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- The Morning After: Dining in Gotham City
- Apple leads the way as smartwatches dominate the wearable band market
- Apple faces probe from US labor board over complaints of hostile working conditions
- Musical instrument company Roli files for administration, will relaunch as Luminary
- Amazon will reportedly release its own TVs in the US this year
- 'Marvel's Midnight Suns' is a card-based tactical RPG
- Fujifilm’s $3,999 GFX 50S II is its most affordable medium format camera yet
- Audi's Grandsphere concept EV is a self-driving living room on wheels
- FAA grounds Virgin Galactic space flights during anomaly investigation (updated)
- GM suspends production at North American plants amid ongoing chip shortages
- There's no way to upgrade 'Horizon Forbidden West' from PS4 to PS5
- Twitter will soon let you tip other users with bitcoin
- Amazon releases first 'Wheel of Time' trailer ahead of its November 19th debut
- Hyundai's Genesis brand will switch entirely to electric powertrains in 2025
- THQ Nordic will announce six new games at a September 17th event
- Apple's AR headset will reportedly rely on another device due to limited processing power
- Virgin Galactic's 'Unity 23' flight will be its first for commercial research
- Roland Emmerich's 'Moonfall' asks what would happen if the Moon fell on Earth
- Razer Blade 14 review: Big power, small package
- Facebook expands access to licensed music for game streams
- Several Final Fantasy games are coming to PlayStation Now
- Twitter is building a feature to automatically archive tweets
- Locast suspends local TV streaming service in wake of court ruling
- ASUS bets on OLED for all of its new creator laptops
- YouTube Premium and Music now have 50 million subscribers combined
| The Morning After: Dining in Gotham City Posted: 03 Sep 2021 04:15 AM PDT Among all the themed restaurants and dining experiences in the world, Park Row, a new dining venture in London, tries to keep things a little classier than the rest. No costumed heroes for a selfie with, no lurid colors (beside the Joker-esque neon signs in the restrooms) and even a big-name executive chef from a Michelin-starred restaurant. Mat Smith, Engadget While I didn't get to experience the high-tech (and high-price) Monarch Theater 11-course spectacle, with projectors, floating plates and more, I hunted down myriad easter eggs and subtle nods to the DC Comics Universe lovingly sewn into the building. With a secret entrance dressed as Wayne Manor, a Batcave staircase and a frosty Penguin statue overseeing the restaurant, it looks the part. There are a lot of playful touches, several of which I mention in my review here, but there are some I didn't get to squeeze in, like a secret wine list — "supplied by Bruce Wayne's own private cellar" — aimed at big-spending drinkers. I'm fascinated by the Park Row pitch, a premium restaurant given DC Comics' blessing that didn't make me cringe. Alongside the new premium (thousands-of-dollars) Star Wars experience at Walt Disney World, entertainment franchises are courting its spendiest fans. — Mat Smith Razer Blade 14 laptop reviewBig power, small package.Devindra Hardawar/Engadget Like most 14-inch gaming laptops, the Blade 14's biggest selling point is that it's — unsurprisingly — lighter than most 15-inch notebooks. Razer's own innovations start to work against it, though. The Blade 15 currently weighs around 4.4 pounds, whereas the 14 clocks in at 3.9 pounds. The Blade 14 would have seemed more impressive when the 15-inch model was upwards of 4.6 pounds, but it's actually a bit hefty compared to competitors like the 3.5-pound ASUS Zephyrus G14. With powerful AMD CPU and NVIDIA GPU options and tons of ports, Razer has made another strong laptop, but according to Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar, the Blade 15 might be a more suitable machine for most of us. The best ultraportable laptopsThere's no shortage of thin-and-light laptops out there.Devindra Hardawar / Engadget If you're not looking for a powerful gaming laptop like the Razer Blade 14, we've updated our ultraportable laptop guide. Dell's XPS 13 still rules the roost, but we also highlight the best thin-and-light MacBook as well as the best convertible machine, if that's what you're shopping for. Watch Amazon's first 'Wheel of Time' trailer ahead of its November 19th debutAnd Rosamund Pike steals the show as the magical Moiraine.Amazon has shared the first trailer for its long-awaited adaptation of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. If you're a newcomer to the fantasy series, the clip sketches out the basics of the world the author created before his death in 2007. Amazon first announced it was working on a live-action adaptation of Robert Jordan's 14-volume fantasy back in 2018. Twitter is building a feature to automatically archive tweetsThe tool is only in the concept stage at this point.A few years ago, Disney fired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn over tweets he wrote between 2008 and 2012. While the company later rehired Gunn, he's just one of many who had an old social media post come back to haunt him. In recent years, some Twitter users have turned to third-party tools to sweep away old tweets of the past. Reported by Bloomberg, the company has plans to test its own feature for people to automatically archive tweets after a predetermined amount of time. The tool is currently in the concept phase and doesn't have a release date, but Twitter is apparently considering a number of time options, from 30 through to 90 days. Apple's AR headset will reportedly rely on another device due to limited processing powerThe headset's chip might not be powerful enough on its own.Chris Velazco/Engadget Apple's fabled AR and VR headset may have to depend heavily on another device. The Informationsources claim the headset will need to wirelessly communicate with a host device like an iPhone, iPad or computer that can handle most of the computing. The chip inside the wearable apparently won't be as powerful as Apple's in-house chips. In fact, Apple supposedly just completed "tape-out" (completed the physical design) for the main chip, display driver and image sensor, so things are still a while away. Samsung has made a 200-megapixel smartphone sensorIt promises images with astonishing detail and low light performance.Samsung just announced the ISOCELL HP1, a new camera sensor it says is the first 200-megapixel image sensor (with 0.64μm pixels) made for mobile devices. It added that the silicon is already small enough to fit in mobile hardware and the promise of all of those extra pixels is to retain fidelity when pictures are cropped or resized. The biggest innovation might not be the magical megapixel number, but ChameleonCell, which Samsung explains is variable pixel binning, depending on the environment. In very low light, the camera bins down (by a factor of 16) to a 12.5-megapixel sensor, which should result in brighter, less noisy images than other camera sensors. We'll have to wait and see. The biggest news you might have missedMcFlurry machines keep breaking and the FTC wants answers Fujifilm's $3,999 GFX 50S II is its most affordable medium format camera yet Several Final Fantasy games are coming to PlayStation Now There's no way to upgrade 'Horizon Forbidden West' from PS4 to PS5 Locast suspends local TV streaming service in wake of court ruling Roland Emmerich's 'Moonfall' asks what would happen if the Moon fell on Earth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apple leads the way as smartwatches dominate the wearable band market Posted: 03 Sep 2021 02:35 AM PDT The wearable market as a whole grew 5.6 percent last quarter, largely due to sales of smartwatches at the expense of basic bands, according to research firm Canalys. The boost was driven by Apple, which continues to dominate the market with its Watch models. As Canalys noted, smartwatch sales took over from basic bands (sports bands, etc.) back in Q4 2020 and now account for 62 percent of all wearable band shipments. Apple now accounts for 31.1 percent of the smartwatch market and 19.3 percent of the wearable band market overall, second only to Xiaomi in number of shipments. Engadget Samsung also notably grew by 114 percent in terms of smartwatch shipments year-over-year, and could see further success with its latest Galaxy Watch 4 now powered by Wear OS 3, jointly developed with Google. Fitbit also saw a 20.6 percent boost in smartwatches over sales this time last year, powered by its Versa 2 and Sense models. In the basic band arena, Xiaomi now leads the way in sales with a 19.6 percent share — just ahead of Apple — led by its Mi Smart Band 5 and 6 models. However, those products are significantly cheaper with retail prices of around $35 and $55, respectively. Overall, consumers are most interested their health regardless of the product category. "Health tracking is the most prominent use case for smartwatches," said Jason Low from Canalys. "The ability to deliver cutting-edge health-tracking features and to offer users meaningful data and actionable health insights will set winners and losers apart." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apple faces probe from US labor board over complaints of hostile working conditions Posted: 03 Sep 2021 01:32 AM PDT Apple has been under fire lately after current and former employees shared stories of harassment, retaliation and sexism in the company. Now, the US National Labor Relations Board is looking into cases filed against the tech giant by two of the main voices accusing the company of permitting a hostile work environment, according to Reuters and The Financial Times. The first complaint was filed by Ashley Gjøvik, the senior engineering program manager who said she spent months talking with the company about unsafe working conditions and sexism in the workplace. In a tweet, she said that after raising her concerns, she was put on indefinite paid administrative leave while Apple looks into them. Further, she said Apple implied that the company didn't want her to use Slack, where she'd been vocal about her criticisms. Gjøvik filed a "Charge against Employer" complaint, The Times says, alleging 13 instances of alleged retaliation against her. Those instances include workplace harassment, reassigning her supervisory responsibilities to colleagues and giving her undesirable tasks
The second complaint the labor board is investigation was filed by Cher Scarlett, on behalf of herself and other employees, on September 1st. Scarlett is a security engineer at the company and is the face of the #AppleToo movement made up of current and former employees aiming to shine a light on the tech giant's workplace culture. The group said it collected over 500 stories of incidents involving discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and it recently started sharing them five stories at a time. Her case accuses Apple of suppressing workers' organizing efforts, specifically when they involve pay surveys and gender pay equity.
It's worth noting that the labor board looks into all the complaints it receives, and it will only prosecute a case if it finds merit in them. As for Apple, the company told the publications in a statement: "We are and have always been deeply committed to creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace. We take all concerns seriously and we thoroughly investigate whenever a concern is raised and, out of respect for the privacy of any individuals involved, we do not discuss specific employee matters." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Musical instrument company Roli files for administration, will relaunch as Luminary Posted: 03 Sep 2021 12:36 AM PDT Roli, the modular musical instrument business backed by Pharrell Williams and Grimes, has entered administration in the UK, the company has confirmed. It will now relaunch as Luminary, with an emphasis on beginning rather than professional musicians, the company said. Luminary will be led by Roli founder and CEO Roland Lamb. Roli had approximately 70 employees who will move to Luminary, which will also retain Roli's intellectual property and assets. However, Roli raised some $76 million from institutional investors, some of whom will lose their money, according to the report. The company launched with the Seaboard modular keyboard and Blocks modular system designed to let you play tunes, tap out beats and do loops while recording music with an iPhone or iPad. It followed up with Lumi Keys, an electric light-up piano designed to help novices learn to play. Luminary However, Lamb said that the company's early focus on professional musicians and tinkerers limited its potential for growth. "Ultimately, what happened was the pro-focused products we initially developed, although successful within their marketplace, the marketplace wasn't big enough given our venture trajectory," he told Business Insider. In 18 months up to June 30th 2019, the company lost £34.1 million ($47.1 million) on revenue of just £11.4 million ($15.8 million). As such, Luminary will now focus on learning to read music and play piano with the aim of becoming "Peloton for piano." To that end, it will offer the $300 Lumi Keys keyboard and an $80 yearly app subscription, along with a basic free tier. It will also relaunch the Seaboard, which has been out of stock recently. "I've learned a lot about how to operate in new ways that are better... so I'm excited about this next stage," Lamb said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amazon will reportedly release its own TVs in the US this year Posted: 02 Sep 2021 10:10 PM PDT If you shop for electronics on Cyber Monday this year, your options might include Amazon-branded TVs. According to Insider, the e-commerce giant is planning to launch its own TVs in the US as soon as October, just in time for the holiday shopping season. The project has reportedly been in development for almost two years by teams from Amazon Devices and Lab126, the R&D division responsible for designing the company's products that include the Kindle and the Echo speakers. Insider says, however, that the models expected to be launched in October were designed and manufactured by third parties like TCL. Amazon's in-house team is apparently working on a separate TV, though it's unclear if that will also be released in the US in the coming months. As for the third-party-made TVs, Insider says they're going to be powered by Alexa, as you'd expect from Amazon-branded hardware. The publication didn't say, however, if they will also run the company's Fire TV software. Amazon already sells TVs running Fire TV, but they still carry their manufacturers' brands. These upcoming TVs will have Amazon branding even if they're made by third-party companies, similar to the AmazonBasics TVs the e-commerce giant sells in India. If you'll recall, the company released a 55-inch and a 50-inch model under the AmazonBasics brand in the country last year. The models planned for a US release will reportedly be in the range of 55 to 75 inches, though we'll have to wait for more information to find out whether they're also lower-cost models like the TVs released in India. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Marvel's Midnight Suns' is a card-based tactical RPG Posted: 02 Sep 2021 04:43 PM PDT When Firaxis announced Marvel's Midnight Suns last week, the studio's Jake Solomon promised the game would share "zero mechanics" with XCOM, but said little else about how its gameplay systems would work. Now we have a better idea following a trailer the developer shared on Thursday. In short, Midnight Suns has more in common with deck-building games like Slay the Spire and Griftlands than XCOM. Battles still unfold over the course of multiple turns, but instead of each hero bringing the same set of abilities to every battle, you'll have to draw for cards every turn. Some grant straightforward attacks, while others allow you to reposition enemies. According to Solomon, battlefield terrain and the positioning of adversaries play a critical role in Midnight Suns since you force your opponents to collide with obstacles and each other to damage them. As you progress through the game, you'll have the chance to upgrade your cards to make them more powerful and create new synergies between different heroes. Following the reveal, Firaxis clarified on Twitter you won't have to buy loot boxes or pay for any other microtransactions to unlock additional cards. However, Midnight Suns will include character skins you can buy, though those don't affect the balance of the game.
Outside of combat, there's a hub called the Abbey where your custom-made character, the Hunter, can interact with the other members of the Midnight Suns, including Blade, Doctor Strange and Iron Man. And much like in Nintendo's Fire Emblem series, that's something you'll want to do since it will make them a more effective team on the battlefield. Midnight Suns Publisher 2K plans to release the game to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PS5, Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in March 2022. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fujifilm’s $3,999 GFX 50S II is its most affordable medium format camera yet Posted: 02 Sep 2021 03:21 PM PDT Fujifilm has announced the latest addition to its GFX family of cameras. Body-only, the new GFX 50S II will debut at $3,999, making it the company's most affordable medium format camera to date. That's still a lot of cash to put down to get the tonality and micro-contrasts you can only find on a medium format camera, but it's significantly less than the $5,999 and $5,499 Fujifilm sells the GFX 100S and GFX 50S for at the moment. Fujifilm Headline features of the GFX 50S II include a 51.4-megapixel sensor that's 1.7 times larger than what you'll find on a full-frame camera like the Sony A7 III, five-axis in-body stabilization Fujifilm claims provides up to 6.5-stops of shake reduction and a body that weighs just under two pounds. According to Fujifilm, the GFX 50S II also features faster and more accurate autofocus than its predecessor thanks to the inclusion of its latest X-Processor 4. In practice, we'll have to see how quickly the GFX 50S II can acquire a subject since it uses a contrast-detection system, instead of the more modern phase-detect approach, for autofocus. The GFX 50S II comes with 19 of Fujifilm's signature film simulations. It also includes the pixel shift multi-shot feature the company introduced at the end of last year in an update to the GFX 100. In the case of the GFX 50S II, it allows you to combine 16 RAW captures into a 200-megapixel DNG file. One other notable feature is the 1.8-inch monochrome display on the top of the camera you can glance at to see your current capture settings. In addition to selling the camera on its own, Fujifilm will bundle the GFX 50S II with a new 35-70mm kit lens for $4,499. Fujifilm says the GFX 50S II should arrive in the US sometime in late October. Fujifilm Fujifilm has also refreshed its much-loved X-T30. The new II model features the same 26.4-megapixel X-Trans sensor as its predecessor but comes with more memory for faster performance and an LCD with 1.68 million dots of resolution. It will also include the company's latest film simulations and firmware. Body-only, Fujifilm will sell the X-T30 II for $899. Lastly, the company added two new f/1.4 primes to its XF lineup. Both the XF23mm R LM WR and XF33mm R LM WR feature weather sealing and will come under $1,000 when they go on sale this fall. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Audi's Grandsphere concept EV is a self-driving living room on wheels Posted: 02 Sep 2021 02:19 PM PDT If Audi's Skysphere concept is a driver's car with an autonomous option, the company's follow-up is the polar opposite. The automaker has introduced a Grandsphere concept electric sedan that uses Level 4 self-driving (full autonomy in limited conditions) to help you avoid driving "whenever possible" — this is a luxurious living room that just happens to let you take the wheel. Invoke the driverless mode and the Grandsphere will 'reduce' the wheel and pedals to make it clear you're supposed to relax. The displays are really projections on wooden surfaces that adapt based on whether or not you're driving — you can watch media or participate in video conferences. While Audi's familiar MMI controls are available in an upright seating position, you can use eye tracking and gestures to navigate the infotainment system while you're reclining. VR glasses in the armrests help you immerse yourself in entertainment during your commute. Audi Audi is promising extensive personalization that would refine the interior as you step in, ranging from basics like climate control through to the media services you last used. The car would even display the news you were reading on your phone, according to the company. The design itself is a large "2+2" seater with a grand tourer-like profile but a wheelbase longer than the stretched version of the A8. Like Mercedes' EQS, you won't be hurting for range — Audi is claiming 466 miles of driving with the 120kWh battery. An 800-volt charging architecture can give you 186 miles of driving in ten minutes, and bring the Grandsphere from a five percent charge to 80 percent in 25 minutes. It's not the fastest vehicle with a 0-62MPH time of "just over" four seconds, but you clearly wouldn't buy this to win drag races. Not that you'll likely buy this car in the first place. As with the Skysphere and the upcoming Urbansphere concept, this is more to illustrate Audi's vision of its autonomous EV future. At least some of the technologies (such as that news display) are more what Audi aspires to build than something you could expect any time soon. It won't be shocking if some of the features or design cues make their way into production cars, however, and there's little doubt that many car brands will have to rethink their designs when manual driving becomes more of an exception than the rule. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FAA grounds Virgin Galactic space flights during anomaly investigation (updated) Posted: 02 Sep 2021 01:35 PM PDT Virgin Galactic is having a particularly bad day. Reutersreports the Federal Aviation Administration has barred Virgin from flying SpaceShipTwo while the agency investigates an anomaly in the descent of Richard Branson's spaceflight. The regulator wants to be sure the "mishap" leading to the aircraft's deviation from its cleared route won't hurt public safety. Officials didn't estimate when Virgin might resume flights. We've asked Virgin for comment. The space tourism firm previously acknowledged that the flight went off-course, dipping below the intended airspace for one minute and 41 seconds. However, it also maintained that it didn't fly outside the "lateral confines" of the allowed airspace. This comes at an unfortunate time for Virgin. The company just announced its first flight carrying commercial research, with a launch due in late September or early October — that schedule might be in doubt if the FAA probe lasts long enough or prompts significant changes to the plan. It could also add another delay to Virgin's first space tourist flights, now slated for early 2022. That's concerning for a company that's bleeding cash and might not turn a profit until it's carrying passengers. Update 9/2 5:22PM ET: A Virgin spokesperson told Engadget the company was cooperating with the FAA, and stressed that it was taking the deviation "seriously." You can read the full statement below.
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| GM suspends production at North American plants amid ongoing chip shortages Posted: 02 Sep 2021 01:03 PM PDT The global semiconductor shortage is about to claim another casualty. Starting on Monday, General Motors will temporarily halt production at all but four of its North American factories due to chip supply constraints. The halt in production will affect many of the automaker's most profitable vehicles, including the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra. "During the downtime, we will repair and ship unfinished vehicles from many impacted plants, including Fort Wayne and Silao, to dealers to help meet the strong customer demand for our products," a spokesperson for GM told the Detroit Free Press. "Although the situation remains complex and very fluid, we remain confident in our team's ability to continue finding creative solutions to minimize the impact on our highest-demand and capacity-constrained vehicles." This is the second time GM has had to temporarily shut down production due to the global chip shortage. The company announced a similar two-week idle back in April. The shortage has affected nearly every automaker. The same month GM scaled back production, so did Ford, Honda and BMW. It has even affected Tesla, which recently delayed both the Roadster and Semi due to supply constraints. With the shortages expected to continue until at least 2023, and no immediate solutions forthcoming, GM likely won't be the last company to change its production schedule. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| There's no way to upgrade 'Horizon Forbidden West' from PS4 to PS5 Posted: 02 Sep 2021 12:32 PM PDT Horizon Forbidden West, probably the biggest PlayStation exclusive announced since the PS5 launch, is set to arrive in February. With the release date coming soon, developer Guerilla Games is opening pre-orders and detailing the many different editions of the game that will be available on February 18th, 2022. Perhaps the most important thing most buyers will need to know is that the standard "launch" editions of Horizon Forbidden West, whether you're buying a physical or digital copy, will only work on a single console. (You can clearly see this stated in an FAQ Sony published today.) Even though the game is being released for both PS4 and PS5, you'll have to choose which console you want and stick with that; there's no ability to upgrade later. This actually contradicts what Sony said when the PS5 was officially priced and given a release date last year: Sony's own blog post clearly states that some PS5 games, including Horizon Forbidden West, would also be released on the PS4 with free upgrades to the PS5 version later. As with most AAA games these days, the PS4 versions costs $60 and the PS5 $70. There are also special edition steelbook version for both consoles that also include a mini art book and digital copy of the soundtrack for $10 more. If you're really not sure which console to buy for, there's a digital deluxe edition that might be the way to go. For $80 (the same as the PS5 steelbook version), you'll get the game on both PS4 and PS5. It also comes with a number of digital goodies including the art book, soundtrack, a digital comic and some in-game outfits and items. One unlock we haven't heard of before is for the game's photo mode; you'll unlock special face paint and a unique pose for Aloy. As with other popular AAA titles, there are a couple of lavish and expensive editions for hardcore fans (like the author of this post). The highlight of the $200 Collector's Edition is a seemingly massive statue of the game's Tremortusk enemy alongside a much smaller statue of Aloy. It also includes the same physical art book and steelbook display case that comes with the special editions, plus all the digital gear included with the deluxe edition. Sony The $260 "Regalla" edition (so named for an enemy faction in the new game) steps things up with an even more detailed statue that includes special armor and enemy warriors riding the Tremortusk. It also includes two artwork cards, a replica of Aloy's Focus, a canvas map and two replicas of "Strike" pieces from the game. Strike is apparently a type of board game that the characters in Horizon Forbidden West play; we'll have to learn more about them later. Both of these massive editions come with the game for both PS4 and PS5 — but, they do not include the game on disc. Instead, you'll receive a download card. It makes some degree of sense, given that Sony now sells a PS5 with no disc drive, but it's definitely a bummer for people who don't want to have to wait for what will surely be a massive game download. Confused yet? Let's make it simple: If you want both PS4 and PS5 versions, you'll need to spend $80 on the digital deluxe edition, which is not a bad idea considering you get the two game versions plus a bunch of digital goodies for only 10 bucks more than the standard PS5 edition. The other option is buying the pricey Collector's or Regalla editions. But if you're set on buying a disc, you'll have to stick with whatever console you pick when you buy it, as there are no plans to offer an upgrade path to the PS5. You can see and pre-order all the various editions here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Twitter will soon let you tip other users with bitcoin Posted: 02 Sep 2021 12:04 PM PDT Ever see a real good tweet that makes you stop and think "that amused or informed me to the extent I want to give that person a monetary tip"? Twitter's Tip Jar has let users do just that for the last few months. Until now, Twitter users have only been able to send regular money to each other through the feature, but it seems they'll soon be able to tip others with bitcoin. Researcher and app developer Alessandro Paluzzi shared a screenshot that suggested Twitter is working on such an option, as noted by 9to5Mac. According to the image, Twitter is planning to use Strike to generate bitcoin Lightning invoices. It'll harness the Lightning Network with the aim of enabling faster payments with lower fees than the primary bitcoin network. — Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) September 1, 2021 Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour quote tweeted Paluzzi's screenshot and added two emoji: a lightning symbol and another reading "soon." That's a pretty clear indicator bitcoin tipping is in the works. Beykpour also noted that Twitter is working to bring Tip Jar to more countries. It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that Twitter's planning to let folks tip each other with cryptocurrency. CEO Jack Dorsey is a major proponent of bitcoin. He expressed hope in July that the digital currency could bring about world peace, while his other company, Square, may be working on a bitcoin hardware wallet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amazon releases first 'Wheel of Time' trailer ahead of its November 19th debut Posted: 02 Sep 2021 11:49 AM PDT Amazon has shared the first trailer for its long-awaited adaptation of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. If you're a newcomer to the fantasy series, the clip sketches out the basics of the world the author created before his death in 2007. In the Wheel of Time, only women known as Aes Sedai can channel magic. A powerful sorceress named Moiraine (played by Gone Girl and Hostiles actor Rosamund Pike) comes across a small town called Two Rivers where she finds five young men and women. One of them she believes is the Dragon Reborn, an entity that could be either the savior or destroyer of humanity. Amazon first announced it was working on a live-action adaptation of Robert Jordan's 14-volume fantasy back in 2018, but like with the company's other big-budget fantasy adaptation, filming was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first three episodes of the Wheel of Time will debut on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, November 19th, with new episodes to follow every week thereafter until December 24th when the season finale starts streaming. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hyundai's Genesis brand will switch entirely to electric powertrains in 2025 Posted: 02 Sep 2021 11:28 AM PDT Hyundai has bet big on EVs and that gamble is paying off with the Korean automaker pacing ahead of many larger companies in the industry in the race towards electrification. The company continued that trend Tuesday when its luxury brand, Genesis, announced that every new model made after 2025 will be an electric vehicle. The company expects to have eight EV models available for sale in 2030 and sell around 400,000 of them annually. These models won't necessarily be straight plug-ins as the company is pursuing a "dual-fuel" strategy, developing both battery electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion cells and those powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. The GV60 will be Genesis' first true EV when it hits the streets later this year. Built on the same E-GMP platform as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, the GV60 is rumored to have between 226 and 436 HP, depending on model type, and offer both 2WD and AWD options, though Genesis has not officially released specs yet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| THQ Nordic will announce six new games at a September 17th event Posted: 02 Sep 2021 11:10 AM PDT There's another gaming-focused event to look forward to this month. A week after Sony's PlayStation showcase, THQ Nordic is running a 10th anniversary celebration with a look at what's ahead for the publisher. THQ Nordic is promising six new game announcements for its first digital showcase. Among those are revivals of some "legendary franchises," including some that have been dormant for decades. Hmm... The publisher's also planning to show off sequels to "beloved games" — perhaps there'll be a peek at the next Darksiders title. Two games that will definitely be part of the showcase are RPGs ELEX II and Expeditions: Rome. If you join the stream before the event officially starts, you'll catch an update from HandyGames during the pre-show. There will be a familiar face handling hosting duties: Geoff Keighley of The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest and Gamescom's Opening Night Live. The event starts at 3PM ET on September 17th. You can watch it on YouTube, Twitch and Steam. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apple's AR headset will reportedly rely on another device due to limited processing power Posted: 02 Sep 2021 10:59 AM PDT More rumors suggest Apple's fabled AR and VR headset will depend on another device. The Informationsources claim the headset will need to wirelessly communicate with a host device like an iPhone, iPad or computer that can handle most of the computing. The chip inside the wearable won't be as powerful as Apple's in-house chips and will lack the Neural Engine used to accelerate AI tasks. It'll be made on a 5-nanometer process that will seem old by the time the headset is available, according to one contact. The chip will reportedly have a CPU and GPU, leaving open the possibility for a weaker stand-alone mode like you see with the Oculus Quest 2. However, the hardware is supposedly optimized for processing and transmitting the headset's camera imagery over a wireless link, with a focus on battery life. Apple is rumored to be using "ultrahigh-resolution" (possibly 8K per eye) displays, with cameras to match. The headset may still be a long way off. Apple supposedly just completed "tape-out" (that is, completed the physical design) for the main chip, display driver and image sensor. Trial production will take a while, let alone the mass production needed for a shipping product. Information had heard the device might not be ready until 2022 at best, and might launch later. It's believed to be aimed at developers and creators with a potential price around $3,000. Any truly consumer-oriented hardware might have to wait until a possible set of AR glasses launching in 2023 or later. Apple declined to comment. With that said, there are signs the company is edging closer to releasing the headset. The company recently shuffled executives, with senior VP Dan Riccio tipped to lead a new project that might center on the headgear. In other words, years of development and acquisitions are finally bearing fruit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virgin Galactic's 'Unity 23' flight will be its first for commercial research Posted: 02 Sep 2021 10:52 AM PDT Virgin Galactic announced on Wednesday that its upcoming "Unity 23" mission will include the first commercial research payload in the company's launch history — that payload being three paying passengers from the Italian Air Force. The IAF members have teamed with the National Research Council to study the effects on the human body of transitioning from full 1G gravity to the microgravity felt in orbit. The launch will also carry additional instruments designed to study the impact microgravity has on various chemical and physical properties of the surrounding environment, according to a Wednesday press release from the company. "The Italian Air Force has always placed great importance on the understanding of space and aerospace," Lieutenant General Alberto Rosso, Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, said in a prepared statement. "Aerospace is the natural operational extension of our institutional duty. Strength in this domain is an asset for the country and is critical to its protection and safety, which is why the Air Force places great emphasis on further deepening its knowledge. With this mission, the Italian Air Force aims to start exploring potential implementations for this kind of vehicle - both civilian and military - and to further opportunities for technological, scientific and industrial growth." Unity 23, when it launches during its window between late September and early October, will be the first Virgin Galactic flight since company founder, Richard Branson and crew completed their history-making flight in July. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Roland Emmerich's 'Moonfall' asks what would happen if the Moon fell on Earth Posted: 02 Sep 2021 10:45 AM PDT How do you build on a filmography that includes disaster movies like The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day? If you're Roland Emmerich, the answer is, quite simply, to drop the Moon on the planet. In the first trailer for his latest film, Moonfall, Earth's natural satellite has decided to do humanity a solid favor and put it out of its misery by crashing into its anchor. You might think its title says almost everything you need to know about Moonfall, but, sorry, the end of the world is only part of the story here. According to the film's official synopsis, a "mysterious force" is what sets the Moon on its collision course with Earth. It's up to a NASA executive, former astronaut and conspiracy theorist — played by Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson and John Bradley, respectively — to save the world. "These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is," the film's official summary says. I'll say it now. I hope it's not aliens that are behind everything. Either way, Moonfall looks like it will be a fun and trashy way to spend an hour or two forgetting about all the real problems haunting humans at the moment. The film will debut in theaters on February 4th, 2022. We can't wait. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Razer Blade 14 review: Big power, small package Posted: 02 Sep 2021 10:30 AM PDT Razer has finally found the perfect balance between power and portability with the Blade 14. It features AMD's latest processor, NVIDIA's RTX 30-series GPUs, and a responsive 14-inch display, but it wraps all of that together in a sub-four-pound package. What's not to love? While Razer's 13-inch Blade Stealth is even lighter, I've always found it to be woefully underpowered and dramatically overpriced. But the Blade 14 represents what Razer does best: delivering powerful hardware that feels more polished than the competition. Imagine a shrunken-down version of the Blade 15, and you've pretty much got the 14-inch. It has the same sleek black aluminum case, and a minimalist aesthetic that resembles Apple's MacBook Pro more than a typical gaming laptop. That, of course, has been Razer's major accomplishment over the last few years: Its computers are still the closest Windows users can get to Apple's polished hardware. The only major feature that screams "gaming laptop" is the Blade 14's RGB LED keyboard, which allows every key to display its own color (something you can also turn off easily, too). Like most 14-inch gaming laptops these days, the Blade 14's biggest selling point is that it's lighter than most 15-inch notebooks. Here's where Razer's own innovations start to work against it, though. The Blade 15 currently weighs around 4.4 pounds, whereas the 14 clocks in at 3.9 pounds. That's only a half-pound difference, something that could be noticeable if you were comparing these laptops in each hand, but less so in normal usage. The Blade 14 would have seemed more impressive when the 15-inch model was upwards of 4.6 pounds, but now it's actually a bit hefty compared to competitors like the 3.5-pound ASUS Zephyrus G14. This isn't the first time that Razer has had a 14-inch laptop either, which takes some of the luster away from the Blade 14. The last model dropped around three years ago, toting a 7th-gen Intel CPU and weak NVIDIA GTX 1650 graphics. What makes this new version stand out is under the hood. It's the first time Razer has used an AMD processor — every Blade 15 comes with the powerful Ryzen 9 5900HX — and it also has NVIDIA's fastest RTX 30 graphics. Devindra Hardawar/Engadget Still, it's worth noting even those graphics cards are constrained by the Blade 14's size. NVIDIA lets every PC maker tweak the wattage of their GPUs, which is helpful for dealing with thermal constraints, but that also means performance can vary wildly. Basically, not every RTX 3080 is created equal, especially when it comes to gaming laptops. Keep that caveat in mind, because it'll explain some of the performance benchmarks I ended up seeing. Our review unit was the most expensive configuration, a $2,800 build with the Ryzen 9 5900HX, RTX 3080, 16GB of fixed RAM, 1TB SSD, and a quad HD 165Hz display Given that caliber hardware, the Blade 14 had no troubling handling demanding games and torturous benchmarks. In Destiny 2, reached up to 120fps while playing in 1,440p with maxed-out settings. It also looked smooth on the laptop's 14-inch screen, with excellent color reproduction and solid brightness. Ray tracing performance was also solid; I was able to see between 60 and 70fps in Control while playing in 1,440p with maxed graphics, DLSS and medium ray tracing.
Still, I definitely noticed the compromises Razer had to make to squeeze the RTX 3080 into such a small case. It was slower than the larger Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, equipped with an RTX 3070 GPU, in all of our 3DMark tests and Geekbench 5's compute benchmark. Clearly, Lenovo was able to squeeze out more performance from what's supposed to be a slower GPU. Compared to the ASUS Zephyrus G15, which has a Ryzen 9 5900HS and an RTX 3080, the Blade 15 lags behind slightly in all of our 3D benchmarks. I also noticed that the Blade 14 could get toasty, with its CPU reaching up to 94 degrees Celsius when I really stressed it out. It's rare for me to see processors going beyond 85 Celsius in gaming notebooks today, so that was particularly surprising. There were times when the bottom of the Blade 14 felt too hot to touch. I was glad that the GPU generally stayed below 84 Celsius under load, which is more in line with competitors. Despite running so hot, it lasted 10 hours and 50 minutes in our battery benchmark. That's mainly for productivity tasks, though. Expect it to last a lot less if you're gaming unplugged. The Blade 14's case size also has implications for its keyboard. While it looks and feels just like Razer's existing laptop designs, with a satisfying amount of key travel and responsiveness, the layout is far more cramped than the Blade 15. That led to a bit of finger pain after extended Destiny 2 and Overwatch sessions. Maybe I'm just becoming less dexterous in my older age, but I think that alone could be a dealbreaker for some gamers. You're going to be hitting those WASD keys quite a bit in shooters, after all. Port-wise, the Blade 14 crams in most of what you'd want: two USB-C 3.2 connections with charging; two USB 3.2 Type A sockets; a full-sized HDMI port; a headphone jack; and a custom power cable. It's definitely nice to be able to charge up using a normal USB-C cable, but those won't be powerful enough to juice up while gaming. Thankfully, the Blade 14's bundled power adapter is relatively small, unlike the bricks that gaming laptops used to come with. Devindra Hardawar/Engadget As usual, I would have liked to see an SD card reader, but that's just another reason to consider the larger Razer notebooks. Similarly, the Blade 14 doesn't have upgradable RAM, which means you're stuck with the 16GB of memory it comes with. You can upgrade the NVMe SSD, but you'll be limited to 2TB. The Blade 15 and 17, meanwhile, let you add more RAM and up to two NVMe SSDs. The Blade 14 starts at $1,800 with an RTX 3060 and a 1080p 144Hz screen. Given that price point, I'd recommend the Blade 15 for most shoppers. You'd get a larger screen, more customizable and faster hardware, as well as fewer thermal restrictions. And when it comes to 14-inch competition, the ASUS Zephyrus G14 is another solid choice (though I'd give Razer the upper hand when it comes to long-term reliability). Still, there's a lot to love about the Blade 14. More so than the overpriced Blade Stealth 13, this new model is a light laptop that'll satisfy most of your hardware demands. So if you're in love with the idea of a sub-four-pound Blade, and don't mind the compromises involved, then go with the gaming gods. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Facebook expands access to licensed music for game streams Posted: 02 Sep 2021 10:00 AM PDT Facebook Gaming is letting more creators play licensed music in the background while streaming gameplay. Streamers who have partner status have been able to spin tracks from a broad range of publishers and labels since last September, and now Level Up creators can do so too. Level Up is a step below partner status. Creators in the former group can monetize their streams with Facebook's Stars currency, ads and paid subscriptions. They also get access to tools to build their audience and features like being able to stream in 1080p at 60 frames per second. Partners get extra perks, such as a partner badge, early access to new products and more personalized support from Facebook. Streamers in both categories can play songs from hundreds of music labels, publishers and societies, including big hitters like Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. As well as live broadcasts, the deals cover archived streams and clips viewers make from streams. Creators aren't limited to predetermined playlists, so they can play almost any song they like. Facebook notes that streamers don't have the right to use certain songs, though, and it'll flag those to creators with a notification. The streamer can remove that restricted song from their playlist to avoid running into trouble. Elsewhere, Facebook says its systems are better at detecting the difference between having music in the background while you're playing games and having music as the focus of the stream, like hosting a radio show, which isn't allowed. To mark the expansion, Facebook is hosting several streams in which celebrity DJs will select the background tracks while creators play games. DJ Khaled and Diplo are among those taking part in the special streams, which take place throughout this month. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Several Final Fantasy games are coming to PlayStation Now Posted: 02 Sep 2021 09:45 AM PDT It'll soon be much easier to get your Final Fantasy fix if you subscribe to an all-you-can-play service. Both PlayStation Now and Xbox Game Pass are adding several games from the RPG franchise in the months ahead, most of them for PS Now. Final Fantasy XIII is first out of the gate and now available on Xbox Game Pass for console and PC — the first time it's been available on current consoles. However, you'll also get to play the legendary Final Fantasy VII (the original, not the remake) on PS Now starting September 7th. The rest are titles that will help PS Now catch up to Xbox Game Pass, where they've been available for a while. Final Fantasy VIII Remastered hits Sony's service on October 5th, while IX (arguably the PS1's curtain call) debuts November 2nd. The remasters of X and X-2 surface on December 7th, while Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age will have to wait until January 4th. This expansion won't satisfy you if you're a completist (you won't see VI and earlier), and it probably won't convince you to subscribe all by itself. Still, it could be a significant factor. You can relive the Final Fantasy titles of your youth on a modern system while also receiving access to a load of considerably newer games. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Twitter is building a feature to automatically archive tweets Posted: 02 Sep 2021 09:18 AM PDT In 2018, Disney fired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn over tweets he wrote between 2008 and 2012. While the company later rehired Gunn, he's just one of many people for whom an old social media post came back to haunt him. In recent years, some Twitter users have turned to tools like TweetDelete.net to avoid something similar happening to them. Twitter could soon also offer its own solution to the problem. Sharing part of its product roadmap with Bloomberg, the company said it plans to eventually test a feature that would allow people to automatically archive their tweets after a predetermined amount of time. The tool is currently in the concept phase and doesn't have a release date, but Twitter said it's considering a number of time options, including 30, 60 and 90 days. The decision to give people the ability to archive their tweets is part of a broader "social privacy" push Twitter told Bloomberg is about giving people more control over their identity on the platform. To that end, the company plans to test a feature this month that will allow people to remove followers. By the end of the year, it will also trial a tool that gives individuals the option to remove themselves from public conversations people mention them in. Twitter told Bloomberg many of the above tools come in response to creative workarounds its users have found to make up for missing features. For instance, people have found you can remove someone as a follower by blocking and unblocking them. Building on a concept it shared back in July (seen above), the company also plans to prompt people to review whether their accounts are public or private. It will be interesting to see if Twitter decides to only give some users the option to archive their tweets. After all, the platform acts as a kind of public record, giving people a way to keep politicians accountable for things they said in the past. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locast suspends local TV streaming service in wake of court ruling Posted: 02 Sep 2021 09:10 AM PDT Local TV streaming service Locast has closed up shop, at least for the time being. It suspended operations following a ruling on Tuesday that it couldn't use its non-profit status as a legal shield. Networks have claimed that Locast violated their copyright. "We are suspending operations, effective immediately," Locast wrote in an email to users. "As a non-profit, Locast was designed from the very beginning to operate in accordance with the strict letter of the law, but in response to the court's recent rulings, with which we respectfully disagree, we are hereby suspending operations, effective immediately." Locast argued that it was acting as a booster for local signals, which third parties are allowed to do under US copyright law, to help people who can't pick up a signal with an antenna to watch local TV. However, CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox (which were reportedly backed by AT&T and Dish Network) felt that Locast was dodging carriage fees. The court also took issue with the $5/month payments Locast took from users to ostensibly cover running costs. A judge said Locast was using those funds to expand into more markets and that it was bringing in "far more money from user charges than was necessary." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ASUS bets on OLED for all of its new creator laptops Posted: 02 Sep 2021 09:00 AM PDT ASUS has just four letters to sell you on its latest creator-focused notebooks: OLED. The company is bringing OLED screens to all of its new models, a move meant to differentiate them in the increasingly crowded PC market. Compared to traditional LCD screens, OLED offers deeper blacks levels, vastly better contrast, and more responsiveness. Even today, as LCDs have evolved to be brighter and faster, OLED offers a more pronounced visual "pop." We've been seeing notebooks with OLED for years, like on the XPS 15 and ZenBook, but they've typically been positioned as a premium feature for select models. Now ASUS is trying to make its name synonymous with OLED, so much so that it's bringing it to new mid-range notebooks like the VivoBook Pro 14X and 16X. It's also touting the first 16-inch 4K OLED HDR screens on notebooks across several models: the ProArt Studiobook Pro, ProArt Studiobook and the Vivobook Pro. Befitting its name, you can expect to see the fastest hardware on the market in the StudioBook Pro 16 OLED (starting at $2,500). It'll be powered by H-series Ryzen 5000 processors, 3rd-gen Intel Xeon chips and NVIDIA's professional-grade RTX A2000 and A5000 GPUs. And if you don't need all of that power, there's also the Studiobook 16 OLED ($2,000), which has the same Ryzen chips, Intel Core i7 CPUs and either RTX 3070 or 3060 graphics. Both notebooks will be equipped with 4K OLED HDR screens that reach up to 550 nits and cover 100 percent of DCI-P3 color gamut. They'll also sport ASUS Dial, a new rotary accessory located at the top of their trackpads, offering similar functionality to Microsoft's forgotten Surface Dial. ASUS Stepping down another level, there's the the latest ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED, the company's 15-inch dual-screen notebook. That can be equipped with up to RTX 3070 graphics and a core i9 CPU. While they seemed gimmicky at first, ASUS has proven it can make dual-display notebooks genuinely useful, as we saw in our review of the Zenbook Pro Duo. The single-screen ZenBook Pro 15 OLED ($1,470), meanwhile, tops out with RTX 3050 Ti graphics and Ryzen 5000 processors. The Vivobook Pro 14X and 16X OLED ($1,400) are entirely new territory for ASUS, sitting above the mainstream Vivobook line, but below the more premium Zenbook. I suppose at this point, with consumers eager to snap up more PCs, having additional models won't hurt. The 16X will come with up to a 4K 16-inch OLED screen, while the 14X has a 2.8K OLED 90Hz option. You'll be able to choose from Intel Core i7 or Ryzen 5000 H-series chips and up to RTX 3050 Ti graphics. And, not to be forgotten, the Vivobook Pro 14 and 15 OLED offer similar power in cases that weigh 3.09 pounds and 3.64 pounds, respectively. ASUS ASUS's new notebooks are expected to be available in North America in Q4. The one possible exception is the Vivobook Pro 14X OLED, which hits Canada at the same time (but it's unclear about the rest of North America). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| YouTube Premium and Music now have 50 million subscribers combined Posted: 02 Sep 2021 08:41 AM PDT It didn't take long for YouTube to claim another milestone for its music services, although its significant isn't quite so clear. The Google-owned brand said it had racked up a combined 50 million YouTube Premium and Music subscribers roughly a year and a half after reaching the 20 million mark. It's also the "fastest growing" music subscription service, according to YouTube's music chief Lyor Cohen. Certain markets were stronger than others. Cohen touted "impressive growth" in Brazil, India, Japan, Russia and South Korea. He didn't provide numbers for those countries or the US. That figure still makes YouTube smaller than Spotify, which claimed 165 million Premium subscribers as of June 2021. Apple hasn't divulged its Music subscriber numbers since June 2019, when it had 60 million, while Amazon last touted 55 million Music customers (only some of them paying for Unlimited) in January 2020. Still, these figures in isolation would suggest YouTube is quickly becoming a major force in music streaming. There are concerns about the claims, though. YouTube didn't indicate how many were Music or Premium subscribers, or how they used it. While you get YouTube Music with a Premium subscription, that doesn't mean you're using Premium for music — you might just want to get rid of ads and download videos. YouTube's tally also includes people using free trials, so the number of paying customers is likely lower. Samsung offers two to four months of free YouTube Premium access with new phones, for instance, but many of those users will drop Premium after the trial is over. The data still hints competition in the music streaming world is heating up, with relatively small outfits like YouTube and Amazon Music posing more of a threat to incumbents like Spotify and Apple. However, it could take a long while before YouTube is large enough to make the heavyweights nervous. |
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