, for example, you may not actually find a Vulpex in the game you have, you can still own one by transferring it from another game. Truly letting you catch ’em all.
However, this national Pokédex is absent from Pokémon Sword and Shield, which only lets you collect and catch Pokémon from the new Galar region. No trading allowed.
Masuda’s comments suggest this will be the case going forward, with the Pokémon Home app on the way to allow players to keep track of all their Pokémon. However, you still won’t be able to transfer all your Pokémon into Sword and Shield.
“Currently the Pokémon Home app is under development, where players can collect their different Pokémon, and only Pokémon in the Galar-Pokédex can be transferred from there to Sword and Shield,” Masuda explained. “But the way of playing is actually not very different from before with Pokémon Bank: until now you have always been able to meet only the Pokémon of a certain region.”
While the Pokédex is reduced now, and may be in the future, Masuda hasn’t completely ruled out the prospect of a national Pokédex returning.
“We encourage people to use Pokémon Home to collect their Pokémon from old games there,” he said. “From there, they might be able to take it to other games in the future. So take good care of your old Pokémon, because you might be able to go out with them again in the future.”
Pokémon Sword and Shield will release on Nintendo Switch o November 15.
The worlds of technology and fashion have been intertwined for some time, and nothing represents this truth more perfectly than the smartwatch.
The needle sways towards one end or the other depending on whose name is on the product and in this instance it is fashion giant Michael Kors who’ll you’ll find emblazoned across both the hardware and software that make up this timepiece.
The company has produced smartwatches (or rather the Fossil Group has manufactured licensed smartwatches for the brand) since 2016, with the latest trio of entries arriving just the other month.
The MKGO is arguably the brand’s most sports-centric smartwatch to date, borrowing from the Fossil Sport with a selection of bright, bold colourways, like the Red-Tone model we’ve been testing.
Having spent a couple of weeks with the Michael Kors Access MKGO, here are our thoughts surrounding its design, build quality, performance, internals and more.
Price and availability
The MKGO is already on sale and can be purchased through the company’s official website for £279. It’s also available in black or white for the same price.
Design and build
Let’s be clear – the punchy red of the MKGO will either delight or horrify you, there are no half measures here. It certainly caught our eyes when we took it out of the box for the first time, so bear in mind that this particular finish is anything but understated.
That said, after a few hours of wear, you’ll likely grow to appreciate the pop of colour it can afford to your everyday dress, not to mention the clean lines at work grant it a chic feel.
For a watch that’s big in character, it’s impressively lightweight and unobtrusive, no doubt thanks to the blend of aluminium and nylon throughout the bodywork, as well as its colour-matched silicone strap.
The metalwork that forms part of the casing features a tasteful sandblasted finish with a diffused reflectivity that contrasts nicely against the silicon strap. As for the strap itself, it’s lightly textured on the inside for both comfort and grip – making it ideal for working out.
Looking at the casing as a whole, the MKGO features a 43mm body with three physical controls on the right side that, if we’re being honest, protrude more than we’d like.
The metal buckle echoes the finish of the watch’s partially aluminium casing and as with all of the brand’s smartwatches, features the full ‘Michael Kors’ logo, embossed against its outer edge.
The colour work continues from the face to the strap, to the buckle, with the only exceptions being the rear of the casing, a thin band along the edge of the casing – separating the metal and nylon elements – and the display itself (depending on the watch face you’ve opted for).
In general, we stuck with the original watch face, which had some sporty touches, like dedicated complications that grant it fitness tracker like-conveniences, as well as more conventional smartwatch talents.
If like us you’ve opted for the red MKGO, while you can swap the straps out, remember that they’ve got to compliment that vivid casing. Thankfully, it’s easy to change the included bands out for any standard 20mm alternatives, thanks to some quick-release pins that allow for tool-free strap replacement.
It’s also worth mentioning that the MKGO is water-resistant, with the ability to survive in up to 30 meters of freshwater without issue – ideal for swim-tracking and the like. The choice of silicone instead of leather is smart too, meaning the watch’s band dries out faster, the materials won’t as readily perish and its generally better suited to working out than many traditional timepieces.
Performance and battery
The 350mAh battery inside the MKGO could be better. Based on our time with the watch, it seldom lasted a day and when you add in workout tracking or navigation using the integrated GPS, that longevity decays concerningly quickly.
While we’ll concede that our testing included active GPS, frequent notifications, high display brightness and more, we didn’t test the MKGO any more rigorously than the other smartwatches that have run our reviews gauntlet.
Michael Kors could have also coded in more prevalent low battery warnings, as on more than one occasion we threw it on for the day, only to find that it would run dry well before the evening. What’s more, we weren’t always in a position to charge it back up then and there: quite disappointing.
As much as we’re bashing the battery life of the MKGO, it has to be said that it does offer an improvement over its predecessors, most of which couldn’t even come close to a full day’s use under the same circumstances.
Moving away from battery life and onto performance, we run into the next snag with the MKGO. While the Wear OS-based user experience looks the part (more on that later) this wearable doesn’t feel anywhere near as fast or as fluid as it should, fresh out the box.
We even ran into the odd lock-up, input lag or some other temporary maladies, especially when trying to update apps or soon after starting the watch up at the beginning of the day.
This lacklustre fluidity is likely as a result of the measly 512MB of RAM at play inside the MKGO. Other watches that have launched either side of this offering have possessed far more and the likes of the equally-new Fossil Gen 5, with its 1GB of RAM, highlights just how much of a difference a little extra memory can make.
As for the brains of the operating, the MKGO leverages Qualcomm’s most up-to-date dedicated wearable processor, the Snapdragon Wear 3100. The chip was a long-overdue upgrade to the old Wear 2100, however, it didn’t offer the performance leap that many had hoped for, which shows here, too.
On paper, this blend of the Snapdragon Wear chip and Wear OS should grant the MKGO up to 15 hours of use, with GPS and heart-rate tracking enabled; as we’ve already discussed though, that figure is simply unobtainable.
In our experience, we could get the watch to last the promised 15 hours, but only when using it solely to tell the time and check notifications.
More often than not, the MKGO delivered around 8.5 hours of use a day, with the battery hitting 55% by 3pm (bearing in mind we’d only strapped it on at 11am).
To fill the watch back up, there’s no fast-charging to really speak of, with a full charge taking about an hour and 15 minutes. The silver lining here is that those who don’t have high demands in mind will be able to get a decent amount of juice back into the battery after less than half that time.
Fitness tracking
For a fashion-first smartwatch, the MKGO is unquestionably styled for an active lifestyle; with little embellishment on the actual casing to speak of, not to mention its lightweight and water-resistant nature.
Just because a watch bills itself as one suited to activity tracking though, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s actually any good at the relevant task in question. Thankfully, the MKGO can deliver on this front, with a suite of fitness and health features on hand.
You get an optical heart rate sensor, the aforementioned water resistance (making it great for repelling sweat as well), onboard GPS for phone-free route tracking when jogging or hiking, and what’s more, using the data from such technologies allows the watch to then calculate important fitness data like ‘calories burned’; although its consistency and accuracy in this regard isn’t exactly top-tier.
Most of the fitness metrics you’ll want to keep tabs on, like speed and workout length, all reside with the native Google Fit app that’s found across every Wear OS smartwatch.
The data captured by the watch synchronises with your phone and is tied to a fitness profile that takes into account factors like your age and weight, giving you the option to set fitness goals that you can then track, too.
There’s some level of workout automation on board, although it’s best if you actually tell the watch which activity you’re about to partake in to glean the most reliable results. Through Google Fit, the MKGO can track a myriad of exercises, including walking, aerobics, dancing, cycling, boxing and even flossing.
Display and audio
The MKGO is fronted by a 1.19in fully-circular AMOLED display with a resolution of 390×390, granting it a pixel density of 328ppi (pixels per inch).
If you’re familiar with Michael Kors other smartwatches, this means it’s the same-sized screen as the company’s Access Runway but notably smaller than the displays used by last year’s Bradshaw and Lexington watches (even though they also made use of lower resolutions).
The screen used here unquestionably wins the MKGO back a few points, with pleasingly vibrant colours, paired with good contrast and minimal distortion. Overall brightness is strong too and we had no issues checking the time whilst out in bright outdoor conditions either.
If you do want to customise the viewing experience at all, you can set the brightness to one of five fixed levels, or leave it to automatically adjust, based on surrounding ambient light.
As for watch faces, Michael Kors has included a rich selection of first-party options; some mimic the brand’s analogue timepieces, others opt for more inventive designs that could only be achieved with the use of a virtual face.
The different faces can be selected from the watch directly or from the companion smartphone app. Nearly every face also offers some degree of further personalisation, from changing the colour of various elements, like the background or the watch hands.
An always-on display option is also present, making the time and other select pieces of information glanceable without having wake the watch up entirely every time. Depending on the watch face you’ve opted for, you can also see your heart rate, the weather and more.
Unlike some Wear OS watches, including previous Michael Kors offerings, the MKGO forgoes an integrated loudspeaker, meaning no audio-out for calls or spoken feedback from the integrated Google Assistant. The watch does feature a microphone, so you can respond to messages or interact with the Assistant without having to type and swipe on the display.
Software and features
The software experience on the watch is only half of the picture where Wear OS (formerly Android Wear) is concerned. There’s also a companion iOS and Android app that adds extra functionality to the experience here.
On the watch itself, you can access various features by tapping, swiping or by using the available physical controls. A press of the crown and you’ll open up the apps drawer, where you’ll find pre-loaded applications including Maps, contacts, the stopwatch and more.
Swiping from the main watch face brings you to the Google Fit screen in one direction, letting you quickly jump into workout tracking, while the Google Assistant can be found by swiping to the right. Notifications are accessible by simply swiping up.
When connected to your phone, you can have it serve up remote media controls for music or video playback and handle answering and rejecting calls, for added convenience.
There are also some unique features, like the ability to automate watch face switching based on time of day, which will prove a useful feature for some.
The companion Wear OS app makes setting the MKGO up a doddle and once the two are connected, you can also it to change watch faces and customise interaction gestures, like tilt-to-wake; as well as some more advanced settings.
We’d suggest diving into the app to control which notifications from which apps are relayed to your phone. While you can leave everything set to ‘on’ there’s a chance your wrist won’t stop vibrating, not to mention that constant polling from phone to watch will only help accelerate how quickly the MKGO runs out of juice.
One feature we haven’t yet mentioned that’s also a big win for the watch is the inclusion of NFC, paired with support for Google Pay. Once set up, the ability to double-press one of the buttons on the side of the MKGO and jump straight to contactless payment mode is incredibly convenient – meaning you can buy a round at the bar, grab a few bits from the local supermarket or pay for your travel, all without needing to carry your purse or wallet with you.
Verdict
The Michael Kors Access MKGO – to use its full name – is a decent enough smartwatch. If you’re a fitness lover who’s looking for something smart with a little more style, this is one watch well worth considering.
We’re fans of the clean, lightweight design, the clear and easy-to-navigate user experience, Google Pay integration and its well-rounded fitness tracking experience.
On the flip side, the MKGO struggles from a performance standpoint, with a lacklustre amount of RAM that chokes what should be responsive and fluid software. The battery too, underperforms, namely down to the fact that it’s so small – but being unable to comfortably make it through a full day’s wear without struggling is a big issue.
If the name and the sporty design are enough to win you over (even in its bright red guise) and you’re not expecting class-leading performance, the MKGO is the right watch for the job.
Otherwise, it might make more sense to consider whether you’re after something that sways more towards an activity tracker, like the Fitbit Versa 2, or something capable of delivering a richer smartwatch experience, like the Apple Watch Series 5 or the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2.
Note: This story was originally published in Spanish on our sister site,PC World Spain.
Hunting down the best possible deals with Black Friday and Cyber Monday looming over the horizon can suck, big time. But sometimes, a deal’s sucking power is exactly what you’re after.
Dyson V11 Absolute:£599 £499 at Currys Absolute by name, absolutely the best vacuum cleaner by nature. Dyson’s cordless model offers up to 60 minutes of mains-free sucking power, with a nifty selection of heads to help you maintain all the surfaces in and around your home.View Deal
Somehow making vacuum cleaning fun with its Ghostbuster-alike cordless frame, the Dyson V11 Absolute will offer 60 minutes of cordless cleaning time, with head connectors suitable for practically every surface type.
An LCD screen will tell you when the battery needs changing, or the filter needs clearning out, while the 0.76-litre capacity barrel should mean you won’t need to change it and empty it as often as with rival cordless cleaners.
TechRadar is scouring every retailer and rounding up all the top deals over the Black Friday period, and we’ve put all the best Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals in easy-to-navigate articles to help you find the bargains you’re looking for.
The Argos Black Friday sale is fast approaching, but you don’t have to wait until then to find an amazing deal. Until midnight on November 12, you can save 20% on absolutely all toys when you spend at least £20.
To claim the deal, just add the toys to your shopping trolley, then type the code TOYS20 in the text box at the checkout and the discount will be applied automatically.
Get 20% off all toys at Argos Argos is slashing the price of toys in the third week of its Crazy Codes sale. Enter the code TOYS20 at the checkout to save 20% when you spend at least £20 on toys. Deal ends midnight November 12. View Deal
The code can be applied on top of existing discounts, which can result in some huge savings. For example, the Lego Star Wars LEGO 3-in-1 R2-D2 is already reduced from £168.50 to £120, and the TOYS20 code brings it down to just £96. That’s a total saving of £72.50.
This particularly generous deal will be replaced with a different offer when it expires, so don’t hang around.
TechRadar is scouring every retailer and rounding up all the top deals over the Black Friday period, and we’ve put all the best Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals in easy-to-navigate articles to help you find the bargains you’re looking for.
Though Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic for businesses right now, it has so far failed to shake up the real estate industry and the use of property software in the same way it has transformed sectors such as banking and healthcare. Tom Shrive explains how the sector is ripe for AI disruption, and why this burgeoning tech will not jeopardise jobs.
AI is an inescapable buzzword at the moment and has become an essential part of the technology industry. However, the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has not come without controversy, provoking polarized responses from the general public.
By definition, artificial intelligence is technology that can perform human-like tasks. AI mimics human behavior and learns to adapt through machine learning and problem solving.
For many, there are fears that our increasing dependence on AI will generate widespread unemployment in jobs that could, in theory, be automated.
Yet AI has already made a huge impact within diverse sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, without eliminating jobs. In reality, the introduction of AI to these industries has helped individuals carry out their jobs more efficiently, reducing the time spent on tedious and time-consuming tasks with office software, which could be better handled automatically.
In light of this, the property industry seems comparatively stagnant due to its reliance on traditional methods, making it well positioned for disruption with the successful implementation of AI.
About the author
Tom Shrive is the CEO of Google-backed askporter.
Why is property management ripe for AI disruption?
Having managed a small property portfolio, I discovered that there are numerous administrative tasks that could be better managed with the assistance of automated technology.
Though straightforward, tasks such as collecting rent, updating accounting software and organising and logging household maintenance, are hugely time-consuming.
Traditional property management methods mean that it can take days or even weeks of toing and froing between tenant and contractor to organise a suitable time for a repair, waiting for parts, and handling billing and invoicing software.
How can AI be better incorporated into the property ecosystem?
The efficacy of the property management industry could be vastly improved if irreplaceable human experts worked in tandem with sophisticated AI technology to simplify certain aspects of the job.
AI has the potential to make managing spaces simple and remove laborious legwork. With AI, a boiler repair, for example, could be organised automatically, so that property managers could focus on issues that cannot be resolved by automated solutions.
AI’s current opportunity and role
AI has already improved and simplified so many aspects of our everyday lives. Though we may not realise it, millions of us interact with AI in some way every day.
Our interaction with virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant reflects this. And this is only the beginning. New advances in AI, such as driverless cars, are well underway.
Just as Siri or a Google Assistant can help save time by ordering the weekly food shop or turning on the heating at home, AI could revolutionise the way household issues are resolved for tenants, streamlining the process for all parties.
What are the lines of demarcation between humans and AI?
For some, AI might conjure up frightening images of robots taking over our jobs and homes. But the increasing use of AI shouldn’t be a thing to fear, nor is it far away in the distant future.
One of the foremost concerns surrounding AI in the property industry is that machines will eventually develop to outperform humans, leading to unemployment. But this is not true because AI cannot replace humans to perform all tasks. AI has been specifically developed to simplify repetitive and time-consuming processes; freeing up time for property managers, letting agents and contractors to deal with more pressing problems.
There are a number of prop-tech start-ups beginning to disrupt and reform the industry, utilising advanced technology to improve property market infrastructure and maintenance management.
There are always risks associated with new technology, especially when it aims to disrupt current practices. But the successful implementation of AI in order to accelerate processes and improve efficiencies across the board makes it a risk worth taking.
Conclusion
According to LSE professor of robotic process automation, Leslie Willcocks, AI: “takes the robot out of the human.” Companies will automate only the tedious aspects of office jobs and continue to retain staff to work alongside machines. This means that employees would be able to focus on significant tasks such as liaising with clients and managing important decisions, which require sound human judgement, rather than getting bogged down by repetitive administrative tasks.
Thus, the increasing popularity and prevalence of AI is sure to grow and develop, going on to challenge and inevitably change and improve all industries. This will lead to the creation of more efficient businesses, so that time and resources can be better prioritised, resources saved and services improved.
Let us find you the cheapest Xbox Live Gold deals for 12-month memberships right here with our price comparison technology that searches through loads of retailers to bring you the best price whatever region you’re in.
After all we’re confident we can beat those auto-renew Xbox Live Gold prices of $60 in the US, £50 in UK or $80 in Australia. We see prices cheaper than this throughout the year and we’re in the best place to spot any discounts. The UK sub was priced at £40 for many years, but went up £10 in May 2019.
So as you’re probably all too aware, as with past consoles in the Xbox lineup, the Xbox One also requires an Xbox Live Gold subscription in order to play games online. It’s not all bad though, as Microsoft took a note from Sony’s similar PlayStation Plus offering and now gives out free games each month to members. You currently get two for the Xbox One and two Xbox 360 games to play on the old console or your Xbox One via its backwards-compatible feature. And seeing as Sony’s service now only gives you two games a month, Microsoft’s service is certainly looking like the better deal.
If you’re also tempted by the Xbox Game Pass library, you might want to check out the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. The subscription combines access to the entire Game Pass library with Xbox Live Gold, offering both services for one simple price. You can save big on both services using the deals we’ve found below!
Microsoft’s Xbox Live service is generally seen as the more stable and reliable network of the two – although Sony’s PSN has been fine of late. You’ll also get Xbox One Gold member-exclusive discounts in the many sales on the Xbox Live store.
The best Black Friday Xbox Live Gold deals
It’s worth noting you can probably grab the best Xbox Live Gold deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday – so if none of these tickle your fancy then it could be worth waiting until then.
Use Xbox Live Gold to get the best Game Pass Ultimate deal
As of June 2019, there’s an even better way to use your Xbox Live Gold membership – turning it into a Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Game Pass Ultimate combines the online play of Live Gold and the game streaming library of Game Pass to bring you the ultimate Xbox experience. Plus, Microsoft are offering an introductory $1/£1 price tag on players’ first month with the subscription.
This is where it gets interesting, though. Microsoft is also offering to convert any remaining Xbox Live Gold months you have left when you sign up into Game Pass Ultimate months. As long as you add the Live Gold months to your account before you sign up for Ultimate, you can stack gift card codes to save an amazing amount of cash on 30 months of game streaming – taking you up to the June 2022 limit.
You’re still spending money on the Live Gold subscription, but it’s far cheaper Xbox’s most expensive membership. You could spend the next three years playing every major game as soon as it’s released to Xbox and saving money while you do it!
Plus, Microsoft is fully supportive of the lifehack, so there’s no need to worry about being told off!
Cheapest Xbox Live Gold deals
We generally find that CDKeys is one of the cheapest prices to buy a 12-month Xbox Live Gold deal, but technical gremlins sometimes mean the prices don’t show up in our comparison chart below. Feel free to check the following CDKeys links though, just to make sure you’re getting the best Xbox Live Gold deal. Prices are usually hovering around £34-£38 in the UK and $46-$50 in the USand$60-$65 in Australia.
If you’d prefer to go down the official route, you can buy directly from Microsoft’s website. There are discounts sometimes, but we generally find prices stick to the full RRP. If you’d like to take a look, that’d be $59.99 in the US or £39.99 in the UK or $79.95 in Australia.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Cheapest Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3 month deals
If you want to combine your Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, you can save with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. On top of your free monthly games courtesy of Live Gold, you’ll also get access to the entire Xbox Game Pass library for one price.
While you can only grab three month memberships at the moment, buying both Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass separately through a rolling subscription with Microsoft will set you back $59.94/£44.94 for those three months. The Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will save you at least $15/£12, and that’s before you’ve even taken a look at the great deals below.
We’d recommend starting off with the $1/£1 introductory month available through your Xbox console, before cancelling your auto-renew and grabbing one of these amazing discounts.
You can also get a shorter three-month Xbox Live Gold subscription. However, we don’t think this represents as good value as the cost per month works out much higher. If you want to dip your toe into the world of online gaming though, this is a good place to start, and doesn’t commit you to a full year. It’s worth checking if you could get a free month-long trial directly from your Xbox menu first though.
What are the free Xbox Games with Gold this month?
We’ve got you covered. Each month we update the list of extensive freebies for the Xbox Live Games with Gold promotion. Why not bookmark the page below to make sure you never miss out?
