News

You Can Now Make Your PS5 Matte Black Thanks To Dbrand’s Darkplates

Published

6 years ago

February 17, 2021

Dbrand

When Sony first revealed the PlayStation 5, the two-color curvy design sparked a heated discussion online, with some reporters comparing it to a trophy you might get at an award show and some to a boutique Wi-Fi router. If you’re among the PlayStation 5 owners who are secretly or openly jealous of the more understated design of the Xbox Series X, then we have good news for you: accessory maker Dbrand is selling custom black matte faceplates for PS5, known as Darkplates.

Dbrand

Starting at $49, the set of faceplates lets you easily change the look of your console to please your design taste buds. Besides the faceplates themselves, you can also customize the look of the middle section by ordering one of the optional middle skins (available in matte black, neon yellow, matte white, and several different patterns).

Dbrand

The faceplates feature “a familiar-but-legally-distinct apocalyptic spin on the classic PlayStation button shapes,” which is also how Dbrand would most likely defend its product should Sony decide to take it to court.

Why in the world would Sony do that? To start with, Darkplates are an unofficial accessory sold without Sony’s approval. Last year, accessory seller CustomizeMyPlates was forced to cancel all orders after legal action from Sony, so Dbrand wouldn’t be the first company to feel Sony’s boot on its backside. What’s more, Dbrand is actually touting Sony by saying, “Go ahead, sue us,” on its website.

Also Read: Facebook Is Working On A Smartwatch With Health-Tracking Capabilities

So far, three waves of Darkplates have been shipped to buyers around the world, and the fourth wave is expected to be sold out soon, so you should hurry up if you want to get your hands on this product, whose marketing is just as polarizing as the design of the PlayStation 5.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.