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Amazon Prime Day is coming in hot with the deals, and no brand is safe. Case in point? Apple's high-end AirPods Pro earbuds have dropped to $169. This is a record-low price for the famously expensive buds. This Prime Day deal is for the second-gen version, which are the ones that made our list of the best wireless earbuds. We love so many things about them, from the incredible sound quality to the active noise cancellation. The best feature is likely Apple's transparency mode, which we said was more natural sounding than any other earbuds by a mile." The battery life is average, six hours on their own and 30 hours with the charging case, and the option for multipoint connections is highly useful. These are specifically designed to excel with other products in the Apple ecosystem, so they are the best earbuds to use with an iPhone, an iPad, a Mac or even a pricey Vision Pro headset. The touch gestures take a bit of practice to get the hang of things, but the learning curve isn't so bad. The primary downside of these earbuds is the exorbitant price, which has been alleviated by this deal. Thanks Prime Day! If you want to save even more money, the regular AirPods are on sale for a record-low of $120. This is the third-generation model. On the other hand, if money is absolutely no object, the ultra-premium AirPods Max headphones are on sale for $395. This is also a record-low, as they typically cost a whopping $550. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-airpods-pro-drop-to-169-for-amazon-prime-day-070220217.html?src=rss

Thanks to Amazon Prime Day, the second-generation Ring Video Doorbell is half off and on sale for only $50. That's the best price we've seen on the 1080p video doorbell that includes motion detection and night vision. The device also supports two-way audio, so you can communicate with anyone approaching your home. This Ring model is battery-powered, so you won't need to worry about a complicated wired setup. All you have to do is mount it and connect it to your Wi-Fi network through the Ring app. (You can still hardwire it to your existing doorbell system if you don't want to bother with occasional recharging.) When you pair it with the Ring app, you'll receive notifications when someone rings the bell or triggers its motion sensors. The doorbell works with Alexa, including optional announcements when someone arrives. You can also view its live feed or recordings on Echo devices with screens and Fire TV products. The doorbell has night vision for clearer shots when it's dark. In addition, you can manually set its motion zones to avoid streets, sidewalks and other high-traffic areas outside of your home. The Ring video doorbell comes with a mounting bracket and the tools required to get started. If you're in a rental, you may want to consider a third-party mount that latches onto the side of your front door without requiring any drilling. Amazon also has other Ring devices and accessories on sale, including bundles with Ring Chime, Ring Stick Up Cam and more. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-deals-include-the-ring-video-doorbell-on-sale-for-50-194202740.html?src=rss

Now that Prime Day 2024 is here, you can snag Amazon gear at some of the best prices we've seen all year. That includes the Echo Dot, which is down to $25 for the shopping event - that's only about $2 more than its record-low price. Also discounted are the Echo Pop, which you can snag for only $18, and the full-sized Echo, which is down to $55. As to be expected, these are some of the best Prime Day deals on tech - particularly Alexa-toting tech - that you can get this year. The Echo Dot is a good way to get Alexa into your home without taking up too much space. It's also a good option for students who have little space to spare in cramped dorms and apartments, or anyone who wants to add a bit more smarts in their home office. It's one of our top picks for the best smart speakers you can get right now thanks to its minimalist, compact design, physical volume adjustment and mic-mute buttons and its general Alexa chops. The latest model is also a much better speaker than previous versions, with louder and clearer audio. If you're on a tight budget, or you want to give Alexa a try without investing too much money, the Echo Pop is a good alternative now that it's down to $18. If you were to slice the Echo Dot in half, you'd get the Echo Pop. It makes for a decent bedside speaker, and it has built-in eero functionality, meaning you can extend the range of your home's Wi-Fi network with the Pop if you have an eero router already. But for the best sound quality out of these, you'll want the regular Echo smart speaker. It has the biggest footprint of all three, and the biggest internal speaker along with a 3-inch, built-in woofer. In addition to Alexa chops, it has a temperature sensor and a Zigbee smart home hub inside, which allows you to connect gadgets like smart lights, smart door locks and more without the need for a separate hub. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-echo-dot-is-on-sale-for-only-25-for-prime-day-2024-155547899.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day has arrived and it's brought a bunch of great discounts on Amazon devices, including Fire TV streaming gear. Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K Max is just $35 for the shopping event, which is $25 off and a record-low price. Most other Fire TV devices are on sale as well, including the Fire TV Stick Lite for just $15. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is Amazon's most capable portable streaming device. Just plug it into your TV's HDMI port (or a TV while on vacation), and you'll instantly have access to all of your favorite streaming apps, like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon's own Prime Video. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max supports fast WiFi 6E connectivity, and in addition to its 4K resolution it offers Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG to make your shows and films look their best. With a 2GHz quad-core processor and 16GB of onboard storage (double what the cheaper Fire TV devices have), the Fire TV Stick 4K Max should be zippy and have enough space to your favorite apps and games. Its WiFi 6E support also makes it a great option for streaming games with Amazon Luna. The bundled Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced gives you instant access to Amazon's virtual assistant, allowing you to search for shows or just ask about the weather. If you don't need all the bells and whistles of the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, there's also the Fire TV Stick Lite on sale for $15, one of our favorite inexpensive streaming devices. And if you need Ethernet and hands-free Alexa support, Amazon's Fire TV Cube is now just $100 as part of this Prime Day Deal. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-deals-bring-the-fire-tv-stick-4k-max-down-to-a-record-low-of-35-123038175.html?src=rss

A hacking group leaked over a terabyte of confidential data from more than 10,000 Slack channels belonging to Disney, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The leaked information includes discussions about ad campaigns, computer code, details about unreleased projects and discussion about interview candidates among other things. Disney is investigating this matter," a company spokesperson told the Journal.Nullbulge calls itself a hacktivist group advocating for the rights of artists. A spokesperson for the group told the Journal that it targeted Disney due to concerns about the company's handling of artist contracts and its approach to generative AI. For weeks, the group teased its access to Disney's Slack, posting snippets of confidential information such as attendance figures for Disneyland parks on X. Nullbulge told the Journal that it accessed Disney's confidential information by compromising an employee's computer computer twice, including through malicious software that it buried in a videogame add-on.For more than a year, generative AI has sparked tensions between the companies that make and use the tech and members of the creative community who have accused corporations of using their work to train AI models without consent or compensation.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-hacking-group-reportedly-leaked-confidential-data-from-thousands-of-disney-slack-channels-001124844.html?src=rss

We're less than a month away from the next Made by Google event, and we may already know what one of the marquee announcements will look like. TikTok user pixo_unpacking (via YTechB) posted videos over the weekend of apparent pre-production samples of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 XL.The phones in the video have different backs: a glossy finish on the standard Pixel 9's rear and a matte one on the larger Pixel XL's. 9to5Google notes that they appear to include rear-panel etchings Google uses for prototypes, although they're mostly covered in the clips by labels.Based on the video, the Pixel 9 appears to have two cameras, while the Pixel 9 XL has three. In addition, Google seems to have changed the camera visor into an elongated oval. It appears to be quite the protrusion, as evidenced by the video's sections showing the two phones together.asljkdfGoogle sent out invites last month to the August 13 event. Although (unsurprisingly) devoid of details, it promised to showcase the best of Google AI, Android software and the Pixel portfolio of devices." The event will be at Google's Mountain View headquarters instead of the typical New York City setting for Pixel launches.In addition to the Pixel 9 series, we expect a next-generation Pixel Fold, a new Tensor chip and a third-generation Pixel Watch. (And a possible Pixel Buds appearance.) Of course, since this is 2024 and no company can hold an event without an almost comical obsession with AI, we're practically guaranteed to hear more about new Google AI features- like the rumored Pixie AI assistant. In addition, the phones could include iPhone-like emergency satellite messaging.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alleged-pixel-9-and-pixel-9-xl-leak-shows-a-redesigned-camera-bar-205144133.html?src=rss

About a month after Apple announced it at WWDC 2024, macOS Sequoia is available to test-drive as a public beta. Although we don't recommend installing it on your primary Mac, here's how to get the 2024 version of macOS up and running ahead of its official rollout in the fall.Compatible MacsFirst, you'll need a recent Mac to run the Sequoia public beta. Apple's software supports the following models:

Now that it's available, you can test-drive Apple's iOS 18 public beta before the software's official arrival this fall. Here's everything you need to know about setting up the iOS 18 (along with iPadOS 18 and watchOS 11) beta.First, remember that, as its beta" name implies, this is pre-release software that will likely reveal itself as such in ways that frustrate and annoy you. Some third-party apps may be broken (banking apps especially), and plenty of Apple's features may be inconsistent or buggy until the company irons out the kinks in future updates.We don't recommend installing it on any device you use as your main one-or at least not if you aren't willing to accept some risks and compromises.iOS 18 supported devicesYou'll need a recent iPhone to try the public beta. For iOS 18, that means the following models:

Apple's first 2024 public betas have arrived. You can now install early builds of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11 and macOS Sequoia to preview Apple's software updates before their official arrival this fall. You just need to enroll your Apple ID (soon-to-be Apple Account) in the Apple Beta Software Program to join the pre-release fun.Although it won't be available in beta until the fall, Apple's take on generative AI - Apple Intelligence (get it?) - is the common thread in this year's updates. Intertwined in each platform's 2024 software, Apple Intelligence is a blend of on-device and cloud processing, and it includes optional ChatGPT integration. It adds a new superpowered Siri, Safari highlights and summaries, writing tools and much more.As for what you will see in the first public beta, iOS 18 gives you more control over your Home Screen. You can place apps and widgets on any open spot on your screen and even change app icon colors, personalizing your phone with a unified aesthetic. The Control Center also gets a redesign, with easier access to your most used toggles, including new customizations. In addition, Photos gets its biggest overhaul to date, and Messages includes new formatting and effects.AppleMeanwhile, iPadOS 18 carries over many of those same changes while adding a native Calculator app for the first time and smart handwriting features.Much more than a port of the iOS version, the Calculator app includes a new Math Notes feature for the Apple Pencil (or keyboard) that can evaluate expressions, assign variables and plot graphs in real-time: Type an equals sign, and Math Notes solves the problem. In parallel, the Smart Script tool in the Notes app can smooth out your sloppy handwriting (while still looking like your penmanship) as you write, and you can turn recordings into searchable live audio transcriptions.macOS Sequoia adds iPhone Mirroring, letting you view and control your phone's screen from your Mac. A new Passwords app pulls your stored credentials out of iCloud Keychain and Safari's settings and into a standalone app. (That S.O.S. call you hear is from 1Password's developers.) Window Tiling lets you magnetically" snap windows into various grid patterns, similar to Microsoft's Snap tiling feature in Windows 11. Finally, new video call features let you replace your background with built-in images or personal photos.ApplewatchOS 11 lets you pause your daily Activity Rings when you need a break (like when you're sick, injured or have other disruptions) without losing your streaks. You can also change your goals based on the day of the week and customize which metric the Fitness app shows. A new Vitals app expands on sleep tracking to show you at a glance whether any of your overnight metrics deviate from your norm. And a training load tool gauges how your workout intensity may affect your body over time.If you've never installed an Apple software update with the Apple account you use on your devices, head to the Apple Beta Software Program website to register it. Then, navigate to Settings > General > Software Update on your device, choose the Beta Updates menu, select the Public Beta option and install the update on the Software Update screen.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-ios-18-ipados-18-macos-sequoia-and-watchos-11-public-betas-are-ready-to-download-202921608.html?src=rss

Elon Musk confirmed on Monday that Tesla's robotaxi event scheduled for August has been delayed to October. The CEO replied on X (the former Twitter, which he owns) to a user's post that he requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things."Musk's X post appears to echo what Bloomberg reported last week. The publication claimed on July 11 that delaying the event would give Tesla more time to build additional prototypes. It added that the company had communicated the delay internally and that the design team was told to rework certain elements of the car," which sounds like Musk's order to change the front design.The CEO said in early April that the company would unveil the Tesla Robotaxi on August 8. The teaser came on the same day Reuters reported that Tesla was pulling the plug on a planned $25,000 budget model (often casually referred to externally as the Model 2) in favor of a full-court push for robotaxis. Musk claimed Reuters was lying" without listing any specific points of contention.A few weeks later, Tesla cut more than 10 percent" of the company's over 140,000 personnel (at the time). Two weeks after word of the layoffs broke, the EV maker let go of two senior executives as Musk warned staff that we need to be absolutely hard core about headcount and cost reduction." In what sounded like a threat, he added, While some on exec staff are taking this seriously, most are not yet doing so."Tesla delivered nearly seven percent fewer vehicles in the first half of 2024 and produced nearly 15 percent fewer in the second quarter than in the same period in 2023.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/elon-musk-confirms-the-tesla-robotaxi-event-has-been-delayed-to-october-184519959.html?src=rss

YouTube Music is rolling out some fun new features, including the expansion of the hum to search" tool that has been in beta for Android users since March. The company says this tool allows users to search the YouTube Music catalog of over 100 million official songs" by using natural sound.All you have to do is tap search" and look for the waveform icon. Then it's up to you. The tool lets people hum the song, sing the song or even play the song on another instrument. The feature is rolling out to YouTube music subscribers on both iOS and Android.It's also been working on something called AI-generated conversational radio. This isn't a platform in which AI DJs take jobs away from Wolfman Jack or whatever. Rather, it's a tool that lets people use natural conversation to describe the type of radio station they want to listen to. The algorithm will take in that information and create some tailor-made radio. This is sort of like Spotify's AI DJ from a while back, but the conversational element should make the algorithm zero in on your exact tastes as described.The bad news? It's only available to select subscribers at this point, as it's in a testing phase. If successful, it should roll out to more users in the coming months. After all, YouTube first announced the hum to search" tool in March and its already becoming widely available.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-musics-latest-features-include-hum-to-search-and-ai-generated-conversational-radio-175153746.html?src=rss

No matter how you swing it, Apple's computers are expensive, making sales crucial in the pursuit of taking one home. Fortunately, Amazon Prime Day is basically here and one of the best Prime Day laptop deals we found is on Apple's 13-inch 2024 MacBook Air with an M3 chip. Our top pick for the best MacBook overall is down to $899 from $1,099 - an 18 percent discount. You'll get this sale price on the model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and it doesn't come with AppleCare+ (which isn't surprising). Historically, Prime Day deals on laptops can be hit or miss, but this is a great one to consider right now if you've been eyeing a new MacBook to replace your aging laptop. Apple's 2024 MacBook Air has a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display that can support one billion different colors. We gave it a 90 in our review thanks to offers like a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, three mics and up to 18 hours of battery life. The M3 chip makes it a faster device, with an 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU. It also supports dual external displays - though the MacBook must be closed. If you're in the market for a larger screen, check out the sale on the 15-inch version of Apple's M3-equipped 2024 MacBook Air. This model is also on sale, dropping to $1,099 from $1,299 - a 15 percent discount. It weighs an extra half a pound, but with a 15.2-inch screen, the additional space might be worth some weight. Plus, it offers six speakers, compared to the 13-inch's four. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-prime-day-deals-on-laptops-include-200-off-the-m3-macbook-air-134232077.html?src=rss

If you were hoping for new colors of the HomePod mini, Apple just announced one. But, there's not much to get excited about. The company revealed a Midnight hue for its tiny speaker, replacing the Space Gray version that had been available since the mini debuted. So, yes, Apple replaced the black HomePod mini with another black HomePod mini that looks so similar it's hard to tell the difference. Even in the photo below, the shadows are likely to account for some variation in the color. However, the material for the new color, is different. Apple says the Midnight version is made with 100 percent recycled mesh fabric. All of the rest of the HomePod mini lineup, including the Space Gray option, has a cover made with 90 percent recycled plastic. Everything else about the new option is identical to the existing speaker, from the edge-to-edge illuminating touch panel to smart home controls and decent audio quality. Apple Aside from the higher recycled content in the mesh cover, this provided Apple an opportunity to bring the HomePod mini's color scheme up to date with some of its other products. The regular HomePod's black is already dubbed Midnight. What's more, the company ditched Space Gray for Midnight when the iPhone 13 debuted. It has carried it over to the Apple Watch, but there hasn't been a wholesale swap throughout all devices. The iPhone 15 lineup, for example, has Black Titanium and plain ol' Black as its darkest hues. The Midnight HomePod mini is now available to order from Apple. It will be at the company's stores and other retailers on July 17. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-replaces-the-black-homepod-mini-with-a-black-homepod-mini-162647248.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day 2024 will be here tomorrow but the deals are already abundant. The online retailer has gotten into the habit of teasing early Prime Day deals leading up to the big event, with most of them being available exclusively to Prime members. However, there are always some good tech deals on Amazon available to everyone at the same time. We've collected the best early Prime Day deals here so you don't have to go searching for them. We'll be updating this post regularly, so check back to see the latest discounts. As a reminder (and for the uninitiated): Engadget treats tech deals with the same care as we would regular" tech news. When we scour the web for deals, we're looking not only for the best prices possible, but also the best products as well. Our goal with our deals coverage, especially surrounding events like Amazon Prime Day, is to surface only the best deals we can find on the gadgets we've tested and rated highly, or that we've used and know to be worth your money. Best early Prime Day deals: Engadget top picks Best early Prime Day deals: Apple Best early Prime Day deals: Amazon Best early Prime Day deals: Anker Best early Prime Day tech deals Amazon Prime Day FAQs When is Prime Day 2024? Amazon Prime Day 2024 lands on July 16 and 17 this year. The shopping event focuses on exclusive deals for Prime members, which means you'll have to be a Prime subscriber on Prime Day to take advantage of most of the savings. Amazon still offers a 30-day free trial to new Prime subscribers, so you can start your free trial now to participate in the event. Is Prime Day the same days every year? No, but Prime Day usually happens during the summertime in the United States. In recent years, Amazon has held a second sale event in the fall as well, dubbed October Prime Day, which is similar to the summertime sale. Can anyone shop Amazon Prime Day? Amazon Prime Day focuses on exclusive deals available only to Prime members. However, if you don't pay for Prime and have no intention of doing so, you should still check out Amazon on Prime Day for sales that are available to all shoppers - there are always a few of them. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-prime-day-tech-deals-we-could-find-ahead-of-amazons-sale-tomorrow-110027281.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day may technically be two days long, but the discounts actually start before that. As it happens, just before Prime Day gets underway on July 16, we've spotted a decent discount on a Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop. This model (we'll get into the specs in a second) is available for a record low price of $2,500. That's $200 off the regular price of $2,700. This version of the laptop has a 14-inch QHD+ 240Hz HDR display. Combine that with the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU and 32GB of DDR5 RAM and most games should look and run very nicely on this system. There's a respectable volume of storage too as it has a 1TB SSD. We gave the latest Razer Blade 14 a score of 85 in our review. While we feel that it's pricey (this sale will take some of the sting out of that) and the lack of an SD card reader is a disappointment, it's a great gaming laptop overall. It has a great build, strong performance and better-than-anticipated battery life (it ran for a shade under seven hours in our testing). We liked the bright, high-refresh-rate display too and a built-in webcam shutter is always welcome. In fact, the Razer Blade 14 is our current pick for the best high-end laptop for gaming and school. The blend of power and portability is tough to beat, especially when you factor in Razer's typically robust build quality. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-deals-include-200-off-the-razer-blade-14-gaming-laptop-145218018.html?src=rss

Windows laptops are in a bit of transition thanks to the recent introduction of Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs. However, that designation currently only applies to systems featuring Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips. But now, with some help from AMD, HP's OmniBook Ultra 14 is packing even better AI performance in a thin and light chassis.Powered by AMD's Ryzen AI 300 series chips, the OmniBook UItra 14 is said to deliver up to 55 TOPS of AI performance, which is more than the 45 TOPS you get from the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus' Hexagon NPU. HP claims this will support a range of new features including faster AI image generation, improved camera effects in video calls and more. Meanwhile for non-machine learning-related tasks, the OmniBook Ultra also sports an integrated Radeon 980 GPU. But perhaps most importantly, because AMD's Ryzen AI 300 silicon is based on x86 architecture, you won't run into app compatibility issues as you do with the existing crop of Arm-based Copilot+ PCs. That means you can play games like Fortnite and League of Legends whose anti-cheat systems have not yet been updated to work on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips.To help expand the OmniBook UItra's AI abilities, HP also created its own AI Companion app, which includes the company's Wolf Security system, an improved version of its Smart Sense performance optimization tool, support for Windows Studio Effects and Poly Camera Pro and more. Notably, HP says the laptop will also get a free update that will unlock all of Windows 11's current AI features like Image Creator and real-time transcription, which will make the OmniBook Ultra 14 an official Copilot+ PC. That said, there's no official timetable for when that patch will be available.As for the rest of the system, careful observers may have already noticed that the OmniBook Ultra sports a very familiar design. That's because unlike HP's Qualcomm-powered OmniBook X which was built using a brand new chassis, for its latest AI PC, HP reused the frame from one of its Spectre laptops for the Ultra. This is why the notebook features those distinctive angled corners.The OmniBook Ultra also has two Thunderbolt 4 ports (a first for any AMD-powered HP laptop), one USB Type-A slot and a 3.5mm audio jack. And while both the OmniBook X and OmniBook Ultra are 14-inch systems, the latter features a larger 68 Wh battery (versus 59 Wh for the OmniBook X), resulting in a slightly bulkier device that weighs 3.5 pounds and measures 0.65 inches thick (compared to 2.98 pounds and 0.57 inches for the X).Unfortunately, at this point, it remains to be seen if AMD's new AI-focused chip can deliver the same level of longevity we've gotten from current Copilot+ PCs, though HP is touting around 13 hours of life in Mobile Mark and up to 21 hours of continuous video playback.The HP Omnibook Ultra is slated to go on sale sometime in August starting at $1,450.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-omnibook-ultra-14-is-hps-first-amd-powered-next-gen-ai-pc-143126124.html?src=rss

Even moderate exercise has been shown to improve mental health and lower stress in college students. But it can be tough to prioritize a run or a HIIT session when you have a lot going on at school. We're not saying these products will magically open up time in your schedule, but a little motivation from a fitness tracker, good audio from workout earbuds and affordable apps that get you moving without a gym membership might make raising your heart rate a little easier. Here's the fitness gear we've tried over the years that's relatively affordable and doesn't take up a lot of space. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-fitness-tech-for-college-students-130020316.html?src=rss

A new space suit designed by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University, inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune, could make spacewalks longer and less disgusting by recycling expelled urine in a special filtration backpack.The traditional NASA spacesuit design has been in circulation since the 1970s and only has an absorbent polymer to catch astronauts' urine. This outdated waste system has also led to hygiene and medical issues, like urinary tract infections (UTIs) and gastrointestinal problems, for astronauts. It's not just for sci-fi whimsy.The new stillsuits' have a vacuum-based external catheter leading to a combined forward-reverse osmosis unit" astronauts carry on their back. The suits were designed for future NASA space missions, including the Artemis II and Artemis III missions, both headed to the moon. However, NASA hasn't adopted this spacesuit or its technology yet.Oh, and prime yourself: Amazon's Prime Day kicks off tomorrow.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedWhat to read this week: An astronaut's journey and queer horror that bites back at clicheThe best budget Android phone for 2024Amazon's AI chatbot Rufus is now live for all US customersYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!OpenAI whistleblowers want SEC probe into NDAsThey say the NDAs keep employees from speaking out on safety risks.Whistleblowers penned a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that OpenAI employees were made to sign illegally restrictive" agreements preventing them from speaking out on the potential harms of the company's technology. The whistleblowers ask the SEC to take swift and aggressive steps" to enforce the rules they say OpenAI has violated. They allegedly include making employees sign agreements that failed to exempt disclosures of securities violations to the SEC" and requiring employees to get consent from the company before disclosing confidential information to the authorities. The letter also says OpenAI's agreements required employees to waive compensation intended by Congress to incentivize reporting and provide financial relief to whistleblowers."Continue reading.There's finally a retro PC emulator on the App StoreBut you'll need to download virtual machines.Retro PC game emulator UTM SE is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro, marking the first time Apple has allowed a PC emulator for iOS onto its marketplace. You'll first need to either download a pre-built virtual machine - several of which UTM offers for free on its website - or you can create your own from scratch.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-dune-inspired-spacesuit-recycles-astronauts-urine-into-drinkable-water-111540921.html?src=rss

The horde is relentless. Every time I naively get overconfident in the timing of my laser sweeps and think I finally have the advantage over my enemies, the next wave comes in tenfold just to put me back in my place. I flatten them, they come back stronger and overtake me, and our little dance starts all over again.In Laser Sphere, a Playdate game made by Pulp creator Shaun Inman, it's just you and your prone-to-overheating space laser against the world. From the game's description:

The retro PC game emulator UTM SE is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro, marking the first time Apple has allowed a PC emulator for iOS onto its marketplace, per The Verge. UTM SE will let you run classic PC games, but you'll first need to either download a pre-built virtual machine - several of which UTM offers for free on its website - or you can create your own from scratch.

Getting into a good sleep routine can make a world of difference in your day-to-day life, and smart clocks like the Hatch Restore 2 are designed to help you achieve that. The popular sleep device, which allows for customized bedtime and wake-up routines, is deeply discounted on Amazon right now in an early Prime Day deal, bringing the price down to $145 from its usual cost of $200. The clock comes in three neutral colors - Latte, Putty and Slate - all of which are covered by the 28 percent price cut. Hatch Restore 2 has features to help put you to sleep, and wake you gently in the morning. To get the absolute most out of it, you'll also need to subscribe to Hatch+ for $5/month, but the system is still usable with limitations if you don't want yet another subscription in your life. In our review, we found it to be genuinely helpful for winding down at night and starting the day off on the right note, but you may need to play around with the settings over the course of a few days to figure out what works best for you. Hatch Restore 2 has audio segments to help you relax at night, like a 25-minute narration called Train of Thought" in which a train conductor talks you through her ticket collections and interactions with passengers, and tells you train facts.Engadget's reviewer Amy Skorheim said the audio became more effective at putting me to sleep than popping a melatonin." Restore 2 also offers ambient sounds like naturescapes, white and pink noise, and the sound of cars passing by. In the morning, a sunlight light will start to shine before your alarm goes off to help gently wake you up. You can assign rotating routines to start your day off differently each morning. The Reset," for example, will play affirmations. The Hatch Restore 2 gets sleep routines right, but it's definitely pricey for what it offers, so take advantage of that $55 discount while it's still available. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-hatch-restore-2-smart-sleep-clock-drops-to-a-record-low-for-prime-day-150049284.html?src=rss

Good news for anyone who's been waiting for a better way to run the Delta game emulator on an iPad - with version 1.6, which is available now, iPad support is here. The latest update is a major one, not only bringing a version of the emulator that's optimized for iPad, but also seamless switching between iPhone and iPad, some improvements to DS compatibility, new skins and menu button gestures, and a new logo. (Delta had to scrap its old logo after Adobe threatened to sue over similarities to its signature A').The Delta version 1.6 update is live on both the App Store and the AltStore PAL. It comes barely three months after Delta creator Riley Testut promised iPad support was on the way, and will allow for both full screen play and multiple windows using Stage Manager and Split View. Before you run and download it, though, take note of the devs' warnings about DS games: This update is incompatible with existing DS save states. Please save normally in-game before updating to avoid losing progress." The Delta team has also created a new app, Delta Legacy, to help users migrate their save states. Instructions for the process are on the Delta website.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ipad-support-has-arrived-for-the-nintendo-emulator-delta-with-its-latest-update-213509165.html?src=rss

A new report from Reuters claims OpenAI is developing technology to bring advanced reasoning capabilities to its AI models under a secret project code-named Strawberry." Among the project's goals is to enable the company's AI models to autonomously scour the internet in order to plan ahead" for more complex tasks, according to an internal document seen by Reuters. The project previously went by the name of Q* (pronounced Q star"), demos of which showed earlier this year that it could answer tricky science and math questions," Reuters reports, citing unnamed sources who witnessed the demonstrations.At this stage, much remains unknown about Strawberry - including how far along in development it is, and whether it's the same system with human-like reasoning" skills that OpenAI reportedly demonstrated at an employee all-hands meeting earlier this week, per Bloomberg. But the ability for the company's AI to conduct deep research," as is said to be the aim of Strawberry, would mark a huge leap forward from what's available today.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openai-is-reportedly-working-on-more-advanced-ai-models-capable-of-reasoning-and-deep-research-202419228.html?src=rss

OpenAI's NDAs are once again under scrutiny after whistleblowers penned a letter to the SEC alleging that employees were made to sign illegally restrictive" agreements preventing them from speaking out on the potential harms of the company's technology. The letter, which was obtained and published online by The Washington Post, accuses OpenAI of violating SEC rules meant to protect employees' rights to report their concerns to federal authorities and prevent retaliation. It follows an official complaint that was filed with the SEC in June.In the letter, the whistleblowers ask the SEC to take swift and aggressive steps" to enforce the rules they say OpenAI has violated. The alleged violations include making employees sign agreements that failed to exempt disclosures of securities violations to the SEC" and requiring employees obtain consent from the company before disclosing confidential information to the authorities. The letter also says OpenAI's agreements required employees to waive compensation that was intended by Congress to incentivize reporting and provide financial relief to whistleblowers."In a statement to the Post, OpenAI spokesperson Hannah Wong said, Our whistleblower policy protects employees' rights to make protected disclosures," and added that the company has made important changes" to its off-boarding papers to do away with nondisparagement terms. OpenAI previously said it was fixing these agreements after it was accused this spring of threatening to claw back exiting employees' vested equity if they didn't sign NDAs on their way out.According to The Washington Post, the SEC has responded to the complaint, but no details have yet been released regarding any action it is or isn't going to take. But the whistleblowers say enforcement is of utmost importance even if OpenAI is making reforms in light of the public disclosures of their illegal contracts." The letter says it is necessary not as an attack on OpenAI or to hinder the advancement of AI technology, but to send the message to others in the AI space, and to the tech industry at large, that violations on the right of employees or investors to report wrongdoing will not be tolerated."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openai-whistleblowers-call-for-sec-probe-into-ndas-that-kept-employees-from-speaking-out-on-safety-risks-171604829.html?src=rss

NASA and its partners, the European and Canadian space agencies, are celebrating the second year since the James Webb Telescope started sending back photos of the universe by releasing an image of the Penguin and the Egg galaxies. These are interacting galaxies collectively known as Arp 142 located 326 million light-years from Earth, captured by the James Webb in interactive light.The galaxies first interacted between 25 and 75 million years ago, causing new star formation. Based on previous research, 100 to 200 stars have formed per year in the Penguin - yes, that is the galaxy at the center of the image that looks like a bird's head - whereas the Milky Way only produces between six and seven new stars per year. In this image taken by the James Webb, the interaction between the two galaxies is marked by a faintly glowing upside-down U. Take note that while the Penguin appears bigger than the Egg galaxy at its left, they have approximately the same mass. If either galaxy were smaller, they would've already merged.In addition to the galaxies prominently featured in the image, you'll also see more distant galaxies in the background. The space agencies said it's a "testament to the sensitivity and resolution of Webb's infrared cameras." NASA and its partners launched the James Webb Telescope in late 2021 after more than a decade of delays caused by spiraling costs and construction woes. The agencies released the first image it ever captured, the deepest image of the distant universe, in July 2022. Last year, they also commemorated its first anniversary with an image of a nearby stellar nursery.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScIThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/james-webb-telescope-marks-second-anniversary-with-an-image-of-the-penguin-and-the-egg-galaxies-143052704.html?src=rss

New releases in fiction, nonfiction and comics that caught our attention.Bury Your Gays by Chuck TingleChuck Tingle may be best known for his oft-memed erotica titles, but the author has also been making a name for himself in mainstream horror in recent years. Tingle's second full-length horror novel, Bury Your Gays, was released this week, and if the title didn't make it abundantly clear, it calls out one of Hollywood's tiredest tropes: queer storylines that inevitably end in tragedy or erasure.In Bury Your Gays, bizarre circumstances befall the book's protagonist, an Oscar-nominated scriptwriter named Misha, after he refuses studio executives' orders to either kill off two lesbian characters in a blaze of gay glory" or make them straight. It's got monsters (not just the corporate kind), gore and basically all the ingredients for a great summer read. And, for anyone who prefers audiobooks, the narrated version of Bury Your Gays has a particularly stacked cast, including Mara Wilson and authors Stephen Graham Jones and T. Kingfisher.Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change by Cady ColemanIf you'd asked me a few days ago how I thought astronauts sleep on the International Space Station - something I've never really given much thought to - I probably would have made a little joke about them floating around in sleeping bag cocoons, occasionally bumping into walls and furniture over the course of the night. Just one page into the first chapter of Sharing Space, former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman confirms this isn't actually that far off from the truth, at least for some ISS dwellers:

Meta, the parent company of social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, has decided to remove restrictions placed on former President Donald Trump's accounts.Meta updated its original statement announcing the end of Trump's suspension on Facebook and Instagram in January of 2023 to reflect the Republican presumptive presidential nominee's new online status. Axiosfirst reported on the news.Meta removed Trump from all of its platforms following the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 amid extreme and highly unusual circumstances," according to Meta's original statement.Seven people were killed as a result of violence on or collateral damage as a result of the attack on the Capitol building.The following May, the Oversight Board ruled that Facebook failed to apply an appropriate penalty with its indefinite suspension of Trump's accounts for severely" violating Facebook and Instagram's community guidelines and standards. Trump said in a video statement released less than three hours after the violence began We love you. You're very special" and called the insurrectionists great patriots." Those and other statements made in the wake of the US Capitol attack convinced the board that Trump violated its standard against praising or supporting people engaging in violence on its platforms.Two years later, Meta restored Trump's accounts following a time-bound suspension with stricter penalties for violating its terms of service, a standard that was higher than any other user on Facebook and Instagram. Meta noted in its latest update that the ex-president will be subject to the same standard as everyone else.With the party conventions taking place shortly, including the Republican convention next week, the candidates for President of the United States will soon be formally nominated," according to Meta's statement. In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis."Twitter, now X, also took action against President Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol for three tweets he posted that were labeled for inciting violence. It started with a 12-hour suspension on Jan. 6, 2021. Two days later, Twitter banned him completely after determining that subsequent posts also violated its community standards. The following year, Twitter's new owner Elon Musk conducted an informal poll on his account asking if he should remove President Trump's ban and reinstated his account a few days later.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-rolls-back-restrictions-on-trumps-facebook-and-instagram-accounts-220203014.html?src=rss

Three US Senators introduced a bill that aims to rein in the rise and use of AI generated content and deepfakes by protecting the work of artists, songwriters and journalists.The Content Original Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media (COPIED) Act was introduced to the Senate Friday morning. The bill is a bipartisan effort authorized by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), according to a press alert issued by Blackburn's office.The COPIED ACT would, if enacted, create transparency standards through the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) to set guidelines for content provenance information, watermarking, and synthetic content detection," according to the press release.The bill would also prohibit the unauthorized use of creative or journalistic content to train AI models or created AI content. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general would also gain the authority to enforce these guidelines and individuals who had their legally created content used by AI to create new content without their consent or proper compensation would also have the right to take those companies or entities to court.The bill would even expand the prohibition of tampering or removing content provenance information by internet platforms, search engines and social media companies.A slew of content and journalism advocacy groups are already voicing their support for the COPIED Act to become law. They include groups like SAG-AFTRA, the Recording Industry Association of America, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Songwriters Guild of America and the National Newspaper Association.This is not the Senate's first attempt to create guidelines and laws for the rising use of AI content and it certainly won't be the last. In April, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) submitted a bill called the Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act that would force AI companies to list their copyrighted sources in their datasets. The bill has not moved out of the House Committee on the Judiciary since its introduction, according to Senate records.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/three-senators-introduce-bill-to-protect-artists-and-journalists-from-unauthorized-ai-use-205603263.html?src=rss

The controllers available for consoles like the Xbox Series X and the Nintendo Switch and even some for PC gaming are the peak result of an evolutionary ergonomic transformation. The days of boxy controllers like the NES GamePad and even the Atari 2600 joystick are almost gone from modern gaming but 8BitDo has done a great job of preserving those classic designs without totally sacrificing their functionality. 8BitDo has been making these modern throwback peripherals for 11 years and it's marking this anniversary with a pair of limited edition gold and silver SN30 Pro controllers. These controllers aren't just matte painted in gold and silver. They are made with a zinc-alloy metal" so they weigh a hefty 381 grams. They also cost just under $100 each. They are compatible with the Nintendo Switch and computers running Microsoft Windows, according to 8BitDo's website. The new gold and silver limited edition controllers have the same layout as the original SN30 Pro with a Super Nintendo-esque button layout and two analog sticks. A metal version may give it the little bit of extra weight the original needs so it feels a little more balanced. Plus, a metal controller that looks like gold or silver just makes you feel like a total baller. Such a confidence boost could transfer from your brain to your hands and may improve your game. So it could be an effective controller or just a cool looking paperweight that you might find on Elon Musk's desk (assuming he stops tweeting long enough to notice it exists). This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/8bitdo-marks-its-11th-anniversary-with-gold-and-silver-metal-controllers-195616688.html?src=rss

If you're considering a premium foldable phone, these pre-order deals ahead of Prime Day may be the way to go. You can get a $300 Amazon gift card when you reserve the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and a $200 one with the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Both phones begin shipping on July 24. The Samsung Z Fold 6 will typically cost $1,900 for 256GB of storage and $2,320 for 512GB. But Amazon's deal gets you the 512GB with a $300 Amazon gift card for $1,900. (The 256GB model costs the same, so there's no reason to go with it.) That's still loads of money to spend on a phone, but if you were going the premium foldable route anyway, at least this offer doubles the storage and adds a nice chunk of store credit for the same entry price. The Z Fold 6 has the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and more RAM than its predecessor. It also adds a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a brighter display (up to 2,600 nits). In Engadget's hands-on, Sam Rutherford found the phone to be sharper and sleeker than its predecessor. The Z Fold 6 has a new dual-rail hinge with Samsung's enhanced Armor Aluminum for a lighter feel. The main screen's slightly tweaked dimensions also improve the viewing experience. The phone even has a 60-percent larger vapor chamber to help cool the phone during intense gaming sessions. Sam Rutherford for Engadget For the Z Flip 6, you can also pre-order the 512GB model for the same price as the 256GB model ($1,099), and you'll get a $200 Amazon gift card with your purchase. The smaller foldable had more changes in this year's upgrades. These include the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 12GB of RAM, a 4,000mAh battery (the largest on any Z Flip) and cameras to match the excellent ones on the Galaxy S24: a 50MP main one and a 12MP ultra-wide lens. Of course, it wouldn't be a 2024 flagship phone without AI features, and both phones have plenty. Carrying over from the Galaxy S24 series, both phones add generative tools like browsing assist, dictation, new translation tools and Circle to Search. Both phones arrive on July 24, and the deal is only valid through July 23 or as long as supplies last. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-adding-a-free-300-gift-card-when-you-pre-order-the-samsung-galaxy-z-fold-6-193426527.html?src=rss

There's another chatbot in town. Amazon's AI chatbot Rufus is now live for all US customers, albeit in a beta version. This follows a testing phase that began back in February. Rufus looks to currently be tied to the app and not the web version of Amazon.So what does it do? It's an Amazon chatbot so it helps with shopping. You can ask for lists of recommended products and ask what specific products do and stuff like that.I've tooled around with it a bit this morning and it seems fine, though a bit boring. I will say that I cross-referenced some of the recommended products with the web version and Rufus does not automatically list promoted items, at least for now.AmazonIt spit out a seemingly random list of well-reviewed products on several occasions. That's fine by me, though I'm not about to buy something based on the word of a one-day old chatbot. You can also ask specific questions about products, but the answers seem to be pulled directly from the descriptions. As any regular Amazon customer knows, some of these descriptions are accurate and others aren't. The chatbot is tied to your personal account, so it can answer questions about upcoming deliveries and the like.Amazon says that the bot has been trained on its product catalog, along with customer reviews, community Q&As and public information found throughout the web. However, it hasn't disclosed what websites it pulled that public information from and to what end. It didn't even confirm that these were retail-adjacent websites.If you want to try it out, update to the latest version of the app and look for the colorful icon on the bottom-right. Maybe, if we all work hard enough at asking ridiculous questions, we can break it just in time for Amazon Prime Day.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-ai-chatbot-rufus-is-now-live-for-all-us-customers-190938911.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day is right around the corner so summer deal season is in full swing, including on some manufacturers' own storefronts. Ooni is running a flash sale at the minute and the company has slashed 20 percent off the price of some of its pizza ovens, including the Karu 12 and Koda 12. The Karu 12 has dropped to $239, which is $60 off the regular price. The Koda 12, meanwhile, is $80 off at $319. The sale runs until July 17. Ooni makes some of our picks for the best pizza ovens. While we generally recommend larger models, there's no harm in going for the Karu 12 or Koda 12 if you prefer to make smaller pies or want a more compact model for camping trips . The Karu is a multi-fuel oven that uses your choice of wood, charcoal or gas to cook pizzas. Bear in mind that you'll need to purchase a gas burner separately if you prefer that fuel. The Karu 12 doesn't come with a peel either, unfortunately. Ooni says the Karu 12 can reach temperatures of up to 950F or 500C and that it can hit the optimal baking temperature of 850F or 450C in just 15 minutes. From there, it'll take just 60 seconds to cook a pie. Along with baking pizzas, you can bake, roast and sear in the Karu 12. You can control the temperature by adjusting the airflow on the chimney. The oven weighs 26.lbs (12kg). As for the Koda 12, that's a gas-powered model that comes with a regulator and hose to hook up to your propane tank (you'll still need to buy a peel separately though). It's also more compact than the Karu 12, as it weighs 20.4lbs (9.25kg). Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ooni-flash-sale-includes-20-percent-off-karu-and-koda-pizza-ovens-180029123.html?src=rss

The life of an astronaut may sound like a glamorous career but it requires a lot of hard work and sacrifice. They have to spend weeks or even months at a time away from Earth, their loved ones and the warm embrace of gravity. They have to endure an endless stream of Tang" jokes. Sometimes they even have to drink recycled wastewater.We say sometimes" because not every drop of astronaut urine is recycled into palatable water. The urine they expel into their spacesuits is simply flushed away or discarded when they return to the spacecraft. A new space suit designed by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune novels could make spacewalks longer and less disgusting by recycling their expelled urine in a special filtration backpack. The research and design teams from both schools published a paper of their findings in the scientific journal Frontiers.These suits are referred to as stillsuits" in the Dune universe and can capture moisture to recycle it into drinkable water as soldiers trek and battle across the barren desert world of Arrakis. The real-life, proposed stillsuits do roughly the same thing. The new stillsuits have a vacuum-based external catheter leading to a combined forward-reverse osmosis unit" that astronauts carry on their back, says the study's lead author and research staff member Sofia Etlin in a press release.Karen MoralesThe suits were designed with future NASA space missions in mind including the Artemis II and Artemis III missions that will orbit the moon and touch down on its south pole in the next two years. NASA and Axiom Space have already approved a spacesuit design for its moon missions but it looks like this new filtration system could be added to them. The stillsuits can also be used for the manned Mars space mission in the early 2030s.The stillsuits will not only quench the astronauts' thirst during spacewalks but it will also make them more hygienic. The traditional NASA spacesuit design that's been in circulation since the 1970s only comes with a superabsorbent polymer to catch astronauts' urine. That means pretty much every astronaut who's gone on a space or moon walk has peed in their space pants.This outdated waste system has also led to hygiene and medical issues for astronauts like urinary tract infections (UTIs) and gastrointestinal problems. That's why you've never seen Paul Atreides struggling with diverticulitis.NASA hasn't officially adopted Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University's new spacesuit design for any of its upcoming space missions. We imagine that we'd urge NASA to fasttrack it if we had been on the International Space Station and ever had to endure a long spacewalk after drinking too much Tang.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-new-spacesuit-design-can-recycle-astronauts-urine-into-purified-drinkable-water-175235587.html?src=rss

Analogue just announced a forthcoming limited edition of its popular retro Pocket console. This one boasts an exterior made entirely out of attractive machined aluminum. It looks pretty dang cool. It also costs $500, which is almost $300 more than the non-aluminum Analogue Pocket.Analogue promises that every single piece" is entirely CNC'd from aluminum." The company also says it will be available in highly limited quantities'' with orders going live on July 15 at 11AM ET. Past as prologue, these limited editions sell out quickly. If you want one, make sure to set a reminder or an alarm to join the queue, as Analogue says these consoles will never be sold again. They will be available in four anodized colors, including natural metal, indigo and black.

AT&T just confirmed a massive data breach in 2022 that impacted nearly all" of its customers, according to a statement provided by TechCrunch. The company had over 110 million wireless subscribers in 2022 so, yeah, this is kind of a big deal.The data breach allowed hackers to steal phone numbers, text data and phone records from these people which, once again, comprises nearly the entire customer base, myself included. AT&T says it will begin notifying consumers about the breach in the near future, committing to informing the 110 impacted million customers. The breach occurred during a six-month period from May 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022, though it looks like some data kept getting stolen up until January 2, 2023. This latter breach impacts a smaller, though unspecified, number of consumers.Now, before you start worrying about that embarrassing text you sent an ex back in 2022, AT&T says the breach does not contain the content of calls or texts." However, it does include the phone numbers that an account interacted with, as well as a complete count of a customer's calls, texts and call durations, otherwise known as metadata. The time and date of the calls or texts were not included in the hack, according to AT&T.However, the breach did include cell site identification numbers, which could potentially allow for the triangulation of users' locations," wrote Javvad Malik, a representative from cybersecurity awareness firm KnowBe4, in a statement to Engadget. Malik also painted a grim picture of what could be done with the stolen metadata, writing that it can paint a detailed picture of an individual's daily life, habits, and associations, making it a valuable asset for those with malicious intent."AT&T has published a website with information for customers about the breach and has disclosed the hack in a regulatory filing issued before the market opened on Friday, July 12. The company says it learned of the issue on April 19 and that it has nothing to do with a previous security incident from March, in which customer data was published on the dark web.So how did this happen? AT&T places the blame on its cloud data partner Snowflake, saying that the compromise occurred after hacks targeted its business customers. Snowflake allows corporate customers to store large amounts of customer data in the cloud for the purpose of analysis. AT&T hasn't stated any reason as to why it would want to analyze massive amounts of customer data or why it would store this data with Snowflake. A company representative declined to provide further information to TechCrunch.One thing is certain. AT&T isn't the only company recently burned by a Snowflake hack. Other impacted companies include Ticketmaster and QuoteWizard, among more than 160 others. Snowflake, for its part, has shifted the blame back to AT&T and the others, saying that each organization didn't use multi-factor authentication to secure their accounts. So, all 160+ companies forgot to turn on multi-factor authentication? You'd think something like that would be mandatory when dealing with massive amounts of customer data but, well, I guess not.The breach has been tracked back to an uncategorized cybercriminal group known only as UNC5537, according to cybersecurity incident response firm Mandiant. That company suggests financial motivations behind the hack.Despite the breach, AT&T says that the stolen data isn't publicly available at this time. It's currently working with law enforcement and says that at least one person has been apprehended."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/massive-att-data-breach-impacted-nearly-every-single-customer-155346341.html?src=rss

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that the inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Games will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2025 as part of a 12-year partnership with the country's National Olympic Committee. The host city, venue(s) and dates are yet to be determined as are the games that will be included and the qualification process for each.The IOC says that international federations and national Olympic committees that are already involved in a digital version of their sport and esports in general will be its first options for partners. The organization took a similar approach to a trial event that took place last year, which saw players compete in the likes of Gran Turismo, Fortnite, Just Dance, Zwift and even mobile games barely anyone had ever heard of.That said, the IOC may be looking to bring other legitimately popular esports into the fold. According to L'Equipe, the organization is in talks with the publishers of Rocket League, Street Fighter and the biggest esport of all, League of Legends, to include those games. The Olympic Esports Games may take place every two years, with South Korea and the US said to be in discussions to host future installments.The IOC had been mulling for years whether to run an official esports event under its banner, and the organization is finally going for it. However, opting for Saudi Arabia as the inaugural Olympic Esports Games host is a contentious choice given the country's dismal human rights record.The nation has been using entertainment, sports and esports in an attempt to clean up its image. It's been plowing billions of dollars into esports and gaming companies, forging partnerships with publishers to run the pro circuits for certain games and hosting the Esports World Cup, which is currently taking place with a $60 million prize pool. A state-funded company now owns 40 percent of the esports market, according to a New York Times report.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-first-olympic-esports-games-will-take-place-in-saudi-arabia-in-2025-154637804.html?src=rss

X is the latest notable tech company to land in trouble with the European Union. The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, has revealed the preliminary findings of an investigation. It claims that X has violated the Digital Services Act (DSA) in a number of ways.The platform's approach to paid verification has come into the EU's crosshairs. Officials say that the practice does not correspond to industry practice and deceives users." It added that, since anyone can pay to get a blue checkmark, it's difficult for folks to determine the authenticity of accounts (a browser extension can tell you which accounts are verified because of notability and which paid for a checkmark). The EU also said there's evidence of bad actors using checkmarks to hoodwink people.X's problems with verification stem back several years. But at least when it was known as Twitter, the blue check was a (reasonably) reliable form of assurance that an account was the real deal. Paid checkmarks, and the increase in visibility that Premium users get, seems to have led to an increase in scams and spam - just as many predicted.Next up, the EU took issue with X's alleged lack of advertising transparency. It claimed the company doesn't have a reliable, searchable ad repository that enables researchers to look into emerging risks brought about by the distribution of advertising online."In addition, the EU said X is violating the DSA by failing to give researchers sufficient access to public data. In particular, X prohibits eligible researchers from independently accessing its public data, such as by scraping, as stated in its terms of service," the bloc argued in a statement. In the EU's view, researchers are either dissuaded from carrying out projects or forced to pay disproportionately high fees" to do so given the way that X has set up its application programming interfaces (APIs)."Back in the day, Blue Checks used to mean trustworthy sources of information. Now with X, our preliminary view is that they deceive users and infringe the DSA," Thierry Breton, the EU's internal market commissioner, said in a statement. "We also consider that X's ads repository and conditions for data access by researchers are not in line with the DSA transparency requirements. X has now the right of defense - but if our view is confirmed we will impose fines and require significant changes."If X is found guilty, it will face fines of up to six percent of its global annual revenue - so we may get a sense of just how much money the now privately held company is making these days. The EU may also direct X to take steps to ensure compliance with the DSA and impose further periodic fines if the company does not do so.The EU hasn't been shy in taking tech companies to task under the DSA and its sibling legislation, the Digital Markets Act. Meta and Apple could both be on the hook for multibillion-dollar fines if preliminary findings of investigations hold up.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-is-in-hot-water-in-the-eu-over-blue-checkmarks-and-ads-145003468.html?src=rss

I first started hitting arcades in the late '80s, and one of the first games I remember playing was the seminal 1987 beat-em-up Double Dragon. Probably not the most appropriate thing for a seven-year-old, but I pumped plenty of quarters into it and subsequently spent tons of time playing the NES port. After its late '80s / early '90s heyday, though, the Double Dragon series has gone through a number of weird iterations and revamps, and a new one based on the original game is set to arrive in 2025.Double Dragon Revive is produced by Japanese developer / publisher Arc System Works, who acquired the rights to Double Dragon back in 2015 after the original developer Techns went out of business. Unlike Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, which was released in 2023 and featured a very distinctive cartoonish style, Revive is leaning into an ultra-modern and more realistic vibe, relatively speaking.It reminds me a bit of recent Street Fighter games; similarly, the characters look like they have a greatly expanded set of moves to bash through the waves of bad guys. There isn't much detail on the game out there yet, though Arc System Works does note that this game isn't a pure button-masher, saying that it "requires adaptation and variety."Visual style isn't the only thing differentiating Revive from Rise of the Dragons. The 2023 game had ropuelike elements, 13 playable characters and a tag-team ability to let you swap between those characters. Revive, as the name suggests, will likely stick more to the tried-and-true Double Dragon formula. How much that'll resonate with players in 2025 remains to be seen, but there are surely enough nostalgic kids from the '80s out there who will give this one a shot. It'll be available for the PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Series X/S and on Steam.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-double-dragon-series-returns-yet-again-with-an-ultra-modern-tribute-to-the-original-game-142722631.html?src=rss

The European Union has published the full and final text for the EU AI Act in its Official Journal, as reported by TechCrunch. Since the new law will come into force 20 days after its publication, that means it will be enforceable starting on August 1. All its provisions will be fully applicable in two years' time, but some of them will be implemented much earlier than that.Six months from now, the bloc will start implementing bans on prohibited applications for AI, such as the use of social credit ranking systems, the collection and compilation of facial recognition information for databases, as well the use of real time emotion recognition systems in schools and workplaces.In nine months, the EU will start implementing codes of practice on AI developers. The EU AI Office established by the European Commission will work with consultancy firms to draft those codes. It also plans to work with companies that provide general-purpose models deemed to carry systemic risks. As TechCrunch notes, though, that raises concerns that the industry's biggest players will be able to shape the rules that are supposed to keep them in check.After a year, makers of general purpose AI models, such as ChatGPT, will have to comply with new transparency requirements and have to be able to demonstrate that their systems are safe and easily explainable to users. In addition to all those, the EU AI Act includes rules that apply to generative AI and manipulated media, such as making sure deepfakes and other AI-generated images, videos and audio are clearly labeled.Companies training their AI models will have to respect copyright laws, as well, unless their model is created purely for research and development. "Rightsholders may choose to reserve their rights over their works or other subject matter to prevent text and data mining, unless this is done for the purposes of scientific research," the AI Act's text reads. "Where the rights to opt out has been expressly reserved in an appropriate manner, providers of general-purpose AI models need to obtain an authorization from rightsholders if they want to carry out text and data mining over such works."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-eu-will-start-enforcing-its-new-ai-regulations-on-august-1-140037756.html?src=rss

Luke Muscat, the lead designer for Halfbrick Studios' Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, has announced a new game called Feed the Deep. This time, he's not backed by a studio and supported by colleagues: Feed the Deep is his first solo project after quitting his job. He calls the game a "Lovecraftian deep sea roguelike," because you take on the role of a diver who literally has to feed the eldritch horror lurking in the darkness of the ocean's depths.In the game, humanity built floating cities on the surface of the ocean without knowing about the threat living below. Your job is to feed whatever's living in the deep so that it doesn't destroy the cities. In its Steam page, Muscat said the game was "inspired by the likes of Dome Keeper and Spelunky." You'll have to collect resources in the darkness to be able to get upgrades and items, all while managing your oxygen to make sure you survive the dive. The caves you have to explore are procedurally generated so they will look different every time you play. You can also choose your play style, whether to go fast and aggressive, or to go slower and more relaxed.It's unclear if Feed the Deep will be available on non-PC platforms, but Muscat has only shared a Steam page for it so far. He's planning to release the game sometime this third quarter.

The Apple Vision Pro is now available for purchase in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Apple first expanded its availability in Asia by releasing it in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore back on June 28, which is also when it started taking pre-orders for Europe, Canada and Australia. Now if you're from those regions, you can can easily purchase the $3,500 headset from Apple anytime you want.Since the Vision Pro became available in the US in February, Apple has released more and more games on the App Store and Arcade for it, as well as new 3D films that you can access with an Apple TV+ subscription. The company also introduced Spatial Persona avatars, which takes your collaborators' avatars out of their restricted windows and places them right next to you in virtual space. It may sound creepy, but it's Apple's solution to making it feel more natural to work together and hang out on the Vision Pro.At WWDC this year, Apple debuted visionOS 2 for the headset, which will introduce spatial photos that provide depth to 2D images. What that means is, when you move your head while looking at a photo, you'll be able to see more details to the left and right of the original image. It will bring updated gesture controls to the headset, as well, letting you open the home view by holding you hand up then tapping and to bring up the time and battery details by flipping your hand over. Apple has already been beta testing the updated OS to prepare for its release, which is scheduled to take place sometime later this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-vision-pro-goes-on-sale-in-the-uk-canada-and-australia-123052740.html?src=rss

Tesla has introduced a Model 3 option with 363 miles of range that will cost less than $35,000 after federal tax credits. The Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive is now on Tesla's configurator with deliveries slated between July and August 2024.Performance-wise, it fits between the base model and Long Range AWD option, with a 125 MPH top speed and 0-60 time of 4.9 seconds. The AWD option is a $5,000 upgrade, though, so you're paying a lot for an extra 0.7 seconds of acceleration. For comparison, Hyundai's Ioniq 6 LR has roughly the same range and price, but isn't eligible for the federal EV tax credit.The Model 3 Long Range RWD is now Tesla's cheapest EV, if you take the tax credit into account. That's because the base $38,990 Model 3 RWD version uses lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries from CATL in China, so it's ineligible for any federal rebate.The new model arrives amid a decline in EV battery prices. The price for LFP cell in China dropped over 51 percent to $53 per kWh over the last year, Bloomberg recently reported. That in turn has led to LFP battery packs at $75 per kWh, meaning EVs can be priced the same or less than combustion vehicles in China. Western efforts to match China's battery production will only increase overcapacity and likely keep prices down.Early this year, Tesla launched its refreshed Model 3 in the US. The new version has some mild styling changes on the exterior, along with new interior materials, ventilated front seats, a 17-speaker audio system option and a new eight-inch rear display.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-brings-the-model-3-long-range-rwd-to-the-us-for-42490-120016482.html?src=rss

Joby Aviation says its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft successfully completed a 523-mile test flight, powered by hydrogen.The only byproduct from the prototype, which has a liquid hydrogen fuel cell and hydrogen-electric propulsion system, was water vapor. The company suggested the test flight points to a future of emissions-free regional aviation in an industry that still relies heavily on fossil fuels. But it would say that.This is apparently the first liquid hydrogen-powered eVTOL flight. Joby Aviation repurposed its existing battery-powered air taxi, installing a fuel tank that can store up to 40 kilograms of liquid hydrogen to reduce the battery load for the craft.Joby is set to start commercial operations of its air taxi as soon as 2025.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedHow false nostalgia inspired noplace, a Myspace-like app for Gen ZPS Plus members can try the Overwatch-like Concord this weekendFord revives the Capri after 30 years as a four-door EVYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Say goodbye to RedboxYes, it still existed. Thank you.It's the end of the line for Redbox and its DVD rental kiosks. Its parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late June but has shifted its filing from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, which means it intends to liquidate its business altogether. Redbox kiosks, typically in groceries and convenience stores, used to rent out movie DVDs and Blu-ray discs as well as video games.Continue reading.German Navy to replace its frigate fleet's outdated floppy disk systemDas Boot disk.Further back in time, now. The German navy is taking a leaf from Japan's government and ... upgrading its floppy disk drives. The country's fleet of submarine frigates has operated on old-fashioned 8-inch floppy disks (yeah - the big ones) since they were commissioned back in the 1990s. Replacing the floppy disk system won't be an easy task. These disks pretty much control everything on the ships from airflow systems to power generation.Continue reading.The backpack-sized Starlink Mini is now widely availableYou can get the Mini with a $150 or a $50 roaming plan.SpaceXSpaceX started offering select users its new Starlink dish model, small enough to fit in a backpack, in late June. Despite its easy-to-carry size, the Mini used to require an existing $150 standard service plan - you could only tack on the Mini Roam service for an additional $30 a month. Now, you can get it on its own with a roaming service.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-hydrogen-powered-air-taxi-completes-523-mile-test-111557165.html?src=rss

The German Navy is in need of a serious upgrade for its fleet of submarine frigates and we're not talking about a digital upload or some kind of software patch. The country's fleets of submarine frigates have operated on old-fashioned, 8-inch floppy disks since they were commissioned back in the 1990s.Now the German Navy is trying to find a way to replace the outdated disk system that are vital to the running of its Brandenburg class F123 frigates," according to Tom's Hardware.Replacing the floppy disk system won't be an easy task. These disks pretty much control everything on the ships from airflow systems to power generation. Does the German Navy still use Palm Pilots to organize its codewords and Tamagotchi to train its recruits in marine wildlife preservation?Saab has been in charge of maintenance for Germany's F123 frigate fleet since 2021, according to a press release. The frigates are designed to hunt for submarines so they're also getting upgrades for its weapons and weapon control systems. Hopefully, they'll also throw in one of those cool, luxurious night panel dashboards for free.A lot of government institutions and programs have been on the floppy disk system for decades and long after the outdated computer storage system has fallen out of general use. Japan's Digital Agency announced at the beginning of the month that it eliminated the use of floppy disks in its government systems. Does that mean that somewhere in the world, a core government agency is still using those Commodore cassette tapes to store its most vital data? Let's hope those disks aren't tied to nuclear weapons access... like they were in the US.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/german-navy-looks-to-replace-its-outdated-floppy-disk-system-for-its-frigate-fleet-211609734.html?src=rss

Firewalk Studios' upcoming debut game, the 5v5 team shooter Concord, is opening up to all PlayStation Plus members this weekend. Pre-order customers and PS Plus subscribers can try the multiplayer FPS beginning on Friday, July 12, at noon ET.The beta window for the PS5 and PC game was initially only meant for pre-order customers. (If you already reserved the game, you'll still get beta access and codes for friends, whether you subscribe to PS Plus or not.) Opening it up to PlayStation Plus members gives developer Firewalk Studios and publisher PlayStation Studios the bonuses of extra player feedback, server stress tests and the chance to catch bugs and work on balancing. And, of course, it lets them build extra hype for the new IP.All 16 characters (Freegunners" with somewhat nontraditional roles) will be unlocked and available during the Early Access weekend, which ends on July 14. PS5 players can pre-download the Concord Beta starting Thursday at noon ET. Meanwhile, an Open Beta will invite anyone to try the FPS next weekend (July 18 at noon ET through July 21).Firewalk Studios / PlayStation StudiosThree game modes will be available during the Early Access this weekend. These include Clash Point (round-based, no-respawn matches where you try to capture a zone), Trophy Hunt (a respawn-based bounty-collecting mode) and Cargo Run (no-respawn mode where you retrieve a package, plant it in a zone and defend it). You can try four maps in the preview: Freewater, Star Chamber, Water Hazard and Shock Risk.Next week's Concord Open Beta will add a new mode, Area Control (teams compete to control zones with respawns enabled), and another map, the ominous-sounding Bone Mines.The developers say your rewards will carry over from this weekend's Early Access to next weekend's Open Beta, but none will transfer to the game's launch on August 23. Firewalk Studios listed the beta's supported PC specs in its announcement blog post, although it cautions those could change before the final version.Firewalk Studios is a Sony-owned team founded by (among others) three Bungie veterans who worked on the Destiny franchise. Others at the studio hail from Respawn, Activision and BioWare, fleshing out the team's multiplayer shooter credentials. With Concord, the developers appear to borrow elements from Overwatch, Destiny and Halo while adding nontraditional player classes and narrative and character elements similar to Guardians of the Galaxy.Concord arrives on August 23 for PS5 and PC. You can check out the gameplay trailer below.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ps-plus-members-can-try-the-overwatch-like-concord-this-weekend-171557607.html?src=rss

Samsung wrapped up its summer Galaxy Unpacked event yesterday, and there weren't too many surprises. Leaks before the event pointed to fresh Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold phones, along with a pair of new watches and more info on the Galaxy Ring. What we got was... announcements of the Galaxy Z Flip 6, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the Galaxy Watch 7, the Galaxy Watch Ultra and a proper unveil of the Galaxy Ring. Leakers - is there anything they can't do?Perhaps the one surprise was news from Google that WearOS 5 will debut on the new Galaxy Watches before coming to over products later. If you want to relive the not-much-drama as it happened, you can either read back through our liveblog or watch a replay of Samsung's stream. If you don't have time for all that, we've rounded up all of the news in an easily digestible form below.Galaxy RingPhoto by Sam Rutherford / EngadgetKicking things off is a brand new product category for Samsung: a smart ring. The company had already made it clear that this device (much like the Oura Ring) is focused on health and wellness, and now we've got a clearer idea of how that might work, as well as how much you'll need to pay to snap up the Galaxy Ring.Samsung claims it's been able to cram its existing sensor tech into the smaller form factor of a ring. The titanium Galaxy Ring has an accelerometer, PPG sensors to measure blood flow and skin temperature detection. It can track metrics such as sleep score, movement during your slumber, heart rate, respiratory rate and menstrual cycles. Samsung will give you an overall Energy Score to help give you a snapshot of your overall health and offer suggestions on how to improve things. There's no subscription required for any of this, by the way, which is welcome news.Along with automatic workout detection, the ring can deliver heart rate alerts and nudge you to move around a little if it hasn't picked up much movement from you recently. Oh, and you can use the smart ring to remotely snap a photo with your Galaxy phone.The Galaxy Ring, which is said to run for up to seven days on a single charge and has a quick charging case, will run you $400. Pre-orders start today in the US. The wearable will start shipping on July 24. One other thing worth noting is that if you wear a Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch together, the battery life of the former will last for up to 30 percent longer, Samsung claims.Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetSamsung's foldable phones are getting their annual refresh just in time to take them to the beach, perhaps to test how well those creases hold up these days. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 are the slimmest and lightest models in their respective lineups yet, and Samsung says they're more durable than ever. The company says there's a strengthened folding edge to help support the dual-rail hinge, while "enhanced layers" for the main screen help improve the crease without diminishing strength. Both smartphones have Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to help make them more durable too.The handsets run on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. On the cooling front, the Z Fold 6 has a larger vapor chamber than its predecessor. The Z Flip 6 is the first Z Flip to include a vapor chamber, which should improve cooling.Because it's 2024, the phones have a ton of AI features (some of which appeared in the Galaxy Ultra S24), including a fully integrated Google Gemini app. They can generate a more detailed image based on a sketch and draft emails based on a prompt, while there are a bunch of AI-powered camera upgrades.One admittedly cool feature for the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 is that the Interpreter app makes the most of the dual screen format, so both the main and cover screens feature translations with the aim of fostering more natural conversations. The translations are handled on-device, rather than through the cloud.Speaking of the displays, those are slightly larger this year. The 7.6-inch main screen is 2.7mm wider, while the cover screen is 1mm wider. At 2,600 nits, the displays are also the brightest seen on a Galaxy Fold, matching that of the Galaxy S24.When it comes to the Z Flip 6, one of the major upgrades is a new camera system. The foldable boasts 50MP wide and 12MP ultra-wide sensors (the same as the base Galaxy S24). The former has 2x optical zoom with artificial intelligence powering a zoom function of up to 10x. Samsung has also bumped up the base memory from 8GB to 12GB.Both smartphones are available to pre-order today and general availability starts on July 24. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 starts at $1,900, while the Z Flip 6 starts at $1,100. Those who pre-order a Z Fold 6 will get a storage bump from 256GB to 512GB or 512GB to 1TB, while you can get a free 256GB to 512GB storage increase with a Galaxy Z Flip 6 pre-order.If you're interested in finding out more about the devices before taking the plunge though, you may be pleased to learn that we've had some hands-on time with them. You can read our first impressions of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 now or watch the video above.Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch UltraPhoto by Sam Rutherford / EngadgetOf all the possible words Samsung could have chosen for its new premium smartwatch, it had to plump for "Ultra." It's not like any of Samsung's major competitors has a smartwatch bearing that moniker or anything.Anyway, there's a new high-end Samsung smartwatch in town and it's called the Galaxy Watch Ultra. The Wear OS 5-powered device employs a new cushion design to bolster protection and what Samsung calls "visual completeness." The Watch Ultra is designed for durability, perhaps with extreme athletes in mind.For one thing, it's said to work at a wider range of altitudes, from 500 meters below sea level to 9,000 meters above it. It's water resistant to a depth of 100 meters and has a titanium frame. Adventurers should not have to worry about the device running out of juice in a hurry as Samsung says it will run for up to 100 hours in power saving mode and 48 hours when exercise power saving is enabled. Either way, it should have the longest battery life of any Galaxy Watch.Other features include multi-course workout tracking (for things like triathlons), advanced Personalized Heart Rate Zone and an emergency siren to bolster safety. The screen has a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, so it should be visible in very sunny conditions, and there's a night mode too. Samsung says the Galaxy Watch Ultra can even look for signs of sleep apnea. On top of all that, there's a new programmable Quick Button.For those who just want the latest Samsung smartwatch without too many bells and whistles, there's the Galaxy Watch 7. This model is the first with a 3nm processor, which Samsung says can deliver three times faster CPU performance and 30 percent better power efficiency. It has a dual-frequency GPS system to boost location accuracy, health tracking upgrades and the ability to control the device via double pinch gestures. Hmm, where have we heard that one before?The Galaxy Watch Ultra is only available in a 47mm size and costs $650. As for the Galaxy Watch 7, that comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes. It starts at $300. It's the same deal as with all the other new gear: pre-orders are open now with shipments and general availability starting on July 24.We've also had the chance to go hands on with the Galaxy Watch Ultra, so you can read all about our first impressions of Samsung's stab at a higher-end smartwatch.Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 ProPhoto by Sam Rutherford / EngadgetWe have some new Galaxy Buds to go with the ring, watches and foldables. When the Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro are paired with a Z Flip 6 or Z Fold 6, the Interpreter app can translate audio live into your ears. That might be helpful for anyone studying abroad or taking a foreign language class.Both models use their mics to analyze internal and external sound to optimize audio quality and active noise cancellation. The Buds 3 Pro can automatically adjust for noise via the adaptive noise control, siren detect and voice detect features.The in-ear Buds 3 Pro have a new blade (i.e. stem) design with lights built in. You'll be able to control the audio by pinching or swiping up or down. They boast dual amplifiers, planar tweeters and a super-wideband call feature too.Once again, pre-orders for the earbuds are open today, with general availability starting on July 24. Galaxy Buds 3 start at $180, while a pair of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro will run you $250.Catch up on all the news from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked 2024 here!Update, July 11, 1PM ET: This story was updated after publishing to include links to the Samsung store and more links and references to Engadget's stories from the Galaxy Unpacked event.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-unpacked-2024-everything-announced-including-galaxy-ring-z-fold-6-z-flip-6-galaxy-watch-ultra-and-more-141618394.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day is nearly here, with an official start date of July 16. However, early deals are already going live. For instance, Prime members can pick up two months of Paramount+ with Showtime for $12. This works out to $6 per month, which is a savings of 50 percent. This deal may only exist for Prime members, but it does apply to those who sign up for a free trial. So if you've been wanting to give Prime a try, this is a pretty good time to do so. Opting for this subscription allows access to two streaming platforms. Paramount+ is home to dad-friendly shows like Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown, but also that Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff Knuckles, Halo and a lot more. It's also, sort of, home to all of Star Trek, even if the latest season of Star Trek: Prodigy just released on Netflix. Showtime is HBO's younger and scrappier sibling. It airs all kinds of modern prestige dramas, like Billions, Yellowjackets and the criminally underrated On Becoming a God in Central Florida. It's also the network that originally premiered classics like Dexter, Shameless, The L Word and Homeland, among others. Finally, it's the only place to watch Twin Peaks: The Return, which is pretty much the best thing ever. If you aren't a Prime member and still want this deal, you can sign up directly through Paramount. However, Amazon makes it pretty convenient to keep track of your subscriptions via its channels platform. To that end, the company has also discounted some other streamers. Starz, home to Outlander and Party Down, is $2 for two months. MGM+, which currently airs a pretty neat genre show called From, is also $2 for 60 days. No matter which option you go with, make sure to keep track of when you signed up. This ensures you can cancel before the price bounces back up, if you aren't digging the content. Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-prime-members-can-get-two-months-of-paramount-with-showtime-for-only-12-165933773.html?src=rss

Already fascinated with y2k-era tech, some members of Gen Z have wondered what those early, simpler social networks were like. Now, they can get an idea thanks to a new app called noplace, which recreates some aspects of Myspace more than a decade after its fall from the most-visited site in the US.The app officially launched earlier this month and briefly made the No. 1 spot in Apple's App Store. Dreamed up by Gen Z founder Tiffany Zhong, noplace bills itself as both a throwback and an alternative to mainstream social media algorithms and the creator culture that comes with them. I missed how social media used to be back in the day ... where it was actually social, people would post random updates about their life," Zhong tells Engadget. You kind of had a sense of where people were in terms of time and space."Though Zhong says she never got to experience Myspace firsthand - she was in elementary school during its early 2000s peak - noplace manages to nail many of the platform's signature elements. Each user starts with a short profile where they can add personal details like their relationship status and age, as well a free-form about me" section. Users can also share their interests and detail what they're currently watching, playing, reading and listening to. And, yes, they can embed song clips. There's even a top 10" for highlighting your best friends (unclear if Gen Z is aware of how much trauma that particular Myspace feature inflicted on my generation).Myspace, of course, was at its height years before smartphone apps with a unified design language" became the dominant medium for browsing social media. But the highly customizable noplace profiles still manage to capture the vibe of the bespoke HTML and clashing color schemes that distinguished so many Myspace pages and websites on the early 2000s internet.noplaceThere are other familiar features. All new users are automatically friends with Zhong, which she confirms is a nod to Tom Anderson, otherwise known as Myspace Tom." And the app encourages users to add their interests, called stars," and search for like-minded friends.Despite the many similarities - the app was originally named nospace" - Zhong says noplace is about more than just recreating the look and feel of Myspace. The app has a complicated gamification scheme, where users are rewarded with in-app badges for reaching different levels" as they use the app more. This system isn't really explained in the app - Zhong says it's intentionally vague" - but levels loosely correspond to different actions like writing on friends' walls and interacting with other users' posts. There's also a massive Twitter-like central feed where users can blast out quick updates to everyone else on the app.It can feel a bit chaotic, but early adopters are already using it in some unexpected ways, according to Zhong. Around 20% in the past week of posts have been questions," she says, comparing it to the trend of Gen Z using TikTok and YouTube as a search engine. The vision for what we're building is actually becoming a social search engine. Everyone thinks it's like a social network, but because people are asking questions already ... we're building features where you can ask questions and you can get crowdsourced responses."That may sound ambitious for a (so far) briefly-viral social app, but noplace has its share of influential backers. Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian is among the company's investors. And Zhong herself once made headlines in her prior role as a teenage analyst at a prominent VC firm.For now, though, noplace feels more to me like a Myspace-inspired novelty, though I'm admittedly not the target demographic. But, as someone who was a teenager on actual Myspace, I often think that I'm grateful my teen years came long before Instagram or TikTok. Not because Myspace was simpler than today's social media, but because logging off was so much easier.Zhong sees the distinction a little differently, not as a matter of dial-up connections enforcing a separation between on and offline, but a matter of prioritizing self expression cover clout. You're just chasing follower count versus being your true self," Zhong says. It makes sense how social networks have evolved that way, but it's media platforms. It's not a social network anymore."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-false-nostalgia-inspired-noplace-a-myspace-like-app-for-gen-z-163813099.html?src=rss

YouTube is continuing its mission to compete with Instagram and TikTok. The platform has announced new features on Shorts, notably including an "Add yours" sticker. That's right, it seems to be pretty much the same tool that Instagram launched in 2021, and you'll have seen with prompts like "the most recent photo in your camera roll" or "the first photo of you and your partner."In this case, YouTube recommends you create prompts like showing off your dog's newest trick to "inspire your audience" and spark "a chain reaction of adorable content." The sticker looks nearly identical to Instagram's, so if you use it there, it should be an easy transition. This new-to-YouTube sticker should roll out across Shorts over the next few weeks.YouTubeYouTube has also announced you can soon add and edit auto-generated captions on Shorts. You can choose between various colors and fonts to make captions blend in better with your videos. Again, you will recognize this from Instagram, but let's be honest: there's very little reinventing the wheel on social media these days, so it's nice to have options regardless of your platform of choice.Similarly, YouTube is also rolling out a Text to Speech feature on Shorts. The tool lets you add text after recording a Short and then click the "Add voice" icon at the top left of your screen. From there, YouTube provides four voices you can pick from for the narration.The last update coming to Youtube Shorts is for Android users. Soon, Auto layout will be available on Android, allowing you to track the subject of your video as you create it. You can hear about all of these updates directly from the YouTube team below.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-shorts-gets-instagrams-add-yours-prompt-stickers-160002525.html?src=rss