Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

When Honor's Magic V2 first showed up some seven months ago, we were left impressed with its sub-1cm folded thickness. The company has since picked up where Huawei left off and joined forces with Porsche Design, with the first result being a special edition foldable phone, the "Magic V2 RSR" ("RSR" stands for "RennSport Rennwagen," which translates to "racing sport racing car"). Porsche fans may recognize several attributes here that pay homage to the automotive brand, including the iconic agate gray along with a flyline running down the middle of the body - supposedly resembling the Porsche 911's hood. The rear camera island has also been upgraded with a dark titanium frame to go with its bolder trapezoidal redesign.The Magic V2 RSR retains the same dimensions, measuring 9.9mm thick when folded and 4.7mm when opened, ensuring it remains the world's thinnest foldable phone. The extra decoration adds 3 grams over the base model, reaching 234 grams (about 8.25 oz) which still beats the likes of the OnePlus Open, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Google's Pixel Fold, largely thanks to Honor's mix of titanium alloy and proprietary steel in its hinge design - this is apparently certified to last for at least 400,000 folds. As a bonus, the Magic V2 line's 5,000mAh battery capacity is larger than the competition, thanks to its more energy-dense silicon-carbon cells. The trade-off here is the missing wireless charging, but you do get 66W of wired fast charging, which takes around 50 minutes to go from zero to 100 percent.The Magic V2 RSR is still powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, but with storage option limited to just 1TB to go with the 16GB of RAM. The rest of the spec sheet is identical for both Magic V2 variants. For displays, you get a 7.92-inch 2,344 x 2,156 foldable OLED screen (with a barely-noticeable crease) and a 6.43-inch 2,376 x 1,060 exterior OLED display, with their brightness going up to 1,600 nits and 2,500 nits, respectively. For audio, this Android phone comes equipped with "IMAX Enhanced" stereo speakers, whereas phone calls leverage the device's three-mic system for better voice reception. As is the case with most foldables, the fingerprint reader is integrated into the side-mounted power button.The rear "Falcon Camera System" consists of a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide shooter and a 20-megapixel telephoto camera (2.5x zoom), whereas a 16-megapixel punch-hole selfie camera sits at the top of both screens. Both the rear and front cameras support up to 4K resolution for video recording.It should come as no surprise that the Magic V2 RSR boxset packs some extra goodies, namely an active stylus, its own carrying case and a spare 66W charger. The special protection case is wrapped in a stitched dark gray vegan leather, though compared to the normal version, it's missing out on a kickstand - a feature I struggle to live without when it comes to foldable phones.Photo by Richard Lai / EngadgetLike the base model, the Magic V2 RSR will also be headed to global markets, though the prices are under wraps until MWC later this month. For reference, the Magic V2 RSR retails for 15,999 yuan or about $2,220 in China, but expect a huge bump for international pricing. The regular Magic V2 - only available in 512GB flavor for international markets - is priced at 1,700 ($2,140) in the UK and 1,999 ($2,150) in Europe, but the China version and Hong Kong version (also international firmware) cost around $1,400 only. It's no wonder that some savvy consumers would rather import smartphones from overseas, despite the lack of local warranty services.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-worlds-thinnest-foldable-phone-gets-a-porsche-design-makeover-104537565.html?src=rss

Nintendo's "Switch 2" was widely expected to arrive sometime this year, but a new rumor is putting that timeline into question. Now, the company is telling publishers that the next-gen console is slated for release in the first quarter of 2025, according to VGC, Eurogamer and other sources. That would line up with the release of the original Switch, which was announced in October 2016 but came out in March 2017.Publishers were reportedly briefed recently on the launch date change from late 2024 to early 2025. Several sources said they were working on Switch 2 games with releases planned for early 2025. One key title could be the long-delayed Metroid Prime 4, which is still on Nintendo's release schedule but has no specific date attached.Earlier this month, Nintendo slightly bumped its fiscal 2024 Switch sales forecast from 15 million to 15.5 million, compared to 18 million and 23 million in 2022 and 2021. Nintendo's stock slid today based on the release delay rumors, according to Reuters.Not much is known about the future device, including the name. Rumors suggest it will have backward compatibility with Switch, along with 4K capabilities and visual quality similar to that of the PS5 and Series X. In any case, this year is bound to be a busy one for the company - if the new console does launch in Q1 2025, it'll likely be announced at a Nintendo Direct showcase later this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nintendos-switch-2-may-not-arrive-until-2025-090934042.html?src=rss

The Biden administration plans to loosen the limits on tailpipe emissions proposed last year by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), giving automakers more time before they'll be required to sell significantly more electric vehicles than gas-powered cars, The New York Times reported this weekend. Under the proposed regulations laid out by the EPA, EVs would have to account for 67 percent of new car and light-duty truck sales by 2032.Rather than forcing manufacturers to start ramping up EV sales right away, the changes would allow them to make the shift more gradually through the remainder of the 2020s, sources told the NYT. After 2030, though, EV sales would need to drastically increase. Automakers have argued that the current cost of electric vehicles and the lack of charging infrastructure stand in the way of hitting such extreme targets as those proposed by the EPA. Last year, just 7.6 percent of new cars sold in the US were EVs, per NYT.The revision is likely a move in part to appease labor unions, which represent a demographic seen as a key area of support for Biden and have expressed a need for more time to unionize new EV plants among other concerns, according to NYT. The rules are not yet finalized, but are expected to be published in the spring.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/biden-administration-may-give-automakers-more-time-to-shift-to-evs-215625805.html?src=rss

Astroscale's ADRAS-J spacecraft, a demonstration satellite that could inform future space junk cleanup efforts, is now in orbit after a successful launch from New Zealand on Sunday. The satellite was sent to space atop an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab. Its mission, which was selected by Japan's space agency (JAXA) for Phase I of the Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration program, will see ADRAS-J rendezvous with an old Japanese rocket upper stage that's been in orbit since 2009.

Apple may be facing a fine of roughly $539 million (500 million euros) from the EU and a ban on its alleged anti-competitive App Store practices for music streaming services, according to FT. The publication, which cites five unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, reports that the European Commission will announce its ruling early next month.The probe stems from a 2019 antitrust complaint filed by Spotify and is focused on App Store rules that at the time prevented developers from directing customers to alternative subscription options outside the app, which could be cheaper as they wouldn't have to compensate for Apple's 30 percent fee. Apple later loosened these restrictions. According to FT, the Commission will say Apple broke EU antitrust law and created unfair trading conditions" for its rivals with the App Store's anti-steering obligations."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-eu-is-reportedly-set-to-hit-apple-with-a-539-million-fine-in-antitrust-probe-162106781.html?src=rss

Intuitive Machines' lunar lander is well on its way to the moon after launching without a hitch on Thursday, but it managed to snap a few incredible images of Earth while it was still close to home. The company shared the first batch of images from the IM-1 mission on X today after confirming in an earlier post that the spacecraft is in excellent health." Along with a view of Earth and some partial selfies of the Nova-C lander, nicknamed Odysseus, you can even see the SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage falling away in the distance after separation.

If extreme challenges are your cup of tea, NASA has the perfect opportunity for you. The space agency put out a call on Friday for volunteers to participate in its second yearlong simulated Mars mission, the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA 2). For the duration of the mission, which will start in spring 2025, the four selected crew members will be housed in a 1,700-square-foot 3D-printed habitat in Houston. NASA is accepting applications on the CHAPEA website from now through April 2. It's a paid gig, but NASA hasn't publicly said how much participants will be compensated.The Mars Dune Alpha habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center is designed to simulate what life might be like for future explorers on the red planet, where the environment is harsh and resources will be limited. There's a crew currently living and working there as part of the first CHAPEA mission, which is now more than halfway through its 378-day assignment. During their stay, volunteers will perform habitat maintenance and grow crops, among other tasks. The habitat also has a 1,200-square-foot sandbox attached to it for simulated spacewalks.To be considered, applicants must be a US citizen aged 30-55, speak English proficiently and have a master's degree in a STEM field, plus at least two years of professional experience, a minimum of one thousand hours piloting an aircraft or two years of work toward a STEM doctoral program. Certain types of professional experience may allow applicants without a master's to qualify too. CHAPEA 2 is the second of three mission NASA has planned for the program, the first of which began on June 25, 2023.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasa-is-looking-for-volunteers-to-live-in-its-mars-simulation-for-a-year-172926396.html?src=rss

Sometimes, timing ruins things. Take this week, instead of detailing the disgust I feel towards this 'meaty' rice, this week's Morning After sets its sights on Mark Zuckerberg, the multimillionaire who's decided to review technology now. Does he know that's my gig?The Meta boss unfavorably compared Apple's new Vision Pro to his company's Meta Quest 3 headset, which is a delightfully hollow and petty reason to 'review' something. But hey, I had to watch it. And now maybe, you'll watch me?We also look closer at Waymo's disastrous December, where two of its robotaxis collided with a truck. The ... same truck.This week:: Zuckerberg thinks the Quest 3 is a 'better product' than the Vision Pro: Waymo robotaxis crash into the same pickup truck, twice: United Airlines grounds new Airbus fleet over no smoking sign lawRead this:GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy group, has published its first annual report on the video game industry. It found that nearly 20 percent of all players in the United States identify as LGBTQ, yet just 2 percent of games contain characters and storylines relevant to this community. And half of those might be Baldur's Gate 3 alone. (I half-joke.) The report notes that not only does representation matter to many LGBTQ players, but also that new generations of gamers are only becoming increasingly more open to queer content regardless of their sexual orientation. We break down the full report here.Like email more than video? Subscribe right here for daily reports, direct to your inbox.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-zuckerbergs-vision-pro-review-and-robotaxis-crashing-twice-into-same-truck-150021958.html?src=rss

Some Wyze camera owners have reported that they were suddenly given access to cameras that weren't theirs and even got notifications for events inside other people's homes. Wyze cofounder David Crosby has confirmed the issue to The Verge, telling the publications that "some users were able to see thumbnails of cameras that were not their own in the Events tab." Users started seeing strangers' camera feeds in their accounts after an outage that Wyze said was caused by an Amazon Web Services problem.Crosby wrote in a post on the Wyze forum that the company's servers got overloaded, which corrupted some user data, after the outage. The security issue that resulted from that event then allowed users to "see thumbnails of cameras that were not their own in the Events tab." Users couldn't view those videos and could only see their thumbnails, he clarified, and they were not able to view live streams from other people's cameras. Wyze was able to identify 14 incidents before taking down the Events tab altogether.The company said it's going to notify all affected users and that it has forcibly logged out everyone who've recently used the Wyze app in order to reset tokens. "We will explain in more detail once we finish investigating exactly how this happened and further steps we will take to make sure it doesn't happen again," Crosby added.While the company doesn't have a detailed explanation for what happened yet, its swift confirmation of the incident is a huge departure from how it previously dealt with a security flaw. Back in 2022, cybersecurity firm Bitdefender revealed that in March 2019, it informed Wyze of a major security vulnerability in the Wyze Cam v1 model. The company didn't inform customers about the flaw, however, and didn't even issue a fix until three years later.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wyze-camera-security-issue-allowed-users-to-see-other-owners-homes-140059114.html?src=rss

Ever posted or left a comment on Reddit? Your words will soon be used to train an artificial intelligence companies' models, according to Bloomberg. The website signed a deal that's "worth about $60 million on an annualized basis" earlier this year, it reportedly told potential investors ahead of its expected initial public offering (IPO). Bloomberg didn't name the "large AI company" that's paying Reddit millions for access to its content, but their agreement could apparently serve as a model for future contracts, which could mean more multi-million deals for the firm.Reddit first announced that it was going to start charging companies for API access in April last year. It said at the time that pricing will be split in tiers so that even smaller clientele could afford to pay. Companies need that API access to be able to train their chatbots on posts and comments - a lot of which had been written by real people over the past 18 years - from subreddits on a wide variety of topics. However, that API is also used by other developers, including those providing users with third-party clients that are arguably better than Reddit's official app. Thousands of communities shut down last year in protest and even caused stability issues that affected the whole website.Reddit could go public as soon as next month with a $5 billion valuation. As Bloomberg notes, the website could convince investors still on fence to take the leap by showing them that it can make big money and grow its revenue through deals with AI companies. The firms behind generative AI technologies are working to update their large language models or LLMs through various partnerships, after all. OpenAI, for instance, already inked an agreement that would give it the right to use Business Insider and Politico articles to train its AI models. It's also in talks with several publishers, including CNN, Fox Corp and Time, Bloomberg says.OpenAI is facing several lawsuits that accuse it of using content without the express permission of copyright holders, though, including one filed by The New York Timesin December. The AI company previously told Engadget that the lawsuit was unexpected, because it had ongoing "productive conversations" with the publication for a "high-value partnership."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/reddit-reportedly-signed-a-multi-million-content-licensing-deal-with-an-ai-company-124516009.html?src=rss

Amazon, a company that employs more than 1.54 million people, has claimed that the National Labor Relations Board Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency responsible for protecting the rights of workers, is unconstitutional. Amazon made the claim in a legal document filed on Thursday as part of a case in which prosecutors from the Board have accused the e-commerce giant of discrimination against workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island who had voted to unionize, according to The New York Times.

A coalition of 20 tech companies signed an agreement Friday to help prevent AI deepfakes in the critical 2024 elections taking place in more than 40 countries. OpenAI, Google, Meta, Amazon, Adobe and X are among the businesses joining the pact to prevent and combat AI-generated content that could influence voters. However, the agreement's vague language and lack of binding enforcement call into question whether it goes far enough.The list of companies signing the Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections" includes those that create and distribute AI models, as well as social platforms where the deepfakes are most likely to pop up. The signees are Adobe, Amazon, Anthropic, Arm, ElevenLabs, Google, IBM, Inflection AI, LinkedIn, McAfee, Meta, Microsoft, Nota, OpenAI, Snap Inc., Stability AI, TikTok, Trend Micro, Truepic and X (formerly Twitter).The group describes the agreement as a set of commitments to deploy technology countering harmful AI-generated content meant to deceive voters." The signees have agreed to the following eight commitments:

Epic Games just announced that Apple has finally reinstated its iOS developer account in the European Union. This means that the developer plans to launch a digital storefront for iOS devices sometime this year. More importantly, this will allow users to easily download Fortnite on iPhones.The company revealed that it would be bringing its games store and Fortnite to iOS back in January, but it wasn't clear if Apple would grant it a developer account. This account makes it much easier for developers to distribute apps and content across Apple's various platforms.

Engadget has always been a scrappy team, but there are only so many news stories, reviews, reports and buying guides our staff can write in a given week. As such, we're looking to add some reliable contributing writers to our team who know their way around the tech space and can turn around some fast, clean copy to boot. We are looking for writers across a variety of disciplines: short-form news writing, product reviews and buying guides (what some will call best lists," but frankly, we prefer the term guides).You don't have to fit all three of those boxes to apply. If you're looking to contribute to our news desk specifically, the hours we most need help are the very long stretch from 7AM ET to 7PM ET. As such, it would probably be helpful if you were based in North America, or even the UK or Europe. For reviews, features and buying guides, it really doesn't matter where you're based so long as you do great work.What we're looking for:

8BitDo's Nintendo-inspired wireless mechanical keyboard is currently on sale on Amazon for up to 15 percent off. Launched in 2023, the Retro Mechanical Keyboard is an ode to Nintendo's consoles from the 1980s: the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Nintendo Famicom. Right now, you can order the Fami Edition (Famicom-inspired) keyboard for $85.49 or the N Edition (NES-inspired) model for $90. Both are record-low prices for the popular accessory.The 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard has colors that match Nintendo's 8-bit consoles nearly perfectly. The N Edition samples the NES' familiar off-white, dark gray, black and red color scheme. Meanwhile, the Fami Edition draws from the Famicom's white and crimson. The latter even honors the Famicom's regional status with Japanese characters below the keys' English markings.The wireless keyboards include a separate Super Buttons" accessory -two huge red or crimson buttons just begging to be mashed. They connect to the keyboard through its 3.5mm jack and are programmable through 8BitDo's Ultimate Software.8BitDoThe keyboard's power indicator and dials fit the accessory's old-school motif, and you can even customize the keys using Kailh Box White Switches V2. You can also swap out the Super Buttons, which use Gatreon Green Switches.The keyboard has 87 keys and works in Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless and USB wired modes. Its 2,000mAh battery lasts an estimated 200 hours of use and takes about four hours to charge. Although the accessories are only advertised as working with Windows and Android, 8BitDo told Engadget last year that it works with macOS, too.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/8bitdos-nintendo-inspired-retro-mechanical-keyboard-is-cheaper-than-ever-right-now-173936701.html?src=rss

While it's not quite on the level of Black Friday, there are often solid bargains to be found over President's Day weekend. Case in point: several iPad models are on sale. There's a particularly good deal on the 10th-gen iPad, which is $100 off to match a record low price of $349 at both Amazon and Best Buy.We gave the 10th-gen iPad a score of 85 in our late-2022 review. This base variant does not include a cellular connection and it uses the A14 Bionic chip rather than one of Apple's more powerful silicon chipsets. It also has a relatively paltry 64GB of storage. Still, as an entry-level iPad for browsing the web, catching up on emails and watching video on that capable 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, the 10th-gen model more than does the trick.If you have a compatible router and decent internet plan, you should get fairly zippy connectivity from this iPad thanks to its Wi-Fi 6 support. The first-gen Apple Pencil works with the tablet as well to help you sketch or doodle on the screen.If you don't mind making some tradeoffs to save some more cash, you can instead pick up the 9th-gen iPad for a near-record low of $249. This model still has a Home button (Apple moved Touch ID to the lock button on the 10th-gen tablet), meaning it has a smaller display of 10.2 inches. While it has a slower A13 bionic chip, the 9th-gen iPad is still a solid option for basic tasks.Last but not least, the fifth-gen iPad Air is on sale too. The price has dropped to a record low of $449 if you opt for the purple variant. Although the storage remains at 64GB, the iPad Air offers a significant upgrade over the standard iPads, since it uses Apple's more powerful M1 chip. It supports the more feature-filled 2nd-gen Apple Pencil as well.It's worth noting that Apple certainly has iPad upgrades in the pipeline. The company may refresh the lineup as soon as next month. But if you can't (or don't want to) wait, these are still good deals.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/apples-10th-gen-ipad-is-100-off-matching-a-record-low-172828162.html?src=rss

Waiting on hold is a great way to hear the same weird instrumental song over and over again, but otherwise it's an absolute waste of time. Google originally tackled the issue on its Pixel phones back in 2020 via the Hold for Me" tool, which would wait in the queue and alert you when an actual person picked up. Now, a very similar feature is being tested on Google Search.The appropriately-named Talk to a Live Representative" will call a business on your behalf, navigate through the various phone menus, wait on hold and then notify you when an actual human is ready to talk. It's currently available as a Search Labs experimental feature and was originally spotted by an X user called Sterling.This actually goes a bit further than the Pixel-exclusive feature. Talk to a Live Representative" is available on just about any phone and most computers, whereas Hold for Me" is reserved for Pixel 3 models and newer. It'll also actually initiate the call in the first place. Pixel owners must enable Hold for Me once the call has already been initiated.Here's how it works. When you search for customer service numbers, you'll see a talk to a live representative" prompt. Once you tap the prompt, you'll be directed to answer some questions as to the purpose of the call. For instance, you might want to update an airline booking or cancel a flight. The system will ask for your number and that's that. You'll get SMS updates regarding wait times and Google will call you when it has the service rep on the line.There are some caveats. This is an experimental feature, so it's subject to bugs, and it doesn't work for every customer service number out there. It currently specializes in airlines, telecommunication companies, big-box retailers, insurance providers, mail carriers and more, according to a list obtained by 9to5Google.Talk to a Live Representative" is currently available for US residents via the company's Search Lab. If you're a Search Lab user, you can access the tool on the Google app for Android and iOS, as well as via desktop Chrome. The company hasn't said when this would get a wider rollout.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-brings-a-version-of-pixels-hold-for-me-tool-to-more-phones-and-desktop-via-search-164355224.html?src=rss

After listening to yesterday's Xbox Podcast, where the company announced it was bringing four older titles to non-Xbox consoles, a question popped into my head: Why does Microsoft, a software and services company, need a console business?The same question was asked when The Rock announced the original Xbox console in 2001, but the industry has changed a lot in 23 years, and it's worth asking again. Microsoft, after initially struggling to make an impact with the Xbox, firmly established itself as a top player with the Xbox 360, before settling for second place with the Xbox One and currently finding itself in a distant third with the Xbox Series consoles.As much as the industry has changed, no company in it has changed more than Microsoft. It is now a mega-publisher of games, with over 30 in-house studios. Many of these development teams are world-renowned, with a rich, multi-platform history. It's also the operator of one of the largest game subscription services in the world, Game Pass. Microsoft's plan has been clear for all to see: Sell a console and upsell a subscription service filled with games produced at cost by in-house studios.There's just one problem: It doesn't have the audience.Diablo IV, released June 5, 2023, will be the first Activision Blizzard game on Game Pass next month.Blizzard EntertainmentThe pandemic years saw rapid growth of Game Pass, which rose from 10 million subscribers in April 2020 to 25 million in January 2022. Since then, it's added just 9 million subscribers, with the current total standing at 34 million. The caveat to this statistic is that Microsoft rebranded its Xbox Live Gold service, which had 11.7 million subscribers in 2022, to Game Pass Core. The company told The Vergeand later confirmed to Engadget that Core subscribers were included in the 34 million, which suggests the total number of Xbox subscribers has been flat since 2022, although the mix of Ultimate and Core subscribers may be more favorable.Any thoughts that Game Pass could emulate Netflix's decade of growth are long-gone, but there's a crucial difference between the two services: Netflix doesn't try to sell its customers $400 boxes to watch Netflix.Microsoft has struggled with the duality of its gaming strategy: A subscription service requires a constant churn of content to feel worthwhile, but a console requires system sellers" that attract people to buy it over the competition. Those are very different things, with wildly different budgets and timelines. Game Pass, no matter how attractive, is not a system seller by itself.While Microsoft has balanced its dual goals of Game Pass growth and console sales, its competitors have stolen its audience. Nintendo and Sony are laser-focused on exclusive experiences for their customers, which they both see as key to selling consoles. Microsoft has once again found its hardware outsold 2:1 by Sony, and the Switch has likely outsold the Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles combined. While Sony is increasingly understanding the power of the PC market, and Nintendo is still maintaining at least a couple of its money-spinning mobile games, there is little chance of either company's overall console strategy changing.Pentiment, released November 15, 2022, is rumored to be one of the first Xbox exclusives coming to other consoles.MicrosoftMicrosoft's pledge to bring four unnamed titles to other consoles," then, is intriguing. I subscribe to Game Pass, but I'm not sure I would've paid $30 for Hi-Fi Rush or $40 for Grounded, no matter how much I enjoy either of those games. From the way Xbox chief Phil Spencer described the company's cross-platform quartet, there seems a reasonable chance that those games, together with Pentiment and Sea of Thieves, are the subject of this experiment:

The Xbox Series S is our recommendation for the best cheap game console for several reasons, not least because it's an excellent entry point into modern gaming. Even better, the most budget-friendly Xbox is on sale at Target. The price of a starter bundle has dropped from $300 to $220, making the Series S an even sweeter deal.The Xbox Series S Starter Bundle comes with three months of Game Pass Ultimate access (a value of $51). As such, it has pretty much everything you need to dive into modern games, save for a display and a decent internet connection. The latter is particularly key as the Xbox Series S is an all-digital console. There's no disk drive, so you won't be able to pop in an Xbox 360 or Xbox One disk and play that. Instead, the Series S relies entirely on digital downloads and cloud streaming.The Series S isn't as powerful as its sibling, the Xbox Series X. While you'll often be able to play at a resolution higher than 1080p, the Series S won't natively hit 4K visuals. The Series S has half as much built-in storage as the Series X too given its custom 512GB solid state drive.That means you'll either need to delete games often to make room for new ones or make more use of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's cloud streaming feature. The subscription service includes access to a ton of games, from first-party titles (such as the Halo series, Starfieldand Forza Horizon 5) to blockbuster third-party games (various Assassin's Creed titles, Hitman World of Assassination, Yakuza: Like a Dragonand Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order) to killer indies (Cocoon, Jusant, Venba and Tunic).Microsoft also just revealed when it will start bringing Activision Blizzard titles to Game Pass after completing its purchase of the publisher in October. Diablo IV is coming to the service on March 28, adding even more value to one of the best subscription services in gaming.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/the-xbox-series-s-starter-bundle-is-on-sale-for-220-153432765.html?src=rss

Though it doesn't get the respect of Black Friday, Presidents' Day is actually a very good time for deals. Many stores have dedicated sales in place to help you celebrate George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, just like the former presidents intended. Best Buy is especially known for its robust Presidents' Day sales, and this year is no exception.

We still can't stop thinking about the Apple Vision Pro. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat with CNET's Scott Stein about our post-review impressions of Apple's headset. We've got further thoughts about using it in public (maybe don't), the isolation of being sealed off from the world, and the way falling asleep with the Vision Pro on can make you lose your sense of reality. We also discuss Mark Zuckerberg's impression of the headset, and why he thinks the Quest 3 is ultimately a better product. (We agree, with caveats.) In other news, we explore how Arc's ad-stripped AI mobile search app may be good for its users, but ultimately bad for web creators.Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!Topics

I've been using the AIAIAI Unit-4 Wireless+ studio monitors for a couple of months now. And initially, I wasn't sure what to make of them. They're solid studio monitors with 4-inch woofers and 1-inch silk tweeters. They sound good and look good. But the pitch - the reason these things cost $800 for a pair - is that they're wireless. And not, they're studio monitors that also happen to have Bluetooth" wireless, though they have that as well. They include AIAIAI's low-latency 2.4Ghz wireless tech that made its debut on the Studio Wireless+ a couple of years back. Plus they have sizable batteries, allowing them to run for up to 20 hours without any cables at all.I was skeptical of the Studio Wireless+, but was eventually won over by the surprising convenience of not being tethered to my audio interface by a 3-meter long coiled cable. The Unit-4 have a somewhat tougher case to make, though. The cables that keep my current PreSonus monitors tethered to my desk don't get in the way. I don't have to unplug them to put on my guitar and I don't trip over them while grabbing a synth from the shelf. Instead, the Unit-4 are meant to solve a very specific problem: needing studio quality monitors when you're not in your studio.As you might imagine, this is not a thing I find myself needing terribly often. I'm sure that someone out there, likely professional musicians who spend significant time on the road, would immediately see the appeal. But for a hobbyist like me, finding a use case is harder.Before we get too deep into the why," let's talk a little bit about the what." Until now AIAIAI has focused exclusively on headphones. A more conservative company might have simply made some bog-standard studio monitors and called it a day. But today you can get bog-standard studio monitors, and pretty decent ones at that, for not much money. So rather than just add more noise to an already saturated market, AIAIAI looked to see what it could do that would be unique.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetThe somewhat surprising answer it got from some artists was wireless, battery-powered monitors. So it took the low-latency W+ Link technology it had developed for Studio Wireless+ and adapted it for use in a pair of 4-inch studio monitors. Where Bluetooth latency can be all over the map, ranging from around 40ms under ideal conditions with the latest hardware, to well over 100ms, W+ Link is a consistent 16ms. It's not zero latency, but it's close enough for a quick recording session or a casual jam.Because of their size you're not gonna get a ton of bass out of them. You get a surprising amount more low end just by jumping up to 5-inch woofers. But, it's not like the Unit-4 lack oomph. They've got a decent amount of punch and a reasonably flat frequency response. That said, as with the Studio Wireless+, I find their tone a touch on the dark side.There is an app for iOS and Android, though, where you can tune the EQ to your liking. I personally scooped the mids and cut the sub bass just a smidge to help brighten up the sound ever so slightly and keep things from getting muddy in my small attic studio. But there are also useful presets in there depending on where you are and what orientation the speakers are in, whether that's horizontal on your desktop or on a picnic blanket in a park.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetWhile it's purely subjective and of little practical value, the Unit-4 look great in any orientation or setting. They're much better looking than most studio monitors. They're sleek, black and have a stylish metal speaker grill that attaches firmly with the help of a few magnets. A ring of white light glows around the woofer when they're powered on too. Like I said, it makes no functional difference, but they're certainly a visual upgrade from my PreSonus Eris E5s.There are a few design choices that I can quibble with, however, even if I understand the reasoning (usually to shave size and weight). First off, the Unit-4 lack XLR hookups. This isn't unheard of on portable studio monitors, and they do have balanced TRS connections, but combo XLR / TRS jacks are pretty ubiquitous at this point and wouldn't have required much more room.The power bricks for each speaker are also enormous.Obviously, putting those components inside the speaker, along with their sizable 77Wh batteries, would have dramatically increased their size and weight. But it seems odd that, what I believe are, the largest power bricks in my home currently belong to the Unit-4, while none of the other studio monitors or speakers I own have external power supplies at all, just standard AC cables. They weigh more than a pound each, which means that, despite AIAIAI bragging that the Unit-4 only tip the scales at 2.5kg (or about 5.5 pounds), if you were to hit the road with two monitors and the chargers for each you'd be looking at a total weight of close to 14 pounds.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetThat's hardly unreasonable if your definition of portable is simply that you can move them from place to place - nobody is taking the Unit-4 with them on a whim on the off chance that they might need a studio monitor. Still, I will say that I think AIAIAI should include the carrying case if they're pitching the portability factor, rather than it being a $70 add-on.My biggest issue, though, was the decision to remove the battery from the transmitter. The X01 Transmitter that comes with the Studio Wireless+ has a built-in battery. The X02 Transmitter that is packaged with the Unit-4 does not. The perk of this is that, when used as a USB-C audio dongle with a laptop, it's nice and discrete. The downside is that if you use the minijack output you need to provide your own power, preferably via a powerbank, rather than an AC adapter to minimize opportunity for interference or ground loops.Part of AIAIAI's rationale for ditching the battery was that, well, batteries have a tendency to wear out. And this way, you don't have to chuck the whole transmitter just because it won't hold a charge anymore. But, the company has figured out how to make practically every part of the studio monitors removable and replaceable (including the battery), so it seems like doing that for the transmitter shouldn't have been too tough.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetThe lack of a battery is a non-issue if you're primarily using the Unit-4 connected to a computer. But if you're using a standalone piece of gear like an SP-404, connecting to a mixer for a jam session or out busking it in a park, the extra cable and external power bank become something else to forget at home and kind of undermine the whole wireless" thing.I know that seems like a lot of negatives all in a row, but these are honestly pretty minor complaints. And I think that, if you are one of the people who will get a lot of use out of the Unit-4, they probably won't deter you. The audience here is undoubtedly smaller than with the Studio Wireless+, though. Where almost any bedroom producer could use a solid set of headphones that can be wired or wireless at a moment's notice, bouncing from low-latency studio mode to Bluetooth at the flip of a switch. The list of musicians that need the same from their desktop studio monitors is probably pretty short.I can imagine these being super handy on a tour bus but, I am not a touring musician. Instead where I found the wireless feature most useful was for dabbling with new musical toys from anywhere in my house. Rather than hide in my attic, I could bring one of the Unit-4s down into the living room (but not both), connect the transmitter and a powerbank to say, the Gaia 2 and get some work done while also hanging out with my kids.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetJust for the hell of it, I took the Unit-4 to a park to shoot some review photos. I can't say that's something I'd want to do terribly often. Lugging them through the park as I looked for a decent enough place to stage my shoot got tiresome pretty quickly. But, I did put their loudness to the test by cranking the speakers all the way with my SP-404 MKII set to top volume. Quite a lot of people stopped and stared at me with open hostility. They still sounded great, with no distortion and the audio remained clear and punchy even from a few dozen feet away. But, like with the Wireless Studio+, the W+ Link does introduce some noise that becomes noticeable as you approach the 75-percent mark on the volume.They were handy as just regular ol' Bluetooth speakers. While it's been a touch too cold to throw parties in my backyard, I've set one of the Unit-4s up outside while I've raked the leaves. If I really wanted to make my neighbors hate me, I could turn the speakers all the way up and they'd even be audible over my trimmer and leaf blower.And thanks to their giant batteries they'd easily be able to last through a few hours of yard work, a raucous BBQ, some late night cleanup and then some. AIAIAI claims over 20 hours of battery life, but doesn't specify if that's over Bluetooth or W+ Link. I did a battery rundown test where I left the Unit-4 connected over W+, occasionally playing music through them from Ableton Live and djay Pro with the volume set at 75 percent. The first speaker gave up the ghost after 17 hours and 46 minutes, and the second followed 11 minutes later. Considering the Studio Wireless+ last more than four times as long when on Bluetooth versus W+ Link, it's safe to assume you'd be able to eke quite a bit more playtime out of the Unit-4 if you were using them strictly as Bluetooth speakers. Of course, if you did that you'd be missing out on the whole point of the Unit-4.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetEven though they're pricey, perhaps the ideal customer would be a busker. The Unit-4 can cover live performances with low enough latency to not be distracting, are reliable monitors for mixing in a studio, and also loud enough fill up an apartment or yard with tunes for a party. The only thing I wouldn't want to rely on them for is DJing. While you could work around the latency by feeding both the cue and the live mix to a pair of headphones, it's just a smidge too much if you really want to make sure your transitions are 100-percent on point.One other thing worth noting is that the amount of latency you experience with the Unit-4 will vary depending on your source (USB-C vs " TRS) and even whether you're on Windows or macOS. If you intend to use the Unit-4 with a Windows PC over USB-C you absolutely need to install the ASIO4ALL driver. Built-in Windows audio drivers have improved over the years, but they still can't hold a candle to Apple's Core Audio or Steinberg's ASIO. To be clear, this isn't an issue with the Unit-4, but with Windows. For the best results and the lowest latency, your best bet is still to use a dedicated Audio interface and to connect the X02 Transmitter to that using a TRS cable. Of course, that also means you'll have to bring some way to power the transmitter, whether that's a power bank or a USB-C power adapter.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetIf you are someone looking for a pair of portable studio monitors that let you (more or less) ditch the cables entirely, the Unit-4 are basically the only game in town. They're stylish, natural sounding and have a completely unique set of features. But they're definitely more of a niche product than the Studio Wireless+. While their $350 price tag isn't cheap, the flexibility and broader appeal make them an easier sell. The Unit-4 on the other hand are both quite expensive at $800, and trying to solve a very specific problem. At least I can say unequivocally, they solve that problem quite well.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/aiaiai-unit-4-review-unique-wireless-portable-studio-monitors-130048854.html?src=rss

If the image itself isn't unappetizing enough, the description might put you off. South Korean researchers have made a hybrid rice variant, infused with cow muscle and fat cells, creating a bright pink grain that is one part plant and one part meat. The team hopes to eventually create a cheaper and more sustainable source of protein, with a much lower carbon footprint than actual beef. But please: change the color.Yonsei UniversityThe meat cells grow both on the surface of the rice grain and inside of the grain itself. After around ten days, you get the finished product. The study, published in Matter, suggests the rice grains taste like beef sushi, which is made of cow and rice. So yes, that tracks.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedThe best robot vacuums on a budget for 2024Ayaneo's NES-inspired mini PC is more than a retro tributeMarvel's X-Men 97 will pick up from where the 90s animated series left offYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Bose Ultra Open Earbuds reviewFunction meets fashion.EngadgetBose's $299 Ultra Open Earbuds sit outside of your ear canal and clip onto the ridge of your ear to stay in place. Due to the open nature of the design, active noise cancellation (ANC) is moot. Open-type earbuds have become increasingly popular, mostly for the allure of all day" wear by allowing you to stay in tune with your surroundings, so Bose developed this model that fixes all the issues of its previous design. They seem more of a fashion accessory than a wearable, however.Continue reading.Xbox confirms four of its games are coming to more popular consolesNot Starfield or Indiana Jones, however.On the latest episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said the company is bringing four of its games to "the other consoles." Contrary to previous rumors, Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are not coming to PS5 or Switch for now. Reports have suggested that Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Halo and Gears of War may appear on Nintendo and Sony hardware. Both of those consoles have a far larger install base than Xbox Series X/S, which are estimated to have shipped a combined 27 million units, compared with 54.8 million PS5s and nearly 140 million Switches.Continue reading.OpenAI's new model can generate minute-long videos from text promptsIt's still in testing before being offered to the public.OpenAI on Thursday announced Sora, a brand new model that generates high-definition videos up to one minute in length from text prompts. Sora, which means sky" in Japanese, won't be available to the general public any time soon. Instead, OpenAI is first offering it to a small group of academics and researchers who will assess harm and its potential for misuse. The company said on its website: The model understands not only what the user has asked for in the prompt, but also how those things exist in the physical world." Other companies including Meta, Google and Runway, have either teased text-to-video tools or made them available to the public. Still, no other tool can generate videos as long as 60 seconds.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-want-some-hybrid-meat-rice-121549152.html?src=rss

Apple has explained why it's disabling progressive web apps (PWAs) in the EU, it wrote in updated developer notes seen by TechCrunch. The news follows users noticing that web apps were no longer functional in Europe with recent iOS 17.4 beta releases. Apple said it's blocking the feature in the region due to new rules around browsers in Europe's Digital Markets Act (DMA).Web apps behave much like native apps, allowing dedicated windowing, notifications, long-term local storage and more. European users tapping web app icons will see a message asking if they wish to open them in Safari instead or cancel. That means they act more like web shortcuts, creating issues like data loss and broken notifications, according to comments from users seen by MacRumors.The problem, according to Apple, is a new DMA requirement that it allow browsers that don't use its WebKit architecture. "Addressing the complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps using alternative browser engines would require building an entirely new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS and was not practical to undertake given the other demands of the DMA and the very low user adoption of Home Screen web apps," the company wrote.However, the Open Web Advocacy organization disagrees, as it writes in its latest blog:

If you've enjoyed playing Alan Wake 2 over the last few months, you're far from alone. Remedy Entertainment announced that Alan Wake 2 had sold 1.3 million units since its October 2023 release - making it the developer's fastest-selling game. Alan Wake 2 sold three times as many digital copies over its first two months as fellow Remedy game Control did during its first four months.The high sales have been a big coup for Remedy's continued expansion. "The successful launch of Alan Wake 2 has supported our other game projects: Condor, Control 2 and Max Payne 1 and 2 remake have all increased development pace thanks to the personnel released from Alan Wake 2, and we expect these projects to reach their next development stages during the first half of 2024," Remedy CEO Tero Virtala stated.Despite the early success, the sequel has yet to turn a profit for the company: "the game has already recouped a significant part of the development and marketing expenses," Virtala noted. However, the Remedy chief expects it will "generate excellent long tail sales" like Control, which has topped 4 million units since it went on sale in August 2019.For anyone who hasn't played it yet, Alan Wake 2follows the 2010 original and delves deeper into Remedy's Connected Universe. Players encounter monsters, ghosts, demonic possession, shifting realities, rock operas and paranormal murder. The story will continue with Remedy adding two paid DLCs to Alan Wake 2 in the near future.Control 2 will likely extend that universe further, giving Remedy fans a whole lot of paranormal, inter-connected content to enjoy in the coming months and years.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alan-wake-2-is-remedys-fastest-selling-game-ever-105034266.html?src=rss

Over the past week, an app called Kimi curiously outranked well-known streaming services, such as Netflix and Prime Video, in the App Store's list of top free entertainment apps. Now, Apple has pulled the application... most likely because it gave users access to pirated movies. As Wired reports, Kimi was disguised as an app that tests your eyesight by making you play spot the difference in similar photos. In reality, it was nothing of the sort and instead contained bootlegged shows and movies, including recent blockbusters and award-winning films.Its offerings, however, varied in quality in a way that's familiar to those who used to look for shows and movies online before the advent of streaming services. Kimi's copy of the Emma Stone-starrer Poor Things was apparently grainy and pixelated, while other movies available in high-quality copies had ads blocking the view across the top of the screen. The app was incredibly easy to use: Viewers simply had to download it and fire it up to start watching. It was similar to the now-defunct service Popcorn Time, in that it made pirating movies as easy as watching Netflix. Popcorn Time shut down for good in 2022.The company told us that Kimi presented itself as a vision testing platform during the review process. It removed the app from its store, as well as the developer from the Apple Developer program, after discovering its bait-and-switch tactics, a spokesperson told us. They added that Apple has no tolerance for scam apps and applications with hidden or undocumented features.Apple prides itself on privacy and safety and on making sure the apps it makes available for download are on the up and up. When it revealed how it would comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), for instance, it said any alternative app store that makes its way to the company's platforms will need to have stringent rules and moderation tools comparable to its own. Apple itself may have to start keeping an even closer eye on its App Store, though. Viewers have been expressing their discontent online on having to pay for too many streaming services to be able to watch what they want to, and it seems like more and more people are turning to piracy again.Update, February 16, 2024, 5:08AM ET: This story has been updated to add the information Apple shared with Engadget.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-piracy-app-outranked-netflix-on-the-app-store-before-apple-pulled-it-132013246.html?src=rss

Disney+ has released the first trailer for its upcoming animated series X-Men '97, and it feels like a blast from the past for fans of the animated series that aired in the 90s. Its story picks up from where the old series left off, with the trailer showing how the team makes an effort to work together after the death of Professor X who was seriously injured by the end of the Saturday morning cartoon. That means viewers can expect the same roster of mutants from the original show, including Cyclops as team leader, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Beast, Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee and Bishop. By the end of trailer, we also get a glimpse of Magneto, who apparently inherited everything Professor X had left behind.X-Men: The Animated Series was arguably the best adaptation of the comic books. The new show has a similar look and feel to it, but its animation quality thankfully looks a lot better. It features voice actors already known for the role, including Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm and Cal Dodd as Wolverine, but it also features new ones like Ray Chase as Cyclops. According to Entertainment Weekly, Divergent star Theo James is also part of the cast, but showrunner Beau DeMayo refused to reveal who he's voicing other than saying that it's a "fan-favorite character." Marvel Animation's X-Men '97 starts streaming on Disney+ on March 20 and will have 10 episodes in all. The streaming service has yet to reveal its release schedule, but it typically adds an episode a week for its shows - whether it'll also release an episode every Saturday morning remains to be seen.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/marvels-x-men-97-will-pick-up-from-where-the-90s-animated-series-left-off-082615903.html?src=rss

Game Pass, Microsoft's subscription service for games, has 34 million subscribers as of February 2024. Microsoft revealed the number in a blog post where it shared its plan about the future of the Xbox business.The latest number reveals that Game Pass growth has slowed down drastically. It took Microsoft three years since Game Pass launched in 2017 to get to 10 million subscribers in April 2020. In the next five months, the company added five million subscribers, and hit 18 million subscribers by January 2021, a growth rate of nearly 90 percent per year. A year later, the company announced that Game Pass had 25 million subscribers. Over the last two years, Game Pass has added nine million subscribers, which would be an average annual increase of just 18 percent.Game Pass lets players pay a monthly fee to Microsoft for unlimited access to an evolving library of games that they can play on their consoles or PCs. In an announcement on Thursday, the brand's leaders revealed plans to bring Xbox games to more platforms including the PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch, both of which have far more users than Xbox. There are currently no plans to offer Game Pass on either Sony or Nintendo's platforms.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-game-pass-subscriptions-have-begun-to-taper-off-225335361.html?src=rss

The first Activision Blizzard game to join Xbox Game Pass will be Diablo IV, and it's due to land on March 28. The move means Diablo IV will be playable on Xbox and PC at no extra charge to Game Pass members - of which there are 34 million, Xbox announced today.This is just the first step in Xbox's broader plan to offer Activision Blizzard titles in its monthly subscription service, now that Microsoft fully owns the studio."There will be even more to play as we begin to fulfill our commitment to offer Activision and Blizzard games with Game Pass, both new releases and classic games from its legendary catalog," the Xbox Wire reads. Xbox plans to share more information about additional Activision Blizzard titles hitting Game Pass "soon."Diablo IV is a big get for Game Pass, and there are plenty of other popular franchises in Activision Blizzard's roster, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Tony Hawk, World of Warcraft and Starcraft.Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in October 2023, after nearly two years of antitrust investigations from authorities in the United States and abroad. The deal was worth nearly $69 billion, the largest in Microsoft's history. As part of negotiations with regulators, Microsoft agreed to offload the streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games onto Ubisoft, opening the door for their inclusion in Game Pass, Ubisoft+ and other cloud services. That deal lasts for 15 years, and Microsoft signed similar 10-year agreements with Nintendo and a few other streaming hubs.In the US, the FTC is continuing to investigate the acquisition and recently accused Microsoft of misrepresenting its plans for Activision Blizzard following layoffs in January that affected 1,900 employees across the company's gaming segments. In the process, at least one Blizzard game was canceled and Skylanders studio Toys for Bob was gutted.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/diablo-iv-will-be-the-first-activision-blizzard-title-on-xbox-game-pass-204734655.html?src=rss

Times are a-changing at Xbox. The brand's leaders have confirmed plans to bring more Xbox games to other platforms - that almost definitely means PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. Both of those consoles have a far larger install base than Xbox Series X/S, which are estimated to have shipped a combined 27 million units, compared with 54.8 million PS5s and nearly 140 million Switches.On the latest edition of the Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer says his team is bringing four of its games to "the other consoles." He didn't name the titles, but contrary to previous rumors, Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are not coming to PS5 or Switch for now. Reports have suggested that Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Halo and Gears of War would be among those crossing the great divide.Spencer did confirm that the Xbox games that are coming to PlayStation and Switch have been on Xbox and PC for at least a year already. "A couple of the games are community-driven games, new games, kind of first iterations of a franchise that have reached their full potential, let's say, on Xbox and PC - there's always growth, franchises that we obviously want to continue to invest in," he said."Two of the other games are smaller games that were never really meant to be built as kind of platform exclusives and all the fanfare that goes around that, but games that our teams really wanted to go build that we love supporting creative endeavors across our studios regardless of size," Spencer added. "And as they've realized their full potential on Xbox and PC, we see an opportunity to utilize the other platforms as a place to just drive more business value out of those games, allowing us to invest in maybe future iterations of those, so equals to those or just other games like that in our portfolio."Spencer said Xbox isn't going to commit to porting other titles to more platforms beyond those four games just yet. He urged folks who play games on "those other platforms" not to assume every Xbox game will be come to their systems, but suggested that his team is going to take notes based on the impact of the initial four games and take things from there.That said, this doesn't mark a major change in strategy, Spencer argued. Xbox's philosophy has long been about helping players access its games from anywhere, including through the cloud, and tiptoeing onto other consoles is just a part of that."By bringing these games to more players, we not only expand the reach and impact of those titles, but this will allow us to invest in either future versions of these games, or elsewhere in our first-party portfolio," an Xbox Wire blog post reads. "There is no fundamental change to our approach on exclusivity."President of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty noted on the podcast that Xbox will continue to release its first-party games on Game Pass on their release date, and that "Game Pass will only be available on Xbox." Still, Booty acknowledged that Microsoft wants to bring more of its games to more players.Meanwhile, Xbox President Sarah Bond assured fans that Microsoft isn't looking to get out of the console hardware business. In fact, the team has "some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we're going to share this holiday." Previous leaks indicated that Microsoft was building an all-digital version of the Xbox Series X that has improved Wi-Fi connectivity and more power efficiency.Microsoft is also looking ahead to the next Xbox. "We're also invested in the next generation roadmap," Bond added. "And what we're really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions that they're building." A leak last September indicated that the next Xbox is slated to arrive in 2028 and that it will be support "cloud-hybrid games."Microsoft's gaming division looks vastly different than it did a few months ago. The company finally completed its protracted $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard in October, significantly swelling its headcount in the process. In January, Microsoft said it was laying off 1,900 people from the gaming teams. It also canceled at least one game, a survival title that Blizzard was working on.Even though the Activision acquisition immediately and significantly improved the bottom line of Microsoft's gaming division, the company is looking to make that part of the business more profitable. Reducing headcount is one way of doing that. Selling games to new audiences on other platforms is an arguably healthier approach, even though it might come at the expense of turning some former Xbox loyalists away from the brand.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-confirms-four-of-its-games-are-coming-to-more-popular-consoles-201419203.html?src=rss

OpenAI on Thursday announced Sora, a brand new model that generates high-definition videos up to one minute in length from text prompts. Sora, which means sky" in Japanese, won't be available to the general public any time soon. Instead, OpenAI is making it available to a small group of academics and researchers who will assess harm and its potential for misuse.Sora is able to generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background," the company said on its website. The model understands not only what the user has asked for in the prompt, but also how those things exist in the physical world."One of the videos generated by Sora that OpenAI shared on its website shows a couple walking through a snowy Tokyo city as cherry blossom petals and snowflakes blow around them.

The Apple Vision Pro is officially two weeks old, and the apps are starting to roll in. TikTok was conspicuously absent on launch day, but now our long national nightmare has come to an end. The Vision Pro has a native TikTok app.This isn't just the iPad app with a new coat of paint. There are some neat features here that take advantage of Apple's well-regarded and prohibitively-expensive headset. The navigation bar and like button are moved entirely off-screen, giving users an uninterrupted view of video content.TikTokThis extends to comment sections and creator profiles, as they both now appear as expansions alongside the feed, which TikTok says provides a more immersive content viewing experience." To that end, TikTok integrates with the headset's immersive environments, so people can watch short-form videos on the moon or surrounded by the lush flora of Yosemite.TikTok also works with the Vision Pro's Shared Space feature, allowing the app to exist somewhere in your peripheral as you work on other stuff. The location of the app will remain static, so it'll be in the same place every time you put on the headset (provided you are in the same room.)You may notice that these features are primarily intended for content consumers, and not creators. Engadget reached out to TikTok to ask about creator-specific features and we'll update this post when we hear back.The app's available for download right now, though it likely won't be accessible for TikTok's core userbase of 10 to 19 year olds. The Apple Vision Pro costs $3,500. That's like an entire childhood of allowances.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-vision-pro-now-has-a-native-tiktok-app-193214818.html?src=rss

On Thursday, Google unveiled Gemini 1.5 Pro, which the company describes as delivering dramatically enhanced performance" over the previous model. The company's AI trajectory - viewed internally as increasingly critical for its future - follows the unveiling of Gemini 1.0 Ultra last week, alongside the rebranding of the Bard chatbot (to Gemini) to align with the new model's more powerful and versatile capabilities.In an announcement blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis try to balance assuring their audience about ethical AI safety while touting their models' rapidly advancing capabilities. Our teams continue pushing the frontiers of our latest models with safety at the core," Pichai summarized.The company needs to emphasize safety for AI skeptics (including one former Google CEO) and government regulators. But it also needs to stress its models' accelerating performance for AI developers, potential customers and investors concerned the company was too slow to react to OpenAI's breakout success with ChatGPT.Pichai and Hassabis say Gemini 1.5 Pro delivers comparable results to Gemini 1.0 Ultra. However, Gemini 1.5 performs at that level more efficiently, with reduced computational requirements. The multimodal capabilities include processing text, images, videos, audio or code. As AI models advance, they'll continue to offer a more versatile array of capabilities in one prompt box (another recent example was OpenAI integrating DALL-E 3 image generation into ChatGPT).Google CEO Sundar PichaiALAIN JOCARD via Getty ImagesGemini 1.5 Pro can also handle up to one million tokens, or the units of data AI models can process in a single request. Google says Gemini 1.5 Pro can process over 700,000 words, an hour of video, 11 hours of audio and codebases with over 30,000 lines of code. The company says it's even successfully tested" a version that supports up to 10 million tokens.The company says Gemini 1.5 Pro maintains high accuracy in queries with larger token counts when it has more new data to learn. It says the model impressed in the Needle In a Haystack evaluation. In this test, developers insert a small piece of information inside a long text block to see if the AI model can pick it out. Google said Gemini 1.5 Pro could find the embedded text 99 percent of the time in data blocks as long as one million tokens.Google says Gemini 1.5 Pro can reason about various details from the 402-page Apollo 11 moon mission transcripts. In addition, it can analyze plot points and events from an uploaded 44-minute silent film starring Buster Keaton. As 1.5 Pro's long context window is the first of its kind among large-scale models, we're continuously developing new evaluations and benchmarks for testing its novel capabilities," Hassabis wrote.Google is launching Gemini 1.5 Pro with 128,000-token capabilities, the same number at which OpenAI's (publicly announced) GPT-4 models max out. Hassabis says Google will eventually introduce new pricing tiers that support up to one million-token queries.Google DeepMind CEO Demis HassabisJoy Malone via Getty ImagesGemini 1.5 Pro is also adept at learning new skills from information in long prompts - without additional fine-tuning (in-context learning"). In a benchmark called Machine Translation from One Book, the model learned a grammar manual for Kalamang, a language with fewer than 200 speakers globally that it hadn't previously been trained on. The company says Gemini 1.5 Pro learned to perform at a similar level as a human learning the same content when translating English to Kalamang.In a piece of the announcement that will catch developers' attention, Google says Gemini 1.5 Pro can perform problem-solving tasks across longer code blocks. When given a prompt with more than 100,000 lines of code, it can better reason across examples, suggest helpful modifications and give explanations about how different parts of the code works," Hassabis wrote.On the ethics and safety front, Google says it's taking the same approach to responsible deployment" it took with Gemini 1.0 models. That includes developing and applying red-teaming techniques,where a group of ethical developers essentially serve as devil's advocate, testing for a range of potential harms." In addition, the company says it heavily scrutinizes areas like content safety and representational harms. The company says it continues to develop new ethical and safety tests for its AI tools.Google is launching Gemini 1.5 in early access for developers and enterprise customers. The company plans to make it more widely available eventually. Gemini 1.0 is currently available for consumers, alongside a Pro variant that costs $20 monthly.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-gemini-15-pro-is-a-new-more-efficient-ai-model-181909354.html?src=rss

YouTube just released a new feature that lets users remix music videos and turn them into Shorts. This allows you to adjust various parameters from a full-length music video to create something wholly unique. Does this sound like TikTok? It definitely sounds like TikTok.Here's how it works. Just tap remix" on a music video. You'll be presented with four options: Sound, Green Screen, Cut and Collab. You can only pick one, so choose wisely. The Sound tool does what you think. It strips the audio and lets you use it in your own YouTube Short. This is the kind of thing that's hugely popular on TikTok, with many users lip-syncing to various audio clips. This Sound tool is available to any music video and most songs that were automatically uploaded to the platform.Green Screen takes things a step further. It turns the video into a background, which you can then dance in front of or whatever. The Cut tool just clips out a five second portion of the video that you can add to any Short. Finally, Collab creates a side-by-side video that places your Short next to the original content. YouTube says this is the perfect option when you and your friends" want to show off choreography alongside the original artist.The feature's already available on the mobile app, though it may not have rolled out to every user yet. If you want to check, just open the app, click on a music video and look for that remix" option. It's worth noting that many of these features were already available to Shorts creators, but not in one handy tab.YouTube/Lawrence BonkYouTube Shorts was already a TikTok-alike when it released back in 2021, but these features make it even more, uh, TikTok-ier. With that in mind, YouTube picked the perfect time to officially launch the toolset. Universal Music has pulled its roster from TikTok after a breakdown in financial negotiations. UMG artists include Taylor Swift, Drake, Billie Eilish and many more.This has forced TikTok creators to swap out music tracks, as anything sourced from Universal is automatically muted. The record label has accused TikTok of wanting to pay a fraction" of rates offered by other social media sites. YouTube's Remix tool has access to Universal's entire roster.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-shorts-now-lets-you-chop-up-and-remix-music-videos-180655627.html?src=rss

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has posted his own review of Apple's Vision Pro on Instagram, coming inexplicably for our jobs here at Engadget.In a video shot direct from a Meta Quest 3 (oh of course), Zuckerberg didn't mince his words. He said he expected the Quest to be the better value for most people, because it's "like seven times less expensive" than the $3,500 Vision Pro. Eventually, he concluded that the Quest 3 was the better product, period."Zuckerberg thinks the Quest is "a lot more comfortable," noting that the headset's field of view is wider and has a brighter display than the Vision Pro. He added that the Quest had a bigger library: Meta's Quest, unlike the Vision Pro, has access to the YouTube and Xbox apps. And that's definitely a fair criticism.All in all, two out of five Zucks. Don't forget to like and subscribe.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedX let terrorist groups pay for verification, report saysAmazon knocks $100 off the Apple AirPods MaxAn earnings typo sent Lyft's stock price into the stratosphereMario vs. Donkey Kong is an odd, eye-catching ode to simpler timesYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!A piracy app outranked Netflix on the App Store before Apple pulled itKimi gave viewers access to pirated shows and movies.An app called Kimi curiously outranked well-known streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video in the App Store's list of top free entertainment apps this week. Now, Apple has pulled it, probably because it gave users access to pirated movies.Kimi was disguised as an app that tests your eyesight by making you play spot the difference' between similar photos. In reality, it was packed with bootlegged shows and movies. If anyone remembers the heyday of pirated movies on slow internet connections, you got to relive the variable video quality of yesteryear.Continue reading.Walmart might buy budget TV maker VizioThis could make the retail giant a formidable rival to Amazon and Roku.Justin Sullivan via Getty ImagesWalmart might buy budget TV maker Vizio. The rumored $2 billion deal would make Vizio a house brand for the retailer and would allow the company to compete directly in the affordable smart TV space currently dominated by Amazon and Roku. Vizio has been eyeing up buyers for years. It was nearly purchased by Chinese media conglomerate LeEco back in 2016, which was another $2 billion deal, but that fell through. If the purchase happens, Walmart would also have access to all of that sweet, sweet customer data collected by Vizio's smart TV platform.Continue reading.Can geoengineering stop the ice caps from melting?We're not ready for what's coming.Getty ImagesSince 1979, Arctic ice has shrunk by 1.35 million square miles and Antarctic ice is now at the lowest level since records began. Frozen Arctic, a report produced by the universities of the Arctic and Lapland alongside UN-backed thinktank GRID-Arendal, collates sixty geoengineering projects that could slow down or reverse polar melting. A team of researchers examined every idea, from those already in place to the ones at the fringes of science. Daniel Cooper breaks down some of the possible solutions.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-mark-zuckerberg-thinks-the-quest-3-is-much-better-than-the-vision-pro-121503056.html?src=rss

The mini PC is misunderstood. Easily dismissed as underpowered, over-priced or just plain ugly; we intuit that a computer with a tiny footprint has to mean a compromise. Ayaneo, best known for its Windows gaming handhelds, has branched out into tiny desktops with retro-inspired designs. Thankfully Ayaneo's AM01 and AM02 mini PCs have more to offer, but their initial draw over rivals, I won't lie, is nostalgic appeal.Sadly, I'm old enough to remember using the original Macintosh that inspired the AM01 and if Nintendo ever reimagined a real NES, I hope it looks like the AM02. Both PCs come in various specifications, but to save typing out the numerous configurations the AM01 starts at $200 and comes in low-to-modest specifications, good for retro gaming and general office tasks. The AM02 is priced between $440 and $630, and all variants come with an AMD 7840HS APU, better suited for PC gaming and heavier tasks like video editing or even music production.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetAs someone that plays a lot of retro games and doesn't mind playing PC games on low or medium settings, the AM02 is fast becoming my primary gaming system. Partly because the AM02 strikes a good balance between retro and contemporary design so it fits well in my adult living room. It's also really well built. I'm not so sure about the four-inch touch screen (more on this later) but the overall design blends in nicely with a contemporary decor without calling too much attention to itself.The AM02 I've been testing is fully loaded with 32GB or RAM and 1TB of storage, but there are enough ports here that even with a lower-spec model you can add more storage or even an eGPU (thanks to a USB 4.0 port) later down the line. There are also two RJ45 ports, one of which is 2.5Gbps, future-proofing the AM02 somewhat and making it well-suited to pulling media from networked storage. This model is also powered by USB-C which makes it more portable" than its Mac-inspired sibling that uses a laptop-style power brick. Theoretically you could power a display from the AM02's USB 4 port and have a PC that can easily be moved around. Yes, they invented laptops for exactly this but a perk of mini PCs is that they aren't a pain to relocate.

This week's edition of the Official Xbox Podcast is likely to have far more eyes and ears on it than usual. That's because three top Xbox executives are set to lay out what's ahead for the brand.Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, Xbox President Sarah Bond and President of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty will share updates on the Xbox business," following rumors that several major games could be coming to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. Various reports have indicated that one-time exclusives such as Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are bound for rival platforms. Even tentpole franchises like Halo and Gears of War could be on the way to Sony and Nintendo platforms.

A team of South Korean researchers at Yonsei University have developed a hybrid rice variant that's quite literally filled with beef. The lab-grown rice grains were infused with cow muscle and fat cells, so they are one part plant and one part meat. The rice is also an appetizing shade of bright pink, which tends to happen when flesh enters the picture.The team hopes to eventually offer a cheaper and more sustainable source of protein with a much lower carbon footprint than actual beef. It'll also save time for those who enjoy a nice beef bowl over rice-the rice is the beef bowl.Here's how they achieved this culinary delight. The researchers first coated each grain of rice in fish gelatin to help the meat cells latch on. Next, they inserted cow muscle and fat stem cells into each grain, which are then left to culture in a petri dish. Rice grains feature a porous, yet organized, internal structure that actually mimics the biological scaffolds" found in meat cells. So the rice grains offer a housing that allows the cells to grow and thrive, along with molecules to provide nourishment.The meat cells grow both on the surface of the rice grain and inside of the grain itself. After around ten days, you get a finished product. The study, published in Matter, says the rice grains taste like beef sushi, which makes sense given the ingredients.Imagine obtaining all the nutrients we need from cell-cultured protein rice," primary author Sohyeon Park said in a press release. Rice already has a high nutrient level, but adding cells from livestock can further boost it."The team even envisions a day when livestock could be eliminated from the process entirely. They hope to develop a line of cells that continue to divide and grow over long periods of time, so they can source from that line instead of from actual cows. After that, we can create a sustainable food system," Park told CNN.Obviously, this is still in the research phase, so pink beef rice won't be showing up on restaurant menus anytime soon. The team's refining the growth process to produce rice grains with more nutritional value. They also hope to further improve the taste, texture and color. It could one day serve as food relief for famine, military ration, or even space food," Park said in the press release.This is just one part of a global effort to do something, anything, about the ongoing ecological disaster that is meat production. Livestock intended for slaughter are responsible for 6.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere each year, according to a UN report. That's nearly 12 percent of all human-caused carbon emissions.To that end, there are various efforts underway to create palatable and economical lab-grown meat, from cultured chicken nuggets to steaks grown using a similar gelatin-based biological scaffolding system to the aforementioned beef rice. There's also the rise of insects as a viable source of protein.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youve-tried-plant-based-meat-but-here-come-meat-based-plants-163654564.html?src=rss

Meta says it will start making businesses and influencers cover the cost of a 30 percent fee Apple is charging when they pay to promote their posts on the Facebook and Instagram iOS apps. In 2022, Apple updated its App Store policy to apply the 30 percent cut it takes from digital purchases to boosted posts, claiming that they were effectively in-app purchases. Meta is now passing that additional cost along to advertisers.Starting later this month in the US and in other markets later this year, Apple will take over billing of boosted posts through the apps. When the 30 percent fee becomes applicable, it will be more expensive for advertisers to pay for boosted posts on the Instagram and Facebook iOS apps. They can get around Apple's fee by going through the mobile web or desktop instead.Meta says its hands are tied, since it either has to play by Apple's rules or remove the boosted post feature from its iOS apps. "We do not want to remove the ability to boost posts, as this would hurt small businesses by making the feature less discoverable and potentially deprive them of a valuable way to promote their business," the company wrote in a blog post.Those who don't mind paying extra to promote posts via the iOS apps will need to go through a different payment process too. They'll have to add prepaid funds to their account and pay for boosted posts in advance of publishing them instead of after the ads run.If advertisers add prepaid funds through the Facebook or Instagram iOS apps, they'll be subject to Apple's 30 percent service fee. Alternatively, they can add funds to their Meta account on desktop or the mobile web. That way, Meta says, they can use the funds to boost posts "from any tool, including from the Instagram or Facebook iOS apps, without incurring fees."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-will-make-advertisers-cover-apples-30-percent-fee-on-boosted-facebook-and-instagram-posts-160823453.html?src=rss

Beyond the sound's quality, we want two things when it comes to headphones: a lightweight design and noise canceling. Bose's aptly named QuietComfort wireless headphones make a case for both and, right now, do so at a record-low price. The 2023 QuietComfort headphones are currently available for $249, down from $349 - a 29 percent discount. The sale applies to all colors: Cypress Green, Moonstone Blue, Black and White.The newest iteration of the Bose QuietComfort wireless headphones improves on the QuietComfort 45. While many of the features (which we'll get into) are quite similar, the 2023 model offers adjustable ANC models and an option to save custom modes. The headphones are our choice for the best noise-canceling wireless headphones for 2024.Bose's QuietComfort headphones also offer a soft earcup and padded band for that comfort component. They provide 24 hours of battery life with a 15-minute charge providing another two and a half hours of juice. As for sound quality, the QuietComfort headphones offer high-fidelity audio and adjustable EQ for even greater customization.The Ultra QuietComfort model is also on sale, with a 12 percent discount dropping the cost to $379 from $429. They offer Breakthrough Spatialized Audio, Bluetooth 5.3 and "luxurious comfort." If headphones aren't your thing, Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds are available for $249, down from $299. Plus, you can grab the SoundLink Flex Bluetooth Speaker for $129 instead of $149.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/boses-new-quietcomfort-headphones-are-100-off-right-now-145839415.html?src=rss

Last month, Bose took an interesting approach to debuting a new product when it launched its Ultra Open Earbuds exclusively through a collaboration with fashion company Kith. Now, Bose is back with its own version, nixing the co-branding while keeping the same price. For both varieties, the $299 Ultra Open Earbuds sit outside of your ear canal and clip onto the ridge of your ear to stay in place. Due to the open nature of the design, active noise cancellation (ANC) is moot, but Bose does bring its Immersive Audio tech to the table for spatial sound.Bose has gone the open" route before, debuting the Sport Open Earbuds in 2021. That model has the over-the-ear hook that we've seen on some fitness-focused earbuds, only the company opted for a hard plastic hook that doesn't bend or flex at all. This meant they weren't the most comfortable and you couldn't use them while wearing glasses or a hat. As open-type earbuds have become increasingly popular, mostly for the allure of all day" wear by allowing you to stay in-tune with your surroundings, Bose developed this model that fixes all the issues of its previous design. There are some trade-offs with earbuds that sit outside of your ear canal, but you may be willing to overlook them in the name of style, comfort and functionality.DesignPhoto by Kate Steele/EngadgetFor the Ultra Open Earbuds, Bose created a two-piece design that consists of a rounded speaker chamber that sits outside of your ear canal and a cylindrical battery box that rests behind your ear. In between is a strip of soft-touch, flexible silicon that wraps around the edge of your ear for what the company calls a light-as-air grip." There are onboard controls too, as the battery barrel on both sides each holds a single, multi-function button.Bose describes the Ultra Open Earbuds as more fashion accessory than traditional wearable," and they certainly aren't inconspicuous. They provide a lewk that you'll need to be okay with. During my testing, not everyone I encountered, even in my own home, was a fan.It's really hard for me to look at you when you have those things on," my wife said. They're a vibe." On the bright side, that vibe got me out of a conversation with a door-to-door internet salesman quickly as they suggested I was on call."Polarizing design aside, the Ultra Open Earbuds are extremely comfortable to wear. Earbuds that go into your ears are fine for a few hours at most for me before they become a test of my endurance. Open-type earbuds are different, of course, and these are certainly the most comfy of the sort that I've tested thanks to the lack of a hook. And that clip-on pressure is so light that you don't feel any irritation there. There's enough of a grip to hold the IPX4-rated earbuds in place though, even during workouts.Bose Music app and featuresPhoto by Billy Steele/EngadgetLike most of Bose's recent products, the Ultra Open Earbuds work with the company's Music app for access to features and settings. There isn't anything new here that wasn't available on the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds that debuted last year, except for some guidance about how to put the Ultra Open Earbuds on. Most of the tools you'll need are still front-and-center on the main screen, with things like battery life, sound modes, EQ, Immersive Audio and Bluetooth connections easily accessible. The Ultra Open Earbuds don't have multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, so though the app does show multiple devices to stream from, you can only sync with one at a time. And since these are meant to be worn all the time, there's no automatic pausing either.The app also lets you reassign what the onboard button does, but only one gesture is available for customizing: press-and-hold. By default, it's set to cycle between stereo and Immersive Audio modes. You can also employ it to change the Immersive Audio setting (Still, Motion, Off), switch Bluetooth connections, summon your voice assistant or simply disable it entirely. Left and right buttons can be configured individually, putting different tasks on either side. Bose does include onboard volume control despite only having one physical button on the earbuds. A double press then hold on the right increases the level while the same sequence on the left lowers it.Sound qualityOne unique aspect of the Ultra Open Earbuds audio-wise is the fact that you can wear them anywhere along your ear they sound and feel the best. This could be at the bottom of your ear or along the back edge. Bose says positioning around your ear doesn't affect overall sound quality so long as the speaker component is placed first before wrapping the silicon flex arm" around back. There are certain spots where the Ultra Open Earbuds feel and sound better, but it always takes a small adjustment to find the sweet spot when I first put them on.Bose says that the Ultra Open Earbuds use so-called Open Audio in tandem with its spatial Immersive Audio tech for a breakthrough experience." According to the company, the former allows you to listen to tunes with almost no sound leaks" to those around you. I found that this only holds true up to about 50 percent volume level. Above that, people around you in quiet settings will hear what you're listening to. Not in great detail unless you crank the earbuds all the way up, but a general rumble is audible to those nearby.Immersive Audio, Bose's spatial sound technology, puts you in the acoustic sweet spot to improve the overall listening experience. This works really well on the QC Ultra Earbuds and QC Ultra Headphones where your ears are closed off and the sound is directed at them. With the Ultra Open Earbuds, the difference between stereo and Immersive Audio in terms of overall sound quality is subtle. And since Immersive Audio has such an impact on battery life, it's probably best if you leave it off if you aren't able to greatly distinguish between the two modes.Photo by Billy Steele/EngadgetIn general, the Ultra Open Earbuds suffer the same fate as most open-type audio wearables. You sacrifice sound quality to keep your ears clear, which certainly increases overall comfort most, if not all of the time. Specifically, there's a lack of dynamic tuning as the audio profile rests mostly in the mid range. Bass is subdued, as are the crisp highs from Bose's other recent audio gear. These are still some of the best open-type earbuds I've tested in terms of sound, but their design leads to a less impressive listening experience compared to in-ear buds.There is a decent low-end thump when listening to things like Com Truise's synth-tinged electronic instrumentals. But, it doesn't have the same deep bass punch as closed-off earbuds. There's also still good detail in mellow selections like Kacey Musgraves' Deeper Well" but even then the sound is more compressed than usual, so the openness of the track is quite subdued. The overall audio quality depends on how the earbuds fit on your ears as I could improve things by holding them close to my ear canal, but they don't stay there without assistance. Where they rest on their own, though, doesn't deliver the best these buds have to offer.There also seems to be a reverb-y echo on the Ultra Open Earbuds, like the two sides are slightly out of sync. This is the biggest knock on the sound quality for me as it's very evident when listening to podcasts. It sounds like the host recorded in a school hallway even when the audio is pristine. It doesn't make the earbuds unusable, but it's enough to be noticeable, especially on isolated voices. I've reached out to Bose for more information on why this is happening, and whether there might be a fix coming. (Update: This is caused by Immersive Audio mode being active for podcasts. After some guidance from Bose, I disabled it, which fixed the issue.)Call qualityDue to their design, the Ultra Open Earbuds are great for hearing yourself on calls. Your ears aren't blocked, so you don't ever feel the need to shout or worry about a subpar transparency mode. When you're speaking, voice quality is decent, but only in quiet areas. If you encounter medium-to-high levels of ambient noise, which I simulated with a white noise machine and a louder-than-average bathroom fan, that background clamor is very apparent to the person on the other side.Battery lifePhoto by Billy Steele/EngadgetOn the Ultra Open Earbuds, battery life is drastically impacted by the spatial Immersive Audio. Bose says you can expect up to four and a half hours with it turned on or up to seven and half hours without. Battery life also took a hit on the QC Ultra Earbuds and the QC Ultra Headphones when Immersive Audio was at work, so this isn't a surprise. But, cutting the expected play time by about half is more of a decrease than what I experienced on those two models. During my tests, I managed just over five hours of playtime at 75 percent volume with Immersive Audio active almost the entire time. This includes letting the earbuds sit idle in standby mode twice for around 30-45 minutes before picking them back up (breaks not factored into use time).The good news is there are nearly three full charges in the case, no matter which audio mode you use. A 10-minute rest will give you up to two hours of playtime and the Ultra Open Earbuds take one hour to fully charge. The bad news is that the case doesn't charge wirelessly out of the box, so you'll need to plug in a USB-C cable. Bose will sell a wireless charging cover for the case like it does with the QC Ultra Earbuds ($49).The competitionThere are fewer options for open-wear earbuds than there are traditional" models. One in particular is worth considering as an alternative to the Ultra Open Earbuds. Shokz is better known for its bone-conduction models that keep your ears completely free from obstruction, but the company also makes the OpenFit ($180) open-ear headphones. Engadget homepage editor Jon Turi observed rich bass" during his review, but with a crunchy" edge to super-low frequencies. Senior commerce editor Valentina Palladino has also tested these, noting the balanced weight distribution that helps them stay in place during workouts. Of course, these have the over-the-ear hook, so you'll have to contend with that interfering with glasses or headwear.For something more mainstream, I'd suggest Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. They are certainly the best true wireless model yet from the company, with stellar ANC performance and that Immersive Audio tech that doesn't require special content for spatial sound. They're also slightly cheaper at $249.Wrap-upKudos to Bose for thinking outside the box for its latest set of open-style earbuds. The Ultra Open Earbuds' design is certainly unique, and it's also very comfortable. If you're going to wear these all day like the company expects, they can't be painful at any point, and these certainly aren't. However, you'll need to make some sacrifices in terms of audio, unless these fit you right in the sweet spot close to your ear canal. If all-day wear is your goal, though, and you enjoy the benefits of the open design, you'll likely be ok with the sonic deficiencies.The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are available starting today in black and white color options for $299.Update, February 15 2024, 11:09AM ET: This review was updated with more info on the use of Immersive Audio when listening to podcasts.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bose-ultra-open-earbuds-review-function-meets-fashion-140015467.html?src=rss

NVIDIA is doing very well for itself, so much so that the chip maker has overtaken Alphabet, Google's parent company, to become the third most valuable company in the United States, Reuters reports. The news comes almost immediately after NVIDIA pushed past Amazon in the rankings, with the company now valued at $1.83 trillion. Worldwide, it sits in fourth, behind American companies Microsoft ($3.04 trillion) and Apple ($2.84 trillion) and the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco ($2.07 trillion).AI's boom over the last year is largely to thank for NVIDIA's jump in valuation, with about 80 percent of the high-end chip market in its hands. It created the H100 chip, which powers LLMs at OpenAI, Amazon, Meta and more. In January, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta will buy 350,000 of NVIDIA's H100 chips by the end of the year.Unlike most companies that are engaged in a competition over which will advance in AI the quickest, NVIDIA has its figurative hands in all baskets. The chip maker is also expanding its business to create custom chips for cloud computing firms. This additional offering can keep NVIDIA in the mix, even as AI manufacturers seek more bespoke options.NVIDIA's quarterly report will drop on Wednesday, February 21, and while it's expected to be positive, anything less than excellent could lower the company's valuation and, thus, ranking. Predictions set NVIDIA's quarterly earnings tripling to $20.37 billion and net profits jumping 400 percent to $11.38 billion.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nvidia-becomes-the-third-most-valuable-us-company-at-alphabets-expense-123503967.html?src=rss

Intuitive Machines' Odysseus has started making its way to the moon and could make history as the first privately built lander to touch down on the lunar surface. The lander was ferried to space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket using a booster that already had 17 flights under its belt before this one and could even fly again in the future, seeing as it had safely returned to Earth on the company's Landing Zone 1. Both SpaceX and Intuitive Machines have confirmed that Odysseus has successfully been deployed and has started its multi-day journey to the moon.

While Apple's MacBook Pro is a clear choice for most creatives over its MacBook Air counterpart, the higher cost is prohibitive. If that's been stopping you from picking one up, then you're in luck: Apple's 2023 MacBook Pro with a M3 Pro chip is currently on sale for $1,799, down from $1,999. The 10 percent discount still leaves the 14-inch laptop with a few hundred dollars between it and even the most expensive 2023 MacBook Air, but it's worth it if you want the 11-core M3 Pro's extra power.Apple released the new 2023 MacBook Pro last November with three different M3 chips: the standard, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. The mid-range model is what's currently on sale and offers a 14.2-inch screen, a Liquid Retina XDR display and a magic keyboard with touch ID. It has 18GB of RAM, a 14-core GPU and 512GB of SSD storage. Plus, it has 18 hours of battery life when starting out.This MacBook Pro also has a 1080p HD camera and a Spatial Audio-equipped sound system with six speakers. It's also very connection-friendly, with an HDMI port, a headphone jack, MagSafe charging port, three Thunderbolt 4 points and an SDXC card slot.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/apples-macbook-pro-with-m3-pro-chip-falls-back-to-a-low-of-1799-110557157.html?src=rss

GM has announced a significant expansion of its Super Cruise operating area by around 750,000 miles to rural roads and minor highways in the US and Canada, TechCrunch reported. The upgrade is set to be completed by 2025 and will nearly double the automaker's current 400,000 mile network.First launched in 2017, Super Cruise allows fully hands-free operation under the supervision of a driver, who must be ready to take control at any time. It uses highly accurate GPS, cameras, radar sensors and a driver attention system to ensure the operator is paying attention.However, it can only be operated on designated roads that have been LiDAR scanned for GM by a third-party contractor. That generates maps maps showing lane level data, topography, the radius of road curves and more, allowing Super Cruise to adjust speeds when necessary. That's particularly important on rural roads and highways that are more likely to have tight curves, steep hills and other potentially dangerous sections.The automaker has taken a slow approach to its driver assistance system, especially compared to rival Tesla, which offers a $12,000 Full Self Driving system that can operate on city streets. GM recently unveiled the Ultra Cruise system that could also work in cities, saying it could be used "95 percent" of the time hands-free. However, that program was reportedly cancelled, with GM now fully focusing on Super Cruise.GM offers 15 vehicles with Super Cruise, including pickups, SUVs, the Bolt EUV and all Cadillac models. Up until now, it's largest Super Cruise expansion took place in 2022, growing from 200,000 to 400,000 miles.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gms-super-cruise-expansion-adds-750000-miles-of-rural-roads-100119273.html?src=rss

After designating social media as a "public health hazard" in late January, New York City is now suing Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok for "fueling nationwide youth mental health crisis." Specifically, these companies face three counts in the lawsuit: public nuisance, negligence and gross negligence. The Mayor Eric Adams administration accuses TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube of "endangering our children's mental health, promoting addiction, and encouraging unsafe behavior."These are allegedly achieved by way of harmful algorithms, gambling-like mechanisms and manipulation through reciprocity - making the user "feel compelled to respond to one positive action with another positive action." The city believes that there is a correlation between the increase in social media usage and the decline in local youth mental health over "more than a decade."In response, Google and Meta told CNBC that they have always worked with youth safety experts and provided parental control tools. ByteDance's TikTok also highlighted some of its specific tools to Axios, namely age-restricted features, parental controls and an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18. However, none of the tech companies acknowledged the problematic features listed by the Adams administration.This lawsuit follows a recent Senate hearing on online child safety, in which the CEOs of all the aforementioned tech companies (except Google) were present. In his opening remarks, Senator Lindsey Graham told the tech execs that "you have blood on your hands" - a reference to online child exploitations and cyberbullying that unfortunately led to deaths.Through this case, the Adams administration wants these tech companies to pay up for the city's youth mental health services, which apparently cost more than $100 million each year. But ultimately, it's about forcing these tech giants to stop manipulating young users into addictive behavior, as well as to make policymakers place new federal laws that safeguard youth mental health on social platforms.Before this New York City lawsuit, Meta already faces a similar case from 41 states back in October 2023, in which it was accused of misleading the public about the safety of its platform's "addictive" features. Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google were also sued in a multi-district litigation in 2022 for their addictive features that allegedly cause "emotional and physical harms, including death" to adolescents.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-york-city-is-suing-social-media-firms-for-allegedly-harming-the-mental-health-of-children-082524295.html?src=rss

Elon Musk has started moving his businesses away from Delaware, following a judge's decision in the state to invalidate his $56 billion Tesla pay package. In a post on X, Musk has announced that SpaceX has moved its corporate home from Delaware to Texas, along with a copy of the certificate of conversion it received from the Texas Secretary of State. "If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible," the executive added.

The parents of a teenager who was killed in Florida's Parkland school shooting in 2018 have started a bold new project called The Shotline to lobby for stricter gun laws in the country. The Shotline uses AI to recreate the voices of children killed by gun violence and send recordings through automated calls to lawmakers, The Wall Street Journal reported.The project launched on Wednesday, six years after a gunman killed 17 people and injured more than a dozen at a high school in Parkland, Florida. It features the voice of six children, some as young as ten, and young adults, who have lost their lives in incidents of gun violence across the US. Once you type in your zip code, The Shotline finds your local representative and lets you place an automated call from one of the six dead people in their own voice, urging for stronger gun control laws. I'm back today because my parents used AI to recreate my voice to call you," says the AI-generated voice of Joaquin Oliver, one of the teenagers killed in the Parkland shooting. Other victims like me will be calling too." At the time of publishing, more than 8,000 AI calls had been submitted to lawmakers through the website.

Another day, another layoff occuring in the tech world. Instacart, the popular grocery delivery and pick-up service has announced the termination of 250 employees - about seven percent of its workforce. The layoffs are primarily individuals in management, as Instacart told Engadget that it was moving towards a flatter organization. The company also said that it was disbanding some teams working on smaller projects in favor of focusing on bigger bets like retail-powered media and off-platform ads. Most of the layoffs will go into effect by March 31 with Instacart estimating that the process will cost the company between $19 million and $24 million due to factors like severance pay and employee benefits.Instacart released the news along with its fourth-quarter earnings. Despite choosing to layoff employees, the company reported a six percent increase in revenue, jumping from $803 million to $804 million, year-over-year. At the same time, Instacart is seeing the voluntary departure of three of its executives: the chief operating officer, chief technology officer and chief architect.The layoffs follow only a short time after Instacart's September 2023 IPO. Unlike many companies that barely (or didn't) survive the COVID-19 pandemic, Instacart thrived. It allowed people to stay and still receive their groceries and other necessary items. Now, it exists in 5,500 cities and, like most companies of the past year, is focusing on building its AI capabilities. But, despite its increased revenue, the company's layoffs signal that not everything is going as planned over at Instacart.Update, Feb 14 2024, 5:45PM ET: This story has been updated with additional details from Instacart about the parts of the organization affected, and to note that Instacart primarily isn't letting people go who are working on their ads products.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instacart-cuts-250-jobs-after-reporting-increased-revenue-112503431.html?src=rss

Sony may shrink the gap between the launches of its PlayStation exclusives and PC ports. Company president Hiroki Totoki suggested in a post-earnings call Q&A session Wednesday (via VGC) that he wants PlayStation to go aggressive on improving our margin performance," with multi-platform" games playing a significant role. He clarified in the talk that, by multi-platform, he meant on PlayStation and PC - not Xbox or Switch.When asked about Sony's profits not keeping up with increasing gross income, he said hardware and first-party games were two areas of focus. He noted that hardware cost reduction this console cycle was difficult to come by," suggesting we won't see any permanent console price drops.I personally think there are opportunities out there for improvement of margin, so I would like to go aggressive on improving our margin performance," he continued. Totoki hinted one way to get there is to cash in more on its (often critically acclaimed and commercially successful) PlayStation Studios titles, like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and God of War: Ragnarok.In the past, we wanted to popularize consoles, and a first-party title's main purpose was to make the console popular," Totoki said in the Q&A. This is true, but there's a synergy to it, so if you have strong first-party content - not only on our console but also other platforms, like computers - a first-party [game] can be grown with multi-platform, and that can help operating profit to improve, so that's another one we want to proactively work on."The Last of Us Part INaughty Dog / SonyThat's a clear shift from PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst's thoughts in 2022. He said then that PC gamers would have to wait at least a year" before seeing first-party PlayStation games (minus live service titles) on their computers. God of War (2018) and the first Marvel's Spider-Man had about a four-year gap between their PS4 and PC launches. The latter's Miles Morales spin-off saw about a two-year turnaround.On February 8, Sony launched Helldivers 2 on PS5 and Windows simultaneously. VGC notes the game led to PlayStation Studios' highest concurrent Steam player count -beating God of War (2018), The Last of Us Part I and Horizon Zero Dawn. Helldivers 2 was developed by Arrowhead Games with Sony Interactive Entertainment publishing.It isn't clear if Totoki meant we can expect future PlayStation tentpoles like the upcoming Wolverine game or the ever-popular Spider-Man, God of War or various Naughty Dog franchises to appear on PC on the same day as console. But a strategy shift is underway regardless, and Totoki will have the leverage to put the plan into action: He takes over for Jim Ryan as interim CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment in April.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-wants-its-playstation-exclusives-to-come-to-pc-earlier-212001939.html?src=rss