January 2023 – Page 6 – scrollingindia.com

A woman sat in front of an LG C3 OLED TV in a blue living room

Tech News

LG’s new OLED TVs will get an audio upgrade to please home theater lovers

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LG has announced that its new 2023 TVs will offer native support for DTS audio codecs for the first time, including the Dolby Atmos rival DTS:X.

Xperi, the company behind DTS:X, revealed in a press release that LG’s latest OLED and premium LCD TVs would incorporate its audio codec. Later, LG Korea reportedly confirmed to FlatPanelsHD (opens in new tab) that all of its 2023 OLED TVs (including the LG C3 and LG G3) and the “QNED85 and up” will be able to decode the DTS, DTS:X, and IMAX Enhanced audio codecs. However, LG added that its TV speakers won’t be able to play back DTS:X enhanced audio, instead, they’ll just be able to send the data to an external sound system that can.

Xperi’s DTS and DTS:X codecs are used by many Blu-ray discs and the IMAX-enhanced Marvel films on Disney Plus, so by supporting this codec LG’s 2023 OLED TVs just got a nice upgrade to their audio over their predecessors (and many rivals) if you have a library of discs (as many hardcore home theater fans do). Sure, you need one of the best soundbars or an AV receiver to actually hear the difference, but this limitation is not unexpected – the vast majority of TVs don’t boast speaker setups that can properly use immersive audio codecs like DTS:X and Dolby Atmos.

What is DTS:X?

DTS:X shares a lot of similarities with an alternative audio codec: Dolby Atmos. Just like Atmos, DTS:X aims to create a realistic, multi-dimensional soundstage where sound moves around you to make what you’re watching feel more real. For example, if a helicopter flies overhead in the film you’re watching, DTS:X and the right speaker system should make it sound as if it is really flying over your head.

Like Dolby Atmos, it’s object-based in 3D space, rather than channel-based. Which means you don’t need to have a specific kind of setup for it to work – it should be able to take advantage of soundbars with three speaker channels, or with 15.

But there are a few differences, such as the fact that DTS:X supports higher bitrates – read: on paper, it has better audio quality – though Dolby claims Atmos is more efficient with its bitrate use, resulting in comparable sound quality from both.

Audio being bounced around a room by speakers

Soundbars and speakers use codecs to know where audio needs to come from to immerse you in the onscreen action. (Image credit: Samsung)

But the main thing is that not all content will support both DTS:X and Dolby Atmos. Many Blu-rays and 4K Blu-rays will favor DTS:X, while many of the best streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video only use Dolby Atmos. Disney Plus is one of the fewer streamers bucking the trend by announcing that IMAX Enhanced versions of its Marvel films will use DTS sound.

With LG’s 2023 TVs boasting DTS:X support and maintaining support for Dolby Atmos, these screens will offer users the versatility to enjoy content from a variety of sources – be it streamed or from a disc – at the highest possible quality.

Just remember that a TV saying that it supports DTS:X and Dolby Atmos doesn’t mean that its in-built speakers will necessarily be capable of outputting sound using these codecs. As is the case with LG screens, it simply has the ability to transfer Dolby Atmos and DTS:X data to a sound system or soundbar that can actually put them to use – our guide to the best Dolby Atmos soundbars is a great place to start, as long as you check for those that have DTS support too. (LG, Samsung and Sony usually include this; Sonos not so much.)

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Jan, Mon, 2023

Tech News

This is what caused the recent huge Microsoft 365 and Teams outage

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Microsoft has revealed its initial conclusions on what it thinks caused a major recent outage that affected some of its most popular software offerings.

The outage saw workers across Europe and Asia unable to log into Microsoft 365 services for several hours, with the likes of Microsoft Teams, Outlook, OneDrive for Business, Exchange Online and SharePoint all affected.

Having initially identified “a wide-area networking (WAN) routing change” as the culprit, Microsoft has now released the findings (opens in new tab) of its initial investigation into the outage, revealing that things were in fact a little complicated than that.

Microsoft Teams outage explained

“Between 07:05 UTC and 12:43 UTC on 25 January 2023, customers experienced issues with networking connectivity, manifesting as long network latency and/or timeouts when attempting to connect to resources hosted in Azure regions, as well as other Microsoft services including Microsoft 365 and Power Platform,” the company’s report noted.

“We determined that a change made to the Microsoft Wide Area Network (WAN) impacted connectivity between clients on the internet to Azure, connectivity across regions, as well as cross-premises connectivity via ExpressRoute.”

“As part of a planned change to update the IP address on a WAN router, a command given to the router caused it to send messages to all other routers in the WAN, which resulted in all of them recomputing their adjacency and forwarding tables. During this re-computation process, the routers were unable to correctly forward packets traversing them. The command that caused the issue has different behaviors on different network devices, and the command had not been vetted using our full qualification process on the router on which it was executed.”

Microsoft said that overall, it was able to identify the problem within an hour, and all its internal networking equipment was back to normal within two and a half hours.

In order to help prevent the same issue occuring again in the future, Microsoft says it has, “blocked highly impactful commands from getting executed on the devices”. The company is also working on adding a new requirement for all command execution on its devices to follow safe change guidelines.

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Jan, Mon, 2023

Tech News

Google Chrome is having some serious cloud storage issues

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Google Chrome is failing to save files directly to network attached storage (NAS) and cloud backup drives, multiple reports have claimed.

An initial bug report (opens in new tab) in January 2023 reported that the 32-bit Windows version of Chrome 109 was hitting a “can’t open this file” error when trying to save files using a universal naming convention (UNC) path, with the error claiming that the issue is that the save destination folder “contains system files”.

However, in testing bug demo code (opens in new tab) from another report, The Register (opens in new tab) also ran into the issue while trying to open a Dropbox file on the Arm64 version of Chrome 109 running on macOS. It also noted that competing browsers, like Mozilla Firefox and the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, were saving files to network locations fine.

Google’s Project Fugu, prepared incorrectly

The issue is rooted in the showOpenFilePicker() (opens in new tab) method in Google’s File System Access API (opens in new tab), an effort to allow web apps to access local files and directories.

The API, introduced in its current form in 2019, comes as part of the tech giant’s Project Fugu (opens in new tab), an initiative hoping to give web apps the same permissions as native platform apps in the wake of Apple’s own tendency to neuter its flagship browser, the Webkit-based Safari, which is often prone to security issues.

Alternate, privacy-focussed browsers have been available on Apple devices for some time, with the option to set a default other than Safari coming in September 2020 as part of iOS 14.

As a result, Project Fugu’s separate sound like a great way to open up an Apple device in the face of Apple’s tight grip on the applications it wants users to run, even in the face of consternation from the European Union.

The Register is reporting that Google has bumped fixing the issue to a priority as part of the release of the stable version of Chrome 110 on the last day of January 2023, quoting an engineer from the company as stating “blocking UNC paths broke a number of legitimate use cases.”

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Jan, Mon, 2023

Isaac Clarke walks gingerly down a walkway

Tech News

Dead Space remaster suffers from ‘major graphical issue’ on PS5

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The much-anticipated Dead Space remake is suffering from more than a few bugs, including a significant graphics bug on PS5. EA has acknowledged the problem but it can’t say when it will be fixed.

The Dead Space remake brings with it a complete graphical overhaul of the sci-fi horror game, making it look like a modern game, instead of a 15-year-old bit of space junk. However, some PS5 players report an issue where textures are loading in at much lower resolutions than they’re meant to, creating an ugly visual mismatch between a highly detailed main character, and a low-fidelity environment.

“The team is working on a patch that will improve the issue on PS5,” EA community manager EAKfam said in a Reddit post (opens in new tab). “The patch will also provide an option to disable VRS on PC. No ETA quite yet, but I’ll keep you all updated.”

EAkfam describes the bug as a “major graphical issue”, saying it’s the highest priority bug on the team’s list that isn’t immediately game-breaking. Though we don’t have an exact date for a fix, the glitch is definitely on EA’s radar. These graphics problems aren’t the only bug affecting the game, however. Stuttering on PC, “infinite death loops” and “chapter-specific items not spawning [and] bugs preventing progression” are also mentioned in EAkfam’s post, along with several interim workarounds. It’s certainly worth a read if you’ve come across any issues in your own playthrough.

Shades of gray

Isaac flies around in zero gravity

(Image credit: EA)

The error is likely caused by Variable Rate Shading, this is a process that allows your graphics card to spend less time and effort working on parts of the game you’re less likely to see: such as areas obscured by shadows. VRS alters the number of pixels that a single-pixel shader operation can impact, allowing developers to reduce shading complexity in certain contexts. It improves framerates and helps lower-end machines keep up.

However, the Dead Space remake’s application of VRS has been skewed by this bug, causing moderately shadowed areas to appear blurred and strange. Digital Foundry’s John Linneman found his own examples of this phenomenon:

For those curious, this is what VRS does to the image quality on PS5. The actual resolution is much higher (look at Isaac) but VRS causes shadowed regions to basically lose most of their detail. pic.twitter.com/Qx9uEyTWzzJanuary 28, 2023

The Dead Space remake has been, for the most part, well-received by critics and fans alike, boasting a score of 89 on Metacritic (opens in new tab) with an 8.4 user score. Our own Aleksha McLoughlin has eagerly anticipated the remake, especially after replaying the original. With gripping horror, gruesome dismemberment, and the promise of a mysterious alternate ending, it’s no wonder that the remake has gone down well.

The game’s bugs do put a damper on things, but news that fixes are in the works at least gives hope that they’ll be ironed out soon. Until then, the Dead Space’s horrors are more than just the mutated hell-beasts that stalk the corridors of the USG Ishimura.

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Jan, Mon, 2023

Tech News

Samsung Galaxy S23 prices could mean bad news in some countries

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The official launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 smartphones is just around the corner, and while the devices’ respective specs have been all-but confirmed by leaks, the lineup’s pricing structure remains the subject of much speculation.

We recently reported on leaked Verizon documents suggesting that the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra will cost the same as their Samsung Galaxy S22 counterparts in the US (i.e. $799.99, $999.99 and $1,199.99). The bad news is that it appears Samsung won’t be applying the same philosophy across the globe.

Documents hinting at lofty Galaxy S23 prices in both South Korea and Australia circulated across the web some weeks ago, but a new report (opens in new tab) from reliable tipster Roland Quandt indicates that customers in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium will be also faced with eye-watering Galaxy S23 prices.

According to Quandt, Galaxy S23 prices will be increasing by as much as €300 (equivalent to around $325 / £260) over their predecessors in these European regions, which would mark the biggest generational price jump in Samsung Galaxy history.

S23 pricing from a Spanish retailer:S23 8/128 959 EuroS23 8/256 1019 EuroS23+ 8/256 1209 EuroS23+ 8/512 1329 EuroS23 Ultra 8/256 1409 EuroS23 Ultra 12/512 1589 EuroJanuary 24, 2023

It goes without saying that these proposed European Galaxy S23 prices are monumentally high compared to their US equivalents, but mobile prices have been steadily rising in non-US regions for several years now, owing to the strength of the US dollar against more unstable international currencies.

In Turkey and India, for instance, Galaxy S23 prices look set to be even higher than those in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. According to Quandt, the starting price for the least expensive Galaxy S23 model will be 50,000 Turkish lira – equivalent to around $2,660 / £2,145 / AU$3,740, which is a small fortune.

If you’re unhappy about what the S23 Series will cost in your country, try and buy one in Turkey for a change. Listings on a price comparison site linking to official store for Turkey. 50K TL for S23 128GB. You do the math. Ouch. pic.twitter.com/7CxKdB9YPmJanuary 27, 2023

It’s almost certain, then, that the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra will indeed be much cheaper in the US than other parts of the world. We haven’t yet heard many details surrounding the lineup’s UK pricing, but we’d wager that Samsung will launch its new phones in Britain for prices somewhere in-between those US and European figures.

In any case, we’ll be able to verify the accuracy of these numbers when the Galaxy S23 lineup is officially unveiled during Samsung Unpacked 2023 (which kicks off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT on February 1, or 5am AEDT on February 2 in Australia).

Analysis: Still plenty to get excited about

The good news for prospective Galaxy S23 customers in every region is that Quandt’s report corroborates almost all of the exciting feature leaks we’ve reported on in recent weeks.

For instance, all three Galaxy S23 models look set to boast 120Hz screens, with the Galaxy S23 offering a 6.1-inch display, the Galaxy S23 Plus upping that to a 6.6-inch display, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra sporting an even larger 6.8-inch display (and a stylus).

Under the hood, each variant of the Galaxy S23 will reportedly start at 8GB of RAM, with the vanilla model packing 128GB of storage and both the S23 Plus and S23 Ultra models packing 256GB. The standard S23 will be available in a 256GB model, too, while its pricier siblings can be bumped up to 512GB (the larger variant of the Ultra will also sport 12GB of RAM).

When it comes to cameras, the Ultra is in line for a triple-lens 200MP + 12MP + 10MP rear setup, while the S23 and S23 Plus will be swapping that 200MP main sensor for a 50MP equivalent. All three models will seemingly also sport a 12MP selfie camera.

We’re quietly confident that Samsung’s Galaxy S23 range will launch on February 17, though we’ll know for certain following the company’s imminent Unpacked event. Incidentally, Samsung’s S23 reservation page (opens in new tab) is still open for pre-orders, and it’s worth flagging that you’ll get a nice little $50 store credit should you commit to purchasing one of its shiny new devices.

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Jan, Mon, 2023

Tech News

Apple says these are the best security keys around now

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Apple has revealed what it believes are the best security keys to add an extra layer of protection to your digital world.

The recent release of iOS 16.3 saw Apple add security key compatibility to its iPhone and iPad devices – as well as to its laptops and desktops with the macOS 13.2 update.

Now, in a support document (opens in new tab), the company has selected its recommendations for the best physical security keys to use with its devices, which comply with FIDO standards – the foremost alliance on credential security that most of big tech are signed up to.

Physical protection

Security keys are physical devices that you can use to authenticate a login to a website or service – a type of multi-factor authentication (MFA) method. The difference compared to other, more common MFA methods – such as using an SMS message or authenticator app on another device – is that security keys are not connected to your network, so are protected from any potential compromises on it.

The downside of using physical security keys, however, is that there are no copies of their associated decryption keys stored on a cloud network, meaning that if you were to misplace them, you won’t be able to log in. Apple doesn’t keep any backups either, so you may be permanently locked out of your account.

You can use security keys when logging into your AppleID, in which case they will replace the usual six-digit codes that comprise the standard MFA process. However, you cannot use security keys to login into child or managed AppleID accounts, nor can you use them with iCloud for Windows.

To use them with Apple Watches, they have to be paired with your own phone, not a family member’s.

Apple has recommended what it believes to be three good examples of security keys, which are the YubiKey 5C NFC, YubiKey 5Ci and FEITAN ePass K9 NFC USB-A. The first two it says will work with most current Macs and iPhones, whilst the last will work with older models of these devices, since it uses a USB-A connection rather than the latest USB-C featured on the other two.

More generally, the company stated that any security keys you opt for should be FIDO certified (opens in new tab) and, of course, have the right connection type for your device.

Apple states that security keys with a USB-C connector work with most of its devices, and those that use near-field communication (NFC) only work with iPhones from iPhone 6 onwards. These connect wirelessly to your device, but do not use your wi-fi network, so are safe from prying eyes.

Although security keys are not essential to stay safe, using one of the best password managers pretty much is.

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Jan, Mon, 2023

Tech News

These dodgy Android apps have seen over 20 million downloads

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The Google Play Store has been home to a growing number of suspicious activities in recent months, new research has found.

A study by Dr.Web found a large number of fake apps and trojans designed to subscribe victims to paid services, as well as an alarming rate of spyware.

The report details the increasing number of apps that have been added to the company’s antivirus database, illustrating the caution that Android users should take when browsing the Play Store.

Android apps with rewards

Among the most significant types of dodgy Android apps in recent months is a rewards-based setup.

Dr.Web says that users are incentivized to complete various tasks, like installing, launching, and using other programs and games to receive a ‘virtual reward’. These tokens can then supposedly be cashed in for real money or credit.

To be able to access rewards of true monetary value, users have been needing to collect “millions” of rewards, and that’s before spending a lot of time, effort, and other resources trying to gain access to any tokens.

Among the most noteworthy apps highlighted by the report is ‘Lucky Step-Walking Tracker’, totalling more than 10 million downloads with an average of 4.2 stars across 643,000 reviews.

Also mentioned are ‘Lucky Habit: health tracker’ (5 million downloads, 193,000 reviews at 3.6 stars), and ‘WalkingJoy’ (5 million downloads, 227,000 reviews at 3.9 stars). None of these apps explicitly detail in their respective Play Store descriptions that they offer financial incentives to users for completing tasks, though they were found to reward users for reaching certain milestones (like following healthy habits or walking a certain amount of steps) and for watching ads, some of which promising to speed up the token unlocking process.

‘Lucky Step-Walking Tracker’ has since removed the functionality, rendering rewards virtually pointless. Moreover, all three apps were found to share the same server, indicating a common developer, thus rewards may be pulled for the other two at any point.

Dr.Web recommends that Android users install its Android antivirus protection, though a more general rule of thumb indicates that users should remain savvy when browsing online marketplaces.

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Jan, Mon, 2023

Tech News

Meta’s best VR headset is down to its lowest-ever price, but not for long

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Got your eyes on a Meta Quest Pro VR headset, but put off by its eye-watering price? Then you’re in luck: it’s currently $400 / £200 cheaper than normal, but for a limited time only.

Right now (January 30, 2023) the Meta Quest Pro is down to $1,100 at Meta’s official store (opens in new tab) in the US, while Brits can pick it up for £1,300 at Meta’s UK store (opens in new tab). Unfortunately, this deal won’t last forever, so if you want to pick up one of the best VR headsets out there at its lowest-ever price you’ll only have until the end of the week in the US – or two weeks in the UK.

If you’re one of those people who consider Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 headset to be underpowered, and don’t want to wait for the Oculus Quest 3 that’s expected to launch at the end of the year, then this is a great deal to take advantage of while you can.

Looking for something to play with the Meta Quest Pro? Check out the VR games and apps we played in January 2023, or our picks for the best VR games.

In terms of raw power and performance, comfort, and features the Meta Quest Pro is far and away Meta’s best VR headset.

Not only does it boast the same standalone VR experience as the brand’s other Quest devices – meaning you won’t feel the constant tug of a cable that tethers you to your PC or console – but it also improves upon older setups with higher quality miniLED panels and powerful Snapdragon XR2 Plus chipset.

It also features an improved design with more padding and better weight distribution; unlike previous Quest models – which have a front-heavy layout – the Quest Pro houses its battery in its strap, placing it at the back of your head and using it as a counterbalance to the displays and cameras on your face.

But despite the Quest Pro’s improvements, the less-impressive Quest 2 is still the VR headset we think is best for most people, predominantly because it’s so darn cheap. You can pick up Meta’s older headset for just $400 / £400 / AU$630 which is less than a third of the cost of Meta’s Pro model; sure it’s less capable, but in the ways that matter it’s certainly not a third as capable.

Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset under a green light

The Meta Quest Pro is great, but the Quest 2 offers amazing value for money (Image credit: Shutterstock / Boumen Japet)

However where Meta’s Quest Pro could take the edge is its unique tools: its eye and face-tracking, and color passthrough. These functions are exactly what they sound like; eye and face-tracking allow the Pro to follow and use your eye and face movements in VR experiences, and color passthrough means a wearer can see the real world in full-color thanks to the Pro’s cameras, without needing to remove the device (which is great for mixed reality software).

The tech required to pull off these new features is seemingly where the majority of the Quest Pro’s added cost comes from, but right now they feel more like gimmicks than must-have hardware. That’s not to say these features don’t bring benefits to titles that implement them, but they’re pretty minor upgrades and so far we’re yet to use software that makes the added cost feel worth it.

Over the coming year, we think that could change. With PlayStation VR 2 also introducing eye-tracking we’ll likely see a bevy of apps put it to good use; we’re particularly excited about the possibilities in foveated rendering, a function that will allow headsets to selectively render only what the user is looking at. This will enable them to use their power more efficiently and facilitate higher-quality experiences.

As the Quest 3 isn’t expected to launch with any face or eye-tracking capabilities Meta’s Quest Pro might be the only device in its lineup that can enjoy these souped-up experiences for the foreseeable future. So, picking the Pro up at a bargain price while you can could be a good idea if you want to experience the best that VR has to offer.

That said, choosing to hold off might not be a terrible idea either. There’s a lot of excitement to come this year with the launch of the Quest 3, HTC Vive XR Elite, and the Apple VR headset; so we wouldn’t be surprised if this discount makes a return later in the year to tempt people to stick by VR’s current champion.

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Jan, Mon, 2023

Making a hands free video call while driving

Tech News

You can now join a Microsoft Teams call from your car… but you probably shouldn’t

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One of the last safe places for avoiding video calls could soon fall, no thanks to a new update for Microsoft Teams.

The video conferencing service is working on an update that will allow users to join a Teams call directly from their vehicle while driving using Apple’s CarPlay platform.

Apple has recently updated CarPlay to include a new calendar view, which will now allow users to join a Microsoft Teams call using their iPhone while driving.

Microsoft Teams CarPlay

The official entry in the Microsoft 365 roadmap (opens in new tab) for the update doesn’t provide any extra detail on exactly how the feature will work, simply noting that users can choose to join a Teams meeting using the new CarPlay calendar view.

Obviously, due care and attention should be paid to the road whilst driving, so hopefully the calls taking place can be audio-only as well, meaning users can keep their eyes on the road.

The feature is still marked as in development for the time being, with a scheduled general availability date of March 2023, so users won’t have too long to wait.

Microsoft Teams users have been able to dial into calls using Apple CarPlay since September 2021, as well the ability to call and message Teams contacts from most modern vehicles – although meeting video feeds do not appear on the dashboard.

The platform is also available on Android Auto, with Google’s car-focused software allowing Microsoft Teams users to make calls, join meetings or message contacts.

The news is the latest in a series of recent upgrades for Microsoft Teams as the company looks to continue improving the platform.

This includes a tweak that uses AI to detect the difference between sound from a speaker and the user’s voice, fixing a common issue when a microphone is too close to a speaker, causing sound to loop between input and output devices and create an echo.

For those making calls in large rooms, where speaking can often reverberate and echo around somewhat, Teams now uses a machine learning model to convert captured audio signal, making it now sound as if users are speaking into a close-range microphone.

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Jan, Mon, 2023

Mark Grayson flies through the sky in Invincible season 1

Tech News

Invincible just added another great Walking Dead star to its cast

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Jeffrey Dean Morgan has joined the cast of Invincible – and fans already think they know who he’ll play in the hit Prime Video series.

Taking to Instagram yesterday (January 29), Morgan uploaded an image of himself leaning on Invincible volumes 2 and 3. Coupled with the photograph’s caption, Morgan revealed he’ll be part of Invincible season 2. Or, at the very least, he’ll be voicing a character in season 3, which is being developed alongside the Prime Video show’s next entry.

Invincible‘s official Twitter account (opens in new tab) also uploaded a screenshot of Morgan’s Instagram image, before drolly suggesting there was “nothing else to see here”. If Morgan’s own social media post wasn’t enough to confirm his involvement, the subsequent Twitter post was.

Morgan’s hiring comes less than two weeks after Invincible season 2’s first teaser and launch window were released. The self-aware trailer, which made fun of how long it was taking to complete work on the series’ next instalment, revealed season 2 would arrive in late 2023. Those announcements came two days shy of Invincible‘s 20th anniversary, with the first comic issue having been released on January 22, 2003. As of right now – publicly, anyway – Amazon Studios hasn’t secretly renewed Invincible for a fourth season, either.

Interestingly, Morgan’s addition to Invincible‘s cast takes the show’s roster of Walking Dead alumni to nine. Most of those actors, including Lauren Cohan and Lennie James have only appeared in cameo roles. However, Steven Yeun (Mark Grayson/Invincible), Ross Marquand (Rudy Connors and The Immortal), and Khary Payton (Black Sansom) portray main and supporting cast members in the series.

Command and conquer

Omni-Man stops Mark from punching him in Invincible season 1

Mark will face greater threats than his dad in Invincible seasons 2 and 3. (Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)

Morgan’s role hasn’t been disclosed, but Invincible fans already have a great idea about which character he’ll voice on the show: Conquest.

In the comics, Conquest is one of Mark Grayson’s most formidable foes. Like Omni-Man and Mark, Conquest is a Viltrumite – and one who revels fighting and killing those who oppose the Viltrumite Empire. He’s an elderly, battle-scarred warrior, but he’s also one of the most powerful Viltrumites to ever live, so he’s not something to trifle with.

He would be perfect for Conquest. pic.twitter.com/ulL5mceYNbJanuary 29, 2023

Morgan would make a fantastic Conquest, in my view. The actor brought real menace and malice to Negan, The Walking Dead‘s most iconic antagonist, in the TV adaptation. Negan might be viewed as more of an anti-hero these days (in the TV series, anyway), but Morgan’s swaggering, callous portrayal of Negan makes him a perfect fit to play someone as psychotic as Conquest.

It’s unclear, though, if Conquest will be introduced as early as Invincible season 2. Conquest didn’t make his comics debut until issue 61, which was released in April 2009. Invincible‘s first season only covered the first 13 issues of the graphic novels – if season 2 follows a similar trajectory, it’ll only cover issues 14-26, meaning it’ll be a long time before Conquest arrives on the small screen.

A more likely character for Morgan to voice would be Grand Regent Thragg, the comic series’ primary villain and a recurring antagonist throughout. Thragg wasn’t revealed in Invincible season 1, but he debuted in issue 11, which was released in April 2004. If Invincible‘s second season picks up some loose plot threads and character introductions from issues 1 through 13, Thragg could appear in the show’s next outing and officially bring Morgan into the voice acting fold.

Please cast Jeffrey Dean Morgan to voice as Grand Regent Thragg! pic.twitter.com/Xji8lUYobIJanuary 29, 2023

Regardless of who Morgan will play, the countdown is one to the return of one of the best Prime Video shows of all-time. It’s going to be a longer wait for Invincible season 2 than we hoped, but it’ll be worth it. In the meantime, go and read our review of Invincible season 1 (if you’re yet to watch the series) and read up on why Invincible season 1’s finale shows how Amazon should handle seasons 2 and 3.

For other Prime Video coverage, check out the best Prime Video movies around and find out more about Morgan’s casting in The Boys season 4.