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It's never been more exhausting to be online than in 2024. While it's been clear for some time that monetization has shifted social media into a different beast, this year in particular felt like a tipping point. Faced with the endless streams of content that's formulated to trap viewers' gazes, shoppable ads at every turn, AI and the unrelenting opinions of strangers, it struck me recently that despite my habitual use of these apps, I'm not actually having fun on any of them anymore.Take Instagram. I open the app and I'm greeted by an ad for bidets. I start scrolling. Between each of the first three posts at the top of my feed is a different ad: lingerie, squat-friendly jorts, shoes from a brand selling items that appear to be dropshipped from AliExpress at a markup. Then, thankfully, two memes back to back. I fire off the funny one to five of my friends in a way that feels obligatory. After that, another ad, then a bunch of seemingly off-target Reels from accounts I don't even follow. Minutes pass before I encounter a post by someone I know in real life. Oh yeah, it's time to turn off suggested posts again, something I have to do every 30 days or my feed will be filled with random crap.But before I get a chance to do that, I'm distracted by a Reel of a cat watching The Grinch. Then by a Reel of a guy with a tiny chihuahua in his coat pocket. Curiosity gets the better of me and I open the comments, where people are angrily writing that the dog must be suffocating. Oh no. I scroll to the next Reel, a video I've seen several times before of a rooster marching around in a pair of pants. Below, everyone's fighting about whether it's cruel to put pants on a chicken. Is it? Next, a video of a girl doing her makeup, where men are commenting that this should be considered catfishing. Deep sigh. I realize 30 minutes have somehow passed and I close Instagram, now in a worse mood than when I opened it. I'll compulsively return in an hour or so, rinse and repeat.It's not just an Instagram problem. On TikTok (which may or may not get shut down in the US very soon), the For You page has me figured out pretty well contentwise and the presence of toxic commenters is minimal, but every other post is either sponsored or hawking a product from the TikTok Shop. And it's too easy to get sucked into the perpetual scroll. I often avoid opening the app at all just because I know I'll end up getting trapped there for longer than I want to, watching videos about nothing made by people I don't know and never will. But it still happens more frequently than I'd like to admit.These days, it feels like every gathering place on the internet is so crowded with content that's competing for - and successfully grabbing - our attention or trying to sell us something that there's barely any room for the social" element of social media. Instead, we're pushed into separate corners to stare at the glowing boxes in our hands alone.Fittingly, Oxford announced at the end of November that its Word of the Year for 2024 is brain rot," a term that expresses the supposed consequence of countless hours spent on the internet consuming stupid stuff. Just as fitting, Australia's Macquarie Dictionary chose enshittification," which describes how the platforms and products we love get ruined over time as the companies behind them chase profits. (It was also The American Dialect Society's 2023 Word of the Year). Social media platforms were in theory designed around ideas of friendship and connection, but what's playing out on them today couldn't feel further from genuine human interaction.Facebook - if you even have an account still - might be where you'd go if you really wanted to see updates from family and other people you know IRL, but its UI has become so cluttered with recommended Reels and products that it feels unusable. Twitter, where it was once fun to keep up with live discourse around major events or fandom happenings, no longer exists, and X, its new form under Elon Musk, is filled with bots and political propaganda.On the other hand, Threads, an offshoot of Instagram and Meta's answer to Twitter/X, took off this year and it quickly became a hotspot for copy-paste engagement bait, a problem so bad that Adam Mosseri has publicly acknowledged it. The Threads team has apparently been working to get it under control," but I still can't scroll through my For You feed without seeing a dozen posts that are either just regurgitated memes being passed off as original thoughts, or questions to the masses that are crafted with the intention of stirring the pot. The same feed is otherwise dominated by viral videos that are ripped off from other creators without credit and pop culture commentary that almost always devolves into sex- and genderism. I often step away from Threads feeling the need to go scream in a field.Threads doesn't have DMs, meaning all conversations take place in public. It finally gave users the ability to create custom feeds around searchable topics in November, but those topic pages are generally still riddled with bait-style posts, just more subject-specific versions. That's meant so far that it's been pretty hard to find communities to authentically connect with. It all feels so impersonal.It doesn't help that Threads' Following feed currently isn't the default view and there's no way to change that (though Threads recently began testing the option). And at the end of the day, its 275 million or so monthly active users doesn't include all that many people I actually know, especially outside of the media industry. The same goes for fediverse social networks like Mastodon and Bluesky, which are far less populated but have a cliquier feel. Visiting those platforms feels like walking into a room full of people who all know each other really well, and realizing you're the odd one out. But at least Bluesky nor Mastodon aren't poorly veiled shopping experiences. (Threads isn't at the moment, either, but ads are reportedly coming).Maybe it all comes down to burnout in the era of excessive consumption, but lately I've found myself wishing for a place on the internet that feels both inviting and human. I'm sure I'm not alone. In recent years, we've seen alternative social apps pop up like BeReal, Hive and the Myspace-reminiscent entrants SpaceHey and noplace, all aiming to bring character and interpersonal connection back into social media. But none have quite cracked the code for lasting mainstream adoption. Discord and even Reddit to some extent address the same person-to-person need, yet they share more in common with proto social media chatrooms and forums than with the sites that sprung up during the social heyday.Meanwhile, Meta is increasingly pushing AI across its apps. Just this summer we got the chatbot-maker, AI Studio, which Meta touted not only as a way for users to create AI characters, but for creators to build an AI as an extension of themselves to reach more fans." Rather than talk to your real friends or make new ones around a common interest, you can deepen your parasocial relationship with celebrities, influencers and fictional characters by chatting with the AI versions of them. Or, pick from several AI girlfriends you can now find in the menu of your DMs. We've completely lost the plot, I fear.I've started dipping back into Tumblr here and there, if only to see a less chaotic, more curated feed and relish in the reminder of how fun customization can be. A few friends have mentioned that they've been doing the same. But given the platform's past policy upheavals and its current AI partnerships, it's not exactly an online oasis either. As if on cue, I was recently served a mock Tumblr poster during my evening scroll that felt uncannily apt: we didn't get better. the rest of the internet just got worse."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/in-2024-using-social-media-felt-worse-than-ever-170047895.html?src=rss

Following months of speculation, OpenAI has finally shared how it plans to become a for-profit company. In a blog post penned by its board of directors, OpenAI said Thursday it plans to transform its for-profit arm into a Public Benefit Corporation sometime in 2025. PBCs or B Corps are for-profit organizations that attempt to balance the interests of their stakeholders while making a positive impact on society.As we enter 2025, we will have to become more than a lab and a startup - we have to become an enduring company," OpenAI said, adding that many of its competitors are registered as PBCs, including Anthropic and even Elon Musk's own xAI. [The move] would enable us to raise the necessary capital with conventional terms like others in this space."As part of the transformation, OpenAI's nonprofit division would retain a stake in the for-profit unit in the form of shares at a fair valuation determined by independent financial advisors," but would lose direct oversight of the company. Our plan would result in one of the best resourced non-profits in history," claims OpenAI.Following the reorganization, the for-profit division would be responsible for overseeing OpenAI's operations and business," while the nonprofit arm would operate separately with its own leadership team and a focus on charitable efforts in health care, education and science.OpenAI did not state whether CEO Sam Altman would receive an equity stake as part of the restructuring. Last year, OpenAI's board of directors briefly fired Altman before bringing him back, in the process sparking the institutional crisis that led to this week's announcement. According to some estimates, OpenAI's for-profit arm could be worth as much as $150 billion. In 2019, OpenAI estimated it would need to raise at least $10 billion to build artificial general intelligence. In October, the company secured $6 billion in new funding.The hundreds of billions of dollars that major companies are now investing into AI development show what it will really take for OpenAI to continue pursuing the mission," OpenAI said. We once again need to raise more capital than we'd imagined. Investors want to back us but, at this scale of capital, need conventional equity and less structural bespokeness."Despite this week's announcement, OpenAI is likely to face multiple roadblocks in implementing its plan. In addition to its ongoing legal feud with Elon Musk, Meta recently sent a letter to California's attorney general urging him to stop OpenAI from converting to a for-profit company, saying the move would be wrong" and could lead to a proliferation of similar start-up ventures that are notionally charitable until they are potentially profitable."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-for-profit-plan-includes-a-public-benefit-corporation-163634265.html?src=rss

If you're constantly losing your stuff, or know someone who is, now's a great time to invest in a few AirTags. A four-pack of Apple's Bluetooth trackers are on sale for $70 at the moment, which is a record-low price and a bit cheaper than they were during the Black Friday shopping period. You're getting a $30 discount on the pack, and it breaks down to only $17.50 per tracker. Apple AirTags easily made our list of the best Bluetooth trackers, and this is especially true if you're already tied into the company's ecosystem. The finding network is vast and comprehensive, which really helps when it comes time to actually find one of these tags. Just think of all of those AirTags, iPhones and other devices out there in the world helping to create this network. These trackers can also tap into the ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless protocol, which creates a sort of game out of finding a lost item in the home. As long as the object is within 25 feet of your smartphone, the screen will display directional arrows and a distance meter. This lets you zero in on the object without having to constantly ring the AirTag. Now onto the caveats. AirTags really only work with iPhones and other Apple devices, so Android users should keep shopping for something else. Also, the ringer only pings for seven seconds at a time, which can make finding something feel like a mad dash. Finally, there's no attachment point for connecting to a keychain or a related accessory. Luckily, there are all kinds of amazing AirTag accessories to get that job done. One recent case even comes with batteries that will power the tag for a full decade. 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/a-four-pack-of-apple-airtags-is-on-sale-for-a-record-low-of-70-161406138.html?src=rss

The recent rollout of iOS 18.2 finally brings many of the promised Apple Intelligence features, like Genmoji and Image Playground. One such long-awaited tool is Visual Intelligence, a feature currently reserved for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max that was first introduced at the company's September event.What is Visual Intelligence?Visual Intelligence is Apple's answer to Google Lens. It leverages the camera system and AI to analyze images in real-time and provide useful information. This can help people learn more about the world around them and is particularly handy for shopping, looking up details about a restaurant or business, translating written text, summarizing text or having something read aloud. It can also integrate with Google Image Search and ChatGPT.Are there any caveats?There are two caveats. The Apple Intelligence rollout has been something of a convoluted mess, and this trend continues with Visual Intelligence. For now, the tools only work with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, which are the beefiest of the company's recent handsets. Apple has indicated that the feature could eventually become available for older models. Google Lens, after all, has been around since 2017, which was when the Pixel 2 was the hottest handset on the block.There's also a wait list, which is true of all Apple Intelligence features. To join the list, head to settings and look for Apple Intelligence & Siri." Then click on Join Waitlist." Once approved, the software will be ready to use.How to use Visual IntelligenceAs of this writing, the only way to launch Visual Intelligence is to long-press the Camera Control button. That's the new control interface on the bottom right side of the handset. Once pressed, the Visual Intelligence interface will open up.AppleNow the fun begins. Just point your phone at something and select ChatGPT, via the bottom left icon, or Google Image Search, via the bottom right icon. Alternatively, if the visual field includes text, tap the circle at the bottom of the screen. The phone can also be pointed at a business to obtain useful information.How to interact with textHover the phone in front of the text, activate Visual Intelligence and tap the circle at the bottom of the screen. This will analyze the text. Once analyzed, there are a few options. Tap Translate" at the bottom of the screen to translate the text into another language. Tap Read Aloud" if you want the text to be read aloud by Siri. Tap Summarize" for a quick summary of the copy.The tool will also identify contact information in the text, like phone numbers, email addresses and websites. Users can take action depending on the type of text. For instance, tap on the phone number to give it a ring. Other actions include starting an email, creating a calendar event or heading to a website. Tap the More" button to see all of the available options. Tap Close" or swipe up to end the session.How to interact with a businessVisual Intelligence can provide details about a business that's directly in front of you. Just open up the tool and point the camera in front of the signage. The name of the business should appear at the top of the screen. Tap Schedule" to see the hours of operation or tap Order" to buy something. View the menu or available services by tapping Menu" and make a reservation by touching Reservation." To call the business, read reviews or view the website, tap More."Swipe up or tap Close" to end the session. This feature is currently only available to US customers.What to do with ChatGPTStart by pointing the camera at an object. Activate Visual Intelligence and tap the ChatGPT icon on the bottom left side of the screen. Tap the Ask" button for information about the object. We used it on a bottle of hand cream, which it properly identified. After that, a text field will appear for follow-up questions. Users can ask whatever they want, but results may vary. We asked ChatGPT where to buy the hand cream and how much it costs. It performed admirably at this task. Yay shopping.Engadget/Cherlynn LowTap the "Close" button or swipe up to remove all fields, which will also shut down Visual Intelligence.What to do with Google Image SearchChoosing Google Image Search will bring up a Safari dialog box that contains similar photos pulled from the web. A good use case here is finding deals. We took a photo of a bottle of hand cream and the Safari results had plenty of different price points to choose from. However, users have to find the best deal and complete a purchase on their own.Engadget/Cherlynn LowTap the "Close" button to eliminate these results and then swipe up from the bottom of the screen to shut down the tool.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-use-visual-intelligence-apples-take-on-google-lens-150039141.html?src=rss

Gather round and let me tell you a story about the dark sky that makes mid-afternoon feel like midnight, and the light source that makes it at all bearable. Once a year, winter appears with a quick chill of the ears and sudden craving for a vat of hot chocolate. It brings all things beautiful: holiday lights, white blankets of snow in the park and thoughtful gifts. But it also invites in the cold and heaping amounts of darkness. I came of age in upstate New York, where sunlight is gone by half past four in the afternoon the entirety of December and January. That's to say this isn't a new phenomenon for me, but that hasn't made it any less painful. In fact, it has caused a feeling of dread that starts popping up come late September. But when I moved to Scotland, 4:30PM became nearly 3PM and the sun didn't fully rise until well after I'd woken up. Even in London where I'm now based, it's easily dark by 4PM on the shortest days. Like most people, the darkness leaves me exhausted while taking a serious toll on my mental health. Now to the hero of this story: my SAD lamp. SAD stands for seasonal affective disorder, a depressive disorder triggered by the change of seasons (usually the darker days, though some people experience it in the summer). You by no means need to receive a SAD diagnosis to use a SAD lamp, bright light therapy lamp or wake-up lamp - all names for the same thing. I bought Lumie's Vitamin L bright light therapy lamp a few years ago ahead of my first Scottish winter and have used it every year since. The Vitamin L lamp is a slim rectangle that provides 5,000 lux at a foot away or 2,500 lux at about an arm's length. The latter is the recommended distance for use and more or less how far it sits from me. It's just shy of eight inches wide with a length of 11 inches and a depth of just over three inches. It can stand in portrait or landscape orientation, too, though I find it doesn't balance very well in the latter. The light makes up the entire front panel and has a simple power button on the back. The lamp lives on the floor next to my kitchen table, where I'll prop it up nearly every morning while having breakfast or starting work. As a big fan of sleeping in, I rarely use it on the weekends unless I'm getting up early to run somewhere and I typically forget or get busy in the morning at least one workday. But when I do have it on, I'll keep it shining at me from an angle for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time I have. Sarah Fielding / Engadget This light is far from an extra table lamp to add a little glow. It's a very - I repeat for good measure - very bright light. And yet, despite it practically being imitation sunlight, there's no UV rays to worry about. It really does wake me up just from how bright it is and the daily routine adds a nice structure to busy, cold mornings. I've never received a SAD diagnosis but I do have a panic disorder that causes anxiety and bouts of depression, the latter of which is more prominent during these cold, dark days. I don't know how much of it is the lamp and how much is a placebo, but it really does help keep my negative feelings at bay and makes the dark days - a bit - more bearable. Overall, if you dread the darkness of the winter months as much as I do, I highly recommend trying this Lumie lamp or exploring one of the other options on the market. Just the habit of turning it on most days makes me feel like I'm doing something to combat the dreariness. Plus, it really is hard to be tired when there's a bright light shining near you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/this-sad-lamp-makes-the-winter-almost-bearable-130037310.html?src=rss

It's that quiet, end-of-December period for tech news. Still, alongside our usual retrospectives on tech in 2024, the Russian government is cracking down crypto, and final seasons of hit Netflix phenomena are on their way.First, according to reports by the state-owned news agency Tass, the Russian government banned crypto mining in ten regions for six years. Russia has cited the industry's high power consumption rates as the primary reason behind the ban. Crypto mining operations already account for nearly 2.5 percent of US energy use. The Russian ban takes effect on January 1 and lasts until March 15, 2031. The currency has only been fully legal in Russia since November.- Mat SmithGet this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest tech stories you missed

It looks like we won't have to wait long to find out what happens in the next installment of Netflix's addictive and deadly drama Squid Game. The Netflix-owned blog Tudum announced the South Korean drama will return next year for its third and final season.The first season ended with winner Seong Gi-hun, played by Emmy winner Lee Jung-Jae, leaving his newfound wealth to dismantle the titular game. Since then, we've learned in sneak previews and the Season 2 trailer that Seong's plan is to rejoin the deadly competition and convince the players to vote for the games to stop. Something tells me it's not going to be that simple.The second season of Squid Game just landed today on Netflix after a three-year wait.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/squid-game-will-have-a-third-and-final-season-in-2025-192216881.html?src=rss

Since the release of iOS 18.2 on December 11, ChatGPT integration has been an integral part of Apple Intelligence. Provided you own a recent iPhone, iPad or Mac, you can access OpenAI's chatbot directly from your device, with no need to go through the ChatGPT app or web client.What is ChatGPT?ChatGPT is a generative AI chatbot created by OpenAI and powered by a large language machine-learning model. In addition to the capability to interact with people using natural language, ChatGPT can search the web, solve complex math and coding problems, as well as generate text, images and audio. As of the writing of this article, the current version of ChatGPT is based on OpenAI's GPT-4o and 4o mini models.In June 2024, Apple announced it was partnering with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence. While some of ChatGPT's signature features are available directly within iOS, iPadOS and macOS, many, such as Advanced Voice Mode, can only be accessed through the ChatGPT app or the OpenAI website.Where can you use ChatGPT on your iPhone?Igor Bonifacic for EngadgetOn iPhone, ChatGPT is primarily available through three surfaces. First, Siri can turn to ChatGPT to answer your questions. In instances where Apple's digital assistant determines ChatGPT can help it assist you better, it will ask you for your permission to share your request with OpenAI. You can also use ChatGPT to identify places and objects through the iPhone 16's Camera Control menu.Lastly, you can get ChatGPT's help when using Apple's new Writing Tools." Essentially, anytime you're typing with the iPhone's built-in keyboard, including in first-party apps like Notes, Mail and Messages, ChatGPT can help you compose text. Finding this feature can be a bit tricky, so here's how to access it:

In recent years, reflecting on the past 12 months has seemed to bring back nothing but woe. Surprisingly, though, 2024 saw a higher number of candidates for good things in tech than bad. In spite of the continued AI onslaught, widespread dissatisfaction and worldwide political conflict, there were some bright spots this year that put smiles on faces and took minds off things. As we get ready to start saying "2025" when making plans, here's hoping that reminiscing about the best things in tech in 2024 can help us remember joyful times. LocalThunk You likely don't know the name LocalThunk, which is the handle of a Canadian game developer who has yet to share his real identity. You do, however, know his handywork. LocalThunk made a little game called Balatro, which has been the indie success story of the year. The massive cultural footprint of this game instantly put him on the Mount Rushmore of solo developers, alongside Daisuke Amaya (Cave Story), Markus Persson (Minecraft), Lucas Pope (Papers, Please) and Eric Barone (Stardew Valley), among others. Balatro - which can justly be described as a wacky full-fledged sequel to poker -came out back in February, and has since sold millions of copies across multiple platforms. It has popped up on numerous 2024 best-of lists and even nabbed a nomination for GOTY at The Game Awards. To call it a hit is something of an understatement. Balatro has become so popular that it has crossed over with other gaming franchises and inspired a physical deck of cards. LocalThunk is now, very likely, worth a whole lot of money. Good for him. He created something new that everyone wanted, a venture that took three years. Despite the similarities to poker, the developer is extremely committed to keeping Balatro pure and out of the hands of gambling platforms. He recently revealed that he created a will that stipulated that the IP never be sold or licensed to any gambling company or casino. I highly recommend checking out the game, which is available for both consoles and mobile devices. It will likely burn into your brain, leaving you unable to think or talk about anything else. Actually, wait until you have some time off work before giving it a download. - Lawrence Bonk, contributing writer Bluesky After several months in an invitation-only beta, Bluesky finally ditched its waitlist and opened to everyone at the start of 2024. At the time, it had just over 3 million users, a handful of employees and a lot of ideas about how to build a better space for public conversations. Since then, the service has grown to more than 25 million users, including a number of celebrities, politicians and other prominent figures who were once active on X. Bluesky is still very much an underdog. Meta's Threads has more than 10 times as many total users and far more resources. Even so, Bluesky has notched some significant wins. The open source service nearly tripled in size in the last few months of the year, thanks to a surge in new users following the election. The platform has also had an outsized influence when it comes to features, with Meta already copying unique ideas like starter packs and custom feeds. Bluesky isn't without issues - it needs to come up with a better approach to verification for example - but it's still our best hope for an open, decentralized platform not controlled by a multibillion dollar advertising company. While Meta is reportedly preparing to point its ad machine at Threads and has already throttled the reach of political content, Bluesky's leaders have made it clear they want to take a different approach. And while it's hard to imagine Bluesky's growth eclipsing Threads anytime soon, Bluesky feels more relevant than ever. - Karissa Bell, senior reporter Sam Rutherford for Engadget Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold We've seen so many competing designs on foldable phones over the years. Samsung started out with an inward folding hinge on the original Galaxy Fold and stuck with it as the Z Fold line has morphed into the long, skinny baton-like devices we have today. Then there were others like the Huawei Mate X which featured outward folding builds. More recently, companies have teased the first generation of gadgets with tri-folding displays. But after testing out Google's Pixel 9 Pro Fold this year, it feels like keeping things simple was the winning formula all along. That's because instead of trying to create a foldable with a unique aspect ratio or screen size, Google basically took the exterior display from the standard Pixel 9 and then installed a flexible display almost exactly twice the size on the inside. So when it's closed, you have a phone that looks, feels and operates just like a typical glass-brick but when opened can also expand to become a mini tablet. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold also has the best cameras on any foldable on sale today while not being much thicker or heavier than its more traditional siblings. But perhaps the biggest victory is just seeing how much of a jump in build quality and usability the Pro Fold offers over its predecessor without making any major sacrifices. I just wish it was a bit more affordable so more people could experience the magic of a big foldable phone. - Sam Rutherford, senior reviewer AR Glasses For years, companies like Meta and Snap have hyped up the promise of augmented reality - not just the animated selfie lenses and other effects we can see on our phones, but standalone hardware capable of overlaying information onto the world around us. But despite these promises, actual AR glasses felt just out of reach. This year, that finally started to change. Snap released its second pair of AR Spectacles, and Meta finally showed off its Orion AR glasses prototype. After trying out both, it's easy to see why these companies have invested so much time and money on these projects. To be clear, both companies still have a lot of work ahead of them if they want their AR glasses to turn into a product their users will want to actually buy. Right now, the components are still too expensive, and the glasses are way too bulky (this is especially true for Snap, if the social media reactions to my selfies are any indication). But after years of hearing little more than lofty promises and sporadic research updates, we finally saw real progress. Snap has lined up dozens of developers, including Niantic, Lego and Industrial Light and Magic who are already building apps for AR. Meta is, for now, keeping its AR work internal, but its neural wristband - which may be coming to a future pair of its RayBan-branded glasses - feels like a game-changer for next-gen controllers. So while AR glasses aren't ready to replace our phones just yet, it's getting a lot easier to imagine a world in which they might. - K.B. ASUS Zenbook Duo The classic clamshell with a screen up top and a physical keyboard down below isn't going away anytime soon. But this year, the Zenbook Duo showed that laptops still have plenty of room for improvement. That's because after multiple attempts by various manufacturers to refine and streamline dual-screen laptops, ASUS finally put everything together into a single cohesive package with the Zenbook Duo. It packs not one but two 14-inch OLED displays with 120Hz refresh rates, solid performance, a surprisingly good selection of ports (including full-size HDMI) and a built-in kickstand. And weighing 3.6 pounds and measuring 0.78 inches at its thickest, it's not much bigger or heftier than more traditional rivals. You also get a physical keyboard, except this one connects wirelessly via Bluetooth and can be either placed on top of the lower screen like a normal laptop or moved practically anywhere you want. This allows the Zenbook Duo to transform into something like a portable all-in-one complete with two stacked displays, which are truly excellent for multitasking. And because the keyboard also charges wirelessly, you never have to worry about keeping it topped off. But the best part is that starting at $1,500, it doesn't cost that much more than a typical premium notebook either, so even when you're traveling you never have to be limited to a single, tiny display. - S.R. DJI Neo DJI's tiny $200 Neo drone blew into the content creator market like a tornado. It was relatively cheap and simple to use, allowing beginners to create stunning aerial video at the touch of a button, while taking off and landing on their palms. At the same time, the Neo offered advanced features like manual piloting with a phone or controller, subject tracking and even impressive acrobatics. Weighing just 156 grams and equipped with people-safe propeller guards, DJI's smallest drone can be piloted nearly anywhere with no permit needed. And unlike Snap's Pixy drone, it's far more than a toy.. It can fly at speeds up to 36 mph and perform tricks like flips and slides. It also offers reasonably high-quality 4K 30p video. All of that allows creators to track themselves when walking, biking or vlogging, adding high-quality aerial video that was previously inaccessible for most. There are some negative points. The Neo lacks any obstacle detection sensors, so you need to be careful when flying it to avoid crashes. Video quality isn't quite as good as slightly more expensive drones like the DJI Mini 3. And the propeller noise is pretty offensive if you plan to operate it around a lot of people. Perhaps the biggest problem is that DJI's products might be banned in the US by 2026, even though it escaped that fate this year. For $200, though, it offers excellent value and opens up new creative possibilities for content creators. Much like the company's incredibly popular Osmo Pocket 3, the Neo shows how DJI is innovating in the creator space to a higher level than rivals like Sony or Canon. - Steve Dent, contributing writer reMarkable Paper Pro reMarkable's distraction-free writing slates have always offered an elegant alternative to other tablets. The second generation model is great, but the advent of the Paper Pro has highlighted where that device was lacking. It's certainly one of the best pieces of hardware I've tested this year and, if I owned one, I'd likely make it a key part of my daily workflow. The bigger display, faster internals and the fact it can now render colors elevates it above the competition. It's gone from a useful tool to an essential one, especially if you need to wrench yourself away from the distractions of the internet. It's still far too expensive for what it is, and qualifies as a luxury purchase in these straightened times. It won't stack up in a spec-for-spec comparison to an iPad, even if they're clearly catering for two very different audiences. But, judging it on its merits as a piece of technology, it does the job it was built to do far better than anything else on the market. What can I say, I just think it's neat. - Daniel Cooper, senior reporter NotebookLM Maybe my AI dalliances are far too mundane - I spend more time trying to get worthwhile shopping advice from Claude and ChatGPT, for instance, rather than playing around with music generators like Suno or even image creators like Dall-E. But for this podcast fan, it's Google's NotebookLM that was the big AI revelation of 2024. The audio offshoot of Google's Project Tailwind, an AI-infused notebook application, NotebookLM synthesizes a full-on podcast that summarizes the documents, videos or links you feed it. Delivered as a dialogue between male and female co-hosts, it feels like a next-gen two-person version of the Duplex software agent that Google unveiled in 2018. The resulting audio stories (just a few minutes in length) wouldn't sound terribly out of place on your local NPR station, right down to copious use of ums," ahs," pauses and co-hosts talking over each other with a relevant detail or two. Yes, it doesn't have any more depth than the chatter on the average TV morning show, occasionally botches pronunciation - sometimes spelling out common acronyms letter by letter, for instance - and it's just as prone to hallucinations as any other current AI model. And I certainly don't think real podcast hosts have anything to fear here (at least, not yet.) But to me, NotebookLM doesn't feel like the rest of the AI slop that's invading the web these days. It's a win on three fronts: The baseline version is free, it's dead simple to use (just feed it one or more links, or a blob of text) - and it can be downright fun. This was the system's take when I fed it the full text of Moby Dick, for example - and that's small potatoes compared to, say, the hosts discovering" they're not human. Thankfully, unlike the plethora of projects that Google summarily kills off, NotebookLM seems to be flourishing. I haven't tried the new phone in" feature or the paid Plus subscription, but both suggest that we'll be hearing more from Audio Overviews in 2025. - John Falcone, executive editor PC CPU competition heats up For the past decade, the story around laptop and desktop CPUs has basically been a back and forth between Intel and AMD. At times, AMD's sheer ambition and aggressive pricing would make its chips the PC enthusiast choice, but then Intel would also hit back with innovations like its 12th-gen hybrid processors. When Apple decided to move away from Intel's chips in 2020, and proved that its own mobile Arm architecture could dramatically outpace x86 and x64 designs, it was clear that the industry was ready to shift beyond the AMD and Intel rivalry. So it really was only a matter of time until Qualcomm followed in Apple's footsteps and released its Snapdragon X Elite chips, which powered the new Surface Pro, Surface Laptop and other Copilot+ PCs. Those mobile chips were faster than ever before, far more efficient than Intel and AMD's best, and they were aided by some timely Windows on Arm improvements. While you may still run into some older Windows apps that don't run on Arm machines, the experience today is dramatically better than it was just a few years ago. And sure, the race to equip CPUs with better neural processing units (NPUs) for AI work is a major reason chipmakers were eager to make a huge splash in 2024. Intel's Lunar Lake hardware and AMD's Ryzen AI 300 chips were laser-focused on delivering powerful AI capabilities. But it turns out we're still waiting to see what those NPUs can really do. Microsoft's Recall AI feature has only just begun rolling out to willing testers, and it still can't effectively filter out credit card and social security numbers.- Devindra Hardawar, senior reviewerThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/techs-biggest-winners-in-2024-180015837.html?src=rss

LG is bringing a lamp that doubles as a small garden to CES 2025. The "indoor gardening appliance" is designed for apartment dwellers or anyone whose otherwise backyard-challenged to enjoy the benefits of homegrown produce.During the day, LG says the lamp with a circular lampshade shines LEDs in five different intensities on whichever plants you want to grow. Then, at night, the lights fire upwards to create cozy mood lighting in whatever room you put the lamp in. If you'd prefer something that's more compact and armchair-height, LG also has a version that the size of a side table.LGThe taller, standing lamp can hold up to 20 plants at a time, according to LG, and the whole setup is height adjustable so that you can accommodate larger leafy greens or small herbs and flowers. The real beauty of LG's design, though, is that you don't need to worry about watering. There's a 1.5 gallon tank built in to the base of the lamp that can disperse the appropriate amount of liquid for whatever you have planted. Both lamps are also connected to LG's ThinQ app so you can adjust lighting and watering schedules remotely.LG introduced its previous take on an indoor gardening tool, the LG Tiiun, at CES 2022. That larger, fridge-shaped appliance could also automatically grow and water plants, but was far less aesthetically-pleasing than the company's new lamp. With all of the features it has on board, LG's new lamp is really just one Sonos speaker away from being the ultimate living room appliance. At least until tech companies find another use for lamps.LG's new indoor gardening appliance doesn't have a release date or an official price, but expect the company to share more details once CES 2025 officially starts.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/lg-found-a-new-job-for-your-standing-lamp-173446654.html?src=rss

Some consider gift cards not the most personal of gifts, but I say that's not the case. They allow you to get exactly what you want with no confusion, and (typically) both gifter and giftee walk away happy. But maybe you received a few gift cards for the holidays and are stumped on what to buy with them - Engadget can help. Here, we've gathered some of our favorite gadgets and services of the year that are all worthy ways to spend your gift card money, from wireless mice to coffee gear to gaming controllers. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-spend-your-100-gift-card-after-christmas-130036223.html?src=rss

Social media platform Bluesky has launched Trending Topics into beta, the company announced in a post on its platform. The new feature is one of the most-requested by users and matches a function that has been on rival Threads for around nine months, and on X (Twitter at the time) since at least 2017.The Trending section shows the top viral content on the platform, with topics like "Christmas," "Nosferatu" and "Wikipedia" (thanks to Elon Musk) currently on top. It can be found by clicking on search in both the desktop version and mobile apps, or you can disable it altogether in the settings, TechCrunch noted. Any words that you have muted won't appear in Trending topics either.Bluesky recently hit a big milestone with 25 million users, many of whom recently fled X following the US elections. Though still relatively small compared to Threads and X, users have remarked on the high levels of engagement along with the lack of bots and harassment compared to Elon Musk's platform. Other highly requested features still not implemented include bookmarks, editing, verification badges and private posts.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-launches-a-trending-topics-feature-in-search-140049208.html?src=rss

Spoilers follow for Joy to the World."If there's one thing Steven Moffatt loves to do with Doctor Who, it's to find a monster buried in the mundane. He's made statues, shadows, lost children and even the idea of silence into some of the show's most terrifying villains. Sadly, the mysterious extra door you often find in older hotel rooms isn't as universal a concern, but it's still a rich seam for him to mine. That's the inspiration for Joy to the World," Doctor Who's 2024 Christmas Special. Which is light, fun and a little bit scattershot, much like Christmas is meant to be, right?When Doctor Who returned, the show was woven back into the UK's cultural firmament in a way it never had been before. Part of that process was adding the show to the BBC One Christmas Day schedule, making it a universal cultural touchstone. For most of its post-2005 run, it has aired an episode next to the Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders' festive specials. Imagine the British equivalent to those everyone-gathered-around-the-TV events like the Super Bowl or the Macy's Day Parade, but on Christmas Day. Even if you don't like any of the fare on offer, you're still expected to sit with the family and consume it.With these specials, the prestige timeslot, longer runtime and bigger budget are burdens as much as they are benefits. The show has to play to a far broader audience than normal, with diehard fans sitting elbow-to-elbow with elderly relatives filling every silence with gossip about their neighbor's garden project. Consequently, the story needs to be a little looser, with less need for the audience to be paying undivided attention to what's going on. And it needs to be an oasis of fun in the melodramatic drudgery that is the BBC One Christmas Day schedule.Normally, the festive special would be the sole province of the showrunner but Russell T. Davies handed the reins to Steven Moffatt. Moffatt succeeded Davies as showrunner the first time around, co-created Sherlock and is widely-regarded as the best Who writer of the 21st century. With a pedigree as impeccable as that, and having already written "Boom" for the Ncuti Gatwa's first season in the title road, expectations are high.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosMoffatt is an arch farce writer and has a strong grasp of structure, so it's no surprise we open in medias res. The Doctor is offering room service to a variety of people in different time periods including Edmund Hilary's base camp at Everest and the Orient express before stumbling in on Joy in a miserable London hotel room in 2024. After the credits, we spool back to the Doctor arriving in the Time Hotel, which allows guests to vacation throughout history. Don't worry about causality or any A Sound of Thundershenanigans, the Hotel is somehow built to protect its guests from screwing up the timeline.The Doctor is looking to steal some milk for his coffee from the hotel buffet, but his eye is caught on something sinister: A person carrying a briefcase with a handcuff chain is trying to check into a room. The Doctor recruits Trev, one of the employees, to keep watch while he scouts ahead to work out what scheme could be afoot. As it turns out, the case is sentient and evil, leaping from host to host and possessing each one in turn. Once it's leapt to the next host, the last one disintegrates.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosIt's here the Doctor bumps into Joy who, through hijinks, winds up handcuffed to the case in place of the hotel manager. When the Doctor opens the case to try and find a solution, the case threatens to kill whoever it's connected to unless it gets a four digit code. Who shall provide the code? The Doctor, emerging from his own future, taking Joy with him while leaving our" Doctor trapped in 2024 without the TARDIS. As the hotel door closes, the Doctor hurls abuse at his future self, about why he's always alone and people are always leaving him. He's doubly upset as he never normally has to travel the long way around," one day after the other.And so, the episode essentially stops to give us an extended sequence of the Doctor making friends with Anita, the hotel manager. The Doctor gets a job as the hotel's handyperson, and slowly lets his guard down, spending more time with Anita until they're a platonic couple. It's a sequence you'd never see in a regular episode, with snatches of the Doctor and Anita's life. He makes the microwave bigger on the inside, repaints Anita's car TARDIS blue and they even sit and talk to one another on chairs - a key visual given the lack of chairs on the TARDIS. But as the year elapses and it's time for the Doctor to return to his own show, he waves goodbye to Anita.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosReturning to the time hotel, the Doctor bursts back in on the events of a year ago, sharing the code and yanking Joy off to new adventures. The Doctor works out the briefcase holds the embryonic form of an artificially-created star that would offer a source of imaginable power to whoever owned it. But unless you own the Hand of Omega, stars take a long time to develop, far longer than anyone would be able to wait and test their experiment. Unless, of course, you hijack a time hotel and send it back to dinosaur times, waiting for when human history begins to see if it works.Joy, still possessed by the case, heads to the hotel's dinosaur room while the Doctor tries to break its hold over her. To do that, he provokes an emotion strong enough to poison the link between the case and its host before it obliterates them. He bullies her, goading her into disclosing why she's staying at a downmarket London hotel. Turns out she's grieving the loss of her mother who died of COVID-19 in an isolation ward and Joy was unable to say goodbye to her in person. Sadly, before the Doctor can deactivate the star seed, it's eaten by a (brilliant-looking) dinosaur, putting it out of his reach.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosThe Doctor and Joy head back to the hotel and, 65 million years later, find the star is now ready to detonate. It's been locked inside a stone structure with a heavy stone door that neither of them can move, and time is running out. So, the Doctor, who boasts that he's good with rope," steals a rope from the Everest base camp, hanging it off the back of the Orient Express to haul the stone away.. It's an impressive and kinetic sequence let down only by the dreadful CGI when Gatwa's standing on the train. Typical Doctor Who: It can now do convincing dinosaurs, but now can't do a convincing train.It's here things lose their coherence, since Joy's eyes flash with possession energy, but by the time the Doctor returns, Joy has... eaten the star? Absorbed it somehow? Made friends with and bonded with it? He finds her standing on a cliff edge, where Joy says she'll merge with the star and take it to the heavens, where it will do nobody any harm at all. At this point in my notes, I wrote Don't let this be Bethlehem," when the camera pulls out to reveal that's exactly where they are, complete with three camels parked outside a stable. Oy.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosJoy reunites with her mother and the Doctor goes back to traveling, but not before he gets Anita a job running the Time Hotel. We also get a little shot of Ruby Sunday, who will return to the show for its second season proper.As I said at the top, you can't judge Joy to the World" on the merits of a regular episode since it's serving multiple masters. But I don't think we could call it the strongest episode of either Steven Moffatt's oeuvre or the show's various Christmas Specials. Like all of the Disney-era episodes, it has a slightly incoherent quality where the pacing sags and zips in all the wrong places. I'm for the lengthy aside where we see a normal" year in the life of the Doctor, but the story framing it should have been tighter to balance out the slowness. It's a fun enough way to pass an hour with a stomach full of holiday turkey (or your preferred equivalent) with enough mawkishness to make you think you've seen something quite profound. But I don't think I'll be coming back to watch this one again and again like I would for, say, The Christmas Invasion."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/doctor-who-joy-to-the-world-review-what-a-star-190018215.html?src=rss

If you received a bunch of gift cards for the holidays, consider it a blessing. Whoever gave them to you likely wanted to give you a gift you'd actually use, and rather assume (incorrectly), they wanted to ensure you'd get their money's worth on something you actually like. Maybe there's nothing on your wish list at the moment, but you're keen to spend that gift card on something that will make your commute easier or your home feel more cozy. Below are some of our favorite items that are well worth that $50 gift card you're eager to use up, from power banks to streaming sticks to smart lights. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-ways-to-spend-your-50-gift-card-130021816.html?src=rss

Android phones have been the first to feature a bunch of notable standards. They were the first to support 4G, 5G, USB-C (way back in 2015 no less) and in-screen fingerprint sensors. And when it comes to wireless charging, you can trace that lineage all the way back to the Samsung Galaxy S3 from 2012 (though the webOS-poweered Palm Pre and its Touchstone charger is the true OG). Unfortunately, when it came to adding support for the Qi2 wireless charging standard to devices in 2024, it feels like Android phone makers were stuck on outdated patch notes.The Qi2 standard was officially announced in early 2023 during CES. We even gave it an award, as the spec looked to bring 15-watt wireless charging (and possibly more in future revisions), improved safety and critically the introduction of Magnetic Power Profiles that make it a cinch to align and attach compatible charging pads. In essence, Qi2 was set to bring the simplicity and ease of use iPhone owners enjoy with MagSafe products to the Android ecosystem.Not a single phone from any of the top three Android phone makers in the US (Samsung, Google and Motorola) offered support for Qi2 in 2024. Photo by Sam RutherfordEven more surprising is that in a rare move for a company that likes keeping its tech siloed neatly inside the walls of its ecosystem, Apple shared core parts of the MagSafe spec with other members of the Wireless Power Consortium (which is the governing body that oversees the Qi and Qi2 standards) to speed up development and interoperability. So you'd think after seeing the convenience and popularity of MagSafe accessories among iPhone users, Android phone makers would have rushed out to add Qi2 to as many devices as possible. But nearly two full years after the spec was finalized, the grand total of Android handsets that support Qi2 stands at one: the HMD Skyline.At this point, you might be saying that product development cycles are multi-year processes that are difficult to change prior to launch. And in most cases, you'd probably be right. But let's be honest, it's not like Samsung, Google, Lenovo and others didn't see this coming. Like Apple, practically all of the big Android phone makers are also members of the WPC, so they would have known about the development of Qi2 long before it was officially announced. On top of that, the first iPhone with MagSafe was the iPhone 12, which came out four years ago. So even if we assume that the first time Samsung, Google et al were presented with the idea of a magnetic wireless charging system was during Apple's keynote in the fall of 2020, you'd imagine that's still more than enough time to engineer similar technology for use on today's Galaxy and Pixel handsets.The HMD Skyline was the only Android phone to feature Qi2 this year. Photo by Sam RutherfordFor manufacturers, another concern when adopting a new standard is that there may not be enough accessories and other compatible peripherals on sale to make implementation of new tech worth it. We've seen this in the past with modular phones like the LG G5 and Moto Z Force line and the funky palm-reading tech on the LG G8. However, because Qi2 and MagSafe gadgets are largely interchangeable, there's already a huge market of options like Anker's MagGo line of power banks, which are some of my current favorite portable battery packs.Another annoyance is that some phones like the Razr Plus and Pixel 9 Pro Fold will even stick magnetically to some Qi2 accessories and may even suck down a tiny bit of juice. Unfortunately, this is more of a coincidence caused by the magnets used to help keep foldables open or closed, rather than an intentional use case. This means that even though these devices may appear to support Qi2 at first glance, accessories don't maintain a firm grip and often slide off even in what appear to be ideal circumstances. Even cases that claim to add support for Qi2 are hit or miss, resulting in a poor experience for Android phone owners hoping to recreate the magic of MagSafe on their own. It's really a shame, because it almost feels like with a few small tweaks Google, Moto and others could unlocked Qi2 support on a wider range of devices without a ton of extra effort or cost.The lack of Qi2 support on Android phones is preventing users from enjoying a huge range of handy charging accessories. Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetUnfortunately, while many Chinese phone makers have avoided Qi2 up until this point, that's sort of to be expected with manufacturers like Oppo often favoring proprietary tech like its 65-watt AirVOOC wireless charging instead of more widely accessible industry standard. And because the Galaxy S24 family came out at the very beginning of 2024, Samsung didn't have quite as much time to add Qi2 to its current flagship lineup as Google, which launched the Pixel 9 series just a few months ago. Regardless, this still doesn't explain the general reluctance of OEMs to adopt what I'd argue is one of the most meaningful upgrades in accessibility and general usability you can add to a smartphone today.But the most frustrating thing is that six months ago, our friends at CNET pondered why we had yet to see any Qi2 Android phones. And as we're nearing the end of the year, there's still only a single model trying to spark hope that 2025 will be different. So kudos to HMD for doing what Samsung, Google et al. couldn't be bothered to figure out. Now I'm just worried that if things don't change next year, one of the most promising standards could end up in the graveyard (at least for Android phones) before ever getting a chance to thrive.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/android-phone-makers-dropped-the-ball-on-qi2-in-2024-191029769.html?src=rss

The Russian government has banned crypto mining in ten regions for a period of six years, according to reporting by the state-owned news agency Tass. Russia has cited the industry's high power consumption rates as the primary reason behind the ban. Crypto is particularly power-hungry, as mining operations already account for nearly 2.5 percent of US energy use.This ban takes effect on January 1 and lasts until March 15, 2031. The country's Council of Ministers has also stated that additional bans may be required in other regions during periods of peak energy demand. It could also go the other way. The ban could be temporarily lifted or altered in certain regions if a government commission examines changes in energy demand and deems it necessary.Cryptocurrency mining has only been fully legal in Russia since November 1, as the country has had a rocky relationship with the practice. Miners must register with the Ministry of Digital Development and energy consumption limits are continually monitored.The country banned the use of cryptocurrencies as legal tender back in 2022, but does allow cross-border payments. The latter is largely seen as an attempt by Russia to avoid sanctions in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.Russia isn't the only country to put the kibosh on crypto mining due to the industry's obscene energy demands. Kosovo outlawed the practice back in 2022 to conserve electricity during an energy crisis. Angola did the same in April of 2024. That country's law goes a step further and criminalizes crypto mining. Several European countries, like Iceland and Norway, have started to strictly regulate the industry due to energy shortages.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/russia-bans-crypto-mining-in-multiple-regions-citing-energy-concerns-163102174.html?src=rss

Lilium, a company working on flying taxis that can take off and land vertically, has ceased operations. As TechCrunch notes, German media Grunderszene was the first publication to report that it laid off 1,000 workers a few days ago after it failed to secure more financing to continue its technology's development. Patrick Nathen, the company's co-founder, has announced that the company has stopped all operations on LinkedIn. Tagging his co-founders, he said that they can no longer continue working on their "shared belief in greener aviation," at least under Lilium.The German company has been testing its VTOL electric air taxis for a while now. Its vehicle took off for the first time for its maiden flight back in 2017, and it completed its first phase of flight tests in 2019. Lilium was able to prove that its VTOL air taxis are capable of flying at speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour, though the Lilium Jet prototype it unveiled in 2019 was supposed to be able go as fast as 300 kmh and to have a range of 300 kilometers.Lilium has been struggling financially over the past year, but its CEO reportedly remained optimistic about being able to secure enough funding as recently as last month. Grunderszene said that a small number of people will remain employed to help with liquidation. The company has yet to announce what will happen to its technology and the rest of its assets, but its patent attorney, Fabien Muller, wrote in a post that he's managing the transition of Lilium's intellectual property.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/flying-taxi-maker-lillium-lays-off-1000-workers-and-ceases-operations-160025593.html?src=rss

No game this year captured the imagination of the Engadget crew quite like Balatro did, and when it came time for each staff member to pitch their favorite games of 2024, everyone - and I mean everyone - wanted to write about Balatro. In the end, rather than forcing everyone to fight for the chance to write about their love of the game, we instead decided to ask the team to write their own individual take on Balatro.My Steam Deck is a Balatro machine and I love itMy Steam Deck is a Balatro machine at this point, and no, I'm not complaining about this. I've broken out my Steam Deck for plenty of games before Balatro and I plan on playing lots more on it in the future, but for now and potentially until I take my final breath, its primary function is joker generation.First of all, Balatro just feels nice on a handheld device. It's the kind of game that you can play passively while watching TV or listening to a podcast, or with intense focus as you try to collect jokers, stakes, achievements and stickers on the way to Completionist++. The Steam Deck is the ideal platform for this type of game, because, especially in combination with a comfy PC setup, it allows players to flow between these two states without losing progression. The mobile version of Balatro is rad and the Switch version is peachy, but I started playing on PC and, more than 500 hours later, I'm reluctant to start over on any other platform.I absolutely love curling up on the couch with Balatro, playing it on the PC at my desk, using it as a distraction on long commutes, and getting a few hands in before bed. The Balatro Machine - uh, I mean, Steam Deck - enables my obsession in a seamless way.- Jessica Conditt, Senior ReporterBalatro is a card game you can feelBalatro is a game you mostly play in your head. There's a giant array of modifier cards, each with their own effects and consequences, and you work through their permutations like you're tinkering with a chemistry kit. It's a game of decisions, all of which are contingent on the decisions you've made prior. Some work, most blow up in your face.This is what makes Balatro engaging, but it's not my favorite thing about it. What I like most is how tangible it is. How it makes a digital playing card game have any felt impact at all. It's the little tck and shake each card does when scored. The donk when a joker adds to your multiplier, the way the donks speed up and rise in pitch as buffs and retriggers pile up. The thrrrp of the deck reshuffling. The brief delay upon opening a booster pack to raise anticipation, how the pack disintegrates to emphasize the finality of your decision. The sound of coins colliding when you collect interest or buy something. The fire that burns and rises around your score when you've passed the goal in one hand, a dopamine hit within a dopamine hit. The way the air gets sucked out of the trancy music when you inevitably fail.You are not a character in Balatro. You're just you, staring at cards set against swirling colors. Yet all of these flourishes go a long way toward sucking you into that vortex, really locking you in it, somehow giving a game that most resembles video poker a sense of physical place. Balatro is, among many things, an A-1 example of economical sound design. The easiest way to dilute it is to play it on mute.- Jeff Dunn, Senior ReporterThe real Balatro was the joker stickers we earned along the wayI am not an achievement hunter - I'm the sort of person who skips sidequests that aren't interesting and rarely replays games after finishing them. The one Platinumed" game in my PlayStation collection is the PS4 version of Resogun, and I have 100-percented precisely zero games on Xbox. Why, then, was 2024 the year that I became obsessed with achieving Completionist++ on Balatro?I received the Completionist Steam achievement, which you get by discovering every card in the game, after a month with the game. It took me another five months to get Completionist+, awarded to those who beat Ante 8 with every deck on gold difficulty. The one thing left for me to do was the game's toughest challenge: Competitionist++, which involves getting gold stickers on every joker by beating Ante 8 on gold difficulty with each of them active.As of writing, Completionist++ is still a distant dream. It's easy to feel like you've mastered the game after beating Completionist+; There are simple joker combinations that can take you past Ante 8 with every deck. Completionist++ strips those safety nets from you, forcing you to beat the game's hardest level without relying on surefire strategies. While I do occasionally miss my high-score chasing early days with Balatro, this challenge has given the game a completely new dynamic for me, as I figure out how to craft a win out of jokers I considered useless before.If you've made your way through all the stakes and are wondering what to do next, Completionist++ is a challenge worth setting yourself. Just a word of warning: I've played for 460 hours across my PC and Steam Deck, and I've only unlocked 961 of the game's 1,200 stickers.- Aaron Souppouris, Executive EditorBalatro is a deep, complex game for filthy casuals like meSome of my friends and co-workers are taking Balatro to some wild extremes. Aaron told me he's unlocked and completed about 95 percent of the game; I meanwhile sit at a paltry 19 percent. Another friend routinely shares quick videos from his runs where he racks up hundreds of millions of points in a single hand with Jokers I can't fathom, while my best single hand sits at a little over 3 million.The good thing, though? This isn't discouraging; it's a feature, not a bug. Balatro has somehow managed to be the kind of game you can sink hundreds of hours into in an all-out quest for completion and mastery. Or you can do as I do and pick it up, play for 30 minutes or an hour a few times a week, and come back to it again with plenty to do when you get the itch.Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get to the point where I'm grabbing a billion points on a single hand, but my gaming time is limited and I usually choose to spend it on the PS5. But one of the great joys of Balatro is that you can go on a bender and play it for hours, and then not come back to it for days or weeks, and then just pick it up and keep making progress. You're not going to lose any skills or forget your objectives. It's a casual, pick-up-and-play game that also hides some incredible depth, and games like that don't come around too often.- Nathan Ingraham, Deputy EditorBalatro is an almost perfect mobile port2024 is unquestionably the year of Balatro. It came out of nowhere to fill our heads with dreams of flush fives and legendary Jimbos. But I think what put it really over the top was when it launched on iOS and Android earlier this fall. Not only did the mobile version cost $5 less than the desktop edition on Steam (or console ports), but there are no intrusive ads or extra purchases anywhere in the game. That's including all the crossover cardbacks (like the ones featuring characters from The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077 and more) and the big forthcoming update due out at the beginning of next year.On top of that, there's essentially no difference in features between the mobile and desktop/console versions. Granted, that's due in large part to the game being a relatively simple title (at least in terms of graphics). But even so, you'd be surprised how easy that is to mess up. The game boots up nearly instantly and even when you're smashing antes while pushing your score deep into scientific notation, the system doesn't get bogged down. Throw in a satisfying interface, support for cloud saves, multiple languages and profiles plus a high contrast option that's great for accessibility, and you've got an app that plays well on practically any device.In fact, I'd argue that foldables like the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 are the perfect joker-hunting devices. Their large screens feel like a perfect match for Balatro without ever feeling cramped, which happens sometimes on older gadgets with less roomy displays. Text is generally easy to read (though sometimes less so on tiny devices) and there's plenty of open space to push things around without getting in your own way. I have a few minor complaints you can read about in my longer piece on Balatro's beauty on mobile devices, but as a whole I'm confident I'm going to get more than my money's worth for years to come.- Sam Rutherford, Senior ReporterThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/engadgets-balatro-of-the-year-2024-140021833.html?src=rss

This year may not have been as jam packed as 2023 was for gaming, but there were still plenty of amazing new releases. Whether you love a good indie or a big-budget production, this year had you covered. All you needed to do was look a bit deeper than you might have in 2023.Animal WellThe core of Animal Well isn't that structurally complicated: It's a lock-and-key Metroidvania. You go to places to unlock other places and abilities. There are puzzle bits. Platforming bits. Bosses. A sense of progression. Beating the core story" opens up a couple layers of admirably elaborate and increasingly meta secrets, but let's be real, most people interested in those are just going to look up the answers online.And yet, you play it, and you can't help but think there isn't much like it nowadays. Why? It's not just the lo-fi aesthetic. It's the fact that you never learn what your little blob guy is. It's giving you a map to mark up yourself instead of providing any instructions. It's accidentally realizing the disc you've held onto for the last three hours isn't just for throwing. It's the big monkey that flings rocks at you, just because. It's the way each screen is a static shot, the way the camera centers the world instead of the player. It's the eternal wonder and pleasure of uncovering what lies in wait in the dark, behind us, under our feet, outside of our little wells. And then having no clue what it actually means. That's real stuff.Animal Well is that rare thing: a modern video game that trusts you to figure it out and has enough grace to let you stumble in the shadows. I bet the ending will leave you slack-jawed.- Jeff Dunn, Senior ReporterAstro BotAstro Bot is a paean to the three-decade history of PlayStation. It shines a spotlight on every crevice of the brand's timeline, turning both mascots and long-forgotten characters from Sony's archives into adorable bots that you collect along your journey.More importantly, though, Astro Bot stands squarely in the pantheon of great PlayStation games in its own right. It's an exquisitely designed platformer that's bursting with personality, wit and gorgeous visuals. Team Asobi packed its ultra-charming game with clever ideas and mechanics to keep you on your toes. It even feels great thanks to smart use of the DualSense controller's haptic feedback.Video games aren't always supposed to be fun. But Astro Bot wrings pure joy out of every single moment - at least when it's not kicking your ass in the tough bonus levels.- Kris Holt, Contributing ReporterBatman: Arkham ShadowI never get sick of playing the Batman Arkham games. It doesn't matter how many times I've solved all the Riddler's puzzles or foiled The Joker's plans. Batman: Arkham Shadow does a superb job of replicating all the things that make the original Batman games fun, like using gadgets to rack up combos in hand-to-hand combat and swooping out of the darkness to pick off armed henchmen. The game's most impressive feature, however, isn't the fighting, Batarang-ing or the satisfying feeling you get when you make a Tyger guard's leg bend in the other direction. It's the story.Batman: Arkham Shadow goes deep into the legend of Batman and its Rogues Gallery of thematic villains. It unpacks Bruce Wayne's story of perpetual pain and need for emotional redemption just as well as any of the other games and even some of the big-screen adaptations. Batman: Arkham Shadow shows that VR games have a lot of potential to be more than just mindless shooting galleries and boxing simulators.- Danny Gallagher, Contributing ReporterBalatroOf all the games you see on this list, not one was as universally loved as Balatro. Nearly every member of the Engadget team wanted to write about the game. So instead of limiting ourselves to just one blurb, we wrote an entire ode to Balatro.Crow CountryWhen I first heard about Crow Country, a 2024 release that was heavily influenced by PS1 survival horror games, I was really intrigued but also a bit worried that it'd be little more than a nostalgia grab. But once I got to playing it, I totally fell in love, and found it to be a unique experience even with all the loving nods to its inspirations.Crow Country follows Mara Forest, a somewhat shady protagonist, as she explores an abandoned amusement park in search of its missing owner, Edward Crow. There are constant hints to a terrible event that led to the park's shutdown, and strange skinless monsters are all over the place. In typical survival horror form, you have to manage your resources like ammo and health kits, and you'll encounter a bunch of puzzles that you'll need to solve in order to progress. I played Crow Country before the introduction of Hard mode, and found it to be spooky and engaging - but, to my surprise, also kind of cozy, which I really liked. But there's a game mode for everyone. If you want a more riveting experience, go for Hard mode. If you don't want to face any enemies, there's Exploration mode. Survival, the normal" mode, falls in between those two.Crow Country is a great game with some light horror and a story that was fun to piece together along the way. It's perfect if you want to play a horror game that has a creepy atmosphere but won't have your heart in your throat the entire time.- Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend EditorDragon Age: The VeilguardDragon Age: The Veilguard wastes no time showing off the full glory of its graphical prowess and epic storytelling. Once you've spent some time in its (excellent) character creator, it's only a few minutes until you're fighting to stop the end of the world. Solas, the previous game's surprise villain, is trying to tear apart the boundary between the spirit and human world. And in the process, his magical ceremony fills the screen with a glorious array of neon lights, color and shadows. If you've got a modern GPU, you're in for a ray tracing workout.I'm a gamer of simple pleasures, and I'll admit, that bombastic opening sequence alone was enough to make me fall for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. What kept me playing, though, was BioWare's classic formula of intriguing characters and sharp storytelling. I'll forgive the many missteps of Mass Effect Andromeda, Veilguard's crew of ragtag heroes make it clear BioWare still has its narrative.What's truly surprising, though, is that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is also a decent action RPG, with fast-paced and challenging combat that feels more reminiscent of the recent God of War games than anything from Dragon Age proper. There's a rich skill tree to follow, and you can always re-spec without penalty.For a game that could take a hundred hours to truly finish, Veilguard still manages to feel fresh and exciting every time I sit down to play. So really, I don't mind if it doesn't hit as hard as previous entries, or if it doesn't give you as many consequential choices as Baldur's Gate 3. Sometimes it just feels good to hang out with your fantasy buds and crack a few demon skulls.- Devinda Hardawar, Senior EditorFinal Fantasy VII RebirthThe second part of the anticipated remake of 1997's Final Fantasy VII uses the power of the PlayStation 5 to create a more significant (if not entirely open) world. (It's also one of the best games to showcase what the PS5 Pro is capable of, offering smoother framerates and crisper textures and detail.) It's a bigger, better, game than Remake.Final Fantasy VII Rebirth expands Remake's often constricted alleys and buildings into expansive plains, mountain hikes, and Mythril caverns. What's interesting about this middle chapter is that the ending of Remake seemingly cut ties with the story we all knew from the original. Despite that, Cloud, Aerith and the rest of the motley crew tour most of the same towns and destinations of the original game. That feeling of nostalgia is paired with a modern, further refined action RPG battle system, with new synergy attacks, materia and summon spells. It's all a little convoluted, but also meant I got to lean into my favorite characters and their play styles. (No one likes Cait Sith.)It's a rolling adventure that folds in extra character and story detail. While exploration in this middle chapter isn't as expansive as I might have liked, the themed areas are all different from each other, packed with their own battle and exploration themes. I just love the soundtrack of Rebirth - I love it so much that it made it into my most-played albums of 2024.- Mat Smith, UK Bureau ChiefIndiana Jones and the Great CircleWhen I first learned an Indiana Jones game was in the works, it seemed instantly superfluous. What's the point when the Tomb Raider and Uncharted games have spent decades translating Indy's pulpy action into the world of video games? I should have known better than to doubt MachineGames, the developers behind the recent (and excellent) Wolfenstein games. If anything, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has more in common with Dishonored and Hitman than the bombastic set pieces that have plagued Uncharted's Nathan Drake. It's a first-person game, for one, and it focuses more on stealth and problem-solving than mowing down dozens of baddies.The game begins with a stunning recreation of the opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, a sequence that had me continually dropping my jaw. Many shots are directly mirrored from the original film, the Indy model looks surprisingly life-like, and perhaps the biggest shock of all, voice actor Troy Baker delivers a solid interpretation of a young Harrison Ford. Honestly, his Indiana Jones sounds more like the character I remember than Ford does in the recent (and genuinely great) Dial of Destiny.While you're equipped with a gun early on, most of your time is spent investigating large areas like the Vatican, sneaking around restricted areas and punching fascists in the face. You'll also encounter a few puzzles that pose just enough of a challenge to be satisfying, without being overly annoying.Five hours into the game, I realized I hadn't yet fired my gun. And it would take several more hours before that was actually necessary. I can't think of many other action franchises that practiced such restraint.MachineGames didn't just make a good Indiana Jones game - it crafted one of the best Indiana Jones experiences ever made. I'll take The Great Circle over Temple of Doom any day. It's so good, it belongs in a museum.- D.H.Infinity NikkiFrom the hours we spend transmogging items or building gear sets for max stats, fashion has always been low-key essential in video games. So it's about damn time that someone decided to take the plunge, accept that style is everything and put it at the heart of an extremely charming game. Infinity Nikki is the most time I have ever spent in a game's photo mode. How could I not? My in-game wardrobe has been filling up with pieces all over the style spectrum - from the ultimate cozy loungewear to absurdly frivolous pastel confections - and I love them all. Dressing up in fabulous outfits is a big part of Infinity Nikki's immaculate vibes, but there's a whole lot of game here that has wisely taken its design cues from other very good titles.The influence of Genshin Impact is clear in the approach to gacha systems. The open-world exploration and side questing feel reminiscent of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. The Whimstar mechanics are right out of any 3D Mario. But every idea has been toned down so there's no stress and very little challenge. That sounds like it should be boring. It's not. Being in Miraland is a complete joy.- Anna Washenko, Contributing ReporterINDIKAI haven't stopped thinking about INDIKA since I played it in May. It's not a constant train of thought or anything, but memories of the game float through my consciousness fairly often and I welcome them each time - funny, heartwrenching and all the emotions in between. And yet, INDIKA is not a game I freely recommend to every person. It's a satirical and surreal tale about the devil living inside a nun's head, and while it has laugh-out-loud dialogue and cute buddy-cop moments, it's also laced with scenes of sexual violence. No matter how delicately and powerfully these scenes are handled, they're still heavy.But, if you're up for it, INDIKA is an utterly unique third-person adventure that deftly balances levity and agony. It offers a flurry of whimsical absurdity, religious criticism and raw human suffering, always with a wink and a nod. INDIKA thrives in the messy area between pleasure and discomfort, and it's worth a play for anyone seeking something mature and original.- Jessica Conditt, Senior ReporterLorelei and the Laser EyesLorelei and the Laser Eyes is composed of contradictions. It's a distillation of everything that makes a puzzle game tick, and it's also a complete subversion of the genre. It's heartwarming but eerie, mysterious yet satisfying, chaotic and utterly logical. It's modern, vintage and futuristic all at once.In Lorelei, players are stranded at the gates of an otherworldly hotel, and the only thing to do is investigate the creativity and tragedy that's touched its grounds over the decades. The hotel is vast and dotted with secrets, and each of its rooms houses at least one mystery. There are more than 150 puzzles in the game - memorization tests, logic riddles, perspective tricks, math problems, art projects, lunar phases, astrological clocks and mazes - and the solution in one room often unlocks secrets in other areas. It's a nonlinear experience, though it feels like everything in the hotel is deeply connected. Even you.Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is for fans of puzzles, narrative twists and David Lynch - but really, it's for anyone who likes rad new video games. This is a game like no other, and it's proof that innovation is alive and well in the industry, especially among indie developers.- J.C.Metaphor: ReFantazioMetaphor: ReFantazio improves on the Atlus JRPG formula that I've loved across various Shin Megami Tensei and Persona games in every way. Perhaps the game's greatest triumph is making that classic JRPG grindfest feel unique and purposeful. Rather than crawling through bleak, procedurally generated dungeons to level up between key objectives, you'll be claiming bounties on monsters, helping locals rescue loved ones or searching for mysterious relics. Add to that an engaging and surprisingly grounded storyline, vibrant characters and a fine-tuned battle system, and you have a clear winner.The one drawback is that I wish its technical underpinnings were stronger; all the beautiful artwork and stylish menus in the world can't hide that the game is clearly built on the same engine as Persona 5, stretched to its absolute limits. Coming from the slick Persona 3 remake, which utilized Unreal Engine to good effect, it's a little jarring to see low-res textures, fizzling lines and weird loads between areas. None of this is enough to stop Metaphor from being a game I recommend to anyone who will listen, though.Here's hoping that the next Persona game - which has to be around the corner, right? - takes the gameplay improvements of Metaphor and pairs them with an engine that wasn't built to accommodate the PlayStation 3.- Aaron Souppouris, Executive EditorNevaNevapacks a hell of a punch. This action platformer tells a devastatingly affecting story about disease, entropy and the relationship between human and animal over time. It's mesmerizing on multiple levels: visually, aurally and emotionally.The story plays out almost wordlessly, with Nomada Studio largely using its environments, enemy encounters and your progression to tell the tale. You play as a warrior named Alba who tries to cleanse the world of a corruptive force that plagues the environment and possesses animals. Her companion is a titular wolf. Neva grows from a pup to an adult throughout the seasons depicted in the game. Alba can call the wolf to her when they're apart, but the timbre of her cries changes depending on how fraught the situation is.Neva is a relatively short game, but it's one that will stick with you. Just as the blight does to the landscapes and fauna of this sumptuous world.- K.H.Nine Sols2024 may not be over yet, but I can safely say we probably won't see Team Cherry release Silksong. In other words, it was another painful year for Hollow Knight fans. But if you love Metroidvanias as much as I do, 2024 was easily one of the genre's best years since 2017. Even if you only count two of this year's more popular releases, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Animal Well, there was no shortage of incredible Metroidvanias to play over the last 12 months. But if you ask me, most people slept on 2024's best release: Nine Sols.Nine Sols is one of those rare experiences where the elevator pitch actually does the game justice. It's a 2D Metroidvania with a Sekiro-inspired combat system. I'll be honest, that alone would have been enough to get me hooked, but the reason I'm still thinking about the game months after it came out in May is because of its story. The only thing I'll say here is that Nine Sols is the product of Red Candle Games. If that name sounds familiar, it's because the studio's previous game, Devotion, was at the center of a major censorship scandal involving the Chinese government. By all accounts, Devotion featured an incredible story, and I wish I could play it after experiencing Nine Sols. The team at Red Candle Games are master storytellers, and if the way Hollow Knight hid its best narrative elements behind item descriptions and environmental details left you wanting more, I think you owe it to yourself to give Nine Sols a try.- Igor Bonifacic, Senior ReporterPepper GrinderPepper Grinder is a brisk, no-bullshit 2D platformer. Its hook is the titular device: a giant frigging drill that lets you chew and leap through each stage like a chainsaw-wielding dolphin. You're never fully in control while the machine roars along, so navigating the quick stages comes to feel like a cross between bull riding and figure skating, as wild and destructive as it is elegant. Put another way, simply moving in this game is a kinetic thrill. The levels themselves refuse to repeat or linger on ideas for too long - some tedious run-and-gun segments toward the end aside - the boss fights are honest challenges and the whole thing is over in about four hours. That's fine. Pepper Grinder knows what it is, does what it does and does it well. If only more games could be so focused.- J.D.Thank Goodness You're Here!Dumb, funny, easy to play, I can't tell if Thank Goodness You're Here is a tribute to British comedy history or a pastiche about what Americans think British comedic sensibilities are. Either way, it's a whole lot of fun. You control an unnamed, tiny man who goes around the fictional town of Barnsworth, helping people the only way he can: pummeling objects and people with his little fists. You can hit things, you can jump, and that's it. That's all you need to rustle together a flock of seagulls, deliver soup to a sickly man with spaghetti arms and even fix the local fish and chip shop's fryer.It looks like a fizzy cartoon that would look at home on Cartoon Network, squeezed through an aggressively Northern English lens. It's just a shame it doesn't last longer.- M.S.The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomTwo years in a row with absolutely stellar Zelda games? Sign me up! The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is not nearly as expansive as Tears of the Kingdom, but it definitely shares some of the same DNA. Don't let the cutesy toy-like art style fool you. This is a legitimate Zelda game, and not an experiment like Princess Peach: Showtime.Here are the main takeaways. This is the first-ever game that actually stars the titular Princess Zelda, and no I'm not counting the Philips CD-i title from the 90s. Also, she's an absolute badass summoner/mage who made me feel more powerful than Link ever did. It plays like a perfect mix between old-school Zelda (A Link to the Past was an obvious inspiration) and the more open-ended modern games like Breath of the Wild.I spent hours upon hours trying to rig up contraptions to reach faraway sky islands in Tears of the Kingdom and, lo and behold, I did the same thing here to explore the entire map before I made a dent in the main story. There are 127 summonable echoes that combine in fascinating ways to allow for custom puzzle solves and unique methods of travel. It also has old-school dungeons, including one of my very favorites in the whole franchise. I hope we get more playable Zelda titles in the future, as the series bears her name. Also, the next Smash game had better let Hyrule's princess embrace her inner dark mage. I want to murder that little Earthbound kid with five crows and a Lynel.- Lawrence Bonk, Contributing ReporterPhoenix SpringsI've never encountered a game quite like Phoenix Springs. I've played point-and-click adventures, sci-fi mysteries and narrative games, but I've never seen one that sounds this luscious, looks this dramatic or plays this hypnotically. Phoenix Springs is a noir detective novel come to life but it's also a cyberpunk vision of the future, and it's all presented in muted, hand-drawn hues blanketed in light blue shadows. Truly, every scene of this game is gorgeous.Phoenix Springs stars Iris Dormer, a technology reporter who's searching for her estranged brother, Leo. Her hunt takes her from the abandoned buildings of a rundown city, to a rich suburb, and finally to Phoenix Springs, a desert oasis bathed in golden light and occupied by a handful of odd, disconnected people.There's nothing rushed about Phoenix Springs. Iris walks leisurely through expansive wide shots, her silhouette cutting across high grasses and cold concrete at the same unhurried pace. When she speaks, she sounds like a jaded detective lost in time, her sentences stark and powerful. Haunting choir chords and droning bass lines share screen time with pristine silence and birdsong. Phoenix Springs excels as both a piece of art and a detective game, and it's the perfect escape for anyone who wants to slow down and get lost in the grit of a neo-noir world.- J.C.Still Wakes the DeepStill Wakes the Deep is quietly one of the best horror games of 2024 - and in a year that gave us Mouthwashing, Slitterhead and the Silent Hill 2 remake, that's saying something. Still Wakes the Deep comes from the horror masters at The Chinese Room, and it's a stunning first-person experience that introduces violent paranormal monsters to the Beira D oil rig in the middle of the icy North Sea.In Still Wakes the Deep, horror comes in multiple forms. The invading creatures move with thin, too-long limbs that burst from their bodies like snapping bungee cords. Large pustules and bloody ribbons grow along the corridors, emitting a sickly cosmic glow. The ocean is an unrelenting threat, wailing beneath every step. And then there's the oil rig itself, a mazelike platform supported by slender tension legs in the middle of a raging sea, groaning and tilting as it's ripped apart from the inside. Each of these elements is deadly; each one manifests a unique brand of anxiety.Amid the life-threatening terror, Still Wakes the Deep manages to tell a moving story about family and regret, thanks in large part to the game's fabulous voice acting and compelling script. This one was easy to miss amid the glut of good horror games this year, but it belongs at the very top of that list.- J.C.Silent Hill 2There isn't much to say about Silent Hill 2 and its story that hasn't already been said a million times; it is incredibly bleak, a masterclass in psychological horror. In the 2024 remake, the story is much the same, but there's a new intensity to the enemies and environmental elements that takes the horror to another level. Silent Hill 2 (2024) really got under my skin at times, and at others, made me jump out of said skin.In the game, you play as the confused and grieving James Sunderland, who traveled to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife telling him she's waiting for him. They once vacationed there as a couple, but needless to say, Silent Hill is not as he remembers it. The game presents you with both a fight for survival and mystery that needs solving, as James fights off horrifying monsters and little by little uncovers clues that point to dark events. It's extremely compelling and genuinely scary, not to mention emotionally effective as the story eventually reveals itself. Bloober Team did a great job with the remake and, as with the original, it's the kind of game you'll be thinking about well after you've finished playing.- C.M.Space Marine 2At first glance, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is a simple, by-the-numbers action game in the mold of Gears of War. It's loud, bloody, and over the top. But the more I played Space Marine 2, the more I came to appreciate how much depth and intelligence it hides just below its shiny Ceramite surface. For one, it absolutely nails the Warhammer 40K setting, both visually and in tone. It's a game that knows its transhuman protagonists are just cogs in a brutal and repressive regime.Then there's the close combat system, which, once again, seems simple but rewards players who take the time to master its rhythm. Just because you're a super soldier doesn't mean you can simply charge into combat; instead, you need to block, parry and counter the most deadly opponents on the field. Plenty of other games have employed this rhythm, but Space Marine 2 makes its own and feel extremely satisfying. Add to that a compelling co-op mode that offers a great progression system, and you have a game that I've played more than any other this year.- I.B.The Last of Us Part 2 RemastedI'm going to exploit a loophole to write about one of my favorite games that technically came out back in 2020, The Last of Us Part II. However, Naughty Dog released a remastered version for the PS5 in January. Yes, the core game is the same, and the graphics upgrade isn't nearly as massive as the remake of the first Last of Us that came out in 2022. But as I said in my review of Part II Remastered, the new roguelike No Return" mode was easily worth the $10 upgrade fee on its own.I wasn't going to write this up for our favorite games of the year, thinking it would be silly to go back to this particular obsession of mine yet again. However, my PlayStation 2024 wrap-up indicated that I spent a positively ridiculous 318 hours playing Part II. Yes, I went through the main campaign once this year and also finally got the platinum trophy that had eluded me on the PS4 version - but my rough guess is that I spent somewhere between 250 and 275 hours on No Return alone. Yes, that's borderline obsessive behavior, but I think it also speaks to how good the combat system in Part II is. And getting to play these encounters with 10 different characters, each with their own traits and quirks, means there's a ton of replay value here (if I haven't proved that already). Add in the randomized mods that pop up (invisible enemies, healing when you land a melee hit, tripwire traps populating the arena) and you'll never have the same run twice.- Nathan Ingraham, Deputy EditorVendetta ForeverFitness is one of the best selling points for VR headsets. It's not just a static gaming experience. You can get up, jump around, squat, duck and dive your way in all sorts of different games. Meatspace Interactive may not have had fitness in mind when they designed the rapid action simulator Vendetta Forever, but it's one of the most fun ways to work up a sweat on a VR headset. Vendetta Forever puts you in the shoes of the target of a series of minimalist assassins. Just like Superhot VR, the action ramps up the more you move, but Vendetta Forever has a unique LO-KILL-MOTION" gimmick that makes it so addictive.You zip between your faceless enemies as you snatch weapons out of the air like firearms, ninja stars and even pencils while contorting your body to avoid incoming fire. It's easy to get caught up in the repeating action as you make your way through action movie staple scenes and learn from your deadly mistakes in gun run after gun run. Vendetta Forever is my favorite way to meet my daily cardio requirements.- D.G.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/engadgets-games-of-the-year-2024-133005519.html?src=rss

If you're traveling for the holidays today, I hope you're not flying on American Airlines, because it still might be a rough day. Earlier this morning, the airline said on X that all of its flights were currently grounded, but since then the Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the stoppage, which was originally issued at the airline's request. Despite the fact that things are returning to normal, there's a good chance these disruptions will have ripple effects making a busy travel day even tougher.As The Verge noted, a notice posted by the Federal Aviation Administration confirms that there is a "nationwide groundstop" for all AA flights; it also says that this stoppage is at "company request."

Hyundai is offering select EV buyers a free CCS to NACS (North American Charging Standard) adapter so that they can charge current models at Tesla's Supercharger stations. That will allow owners to charge CCS-port Hyundai models at Tesla's 20,000 strong Supercharger network, once shipping starts in Q1 2025.Hyundai is offering the free adapter to owners of 2024 and earlier Kona Electric, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Ioniq hatchback models, along with 2025 Ioniq 6, Ioniq 5N, Kona Electric Genesis EVs. You'll be able to get the free adapter through the MyHyundai owner site. The adapters will be offered to anyone who purchased a Hyundai EV before January 31, 2025. Sibling brand Kia is also offering free NACS adapters to select customers starting next year, with a full list of supported models set to arrive soon.The automaker is joining Ford in offering the perk to its users, and other manufacturers are likely to do the same in the near future. That's because the US government recently announced that NACS is becoming an open industry standard that's likely to be widely used in charger networks across the continent.Future models won't need the adapter, as Hyundai has joined a host of automakers in changing its charging ports to NACS. That'll begin with the 2025 Ioniq 5, which will have access to Tesla Superchargers as soon as it ships, according to Tesla. Older CCS-based models don't currently have access, but Tesla is likely to enable that once the adapter ships.The news is significant because Hyundai recently became second largest seller of EVs in North America next to Tesla. The company currently sells four models: the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 5N crossovers, Ioniq 6 sedan and Kona Electric SUV. Kia, meanwhile, offers the EV6 crossover, EV9 SUV and Niro EV.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/hyundai-will-offer-its-ev-customers-free-nacs-adapters-starting-next-year-130010136.html?src=rss

Honda and Nissan have officially confirmed the rumors that they're pursuing a merger. Both would still operate under their brands but with a new joint holding company as parent. If Nissan-controlled Mitsubishi also came on board, the combined group would become the world's third-largest automaker by sales volume, with a net worth of up to $50 billion.Nissan and Honda previously announced plans to work together on EV development, but the joint company would be far more integrated. According to the press release, it could include standardizing vehicle platforms, unifying research and development teams, and optimizing manufacturing systems and facilities. This could help cut costs.In the US, Nissan sells large pickup trucks and SUVs that Honda doesn't offer, alongside more experience in EVs and plug-in electric vehicles. On the other side, Honda has relatively stable financials while Nissan has been struggling, particularly at home in Japan.- Mat SmithThe biggest tech stories you missed

Are you tired of feeling safe and happy all the time? Is your daily life overrun by feelings of security, contentment and peace? Do you want an escape from all of the oppressive niceness around you? Well, look no further - these are the games for you.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has started a probe into China's semiconductor industry, looking for anti-competitive trade practices. According to a White House statement, the USTR is looking into China for acts, policies and practices" that reduced or eliminated competition in the marketplace for semiconductors.The probe is being conducted through Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 to examine trade practices for foundational" semiconductors that are used by the automotive, healthcare, infrastructure, aerospace and defense industries. The White House accused China on Monday of routinely" engaging in non-market policies and practices, as well as industrial targeting, of the semiconductor industry" that caused significant harm to its competition and created dangerous supply chain dependencies," according to the statement.If action is taken as a result of the investigation, Section 301 allows the USTR to impose duties or other import restrictions," withdraw or suspend trade agreement concessions" or enter into an agreement with China to either eliminate the conduct in question...or compensate the US with satisfactory trade benefits," according to the US Trade Act. Those decisions, however, will be left to President Trump's administration and incoming USTR Jamieson Greer.A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that China strongly deplores and firmly opposes" the US investigation. The nation would also take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its rights and interests," according to the New York Times.Tensions between the US and China are already high. President Biden launched an investigation in February into China and other unnamed countries over possible vulnerabilities and threats from connected vehicles. Then in May, the White House announced a significant increase in tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports including semiconductors.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/white-house-calls-for-investigation-into-chinas-alleged-anti-competitive-semiconductor-industry-184030356.html?src=rss

If you've found your TV to be too slow to stream its built-in apps, here's a decent deal that can help fix things on the cheap: The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is once again on sale for $29. This offer has been available for much of the holiday season, and it's not an all-time low - the dongle previously fell to $25 toward the end of 2023 - but it does match the largest discount we've tracked this year. For reference, Roku normally sells the device for $50, though in recent months it's often retailed for $34 at third-party retailers like Amazon. Either way, you're saving a bit more than usual. The discount is available at several stores, including Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Roku.com. If you're hoping to grab the device as a Christmas gift, that'll be more of a hassle: Most listings we could find say that it won't ship until after the holidays, so you'll likely have to order with in-store pickup at Walmart, Best Buy or another retailer with physical locations. We recommend the Streaming Stick 4K in our guide to the best streaming devices. It's not as fast or fluid as a premium set-top box like the Apple TV 4K, but it's still quick to load up apps and menus, and its tiny design plugs directly into your TV's HDMI port. It supports just about all of the major HDR formats and streaming services (Twitch aside), plus it works with Apple's AirPlay 2 protocol, so you can beam content to it from an iPhone. While it can't decode Dolby Atmos audio on its own, it can pass that audio through to a compatible sound system from apps that support the tech. Like other Roku devices, the Streaming Stick 4K is dead-simple to navigate, with a home screen made up from a basic grid of apps. Google's TV Streamer (the top pick in our guide) is much more proactive about recommending content you might like and getting you back to shows you've watched recently, but you might find Roku's interface easier to take in if you don't mind surfing for things to watch yourself. The UI makes a host of free content easily accessible as well, and we found searching to work fine, even if it's not quite as robust as Google's OS. We also like Roku's mobile app, which lets you control the device and listen in privately with a pair of headphones. As with every other streaming player, there are ads scattered throughout the UI, though Roku is at least a little less aggressive about them than Amazon is with its Fire TV devices. A few other Roku devices are still available for their Black Friday prices as well, including the Roku Express 4K+ (which lacks Dolby Vision HDR) for $24 and the Roku Ultra (which has a larger box design, full Atmos support and a more advanced remote) for $79. For most people looking to visit Roku City, though, the Streaming Stick 4K should be the best value. 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/the-roku-streaming-stick-4k-is-back-on-sale-for-29-175310234.html?src=rss

A group of talented fans have made a native PC port of Star Fox 64, which they are calling Starship. Even better? It's technically legal. Harbour Masters, the team behind the project, used a tool that converts the original game ROM into PC executable code, so it doesn't actually use any proprietary Nintendo code.This is the same method used to create the native PC port of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and that one's still available for download. Members of this crew also ported Majora's Mask and Super Mario 64 using the same conversion tool. There is one major caveat here. You'll need your own legally-sourced Star Fox 64 game ROM to play.

It looks like Meta is preparing to add displays to its popular line of Ray-Ban smart glasses, according to a report by Financial Times. These screens could show up in a future iteration of the device as early as next year. The likely release window is the second half of 2025.According to folks familiar with Meta's plans, the screens will be on the smaller side and will likely be used to display notifications or responses from Meta's AI virtual assistant. It's highly unlikely that the company is planning on making this a full mixed-reality device just yet.For that, Meta has the recently-unveiled Orion AR glasses, which are still several years out. The same report indicates that the positive response to the Orion glasses has likely accelerated development and possibly ensured a commercial release. It was uncertain if those glasses would remain an in-house prototype.The Ray-Ban smart glasses have been a surprise hit for Meta, and it's easy to see why. They look great and perform admirably. The current model includes in-ear speakers, cameras, microphones and access to Meta's virtual assistant.I quite enjoy the simplicity of the current design, particularly when taking photos and videos. My hope is that screens do not get in the way of that simplicity and that they don't come at the expense of, say, improvements to the camera system.Ray-Ban Meta glasses, after all, are the perfect device for snapping quick photos of a pet. Have you ever tried to will an animal to keep still so you can dig your phone out of a bag to take a photo? Those darned cuties never do. The Ray-Bans solve that problem.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/meta-is-reportedly-adding-displays-to-its-ray-ban-smart-glasses-162634427.html?src=rss

Honda and Nissan have officially confirmed rumors that they're pursuing a merger, the companies wrote in a joint press release. Each would continue to operate under its own brand, but with a new joint holding company as parent. If Nissan-controlled Mitsubishi also came on board, the combined group would become the world's third largest automaker by sales volume and have a net worth of up to $50 billion."Today marks a pivotal moment as we begin discussions on business integration that has the potential to shape our future," said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida.Integration talks are still preliminary, but the companies are pressing forward. "We are still at the stage of starting our review and we have not decided on a business integration yet," said Honda director Toshihiro Mibe. However, he added that the companies aim "to find a direction for the possibility of business integration by the end of January 2025." After that, they hope to have a "definitive agreement" concerning business integration by June 2025. Approval must come from each company's shareholders and is subject to Nissan executing a turnaround.Nissan and Honda previously announced plans to work together on EV components and software development, but the joint company would be far more integrated. According to the press release, the plan includes: standardizing vehicle platforms; unifying research and development teams; and optimizing manufacturing systems and facilities. All of that is usually designed to cut costs, so it could spell significant layoffs in Japan and elsewhere.Nissan's Titan pickup lineupNissanThough the two companies sell comparable vehicles like Nissan's Rogue and the Honda CR-V, some synergy seems possible. Nissan sells large pickup trucks and SUVs in the US that Honda doesn't offer and also has more experience in EVs and plug-in electric vehicles. On the other side, Honda has relatively stable financials while Nissan has been struggling in the market, particularly at home.Of course, Nissan is already in the Renault-Nissan-Misubishi Alliance. Nissan and Renault hold a 15 percent voting stake in the other, and all three sold a combined 10.6 million vehicles worldwide in 2017, more than any other light vehicle manufacturer at the time. The Alliance is also one of the largest EV makers in the world, with over 1 million units sold since 2009. If Nissan and Honda merged, it's not clear what would become of the Alliance.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/nissan-and-honda-officially-announce-plans-to-merge-143834962.html?src=rss

Infinity Nikki is my favorite new release of 2024. It's a cotton candy confection of an open-world game that offers a lot more depth and variety than I expected to find. I enjoy the fabulous wardrobe, the low-key puzzles and the charming side quests. But the most surprising thing about Infinity Nikki was something that I've been ignoring in games for years: the photo mode.I didn't expect this to become a highlight of the Infinity Nikki experience. In fact, when it came up in the long sequence of tutorials during my first session, my initial reaction was, "Oh good, something I can forget about."Anna Washenko / Infold GamesPhoto mode has become a standard feature in single-player AAA games over the past decade. For those unfamiliar, this feature pauses the gameplay to let you pose your protagonist like an action figure, making them mug with a silly expression or hold up a peace sign. You can slap on a filter or make minute adjustments to the focus, aperture and other details to capture a striking image.Over the years, I've seen people capture Nathan Drake, Ellie and Joel, Aloy and many others striking heroic or hilarious poses. I appreciate those images when they cross my social feeds. And as game graphics become ever more photo-realistic, it makes sense that studios want to give players tools to capture beautiful moments when they happen. But every time I've played a game with a photo mode, I've found that after I take the one picture required by the tutorial, I never open the camera again.Anna Washenko / Infold GamesMy issue isn't that these games aren't gorgeous enough to warrant documenting. It's that when I'm in the middle of playing something like The Last of Us, it doesn't occur to me to stop for a snap because I'm so focused on the other gameplay mechanics and goals. Sure, there might be some calmer moments to breathe, but running for your life in a post-apocalyptic wasteland just isn't a time for casually browsing filters. And in other games, taking pics simply doesn't feel like an activity the character would do. Come on, there's no way Kratos would ever take a selfie.Like all its predecessors, Infinity Nikki is a beautiful game. Miraland comprises picturesque towns and charming landscapes, equally lovely in their sweeping vistas and hidden nooks. Everywhere you look are tons of carefully constructed little interactions that serve no purpose other than encouraging you to stage a cute image. You press a button to take a hot air balloon ride or to blow bubbles at a cafe table. It's a step up from most implementations, where the most you might be able to do is sit on a chair or bench.Anna Washenko / Infold GamesWhat fully hooked me on becoming a shutterbug, though, is a system where players are prompted to take pictures of notable locations around Miraland. The first time I found one, it was a lush green grotto where I directed Nikki to sit on a log by an underground lake. It was a pretty spot, sure, but what most delighted me was that my outfit matched the setting perfectly. So I didn't just grab a photo and move on to a more important task. Taking the time to look great is the most important task.There's no single style point of view in Infinity Nikki. A few special ensembles offer contextual in-game abilities, but most pieces are there just so you can look exactly how you want. Nikki can be an absurd anime character from fantasy land in tulle and sparkles. Or she can look exactly like someone you might see streaming the game on Twitch or TikTok in an oversized hoodie. Or she can pair a top hat with jean shorts and thigh-high knit boots if you want. (And yes, I did want.)Anna Washenko / Infold GamesThis game knows you're there at least partly to play dress-up. It also knows that the obvious thing to do when you play dress-up is to immortalize your best fits with a photo shoot. That's why Infinity Nikki's photo mode feels not just enjoyable, but essential. It's a core part of the game loop. When I assemble a new outfit, I want to find a good setting to snap a pic. When I stumble on a striking location, I think about which poses will best showcase it.Most of the time, cameras and photo modes do little to enhance my love of a game. They're the metaphorical cherry on top of the sundae. With Infinity Nikki, though, the photo mode is the ice cream. And it is delicious.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/in-infinity-nikki-photo-mode-achieves-its-ultimate-form-133033817.html?src=rss

Elon Musk's X has hiked prices for its ad-free Premium+ subscription service to $22 a month, up from $16 before ($168 to $229 annually), TechCrunch reported. That represents a 37.5 percent increase, the largest since Elon Musk purchased the platform previously known as Twitter back in 2022.One stated reason for the hike is that Premium+ is now "completely ads-free," with X claiming that it's a "significant enhancement" to the previous ad-free experience. It also promised a few other features. "Premium+ subscribers will enjoy higher priority support from @Premium, access to new features such as [X's advanced search tool] Radar, and higher limits on our most cutting-edge Grok AI models," the company wrote in a help page article. X also promised that more subscription revenue would be shared with creators.Premium+ prices are also rising by a similar amount in Europe, the UK, Canada and Australia. Existing users on monthly subscriptions will keep their current rates until January 20th, and price for other tiers (Basic and Premium) remain unchanged.X first introduced the Premium+ subscription tier in October 2023, promising an ad-free experience your "for you" and following timelines, along with existing Premium perks like a blue checkmark. However, users quickly noticed that ads appeared elsewhere on X (profiles, replies, Explore and elsewhere). A further update in August 2024 promised to eliminate those too, but X said that users would still see "occasional branded content in less common areas." Now, it seems, those will be vanquished too.X has reportedly lost 2.7 million active users in the last two months, with rival Bluesky gaining nearly the same number over that period. That has likely led to some loss in advertising revenue, which the platform may be hoping to recoup by raising subscription prices.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-hikes-ad-free-premium-subscription-price-from-16-to-22-133016526.html?src=rss

Around the world, government organizations are calling out Google for monopolistic practices. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) will reportedly announce Google is in violation of the country's antitrust laws in regards to its search engine, Chrome, and issue a cease and desist letter, Nikkei Asia reported. The watchdog started an investigation into Google's practices last October.The JFTC reportedly accuses Google of requiring smartphone manufacturers to sign a contract stating Chrome will be not only pre-downloaded on all devices, but that it will be placed in a certain spot on the screen. The manufacturers are allegedly forced to do this in order to have the Google Play available on their devices.In the US, federal judge Amit Mehta ruled in November that Google "is a monopolist" in the search engine industry. The Department of Justice (DoJ) then called for Google to sell Chrome as it "will permanently stop Google's control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet." The DoJ also called for Google to cease favoring Chrome on Android. Google recently released a proposal to appease the DoJ, but stated it will appeal the judge's ruling before a hearing scheduled for April.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-could-be-accused-of-antitrust-practices-in-japan-130039793.html?src=rss

Apple is working on the next generation of AirPods Pro, and they may have some new health features, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman - although it's a rumor we heard before, back in 2021.The company has reportedly started testing features like temperature sensing and heart rate monitoring for the earbuds. Apple has found that the Apple Watch still does the latter better, but the AirPods aren't terribly far off" in their readings.The company may have also revived its idea of putting cameras into AirPods, a rumor we've heard a few times over the last year. But it'll still probably be years before any camera-equipped AirPods appear.- Mat SmithGet this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest tech stories you missed

The shipping deadlines have passed and time has (almost) run out for us procrastinators to get gifts for our friends and family. But fear not: it's never been easier to send a gift to someone, including an e-gift card to a store or for a service you know they use. If you're looking for more creative digital gift ideas, we've got you covered. But for those hard-to-shop-for folks in your life, a gift card could do the trick. These are the gift cards that are the most helpful to send as last-minute gifts this year. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-gifts-cards-to-give-this-holiday-season-including-best-buy-apple-amazon-and-others-110032725.html?src=rss

NASA's Parker Solar Probe is still zipping around the sun making history, and it's gearing up for another record-setting approach this week. On December 24 at 6:53AM ET, the spacecraft's orbit will take it just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface, according to the space agency. That'll be the closest it - or any other probe - has ever come to the sun. The milestone will mark the completion of the Parker Solar Probe's 22nd orbit around our star, and the first of the three final closest flybys planned for its mission. The craft, which launched in 2018, is expected to complete a total of 24 orbits.No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star, so Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory," Nick Pinkine, Parker Solar Probe mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, said in a statement on NASA's blog. We're excited to hear back from the spacecraft when it swings back around the Sun."The Parker Solar Probe will be traveling at about 430,000 miles per hour at the time of its closest-ever pass. It'll ping the team to confirm its health on December 27, when it'll be far enough from the sun to resume communications.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasas-parker-solar-probe-will-fly-closer-to-the-sun-than-ever-on-christmas-eve-225338918.html?src=rss

A new report published by the child safety groups Heat Initiative and ParentsTogether Action details the alarming presence of inappropriate apps that are rated as suitable for children as young as four years old on Apple's App Store. The groups worked with a researcher to review as many apps as possible in the span of 24 hours, and say they ultimately identified over 200 apps that contained concerning content or features" given the ages they were rated for - including stranger chat and AI girlfriend apps, gaming apps with sexual or violent prompts and imagery, and AI-powered appearance rating apps. Engadget has reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story upon hearing back.The research focused on apps with assigned age ratings of 4+, 9+ and 12+ in categories considered to be risky": chat (including AI and stranger chat apps), beauty, diet and weight loss, unfiltered internet access (apps for accessing schools' banned sites) and gaming. Among the findings, the report says at least 24 sexual games and 9 stranger chat apps were marked as appropriate for kids in these age groups. The research also identified 40 apps for unfiltered internet access and 75 apps relating to beauty, body image and weight loss carrying these age ratings, along with 28 shooter and crime games. Collectively, the roughly 200 offending apps spotted during the 24-hour investigation have been downloaded over 550 million times, according to Heat Initiative.About 800 apps were reviewed in all, and the research found that some categories were more likely than others to carry apps with inappropriately low age ratings. For stranger chat apps and games, fewer were rated as appropriate for children," the report says. In most cases, they were 17+. But in the categories of weight loss and unfiltered internet access, nearly all apps reviewed were approved for kids 4+." The report calls on Apple to do better when it comes to child safety measures on the App Store, urging the company to use third-party reviewers to verify apps' age ratings before they become available to download, and to make its age rating process transparent to consumers. You can read the full report, Rotten Ratings: 24 Hours in Apple's App Store, here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/inappropriate-apps-rated-as-safe-for-young-children-are-prevalent-in-the-app-store-report-warns-213727965.html?src=rss

Apple is working on the next generation of AirPods Pro, and they may come packing some new health features, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the Power On newsletter this weekend, Gurman reports that Apple has been testing features including temperature sensing and heart rate monitoring for the earbuds. So far, Apple has found that the Apple Watch still does the latter better, but the AirPods aren't terribly far off" in their readings, he writes.The company has also reportedly revived its idea of putting cameras into AirPods, a rumor we've heard a few times over the last year. According to Gurman, Apple now considers it a priority" as it works to bolster its AI services. But, it'd likely be years before any camera-equipped AirPods make their debut. As for heart rate monitoring, that may appear much sooner. Gurman writes, The capability could be ready for the next-generation AirPods Pro, which are in early development."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/apples-next-airpods-pro-could-offer-heart-rate-and-temperature-monitoring-175757188.html?src=rss

Apple is developing a smart doorbell and lock system that would use Face ID to unlock the door for known residents, Mark Gurman reports in the Power On newsletter. The face-scanning doorbell would connect to a smart deadbolt, which could include existing HomeKit-compatible third-party locks, according to Gurman. Or, Apple may [team] up with a specific lock maker to offer a complete system on day one."It'll likely still be a while before we see the doorbell-lock system hit the market, though, if we see it at all. Gurman reports that it's in the early stages of development and wouldn't be ready until at least the end of next year. The doorbell would help Apple compete with the likes of Amazon's Ring and Google Nest, and it's just one of several smart home products Apple is working on, according to Gurman. The company is reportedly also developing a security camera for inside the home, which would work with its rumored smart home hub that's expected to make its debut as soon as next year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/apple-is-reportedly-working-on-a-smart-doorbell-system-that-could-unlock-your-door-with-face-id-161504513.html?src=rss

The US Department of Commerce on Friday announced its awards for Samsung, Texas Instruments and Amkor Technology under the CHIPS Incentives Program, which come to more than $6.75 billion altogether. The program is meant to help expand domestic semiconductor production. Samsung was awarded up to $4.745 billion in direct funding - a smaller amount than the preliminary award of up to $6.4 billion that was announced earlier this year - while Texas Instruments was granted up to $1.61 billion and Amkor up to $407 million.Samsung plans to invest $37 billion over the next few years to ramp up chip development and production in the US, the DOC said. The company will expand its operations in Texas to include two new production facilities and a site for research and development. It also plans to expand an existing facility in Austin. Texas Instruments is working to build three new facilities - two in Texas and one in Utah - which it's said it will invest over $18 billion in through 2029. Amkor is planning a $2 billion investment to create an advanced packaging and test facility in Peoria, Arizona. According to Reuters, it'll be the country's largest facility of its kind.The Commerce Department says the awards will be doled out as the companies complete certain project milestones. It expects the funding to support the creation of thousands of jobs per project.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/doc-finalizes-semiconductor-awards-totaling-nearly-7-billion-for-samsung-texas-instruments-and-amkor-235749200.html?src=rss

After announcing this week that it furloughed 82 employees, EV startup Canoo emailed remaining workers to inform them they were being placed on a mandatory unpaid break" and would be locked out of the company's systems at the end of the day Friday, TechCrunch reports. The email viewed by TechCrunch reportedly said the break would last at least through the end of the year. Canoo announced on Wednesday that it was idling its Oklahoma factories while it works to finalize securing the capital necessary to move forward with its operations."Canoo has faced financial difficulties, lawsuits and the departure of multiple executives over the last year. It previously announced it was furloughing 30 employees just this fall. Canoo's announcement on Wednesday said that the company is now in advanced discussions with various capital sources." In a statement about the cuts, Canoo said, We regret having to furlough our employees, especially during the holidays, but we have no choice at this point. We are hopeful that we will be able to bring them back to work soon."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/canoo-put-employees-on-a-mandatory-unpaid-break-after-pausing-work-at-oklahoma-factories-this-week-221912555.html?src=rss

Google has filed a proposal outlining how it would remedy the antitrust violations it's been accused of by the Department of Justice, after the DOJ called for Google to sell off Chrome and face restrictions that would prevent it from favoring its own search engine in Android. Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in August that Google has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, and called Google a monopolist." Google said in the proposal filed on Friday night that it disagreed with the ruling but suggested ways to make its contracts with browser companies and Android device makers more flexible.In a blog post summarizing the filing, Google's VP of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland wrote that the proposal would let browser companies like Apple and Mozilla continue to offer Google Search to their users and earn revenue from that partnership," while allowing them to have multiple default agreements across different platforms (e.g., a different default search engine for iPhones and iPads) and browsing modes." And browsers would be able to change their default search provider every 12 months. The proposal would also give device makers additional flexibility in preloading multiple search engines, and preloading any Google app independently of preloading Search or Chrome."Google said it plans to appeal the judge's decision ahead of a hearing in April, and will submit a revised proposal on March 7. In the blog post, Mulholland called the DOJ's proposal overboard," going on to write that it reflects an interventionist agenda" and goes far beyond what the Court's decision is actually about - our agreements with partners to distribute search."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-proposes-alternative-remedies-for-its-search-monopoly-after-doj-demands-radical-changes-185253526.html?src=rss

We may be a bit technology-obsessed here, but the Engadget team does occasionally get around to low-tech activities, like reading. Well, some of us read on ereaders or our smartphones, but you get the point - books are great, and we read some exceptional ones this year that each deserve a shoutout. These are some of the best books we read in 2024. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/our-favorite-books-we-read-in-2024-151514842.html?src=rss

A federal judge in California has agreed with WhatsApp that the NSO Group, the Israeli cybersurveillance firm behind the Pegasus spyware, had hacked into its systems by sending malware through its servers to thousands of its users' phones. WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta, sued the NSO Group back in 2019 and accused it of spreading malware to 1,400 mobile devices across 20 countries with surveillance as its purpose. They revealed back then some of the targeted phones were owned by journalists, human rights activists, prominent female leaders and political dissidents. The Washington Post reports that District Judge Phyllis Hamilton has granted WhatsApp's motion for summary judgement against NSO and has ruled that it had violated the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).The NSO Group disputed the allegations in the "strongest possible terms" when the lawsuit was filed. It denied that it had a hand in the attacks and told Engadget back then that its sole purpose was to "provide technology to licensed government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to help them fight terrorism and serious crime." The company argued that it should not be held liable, because it merely sells its services to government agencies, which are the ones that determine their targets. In 2020, Meta escalated its lawsuit and accused the firm of using US-based servers to stage its Pegasus spyware attacks.Judge Hamilton has ruled that the NSO Group violated the CFAA, because the firm appears to fully acknowledge that the modified WhatsApp program its clients use to target users send messages through legitimate WhatsApp servers. Those messages then allow the Pegasus spyware to be installed on users' devices - the targets don't even have to do anything, such as pick up the phone to take a call or click a link, to be infected. The court has also found that the plaintiff's motion for sanctions must be granted on account of the NSO Group "repeatedly [failing] to produce relevant discovery," most significant of which is the Pegasus source code.WhatsApp spokesperson Carl Woog told The Post that the company believes this is the first court decision agreeing that a major spyware vendor had broken US hacking laws. "We're grateful for today's decision," Woog told the publication. "NSO can no longer avoid accountability for their unlawful attacks on WhatsApp, journalists, human rights activists and civil society. With this ruling, spyware companies should be on notice that their illegal actions will not be tolerated." In her decision, Judge Hamilton wrote that her order resolves all issues regarding the NSO Group's liability and that a trial will only proceed to determine how much the company should pay in damages.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/judge-finds-spyware-maker-nso-group-liable-for-attacks-on-whatsapp-users-140054522.html?src=rss

Another day, another Tesla recall. This time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) informed the owners of almost 700,000 Tesla vehicles warning them of a problem with a warning light for the tire pressure monitoring system as reported by the Associated Press.The recall affects the 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2025 Model 3 and 2020-2025 Model Y Vehicles. The NHTSA says the warning light for the tire pressure monitoring system may not stay illuminated between drives.Tesla says it will send out an over-the-road (OTR) update to vehicles affected by the warning light issue. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on Feb. 15, 2025.The past year has seen more than a few Tesla recalls and OTRs. The NHTSA recorded seven recalls in the last year for the Cybertruck to address problems involving the rear-view camera, faulty windshield wipers and loose trunk beds. Tesla issued an over-the-air update in June for 1.8 million vehicles including select 2021-2024 Model 3, S and X vehicles and 2020-2024 Model Y vehicles to fix hoods that could come loose during drives if closed improperly.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/tesla-is-recalling-almost-700000-vehicles-over-a-tire-pressure-monitor-issue-223639361.html?src=rss

Movie icon and super spy James Bond seemed to be on another rise to the top of the box office just a few years ago, but things have been almost as quiet as a shot from a Walther PPK with a silencer ever since then. Daniel Craig took on the role in 2006 with Casino Royale and passed the baton with 2021's No Time to Die in one of the most heart-wrenching endings in Bond's cinematic history (you cried, just admit it).The only thing sadder is the reason why we haven't seen a new Bond movie since then.The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon and Barbara Broccoli, the producer who inherited the franchise from her father and film producer Albert Cubby" Broccoli when he died in 1996, are in the middle of an ugly fight that's halted production on the next Bond film. Apparently, Barbara doesn't trust Amazon with her family's famous film franchise.How bad is it? Well, here's a quote from Barbara to some of her friends explaining how she feels about the people who run Amazon's media empire: These people are f-ing idiots." Man, that's awkward with a capital awk."The stalemate started back in 2021 when Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion and thus acquired the rights to distribute Bond films, according to Variety. The deal seemed like a big move for Amazon to weave its way into Hollywood using one of its most storied and rock solid film franchises.Unfortunately for Amazon, the true power over the James Bond films lies with Broccoli. She supplies the ideas for Bond's big screen adventures and when they go into production, and Broccoli isn't keen on working with Amazon anytime soon. The WSJ spoke to 20 people familiar with the feud who say Broccoli feels Amazon isn't the right place for a Bond movie because its core business is retail and ecommerce.When Amazon purchased MGM, clinching the rights to the Bond franchise was a key part of the deal's value. Broccoli and co-producer Michael Wilson had some reservations but were assured they would still retain creative control. COVID lockdowns were already making it hard to jump into the next Bond film production as well. However, things seemed to be smoothing over between the two parties when Amazon also insisted that its next Bond movie No Time to Die would get a theatrical release.But as soon as the deal closed, Amazon executives started thinking of ways to expand the Bond film franchise to other mediums like a Moneypenny spinoff series for Prime Video or a separate spy film or TV show that took place in the Bond universe. Broccoli refused to let any of these projects go forward. She also took umbrage with Amazon entertainment executive Jennifer Salke's use of the word content" to describe new James Bond projects and any ideas Amazon had for Bond were labeled TBD" in memos. To date, the only Bond property Amazon could get Broccoli to sign off on is a reality series 007: Road to a Million that's entering its second season.Broccoli and her family have been part of the Bond movie franchise for almost as long as she lived so she's fiercely protective of the brand and her father's cinematic legacy. She's also started training Wilson's son Gregg to produce recent installments and possibly prepare him to take over the franchise someday. Even that has led to disagreements over who should play Bond in the next film. That's assuming we get one and it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/james-bond-the-movie-franchise-not-the-spy-may-be-in-deep-jeopardy-211608094.html?src=rss

A little more than a week after announcing Gemini Deep Research, Google is making the tool available to more people. As of today, the feature, part of the company's paid Gemini Advanced suite, is available in every country and language where Google offers Gemini. In practice, that means Gemini Advanced users in more than 100 countries globally can start using Deep Research right now. Previously, it was only available in English.As a refresher, Deep Research takes advantage of Gemini 1.5 Pro's ability to reason through long context windows" to create comprehensive but easy-to-read reports on complex topics. Once you provide the tool a prompt, it will generate a research plan for you to approve and tweak as you see fit. After it has your go-ahead, Gemini 1.5 Pro will search the open web for information related to your query. That process can sometimes take several minutes, but once Gemini is done, you'll have a multi-page report you can export to Google Docs for later viewing.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-gemini-deep-research-tool-is-now-available-globally-210151873.html?src=rss