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Bono has been a ubiquitous presence for most of my adult life. I was just coming up in the world when U2's break-out album, War, arrived, and by 1987's Joshua Tree, Bono and lead guitarist Edge felt inescapable. In other words, I saw U2 frontman Bono as less of an enigma and more of a contemporary.We're both old-ish men now, licking our psychic wounds and (in Bono's case) enigmatically revealing them to the world in, first, 2022's well-received memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, and now as an unusual spoken and musical journey, Bono: Stories of Surrender – the first immersive video feature-length film ever released on Vision Pro. It's a joyous, funny, sad, sometimes frustrating, and often intense guided tour back through Bono's life and career.Mostly, though, it's a story of Bono (Paul Hewson) and "Da" his deeply Irish dad, Bob Hewson.Apple provided me with a preview of the film, which I viewed almost entirely through Apple's $3,499 mixed-reality headset. There were, because of the way Apple insisted I access the video, some tech glitches (occasional freezing), but it was generally an immersive and often moving experience.Shot almost entirely in stark black and white, the film is both a one-man oratory and an occasional musical performance. Director Andrew Dominik uses the Vision Pro's expansive, almost 360-degree canvas to literally paint scenes around Bono as the singer tells particularly Irish tales about, for instance, his mother dying suddenly when he was just 14, and his father never speaking his wife's name again.(Image credit: Apple)The stage is spare, featuring little more than a few chairs, a table, and a fake pint of Guinness. But Dominik uses the Vision Pro's native 3D immersive capabilities to embellish the stage and imagery.Using 3D line drawing, Bono is, even as he performs or talks in front of a live audience, surrounded at points by lyrics, hand-drawn audience members, or boxes and papers that seem to reach to the sky above you.This is not a concert or a U2 performance. Early on, Bono admits that it's "almost transgressive,' to be on stage without his bandmates. Instead, Bono is backed by the Jacknife Lee ensemble, which features an electronic drum kit and a harpsichordist/backup singer. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it works.In fact, Bono, now 65, is in fine voice, which is clear, loud, and agile. This becomes less surprising when you learn that his father was a gifted tenor. Late in the film, Bono does some of his own operatic singing, clearly an homage to his late father.There are some musical performances and even a few moments in the Vision Pro experience where you feel as if you're nose-to-nose with the iconic lead singer (it's unnerving), but most of the singing is done in support of the stories, or rather, the stories explain the origins of songs like Pride, With or Without You, and Sunday, Bloody Sunday.Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Apple)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Apple)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Apple)There's a decent amount of humor, especially a story about Luciano Pavarotti, but more importantly, you do get the origin story of Bono's musical interests and the formation of the band, which coincided with meeting his wife of more than 40 years, Ali Hewson.The documentary does start off a little slowly and perhaps melodramatically, with Bono's 2016 heart surgery, and while I am deeply grateful Bono survived, I worried that the whole roughly 90-minute doc might be a bit of a slog. Fortunately, that harrowing tale was just the preamble, and soon, Bono was weaving an entertaining tale of hubris, struggles, and epiphanies.It was, though, frustrating to hear the story behind I Will Follow and not get a full performance of the song. I'll admit that I wanted more of U2's discography, though Bono's fresh interpretations, like the almost a cappella Sunday, Bloody Sunday, were stunning.In the end, this Bono: Stories of Surrender goes too fast, and it ends just as you feel you were finally getting to know the real Bono, a short singer with big tales and, I think, an even bigger heart. He's still not an enigma, but for the first time in 40 years, I feel as if I might just want to hang out with him.As for the Vision Pro, it did a brilliant job. 90 minutes is a long time to wear the mixed reality headset (it was down to 10% battery by the end), so make sure you have a comfortable fit. Mine is good (I use the dual-loop band), though I did take a few breaks.You can watch Bono: Stories of Surrender starting today on either the Vision Pro (for the special immersive experience) or on Apple TV+, where I suspect you'll enjoy it just as much.You might also likeVision Pro at one – I love Apple's revolutionary headset, so ...Bono says Apple wants to make the Vision Pro 'more ...Five ways Apple can save the Vision Pro in 2025

US-based Disney+ subscribers will soon have access to a new perks programAn international roll-out is expected to happen later this yearHulu plans to follow suit, with its perks program launching on June 2If you're a US-based Disney+ subscriber, you'll soon have plenty of exclusive perks at your fingertips. The streaming giant has just launched an "Always-On" program featuring discounts, free trials, and competitions.At the time of writing, this perks program is only available in the US, but Disney+ plans to expand it to international markets later this year, with an exact timeline to be confirmed.At launch, Disney+ and bundle subscribers will have access to rewards ranging from "one-of-a-kind experiences and limited-time sweepstakes to everyday savings and special discounts", according to their press release.Hulu will follow suit on June 2, with new perks dropping weekly, including chances to win tickets for big events like Comic-Con San Diego and Lollapalooza, as well as sweepstakes to win merchandise from the best Hulu shows, like The Handmaid's Tale.What is included in the new Disney+ perks program?If you're a new or existing Disney+ customer, you'll start to see these perks being advertised on the Disney+ Perks website. Currently, only US subscribers can access this link; however, this will change when the international rollout occurs.Disney+ has provided some examples of the kinds of things you can enjoy through the perks program, and there are some huge opportunities, like being one of the first to explore their new cruise ship and tickets to movie premieres.Take a look at some of the offerings below:A chance to win tickets to the Freakier Friday World Premiere and be among the first to see the all-new sequel before it arrives in theaters August 8A chance to win a 4-night cruise on the Disney Destiny, the newest ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, sailing from Ft. Lauderdale beginning November 2025A 6-month free DashPass membership** from DoorDash20% off on adidas.com and in the adidas app15% off purchases at Funko.com and Loungefly.comA 3-month free trial of CLEAR+A 2-month Super Duolingo free trialFree in-game emoji from Disney Emoji BlitzEarly access to the closed release of Disney Pinnacle by Dapper Labs, a monthly Mystery Capsule + until June 26th to claim a $10 Dapper CreditSpecial summer savings at Walt Disney World® Resort! Stay 2 nights or longer at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels and get rates starting from $99 per night at Disney’s All-Star Sports ResortFree MONOPOLY GO! and Star Wars™ TIE fighter in-game TOKENWith Hulu set to follow in Disney+'s footsteps, this is a great way to make the most of your subscriptions across the best streaming services.It will be interesting to see if rival streamers decide to offer similar perks in the future, but for now, it seems Disney+ and Hulu are leading the charge here.You might also like'Is this for real?': Lilo and Stitch fans are furious about the live-action remake's ending, so they're watching the original movie on Disney+ insteadNew Disney+ movies: every new film to stream in May 2025, including Captain America: Brave New WorldDisney+ adds a new continuous Simpsons stream, so you no longer have to spend ages choosing an episode

A lot of people (not least Engadget’s own Sam Rutherford) have been asking Microsoft to make an Xbox-branded handheld for a long time. And it looked for a while like we might be getting exactly that in the not-so distant future. But Microsoft’s priorities have reportedly shifted to improving the widely criticised performance of Windows 11 on existing third-party PC gaming handhelds.

In an exclusive report, Windows Central claims that a dedicated Xbox handheld system, which could have launched in 2027 alongside the successor to the Xbox Series X, isn’t the company’s main area of focus right now, even if it remains keen on the idea. An internally developed handheld, for which Windows Central’s Jez Corden says he has seen a number of different codenames, is not currently being worked on, and he adds that no layoffs have taken place as a result of the strategic shift.

While a native Xbox device might be some way off, the report makes clear that Microsoft is still very much active in the handheld market. A third-party console that it has been working on with ASUS, codenamed "Project Kennan", is still targeting a 2025 launch. It's likely this device, which could be equipped with AMD’s Z2 Extreme chip, will ship with an improved Windows 11 experience better suited to a controller interface.

The software’s awkward integration in early iterations of PC handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go and ASUS ROG Ally has been a big problem, and it’s partly why people are so excited about the SteamOS experience no longer being exclusive to the Steam Deck. The Lenovo Legion Go S started shipping with SteamOS running out of the box this week, the first handheld not made by Valve to do so.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/we-might-not-be-getting-that-handheld-xbox-for-some-time-153844220.html?src=rss