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CONTENTS

ISSUE 248 JUN

2025

GAMING 5 Take 5/Chart/Q5/Wham, bam, game exam! 6-7 Hands-on with the Nintendo Switch 2 8 Switch on with these hot launch games! 12-13 Delivering a Death Stranding sequel 14 Heed the Razer Seirens' call 16 Colour x control: Xbox controller colours 18 What’s out this month? MOVIES & TV 20 Intro/Take 5/Filmmaker’s Signature/In Development/Bob J’s Film Buff Bafflers 21 Merch of the Month/Charts/This Month 30 Years Ago 22 A killer rom-com: Heart Eyes /A Halloween reunion: Natty Knocks 24 Keep it zipped: Black Bag /Timeless Love: Outlander Season 7 26 For Halyna: Rust 28 Gettin’ spitty with it: Spit 29 Mickey 17/Looking back at John Wick 30 Bound by war: The Deer Hunter 31 New to 4K 32 Reel Classics: New from Imprint 34 What’s out this month? 36 The latest anime/Board games MUSIC 38 My first album/ STACK Exchange 40 Australia’s national treasure, Jimmy Barnes, releases his 21st solo record 42 New Zealand’s Lorde, and Haim, both return with fourth albums 43 New music from Calum Hood and Benson Boone 44-46 What new music is landing in store at JB this month? 48 Vital Vinyl: INXS’ Andrew Farriss talks to STACK about Listen Like Thieves TECH FLIP MAG AND READ FROM BACK 4 Yesteryear’s tech/Editor’s choice 5 EOFY: Tax time tech tips 6-7 EOFY: Laptops 8-10 EOFY: MSI laptops 11 EOFY: Monitors 12 EOFY: Smartphones 13 EOFY: Office essentials 14 The DJI Mavic 4 Pro is ready for takeoff 16 Meet the OPPO Reno13 series 18 The super-slim Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 20 Say hello to moto AI on Motorola’s new Edge 60 Fusion 22 The new Huawei Watch Fit 4 range 24 Ultrahuman Ring Air review 26 Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones review 28 Skullcandy Method 360 earbuds with Bose sound 30 Sound gets personal with the Denon PerL Pro earbuds 32 New tech at JB this month

WELCOME

Back in 2017, Nintendo surprised the world with the release of the Switch. Was it a handheld games machine? Yes! Was it a TV-tethered home console? Yes. The hybrid console was born. Naturally, the new Switch 2, hitting this month, doesn’t reinvent the wheel – what was great about the first iteration is great about this new one. Nintendo know what they’re doing and have wisely enhanced functionality wherever possible. In handheld mode, this means improvements such as a larger screen with higher resolution plus HDR, matching larger controllers that fit adult hands better without being too big for the kids, both a larger memory and more internal storage, and an adjustable height kickstand that’s more stable than the original. When hooked to a TV, there’s more good news, with the Switch 2 capable of up to 4K resolution – look at launch game Mario Kart World and try not to be impressed! The Switch 2 has a big act to follow and, having had the chance to play with it for several hours before release, we go in-depth with it this month, from the unit itself to accessories, and the games you’ll be playing at launch. Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

jbhifi.com.au/stack

Founder Nic Short Editor-in-Chief Paul Jones Tech Editor Scott Hocking

Music Consultant Mike Glynn Marketing Manager Fleur Parker Chief Contributors Gill Pringle, Bob Jones Contributors Jeff Jenkins, Billy Pinnell, Bec Summer, Dan Nicholson, Stuart Coupe, Trista McConville, James O’Connor, Michael Caverzan

Social Media Manager Glenn Cochrane Production Manager Craig Patterson

Games & Online Editor Amy Flower Movie & TV Editor Glenn Cochrane Creative Director Gary Siewert Movies Consultant Kerrie Taylor Games Consultant Sachi Fernando

Correspondence STACK editor@stack.com.au

RATINGS GUIDE

Parental guidance recommended

Recommended for mature audiences

Not suitable for people under 15. Under 15s must be accommpanied by a parent or adult guardian

Restricted to 18 and over

General

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