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Netflix is adding two more releases to its excellent library of games. The streaming giant announced Monday it recently secured exclusive mobile rights to Dust & Neon and Highwater, two upcoming titles from indie publisher Rogue Games. Of the two, the former will arrive first when it hits Android, iOS, PC and Nintendo Switch on February 16th. As with past Netflix releases, you can download and play Dust & Neon for free on mobile, provided you subscribe to the service. The same will go for Highwater when it arrives at a later date. Additionally, neither game will include ads or in-app microtransactions.Rogue Games describes Dust & Neon as a rogue-lite twin-stick shooter. Stylistically, the game looks like a mix of Steamworld Dig and West of Dead. One interesting facet of gameplay is that you manually reload your firearms. Each weapon has its own reload animation, and there are almost 2,000 guns to find in the game, according to Rogue Games. Highwater, meanwhile, is an adventure strategy game set in a world ravaged by climate change. It’s a title with a fair amount of excitement around it, partly due to the fact that it was first shown off during Summer Game Fest last year.

Cloud gaming libraries normally get larger, but Amazon Luna's appears to be shrinking — for now, at least. 9to5Googlenotes that the paid Luna+ tier will lose 53 games in February. Many of these are older or niche titles you won't necessarily miss, but that does mean losing classics like No More Heroes (gone February 11th) as well as more recent titles like The Medium (February 9th).We've asked Amazon for comment. In a statement to 9to5Google, a spokesperson said only that Amazon was "refreshing" its content as part of a goal to keep its collection "as fresh as possible."The issue, as you might guess, is that this isn't an isolated situation. Amazon dropped another 46 games from Luna+ in December, and some of these were from well-known franchises like the Yakuza series. CloudDosagereports the February cull will leave Luna+ with 175 games. That could make it a tough sell if you're willing to pay for variety. Microsoft's Game Pass and Sony's PlayStation Plus Premium are more expensive, but promise access to hundreds of games (if frequently from the back catalog).The shrinking selection doesn't come at a great time, either. Google shut down Stadia just last month, and that service didn't bleed games. Amazon's platform won't necessarily suffer the same fate, but it's not entering a thriving market — and those rivals that are left sometimes offer perks you won't find with Luna, such as GeForce Now's 240Hz mode.

Fans of HBO's The Last of Us who are also into football were facing a bit of a quandary this weekend: catch the latest episode live and avoid the risk of spoilers, or tune into the Super Bowl? Thankfully, HBO Max is making that decision much easier. The fifth episode of the excellent adaptation of Naughty Dog's game will hit the streaming service and HBO On Demand two days early.You'll be able to stream the episode starting at 9PM ET this Friday. It will still air in its usual 9PM ET timeslot on HBO's cable channel on Sunday, but many fans may opt to watch the titanic tussle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles instead.This is a smart, one-off move from HBO as The Last of Us is already a massive hit, with viewership figures that have grown from week to week. It has already been renewed for a second season. The linear airing of the next episode is likely to get hammered in the ratings by the Super Bowl, but this could help HBO maintain the show's momentum and distance the TLOU discourse from football this weekend.This isn't the only time that The Last of Us is facing stern competition throughout its first season. Last night, it went up against the Grammy Awards and the season finale will air the same night as the Oscars. The Banshees of Inisherin is great ]and all (I still have to catch up on most of the Best Picture nominees), but I know what I'll be watching on March 12th.In case you haven't checked out HBO's take on The Last of Us yet, you can watch the first, feature-length episode for free on HBO Max if you're in the US. Folks in the UK can catch the spectacular premiere on YouTube.

Folks who are in the market for a great smartphone at an excellent price should definitely consider these deals on Google's Pixel 7 lineup. At Amazon, the Pixel 7 is down to $499, which is $150 off the standard price. The Pixel 7 Pro has received an identical discount, as it has dropped to $749.Over at Best Buy, however, the phones have fallen to $399 and $599, respectively. While those are the best prices we've seen for either phone, they only apply if you choose the "Activate Today" option. You'd need to immediately activate the phone on AT&T, Google Fi, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon, as Android Police points out. That may not make this option ideal if you use a smaller carrier or want to give a Pixel to someone else.We scored the Pixel 7 a 90 and the Pixel Pro 7 a 92 in our review. We like the updated design, solid battery life (almost 18 hours in our testing), upgraded software features powered by Android 13 and the 90Hz display of the Pixel 7. On the downside, we felt that Google hadn't improved the general performance despite using a new Tensor G2 chip, while the lack of mmWave 5G support on the base model was disappointing.Still, there's a ton to like about the Pixel 7. The camera tech, which includes an unblurring tool that even works on old photos from other devices, is excellent and features like audio message transcription are very welcome.The larger display, better camera system and higher refresh rate of the Pixel 7 Pro might make it worth opting for that model. However, the Pixel 7 devices aren't as powerful as higher-end Android devices and iPhones. Meanwhile, some people might be tempted to wait for the rumored Pixel 7a, but that's not expected until Google I/O in May.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

It's a good time to buy a smartwatch if you're committed to improving your fitness this year. Amazon is selling the 41mm GPS Apple Watch Series 8 with a Product Red case and matching Sport Band for $329, or a steep $70 off. That's the best price we've seen for Apple's latest wearable to date, and could make it an easy choice if you're an iPhone user. The latest 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE in Starlight is also discounted to just $219 (normally $249) if you're happy with the essentials.The Apple Watch Series 8 is a modest update compared to its predecessor, but that still makes it one of the best smartwatches on the market. It's fast with a beautiful display, a wide range of apps and tight integration with the Apple ecosystem. Crash detection can help notify first responders in an emergency, while a temperature sensor can help users tracking their ovulation cycles. This is the smartwatch you want if you're an iPhone owner and value all-round performance.It's not for everyone. Android users can't even consider it, of course, but you may want a dedicated fitness watch if detailed exercise tracking is vital. You may also want to look at alternatives (including the Apple Watch Ultra) if you want more than a day of battery life with full functionality. For that matter, there's a chance the Apple Watch Series 8 is overkill. If you don't care for an always-on display or advanced health sensors, the second-gen SE offers many of the 8's core features at a considerably lower price.Buy Apple Watch SE at Amazon - $219Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

For digital artists or those who just prefer the feel of writing out notes with their hand, we think the second-generation Apple Pencil is, unsurprisingly, the best iPad stylus you can buy. Its chief issue is that it's usually expensive, but if you've been thinking of grabbing one, a new discount has brought the device back down to $90 at Amazon and Target. Though we've seen this deal a few times in the past, it still comes within a dollar of the lowest price we've tracked and $39 below Apple's MSRP.For the unfamiliar, both the first- and second-gen Apple Pencils are specifically designed to work with iPads (and only iPads). Neither device forces you to deal with Bluetooth, and both offer system-wide pressure sensitivity across iPadOS, so the harder you press down, the heavier your lines get.This latest Pencil released back in 2018, but it remains a substantial upgrade over the original. While both versions perform reliably, the second-gen model can magnetically attach and charge against the edge of a compatible iPad, instead of forcing you to connect over a Lightning port or dongle. Its flatter sides make it less prone to rolling away, and there's a handy double-tap feature that lets you quickly swap between drawing tools and an eraser in certain apps. With the latest iPad Pros, you can also interact with UI elements just by hovering the Pencil over the tablet's display.Besides its price, the Pencil's chief hang-up is compatibility. The second-gen model works with the fourth-gen iPad Air and up, any 11-inch iPad Pro, the third-gen 12.9-inch iPad Pro and up and the sixth-gen iPad mini. Any older models aren't supported, nor are the 9th- or 10th-gen iPads Apple sells today. Still, if you own a compatible model and plan on using your stylus often, the second-gen Pencil is still your best bet, and this discount makes it a little more accessible. If you only want a pen for casual doodling and note-taking, meanwhile, we still like the Logitech Crayon as a cheaper alternative.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

I’ve never been a fan of Valentine’s Day. Or rather, I’m not a fan of the traditional gifts given on Valentine’s Day, like chocolates and flowers. Flowers die, and you may get sick of yet another box of so-so candy from Russell Stover or Whitman’s. And I’m not alone; lots of people would prefer a PlayStation 5 to a parcel of purple pansies. If your loved one is a gamer, why not show them your affection with something that actually makes their hobby more enjoyable (and won’t need to be watered)?8BitDo Pro 2Maybe you love playing games together on a Nintendo Switch, but you’re far less fond about having to split the teeny tiny Joy-Con controllers. Why not upgrade the experience with 8BitDo’s Pro 2 controller, shaped to fit comfortably in most hands, highly customizable and available in a few colors to fit a few gamer styles. It also works with PC, macOS and even the Raspberry Pi if your gamer likes to tinker.Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2When you really want to pamper your Xbox player, why not upgrade them from the standard gamepad to the Elite Controller? This premium accessory looks classy and feels great in the hand, thanks to its rubberized grips and interchangeable thumbsticks. The paddles on the back add yet another control scheme for your player to take advantage of, and the dual triggers are even adjustable for the type of game being played.Scuf Instinct ProIf you’re not a fan of the paddle style of the Elite Controller, know that the Scuf Instinct Pro offers a lot of the same features with a different twist. The back features two horizontal paddles that fit nicely under the fingers, and the hex pattern on the grips is great at wicking away sweat. Pro gamers will especially love the Instant Triggers, which can switch to a mouse-like click at the flip of a switch.SteelSeries Arctis 1Wireless headsets are a dime a dozen these days, but one that can work seamlessly with the Nintendo Switch and Android phones are still somewhat rare. Of those, the SteelSeries Arctis 1 is probably still the best. It’s sleek, comfortable and highly portable, connecting to devices via the easy USB-C dongle. Even if your loved one already has a wireless gaming headset in their arsenal, this is one that’s made to travel and makes a great buy.Razer Kraken KittyNot every gamer accessory has to be intimidating and hardcore. Razer makes a great line of products aimed at gamers who don’t want all-black everything – or those that really like pink – and they don’t compromise on quality. The Kraken Kitty is famous for its kawaii design that looks great and feels great, making it ideal for long hours streaming on Twitch or YouTube. If you’re not into the cotton candy look, the headset is also available in black for a grimmer style.Logitech Litra GlowStreaming is the hot thing for a lot of players right now, whether they do it for fun or profit. But it can take a bit of an investment to get started, so gifting them some of that gear is a great idea. Sure, a camera is an obvious necessity, but good lighting is also key and Logitech’s new Litra Glow will create bright, even light that’s easy to hook up thanks to the company’s expertise and software.Logitech StreamCamIf your gamer is in the market for a new webcam, preferably one that can stream for both PC and mobile, the Logitech StreamCam is right up their alley. It’s easy to use, sure, but the real appeal is that it can film in either landscape or portrait mode, making it ideal to create content for not just YouTube and Twitch, but also TikTok and Instagram.Elgato Stream Deck MiniBeyond a webcam and a mic, one tool that’s becoming increasingly common for streamers is an Elgato Stream Deck. The sheer amount of customization options might seem a bit intimidating at first, but the company makes a smaller “mini” version with six buttons for triggering various actions, set up via the incredibly easy software. If your gamer is already streaming with ease, you can step up to the larger and more expensive Stream Deck MK.2 instead, which features more buttons and a customizable faceplate.Animal Crossing Winter Collector’s BoxNot every gamer gift has to be one used to play games with — some can just be an expression of style, like this adorable Animal Crossing Collector’s Box. For only $40, your player gets an adorable winter-themed tote bag, a heat-reactive mug and coasters for their favorite hot drink and, of course, a fuzzy blanket for curling up on the couch.Danielle Nicole Zelda WalletForget the expensive jewelry, give your gamer a bit of Zelda bling this Valentine’s Day with this new Zelda-themed wallet from Danielle Nicole. The bag features 12 card slots, a coin purse and plenty of room for cash as well. Best of all is how subtle it is in gold and white, so your player can get their geek on even at the fanciest functions.

PC shipments are plunging due to a tough economy and the pandemic recovery, and that's proving to be especially painful for Dell. The company is laying off about five percent of its workforce, or roughly 6,650 employees, to cope with a "challenging global economic environment." Earlier cost reduction measures like an external hiring freeze weren't enough, according to operations chief Jeff Clarke. A market that "continues to erode" requires further action, he says.The layoffs include organizational changes and "resets," Clarke says. This includes streamlined sales and services, as well as engineering that focuses on "priority offerings." Bloombergnotes the job cuts will bring Dell's employee count to its lowest in six years, and 39,000 below what it had at the start of the pandemic in January 2020.Dell was one of the major beneficiaries of the pandemic as people rushed to buy PCs for remote work. Now that the boom is over, however, the firm's dependence on computers (approximately 55 percent of its revenue) is becoming a liability — particularly in an economic climate where purchasing power is dropping. Gartner and IDC both estimate that Dell's shipments plunged 16 percent in 2022 compared to the year before, and 37 percent in the last quarter. That's one of the worst declines among major PC vendors, and only Acer fared worse in the fourth quarter with a 41 percent drop.This is just the latest in a series of layoffs this year, and it comes just months after key rival HP said it would lay off as many as 6,000 workers. Few tech companies have avoided taking a hit in recent months, and even relatively successful brands like Apple are still grappling with falling sales. Simply speaking, Dell might only recover once the industry as a whole has turned a corner.

I almost never leave the house without some device dedicated to exercising the creative part of my brain. Sometimes this is as simple as a camera or a field recorder. Other times I bring my Teenage Engineering PO-33 with me. It’s not that my phone and a few apps couldn’t accomplish the same thing. It’s just less satisfying. Less tactile.I have also made no bones about my love of strange, esotericmusic gear. Bastl Instruments’ Microgranny fits the bill for both these wants. It’s tiny, battery-powered and super weird. But I didn’t click with it immediately. I owned a Microgranny 2 briefly a few years back and ended up selling it. Yet, there was something about its crunchy lofi character that I couldn’t shake. So when Bastl Instruments launched the $246Microgranny Monolith, I decided I should give it another shot.HardwareTerrence O'Brien / EngadgetThe Monolith is the Microgranny in its “final form.” Though, ultimately, it’s not terribly different from the Microgranny 2 that I slightly regret parting ways with. It’s a 5.5 x 3 x 1.8 inch monophonic sampler powered by a 9v battery (or 9v guitar pedal power cord). It has a built-in microphone for capturing the world around you in glorious 22,050Hz, 8-bit fidelity, as well as a line in and a microSD card preloaded with samples. There’s also a full-size MIDI in and audio out jack on the back.The controls are pretty easy to figure out, though there is a slight learning curve to things like the recording and instant loop features. On the front are the six “big buttons” for playing back your samples, each of which also has a shift function. There’s also six smaller buttons and six knobs for controlling various parameters. All of this is in the exact same layout, with the exact same labeling as the Microgranny 2.Physically, the only notable differences are in build quality. The Monolith is made out of dense PCB material instead of acrylic. And the knobs and buttons are all much more satisfying than the usable, but kind of toy-like ones found on the Microgranny 2. The text is also easier to read thanks to the brighter font and dark case. All-in-all, it’s a substantial physical upgrade.The one thing that hasn’t changed, that I really wish would have, is how you put batteries in the Microgranny. Bastl is a small company that makes instruments for weirdos, so I try to cut it some slack. But replacing the batteries on this thing is aggravating. You have to unscrew the bottom plate and take it off, which inevitably causes the sides of the instrument to also come off. Then, when you’re done shoving a 9v battery in there, you have to carefully realign all the pieces and hope everything stays in place while you screw it back together.Fighting with the battery is really only an issue if you want to take the Microgranny out of the house with you. Otherwise you can use a standard 9V AC adapter, like the one most guitar pedals use. Thankfully, I happen to have plenty of those laying around. Obviously, this somewhat negates the portability factor, but as I’ll get to in a bit, that turned out to be less of a lure to me than expected. It’s also worth noting that the output is a little noisy when turned all the way up, so definitely stop at about 75 percent if you’re not into low constant whines.GranularTerrence O'Brien / EngadgetWhat sets the Microgranny apart in a sea of portable and affordable music gear is that it’s a granular sampler. Now, Bastl is careful not to use the words “granular synthesizer” in most of its marketing materials. And that’s smart. Because if you’re coming here expecting the lush, alien and often ambient soundscapes usually associated with granular synthesis you will be sorely disappointed.For one, as mentioned earlier, the Microgranny is monophonic. That means you can’t play chords on it unless you’re sampling one. And two, the sound engine can only playback a single “grain” at a time. On something like the 1010music Lemondrop, for instance, you can get up to 16 bits of an audio file running simultaneously, creating complex and often unpredictable textures from the source material. The Microgranny, well, is more like a playable CD skip. But once you embrace that unabashed lofi nature, that’s when you can really connect with it.Engadget · Bastl Instruments Microgranny Monolith sound samplesUsing the controls on the front, you can change the size of the grains, but you’ll never get smooth single cycle waveforms even at the smallest end. Instead the sound is broken and glitchy, like a corrupted MP3 you downloaded from Kazaa in 2002. You can control the speed and direction the playhead travels through your sample using the shift speed knob. It’s almost like very rudimentary time stretching. It doesn’t change the pitch of the sample you're playing back, but it can drag it out in an unnatural and artifact-riddled way.Then there is sample rate, which changes both the pitch and speed of a sound, similar to an old school sampler. And crush – an absolutely unforgiving bit-crusher — that takes the already crusty character of the Microgranny to full meltdown even at lower settings. When cranked, crush turns any sample into what can only be described as an Atari 2600 trying to approximate the thunderous approach of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetThere are also knobs for controlling the start and end points of a sample, as well as the attack and release. They’re basic things that you’ll need, but don’t impart much character. The other important controls are all shift functions found under the big buttons. Hold down FN and press those to turn on legato, set a sample to repeat, sync grain playback to a MIDI clock signal and randomly shift the playback head.Then there are two other options – RNDMZR – which does what you’d expect: randomize all the parameters for the last played sample. This is the quickest way to complete aural chaos. And “tuned,” which has two different effects. For one it locks the sample rate options to semitones, instead of smooth pitch shifting. And two, when you connect a MIDI keyboard it will transpose the sample for melodic playback. When this is inactive, a keyboard will play back individual grains instead. The latter sounds great in theory, but I’ve honestly had a hard time finding a practical use for it.In useTerrence O'Brien / EngadgetInitially I was excited about the idea of the Microgranny as a go-everywhere, granular noise maker. Obviously everyone’s tastes and use cases are different, but I’ve found that it’s just not ideal for me in that role. For one, the limitations of the monophonic granular engine mean that it’s kind of hard to create something full and musical by simply snatching samples around me.There’s no sequencer, so I can’t save a fun found-sound drum pattern for later use back in my home studio. I have to remember what I played and rely on my admittedly lackluster sense of rhythm. And the microphone just isn’t particularly sensitive. Even with the input cranked the source needs to be very loud. I turned my phone up all the way, placed the speaker less than half an inch away from the mic, and it was still pretty quiet. Your better bet is using the input jack directly connected to another audio source, like a synth or external mic.While the granular engine is definitely fun for getting glitchy stuttering sounds, I find it’s best deployed in moderation. Treating the Microgranny as a more traditional (if exceptionally lofi) sampler, though, delivers extremely satisfying results. Since there’s no way to play a sample chromatically in real time on the device itself, that does mean you’d need to sample individual notes or chords to create something melodic without the aid of a MIDI keyboard. Or, you could take one sample, copy and paste it across the six big buttons and adjust the sample rate of each to create a scale.This isn’t to say that the Microgranny isn’t a fun or melodic instrument. It’s just that it feels more useful in the studio than out. I love it for creating rhythmic loops that I can import into my DAW or processing samples to get a nice digital patina on them. And with a MIDI keyboard attached you can get that crispy pitched sound that makes the Casio SK series of keyboards so sought after (and insanely expensive) even 28 years later.It’s not the easiest thing to do, but you can even chop up samples on the Microgranny by copying and pasting the same sound across multiple buttons and changing the starting point. It can be a little fiddly since you’re dealing with a really basic seven-segment LED display. But it can be done. This was honestly some of the most fun I had jamming with the Microgranny on its own. Load up some disco or house tracks and you can easily flip them into some lofi Daft Punk-type beats. Max out that crush knob and well, you’ve just created the ideal soundtrack for a rave at the end of the world.Wrap-upTerrence O'Brien / EngadgetI think I probably gave up on the Microgranny too quickly the first time, since I was too focused on the mobile and granular aspects. When I couldn’t create otherworldly clouds of atmospherics or sketch out a song with multiple tracks, I went straight back to my PO-33 without digging any deeper. I failed to truly explore its potential as a more studio-bound instrument.At $246 it’s not expensive, but it’s costly and quirky enough that it will only appeal to a particular niche that wants the most authentic lofi sampling they can get. Obviously you can change the sample and bit rate of a file on your computer. But – and this is my opinion – the Microgranny just imparts more character. And it’s the sort of character that’s hard to get without springing for a vintage sampler that might not be in perfect working order. So, if your preferred flavor of lofi grit is more cheap 80s digital than aging tape deck, the Bastl Instruments Microgranny Monolith is definitely worth checking out.

Sony's latest WH-1000XM5 wireless ANC headphones are among the best we've ever tested, thanks to improved sound quality, a comfortable fit and incredible active noise cancellation (ANC). Now is a good time to pick up a pair, because they're currently on sale at Amazon for $348, for a savings of 13 percent ($52) over the regular $400 price.The WH-1000XM5 scored an excellent 95 in our Engadget review, thanks to improvements in nearly every way over our previous favorite headphones, the WH-1000XM4 (which are also on sale for $300 right now, by the way). Perhaps the biggest improvement was in fit and comfort thanks to the more optimal weight distribution, synthetic leather ear cups and slightly reduced weight.Sound quality also went up, due to the new 30mm carbon fiber drivers that deliver punchier bass. We also saw more clarity that helps you hear fine detail, along with improved depth that makes music more immersive. And Sony's DSEE Extreme sound processing recovers detail lost to compression, without any noticeable impact on sound quality.The ANC is equally impressive. With double the number of noise cancellation microphones found in the M4, along with a new dedicated V1 chip, the M5 does a better job at minimizing background noise. And in terms of the microphone, we found that the M5 offers superior call quality over its predecessor. Moreover, you get 30 hours of listening time with ANC enabled, enough for the longest of flights.The main drawback of the WH-1000XM5 headphones is the $400 price tag, but you can pick them up right now in either silver or black for just $348 and save a cool $52. Just act fast before the sale ends.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Don't worry if you're still scrambling to get a streaming media player in time for Super Bowl LVII next week — you can get a very capable device for less than you might pay for drinks and snacks. Amazon is once again selling the Fire TV Stick 4K Max at a record low price of $35. That's $20 below the usual, and an easy choice if you want high-quality live sports on a budget. There are also discounts on the Fire TV Stick Lite (down to $20) and the Fire TV Stick 4K (down to $30).The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is still one of the more powerful streaming dongles you can buy. It can handle 4K HDR in multiple formats (including Dolby Vision and HDR10+) with Dolby Atmos surround, and it's speedy enough for cloud gaming. You can expect access to many apps and services, including sports providers like ESPN. Not surprisingly, it's also well-integrated with Amazon's Alexa ecosystem. You can use the voice-capable remote to control your smart home, and you can even get a live view of your video doorbell while you're watching the big game.This is still a budget streamer. The 8GB of storage won't be practical for on-device games, and you'll miss out on Fire TV Cube perks like hands-free voice and home theater device integration. You'll also want to look elsewhere if you're heavily invested in a non-Amazon platform — the Apple TV 4K and Google Chromecast are better (if often more expensive) choices for their respective brands' devotees. At $35, though, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is difficult to top in terms of sheer value for money.Buy Fire TV Stick Lite - $20Buy Fire TV Cube - $125Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Apple is considering a more expensive iPhone “Ultra” that would slot in above the iPhone Pro, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. He says the device could arrive as early as next year. Gurman also pointed to recent comments made by Apple CEO Tim Cook. “The iPhone has become so integral [to] people’s lives,” he told analysts when asked if the increasing average price of the iPhone was sustainable. “I think people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category.”Gurman hinted the iPhone Ultra could feature a faster processor, better camera hardware and an even larger display. “There also may be more future-forward features, such as finally dropping the charging port,” he adds. Apple already uses “Ultra” to tag its top M2 processors and Watches. Is the iPhone next?– Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missed

The latest game to get the reverse-engineering treatment is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Neowin has reported. A GitHub user called snesrev has fully ported the game to PC using over 80,000 lines of code, while adding some extra enhancements. Those include support for enhanced aspect ratios and pixel shaders, a higher quality world map, secondary item slots and more.The version was re-engineered in C code, and requires libraries from the SNES emulator LakeSNES. It features all the same levels, enemies and puzzles of the original game, and can even run the original machine code alongside the ported C version. Another GitHub user, xander-haj, showed exactly how it works compared to an emulation in a YouTube video from last year.The ported version of Link joins other recent projects, notably Star Wars: Dark Forces, that have been fully ported to PC. Unlike emulation, which effectively transforms your PC into an old console, reverse-engineered games are rebuilt from scratch, which allows for added features like the widescreen and pixel shades inserted by snesrev.Savvy users could create this build on Windows, Mac, Linux and even the Nintendo Switch, with more platforms potentially doable down the road. It's on shaky legal ground, however. For example, after someone did a very cool PC port of the classic Super Mario 64, Nintendo cracked down and links to the download disappeared from file-hosting websites.

Five days ago, a review code for Hogwarts Legacy landed in my inbox. I’ve been thinking about this moment for more than a year, ever since the backlash against the game started gaining traction online. The author of the Harry Potter novels is transphobic and she’s targeted transgender women in particular. For this reason, some people in the LGBT+ community, and allies beyond, have decided to boycott Hogwarts Legacy and admonish anyone who chooses to play or stream it themselves, sparking explosive arguments across social media, Twitch and YouTube. Those in favor of the boycott argue that playing the game benefits the author financially and indicates support for her beliefs. On the flipside, potential players point out that the author wasn’t involved in the creation of Hogwarts Legacy and her status as the world’s richest author won’t change regardless of the game’s success. Also, they really want to play it.I fall into the second category. I’m currently about 15 hours into Hogwarts Legacy and I’m just barely scratching the surface; I’m having an incredible time. This feels like the RPG that Harry Potter fans have been waiting for, rich and alive and absolutely packed with magic.It’s slightly frightening to write that down, knowing the condemnation I could receive. It’s an extra-light version of the dread I felt while publishing literally anything during Gamergate, but this time it’s more personal: The hate would be coming from people I actually care about.I’ve been a video game journalist for the past 13 years, I’m a bisexual woman and I have a big ol’ Harry Potter tattoo next to an anti-TERF tattoo. I feel uniquely positioned to care about this particular topic, and to that end, I have a quick story to tell. It involves literary internet culture in the early 2000s, and I hope it illuminates factors that entwine the Wizarding World with the LGBT+ community, while demonstrating the vast divide that’s existed for decades between the fantasy and its creator.As a pre-teen and throughout high school, I found solace in Harry Potter fanfiction, a bustling online ecosystem powered by Livejournal, FF.net, AO3 and other community-run sites. I cannot overstate how popular Harry Potter fanfiction was and still is, nor how queer it’s always been. Most stories in Harry Potter fanfiction center on LGBT+ characters, and for good reason – in the early aughts, media for and by gay people was ridiculously hard to come by, and then when you did find something, it was often campy, trashy, or both. It was a pre-streaming, pre-YouTube, pre-TikTok way of life. So we wrote our own stories as fanfiction. Long before the release of the final Harry Potter book, we infused the halls of Hogwarts with magically amplified, non-heterosexual and non-cisgender characters, and we wrote millions of words about them living full, fantastic lives. We made Dumbledore gay long before the canon did.In those early days, an important part of the Harry Potter fanfiction process was critiquing the world and recognizing the limits of the author’s imagination. With each new book release, the forums would light up with praise and criticism, and our own stories would continue to evolve outside of the pages of the novels. These fics are more real to me than the source material; when I traverse the hallways of the Slytherin dungeons in Hogwarts Legacy, my mind accesses memories from my favorite fanfics – not the books – and I’m infused with warmth. The halls of Hogwarts are my safe space, still.I recognize my circumstances are incredibly specific, but I also know mine isn’t a unique experience. Fantasy worlds offer an escape for queer and non-queer people alike, and coming-of-age fiction can be powerful, formulative stuff. This particular fantasy universe was a place of belonging for me, and I think its latest iteration, Hogwarts Legacy, could offer a similar slice of peace to young players today.I understand the anger and protective energy from people who don’t want to play the game. It’s a terrifying time to be transgender: Ultra-conservative lawmakers are writing discrimination and blind hate into law, while neo-nazi rhetoric has found new life on mainstream social media platforms. Deadly violence against trans people, particularly Black transgender women, remains a pervasive epidemic in the United States. Among these real-world threats, we’re clashing over the virtues of playing or not playing Hogwarts Legacy. It’s been depressing to observe as this conversation sows division and sucks attention away from our shared goals, limiting our ability to celebrate new successes.Harry Potter will outlive its author. She is not the future of the franchise. Avalanche, Portkey Games and Warner Bros. have been well aware of the pervasive disgust for the author’s ideology for years, and I believe it encouraged them to include more representation in the game than the series has ever seen. Hogwarts Legacy allows for various expressions of gender identity in the character creator and casually drops “they” pronouns in conversation; all around, the cast is diverse and Avalanche writes non-white characters better than the original author did. There’s still room for improvement, and that’s why the conversation needs to be ongoing: Positive progress is our shared goal.As someone who searched desperately for an example of my own identity in the pages of Harry Potter novels, I deeply appreciate the evolution and inclusion in Hogwarts Legacy. This level of representation didn’t exist in AAA games 15 years ago, and it’s the result of all the progress made, through protest and education, since the books were published. Long before the in-fighting over a choice to play a video game.If you don’t want to engage with Hogwarts Legacy, please, boycott the game – just don’t boycott the players. It’s us against the transphobic people in the world, not us against each other. Some of us will choose to play, some of us won’t. Even more will wonder why anyone even cares about this fictional kid and his heteronormative, whitewashed, multibillion-dollar franchise. These are all valid options. Playing Hogwarts Legacy doesn’t automatically make you transphobic. Boycotting it doesn’t automatically make you an ally – supporting our community members does.We’ll have a full review of Hogwarts Legacy later in the week, once I’ve had enough time with this enormous game to fully form an opinion on it. Even if I catch hell for this perspective, I’ll be here, supporting local inclusion efforts, protesting discrimination, calling my lawmakers, loving my community and playing the gayest version of Hogwarts Legacy possible.

Anker's charging accessories can be even more versatile than what the original manufacturer offers, but they tend to be more costly than other options. Luckily, you can now grab a number of Anker chargers and other products at Amazon with discounts up to 46 percent percent. Some of the key deals include the Anker 737 GaNPrime 120W charger at $57 (40 percent off), the 40W 521 Nano Pro charger ($25 or 30 percent off) and the 621 MagGo wireless charger for iPhone ($35 for a savings of $25) and more.Shop Anker charging accessories at AmazonThe 737 GaNPrime 120W charger has a maximum output of 120W and can fully charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro in 1.5 hours, according to Anker. At the same time, it's more compact than Apple's own charger and offers a pair of USB-C ports and a USB-A port, so you can charge a smartphone at the same time. Normally priced at $95, it's an easy purchase at $57 if you're looking to upgrade or replace your existing MacBook Pro charger.If you don't need that much power, Anker's compact 40W 521 Nano Pro smartphone/tablet charger is on sale for $25 ($11 off, in Glacier Blue only), giving you a quick charger on the cheap. And if you need a new cable to connect your iPhone, the company's 10-foot Powerline+ MFi certified charging cord is priced at just $16, for a savings of 27 percent over the regular price.The company has some battery charger deals as well. The Anker 335 PowerCore 20K 20W power bank with USB-C fast charging costs just $40 right now, or $20 off the regular price. It comes with 20,000 mAh capacity, enough to charge an iPhone 13 4.3 times for days of stress-free use. With a USB-C port and pair of USB-A ports, it can also charge multiple devices at a atime.Finally, the Anker 621 5000mAh MagGo wireless charger (with a USB-C cable) is on sale for $35, or 42 percent off the regular $60 price. It snaps right on to your iPhone 12/13/14, is relatively thin at 12.8mm, attaches using a super-strong magnet and charges either wirelessly or via the USB-C port and included cable.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

After announcing last week that all developers would have to pay to access Twitter's API, CEO Elon Musk has walked that back a step. In a tweet yesterday, he announced that "responding to feedback, Twitter will enable a light, write-only API for bots providing good content that is free."Since August of 2020, Twitter has offered a "basic" free tier as part of its V2 API, designed for "those just getting started, building something for fun, for a good cause, and to learn or teach," the company wrote at the time.

Electric vehicle startup Rivian is reportedly working on an e-bike. According to Bloomberg, CEO RJ Scaringe told Rivian employees of the project during a company-wide meeting the automaker held on Friday. He said the startup had a “small group” of engineers working on a bike.Bloomberg couldn’t confirm if Scaringe was referring to an electric motorcycle or bicycle, but the outlet notes Rivian has patents for cycling components and designs. In the past, Scaringe has said Rivian wants to expand into the micromobility market eventually. Rivian did not immediately respond to Engadget’s comment request.The news that Rivian could be working on an e-bike comes in the same week that the company announced layoffs that would affect six percent of its workforce. The cuts represent the second major restructuring Rivian has undertaken in less than a year. The company said the move was an effort to refocus itself on scaling production of its R1T and R1S EVs and, in turn, put Rivian on the path to long-term profitability. On Friday, Scaringe reportedly told employees Rivian had spread itself thin by trying to do too much at once.Attempting to expand into the e-bike market when the company has yet to make a profit might not make much sense, but there’s a compelling reason for Rivian to pursue that strategy. Even before the pandemic, the cycling market was growing thanks to the popularity of e-bikes. In fact, electric bikes have consistently outsold electric cars and trucks. It’s no surprise since they’re significantly cheaper to produce and thereby cost less for consumers to buy. A bike then could be what Rivian needs to become profitable sooner.

If one of your goals for 2023 is to read more, a new Kindle might inspire you to stick to that intention. Amazon has discounted its entry-level e-reader. Right now, you can get the ad-supported model, in either Black or Denim, for $75 or $25 off its usual $100 price. The 25 percent discount marks a new all-time low for the Kindle, making this a great time to buy the e-reader. Amazon has also discounted the ads-free model by $25. Instead of $120, it’s $95 at the moment. The Paperwhite is on sale too. It will set you back $105.Engadget hasn’t had a chance to review the new entry-level Kindle. That said, judging from all the upgrades Amazon decided to incorporate into the device, it’s well worth the upgrade if you own an older e-reader. The new Kindle features a 300 ppi e-ink screen, making its display as dense as the one on the more expensive Kindle Paperwhite. Amazon also doubled the amount of storage to 16GB, added USB-C charging and made the Kindle’s frame lighter. Oh, and the new model also features up to six weeks of battery life, another upgrade over its predecessor. Unless you’re specifically looking for an e-reader with a larger display, most people are better off buying the entry-level Kindle over its more expensive siblings.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

SpaceX could attempt to complete Starship’s long-awaited orbital test flight as early as next month, according to Elon Musk. Responding on Saturday to a question from one of his Twitter followers, Musk said the private space firm is targeting a March launch attempt. “If remaining tests go well, we will attempt a Starship launch next month,” he wrote.

Since 2020, Chromecast with Google TV has been one of the better ways to add more streaming options to an existing setup, thanks in part to the fact you can frequently find the devices on sale. To that point, Amazon has discounted both variants of the streaming stick ahead of the Super Bowl weekend. Following a 20 percent discount, you can buy the 4K version for just under $40 at the moment. At $19.98, meanwhile, the HD variant is at a new all-time low.Both the 4K and HD versions of Chromecast with Google TV are excellent options if you’re on a budget or prefer how Google does things over its competitors. Engadget gave the 4K version a score of 86 in 2020. Highlights included excellent Google Assistant integration, a comfortable and easy-to-use remote and the inclusion of Dolby Vision and Atmos support. The HD variant is similarly excellent and is a compelling option if you haven’t upgraded to a 4K TV yet. Poor performance used to be one of the reasons to skip a Chromecast with Google TV system, but this past summer Google released a software update to address that issue. For that reason, unless you’re willing to spend significantly more on something like an Apple TV, it’s hard to go wrong with one of Google’s streaming sticks.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Next year could see the introduction of a new flagship iPhone. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is considering whether to release a more expensive iPhone “Ultra” that would slot in above the iPhone Pro and Pro Max. He says the device could arrive as early next year.If you’ve been following Gurman’s writing for a while, you may recall he previously reported Apple was considering whether to rebrand the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro Max to the iPhone 15 Ultra. Now, he says there’s evidence to suggest Apple wants to instead offer a more powerful and expensive iPhone to well-heeled consumers. Specifically, Gurman points to a recent comment made by Apple CEO Tim Cook. “The iPhone has become so integral [to] people’s lives,” Cook told analysts when he was asked if the increasing average price of the iPhone was sustainable. “I think people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category.”How Apple will differentiate the new model is harder to say. Gurman suggests the iPhone Ultra could feature a faster processor, better camera hardware than the Pro and Pro Max and an even larger display. “There also may be more future-forward features, such as finally dropping the charging port,” he adds.It’s worth noting reports on the iPhone 15 line suggest Apple is already searching for more ways to differentiate the Pro models from their mainstream siblings. For example, one recent report said the upcoming Pro variants could feature WiFi 6E connectivity, while the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus ship with older WiFi 6 antennae. The Pro models could come with other differentiating features, including redesigned titanium frames with haptic volume and power buttons. Apple will also reportedly equip the Pro Max with a periscope camera lens.

If you’ve been patiently waiting for Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro to go on sale, now is your chance to get them at an all-time low price. Amazon has discounted the earbuds to $200. That’s the lowest price Engadget has seen on the AirPods Pro since they went on sale for Black Friday last year.Similar appearances aside, the new AirPods Pro represent a significant upgrade over the original 2019 model. Engadget Senior Editor Billy Steele awarded the AirPods Pro a score of 88 when he had a chance to review them last year. They offer improved audio quality and active noise cancellation performance, as well as one of the best transparency modes on any set of wireless earbuds on the market right now. Add to that a redesigned case that is sweat- and water-resistant, the usual conveniences you’ll find on all AirPods, including hands-free Siri and fast pairing, and you have one of the best sets of earbuds you can buy to use with an iPhone. At $200, the AirPods Pro are even more compelling.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

With its first update of 2023, Telegram is making it easier to communicate with people who might speak a different language than you. The next time someone messages you in a language other than your default language, you’ll see a translate bar at the top of the interface. Tap it to translate their message in real time. If you’re a Premium subscriber, you’ll also have access to this feature when engaging with groups and channels. As you can see from the GIF Telegram shared, this could be handy when planning a trip. Join a channel in the city you plan to visit to see the events and spots locals are talking about. If you want to try Premium, Telegram has also introduced a new annual payment option that allows you to save up to 40 percent on the price of the service if you commit to a full year.Separately, the update adds a tool for turning stickers and emoji into profile pictures. In addition to using this feature for yourself, you can set or suggest profile pictures for your contacts. Best of all, it’s available to everyone, not just Premium users. And speaking of stickers and emoji, Telegram has made it easier to sort through the dizzying number of options the app offers by organizing them into categories. At the same time, there are new interactive versions of a handful of emoji, and the company has released 10 new custom emoji packs.A couple of quality-of-life improvements make it easier to manage Telegram’s footprint on your device. To start, Telegram has redesigned the app’s network usage tool. At the top of the interface, you’ll now see the information the tool has to share presented in a handy pie chart with separate tabs for mobile, WiFi and roaming usage. Additionally, Telegram has tweaked the automatic media download settings to support exceptions, giving users more control over the type and size of media the app automatically saves to their phone’s storage. If you don’t have access to the update immediately, be patient. Sometimes these releases take a few days to roll out.

Tesla has quietly raised the price of its best-selling Model Y crossover. As of Saturday, the automaker’s US website lists the Long Range and Performance models at $54,990 and $57,990, respectively. For the former, that represents a $2,000 increase from the all-time low it hit when Tesla dramatically cut prices in the middle of January. As for the Performance variant, it’s currently $1,000 more than it was after last month’s price adjustment.As The Wall Street Journal notes, the price hikes come after the Biden administration this past Friday modified eligibility criteria related to the $7,500 federal tax credit to treat more vehicles as SUVs rather than sedans. Before the change, it was possible to get the full $7,500 Inflation Reduction Act incentive on the five-seat Model Y, but you had to configure the vehicle in a way so that it fell under the $55,000 sedan threshold. Now, all Model Y variants, including the Performance model, fall under the $80,000 SUV ceiling.The automaker did not say if it increased Model Y pricing in response to Friday’s announcement. Following the January price cut, Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn said the move was partly an effort to ensure more of the company's cars fell under the $55,000 threshold. With the Model Y now comfortably under the $80,000 limit, Tesla has more freedom to price the vehicle as it sees fit.

If you’re looking for a Chromebook for school or work, one of Engadget’s favorites is on sale right now. Amazon and Best Buy have discounted the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2. After a 29 percent discount, the “fiesta red” Core i3-10110U model is currently $499, down from $700. That’s the lowest-ever price Engadget has seen for the Galaxy Chromebook 2. Best of all, the discount applies to the model that is the best value for most people.Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham gave the Galaxy Chromebook 2 a score of 82 in 2021. After the original Galaxy Chromebook scored poorly due to middling battery life, Samsung made some dramatic changes for the follow-up model. The 2021 version features a 1080p QLED panel that is one of the best displays you’ll find on a Chrome OS device. The screen is vibrant and bright and features excellent viewing angles. The switch to a Full HD resolution, where the previous model had a 4K display, means the Galaxy Chromebook 2 also offers significantly better battery life. In Engadget’s testing, the laptop consistently went about six to seven hours on a single charge. With 8GB of RAM, the Core i3-10110U model on sale should offer more than enough computing power for most Chrome OS users.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

NVIDIA has begun rolling out a fix for a bug that had caused some of its GPUs to perform worse while people had Discord open. In a tweet spotted by The Verge, the company said Windows will now automatically download an app profile update the next time users log into their PC. The update resolves an issue that prevented some NVIDIA GPUs, including RTX 30 series models like the 3080 and 3060 Ti, from pushing their memory as fast as possible when Discord was open in the background. In some instances, NVIDIA users reported their video cards being throttled by as much as 200Mhz, translating to a modest performance decrease in most games.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked Wikipedia after slowing access to the website for 48 hours over content it considers "sacrilegious." A PTA spokesperson told Bloomberg that the agency has blocked the online encyclopedia for failing to remove said content within the past couple of days.The telecom authority revealed on February 1st that it approached the website with a court order to remove "blasphemous" material from its website. After Wikipedia didn't comply or appear before authorities, the PTA degraded access to the website for a couple of days and threatened to block it entirely if it didn't comply with its demands. The agency didn't publicly list the Wikipedia entries it doesn't want people in Pakistan to see.

Scientists and roboticists have long looked at nature for inspiration to develop new features for machines. In this case, researchers from the University of Toronto were inspired by bats and other animals that rely on echolocation to design a method that would give small robots that ability to navigate themselves — one that doesn't need expensive hardware or components too large or too heavy for tiny machines. In fact, according to PopSci, the team only used the integrated audio hardware of an interactive puck robot and built an audio extension deck using cheap mic and speakers for a tiny flying drone that can fit in the palm of your hand.The system works just like bat echolocation. It was designed to emit sounds across frequencies, which a robot's microphone then picks up as they bounce off walls. An algorithm the team created then goes to work to analyze sound waves and create a map with the room's dimensions.In a paper published in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, the researchers said existing "algorithms for active echolocation are less developed and often rely on hardware requirements that are out of reach for small robots." They also said their "method is model-based, runs in real time and requires no prior calibration or training." Their solution could give small machines the capability to be sent on search-and-rescue missions or to previously uncharted locations that bigger robots wouldn't be able to reach. And since the system only needs onboard audio equipment or cheap additional hardware, it has a wide range of potential applications.The researchers found during their tests that their technique is still not quite as accurate as systems that use bigger and more expensive hardware, such as GPS sensors or cameras. They're hoping to improve its accuracy in future versions, though, and to eliminate the need for the system to generate sounds. Instead, they want their system to be able to echolocate using the sounds the drone itself produces, such as the whirl of its own propellers.

Elon Musk is off the hook for his 2018 tweets claiming he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private for $420 a share. A jury found that Musk was not liable for Tesla investors’ losses, following a weeks-long trial in San Francisco.The verdict is a major victory for Musk, who could have been liable for billions of dollars in damages. Musk had testified in federal court that just because he tweets something, it "does not mean people believe it or will act accordingly." He also argued that he could have used his shares of SpaceX to fund the deal.The shareholders who brought the class action suit had argued that Musk’s statements about funding were false, and that they lost vast amounts of money due to stock fluctuations in the aftermath of Musk’s tweets. But while the judge in the case concluded that the tweets were "objectively false and reckless," the jury didn’t find that Musk had deliberately misled the public.While the verdict ends the years-long saga of the “funding secured” tweets, the posts weren’t entirely without consequences for Musk. He settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018, and stepped down from his role as Tesla board chair as a condition of the settlement. Musk has long decried the SEC settlement and has said he was “forced to admit I lied to save Tesla’s life.”In a statement to Bloomberg following the verdict, Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, said "the jury got it right." Musk also weighed in — naturally, via tweet — saying he was "deeply appreciative."

Scientists will soon have a spaceborne tool to study environmental changes at a very high resolution, and you won't have long to wait to learn more about it. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is holding a question and answer session today (February 3rd) at 5PM Eastern to discuss NISAR (NASA-ISRO SAR), an Earth-mapping satellite built in tandem with the Indian Space Research Organization. It's not launching from India until early 2024 and is planned to operate for three years, but it includes breakthrough tech that could help understand Earth and cope with natural disasters.NISAR is the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequencies (the L and S microwave bands). This will let it systematically map the Earth's crust at an exceptional level of detail — it can detect changes under 1cm (0.4in) across. That will let NISAR observe even subtle nuances of earthquakes, tsunamis and other disasters. It will also help monitor long-term processes, including the crust's evolution, ecosystem disruptions and ice sheet collapses.

Researchers at the University of Adelaide announced this week that they made clean hydrogen fuel from seawater without pre-treatment. Demand for hydrogen fuel, a clean energy source that only produces water when burned, is expected to increase in the coming years as the world (hopefully) continues to pivot away from fossil fuels. The findings could eventually provide cheaper green energy production to coastal areas.“We have split natural seawater into oxygen and hydrogen with nearly 100 per cent efficiency, to produce green hydrogen by electrolysis, using a non-precious and cheap catalyst in a commercial electrolyser,” said Professor Shizhang Qiao, the team’s co-lead. Seawater typically needs to be purified before electrolysis splits it into hydrogen and oxygen. The team says its results, using cobalt oxide with chromium oxide on its surface as the catalyst, had similar performance to a standard process of applying platinum and iridium catalysts to highly purified and deionized water.Compared to freshwater, seawater is an abundant resource, and the ability to extract hydrogen fuel from seawater without pre-treatment could save money. However, even if successfully scaled, it would likely only be practical for coastal communities with plenty of seawater — not so much for Iowa or Kansas.The team’s next step is to scale the system with a larger electrolyzer. Then, although it’s still early in development, the researchers hope to eventually apply the findings to commercial hydrogen production for fuel cells and ammonia synthesis. Co-lead Yao Zheng summarized, “Our work provides a solution to directly utilise seawater without pre-treatment systems and alkali addition, which shows similar performance as that of existing metal-based mature pure water electrolyser.”

Ever wish you could play an arcade rhythm game that fostered creativity, not just matching notes? You now have your chance. Endlesss has turned its remote music collaboration software into an honest-to-goodness arcade machine, complete with joysticks, a touchscreen, an XY controller and a sea of buttons. You can use it as a stand-up audio workstation with your own plugins and physical instruments, but it comes into its own in an arcade mode that challenges you to compose beats — you might have to loop drums, for example.The cabinet is ultimately a community effort. Endlesss Discord member NJ Lang liked the idea of an arcade rig so much that he built one, and it proved a hit when the company took it to events. The firm then built a production prototype, and had a strong-enough initial reception that NBA veteran Baron Davis became the first to buy one — you can see his reaction (and an Endlesss sales pitch) below.This won't be a trivial purchase. In fact, it'll make many retro cabinets seem affordable. Endlesss is releasing 25 Launch Edition arcade systems in late February for a $9,999 "introductory" price. You'll need to put down a $200 non-refundable deposit just to get into a pre-sale ahead of the public debut. You're buying this because you have an artistic side and plenty of money to spare — everyone else will want to save those funds for essential music creation tools.

It's a rough time for fans of several live service games, which are titles designed to be constantly updated for a long time. A bunch are shutting down in the near future, and CrossfireX and Knockout City are among the latest to join the list.CrossfireX is an Xbox console version of the massively popular tactical shooter Crossfire. After some delays, it arrived less than a year ago, but it wasn't a hit with critics or, more crucially, the public. Developer Smilegate has stopped selling the game (the multiplayer component is free-to-play, but the Remedy-developed single-player campaign is not) and is offering refunds for purchases made in the last two weeks. It will shut off the CrossfireX servers on May 18th.Knockout City, meanwhile, is a fun dodgeball brawler that debuted in 2021. The game went free-to-play last year when developer Velan Studios parted ways with EA to self-publish it. Alas, Knockout City is shutting down too. Its ninth season will be the final one and the servers will close on June 6th. On a positive note, Velan will roll out an option for PC players to run the game on private servers.

YouTube Music workers in the Austin, TX area who voted to unionize are striking. The Alphabet Works Union-CWA (AWU-CWA), which represents the contractors, says this is the first time a group of Google-affiliated workers has gone on strike.Cognizant, an Alphabet subcontractor, staffs the (more than 40) striking workers. They say Alphabet’s current return-to-office date of February 6th threatens their safety and livelihoods since their $19-per-hour pay makes it hard to afford relocation, travel and healthcare costs. The AWU-CWA says most contractors were hired to work remotely, and nearly a quarter of them don’t live in Texas.The YouTube workers say Alphabet and Cognizant only announced the abrupt return to office after they had already voted to unionize. In a statement, however, Cognizant said that these return-to-office plans have been in place and communicated since December of 2021, well over a year ago.Additionally, they accuse managers of sending work to other offices to “chill” the union efforts while adding that a supervisor made implicit anti-union threats. Finally, the workers have appealed to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to be recognized as “jointly employed” by Cognizant and Alphabet; the designation would force Alphabet to negotiate based on US labor laws.

Twitter Blue subscribers will receive a cut of revenue from ads that appear in their reply threads, CEO Elon Musk said. The new program starts today, Musk noted, but he hasn't yet provided additional details about how it works. The Twitter Blue support page doesn't include any information either. Twitter no longer has a comms department that can be reached for comment.Blue subscribers in some territories already see half as many ads on their timeline as other users. Offering a cut of ad revenue could help Twitter keep users on board, especially if it offers them a reasonable split that could earn them some decent scratch for a viral tweet. Many other platforms already offer creators a share of ad revenue, including YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram and Facebook.

For a product that its own creators, in a marketing pique, once declared “too dangerous” to release to the general public, OpenAI’s ChatGPT is seemingly everywhere these days. The versatile automated text generation (ATG) system, which is capable of outputting copy that is nearly indistinguishable from a human writer’s work, is officially still in beta but has already been utilized in dozens of novel applications, some of which extend far beyond the roles ChatGPT was originally intended for — like that time it simulated an operational Linux shell or that other time when it passed the entrance exam to Wharton Business School.The hype around ChatGPT is understandably high, with myriad startups looking to license the technology for everything from conversing with historical figures to talking to historical literature, from learning other languages to generating exercise routines and restaurant reviews.But with these technical advancements come with a slew of opportunities for misuse and outright harm. And if our previous hamfisted attempts at handling the spread of deepfake video and audio technologies were any indication, we’re dangerously underprepared for the havoc that at-scale, automated disinformation production will wreak upon our society.NurPhoto via Getty ImagesOpenAI’s billion dollar origin storyOpenAI has been busy since its founding in 2015 as a non-profit by Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, Elon Musk and a host of other VC luminaries, who all collectively chipped in a cool billion dollars to get the organization up and running. The “altruistic” venture argues that AI “should be an extension of individual human wills and, in the spirit of liberty, as broadly and evenly distributed as possible.”The following year, the company released its first public beta of the OpenAI Gym reinforcement learning platform. Musk resigned from the board in 2018, citing a potential conflict of interest with his ownership of Tesla. 2019 was especially eventful for OpenAI. That year, the company established a “capped” for-profit subsidiary (OpenAI LP) to the original non-profit (OpenAI Inc) organization, received an additional billion-dollar funding infusion from Microsoft and announced plans to begin licensing its products commercially.In 2020, OpenAI officially launched GPT-3, a text generator able to “summarize legal documents, suggest answers to customer-service enquiries, propose computer code [and] run text-based role-playing games.” The company released its commercial API that year as well.“I have to say I’m blown away,” startup founder Arram Sabeti wrote at the time, after interacting with the system. “It’s far more coherent than any AI language system I’ve ever tried. All you have to do is write a prompt and it’ll add text it thinks would plausibly follow. I’ve gotten it to write songs, stories, press releases, guitar tabs, interviews, essays, technical manuals. It’s hilarious and frightening. I feel like I’ve seen the future.”2021 saw the release of DALL-E, a text-to-image generator; and the company made headlines again last year with the release of ChatGPT, a chat client based on GPT-3.5, the latest and current GPT iteration. In January 2023, Microsoft and OpenAI announced a deepening of their research cooperative with a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar ongoing investment.“I think it does an excellent job at spitting out text that's plausible,” Dr. Brandie Nonnecke, Director of the CITRIS Policy Lab and Associate Professor of Technology Policy Research at UC Berkeley, told Engadget. “It feels like somebody really wrote it. I've used it myself actually to kind of get over a writer's block, to just think through how I flow in the argument that I'm trying to make, so I found it helpful.”That said, Nonnecke cannot look past the system’s stubborn habit of producing false claims. “It will cite articles that don't exist,” she added. “Right now, at this stage, it's realistic but there's still a long way to go.”What is generative AI?OpenAI is far from the only player in the ATG game. Generative AI (or, more succinctly, gen-AI) is the practice of using machine learning algorithms to produce novel content — whether that’s text, images, audio, or video — based on a training corpus of labeled example databases. It’s your standard unsupervised reinforcement learning regimen, the likes of which have trained Google’s AlphaGo, song and video recommendation engines across the internet, as well as vehicle driver assist systems. Of course while models like Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion or Google’s Imagen are trained to convert progressively higher resolution patterns of random dots into images, ATGs like ChatGPT remix text passages plucked from their training data to output suspiciously realistic, albeit frequently pedestrian, prose.“They're trained on a very large amount of input,” Dr. Peter Krapp, Professor of Film & Media Studies at the University of California, Irvine, told Engadget. “What results is more or less… an average of that input. It's never going to impress us with being exceptional or particularly apt or beautiful or skilled. It's always going to be kind of competent — to the extent that we all collectively are somewhat competent in using language to express ourselves.”Generative AI is already big business. While flashy events like Stable Diffusion’s maker getting sued for scraping training data from Meta or ChatGPT managing to schmooze its way into medical school (yes, in addition to Wharton) grab headlines, Fortune 500 companies like NVIDIA, Facebook, Amazon Web Services, IBM and Google are all quietly leveraging gen-AI for their own business benefit. They’re using it in a host of applications, from improving search engine results and proposing computer code to writing marketing and advertising content.Wikipedia / Public DomainThe secret to ChatGPT’s successEfforts to get machines to communicate with us as we do with other people, as Dr. Krapp notes, began in the 1960s and ‘70s with linguists being among the earliest adopters. “They realized that certain conversations can be modeled in such a way that they're more or less self-contained,” he explained. “If I can have a conversation with, you know, a stereotypical average therapist, that means I can also program the computer to serve as the therapist.” Which is how Eliza became an NLP easter egg hidden in Emacs, the popular Linux text editor.Today, we use the technological descendents of those early efforts to translate the menus at fancy restaurants for us, serve as digital assistants on our phones, and chat with us as customer service reps. The problem, however, is that to get an AI to perform any of these functions, it has to be specially trained to do that one specific thing. We’re still years away from functional general AIs but part of ChatGPT’s impressive capability stems from its ability to write middling poetry as easily as it can generate a fake set of Terms of Service for the Truth Social website in the voice of Donald Trump without the need for specialized training between the two.This prosaic flexibility is possible because, at its core, ChatGPT is a chatbot. It’s designed first and foremost to accurately mimic a human conversationalist, which it actually did on Reddit for a week in 2020 before being outed. It was trained using supervised learning methods wherein the human trainers initially fed the model both sides of a given conversation — both what the human user and AI agent were supposed to say. With the basics in it robomind, ChatGPT was then allowed to converse with humans with its responses being ranked after each session. Subjectively better responses scored higher in the model’s internal rewards system and were subsequently optimized for. This has resulted in an AI with a silver tongue but a “just sorta skimmed the Wiki before chiming in” aptitude of fact checking.Part of ChatGPT’s boisterous success — having garnered a record 100 million monthly active users just two months after its launch — can certainly be marked up to solid marketing strategies such as the “too dangerous” neg of 2020, Natasha Allen, a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, told Engadget. “I think the other part is just how easy it is to use it. You know, the average person can just plug in some words and there you go.”“People who previously hadn’t been interested in AI, didn't really care what it was,” are now beginning to take notice. Its ease of use is an asset, Allen argues, making ChatGPT “something that's enticing and interesting to people who may not be into AI technologies.”“It's a very powerful tool,” she conceded. “I don't think it's perfect. I think that obviously there are some errors but… it'll get you 70 to 80 percent of the way.”Leon Neal via Getty ImagesWill Microsoft’s ChatGPT be Microsoft’s Taye for a new generation?But a lot can go wrong in those last 20 to 30 percent, because ChatGPT doesn’t actually know what the words it’s remixing into new sentences mean, it just understands the statistical relationships between them. “The GPT-3 hype is way too much,” Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, warned in a July, 2020 tweet. “It’s impressive but it still has serious weaknesses and sometimes makes very silly mistakes.”Those “silly” mistakes range from making nonsensical comparisons like “A pencil is heavier than a toaster” to the racist bigotry we’ve seen with past chatbots like Taye — well, really, all of them to date if we’re being honest. Some of ChatGPT’s replies have even encouraged self-harm in its users, raising a host of ethical quandaries (not limited to, should AI byline scientific research?) for both the company and field as a whole.ChatGPT’s capability for misuse is immense. We’ve already seen it put to use generating spam marketing and functional malware and writing high school English essays. These are but petty nuisances compared to what may be in store once this technology becomes endemic .“I'm worried because if we have deep fake video and voice, tying that with ChatGPT, where it can actually write something mimicking the style of how somebody speaks,” Nonnecke said. “Those two things combined together are just a powder keg for convincing disinformation.”“I think it's gasoline on the fire, because people write and speak in particular styles,” she continued. “And that can sometimes be the tell — if you see a deepfake and it just doesn't sound right, the way that they're talking about something. Now, GPT very much sounds like the individual, both how they would write and speak. I think it's actually amplifying the harm.”The current generation of celebrity impersonating chatbots aren’t what would be considered historically accurate (Henry Ford’s avatar isn’t antisemitic, for example) but future improvements could nearly erase the lines between reality and created content. “The first way it's going to be used is very likely to commit fraud,“ Nonnecke said, noting that scammers have already leveraged voice cloning software to pose as a mark’s relative and swindle money from them.“The biggest challenge is going to be how do we appropriately address it, because those deep fakes are out. You already have the confusion,” Nonnecke said. “Sometimes it's referred to as the liars dividend: nobody knows if it's true, then sort of everything's a lie, and nothing can be trusted.”Donato Fasano via Getty ImagesChatGPT goes to collegeChatGPT is raising hackles across academia as well. The text generator has notably passed the written portion of Wharton Business School’s entrance exam, along with all three parts of the US Medical Licensing exam. The response has been swift (as most panicked scramblings in response to new technologies tend to be) but widely varied. The New York City public school system took the traditional approach, ineffectually “banning” the app’s use by students, while educators like Dr. Ethan Mollick, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School, have embraced it in their lesson plans."This was a sudden change, right? There is a lot of good stuff that we are going to have to do differently, but I think we could solve the problems of how we teach people to write in a world with ChatGPT," Mollick told NPR in January."The truth is, I probably couldn't have stopped them even if I didn't require it," he added. Instead, Mollick has his students use ChatGPT as a prompt and idea generator for their essay assignments.UCI’s Dr. Krapp has taken a similar approach. “I'm currently teaching a couple of classes where it was easy for me to say, ‘okay, here's our writing assignment, let's see what ChadGPT comes up with,’’ he explained. “I did the five different ways with different prompts or partial prompts, and then had the students work on, ‘how do we recognize that this is not written by a human and what could we learn from this?’.”Is ChatGPT coming for your writing job?At the start of the year, tech news site CNET was outed for having used an ATG of its own design to generate entire feature-length financial explainer articles — 75 in all since November 2022. The posts were supposedly “rigorously” fact checked by human editors to ensure their output was accurate, though cursory examinations uncovered rampant factual errors requiring CNET and its parent company, Red Ventures, to issue corrections and updates for more than half of the articles.BuzzFeed’s chief, Jonah Peretti, upon seeing the disastrous fallout CNET was experiencing from this computer generated dalliance, immediately decided to stick his tongue in the outlet too, announcing that his publication plans to employ gen-AI to create low-stakes content like personality quizzes.This news came mere weeks after BuzzFeed laid off a sizable portion of its editorial staff on account of “challenging market conditions.” The coincidence is hard to ignore, especially given the waves of layoffs currently rocking the tech and media sectors for that specific reason, even as the conglomerates themselves bathe in record revenue and earnings.This is not the first time that new technology has displaced existing workers. NYT columnist Paul Krugman points to coal mining as an example. The industry saw massive workforce reductions throughout the 20th century, not because our use of coal decreased, but because mining technologies advanced enough that fewer humans were needed to do the same amount of work. The same effect is seen in the automotive industry with robots replacing people on assembly lines.“It is difficult to predict exactly how AI will impact the demand for knowledge workers, as it will likely vary, depending on the industry and specific job tasks,” Krugman opined. “However, it is possible that in some cases, AI and automation may be able to perform certain knowledge-based tasks more efficiently than humans, potentially reducing the need for some knowledge workers.”However, Dr. Krapp is not worried. “I see that some journalists have said, ‘I'm worried. My job has already been impacted by digital media and digital distribution. Now the type of writing that I do well, could be done by computer for cheap much more quickly,’" he said. “I don't see that happening. I don't think that's the case. I think we still as humans, have a need — a desire — for recognizing in others what's human about them.”“[ChatGPT is] impressive. It's fun to play with, [but] we're still here,” he added, “We're still reading, it's still meant to be a human size interface for human consumption, for human enjoyment.”Fear not for someone is sure to save us, probablyChatGPT’s shared-reality shredding fangs will eventually be capped, Nonnecke is confident, whether by congress or the industry itself in response to public pressure. “I actually think that there's bipartisan support for this, which is interesting in the AI space,” she told Engadget. “And in data privacy, data protection, we tend to have bipartisan support.”She points to efforts in 2022 spearheaded by OpenAI Safety and Alignment researcher Scott Aaronson to develop a cryptographic watermark so that the end user could easily spot computer generated material, as one example of the industry’s attempts to self-regulate.“Basically, whenever GPT generates some long text, we want there to be an otherwise unnoticeable secret signal in its choices of words, which you can use to prove later that, yes, this came from GPT,” Aaronson wrote on his blog. “We want it to be much harder to take a GPT output and pass it off as if it came from a human. This could be helpful for preventing academic plagiarism, obviously, but also, for example, mass generation of propaganda.”The efficacy of such a safeguard remains to be seen. “It's very much whack-a-mole, right now,” Nonnecke exclaimed. “It's the company themselves making that [moderation] decision. There's no transparency in how they're deciding what types of prompts to block or not block, which is very concerning to me.”“Somebody's going to use this to do terrible things,” she said.

Don't worry if the lack of a federal tax credit put you off from buying certain Tesla Model Y variants or other EVs — they might now qualify. The Treasury Department has revised its classification standard to treat more vehicles as SUVs rather than sedans, raising the price threshold from $55,000 to $80,000 and making more EVs eligible for the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) full $7,500 credit under the Inflation Reduction Act. As Autoblogexplains, that should cover five-seat versions of the Model Y (only seven-seaters qualified before) as well as the Cadillac Lyriq, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid and VW ID.4.The Treasury expanded the classification by using the Environmental Protection Agency's public-oriented Fuel Economy Labeling standard rather than the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). This will help treat crossovers "consistently," the department says. This also helps the credit classifications line up with what you see both on the car label and the US government's FuelEconomy.gov website.You can claim the full amount for any qualifying EV bought and put into service in 2023, including those that weren't eligible under the CAFE standard. Any vehicle that could receive the credit before will still pass muster, the Treasury says.The change of heart comes after the IRS invited public comments on a proposed change. Tesla chief Elon Musk encouraged input from his Twitter followers soon afterward. It's unclear how much of a role Tesla's fanbase played, but the decision isn't surprising. Under the old criteria, some of the best-known EVs didn't qualify. The credits were meant to spur EV adoption and further the Biden administration's climate goals — that was going to be harder if customers couldn't get deals on the most popular models.

After almost 20 years away from the motorsport, Ford is returning to Formula 1. The automaker is teaming up with Red Bull to develop a next-gen hybrid power unit for Red Bull Racing and sibling team AlphaTauri. The teams will use the Ford-powered engines between 2026 and at least 2030. Ford will supply "expertise in areas including battery cell and electric motor technology as well as power unit control software and analytics," according to a statement.Ford has a long history in Formula 1 dating back to the 1960s. As an engine manufacturer, it played a role in 13 drivers’ championships and 10 constructors’ championships before it stepped away from the sport in 2004. However, upcoming rule changes regarding increased engine electrification and fully sustainable fuels prompted Ford to make a comeback.“Ford’s return to Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing is all about where we are going as a company — increasingly electric, software-defined, modern vehicles and experiences,” Ford president and CEO Jim Farley said. “F1 will be an incredibly cost-effective platform to innovate, share ideas and technologies and engage with tens of millions of new customers.”Red Bull started building its own F1 engine for the first time as Honda, its current partner, is leaving the sport to place more of its attention on fuel cell and EV technology. Although Honda officially departed F1 at the end of 2021, it's continuing to support Red Bull until new engine rules come into force in 2026, as The Race notes. It was expected that Red Bull would need some assistance to build a hybrid system.Audi announced last year that it will build a hybrid F1 engine. This week, it was revealed that the automaker has bought a minority stake in Sauber, which will become its works team.

Even if you won't be watching the Super Bowl, you can still take advantage of the sales brands are running on home theater equipment ahead of the game. Sonos, which rarely offers discounts, just announced deals on some of their soundbars and smart speakers. TVs from Samsung are on sale too. This week, Samsung unveiled three new Galaxy S23 smartphones during Wednesday's Unpacked event. You can pre-order the phones now, and Amazon and Samsung are both offering a free storage upgrade plus a gift card when you do. We've got a discount code for $55 off Pixel Buds Pro and the price on the 2022 iPad Air dropped by $100. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.Sonos Arc SoundbarSonos keeps a short leash on their products, generally only selling through their own site and carefully regulating when things go on sale. Turns out the Super Bowl is one such occasion and a few of our favorite Sonos speakers are seeing decent discounts this week. One of the top speakers from our soundbar guide is the Sonos Arc. It's usually $899, but is $100 off as of today. We like it for the modern design and stellar sound. Thanks to internal smarts, it can also automatically calibrate to your living room and happily integrates with additional speakers.The Beam Soundbar is $50 off right now, bringing that one down to $399. It's our top pick for a midrange soundbar, thanks to its solid sound quality, compact design and easy set-up. This newer model improves on the previous Beam — which we thought was already pretty great — with the addition of Dolby Atmos. The deals on both Sonos speakers will run through February 12th.Sonos OneWhen we gathered up our favorite smart home gadgets, the Sonos One topped the list for the best smart speaker. We like that it's compact enough to fit most places in your home.It’s compact enough to fit in most areas in your home, but more importantly, it delivers excellent audio quality that’s superior to a lot of other smart speakers out there. When tuned properly to the acoustics of your room — which requires the iOS app — the sound is fantastic, with punchy bass and clear highs. Unfortunately, the Android app doesn’t have TruePlay tuning (Sonos has not said whether it’s in the works), but the speakers should still sound admirable. It’s also compatible with a slew of streaming services, including major ones like Spotify and Pandora.The main benefit that a Sonos speaker brings over the competition is that it’s a gateway to a multi-room audio setup that you can build out over time. It’s also convenient if you plan on building a home theater setup later on, as the One integrates well with Sonos soundbars, including the Arc and Beam.Samsung Galaxy S23 UltraSamsung's Galaxy S22 Ultra starts at $1,200 for the smaller 256GB storage capacity. Right now Amazon, Best Buy and Samsung are all offering a free bump up to the 512GB size (which has a suggested price increase of $180). Both Amazon and Best Buy are throwing in $100 gift cards when you pre order through them, which will ship once the phones are released February 17th. At Samsung's site, you'll also get the free storage upgrade, plus $100 bonus in the form of a Samsung credit. The Ultra is the flagship phone, with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, a 200 MP camera and of course that built-in S Pen. Here are our initial impressions.The standard Galaxy S23 will also come with a free storage upgrade from all three outlets, bumping its base 128GB storage up to 256GB with no upcharge. That phone goes for $800 and comes with a $50 gift card at Amazon or a credit at Samsung. If you want the S23+ you can get 512GB of storage for the same $1,000 price tag as the 256GB size. The plus also comes with a $100 gift card at Amazon, and a credit at Samsung. Here's what we thought after seeing the S23 and S23+.Beats Fit ProWe named Beats Fit Pro the best wireless earbuds for working out and they just dropped to $150 on Amazon. That's 25 percent off and just $5 more than their lowest price ever. We gave them a score of 87 in our review, admiring the great noise cancelling performance and the fact that they offer all of Apple's earbud features, without being AirPods. Big bass and a wing tip that makes sure they stay put when you move make them particularly suited to working out — as does the IPX4-rating for sweat and water resistance.The Beats Studio Buds are also on sale. They're $50 off, making them $100 at Amazon — that's also very close to a record low. We liked the comfortable fit and balanced sound when we reviewed them. They'll give you all the same sweat resistance and Apple integrations as the Fit Pros and AirPods. And while they are impressively small, they do lack on-board controls.Samsung S95B OLED TVWhile we haven't done a full review on Samsung's S95B just yet, many who have reviewed it agree it's one of the best options out there for a top-end TV from 2022. Right now the 55-inch model is $1,448, or 34 percent off. That matches the low we saw during Black Friday sales. The bigger 65-inch model is seeing an even deeper discount of 41 percent off. Bringing that one down to $1,798. That's not its all-time low, but it's just $20 more than its cheapest price.The QD-OLED panel on both sizes has earned props for delivering high contrast and deep blacks and puts out a higher level of brightness than some other OLEDs. It comes with four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, and can deliver 4K video at a 120Hz refresh rate so when the big game is over, you'll get immersive and smooth graphics on the latest gaming titles.Samsung QN90B QLED TVIf a 43-inch TV is more your speed, here's a high-end option that hit a new low price this week. Samsung's 43-inch QN90B is down to a new low of $898, which is 25 percent off its MSRP. The 55-inch model is down to $1,298, which is an all time low. The QN90B is a more traditional LED LCD panel with a Mini LED backlighting to give it better contrast and HDR performance that most TVs of this type, and its great that its available in a 43-inch size. If you're going for the larger 55-inch size, however, we actually recommend Samsung's S95B, mentioned above, for its superior OLED panel.Vitamix Explorian E310Vitamix blenders are ideal for sauces, salsas, dips and icy drinks — all of which may come in handy at a Super Bowl party. The Vitamix series we recommend in our smart kitchen gadget guide is from the Explorian lineup, which isn't the most powerful of the Vitamixes, but instead balances price and performance. We think it's the best option for most people. The E310 usually goes for $350, but is $50 off right now. If you decide you do want all possible power in your blender, go for the Ascent series, most of which are also $50 off, which takes a little of the sting out of their starting price of $500.iPad AirApple's 2022 iPad Air is $99 off right now, bringing the "almost future-proof" tablet down to $500 at Amazon. It dips down to this price fairly often, so it's wise to wait until you see the discount before hitting add to cart. This is the 64GB WiFi model of Apple's latest M1-equipped iPad Air. The larger-capacity 256GB model is also $99 off, bringing it down to $650. The M1 chip is fast enough for content creation, gaming and running other demanding apps. And you'll get an impressive 10 hours of battery life. The build is top-notch and overall, we think it's the best iPad for most people. Especially when it's nearly $100 cheaper.Pixel Buds ProIn our estimation, Google's Pixel Buds Pro are the best earbuds for anyone who carries an Android device in their pocket. Right now at Wellbots, you can save a healthy $55 off the usual $200 price tag when you use the code ENGTSOUND at checkout. We called them Google's best earbuds yet, praising their ability to deliver deep and punchy base notes along with active noise cancellation that effectively blocks out world around you. On-board tap controls let you easily adjust volume, control your playlist and toggle the ANC and you can easily recharge the buds and case wirelessly. One of our complaints was the price bump over the previous models, but hopefully this discount makes that less of an issue.Kindle PaperwhiteAmazon just added two new colors to the backs of their Kindle Paperwhites and are offering a 27 percent discount to go with the new look. That brings the $150 e-reader down to $109, which doesn't beat the Black Friday sale price of $99, but is the best price the device has seen since then. The discount only applies to the 16GB capacity model in the new colors, green or blue. The 8GB capacity model isn't available in the new colors and the black version is still full price.The new colors — and discount — apply to the Paperwhite Signature Edition as well. We called it the "best e-reader period" in our review and this is one of the few times outside of the holidays that the device has gone on sale. Both the blue and green versions are on sale for $140, which is a 26 percent discount off the usual $190 price tag.Fitbit Charge 5We named Fitbit's Charge 5 the best overall tracker in our 2023 guide and in our review, we praised the comfortable design and colorful, always-on display. Right now Wellbots is offering an exclusive discount code that will take $20 off the usual retail of $150. Enter FITENG20 at checkout to see the discount. The Fitbit Inspire 3 will also work with the same $20 discount code, bring that down to $80 instead of its usual $100. Both of those are fitness trackers as opposed to outright smartwatches, and if you'd prefer a more fully-featured wearable, the code FITENG50 will get you $50 off either the Versa 4 or the Sense 2.Chipolo Bluetooth tracker bundleA bundle of three Bluetooth trackers from Chipolo are currently 35 percent off their list price. These small chips can help get you out the door faster by making sure you can easily find your keys, wallet or whatever else you attach them to. We tried out Chipolo’s One Spot, a version of the trackers that works with Apple’s Find My network and we're currently testing both that version and Chipolo’s standard trackers (that work with both Android and iPhone) for an upcoming guide. The ring is loud and the app is easy to use, and now that you can save on a bundle, it’s easier to keep tabs on all those little items that tend to go missing.Disney+To make it easier for us to afford the growing list of streaming services out there, many providers are offering ad-supported versions of their services at reduced prices. Right now, the Disney Plus ad-supported variant is down to $6.99 a month for your first three months. It goes back up to $7.99 after that, but you're free to cancel at any time. You may remember a time when Disney plus without ads was only $7, but just like manyotherstreamingservices out there, they've raised prices recently. Still, for the amount of content available, including Marvel movies, Star Wars shows, Disney features and Pixar fare, it feels worth the cost.Arlo Video DoorbellHere's a chance to keep tabs on your front door — for half the price. Arlo's Essential Video Doorbell is on sale for 50 percent off right now at Amazon, bringing the $200 device down to $100. It's battery-powered, which is great for those without a wired already installed at their front door and gives you a 180-degree field of view. It'll send HD video with HDR to your smartphone or home hub and allows you to see, hear and speak to whomever is out there. The wired-only version is on sale for 47 percent off, bringing it down to $80. And Arlo's exterior security cameras are 38 percent off, or $80 each.Meta Quest ProMeta's Quest Pro headset only arrived three months ago, but it saw its first discount this week. It's a pricey device to begin with and even with a 27 percent discount, it will still put you back $1,100. We tried out the VR headset, and had a lot to say. Meta hopes the Quest Pro will become the device that starts to truly enable the Metaverse. Whether or not we want to live and work in VR just yet is still up for debate, but for those that do, this is a powerful (and relatively comfortable) way to do it.Spigen Ultra Hybrid MagSafe caseSpigen's Ultra Hybrid MagFit case made our list of the best iPhone accessories and is 44 percent off right now, making it just $25 at Amazon. It works with the iPhone. It fits the standard iPhone 14 and is a great all-purpose option. The clear cover has anti-yellowing properties, which should keep it looking clean and new for longer than other cases. Raised edges help protect the screen and camera array from making too much contact with other surfaces, and you’ll be able to use it with any magnetic accessories you want.WD_Black SSD CardsIt's another good week to add extra storage to your computers and gadgets. Right now Amazon is running discounts on a range of storage cards and drives. Discounts range from 20 to 50 percent on Western Digital Black gaming SSDs and SanDisk microSDs. WD_Black's 250GB Internal Gaming SSD is down to $35, which is 42 percent off the original $60. The 500GB version is fifty percent off, or $40.As for the cards, SanDisk's 256GB Ultra microSDXC is down to $25, which isn't the lowest it's ever been, but is still a decent 25 percent off. SanDisk's 1TB Ultra microSDXC is 20 percent off, or $109.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

There was a time when HQ Trivia was on everyone's lips, and millions of people were playing it in hopes of winning some money from its prize pot. Then the trivia show app was beset by one problem after another until it fell off the radar, lost its audience and shut down. CNN announced last year that it ordered a documentary that'll tell the game show's story, with the promise of launching it in 2023. Now CNN Films, the news channel's motion picture division, has released a trailer for the documentary entitled Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia, which is scheduled to premiere on CNN on March 5th at 9PM ET/PT.During the height of its popularity, HQ Trivia ran two games a day, and users could win part of the prize pot by answering several questions correctly in a row. It was hosted by Scott Rogowsky, though celebrities like The Rock and Kelly Clarkson would sometimes serve as guest hosts. In 2018, however, its controversial co-founder Colin Kroll passed away, and then Rogowsky left reportedly after having a disagreement with management over another hosting job he took.According to TechCrunch, more than half of HQ Trivia's staff also signed a petition to remove CEO Rus Yusupov, accusing him of mismanaging the startup. Yusupov then reportedly fired some of the people who led the petition before the company shut down following a failed acquisition in 2020. The trivia app quickly came back thanks to a new investor, but it only ran games once a week with a prize pot of $1,500. Today, the app is suspended in limbo and hasn't had a game since November 2022.The CNN documentary will be told through the point of view of Rogowsky, along with other insiders from the company. Based on what Salima Koroma, the docu's director said, we're in for an entertaining ride: "HQ Trivia was supposed to ‘revolutionize television’. But what happens when the people who are running it—'the smartest guys in the room’— don’t actually know what they’re doing? The CEOs who make the Vines and the WeWorks and the Twitters are hailed as the rockstars of our age. But a lot of them are simply emperors with no clothes on. It’s kind of absurd. And I wanted that absurdity to be felt all throughout the film."Pay TV subscribers can stream the documentary when it premieres through CNN's website, its mobile apps and CNNgo. It will also be available for on demand streaming starting on March 6th.

Naughty Dog announced today that it’s delaying The Last of Us Part I for PC until March 28th. It will follow the game’s PS5 launch last year and roughly coincide with the wrap-up of season one of the HBO series.We found the console version of the remake to be a massive visual upgrade over the 2013 original — while staying faithful to its core gameplay. Subtler enhancements in the updated version included more intelligent AI, haptic controller improvements, new game modes and accessibility options. The PC launch was initially set for March 3rd.“These additional few weeks will allow us to ensure this version of The Last of Us lives up to your, and our, standards,” Naughty Dog tweeted today. “We are so excited to bring The Last of Us Part I to a new platform, reaching new and returning players with Joel and Ellie’s unforgettable story of survival, and we hope that you’ll continue to look forward to its PC release on March 28.”

Apple services have been available on LG's TVs for a while, but they've been no-shows on many of the third-party sets running the company's scaled-back webOS Hub. That won't be a problem for much longer. LG has made Apple's apps and services available on webOS Hub, including Apple TV, Apple Music, AirPlay and HomeKit. The rollout gives TVs from 200 brands a taste of the Apple ecosystem, including Aiwa, Hyundai and Konka.The Apple TV and Apple Music apps are effectively the same as you'd find on LG's own sets. Apple TV lets you stream Apple's shows, some third-party services and titles you've purchased or rented. Apple Music, meanwhile, offers access to both the all-you-can listen subscription and your personal music library. AirPlay allows casting from iPads, iPhones and Macs, while HomeKit gives you control of your TV through Siri or Apple's Home app.The features aren't universally available. You'll need an OLED or 4K TV using webOS Hub 2.0 (released late last year) if you expect to use AirPlay or HomeKit. You may have to settle for just the media apps with certain sets.Even so, this is a big move for Apple. The launch puts its apps on webOS TVs in over 100 countries, and many of those devices are budget models. That brings Apple TV+, Apple Music and the company's smart home tech within reach of more people, particularly those who can't justify the prices of TVs from LG and other major brands.

Activision Blizzard will pay $35 million to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that it “failed to maintain disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that the company could assess whether its disclosures pertaining to its workforce were adequate.” The settlement also resolves charges that Activision Blizzard violated whistleblower protection regulations. The company is settling the charges without admitting to or denying them."The SEC’s order finds that Activision Blizzard failed to implement necessary controls to collect and review employee complaints about workplace misconduct, which left it without the means to determine whether larger issues existed that needed to be disclosed to investors,” SEC Denver regional office director Jason Burt said in a statement.The SEC claims that, between 2018 and 2021, the company “lacked controls and procedures among its separate business units to collect and analyze employee complaints of workplace misconduct." Because of that, Activision Blizzard higher ups didn’t have the information they needed to fully comprehend the substance and number of workplace misconduct complaints, according to the order. Nor did management review whether there were any material issues that would have warranted public disclosure, the SEC found.In addition, the SEC determined that the company violated a whistleblower protection rule as a result of separation agreements it carried out between 2016 and 2021. Activision Blizzard allegedly required former workers to provide it with notice if the SEC contacted them for information. "Taking action to impede former employees from communicating directly with the Commission staff about a possible securities law violation is not only bad corporate governance, it is illegal,” Burt, one of the supervisors of the investigation, said."We are pleased to have amicably resolved this matter. As the order recognizes, we have enhanced our disclosure processes with regard to workplace reporting and updated our separation contract language," an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told Engadget in a statement. "We did so as part of our continuing commitment to operational excellence and transparency. Activision Blizzard is confident in its workplace disclosures.”The agency started investigating Activision Blizzard over these issues by September 2021, according to reports at the time. Two months earlier, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) sued the company over allegations of systemic gender discrimination and widespread sexual harassment.The SEC probe related to how Activision Blizzard managed complaints over such incidents. It says that the company changed its processes for handling complaints between 2020 and last year to make sure that it documented the complaints more thoroughly and better communicated them to its senior management and legal team. Last June, Activision Blizzard agreed to release an annual report that discloses how the company handles sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaints, and what it's doing to prevent such incidents.In January 2022, Microsoft said it planned to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the takeover bid. Regulators in the UK and European Union are also scrutinizing the pending merger.

Google’s latest and greatest earbuds, the Pixel Buds Pro, are the best we’ve come across for Android users. That’s for a number of reasons, but importantly, they integrate fairly seamlessly with Android phones, and even better if you have a Pixel handset. Normally priced at $200, the Pixel Buds Pro are down to the lowest price we’ve seen right now at Wellbots. You can grab them for $145, or $55 off, with the code ENGTSOUND at checkout.The Android conveniences in the Pixel Buds Pro almost make them a foil to Apple’s AirPods. Their dedicated Android app provides a bunch of customization options, and Pixel phone users will be able to access some controls directly from their Bluetooth menu. The Pixel Buds Pro also support hands-free Google Assistant access, so you can ask it to read out notifications and help you in other ways. It even has Google Translate functionality that will help you speak in another language on the spot.Otherwise, the Pixel Buds Pro are capable in every way that matters. They have a small, oval-shaped design that’s comfortable for long-term use, plus reliable touch controls that let you pause, play and skip tracks. While Transparency Mode left a little to be desired, active noise cancellation is solid and these buds have much better sound quality than the Pixel Buds that came before them.As for battery life, you’ll get a decent seven hours with ANC turned on and up to 20 additional hours with the buds’ charging case. You can also wirelessly power up the buds, which will be convenient if you have a bunch of those accessories scattered throughout your home.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

After teasing it last year, YouTube has rolled out a new feature called Go Live Together that lets creators co-host livestreams. Anyone with over 50 subscribers can invite a guest to host a livestream with them from iOS and Android mobile devices. Only one guest is allowed at any time, but the host can swap in new guests during the same livestream.You can schedule co-streams through YouTube's desktop app, but both the host and guest must use mobile devices during the livestream. To do so, open the YouTube app, tap "Create" then "Go Live Together." After entering stream details, select "Invite a co-streamer" and send an invite link to the co-streamer. They'll then be sent to the waiting room until you click "Go Live."There's no minimum number of followers for guests, but the host will be held responsible for guests violating any community guidelines. Hosts can earn revenue for ads, which can appear in pre-, mid- and post-roll form.YouTube offered a similar feature that lets creators co-host shopping livestreams, which allows both co-hosting and redirects to a brand's channel. Twitch recently introduced a feature in beta called Guest Star which allows creators to bring up to five guests onto streams. That system is a bit simpler, as any viewer can raise a virtual hand and the host can invite them on, much like Clubhouse or Twitter Spaces. Unlike YouTube's mobile limitation, Twitch's version is only available on desktop.

Our favorite earbuds for working out are down to one of their best prices yet. The Beats Fit Pro have dropped to $150 at Amazon, which is 25 percent off their usual price and close to an all-time low. We've only seen them cheaper during a limited-time sale at Woot in which they were $145, so if you missed that, now's a good time to pick up a pair for nearly the same cost.The Fit Pros were cut from a similar cloth as the Beats Studio Buds, but they include an wing tip for a more secure fit. They are comfortable to wear for long stretches of time, and the wing tip keeps them even more stable than other buds during fast-paced workouts. Beats didn't skip on other hardware features either: the Fit Pros have solid onboard controls, an IPX4 rating and a wear-detection sensor that will pause audio when you remove a bud.Sound quality is pretty good here, and users will appreciate the Fit Pro's punchy bass when they need a little extra motivation during a tough workout. They also have good active noise cancellation that blocks out most surrounding noises. But the kicker for many might be their integration with Apple devices, which make them a good alternative to AirPods. The Beats Fit Pro quickly pair and switch between Apple gadgets, plus they support hands-free Siri and Find My capabilities, the latter of which will help you locate your buds if you misplace them. Android users will get some of these perks as well since the Fit Pros have a dedicated Android app that gives them fast-pairing features and customizable controls.But if you prefer a more subtle design sans wing tip, you should consider the Beats Studio Buds, which are also on sale at the moment. Normally $150, these buds are down to $100 right now, which is nearly a record low. They do not have things like wireless charging, sound customizations or onboard volume controls, but they will give you all of the same Apple integrations along with a comfortable, IPX4-rated design, good sound quality and solid ANC.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This week, Cherlynn is joined by guest co-host Sam Rutherford to break down everything Samsung announced at its Unpacked event this week. Are we excited about the first major flagship phones of the year? And how about those confusing new laptops? Also, because we've had a Galaxy S23 Ultra in our possession for about 12 hours, we discussed our early impressions of the new phone. Plus, we take a look at the new Apple HomePod and other news in tech.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 podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!Subscribe!

After the last few years of nonstop growth, Apple reported revenue of $117.2 billion for its first fiscal quarter, which is five percent down year over year, marking the first time Apple's revenue has dipped since 2019.That said, the company set a revenue record of $20.8 billion in its Services business and hit over two billion active devices globally. CEO Tim Cook said three things hit revenue: the "challenging macroeconomic environment," foreign exchange issues and COVID-related supply constraints that led to delays in the ship times of iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. Anecdotally, we’ve heard from several people that ended up canceling iPhone orders over lengthy delays.It reflects a slowdown across most of the tech industry, with a mixture of lower revenues, decreased profits and general growth slowdown across Meta, Microsoft and Google owner Alphabet.– Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missed

There are a few times throughout the year when it’s worth snatching up new TVs and home theater tech while it’s on sale. Undoubtably, the holiday shopping period is your best bet, but at least in the US, right before the Super Bowl is the next best time. You can find a bunch of TVs on sale right now, and Sonos has joined the fray today by discounting a bunch of its home theater equipment. Its latest soundbars, the Arc and the Beam, are down to $799 and $399, respectively, while the Sonos Sub is on sale for $649. But the easiest in to the Sonos ecosystem is with a One speaker, and you can pick that up for only $179 right now.Despite being a few years old, the Sonos One remains a top pick of ours in the smart speaker space. It provides excellent audio quality and you can pair two of them together for stereo sound. If you have multiple Sonos speakers in your living room, you can connect all of them together to create your own sound system as well. We also appreciate Sonos’ Trueplay technology, which measures the acoustics in your room in order to fine-tune the speaker.The standard Sonos One is on sale, which means you get voice assistant capabilities as well. You can ask Alexa, the Google Assistant or Sonos’ own vocal helper to play music from a bunch of different services including Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music and others. It also supports AirPlay 2, so you can easily send any sound from your Apple devices to the speaker to play.As for the soundbars on sale, the Arc is the one to go with if you want the best that Sonos has to offer right now. We like its modern design and stellar sound quality, plus it also calibrates to your room and supports voice assistant input. The Beam is a great soundbar as well, and the addition of Dolby Audio on the second-gen model really helps it out. Both are some of the best soundbars you can get, plus they are easy to set up and simple to connect to other Sonos devices you might have (or want to have), like a Sub or a Sub Mini. Aside from how expensive things get when you want to expand a Sonos system, our biggest knock against both soundbars is that they only have one HDMI input each.Shop deals at SonosFollow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Google has announced that it's holding a streaming event called Live from Paris that will be all about "Search, Maps and beyond," set to be livestreamed on YouTube on February 8th. "We're reimagining how people search for, explore and interact with information, making it more natural and intuitive than ever before to find what you need," the description reads.Hopefully, the "beyond" part will shed some more light on its plans for a ChatGPT rival. During Google's earnings call yesterday, Pichai finally addressed Google's own plans for an AI chat system. "In the coming weeks and months, we'll make these language models available, starting with LaMDA, so that people can engage directly with them," he said. Google also plans to bring those AI tools to businesses, developers and Alphabet's own internal operations.Last month, Google CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly declared a "code red" over OpenAI's ChatGPT, due to its potential threat to Google's search dominance. Notably, Microsoft is a large investor in ChatGPT, and plans to integrate the AI into its Bing search engine to provide more understandable and human-like results.Google was said to be planning to show off its AI tools at its I/O event, which usually takes place in May. It's possible, though, that the company wants get well ahead of any criticism that it's behind OpenAI in the natural language chatbot race.On the other hand, the event might be strictly focused on Search and Maps — core products used by a lot of people. In the thumbnail above, Google also hints at news about Lens, Shopping and Translate. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube on February 8th at 8:30 AM ET.