A new tactical RPG game for PCs from Ubisoft requires NFTs to play it. Per IGN Ubisoft Quartz, the publisher's NFT platform, has released Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles without much fanfare.It's not really billed as a Web3-based game in the trailer, probably because NFTs are as popular of an investment as Blackberry phones or fax machines. However, it still plays a major part in Champions Tactics. The game starts you with a handful of free temporary figurines to start you off but you'll need to buy your own NFTs to compete using in-game currency or cryptocurrency that can reach into the thousands. The highest figurine called the "Swift Zealot" will set you back $63,000.Ubisoft launched its NFT platform Quartz a little under three years ago to a wave of backlash. The announcement video on YouTube attracted more than 35,000 dislikes in 24 hours and open criticisms from consumers and employees who felt its environmental impact was not worth the risk. The launch included a set of 15 NFTs in the form of skins and guns for Ghost Recon Breakpoint. The publisher only sold 18 NFTs in its first few weeks.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/ubisoft-stealth-released-an-nft-game-absolutely-no-one-needs-172145079.html?src=rss
Autonomous delivery vehicle company Avride has a fresh design - and NVIDIA AI brains. The company's engineers have swapped out the old six-wheel configuration for a more efficient four-wheel chassis. It can make 180-degree turns almost instantly, effortlessly park on inclines and move faster without compromising safety.Avride has been working on autonomous delivery robots since 2019. It began as part of Russian tech company Yandex's autonomous driving wing. But the spun-off company divested its Russian assets after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and rebranded as Avride. It's now owned by the Netherlands-based Nebius Group (formerly Yandex N.V.), headquartered in Austin, TX and making deals with the likes of Uber.The company's latest delivery robot shakes up one of the few constants from previous iterations: They all had six wheels. The new four-wheel robo-buggy uses a groundbreaking chassis design" that eliminates some of the rough spots from older generations. These included additional friction and tire wear caused by excessive braking required for turns, lower maneuverability and less precise trajectory execution. Avride says the new model dramatically improves on all of those counts.AvrideThe new vehicle's wheels are mounted on movable arms attached to a pivoting axle. For turns, each wheel glides along a circular path stabilized by the central arm. This design allows the wheels to rotate both inward and outward, reducing friction during turns," the company wrote in its announcement blog post.Central to the new design is ditching the traditional front and rear axles for mechanically connected wheel pairs on each side. Avride says this enables simultaneous turning angle adjustment, leading to more precise positioning and maneuvers.Among the results of the fresh approach are almost instant 180-degree turns. Avride says this especially helps when navigating narrow sidewalks, where sudden adjustments could be necessary. Parking on slopes is also more energy efficient: It now sets its wheels in a cross pattern to park in place without careening downward. The tighter controls also let the company increase its maximum speed. This means faster deliveries for our customers," the company wrote. (And, presumably, more profit.)AvrideNot only did the new generation of delivery bots get a new body, but it also got smarter. Powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Orin platform, essentially an AI brain for robots," the vehicles can now tap into neural networks as powerful as those in full-size autonomous cars. This lets them process vast amounts" of sensor data like lidar inputs and camera feeds in real time.Finally, it wouldn't be a delivery buggy without a cargo compartment - and that got an upgrade, too. The new model has a fully detachable storage section, allowing for modular swap-outs for different purposes. Avride says its standard cargo hold is big enough to hold several large pizzas and drinks or multiple grocery bags. It also adds a sliding lid that only provides access to the correct section, helping to avoid delivering orders to the wrong customers.Engineering and design nerds can read much more detail about the new robots in Avride's Medium post.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/avrides-next-gen-delivery-robot-ditches-two-wheels-and-adds-nvidia-ai-brains-171053813.html?src=rss
Panic is holding another showcase for its Playdate portable console on October 31, and you can watch it via the company's YouTube page. We've dropped a stream below for your convenience. The developer promises a focus on upcoming games for the diminutive yellow console, in addition to updates of released titles and a couple more surprises."The livestream starts at 1PM ET. Previous showcase events have lasted around 40 minutes, giving the company plenty of time to detail a whole slew of new crank-powered gems. The stream also heralds the beginning of the second-ever Playdate Catalog Sale, which will run from October 31 until November 14.Panic says that over 160 games will be on sale, including popular titles like Root Bear, P-Racing, Echo: The Oracle Scroll and Zero Zero: Perfect Stop. Some of these games will be available at their lowest prices ever. The previous sale was an absolute boon for those looking to winnow down their wish lists.PanicFor the uninitiated, the Playdate is a retro-styled portable console that looks sort of like an OG Gameboy. It's bright yellow and features a hand-controlled crank that's used as a primary control input in many games. We love the thing and have called it an inspiration machine" and the future of game development." There are hundreds of indie games available for the console, and many of them are quite good.The only bad news? The Playdate console itself is currently on back order. Shipments for new orders won't start going out until December, at the soonest.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-the-latest-playdate-showcase-170055652.html?src=rss
In a new video caught by TechCrunch, Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot Atlas can be seen working autonomously in a demo space, sorting engine parts between numbered bins. The company claims that Atlas doesn't need to be controlled by humans to do work.According to the video description, Atlas uses machine learning to detect environmental changes and work around them. It also has a specialized grasping policy" to help it maintain a firm hold on objects, continuously estimating the state of what it's holding. After receiving some bin locations to move parts between, Atlas will get to work without prescribed movements, opting to perform tasks independently.In contrast, Tesla's Optimus robots were said to receive human remote assistance despite autonomy claims. The Optimus robots were at a live event and, when asked, answered that they were being assisted.The video shows Atlas sorting and moving the engine parts to designated locations. It does well, transporting them without much awkwardness. After placing one part into a bin, the robot will repeat the process for other parts.Atlas has undergone plenty of changes since its 2013 reveal, including swapping from hydraulics to electric after almost 11 years of testing. The older Atlas and the current one are markedly different from each other. Take a look at the video below to see for yourself.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/boston-dynamics-atlas-robot-can-now-pick-car-parts-on-its-own-170052539.html?src=rss
Cyberpunk 2077 is finally coming to Mac computers. The first-person open world adventure was first released back in 2020, so Apple fans have been waiting nearly half a decade for this release. Developer CD Projekt RED hasn't issued a launch date yet, but says the game will be available early next year."This isn't the base game. Mac owners are getting Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, which features all pre-existing DLC and patches. This includes the massive Phantom Liberty expansion, which brings Idris Elba into the mix. The expansion was first released last year for consoles and PC.The developer says this port takes full advantage of Apple Silicon and the advanced technologies of Metal." It'll boast all kinds of modern bells and whistles, like path tracing, frame generation and built-in spatial audio.As indicated, this port is only for Apple Silicon Macs, but CD Projekt RED hasn't announced if there would be any barriers beyond that. We reached out to the developer to ask if the game will run on every chip, from the M1 to the recently-announced M4 Max. We'll update this post when we hear something.There's also a cool policy in place for pre-existing players. If you own the game on PC via Steam, the purchase will carry over to Mac.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/cyberpunk-2077-ultimate-edition-will-be-available-for-macs-early-next-year-164520024.html?src=rss
As someone allergic to a big sect of food (hey gluten free eaters!), I know how important accurate allergy markers are on a menu. Yet, a new criminal complaint alleges that a former Disney World employee intentionally altered a menu's allergy information to state foods didn't contain peanuts that, in fact, did, 404 Media and Court Watch reported in collaboration.The complaint alleges that Michael Scheuer was fired by Disney and then used still viable passwords to access a third-party created proprietary menu creation and inventory system. Over the course of his misdoings, he allegedly changed the allergy information along with adding profanity, altering prices and changing the font to Wingdings. Those wingdings were what initially tipped off employees. All menus in the database were deemed unusable and the application went offline for one to two weeks to fix the issues.Disney changed the passwords, but then Scheuer allegedly broke into multiple of the third-party company's FTPs, to change the allergy markers and altered QR codes from directing to a menu to a boycott Israel website. He also tried to break into Disney employees' accounts nearly 8,000 times. Disney claims that the altered menus were identified before being shipped out to restaurants.This case is unrelated to a doctor who died of an allergic reaction after eating at a Disney Springs restaurant last year. Notably, Disney tried to get a lawsuit filed by the doctor's husband thrown out in August, alleging that he had agreed to settle lawsuits out of court through arbitration. The reason? He had signed a terms of service for a one-month Disney+ trial in 2019 and again when making an account to buy park tickets.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-fired-disney-employee-allegedly-altered-menus-to-change-allergy-markers-161549481.html?src=rss
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition is Nothing's latest smartphone, using designs submitted by the community - and it glows in the dark. Depending on your location, you can register for a chance to buy the device starting today, but that doesn't guarantee a purchase. Only 1,000 of them will be available, and they won't be sold in North America, Taiwan and Korea.Nothing first called for the community to design a product back in March. The contest had four stages: creating a new look, crafting wallpapers, designing a new package and then developing a marketing campaign. People would then submit their ideas and the winners chosen later. These entries later went into the final design as seen now. Those who participated in the community event are given priority to register for a Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition, but it will still be sold on a first-come-first-served basis. You can find out how to get one in this post.Interestingly, those in Malaysia (like me), Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines don't have to register to potentially purchase one. They can buy one through Nothing's official partners, although they have to be fast as there are only 25 devices per country. Fans of Nothing's phones in Japan can also register for the phone, but the ones they'll get are based on the older Nothing Phone (2a).Besides buying the phone online, fans in London and Delhi can visit a physical store for one. The Nothing Store in Soho will stock 50 of them starting November 16. However, those in Delhi have to stay tuned for the location, and the phone will become available on November 23.The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition will launch on November 12 and sell for 399, around $430. It comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage space.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothings-first-community-designed-smartphone-glows-in-the-dark-152002042.html?src=rss
For the second time in less than two years, Dropbox is laying off a substantial portion of its workforce. In a blog post penned by CEO Drew Houston, the company said it would cut its global headcount by 20 percent or 528 employees.Dropbox will provide impacted workers with up to 16 weeks of pay, with tenured employees eligible for one additional week of pay for each complete year they worked at the company. All impacted employees will also receive their year end equity vest, and the company will provide dedicated support to immigrant workers with one-on-one consultation and extra transition time.Per a filing with the SEC, Dropbox anticipates this latest round of layoffs will cost it up to $68 million in cash expenditures. At the same time, the company expects it will recognize between $47 million and $52 million in incremental expenses related to all the severance and benefit payouts it now needs to make before the end of year and into the first half of 2025.As CEO, I take full responsibility for this decision and the circumstances that led to it, and I'm truly sorry to those impacted by this change," Houston wrote. We continue to see softening demand and macro headwinds in our core business. But external factors are only part of the story. We've heard from many of you that our organizational structure has become overly complex, with excess layers of management slowing us down."Partway through last year, Dropbox laid off 500 employees, or about 16 percent of its workforce at the time. Comparing the memo Houston shared then with the one he posted today, there's a common theme: slowing growth.First, while our business is profitable, our growth has been slowing. Part of this is due to the natural maturation of our existing businesses, but more recently, headwinds from the economic downturn have put pressure on our customers and, in turn, on our business," Houston wrote in 2023. As a result, some investments that used to deliver positive returns are no longer sustainable."Unfortunately for Dropbox, things haven't improved on that front. As TechCrunch notes, the company only added 63,000 users during its most recent fiscal quarter (PDF link). Year-over-year revenue growth also stalled at 1.8 percent, the lowest in the company's history.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/dropbox-is-laying-off-20-percent-of-its-workforce-151023877.html?src=rss
Apple is continuing its week of announcements by revealing the latest MacBook Pro lineup, as well as its new top-of-the-line chip. The M4 Max has a 40-core GPU - double the number of cores found in the M4 Pro that the company revealed this week. It has a 16-core GPU with 12 performance and four efficiency cores and a 16-core neural engine that's said to be three times faster than the one on the M1 chip. The M4 Max supports up to 128GB of RAM with what Apple claims is 30 percent more memory bandwidth than the M3 Max offers.The GPU is said to have faster cores and a ray-tracing engine that's twice as fast as the M3 chips. Apple claims the neural engine is up to twice as fast as the one on the previous-generation chipsets as well. In addition, Apple says the CPU is up to 2.2 times faster than the one in the M1 Max.As with the M4 and M4 Pro, the M4 Max is built on second-gen 3nm tech to bolster power efficiency and performance. Like the M4 Pro (which can be used to power the new Mac mini), the M4 Max supports Thunderbolt 5, which should make it faster to move files around as it has a data transfer capacity of up to 120GB per second. And, as with all of Apple's other M-series Macs, devices running on the M4 Max will support Apple Intelligence features.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apple-unveils-its-top-of-the-line-m4-max-chip-150241987.html?src=rss
Not that it's a huge surprise after Apple's week of M4 upgrades - first with the 24-inch iMac, then the adorable new Mac mini - but today the company is also bringing its M4 chips to the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. And, in addition to the base M4 chip and the M4 Pro, they can also be configured with the newly announced M4 Max. Apple isn't sneaking in any major tweaks this time around, aside from bringing over the Space Black color option to the 14-inch MacBook Pro. Still, the internal upgrades should be compelling for anyone with an M1 MacBook Pro or an older Intel model. Just like with the M4 iMac and Mac mini, Apple is also making 16GB of RAM the default for the $1,599 14-inch MacBook Pro (fixing one of our biggest issues with that model). You can thank Apple Intelligence for that memory bump, even if you don't give a lick about AI. Apple Apple isn't saying much about the M4 Max chip yet, but we know it'll feature up to a 16-core CPU (12 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores), and a 40-core GPU. In comparison, the M4 Pro sports a 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU, while the plain M4 chip comes with either 8 or 10 cores alongside a 10-core graphics chip. The M4 Max chip also supports up to 128GB of RAM with 30 percent more memory bandwidth than the M3 Max. As for other upgrades, the M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pros will also include three Thunderbolt 5 USB-C ports, just like the M4 Pro-equipped Mac mini. If you're constantly moving enormous files around, that alone could be a reason to step up, since Thunderbolt 5 can support up to 80 Gbps speeds (it can also reach up to 120 Gbps with its Bandwidth Boost feature). That's a huge step up from 40 Gbps limit of Thunderbolt 3 and 4, and it also opens the door for better external GPU support, as well as powerful AI accelerators. Apple The new MacBook Pros have slightly brighter screens which can reach up to 1,000 nits of SDR brightness (compared to 600 nits before), and there's also a nano-texture display option. That feature is mainly meant for people working in very bright environments or direct sunlight, as it drastically reduces glare. Both machines are also getting 12MP Center Stage webcams, a huge upgrade over the previous 1080p cameras. The 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro still starts at $1,599 ($1,499 for education customers), while the M4 Pro model starts at $1,999 ($1,849 for education). The 16-inch MacBook Pro, meanwhile, still starts at $2,499 ($2,299 for education customers). You can pre-order both laptops today, and they'll be in stores on November 8. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/apples-macbook-pros-get-an-m4-upgrade-including-the-new-m4-max-chip-150055208.html?src=rss
No, Apple isn't stuffing an M4 chip into the MacBook Air lineup just yet, but it is giving the ultraportables a healthy memory bump. Starting today, every M2 and M3-equipped MacBook Air will come with 16GB of RAM by default, making them better equipped for multitasking and memory-hungry Apple Intelligence features. Thankfully, Apple isn't changing its pricing: The M2 model still starts at $999, while the 13-inch M3 MacBook Air goes for $1,099 and the 15-inch variant runs for $1,299. (It's no wonder we've seen the 8GB systems drop as low as $700.) You'll still have to live with a paltry 256GB of storage on all of the base MacBook Air systems, but hey, at least Apple is finally listening to our demands. We've long argued that it's worth bumping up to 16GB of RAM for most laptops. That's particularly true for Apple Silicon systems, which have memory directly built into their SoCs (system on a chip) and can't expand their RAM down the line. You can thank AI as the main reason Apple and Microsoft (with Copilot+ AI PCs) are now pushing for 16GB of RAM. While Apple Intelligence requires 8GB of RAM to function, the company previously admitted it may not be enough to run the AI features in Xcode 16. As AI models grow and become more complex, their memory demands will only increase. More than ever, it pays to invest in as much RAM as you can up front. You can order the refreshed MacBook Airs with 16GB of RAM online today, and they should be available in stores soon. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/every-macbook-air-now-starts-with-16gb-of-ram-at-no-extra-cost-150041320.html?src=rss
DJI is a major player in the camera market with its drones and gimbals, so why hasn't it had the same success with action cams? The answer is simple: GoPro. The company's Hero lineup has offered superior image quality and stabilization. The same goes for Insta360's action cams, which have caught the public's imagination. Now, DJI's taking another shot at its rivals with the $350 Osmo Action 5 Pro, which is perhaps the biggest upgrade yet in this series. Nearly everything on the inside has changed, from the sensor to battery life and storage. However, it looks very similar to its predecessor, the Osmo Action 4. Video quality only goes up to 4K on the new model though, compared to 5.3K for the latest GoPro Hero 13 and 8K for the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 released last week. Still, the Action 5 Pro surpasses its competitors in several key areas and it's easily DJI's best action camera yet. Long battery life and internal storage The Action 5 Pro now boasts the longest battery life of any action cam and it's not even close. Thanks to the higher-capacity 1,950 mAh battery (up from 1,770 mAh), it can shoot 4K 60p video for well over two hours and 1080p for four hours. By comparison, the GoPro Hero 13 can only go 88 minutes at 4K 60p with a similar-sized battery. Another rival, the Insta360 Ace Pro 2, can run a bit more than 90 minutes at the same resolution. With the optional charger (available in the $400 Adventure Combo with two extra batteries), it takes about 30 minutes to fully replenish a battery. Three batteries should be enough for most people to shoot an entire day at 4K 60p without recharging - quite impressive for an action camera. Steve Dent for Engadget Another big upgrade on the Action 5 Pro is the 47GB of internal storage, compared to zero before, on top of a microSD slot. This allows you to still capture an additional hour or so of 4K 60p footage when you fill up your memory card. Neither the Hero 13 nor Insta360's Ace Pro 2 have any internal storage. At 5.15 ounces, the Action 5 Pro is a bit smaller and lighter than the Hero 23, which weighs 5.6 ounces. On top of that, the Action 5 Pro is waterproof down to 66 feet by itself, which is double the Hero 13's limit. If you really need to go deeper, DJI's waterproof case extends the maximum depth for this device to nearly 200 feet. DJI increased the rear OLED display's size from 2.25 to 2.5 inches by shrinking the bezels - a small change that makes the touchscreen menus easier to use. The 1.4-inch front OLED panel is also slightly bigger than before. Both screens are sharp and easy to see in sunlight with up to 800 nits of maximum brightness. Steve Dent for Engadget The Action 5 Pro's textured body provides a firm grip, and the record and power buttons are larger and less stiff than on the Action 4. Settings can be changed from the rear display by swiping up and down or side to side, though it can be hard to remember where settings are. You can also connect your smartphone using the Mimo app to operate the camera and gain access to editing features. An interesting addition is the new pressure sensor that shows how deep you're diving or your altitude when climbing - a useful feature that rival cameras lack. One thing I've loved about DJI's last few action cameras is the magnetic mounting system. It lets you instantly clip the Action 5 Pro to nearly any accessory, including car, bike, helmet and chest mounts, without the need to fiddle with screws or clumsy brackets. That said, GoPro finally implemented its own magnetic mount on the Hero 13 and the Ace Pro 2 has a similar system as well. DJI has fallen behind its main rival in the area of optics, though. GoPro's Hero 13 now supports optional removable lenses, letting you change from a typical wide angle field of view to ultra-wide, macro and more. While they're fairly expensive, it's a nice option if you want something other than the usual action camera look. Sharper video and subject tracking Steve Dent for Engadget With a new 1/1.3-inch 40-megapixel sensor, the Action 5 Pro has a sensor that is the same size as its predecessor but is nearly four times sharper. It's much larger than the GoPro Hero 13's sensor with more than double the area. That extra size helps the Action 5 Pro produce clearer shots with more detail, especially in lower light. You can shoot 4K at up to 120 fps, or 1080p at 240 fps for super slow-mo. There's a new twist, though, with open gate" 4:3 capture at 3,840 x 2,880 resolution, also up to 120 fps. That squarish frame makes it easier to crop vertically for social media while still retaining full 4K width. Another new feature is 10-bit support for regular video instead of just D-LogM as before. However, the GoPro Hero 13 supports sharper 5.3K video that allows for even more cropping options in post. And the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 can shoot up to 8K 30p video or 4K open gate like the Action 5 Pro. As with other DJI products, the Action 5 Pro shoots bright and colorful video straight out of the camera. However, to my eye the colors look less natural than on the GoPro Hero 13. Skin tones aren't as warm, and the colors are too intense for my taste. The ability to shoot 10-bit color in regular mode is a big help, providing extra room to edit without shooting D-LogM, which can be tricky for beginners. My preference is still to shoot D-LogM then apply DJI's LUT in post. That yields more natural, less saturated colors and gives you up to 13.5 stops of dynamic range in challenging lighting conditions, like shooting in a forest on a sunny day. Thanks to the bigger sensor, the Action 5 Pro is superior to the GoPro Hero 13 in low light, with far less noise and artifacts. If things really get dark, the new Super Night Mode further brightens video, but the aggressive noise reduction applied can create an artificial look and reduce sharpness. Low-light quality is similar to the Insta360, as both have similar 1/1.3-inch sensors. And while it's not primarily a photo camera, the Action 5 Pro can shoot 40-megapixel photos compared to 27-megapixel stills for the GoPro Hero 13. Video stabilization is paramount for action cameras and a big reason why GoPro has dominated for so long. However, the Action 5 Pro is finally up to that level with its latest RockSteady 3.0+ stabilization. I tried it through a mix of sports, including biking, swimming and kayaking and it delivered stable shots with none of the minor weaving or jolting that I've seen before. As before, it also offers HorizonBalancing to keep the image level even when the camera tilts up to 45 degrees. Another mode, HorizonSteady, keeps the image level even if you rotate the camera 360 degrees. A key new feature on the Action 5 Pro is subject centering and tracking that lets creators shoot without a gimbal. As with other DJI products (like ActiveTrack on drones), it detects a subject's position and dynamically adjusts the composition to keep them centered in the frame. Though it's limited to 2.7K resolution, it worked well to frame me near the middle of the shot during activities like cycling and swimming. Finally, let's talk about audio. On top of the built-in microphones that offer decent quality, the Action 5 Pro connects directly to DJI's Mic 2 transmitters over Bluetooth (up to two at a time). Those mics allow high quality audio capture and automatically reduce noise, even if you're filming action like a mountain biker on a gnarly descent. It's easy to set up and should be a hit with creators, given the popularity of the Mic 2. Wrap-up Steve Dent for Engadget The DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro costs $350, while the Hero 13 Pro and Insta360's Ace Pro 2 are priced at $400. The DJI beats both in terms of battery life and is on par with its rivals when it comes to stabilization. The Action 5 Pro also offers superior low-light and log footage, though I prefer the GoPro Hero 13's video straight out of the camera. Taking price into account, the Action 5 Pro is a very attractive option. It's one of the best action cameras I've used, with battery life well above rivals, a solid waterproof construction and full support for DJI's Mic 2. If you feel you might benefit from the extra sharpness, then the GoPro or Insta360 might be a better choice. But, if low-light performance is key, head straight for DJI's Action 5 Pro.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/dji-osmo-action-5-pro-review-finally-a-worthy-gopro-rival-143027778.html?src=rss
In 2016, I dragged my Engadget colleagues to preview Star Trek: Bridge Crew, a VR title letting you live out your fantasies of sitting on the bridge of a starship. Sadly, despite having two fans in the team, we failed miserably at the game, a wound I've been nursing ever since. When Bridge Command, London's latest attraction, asked me if I wanted to try out its real world equivalent, I leapt at the chance. After all, this wasn't just me testing out a new sci-fi themed event, it was a shot at redemption.Bridge Command sits in the space between an escape room, team-building exercise, live-action roleplay and immersive theater. It's essentially a paid-for LARP taking place on a custom-built starship set which cost 3 million (around $4 million) to play space captain. In order to survive and succeed, each player must work with their team, communicate and solve problems on the fly for the better part of two hours.ASIDE: There's plenty of existing bridge simulator roleplaying games and a small, but vibrant community that supports it. Digital platforms like Thorium Nova, Artemis and EmptyEpsilon are all platforms that enable folks to gather around to play in teams. Bridge Command itself is built on top of EmptyEpsilon's platform, albeit with some degree of customization on top.Effort has been taken to ensure Bridge Command isn't a one-and-done experience, and creator Parabolic Theatre hopes to build a base of recurring fans. There are two different ships" players can crew, the smaller UCS Havock and the far larger UCS Takanami, which do two different jobs in the fleet. In terms of capacity, both vessels can take up to 14 players at a time but the ideal figure is around nine. There are four different mission types, too:
The US presidential election is in its final stretch. Before election day on November 5, Engadget is looking at where the candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, stand on the most consequential tech issues of our day.While it might not garner the headlines that immigration, abortion or inflation do, AI is quietly one of the more consequential issues this election season. What regulations are put in place and how forcefully those rules are enforced will have wide ranging impacts on consumer privacy, intellectual property, the media industry and national security.Normally, politicians lack clear or coherent policies on emerging technologies. But somewhat shockingly, both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have at least some track record handling artificial intelligence. VP Harris, in particular, has been very hands-on in shaping the current administration's approach. And Donald Trump was the first president to sign an executive order regarding AI.That being said, neither has made AI a central component of their campaign, and we're making some educated guesses here about how either would approach it once in the White House.Kamala HarrisWith Harris' considerable involvement in the Biden administration's AI efforts, it's safe to assume she would move forward with many of those policies. While the White House started laying the groundwork for its AI initiatives in early 2021, it wasn't until late 2023 that they kicked into high gear, and Harris has often been the public face of those efforts, including holding numerous press calls on the issue and appearing at the Global Summit on AI Safety in London. She has used these venues to draw attention to the potential pitfalls, both large and small, of AI ranging from cyberattacks at a scale beyond anything we have seen before" to seniors being kicked off [their] healthcare plan because of a faulty AI algorithm."October 2023 saw the issuance of an executive order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. This order noted the potential for AI to solve broad societal issues as well as its ability to exacerbate societal harms, such as fraud, discrimination, bias and disinformation; displace and disempower workers; stifle competition and pose risks to national security." It laid out eight guiding principles focused on creating standardized evaluations for AI systems, protecting workers, consumer privacy and combating inherent bias.It also called for agencies to name a chief AI officer (CAIO) and directed the federal government to develop policies and strategies using and regulating AI. This included developing technologies for identifying and labeling AI-generated content and building guardrails to prevent the creation of images depicting sexual abuse and deepfake pornography.Harris helped secure commitments from Apple, Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, Adobe, Cohere, IBM, NVIDIA, Palantir, Salesforce, Scale AI, Stability and OpenAI to work towards the administration's goals. She also worked to obtain endorsements from 31 nations of a declaration regarding the responsible creation and use of military AI. At this stage, the latter is merely a commitment to work together to establish rules and guidelines. But there are many absences on that list, most notably Russia, China and Israel.Because the technology is so new, however, there are still a lot of questions about the specifics of how a Harris administration would handle AI. Besides, without an act of Congress, the White House would be limited in how it could regulate the industry or punish those that run afoul of its policies.On the campaign trail, Harris hasn't said much new about the issue, outside of a brief mention at a Wall Street fundraiser, during which she said, We will encourage innovative technologies, like AI and digital assets, while protecting our consumers and investors." Harris does have strong ties to Silicon Valley, so it remains to be seen just how much she would try to rein in the industry. But as of now, most of her statements have focused on protecting consumers and workers.Donald TrumpDonald Trump holds the distinction of being the first president to sign an executive order regarding AI, but his actual public statements on the matter have been limited. In February 2019, he established the American AI Initiative, which created the first national AI research institutes, called for doubling the funding of AI research and set forth broad regulatory guidance. It also called for the creation of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office, which would serve as a central hub for coordinating research and policy across the government.Unsurprisingly, the executive order signed by former President Trump and the policies set forth by his allies have focused more on encouraging private sector growth and limited government oversight. The official Republican party platform adopted at the RNC in July called for repealing Biden's October 2023 executive order claiming it hinders AI Innovation and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology." It goes on to call for the development of AI rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing."Unfortunately the RNC platform and Trump don't get much more specific than that. So we'll have to look at what the former president's allies at the America First Policy Institute and Heritage Foundation have put forth to get a better idea of how a second Trump presidency might handle AI.America First began drafting a document earlier this year that called for launching Manhattan Projects for military AI and for reducing regulations. (Currently, there are limited regulations in place regarding AI, as the government is largely in the information-gathering stage of policy development. Congress has yet to pass any meaningful AI legislation.)It also called for the creation of industry-led agencies tasked with evaluating and securing American artificial intelligence technologies. This is in contrast with the Biden administration's executive order, which put responsibility for those efforts firmly in the hands of the federal government.The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 (PDF) gets into more specifics, though it is worth noting Trump has tried to distance himself somewhat from that document. Much of the discourse around AI in the 922-page tome is dedicated to China: countering its technological advancements, limiting its access to American technology and preventing it from backing joint research projects with American interests, especially on college campuses. It calls for increasing the use of AI and machine learning in intelligence gathering and analysis, while simultaneously calling for a heavier reliance on the private sector to develop and manage the technology.The document also spends significant time discussing AI's potential to reduce waste, fraud and abuse," particularly with regards to Medicare and Medicaid. However, it makes almost no mention of protecting consumer privacy, ensuring the accuracy and fairness of algorithms, or identifying abusive or misleading uses of AI, beyond combating Chinese propaganda.Predictable broad strokesWhile both candidates' platforms lack specifics regarding the regulation of artificial intelligence, they do lay out two clearly different approaches. Kamala Harris has made consumer protections and building guardrails against abuse a cornerstone of her AI policy proposals; Donald Trump has predictably focused on reducing regulation. Neither has suggested they would try to put the proverbial AI genie back in the bottle, not that such a thing would be feasible.The big question marks are just how much of the America First Policy Institute or Project 2025 proposals a Trump administration would adopt. His own official platform mirrors many policy positions of Project 2025. While it may not reflect any of its AI proposals specifically, there's little reason to believe his approach would differ dramatically on this specific issue.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/election-2024-how-will-the-candidates-regulate-ai-133045610.html?src=rss
While cooking things like chicken, potatoes or veggies, I am often simultaneously waxing poetic about the brief period in my life that I owned an air fryer. It just makes everything easier while still creating really good quality food. Now I'm tempted to get back on the air fryer train thanks to a big sale on Ninja's DZ550 Air Fryer. The model is currently available in an early Black Friday deal for $130, down from $250 - a 48 percent discount. The DZ550 is a version of one of our top picks for air fryers - with the extra perk of including a thermometer. The thermometer should provide you with the exact level of cooked you're looking for across the two independent five-quart air fryer baskets - yes, you can cook two separate things simultaneously. You can also use two different options of the six cooking settings: air fryer, air broil, roast, bake, dehydrate and reheat. The main issue with this air fryer is size. You do not want to get the Ninja DZ550 Air Fryer if your counter and storage spaces are limited. It has a depth of 17.1 inches and a width of 13.9 inches so it's going to take up some real estate. But, hey, it's that size that lets you cook two things at once so only you can decide if the trade-off is worth it. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/one-of-our-favorite-ninja-air-fryers-is-nearly-half-off-ahead-of-black-friday-130146753.html?src=rss
Sennheiser has launched a new all-in-one microphone system that can transform according to your needs. The new Profile Wireless set comes with two clip-on microphones, which are pre-paired with a charging bar. While you can easily clip those mics to wherever you wish, you can also use the included magnetic mounts if you have to attach them to delicate clothing.If you're interviewing people in your video or shooting more traditional reporting-style content, you can turn one of the clip-on mics into a handheld mic by inserting it into the charging bar. You can also add the big foam windshield Sennheiser included in the package to block out environmental noise. Finally, the mic can also turn into a desktop mic by mounting it onto the included table stands.SennheiserProfile Wireless' charging bar has an OLED touch display that shows the audio levels for the clip-on mics. It can connect to cameras, phones and laptops with the included adapters, so you can film with different devices. If you connect it to a phone using the Lightning or the USB-C adaptor included in the package, the receiver can automatically rotate to make sure its OLED display remains legible and visible to you.Each clip-on mic has a 24-bit recording capability and comes with 16 GB memory for internal recording. If you switch on Backup Recording Mode, it will only use the mic's internal storage if its wireless signal becomes too weak to transmit audio to the recording device. The mics have a range of 245 meters (804 feet) within line of sight, and up to 150 meters within line of sight (492 feet) when taking body blocking into account.The Profile Wireless system is now available for pre-order in the US ($299), Europe (299) and the UK (259), making it cheaper than DJI's comparable microphone set. That said, Sennheiser's mic doesn't have Bluetooth connectivity, while DJI's does. It doesn't have a solid shipping date yet, but it will be released either sometime in the fourth quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025.SennheiserThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/sennheisers-profile-wireless-is-a-clip-on-tabletop-and-handheld-mic-all-in-one-123008296.html?src=rss
Microsoft has issued a warning about an ongoing spear-phishing campaign by a threat actor called Midnight Blizzard, which US and UK authorities previously linked to Russia's intelligence agency. The company said it discovered that the bad actor has been sending out "highly targeted spear-phishing emails" since at least October 22 and that it believes the operation's goal is to collect intelligence. Based on its observations, the group has been sending emails to individuals linked to various sectors, but it's known for targeting both government and non-government organizations, IT service providers, academia and defense. In addition, while it mostly focuses on organizations in the US and in Europe, this campaign also targeted individuals in Australia and Japan.Midnight Blizzard has already sent out thousands of spear-phishing emails to over 100 organizations for this campaign, Microsoft said, explaining that those emails contain a signed Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connected to a server the bad actor controls. The group used email addresses belonging to real organizations stolen during its previous activities, making targets think that they're opening legitimate emails. It also used social engineering techniques to make it look like the emails were sent by employees from Microsoft or Amazon Web Services.If someone clicks and opens the RDP attachment, a connection is established to the server Midnight Blizzard controls. It then gives the bad actor access to the target's files, any network drives or peripherals (such as microphones and printers) connected to their computer, as well as their passkeys, security keys and other web authentication information. It could also install malware in the target's computer and network, including remote-access trojans that it could use to remain in the victim's system even after the initial connection has been cut off.The group is known by many other names, such as Cozy Bear and APT29, but you might remember it as the threat actor behind the 2020 SolarWinds attacks, wherein it had managed to infiltrate hundreds of organizations around the world. It also broke into the emails of several senior Microsoft executives and other employees earlier this year, accessing communication between the company and its customers. Microsoft didn't say whether this campaign has anything to do with the US Presidential Elections, but it's advising potential targets to be more proactive in protecting their systems.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/microsoft-issues-warning-for-ongoing-russia-affiliated-spear-phishing-campaign-120003125.html?src=rss
Over the last four years, the Biden administration's antitrust efforts have been notable by their sheer number, with ongoing cases against Apple, Meta, Google and Amazon - as well as sparring with tech-adjacent players like Ticketmaster. Biden's team has pushed to prevent giant mergers, increase competition and punish companies (however lightly) for unfair business practices.So how about your next president? We compare Kamala Harris (who seems less aggressive on antitrust than her predecessor) to Donald Trump, whose stint in the White House was also pretty active in the antitrust space. Trump already has strong opinions on some of the biggest players in the tech space too.- Mat SmithThe biggest tech stories you missed
Canon has officially revealed its cheapest spatial and smallest VR lens yet, the $450 RF-S7.8mm F4 STM Dual. It's the same size as a regular camera lens but is designed to let creators shoot 3D VR content for headsets like the Meta Quest 3 or Apple Vision Pro. In fact, it was first teased in June at WWDC 2024 alongside Apple's latest Vision Pro OS. There is one catch, in that the lens is designed for APS-C (not full-frame cameras) and only works with Canon's 32.5-megapixel (MP) EOS R7 for now. That camera costs $1,300 for the body only, so a full shooting solution is around $1,750. Canon The company has dabbled with stereoscopic VR lenses before, most recently with the RF5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye. However, that product is bigger and more unwieldy, much more expensive at $2,000 and only supports manual focus. Its main benefit is the nearly 180 degree field of view that's close to human vision and enhanced 3D thanks to the wide 2.36-inch gap between the elements. In comparison, the new 7.8mm crop sensor lens has a much narrower 63-degree field of view. The fact that the the two elements are so close together (.46 inches) also reduces the 3D effect, particularly when you're farther from the subject (for the best results, you need to be around 6 to 20 inches away, which isn't ideal for content creators). Autofocus support is a big benefit, though, and it also comes with a button and control wheel that allows separate manual focus for the left and right sides. Photos and video captured with the EOS R7 and new lens must be processed using Canon's EOS VR Utility app or a plugin for Adobe's Premiere Pro, both paid apps. After that, they can be viewed on the Meta Quest 3, Vision Pro and other headsets in a variety of formats including 180-degree 3D VR, 3D Theater and spatial video. The RF-S7.8mm F4 STM Dual lens is now on pre-order for $449 and will arrive sometime in November. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/canons-new-lens-makes-it-easier-and-cheaper-to-shoot-3d-vr-content-090206553.html?src=rss
Late last week, the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed they were investigating the unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People's Republic of China." At the same time, The New York Times reported that phones used by Donald Trump, JD Vance and Kamala Harris' campaign staff were among the targets, though it was unclear what data the group may have been able to access.Now, The New York Times has new details about the extent of the hack, which is reportedly linked to a Chinese group known as Salt Typhoon." According to The Times, aides to President Joe Biden, as well as Trump's family members were also targeted, in addition to diplomats and other government officials. Even more concerning, though, is what the hackers may have been able to access. From the report:
We're in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election and both sides are pulling out all the stops to get those all-important undecided voters. The Harris/Walz campaign is exploring an unconventional option: a map in Epic Games' mega online multiplayer hit Fortnite.The Freedom Town, USA" map available at 7331-5536-6547 is a little different from the usual Fortnite matches. Forbes senior contributor Paul Tassi played the new map and reported that there aren't any guns in Freedom Town (probably for obvious reasons). Instead, the game focuses on racing with cars and parkour style. The map also has some campaign signs and decorations for Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz's presidential run.Video games have become a cornerstone of the Harris/Walz campaign. Harris' camp has its own Twitch page that's been broadcasting games like World of Warcraft and the latest Madden title as a way to spark discussions with the voting public. The Fortnite map, however, doesn't look like it's doing a great job of getting the message out to players. As of this story's publishing, the map only has less than 300 active players.Political ads and recruitment in video games isn't just limited to this campaign cycle. Then-candidate Barack Obama's 2008 campaign introduced the concept to politics when they purchased ads in 18 games including Need for Speed: Carbon and Madden NFL 13 on Microsoft's Xbox Live service and the mobile version of Tetris, according to NPR.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-harriswalz-campaign-has-its-own-fortnite-map-220450255.html?src=rss
The town of Springfield will host a National Football League game in December at Atoms Stadium, but neither the Springfield Atoms nor the Shelbyville Sharks will take the field.Instead, the Bengals-Cowboys game on December 9 will be transformed into the world of TV's longest running sitcom The Simpsons for a special Funday Football edition of Monday Night Football. The special Simpsons-ized broadcast will air on the ESPN+ and Disney+ streaming services and the NFL+ mobile app. The game will broadcast in its regular form on ESPN, ESPN+, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.The game will implement tracking technology to turn the players on the field and ESPN commentators Mina Kimes, Dan Orlovsky and Drew Carter into Simpsons characters. Kimes, Orlovsky and Carter will wear Meta Quest Pro headsets to see their virtual environments. The quarterbacks will be transformed into Bart for the Cincinnati Bengals and Homer for the Dallas Cowboys using Sony's Beyond Sports AI data analyzer and Hawk-Eye Innovations sports tracking and broadcast technology, according to a Disney press release.The game will also feature more characters and pre-animated scenes from the show's original cast including Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner and Yeardley Smith along with some surprise sports cameos. Characters like Lisa, Krusty the Clown, Carl, Lenny, Moe and Milhouse will be on the sidelines rooting for their respective teams. The announcement doesn't mention Harry Shearer, so don't expect Mr. Burns or Smithers to be at the game.This isn't the first time that ESPN has turned a regular season NFL game into an animated spectacle. Last year, Disney, ESPN and the NFL teamed up to turn an October game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Jacksonville Jaguars into a Toy Story themed game that transformed London's Wembley Stadium into Andy's room. The kids' cable network Nickelodeon has also aired a few NFL games for its NFL Slimetime broadcasts featuring live commentary from animated characters like SpongeBob voiced by Tom Kenny and Patrick Star voiced by Bill Fagerbakke and computerized slime spewing in the end zones after touchdowns.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-simpsons-will-join-monday-night-football-on-espn-and-disney-202238589.html?src=rss
X is trying to speed up its crowdsourced fact-checking system, Community Notes. In an update, the company says it has re-architected" the scoring system that powers the feature so that the user-generated notes can now appear less than 20 minutes after a post is published on its platform.Community Notes, introduced in 2022, relies on other X users to fact-check or add missing context to posts on the platform. Contributors are required to cite their sources, and other users then rate the helpfulness" of the note. Creators are also penalized for posts that get community noted" in an effort to discourage them from trying to monetize misinformation. Now, that whole process should be able to move a lot quicker.According to X, these new lightning notes" can go live in as little as 14m33s after being written, and 18m20s after the post itself was written." The change could help address a long running criticism of the crowdsourced fact checking system: that it moves far too slowly compared with the speed of viral misinformation on the platform. For example, an analysis last year by Bloomberg found that it could take several hours for a Community Note to appear on a viral tweet and that, often, only a fraction of users see the fact check compared with the original post.The new speedier system could change that, though it's unclear how often the faster lightning" version of the process will actually play out. Not all posts with incorrect information, misstated facts or AI-generated imagery are immediately flagged for review, if they are at all. X says it has more than 800,000 contributors to the program globally, but some posts will likely still take much longer to wind their way through the Community Notes process.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-is-trying-to-make-community-notes-faster-with-lightning-notes-202227151.html?src=rss
Game studio Enhance is celebrating its tenth anniversary and marking the occasion with two limited run box sets that showcase the art and audio of its creative titles. Founded by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Enhance has released some stellar video games over the past decade, including Tetris Effect: Connected, Rez Infinite, Lumines Remastered and Humanity.One collection - The Enhance Soundworks Collection Boxed Set - centers on the music and soundtracks from the studio's history. It includes nine LPs with the soundtracks to each of the four games above, all on custom-printed vinyl. The box set also includes a liner booklet with insights on the music from game composers and creators, a turntable slipmat, a poster and a set of pin badges. Only 505 collections will be sold and are scheduled to ship in spring 2025.The other collection is called The Sounds & Visions: Enhance at 10 Boxed Set. This contains a 300-page oral history of the studio's founding and its game projects, a laser-etched glass sculpture inspired by Rez Infinite, prints of concept art for Tetris Effect: Connected and Rez Infinite, and a CD of audio tracks by Hydelic from the same pair of games. This set will begin shipments in summer 2025 and is limited to 1,010 copies.Each of these box sets is available to pre-order now and will retail for $259. Even the packaging on these collectors' items align with the blend of art, audio and design that has become a hallmark of Enhance's creations. Both Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect: Connect impressed Engadget's team for their mindful, meditative approach to immersive, flow-state gaming.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/enhance-unveils-two-collectors-box-sets-in-honor-of-its-tenth-anniversary-194435400.html?src=rss
Sony has officially killed off Concord and is shuttering the studio behind the game. Concord's servers were taken down just two weeks after the launch of the competitive team shooter from Firewalk Studios after poor sales. Firewalk's game director Ryan Ellis chose to move himself into a more supportive role following Concord's struggles, and Sony had said it would consider its options for the project. The decision is in."After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio," Hermen Hulst of Sony Interactive Entertainment's Studio Business Group said in a statement today."I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication." A representative told Bloomberg News that Firewalk Studios had 172 employees who will lose their jobs.The online game business is brutal, and Concord may have suffered for its long development time, which meant other team shooters had already risen to prominence and defined players' expectations. Many similar games are free to play and support themselves financially with a battle pass or seasonal model. Gamers may have balked at the $40 price tag for a new property, or maybe the genre was simply too crowded for Concord to muscle in.Whatever the reasons, today's news marks another difficult chapter for the game development world. Firewalk Studios is an outlier for having this level of commercial failure, but it's still yet another closure in the industry that has seen a lot of turbulence in recent years. Layoffs and shutdowns have been a top story in gaming, but several of the recent cases have been like Firewalk, which was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment just last spring. Netflix abruptly shut down its AAA studio last week before the team had even announced a project. Microsoft closed three studios from the Zenimax family earlier this year. As fewer parties control a growing share of the games industry, the tolerance for experimentation and slim profit margins will likely shrink too. And this type of sudden upheaval could become all the more common.Update, October 29, 2024, 2:52PM ET: Story updated with additional context about Concord, Firewalk Studios' staff numbers and broader studio closure trends.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sony-pulls-the-plug-on-concord-and-shuts-down-firewalk-studios-180321212.html?src=rss
Amazon's shopping-focused chatbot Rufus is launching throughout Europe, after coming to the US back in February. It starts rolling out today as a beta in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, after coming to the UK in September. This is a gradual rollout and the company says it could be a few weeks before every single user in the aforementioned countries receives a software update.To get started with Rufus, look for the icon on the bottom right-hand corner of the mobile app. This will open up the chat box. Customers can tap on this chat box to ask follow up questions or receive more information on a pre-existing query. This is a beta release, so Amazon encourages customers to leave feedback by rating their answers with a thumbs up or thumbs down." There's also an option for more directed freeform feedback.For the uninitiated, Rufus is a generative AI shopping assistant that was trained on Amazon's entire product catalog, along with customer reviews, community Q&As and information from across the web." It's a chatbot, so customers can ask Rufus questions about products and the like.For instance, users can ask Rufus if a particular pair of running shoes are durable or if a jacket is machine-washable. This is AI, though, so even Amazon admits that the information may not always be correct. It's still early days for generative AI, and the technology won't always get it exactly right," the company writes.If you live in the US, you already have access to the chatbot. Just look for the tell-tale icon that looks like two chat bubbles, along with the name Rufus.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazons-ai-powered-shopping-assistant-rufus-launches-in-europe-today-184255137.html?src=rss
After introducing many Americans to Formula One racing with the docuseries Drive to Survive, Netflix is spotlighting one of the motorsport's greats. Senna will show the roots, drive and tragic passing of Ayrton Senna (Gabriel Leone) as he goes from racing go-karts in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to international superstardom and 41-time Grands Prix winner. You can watch the trailer below a month before the limited series' debut.Fascinated by cars since childhood, Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna became a sports legend - until tragedy struck, changing Formula 1 forever," Netflix's description reads. Showrunner Vicente Amorim (Yakuza Princess) helms the six-part series. In addition to Leone (Ferrari) in the starring role, its cast includes Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner) and Matt Mella (The Bureau).NetflixThe trailer below showcases Senna's determination in the face of adversity, his uncanny ability to drive in the rain and his love of his home country. The LA Times reports that the series was produced in Brazil, filmed mainly in Portuguese and is supported by F1's governing body.You can stream Senna exclusively on Netflix after you wrap up your Black Friday shopping on November 29.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflixs-senna-showcases-the-rise-and-untimely-death-of-the-brazilian-f1-legend-175721183.html?src=rss
The Wii U was an unsuccessful console with some fantastic and overlooked games. Many of these titles have already been ported to the Nintendo Switch and, well, here's another one. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition heads to the Switch on March 20. Preorders are open right now.This refresh of the 2015 action RPG will feature enhanced visuals, added story elements and more." As the name suggests, this is being advertised as the definitive edition of the game. There's a trailer, embedded below, and the graphics look quite fetching. The trailer also includes a mysterious hooded figure. Nintendo says we should stay tuned to learn more" about this new character.This definitive edition will feature some multiplayer components. Players can join online squads to take on missions and fight baddies. You can even recruit the avatars of other players to your team in the main story. There's a swap feature that lets you fill the party up with the avatars of friends and family.Xenoblade Chronicles X is generally considered one of the stronger entries in the franchise, with a huge open world map and equally mammoth beasts to slay. There are five continents to explore across the hostile planet of Mira. You can also roam the world while riding a giant mech. The story is a standalone affair, so you don't have to be well-versed in any lore.This isn't the first Xenoblade game to get the refresh treatment. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is a remake of the very first title in the franchise and was released for the Switch back in 2020.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/xenoblade-chronicles-x-definitive-edition-heads-to-the-switch-on-march-20-171622499.html?src=rss
Polestar EV owners will soon have a lot more charging options. The company said on Tuesday its lineup now has access to the Tesla Supercharger network in the US and Canada. Future Polestar vehicles will adopt the NACS inlet as standard, and current owners can buy an adapter beginning today at their local Polestar Service Point.A Polestar spokesperson told Engadget that the adapter has an MSRP of $230, so this isn't a free upgrade. However, that accessory will add 17,800 charging stations across North America, so owners may find that's a relatively small price to pay for extra peace of mind on their next road trip.Tesla's charger has quickly become the standard in the US. Since the company opened its charging tech to rival automakers, all major EV manufacturers have adopted it. This includes Ford (apart from some glitches), Honda, Volkswagen, GM, Volvo, Mercedes, BMW and Lucid. Polestar announced its plans to support the Tesla Supercharger network over a year ago, but the backend tech and adapter orders are now ready.Tim Stevens for EngadgetSpeaking of the adapters, the $230 accessories are slated for mid-November deliveries. So, if you order now, you should have more charging options on your holiday road trip to see Grandma. Polestar says its in-car Google Maps app will be updated to show all available NACS stations.Anders Gustafsson, Head of Polestar North America, emphasized in a press release the volume of charging options this move will add. With the adoption of this standard, in combination with approximately 10,000 CCS DC fast chargers, current and prospective Polestar customers now have access to nearly 27,800 DC fast chargers and can feel more confident in their ability to charge on the go."The Polestar 3 is delivering now. Engadget's Tim Stevens took it for a spin and was left impressed with the $73,400 (and up) electric SUV. Emphasizing how badly Polestar needed the long-delayed vehicle to dazzle as a mass-market follow-up to its more niche predecessors, he said that minus a few early software glitches, it's great."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/north-american-polestar-owners-can-now-use-the-tesla-supercharger-network-164046134.html?src=rss
If you're an Xbox Insider, you can now test a new home screen when using the Windows Xbox app. In a blog post published yesterday, Microsoft showcased the redesigned interface, which unites the Game Pass and Microsoft Store experiences. Users can now find their games in one place and avoid tab-hopping. This new home tab will appear for anyone with either a Game Pass subscription or a game purchased from the Microsoft Store.Becoming an Xbox Insider is easy, as you only have to download and install the Xbox Insider Hub and test features in development. After you become a beta tester, enroll in the PC Gaming Preview" to gain access to the new home screen.The new menu now shows featured content and discounted games, all in a single tab. It can even curate titles based on your preferences.The jump back in" feature tested in May is part of the new home screen experience as of yesterday. This feature allows Compact Mode users to jump back into gameplay when not currently playing any game. It shows the nine most recent titles you've played, and jumping back in takes very little time at all. You can see it as a shortcut feature.Compact Mode, as the name suggests, shrinks the interface down by replacing tabs with icons. If you own a Windows handheld console, it already has Compact Mode enabled when you launch the Xbox app.Since becoming an Xbox Insider takes no time at all, you can easily see if you're eligible for the preview. Microsoft is encouraging testers to provide feedback and report problems.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/xbox-insiders-can-now-test-the-windows-xbox-apps-redesigned-home-screen-163021760.html?src=rss
The well-regarded Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are on sale for $300 via Amazon. This deal knocks $100 off the price, which is a discount of 25 percent. The sale applies to multiple colorways, including black, blue and silver. These headphones not only found a spot on our list of the best wireless headphones, but they were our very favorite pair. We found them to be exceptionally comfortable, even when wearing the headphones for long periods of time. The ANC is great and the battery life clocks in at around 30 hours per charge, which is a fantastic metric. The sound is the most important thing with headphones and this model is no slouch. We admired the crisp, clear sound with balanced tuning and punchy bass." This is due to new 30mm carbon fiber drivers. In our official review, we noticed that the bass seemed punchier than previous models. We noted that the lower range is both pleasant and powerful, expanding the overall soundstage." We did run into occasional audio issues with macOS, but that was two years ago and it's likely everything has been patched by now. The only other downside is the price, as $400 is a lot to spend on something like over-ear headphones. However, this deal brings it down to $300 which makes things much more palatable. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/sonys-excellent-wh-1000xm5-headphones-are-100-off-right-now-162027774.html?src=rss
Lucid has revealed US pricing and pre-order details for its electric Gravity SUV. The Grand Touring trim, which is slated to have more than 800 horsepower and a range topping 440 miles, starts at $94,900. Pre-orders for that trim open on November 7 and Lucid plans to begin production later this year. Current Lucid owners will be given priority for delivery.If you don't want to shell out quite so much for the EV and you're willing to wait until at least next year, you might opt for the Lucid Gravity Touring model. That starts at $79,900, which lines up with Lucid's previous pricing estimates.The SUV, which Lucid first gave us a peek at in 2022, has room for up to seven adults and as much as 120 cubic feet of cargo space for all your stuff. Options include a frunk seat that two adults can sit on while the Gravity is parked, and three-chamber air suspension that's said to adapt to changing terrain for a smooth ride.Things haven't exactly gone easy for Lucid over the last couple of years. It laid off 400 people, around six percent of its workforce, in May, after shedding 1,300 jobs just over a year earlier. The company will hoping that the Gravity can help it turn things around, though whether enough people are ready to part with at least $79,900 for one of its SUVs is a key part of the equation.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/lucids-electric-gravity-suv-starts-at-79900-161020540.html?src=rss
What we once called the Google Chromecast (and then the Chromecast with Google TV) is now the Google TV Streamer. I won't pretend to understand the reasoning behind any product's rebrand, but at least this one makes a bit of sense. Casting content from elsewhere used to be a big reason TV dongles existed. Today, streaming devices primarily provide the brains required to watch content from Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming services on almost any screen, and casting is a bit of an afterthought. A name that focuses on Google TV's interface instead of casting seems right in 2024. This is Google's first true set-top box, joining the non-dongle ranks of the Roku Ultra, the Apple TV 4K and Amazon's Fire TV Cube. The Google TV Streamer is only available in a 4K configuration and, once the backstock of Chromecast units sell out, it'll be Google's only streamer, period. While that makes the lineup far simpler than, say Amazon's bloated Fire TV device catalog, it also means you have to pay the 4K premium even if you only have an HD TV. That said, the streamer is a full-featured, competent device with an interface that's better than most at pulling together all the disparate threads of a streaming experience. Add in perks like useful smart home integration and some fun-to-have AI smarts and the $100 streamer fairly earns its price tag. Hardware Now that Google's device sits next to your TV instead of hiding behind it, looks are important. Thankfully, the soft, oblong-wedge shape is unobtrusive, though the darker hazel color probably does a better job of fading into the background than my bright white review unit. The back has room for the provided USB-C power cable, plus an HDMI port and an Ethernet jack (note that neither of the latter cables come in the box). Ethernet is optional, but without the video cable the device is useless, so you have to factor that into your cost analysis if you don't already have an extra cord handy. Inside, there's a processor that Google will only say is 22 percent faster" than the previous generation, along with 32GB of storage (up from a skimpy 8GB on the Chromecast) and double the memory at 4GB. It supports up to 4K/60fps video with HDR, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Audio formats include Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos along with spatial audio if you're wearing the Pixel Buds Pro. It only supports Wi-Fi 5, which seems like a miss - a bump up to the Wi-Fi 6E standard would be more futureproof. Heck, even the $50 Fire TV Stick 4K supports Wi-Fi 6. The remote looks a lot like that of the previous generation, with two significant improvements: The volume controls are easier to reach now that they're on the face instead of the side, and there's a programmable star button that you can use to launch an app, or, more excitingly, pull up your smart home control panel. Possibly my favorite thing about the remote isn't on the remote itself - it's the find-it button on the back of the streamer. It rings your remote, and quite loudly. You can also do this via the Google Home app on your phone or tablet by tapping the Google TV Streamer tile and hitting the settings icon (tapping Remote turns your phone into the controller). Despite living in a tiny apartment with (you'd think) fewer places for the remote to get lost, I used the finder function no fewer than ten times over the course of my testing. The remote still doesn't have a dedicated play/pause button and instead relies on the button in the center of the D-pad as the main control. When I tested the Chromecast with Google TV, that led to frustration when the center button kept performing actions other than pause, but this seems to be something Google has addressed as I had no issues this time. The controller is small and hefty, yet it's so smooth it would pop out of my hand when typing a longer search entry. But really, you should just use the voice button; the voice recognition never once misinterpreted what I said. Photo by Amy Skorheim for Engadget Setup and streaming experience Of all the smart home platforms I've tested, I find Google's to be the easiest to use. The majority of the setup for the streamer happens through the Google Home app, and if you've already been using the app, the entire process is painless - the hardest part is clicking through all the various permissions and legal terms. Configuring the controls for power and sound went through on the first try, something that hasn't always been the case with other devices I've tested. I also like that I was prompted to create a kid profile from the jump (so I didn't have to remember to do it later), along with a pin that's easy to enter on the remote. Before landing you in the home page, Google asks for every streaming service you subscribe to or, in the case of free apps, the ones you like to watch. So from the first time you use the streamer, your homepage is populated not only with those apps, but also with TV and movie recommendations pulled from each. Navigation will be familiar for many, as the Google TV interface comes standard on a wide range of TV sets. But depending on which smart TV you have, the experience could be a lot zippier with the Google TV Streamer employed. I'm currently working with a dirt-cheap Hisense 4K set with Google TV built-in, and speeds were noticeably improved when I used the external device. Apps loaded quickly and even with the zero-attention-span manner in which I was flitting between shows, apps, live content and settings, the streamer kept up with barely perceptible lag. The Apple TV 4K is still faster (unsurprisingly), so this isn't category-topping but it's plenty speedy. If you're not familiar, I'll just say that of all the smart TV interfaces I've tested, Google TV does the best job of integrating content from all the different streaming apps into one useful and intuitive hub. And, whatever other monopolistic issues the company may have, it's the most egalitarian when it comes to recommendations versus, say, Apple, Amazon or Roku, all of which favor their own content (YouTube is certainly represented here, but it's not dominant). The For You page keeps track of what you're currently watching across apps so you can easily dive back in, and does a fairly good job of recommending new stuff based on your watching habits. I also love the Watchlist feature (which you can find in the Library tab); when someone at work recommends the trailer for the upcoming Interior Chinatown, or you hear that Severance is coming back soon, you can add those shows to the Watchlist from within your browser (provided you're signed in with your Google account) and find it on your TV the next time you're on the hunt for fresh content. While I wish the home screen/For You page was customizable, the algorithm is adept at keeping things interesting. Also, searching for titles is fairly spot-on. When I said, Play Abbott Elementary," the Hulu app opened and the next episode in my queue started playing. When show titles are a little more common, I'll add in the platform name, like Play Beef on Netflix" or Play the show Poker Face on Peacock." You can also ask the assistant to show you shows and movies based on a theme, like stand up comedy specials, adult animation or crime tv, by prefacing your query with Find me..." Those results are hit or miss, but are nonetheless pulled fairly equitably from across your preferred apps. It can be useful if you're not sure what to watch, but have a vague notion of the vibe you're looking for. Photo by Amy Skorheim for Engadget Smart home control While Google has competition from Apple TV, Roku and Fire TV devices, which also integrate smart home controls, it has succeeded at making its home element simple and useful. The panel that slides out from the settings icon looks a lot like what you'd see on a Google Nest Hub. From there, you can easily control smart lights or thermostats and view live feeds from your connected cameras. If you program the star button to pull up your smart home panel, you can even do these things while you're watching a show: the show pauses, the panel slides out and then your content resumes once you're done dimming the lights, checking the doorbell feed or whatever else needs doing. To control those functions with your voice, you'll need to hold down the Assistant button. Some sets with Google TV built in let you access the Assistant with Hey Google," but not here. That's likely because the only mic is on the remote, which doesn't have the battery power to support an always-listening mode. But you can use the Assistant button to make your smart-home request from any screen, including when the TV is off (that's something Amazon's Fire TV Cube can do too, with no button press required, since that set-top device has an onboard mic). Now that Google's streamer supports both the Matter standard and acts as a Thread router, many smart home devices are already compatible, and more are assuredly on the way. The streamer can do a few extra things like show you tomorrow's weather, but it falls short on handling some pretty basic smart home assistant requests like setting a timer. And, despite Google's vast search capabilities, it doesn't seem to be able to answer basic questions. When I asked, How far away is the moon?" as suggested in one of the company's promotional how-to videos, it displayed a bunch of YouTube videos on the topic instead of a straight answer. That's somewhat expected since it is a video streaming device, but because Google seems to frame this as a type of home hub, I found myself wishing it was a bit more capable ala a Nest mini or an Amazon Echo. Photo by Amy Skorheim for Engadget Additional AI features Because it's 2024, you can't have a new gadget without AI tricks, and for the streamer, those manifest in AI summaries, plot synopses and review aggregations on the title page of a given show or movie. The two-sentence, computer-made writeups are OK - probably not better than what a human could do, but not significantly worse. The other AI funsies happen with the screensaver. When your device is idle, you can have it show some art pulled from a mix of street murals, classic paintings, photography and aerial earth shots. Or it can show a selection from your Google Photos. Or, if you insist, it can display AI-generated images. The streamer can create those custom images based on your prompts, and the results here were also just fine. I asked for bicycles in space and was presented with the standard AI disregard for physics with two rusty bikes fused together to make a three-wheeled monstrosity in front of a Milky Way-esque ribbon of overly bright stars. I ultimately chose the non-AI art option to fill my screen. Even AI-concocted fairies camping on the moon bored me after a bit. That's probably for the best, considering the carbon cost of each new image. When Google launched the TV Streamer, it also announced Google Freeplay, a built-in selection of around 150 free live-streaming channels similar to those offered from Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel and the like. If you add other live TV streaming services to your system, like Pluto TV or Sling, you'll also see those show up in the Live tab where Freeplay sits - yet another way Google TV gamely melds content from different sources. Wrap-up At $100, the Google TV Streamer isn't the most expensive streaming device. Amazon's Fire TV Cube is $140, but it's also a speaker. Apple's non-Ethernet set-top box is $129, but comes with twice the storage capacity and an iPhone 14 chip inside that makes it ridiculously fast. Roku's premium set-top box is also $100, but it supports Wi-Fi 6 and has a fancier backlit remote. Google's previous-generation Chromecast supported 4K video and similar video formats - and it was half the price. Yes, the extra RAM and storage is great, but there are a few features - like Wi-Fi 6E support, true assistant capabilities, screaming processor speeds - that Google could have packed in to make the $100 price tag unassailable. Compared to its competition, and considering the fact that its predecessor cost half as much, it feels like the streamer should fall in the $80 range. But I'm not going to quibble over twenty bucks. The Google TV Streamer is responsive and quick, packing the best streaming interface out there with smart home features that are useful and properly integrated. Anyone looking for a reliable streamer will be happy adding this wedge beside their TV.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/google-tv-streamer-review-a-great-side-piece-for-your-tv-with-a-dash-of-smart-home-chops-and-inessential-ai-160034550.html?src=rss
Meta and TikTok are once again in hot water for allegedly failing to protect minors or limit their use on the platforms. The Collective Defense Institute, a consumer rights group in Brazil, has issued two lawsuits against Meta, TikTok and Kwai, another short video platform from China, to the sound of three billion reais ($525.8 million), Reuters reports.The lawsuits pull from some of the (many) studies demonstrating the risk of social media use. It orders Meta and co. to clearly issue warnings about how platform addiction can negatively impact minors' mental health. It also calls for the companies to lay out detailed data protection mechanisms."It is urgent that measures be adopted in order to change the way the algorithm works, the processing of data from users under 18, and the way in which teenagers aged 13 and over are supervised and their accounts created, in order to ensure a safer, healthier experience...as is already the case in developed countries," said Lillian Salgado, a lawyer and one of the plaintiffs.This is far from the first lawsuit for Meta or TikTok regarding the safety of minors. In late 2023, New Mexico sued Meta for not protecting children in a claim that both Facebook and Instagram suggested sexual content to minors. One month later it was revealed that, in a 2021 internal memo, Meta had found over 100,000 child users faced daily harassment. Yet, Meta executives rejected recommended algorithm redesigns. Earlier this month, 14 attorneys general sued TikTok for "falsely claiming its platform is safe for young people." These are just two of the many suits filed against social media platforms for not protecting young users.Meta recently created teen accounts on Instagram that are mandatory for all users under 16. They have stricter privacy settings and require parent approval for any changes. However, these accounts are not yet available in Brazil - though Meta claims they will be soon.A statement from Meta said it wants "young people to have safe and age-appropriate experiences on our apps, and we have been working on these issues for over a decade, developing more than 50 tools, resources, and features to support teens and their guardians."Notably, Brazil has recently squared off with Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) for refusing to block profiles that the government claimed promoted election misinformation. The company eventually paid a 28 million reais ($4.9 million fine).This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/brazil-sues-meta-and-tiktok-for-over-500-million-for-not-protecting-minors-154518826.html?src=rss
Today, NASA published a new image of the Phantom Galaxy, also known as M74 and NGC 628. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured it. This isn't the first time we've seen the Webb telescope send a picture of the Phantom Galaxy back. NASA previously published one in 2022.Below is the 2022 image for comparison. Despite the different colors, it's clear that both images are of the same galaxy.ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee Webb captured the older image using only its Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI). Conversely, the new one combines data from MIRI and Webb's Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). This combination allowed scientists from the Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Star clusTers (FEAST) team to observe the Phantom Galaxy's nurseries.For the uninitiated, stellar nurseries are regions in space full of gasses and molecular clouds. They're where stars and planets are born. For that reason, some people also refer to them as star-forming regions.The FEAST team's primary mission is to examine stellar feedback in locations outside the Milky Way galaxy while also observing the formation of stars. By looking at how much energy from stars pours out into the surroundings, scientists can better understand how stars come into being.Combined data from Webb's MIRI and NIRCam instruments allowed scientists to conclude that the spiral arms of the Phantom Galaxy are where stars are more actively forming in the celestial body. Thanks to NIRCam, the JWST can now also see hydrogen emission lines, which aren't as affected by the dust and show where massive stars are newly formed.The JWST continues to send images back for us to enjoy, courtesy of a 68GB SSD. For those interested in viewing more, the ESA/Webb site has many of them.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/webbs-latest-phantom-galaxy-image-sheds-light-on-stellar-feedback-153026022.html?src=rss
Apple has been on a tear this week. The company announced both new iMacs and a refresh to the Mac Mini desktop computer. Buried in the announcement for the Mac Mini, however, is the news that they can be outfitted with the brand-new M4 Pro chip. That's right. As expected, the M4 Pro has entered the chat.The big news? The Apple Silicon M4 Pro chip finally brings Thunderbolt 5 support for Macs. Thunderbolt 5 is a major leap forward in cable tech, with a baseline speed of 80 Gbps and support for 120 Gbps. The cables also offer support for dual 6K screens. This is a boon for Mac Mini users in video editing and related fields.Beyond that, M4 Pro chips bring a host of improvements. Apple says this is currently the world's fastest CPU core, delivering the industry's best single-threaded performance." The company also boasts of dramatically faster multithreaded performance."There are faster cores and a faster ray-tracing engine when compared to the previous generation. The M4 Pro features a 14-core CPU, with ten performance cores and four efficiency cores. There's a 16-core neural engine, which the company says is three times faster than the now-ancient M1. The chip includes a 20-core GPU, with dynamic caching.The M4 Pro chip also supports up to 64GB of unified memory, with 273GB/s of memory bandwidth. Apple says this metric doubles the bandwidth of other AI PC chips, making for accelerated AI workloads."To that end, Apple says the chip will deliver blazing performance for Apple Intelligence." It remains to be seen if and when the M4 Pro will show up in other products, like laptops. The M3 Pro began appearing in last year's MacBook Pro laptops, so there's a strong chance that could also happen this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apple-introduces-the-m4-pro-chip-which-finally-brings-thunderbolt-5-support-150549096.html?src=rss
You can likely trace the start of the small computer trend back to the original Mac mini, which debuted in 2005 with a simple pitch: What if desktop, but tiny? Now Apple aims to take that concept even further with its latest Mac mini, a five-inch by five-inch box measuring a mere two inches tall, that can tackle some serious workloads. And while we expected it to include Apple's M4 chip, it can also be configured with an even more powerful M4 Pro model, which is also being announced today. Take that hardware together with a standard 16GB of RAM (just like the new M4 iMac), and you've got a pretty compelling Mac mini starting at $599 ($499 for education customers). Why, exactly, did Apple shrink down the Mac mini? It's not as if the previous case, which has been around for years, was very large (it measures 7.75-inches by 7.75-inches, and it's 1.41-inches thick). When I reviewed the the M2 Mac mini early last year, I was still impressed by how slim and sleek it looked, especially compared to small form factor Windows systems. But by trimming down its footprint (at the expense of making it a bit taller), Apple can once again portray the Mac mini as an object of desire. You may not need it, but one look at its diminutive frame, and you might start finding reasons to give it a loving home. Apple Apple claims the M4 chip makes the new Mac mini up to 1.8 times faster than the M1 version, and up to 2.2 times faster when it comes to graphics. (The fact that Apple isn't directly comparing it to the M2 model makes it clear this isn't a major year-over-year upgrade.) While the M4 chip tops out at 10 cores, the M4 Pro reaches up to 14 cores (10 performance and 2 efficiency cores). It also features a 20 core GPU, double the amount in the base M4 chip. M4 Pro delivers Thunderbolt 5 connectivity for the first time on a Mac, which offers up to three times the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 3, as well as up to 64GB of RAM. There's also 273 GBps of memory bandwidth, which should be a huge help for AI processing. Given that Apple Intelligence officially launched this week with the release of iOS 18.1, it's also a major selling point for the new Mac mini. The M4 chip sports 38 TOPS (tera operations per second) of AI processing power, while the M3 topped out at 18 TOPS. While Apple hasn't said this directly, I'd bet AI is also a major reason why the Mac Mini now starts with 16GB of RAM. Apple Intelligence requires at least 8GB of RAM to function, but the company has admitted that may not be enough to run Xcode 16's AI features. As always, having more RAM is better for future proofing, especially when you can't add more memory down the line. Apple has also finally given us a few front ports on the Mac mini, instead of the clean facade of the last few models. There are two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm jack up front, which will make it far easier to plug in jump drives and headphones. On the back, you'll find another three Thunderbolt USB-C ports, HDMI, and Ethernet. While it would be nice to see an integrated SD card reader, Apple currently reserves that for the more expensive Mac Studio. Apple You can preorder the new M4 Mac mini today starting at $599 ($499 for education customers), and it'll be available in stores on November 9th. The M4 Pro model, meanwhile, starts at $1,399 ($1,299 for schools). That price difference may seem high, but it's the same as it was for the M2 models. And as we saw from our M2 Mac mini review, it certainly held its own against other pricey desktops. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apples-redesigned-mac-mini-is-a-tiny-beast-with-m4-and-m4-pro-chips-150016484.html?src=rss
The biggest audio announcement at Apple's iPhone event last month wasn't the AirPods 4. Instead, the milestone news was the company's plan to introduce a robust suite of hearing health features for the AirPods Pro 2 alongside iOS 18. Apple's three-prong approach includes prevention, awareness and assistance with hearing protection, hearing test and hearing aid tools available directly on an iPhone.People have been eagerly anticipating these hearing health features since Apple announced them in early September. I've had numerous friends and family members who aren't regular Apple users inquire about the hearing test and hearing aid features specifically. The tools have the potential to put a wealth of information, and possibly life-changing assistance, in the pockets of people all over the world. Users will get help for a stigmatized condition without even having to set foot in a doctor's office.Just days after the big announcement in September, the FDA approved Apple's hearing test and hearing aid features. Under the guidelines set forth in its 2022 decision, the FDA allows adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss to obtain hearing assistive devices without a prescription or professional consultation. Apple describes its software-based test as clinically validated," one that was developed with 150,000 real-world audiograms and millions of simulations, and the FDA clearly agrees.Apple has released the entire suite of hearing health tools this week with iOS 18.1 and a firmware update to AirPods Pro 2. I've spent a week with them, and I can definitively say that this upgrade will be a game changer for earbuds, but not in the way that you'd expect.Hearing protectionBilly Steele for EngadgetEven if you don't take Apple's hearing test, and even if you don't have hearing loss, the hearing protection feature on AirPods Pro 2 provides a significant benefit. It helps maintain your current level of hearing health with robust protection in certain loud environments. You could absolutely use it without ever taking the hearing test.Although Apple discussed the potential of AirPods Pro as ear protection from loud noise at launch (specifically the Loud Noise Reduction feature), the company never officially recommended the earbuds for extended use for that purpose. That's because AirPods Pro weren't certified as meeting certain safety standards. What's more, Apple improved the algorithms that reduce the effect of loud noise (attenuation) while maintaining the sound signature with this new firmware update.I've used the AirPods Pro 2 at concerts since their release, employing Transparency mode to cleanly reduce sound to a safer level with minimal sacrifice to overall audio quality. In an age when ear plugs with various filters are a thing, AirPods Pro 2 now officially offer a high-fidelity concert experience that won't kill the vibe of the show by muffling the band. Since you're more likely to always have them when you leave the house, you won't have to remember to grab that pair of Loops or SoundProtex Plus plugs before the show. What's more, Apple says you can use hearing protection on AirPods Pro 2 for things like subway commutes, lawn-mowing and sporting events.There are certain sounds that Hearing Protection isn't recommended for - mostly extremely loud impulse noises like gunfire, fireworks or jackhammers. Apple also explains that the feature shouldn't be used for sustained sound that's louder than 110 dBA (A-weighted decibel). On the other end of the spectrum, the company says the AirPods Pro 2 can provide up to 10 dB of passive noise reduction when they aren't even turned on.AppleHearing Protection can be applied across transparency, Adaptive and noise-canceling modes on the AirPods Pro 2. As you can see in the chart above, the latter two provide the best protection, lowering environmental noise by up to 30 dB. Those two modes also extend the exposure time limit. As a reminder, Adaptive Audio on the AirPods Pro 2 lets you select the blend of active noise cancellation (ANC) and Transparency mode that best matches your surroundings.In my tests with the new hearing protection tools, transparency mode still offers the clearest sound here, but for certain genres, like chaotic heavy metal, ANC mode actually provided more details in the live guitars. I can't tell a difference in Apple's revised algorithms in transparency mode for concerts versus when I used the AirPods Pro 2 at a show last month, but it already sounded great before. I used the Noise app on Apple Watch to confirm the venue sound was at 100 dB, with transparency mode reducing my exposure to 86 dB and noise-canceling mode taking it down to a safer 74 dB - all of which is in line with Apple's stated ratings.As a reminder, the effectiveness of hearing protection relies on how well the AirPods Pro 2 fit in your ears. You'll want to make sure that you have a good seal with properly sized ear tips, which can be validated via the fit test in the AirPods settings.Hearing testBilly Steele for EngadgetApple's hearing aid tool is likely to get the most attention, but I'd argue it's the hearing test that's the most important piece. I don't know about you, but I can't recall the last time I had a hearing test with an audiologist. It has been at least a decade, and most likely longer than that. It's not something adults think about unless they notice potential hearing loss or someone else picks up on the cues. Since 1.5 billion people globally experience some degree of hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization, Apple's tool will provide more awareness of the condition in a quick, easy and private way.According to the company, the hearing test should take about five minutes. During my sessions, it took around seven minutes, which means the software may have repeated some tones I missed along the way. Once iOS 18.1 is installed and your AirPods Pro 2 have been updated, you'll see the hearing test in the AirPods settings and in Apple Health. You'll need to confirm that you're 18 or older, that you aren't experiencing any allergy or cold symptoms and that you haven't been in a loud environment in the last 24 hours in order to proceed.Before the test begins, the iPhone/earbuds duo will check your surroundings to make sure you're in a quiet space and to ensure that the AirPods Pro fit properly in your ears. When the test begins, Do Not Disturb and ANC will be enabled and you'll simply tap the screen when you hear tones. The software will test your left ear first before moving over to the right.The test is as easy to complete as Apple describes, and as promised, you immediately get your results when it's finished. I'll admit that I was concerned about what I might discover about my hearing health since I didn't always wear ear plugs at loud concerts in college and I was in a band long before in-ear monitors were widely available. Thankfully, Apple's hearing test determined that I have little to no hearing loss, with numbers well under the 25 dBHL threshold. The test showed slightly more hearing loss in my left ear than my right, but still nothing to be concerned about. Even though I showed little to no hearing loss, the test still offers tips on healthy habits and clearly states that the current AirPods Pro tuning is correct based on the results. Here's how the classifications shake out:
The US presidential election is in its final stretch. Before election day on November 5, Engadget is looking at where the candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, stand on the most consequential tech issues of our day.The Biden administration has been more aggressive than almost any in recent American history in its antitrust efforts. In the tech sector alone, it has ongoing cases against Apple, Meta, Google and Amazon, not to mention its battles with Ticketmaster, Microsoft, Kroger, CVS, Visa, Penguin Random House and more. Biden, Lina Khan (chair of the FTC) and Jonathan Kanter (head of the DOJ's antitrust division) have spent the last several years working to prevent giant mergers, increase competition and punish companies (however lightly) for unfair business practices. It is unlikely that whoever succeeds Joe Biden will be quite as fervent in their fight against monopolies. That being said, it's not only possible but probable that either a Harris or Trump administration would be very active in the antitrust field.Kamala HarrisThere is some expectation that a Kamala Harris White House will pursue these sorts of cases less aggressively. Part of that assumption is simply down to the fact that Harris hasn't said a ton on the issue. She touts her record as attorney general of California in leading lawsuits against the medical industry, and says during her stump speeches that companies need to play by the rules, respect the rights of workers and unions and abide by fair competition. And if they don't, I will hold them accountable." But she often doesn't get more specific than that.Her campaign also released a detailed economic policy document, though it makes little mention of antitrust and antimonopoly proposals. When it does discuss those issues, it focuses exclusively on landlords, grocery stores and the pharmaceutical industry. It does advocate for the passage of the Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act, though. This bill would make it illegal for landlords to use software from companies like RealPage and Yardi to coordinate on housing prices and rent increases.However, Harris' ties to Silicon Valley has led some to believe she would pump the brakes on antitrust efforts focused on the tech industry. Her brother-in-law, Tony West, is chief legal officer for Uber, her debate adviser was Karen Dunn, the lawyer currently heading up Google's defense in an ongoing antitrust case, and she counts Laurene Powell Jobs (widow of Steve Jobs) among her closest friends. She's also been quiet in the face of calls from major donors like Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn) and Barry Diller (IAC, Expedia Group and TripAdvisor) to fire Lina Khan.Nonetheless, she has also surrounded herself with many people deeply engaged in the Biden administration's antitrust efforts, including Brian Deese, the former head of the National Economic Council (NEC); Rachel Brown, who led on competition policy at the NEC and Bharat Ramamurti, who was not only Deese's deputy at the NEC but also worked for Elizabeth Warren, who has made fighting big business a cornerstone of her political identity. It's unlikely these antitrust crusaders would join Harris' campaign if they did not believe she would continue the work of the Biden administration in some meaningful capacity.Donald TrumpUnlike what you'd expect from a typical Republican administration, the Trump White House was actually pretty active in the antitrust space, focusing primarily on the tech and healthcare industries. Trump has made no secret of his animosity towards some of the biggest players in the tech space, so there's little reason to believe he'd scale back or abandon the cases against Google, Apple, Meta and Amazon underway.During his first tenure, the Trump administration went after Google over its search results and Facebook following its purchase of WhatsApp and Instagram in antimonopoly cases. He also sought to block the acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T. Even after he left the White House, Trump continued his assault on big tech by filing personal lawsuits against Twitter, Facebook and Google, alleging censorship. According to Concurrences (an antitrust think tank), while Republican administrations tend to prioritize criminal cartel cases, the Trump DOJ pursued fewer of those than any administration since Nixon and focused more on mergers and antimonopoly cases.While Trump hasn't said much about his antitrust views on the campaign trail, his running mate, JD Vance, has made it a regular topic of his stump speeches. Vance has voiced strong support for breaking up big corporations, especially in the tech industry. He's even praised Lina Khan as one of the few people in the Biden administration I think is doing a pretty good job."Complicating this, however, under Trump, the DOJ and FTC were constantly mired in controversy, and he was routinely accused of using the agencies to punish his perceived enemies. To make things even murkier, there is no mention of antitrust or antimonopoly efforts or policies either on Trump's Agenda 47 site or the official RNC platform. This makes it difficult to predict what to expect from a second Trump term. While there was significant antitrust activity on his watch, at times it seemed guided by political whims and personal vendettas. And without a guiding principle outlined in any official policy document, it's impossible to know what avenues the DOJ and FTC might focus on to go after companies that find themselves the target of Trump's ire.While Donald Trump and the RNC don't spill too many words discussing antitrust issues, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 document does. It notes there is still some disagreement among Republicans on how aggressively to pursue antitrust action. But it focuses extensively on the changing view within the party that seeks more aggressive actions to break up the largest players in the market.While Project 2025 pays some lip service to the negative impact on consumers of having too much industry power concentrated in too few hands, it spends most of its time discussing ESG (environmental, social and governance) and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives by businesses as a non-economic reason to pursue antitrust efforts, suggesting the Heritage Foundation sees antimonopoly laws not as a way to prevent the concentration of economic power, but as a cudgel to punish those promoting social and political ideologies it dislikes.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/election-2024-how-will-the-candidates-regulate-big-tech-133013600.html?src=rss
Getting a really great tablet for an affordable price is quite an achievement. That's why we're excited to see that Amazon's Fire Max 11 tablet is currently on sale for $140, down from $230 - a 39 percent discount. The deal brings this 64GB tablet back to its all-time low price, previously seen during October Prime Day. Amazon released the Fire Max 11 tablet in 2023 and we were immediately impressed with how much it offered for the price (especially now that it's discounted). It has slimmer bezels and a nice aluminum build, along with being just over a pound. Its 11-inch screen has a 2,000 x 1,200 resolution and is low blue light certified. Plus, it has a fingerprint sensor in the power button and supports Wi-Fi 6. It's worth noting that this model comes with lockscreen ads. If that's a deal breaker then check out the sale on the 64GB version that is ad-free. Right now, it's 36 percent off, dropping to $155, from $245. You can even upgrade to the 128GB model without lockscreen ads for just $5, with a 43 percent discount dropping its price to $160 from $280. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazons-fire-max-11-tablet-returns-to-a-record-low-price-131516001.html?src=rss
It's easy to give into cynicism writing about tech. There are so many underwhelming announcements and iterative improvements. Companies toss the letters AI around like it's a magic elixir sent down from the Gods. The layoffs are harsh. Sometimes, though, you find something simple, useful and fun that forces optimism. That's where I'm at with the Vizio MicMe. It's a soundbar that doubles as a karaoke machine. That's a neat idea, right? The MicMe is being advertised as a two-in-one soundbar system" that totally eliminates the need for a clunky standalone karaoke speaker. It's a legitimate 2.1 soundbar, complete with a subwoofer. It'll get the job done with regard to endless streams of Agatha All Along or Nobody Wants This. Vizio It also ships with two dynamic wireless microphones, and that's where the karaoke magic comes in. The company says that the soundbar enters karaoke mode when one of the microphones is removed from the charging dock, without the user having to fiddle with anything. There is, however, an affiliated mobile app for making sound adjustments. This app also allows access to six different vocal effects. Each microphone boasts eight hours of battery life per charge, which means a solid 8PM to 4AM karaoke session. Vizio says MicMe will have access to 80,000 songs via the proprietary app. It also integrates with many standalone karaoke apps, like Stingray. There should be no shortage of songs to ruin or master. The soundbar hybrid is compatible with Vizio's QuickFit technology, which allows it to attach to the company's TVs without any tools. It's also fully compatible with any smart TV with eARC. The MicMe costs $350. You can order one now but it won't ship until the end of November. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/vizio-just-announced-a-soundbar-that-doubles-as-a-karaoke-machine-130016592.html?src=rss
Amazon, in what it described as a "difficult decision," is winding down Kindle Vella and shutting it down completely in February 2025. When the company launched the serialized story platform in 2021, it said Vella was a way for readers to discover new fictional stories and a new way for authors to earn from the Kindle Direct Publishing service. But it hasn't caught on as it had hoped, Amazon explains on its website, and it has decided to throw in the towel three years after Vella's debut.Authors can only publish stories on Vella until December 4, which is also the last day readers can purchase tokens. While readers will no longer be able to purchase tokens after that, they can continue using those tokens to unlock episodes until the program closes in February. The good news for those who've been following specific authors or stories on Vella is that they won't lose their access to whatever episodes they've already unlocked even after the platform shuts down. They can always read the stories they've purchased in their library in the Kindle app for iOS and Android, though they can no longer open them on the web. Any token they don't use by February will be refunded.Responses to Vella have been pretty lukewarm since it became available. Some authors liked the fact that they could use it to earn money from unfinished stories, while some readers said they'd prefer getting a whole book instead of paying for installments. Personally, as someone who follows a lot of indie authors, I only know of one who publishes on Vella and very, very few readers who actually use it. Amazon tried drumming up interest earlier this year by making the first ten episodes of a story, instead of just three, available to readers for free. The company has also tried keeping authors on the platform by giving away bonuses, but its strategies probably didn't work enough to make it consider keeping Vella around longer.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/amazon-is-shutting-down-its-kindle-vella-serialized-story-platform-in-february-2025-120030125.html?src=rss
Apple Intelligence, the company's all-encompassing branding for its AI tools, features and curios, is finally here. Did you think Apple launched this ages ago? It was announced in June, and drip fed to beta testers, first in the developer preview, then the open preview.It was even a big part of the iPhone 16 sales pitch at launch, but Apple's newest phones lacked those AI features - until now. Arriving as part of Apple's updates to iOS, iPadOS and macOS, it's not everything teased at WWDC (no making your own emojis for now), but it's a tract of new features showing how the company is tackling AI in its software.As well as new proofreading and rewriting tools, there's live transcription for phone calls and Notes' audio recordings. Apple Intelligence also adds text summaries for websites, emails and all those transcriptions. There's also my personal favorite: notification summaries.We'll be taking a closer look at what Apple Intelligence is capable of, but broadly (and from our experience testing the preview builds), the additions won't change your smartphone life. Some of them are very useful, while others, like photo editing, fall behind rivals like Google and Samsung.- Mat SmithThe biggest tech stories you missedGrok can try to explain Elon Musk's terrible jokesYou'll get another chance to pre-order the retro-themed PS5 todayThe best iPhone accessoriesGet this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The iMac gets an M4 refresh for faster Apple IntelligenceIt has the same design as the last two models.AppleIn time for those new features, Apple's new iMac includes new colorways and the latest Apple silicon. The new model has the same display and design as previous models, but there's a new nano-texture glass screen option for a proper splurge. Apple says the M4 inside the new iMac makes the computer 1.7 times faster for daily productivity and up to 2.1 faster for more demanding tasks (i.e. gaming and photo editing) than the M1-powered iteration. The M4 iMac will be available on November 8, starting at the same $1,299 as its predecessor.Continue reading.Netflix's latest feature makes it easier to share and rewatch your favorite scenesMoments is a lot like clips on YouTube.Netflix is rolling out a new feature called Moments, which lets you save, share and rewatch certain scenes from shows and movies. For now, it's mobile only, starting on Netflix's iOS app and coming to Android in the next few weeks. Netflix says episodes and films will start playing from bookmarked scenes when you rewatch them, with an array of share buttons for messaging and social media apps. It's perfectly timed for my recent binging of Kath and Kim. All four series, done.Continue reading.Google starts selling refurbished Pixel phonesIt's only Pixel 6 and 7 handsets for now.Google is selling refurbished Pixel 6, Pixel 6A and Pixel 7 handsets directly through the Google Store. Discounts are up to 40 percent compared to new models, but we are on Pixel 9 now, so there are no brand new Pixel 6s on sale, at least not from Google. Prices start at $339 for the Pixel 6.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111641713.html?src=rss
The Oregon Trail, which is probably one of the most recognizable computer games for people who grew up in the 80s and 90s, is set to become a movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Apple is developing a live-action film adaption for the game, with Will Speck and Josh Gordon attached to the project as directors and producers. Seeing as the collaborators are known for films like Blades of Glory, The Oregon Trail movie will likely be a comedy rather than a depressing drama about a 19th-century pioneer family dying off one by one due to dysentery and starvation.The Hollywood Reporter's sources also said that the movie will feature a couple of musical numbers "in the vein of Barbie." Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known for La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen and who were recently nominated for an Emmy for a number Steve Martin performed in the past season of Only Murders in the Building, will reportedly produce original music for the film. Kenneth and Keith Lucas (Judas and the Black Messiah), along with Max Reisman, are writing the screenplay. It's still very early days for the production, though: There are no actors attached to the project yet, and Apple hasn't even formally announced it.Originally created by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann and Paul Dillenberger, the original Oregon Trail game was first released in 1971. In the game, you're supposed to buy supplies, hunt for food and travel west at a reasonable pace while trying to keep your caravan your caravan alive.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/apple-is-reportedly-developing-a-comedy-film-based-on-the-oregon-trail-110022317.html?src=rss
The next time you visit your local Apple Store, you might see Form's Smart Swim 2 goggles in the accessory section. Starting November 5, Apple will begin stocking the $249 wearable at 20 of its retail locations across the US and Canada. That same day, the goggles will also go on sale on the company's website, with availability there extending to the UK. In addition to home delivery, select Apple Store locations will offer in-store pickup."With Apple's knowledgeable staff, we know the experience presenting our goggles will be exceptional. As a must-have fitness tech product, we're excited to showcase Form at Apple," said From founder and CEO Dan Eisenhardt.From debuted Smart Swim 2 at the start of April. Building on its original smart goggles, the company integrated a heart rate sensor, and improved comfort and adjustability. It also managed to reduce the size of the tech pack," the component that houses all of the device's electronics. The company continues to sell its original Smart Swim goggles for $179, and they remain a great bargain; they include From's signature SwimStraight feature, which displays a digital compass inside the goggles to assist with open water navigation. However, if you want those, you'll need to order them from the company's website.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/froms-smart-swim-2-goggles-will-be-available-to-buy-at-select-apple-stores-soon-100004858.html?src=rss
Microsoft is accusing Google of funding a proxy campaign designed to discredit it in the eyes of regulatory authorities and policymakers in the European Union and beyond. In a blog post penned by Rima Alaily, the company's deputy general counsel, Microsoft claims the search giant has gone to great lengths to obfuscate its involvement, funding and control" of the Open Cloud Coalition, a group of cloud service providers, industry leaders and stakeholders" that says it's committed to advocating for a fair, competitive, and open cloud services industry across the UK and EU."According to Microsoft, Google hired a lobbying agency in Europe to create and operate the organization, and recruited a handful of" European cloud providers to appear as the public face of the soon-to-launch campaign. The company says that Google plans to present itself as a backseat member" of the Open Cloud Coalition, rather than its leader and primary funder. As one example, Microsoft points to a recruitment document (PDF link) that makes no mention of the group's claimed affiliation to Google. It also notes the involvement of Nicky Steward, who co-wrote a complaint against Microsoft and Amazon Web Services as part of the UK's ongoing antitrust investigation into the cloud services market.It remains to be seen what Google offered smaller companies to join, either in terms of cash or discounts," Microsoft says. It adds that one of the cloud providers Google approached about joining the Open Cloud Coalition claims that the company will direct the group to attack Microsoft's cloud computing business in the European Union and the United Kingdom."Engadget was unable to independently verify Microsoft's claims."We've been very public about our concerns with Microsoft's cloud licensing. We and many others believe that Microsoft's anticompetitive practices lock-in customers and create negative downstream effects that impact cybersecurity, innovation, and choice," a Google spokesperson told Engadget, and pointed us to four separate blog posts on the matter.As for why Google would potentially go to the extraordinary lengths of funding an astroturf campaign, Microsoft points to the recent uptick in regulatory scrutiny of the company's search, advertising and mobile app store businesses. By Microsoft's count, Google faces at least 24 antitrust investigations globally, including a Department of Justice probe that could see the potential break up of the company.Never in the past two decades have Google's search, digital advertising, and mobile app store monopolies faced such a concerted and determined threat as they do today." Alaily writes. At a time when Google should be focused on addressing legitimate questions about its business, it is instead turning its vast resources towards tearing down others. It is disappointing that, with the foundation of their business facing jeopardy, they have sought to bolster their cloud computing service - Google Cloud Platform - by attacking ours."The accusations come after Google had reportedly attempted to derail an antitrust settlement Microsoft had negotiated with the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE). In July, Bloomberg wrote that Google had offered the group 470 million to go forward with litigation against its rival, an overture CISPE ultimately rejected.As revenue growth from digital ads has slowed for Google in recent years, the company has increasingly turned to the cloud market to pick up the slack. In 2023, Google's cloud business broke even for the first time. More recently, the unit generated a $900 million profit in the first quarter of this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/microsoft-accuses-google-of-secretly-funding-regulatory-astroturf-campaign-203804594.html?src=rss
You're about to get another shot if you missed Sony's brief pre-order window for its 30th anniversary PS5 console. The retro-themed hardware sold out in a flash on its initial September 26 pre-order period, leaving fans fuming at Sony's predictably frustrating order process. An alert on Sony's product page (via Kotaku) says the second go-round will happen on Tuesday, October 29, at noon ET. The limited-edition consoles and accessories have a throwback skin reminiscent of the OG PlayStation, which launched in Japan in 1994. That includes a sleek gray color scheme that gives the old-school Playstation logo room to really pop. Sony The message (Please check back on October 29th from 9 AM PDT") only appears on the 30th Anniversary product pages for the $500 PS5 Slim Bundle and $80 DualSense controller. Unfortunately, no such message appears on the throwback PS5 Pro bundle or PlayStation Portal product pages. Assuming only the Slim bundle is available, this will be your second (and perhaps last) chance to get the cheaper of the two consoles. It includes the digital (no disc drive!) PS5 Slim, a standard DualSense controller (also themed for the occasion), a retro cable connector housing, PlayStation-shaped cable ties and a vertical stand. Oh, and there are some extra goodies like a sticker, poster and PlayStation paperclip, which we can only imagine will be sold for three figures on eBay after the bundle arrives on November 21. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/youll-get-another-chance-to-pre-order-the-retro-themed-ps5-on-tuesday-202504921.html?src=rss
Folks in the European Union finally know when Apple Intelligence will be available on their mobile devices. Apple told EU users on Monday that its AI suite will arrive in April 2025. The first Apple Intelligence features, including Writing Tools and AI notification summaries, are now available for English speakers elsewhere.Apple announced the EU release date in a press release for the European Union (via 9to5Mac). Translated from Italian, the news post reads, In April, Apple Intelligence features will begin to be distributed to iPhone and iPad users in the EU."The article notes that the first wave of Apple Intelligence is already available for EU users in macOS Sequoia 15.1. That's because Apple used the Digital Markets Act (DMA) as its rationale for delaying its EU AI. In this case, the regulations only affect iPhone and iPad software, not macOS.On Monday, Apple also confirmed that its AI suite will be available in more languages in April and throughout the year through a software update. These include Chinese, Korean, French, Japanese, English (India), English (Singapore), Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German and Vietnamese. In December, Apple Intelligence will become available in English variants for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK.Apple Intelligence is getting a tiered rollout. Today's first batch in iOS 18.1 (for those outside the EU) includes Writing Tools, live transcriptions, notification summaries and more. iOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will bring additional features like ChatGPT integration, Genmoji, Visual Intelligence and Image Playground. That software is currently in beta and is expected to arrive with an official release in December.The only catch is you'll need a compatible device. On iPhone, that's limited to the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 series. M-series iPads, Macs, and the new seventh-gen iPad mini are also supported.Update, October 28 2024, 4:09PM ET: This story has been updated to correct the timeframe of the release of Apple Intelligence in more languages, clarifying that it's coming "in April and throughout the year" and not just "in April."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apple-intelligence-is-coming-to-eu-iphones-and-ipads-in-april-191028410.html?src=rss
The wait is finally over. Apple Intelligence is making its proper debut with the public releases of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 today. Typically, point-one versions of Apple operating systems add minor features and fix bugs, but this year it brings a major update since Apple Intelligence features weren't quite ready in time for the rollout of iOS 18. Considering the new iPhone 16 series was touted as "built for Apple Intelligence," but launched without the features they were built for, this release has been long in the making. Those with older devices are likely to find iOS 18.1 to be less dramatic of an update, since the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are the only previous-generation iPhones that will support Apple Intelligence.You'll know you can use Apple Intelligence when you get a notification from the company. The initial generative AI features you can check out include writing tools like proofreading and rewriting, as well as text summaries.There are live transcriptions available for phone calls and audio in the Notes app. Apple can helpfully generate summaries of these transcriptions. In addition, Apple can reorganize your photos and videos around memorable events such as trips and special events in the overhauled Photos app. You can create your own Memories in the app as well.The beginnings of a Siri overhaul are here too. You can now type requests and questions to the previously voice-only assistant. If you still prefer speaking to it, Siri should be able to understand requests if you stutter or interrupt yourself. The Siri UI has been tweaked, as you'll see a glowing border around the screen when you activate it. However, you'll need to wait a bit longer for other Siri-driven features, such as the assistant's ability to have a better understanding of your personal context.Apple Intelligence on iPhoneApple Intelligence is currently available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 lineup. M-series iPads and Macs also support Apple Intelligence, as does the new A17 Pro-powered iPad mini.Bear in mind that access is currently limited to those who set their device and Siri language set to US English. Apple Intelligence will start to become available in more countries and languages in December. Apple doesn't plan to broadly offer the AI tools in the European Union or Chinese mainland right away due to regulatory issues, though as of September it was in talks with officials in both markets to make Apple Intelligence available there.In addition to Apple Intelligence, iOS 18.1 adds support for other new features, such as a hearing test and the ability to use AirPods Pro as over-the-counter hearing aids. It should be easier to change the mail email address that's linked to your Apple Account as well.You'll need to wait a bit longer for other promised Apple Intelligence features. The company released the iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 developer betas last week. Along with additional writing tools, the betas include Genmoji (a custom emoji generator), Image Playground (animated- and illustrated-style image generation), the Google Lens-like Visual Intelligence and ChatGPT integration.Apple Intelligence availability around the worldAs for those who want to use Apple Intelligence in other countries and languages, Apple says that it is adding support for localized English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK in December. A bigger update in April will expand language support beyond English - Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese are among the new languages that'll be supported. Apple also says that unspecified "other languages" will be added, as well.How to update your iPhone to iOS 18.1
Google now offers refurbished Pixel phones, as originally spotted by The Verge. The company is selling refurbed Pixel 6, Pixel 6A and Pixel 7 handsets directly on the Google Store. The phones can be purchased for up to 40 percent off, when compared to new models. Each smartphone ships with the same 1-year limited warranty and customer support options as a new model. Google says that each refurbished handset has been carefully inspected" to ensure that the phones, screens and batteries are all in tip-top shape. However, a company representative offered no guarantees regarding battery life in a statement to The Verge. Phone batteries age like people. Slowly at first and then all at once. However, the prices are enticing. The Pixel 6 is available for $339, instead of $599, while the well-reviewed Pixel 7 Pro is $629 instead of $899. All of these refurbished models offer 128GB of storage, but Google spokesperson Patrick Seybold says that the store will soon offer other storage tiers. Each phone ships with the latest Android software, which is a nice touch, and comes with a compatible charger. There's also free shipping. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-starts-selling-refurbished-pixel-phones-184348702.html?src=rss
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