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• An Amazon dispatcher pressured a driver to keep delivering packages amid tornado alarms
• Amazon's Appstore is finally working again on Android 12
• 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2' won't include NFTs following fan uproar
• Adobe’s Project Shasta is an AI-powered, web-based audio editor
• Chipotle's first 'digital kitchen' opens later this month in Ohio
• An appreciation of the PlayStation Vita on its 10th birthday
• Netflix drops a surprise teaser for its 'Witcher' prequel
• AT&T and Verizon settle FCC 911 outage investigations
• Waze can finally help you find EV charging stations
• Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 delivers on its EV-of-the-future promise
• Tencent buys 'Back 4 Blood' studio Turtle Rock
• Universal Audio Volt review: Pro audio power at bedroom producer prices
• Apple's latest AirPods drop to $140, plus the rest of the week's best tech deals
• TikTok Kitchen will make its most popular recipes for you
• Nintendo brings five more Sega Genesis games to Switch Online Expansion Pack
• Analogue Pocket review: Vintage fun with a new age feel
• The best accessories for your new iPhone
• Amazon knocks $100 off the GoPro Hero 10 Black
• FedEx receives its first fully-electric GM Brightdrop delivery vans
• Engadget Podcast: Why the Analogue Pocket is the perfect retro portable
• Meta reportedly facing FTC probe over its acquisition of VR workout app 'Supernatural'
• The Morning After: 'Final Fantasy XIV' is so popular that Square Enix stopped selling it
• Sony's latest smartphone camera sensor gathers twice as much light
• US schools cancel classes following potential shooting threats on TikTok
• LG adds a 27-inch model to its refreshed UltraFine 4K OLED monitor lineup

An Amazon dispatcher pressured a driver to keep delivering packages amid tornado alarms Posted: 17 Dec 2021 05:02 PM PST An Amazon dispatcher in Illinois told a driver to continue delivering packages even after tornado sirens warned of incoming danger. That's according to screenshots shared this week by Bloomberg that document an exchange that reportedly happened last Friday shortly before a tornado hit an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, leading to a structural collapse and six deaths. "Just keep driving," the dispatcher said in a message sent at 7:08PM that evening. "We can't just call people back for a warning unless Amazon tells us to do so." After being told to "keep delivering" a second time about half an hour later, the driver said she wanted to turn back for her safety. "If you look at the radar, the worst of the storm is going to be right on top of me in 30 minutes." To this, she was told she would lose her job if she drove back. "If you decide to return with your packages, it will be viewed as you refusing your route, which will ultimately end with you not having a job come tomorrow morning," the dispatcher said. "I'm literally stuck in this damn van without a safe place to go with a tornado on the ground," the driver messaged back before being told to shelter in place. In a statement to Bloomberg, Amazon said the dispatcher didn't follow safety guidelines. The company also said it's investigating the incident and that the driver is safe. Here's the full text of the statement it shared with the outlet: This was a developing situation across a broad geographic area, and unfortunately the delivery service partner's dispatcher didn't follow the standard safety practice. This dispatcher should have immediately directed the driver to seek shelter when the driver reported hearing tornado sirens. While this text exchange was going on, the local Amazon team was ensuring each delivery service partner had directed their drivers to shelter in place or seek shelter and advised them to stop delivering for the evening. We're glad the driver is safe and we're using the learnings from this incident to improve our policies and guidance for delivery service partners and drivers. Under no circumstance should the dispatcher have threatened the driver's employment, and we're investigating the full details of this incident and will take any necessary action. Amazon's policies have led to several incidents where workers were expected to clock in even during extreme weather. In September, as tropical depression Ida caused widespread flooding throughout New York City, the retailer kept its warehouses open. In 2017, drivers told Engadget's Bryan Menegus, then writing for Gizmodo, they delivered packages in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Irma. The company is also known for keeping its facilities open even in extreme heat. During the historic heatwave that hit the Pacific Northwest this past summer, employees had to work even as temperatures inside one of the company's facilities neared 90 degrees. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the collapse of the warehouse in Illinois. According to employees who spoke to Bloomberg, the facility didn't conduct any drills before the tornado that would have prepared them for the emergency.

Amazon's Appstore is finally working again on Android 12 Posted: 17 Dec 2021 03:19 PM PST Amazon has addressed the issue that had left those with Android 12 phones unable to use apps they had downloaded from the company's Appstore. "We have released a fix for an issue impacting app launches for Amazon Appstore customers that have upgraded to Android 12 on their mobile devices," a spokesperson for the company told Engadget on Friday. "We are contacting customers with steps to update their Appstore experience. We are sorry for any disruption this has caused." Reports of applications from the Appstore not working on Android 12 started to surface online in late October. Those with devices like the Google Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S21 found they couldn't run any of the software they had previously downloaded from the Appstore. There were also reports of no apps showing up in the marketplace. While the issue didn't affect many people, it took about a month for Amazon to acknowledge it officially. On Friday, the company didn't say what had caused the problem. When it first surfaced, there was speculation it stemmed from an incompatibility between Amazon's built-in DRM and Android 12.

'S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2' won't include NFTs following fan uproar Posted: 17 Dec 2021 02:35 PM PST Following backlash from fans, S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 developer GSC Game World has walked back on plans it had to include non-fungible tokens in its new game. The announcement came a day after the studio said S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 would include NFTs. pic.twitter.com/mffnmpiQiw — S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) December 16, 2021 On Thursday, GSC Game World posted and then deleted an explanation for the decision where it said it would use the money it earned from the tokens to fund the development of the sequel. Fans were quick to criticize both the initial Wednesday announcement and the statement the studio later shared. The response was such that GSC Game World deleted its appeal about an hour after posting it. "We hear you," its latest statement reads. "Based on the feedback we received, we've made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2." The studio added it would make the game at "whatever the cost is" to itself. GSC Game World's about-face comes in the same week Ubisoft pushed forward with its highly-criticized plan to include NFTs in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. While video game fans have been almost universally united in their distaste for the technology, at this point it seems likely we'll see more, not fewer, publishers try to include NFTs in their games with people like EA CEO Andrew Wilson saying the technology represents the "future of our industry."

Adobe’s Project Shasta is an AI-powered, web-based audio editor Posted: 17 Dec 2021 02:01 PM PST Adobe is testing out a new web-based tool that uses AI to simplify audio recording. The software is called Project Shasta, and it could make recording and editing podcasts and other projects a lot easier and more approachable. The project started off in Adobe Labs as an experiment to find "new ways to help people edit audio on the web," Mark Webster, Adobe's head of audio products, wrote in a post on Product Hunt. "But then it became clear that the pandemic made recording difficult too, even for audio professionals. Our vision became empowering everyone with the tools they needed to create professional sounding audio." The result is a browser-based tool — it requires Google Chrome — for creating and editing audio recordings in a visual interface without the need for professional equipment or other advanced tools.  Users record their audio in clips and Shasta automatically transcribes the recordings. From there, editing is as simple as deleting text from the transcription. There are also AI-based filters that can improve the audio quality or automatically remove filler words like "um." Project Shasta also supports remote recording, so guest speakers can easily join in for recordings. The software will handle syncing up the clips even if one person has a shoddy internet connection.  While the most obvious use case for Shasta is recording podcasts, Webster notes it could also be used for voiceovers, videos and other projects with an audio component.  For now, it's unclear exactly what Adobe has planned for Project Shasta. Webster said that the software is in an "early Alpha" stage, and that the company is sharing it now to get feedback from testers, but didn't share when it might be available more widely. Project Shasta is "free for now" to those who request access via Adobe's website.

Chipotle's first 'digital kitchen' opens later this month in Ohio Posted: 17 Dec 2021 12:53 PM PST Chipotle will open its first "digital kitchen" later this month in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, the company announced on Friday. The "Chipotlane" location will be smaller than a traditional Chipotle restaurant. It won't have a dining room (though there will still be patio seating) and will only serve digital orders made through the restaurant's website, mobile app and platforms like DoorDash. You can pick up your food either through the drive-thru or walk-up windows. The opening is the culmination of a process that started in 2019. At the time, the company said it would redesign its restaurants to better serve online and mobile orders. That year, Chipotle's digital business had grown to $1 billion. The pandemic greatly accelerated that trend. Last year, digital sales accounted for more than half of all of Chipotle's sales. That's a trend likely to continue as the company opens more online-only locations.

An appreciation of the PlayStation Vita on its 10th birthday Posted: 17 Dec 2021 12:00 PM PST A decade ago today saw the Japanese release of Sony's last dedicated gaming handheld, the PlayStation Vita. It wasn't quite as popular as its predecessor the PlayStation Portable (or its main rival the Nintendo 3DS), and Sony is still trying to bring its gaming experience to mobile, but the Vita still holds a special place in the hearts of those who owned one. At Engadget, that's Nathan Ingraham and Devindra Hardawar, who have both extolled the virtues of the system in our internal Slack many times over the years (yes, I checked). So on the Vita's 10th birthday we've asked our resident experts what their favorite games for the system were, and inspired them to dig the shiny little handheld out of their closets for another go-around. — Kris Naudus, Buyer's Guide Editor Gravity Rush The freedom of Gravity Rush's acrobatic gameplay, which lets you fall through the air in every direction, as well as walk along the sides and bottoms of buildings, went hand-in-hand with the Vita's portability. That made it a game I couldn't help but love despite its frustrations. Gravity Rush took full advantage of the system's motion controls — you had to tilt the Vita to control your flying momentum — and its watercolor anime aesthetic looked incredible on the Vita's screen. Few games captured the magic of the system's hardware that well. Sure, the combat was simplistic and the story didn't make much sense. But the visceral feeling of flying was hard to match, especially on a portable console. I never got around to playing the PlayStation 4 Gravity Rush remaster, mostly because my memories of the game are so intimately tied to the Vita. I suppose it's time to finally get over that hangup, though. The Vita is well and truly dead, and if I wanted to play the sequel, I have no choice but to move over to my PS4. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior Editor Lumines: Electric Symphony Every portable console needs a good puzzle game. For the PS Vita, it was Lumines: Electric Symphony. The first Lumines game was a launch title for the Vita's predecessor, the PlayStation Portable, and Electric Symphony arrived when the Vita went on sale. The basic gameplay remained the same: you manipulate 2-by-2 squares of varying colors together and match those colors to clear things out. If your screen gets overloaded, that's that. What makes Lumines: Electric Symphony so engrossing is the way the gameplay is matched up to the beat of a lengthy selection of classic electronic tunes from artists like LCD Soundsystem, Aphex Twin, The Chemical Brothers and about 30 more. Each song has a different speed, and that speed is reflected in the gameplay; it's not like Tetris where things progressively get faster and faster. It's actually more like Tetris Effect, which was the first Tetris game to make music and sound a crucial part of the gameplay experience. Lumines: Electric Symphony doesn't reach the lofty heights of Tetris as a puzzle game, but that's not a huge knock. It's hard to compete with one of the most popular video games of all time, but Electric Symphony is still a great way to kill some time, either through a short session or a long play-through of the more than 30 tracks the game has to offer. — Nathan Ingraham, Deputy Editor Modnation Racers: Road Trip Ever since Super Mario Kart arrived in 1992, game developers have tried to emulate its appeal with little success. For my money, Modnation Racers: Road Trip came pretty damn close. The PS Vita title was a new version of a PS3 game that came out in 2010. Both installments follow the Mario Kart script pretty closely: crazy tracks with weapons and items that let you even the odds against your competition. What the Modnation Racers games did differently was offer endless customization — of your kart, racer and, most crucially, the courses themselves. Even on the somewhat scaled-back Vita game, you could download all manner of creations from the Modnation community, something that gave the game life for years until Sony inevitably shut down the servers. Even without all the community content, though, Modnation Racers: Road Trip is still a blast to play. The 30 tracks in its career mode are extremely well designed, and the driving mechanics simply feel great. After almost 10 years, this game is showing its age, but it's a great example of Sony's promise to bring console-quality games to the Vita. The graphics don't look quite as sharp as they used to, but the racing experience remains a blast. — N.I. OlliOlli Sony initially pitched the PS Vita as a way to play console-quality games on the go, but its legacy is just as much about the smaller, indie games that hit the handheld. OlliOlli and its sequel OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood are two games that I played for hours on end, even though they weren't as flashy and high-profile as games from bigger studios. OlliOlli is a masterful side-scrolling skateboarding game that combines lo-fi music and graphics with gameplay that was simple to learn, but maddening to master. And let me be clear, "maddening" is a complement. Once I figured out how to do more advanced moves and pull off longer combos to juice my score, I got addicted to the challenge of mastering every level. And there's a ton to master here; both games had five worlds to conquer, each with five "amateur" and "pro" levels. And, each level has five objectives to nail if you really want to be a completist. Usually, I don't try to hit 100 percent of all the goals in a game, but here I was compelled to keep on pushing myself to beat as many challenges as I possibly could. Both games have held up over the years, with the sequel adding crucial new mechanics like manuals, so you can skate through entire levels without stopping your combo. I recently replayed both, and still really enjoy trying to do a level as cleanly as possible — if you like chasing high scores, OlliOlli is a great option. And if you never tried these games, I've got some good news: both are available for current PlayStation consoles, and a new game, OlliOlli World, is coming out on February 8th. — N.I. Persona 4 Golden I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the world of Persona than this title on the Vita. Persona 4 Golden's bold and colorful aesthetic practically popped off of the system's OLED display. (I can't say if the later LCD Vita handled it worse.) It also featured one of the most memorable JRPG soundtracks I've ever encountered. Best of all, the Vita's portability was perfectly suited to P4G's grind. Being able to bring the game outdoors, on the subway and all over my apartment made leveling up feel more like a genuine adventure, rather than a typical JRPG chore. For me, someone who grew up with every iteration of Game Boy, Persona 4 Golden also proved that portable systems could finally deliver a premium experience similar to home consoles. Sure, there were limitations around battery life and screen size, but in 2012 playing a deep and visually rich RPG on the Vita felt like a miracle. And honestly, it still does. Time to dig up my Vita. — D.H. Xenogears I know this is a bit of a cheat. But the Vita is one of the last systems I own that can still run Xenogears, Square's brilliant and enigmatic Neon Genesis Evangelion-esque RPG. As someone who was fundamentally shaped by both Chrono Trigger and Evangelion in the '90s, Xenogears is that rare bit of culture that has always felt specifically made for geeks like me. I love it all: the unique combat, the eclectic Yasunori Mitsuda score and the giant mech battles. Hell, I even dig the exposition-heavy final act. Once the Vita arrived, being able to play Xenogears on the go made me fall for it all over again. — D.H.

Netflix drops a surprise teaser for its 'Witcher' prequel Posted: 17 Dec 2021 11:31 AM PST The Witcher: Blood Origin, a prequel to Netflix's live-action adaptation of Anderzej Sapkowski's dark fantasy novel series, will debut in 2022, and you can watch the first trailer now. In a surprise move, Netflix shared footage from the show as part of season two of The Witcher. The trailer is attached to the final episode of the season as a post-credits scene. And as of the writing of this article, Netflix has yet to upload the clip to YouTube. THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN is coming to Netflix in 2022 pic.twitter.com/Bzva1q5jEu — Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) December 17, 2021 Per Gizmodo, the trailer doesn't provide many story hints, but what it does do is offer a look at Michelle Yeoh as Scian, one of the protagonists of the tale. Blood Origin will center on the Conjunction of the Spheres, the moment in the Witcher universe where humans, elves and monsters all came to inhabit the fantasy world of the series. Blood Origin is just one of several Witcher-related projects Netflix has in the production pipeline following the success of the first season of its live action adaptation. The company recently greenlit a third season of the show, in addition to a second animated movie (following Nightmare of the Wolf) and a kids and family series.

AT&T and Verizon settle FCC 911 outage investigations Posted: 17 Dec 2021 10:53 AM PST AT&T and Verizon are among four providers that have agreed to settle FCC investigations into outages that led to failed 911 calls. CenturyLink (now Lumen Technologies) and Intrado will also pay settlements and enact measures to ensure they adhere to the agency's 911 rules. Verizon (Engadget's former parent company) will pay $274,000, the smallest settlement of the four, to resolve an investigation into an outage on May 7th, 2020. The other investigations all related to outages on September 28th, 2020. AT&T will settle two investigations with its $460,000 payment, while CenturyLink and Intrado will pay $3.8 million and $1.75 million respectively. In addition to failed 911 calls, the FCC says the investigations into AT&T, CenturyLink and Intrado concerned whether those companies gave 911 call centers timely notifications about the outages. The second AT&T investigation related to whether the provider violated FCC rules by failing to deliver number and location information during the outage. "The most important phone call you ever make may be a call to 911," FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. "Sunny day outages can be especially troubling because they occur when the public and 911 call centers least expect it. It's vital that phone companies prevent these outages wherever possible and provide prompt and sufficient notification to 911 call centers when they do occur." The settlements pale in comparison to the $19.5 million T-Mobile agreed to pay to resolve an investigation into a 12-hour outage in June 2020. Still, they should at least serve as a reminder the FCC doesn't take outages impacting 911 calls lightly.

Waze can finally help you find EV charging stations Posted: 17 Dec 2021 10:30 AM PST One of the trickier aspects of EV ownership is finding charging stations. The infrastructure improves every year, but it's still not as widespread and robust as what's available to those who drive gasoline cars. That's where apps like PlugShare and Chargemap can be a godsend, helping you not only find nearby stations but also plan your routes. Now there's another option you can turn to for help. Waze Waze has partnered with Volkswagen (the automaker owns Electrify America) to map EV charging stations across the US. Starting today, you can use the software to add stops at stations along your planned route. If you're so inclined, you can also change the car icon to that of a Volkswagen ID.4. Waze wouldn't comment on when the feature could come to other countries. Waze parent company Google has been helping people find EV charging stations through Maps since 2019. And even if the update is long overdue, it's one diehard Waze users are sure to appreciate — if only because it means they probably can get away with one less app on their phone. Update 3:15PM ET: This post has been updated to clarify wider availability.

Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 delivers on its EV-of-the-future promise Posted: 17 Dec 2021 10:00 AM PST Automakers have been struggling to produce an EV that looks futuristic but not pretentious. Starting at $39,700, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 seems to toe that line with a mixture of retro and futuristic design elements combined with technology that actually works as advertised. The hatchback-esque SUV doesn't just look cool, it's a pleasure to drive and is the culmination of the technology Hyundai has been adding to vehicles for years. We got a chance to drive it around Southern California and suffice to say, Hyundai has produced a winner.

Tencent buys 'Back 4 Blood' studio Turtle Rock Posted: 17 Dec 2021 09:34 AM PST Tencent has added another notable game developer to its roster after buying Slamfire, the parent company of Turtle Rock Studios, for an undisclosed sum. The studio is behind Left 4 Dead, Evolve and, most recently, Back 4 Blood. Co-founders Phil Robb and Chris Ashton will continue to run the studio. "By joining the Tencent family, we will not only get access to their vast resources and expertise, but we have found a partner who is encouraging us to be ambitious and visionary," Turtle Rock wrote in a blog post. The studio said it's expanding its team to support Back 4 Blood and create more multiplayer experiences. It added it will be able to do something new: "turn a universe we created into a true long-standing AAA franchise." Tencent has made more major strides in the gaming sphere this year. It acquiredLittleBigPlanet 3 developer Sumo Group this summer for $1.26 billion. As analyst Daniel Ahmad notes, the company has bought or invested in more than 100 gaming-related companies in 2021 alone. For instance, it took stakes in Remedy Entertainment and Life is Strange studio Dontnod.

Universal Audio Volt review: Pro audio power at bedroom producer prices Posted: 17 Dec 2021 09:00 AM PST The 21st century gave rise to the bedroom producer. And in 2020 the music industry finally acknowledged that songs recorded in someone's bedroom were just as viable as those captured in a studio filled with millions of dollars worth of equipment. This has, of course, led many of those high-end studio equipment makers to try and get in on the home studio game. The latest to make the leap is Universal Audio. They're a brand with over 60 years of experience, whose gear has been used to record some of the most iconic albums of all time. But, until recently the most affordable interface the company made was the $699 Apollo Solo – hardly the sort of money a beginner or casual hobbyist is gonna drop. The Volt series, however, ditches the company's expensive DSP chips and focuses on delivering the basics with a few unique twists. The result is a collection of affordable audio interfaces that should be on the shortlist for any home studio setup. The Volt lineup includes five models from the $139 single-input Volt 1, all the way up to the $369 four-input Volt 476. Some of the features are different and the number of ins and outs varies from model to model, but they share the same core including 24-bit/192 kHz audio converters and preamps with a "Vintage" mode that attempts to recreate the sound of a classic UA 610 tube preamp. I tested two midrange models: the $189 Volt 2 and $299 Volt 276. These are both two-input interfaces. What separates the "76" versions from the base models are some ergonomic and design tweaks, and the inclusion of a built-in compressor modeled on the company's iconic 1176 limiting amplifier. Hardware Terrence O'Brien / Engadget Before you even start contemplating the compressor, though, the difference between the Volt 2 and 276 is immediately obvious. The 2 is simple and utilitarian. It looks like most other interfaces in the sub $200 range. There's a pair of combination TRS / XLR inputs on the front, along with knobs to control the gain of each channel There's buttons to turn on 48v phantom power for using condenser mics, Vintage mode, and for switching between line level and instrument level signals. Lastly, there's a monitor volume knob, headphone jack and a button for turning on and off direct monitoring. Around back are MIDI in and out ports (something notably absent from the company's higher-end Apollo interfaces), balanced outs for connecting studio monitors, a USB-C port, a 5V power jack (necessary when using it with an iPad or other mobile device) and, somewhat strangely, an on and off switch. Terrence O'Brien / Engadget The rest of the Volt 2 is a plain box. On the plus side, if you have limited desk space you can stick the Volt 2 in tight spots or rest things on top of it, and still have access to all the controls. On the downside, it can feel cramped, especially when you're trying to monitor your input levels. There are two tiny LEDs next to each input that light up to warn you when you're about to start clipping. The 276, on the other hand, is handsome and spacious. But you're going to need extra deskspace since most of the controls are on the top. On the top right you'll find large five-segment LEDs for checking your levels. The gain knob and monitor level knob on top are also much bigger, which makes it easier to dial things in. In addition, the whole thing just has a lot more style. The metering LEDs are on a slight angle to make them easier to see, and the sides are a lovely wood. Are those aesthetic flourishes and conveniences alone worth the extra $60? Honestly, they might be. The competition Terrence O'Brien / Engadget Once you factor in the compressor, I think the choice between the two here is obvious, as long as your budget can handle it. The Volt 2 (and by extension the Volt 1) are reasonably priced, perfectly serviceable audio interfaces. But they don't necessarily stand out from the crowd. Focusrite's Scarlett series is well established, competitively priced and shares a lot of the same features. The third-generation Scarlett 2i2 is $170 ($20 less than the Volt 2), shares all of the same connectivity options and has "Air" mode, which is comparable to UA's Vintage. Most importantly, though, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two if your goal is to capture the clean audio. With Air and Vintage turned off and the gain on the preamps set to lower levels, both interfaces produce crisp and clear results. Are there differences? Sure. But they're extremely subtle. I wouldn't be able to separate a Volt, from a Scarlett, from an Arturia Minifuse in blind taste test. And I doubt the target audience of hobbyists and beginners would be able to either. (If you want to get really nerdy about the signal-to-noise ratio and noise floor and frequency response, I highly recommend Julian Krause's YouTube channel.) Terrence O'Brien / Engadget Latency among all of these is pretty similar too. I gathered the interfaces I had lying around – the Volt 2, Volt 276, Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 second-gen, and Arturia MiniFuse 2 – and plugged them into my MacBook Pro (2019, quad-core Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM) and Dell XPS 15 (2019, quad-core Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM), set the sample rate to 44,100Hz and buffer size to 128 samples and measured total latency in Ableton Live 11. All four interfaces delivered the same exact latency of 12.2ms on the Mac. On the Dell, both Volts came in at just 8.89ms, the MiniFuse at 9.89ms and the Scarlett brought up the rear at 12.9ms. While lower latency is obviously better, none of those numbers are particularly alarming. That difference starts to show up a bit more when you crank the gain and push the preamps on these interfaces. I plugged my Fender Toronado with Atomic humbuckers directly into the Volt 2, Volt 276, 2i4 and MiniFuse. I cranked the preamp gain on each all the way up and fed them into a basic clean amp simulator in Ableton. Here the differences are a little more obvious, but they're not that dramatic – at least until you turn on the 276's compressor. The MiniFuse at full gain is a bit brittle and sounds like a full-on fuzz pedal. The Scarlett has a bit more bottom end and slightly scooped mids, but is still plenty aggressive. While the Volt 2 is a touch thinner at the bottom end and puts more focus on the mids and highs. The compressor on the 276 makes a huge difference here, though. It softens the edges a bit and tames a bit of the harsher frequencies. It's worth noting that all of these sound pretty harsh at the higher frequencies with the gain turned all the way up. Then again, it's unlikely that anyone will be cranking these preamps to max on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I did not have an SSL2+ on hand to test, which would have been the better comparison for the Volt 276. The 76 Compressor The compressor on the 176, 276 and 476 are really what separate the Volt line from the pack. Both Vintage mode and the 76 Compressor are analog emulations, not digital recreations. But SSL and Focusrite have something similar to Vintage in 4K and Air. Essentially, they boost high frequencies while adding saturation. The 76 Compressor, though, is completely unique in this price range at least. Now, if you record anything using the builtin compressor it's obviously printed to the audio permanently. So, if you want to retain the most flexibility in your recordings for tweaking in DAW later, you'll leave Vintage Mode and the 76 Compressor off. But if you just want to capture the best recording possible from moment one and leave less work for your plugins to do later, never turn Vintage off and use that compressor generously. Vintage mode delivers relatively subtle changes in tone. I rarely plug directly into my interface, and instead run through a Tascam Portastudio 424 as a mixer first because I love the sound of the preamps. Still, I found myself leaving Vintage mode on all the time. It added a different flavor of analog warmth than the Portastudio and I liked the way the two things complemented each other. Terrence O'Brien / Engadget The 76 Compressor, on the other hand, is not particularly subtle. It makes an obvious and dramatic difference to your sound. I would not leave it on all the time. But if I were recording directly to the interface, I'd probably leave it on most of the time. The main issue is that you can't dial in any specifics. The compressor has three presets: vocals, guitar and fast, and you simply switch between them by pressing a button. For recording vocals – especially something spoken like a podcast or voice over – the 76 Compressor is incredible. I would absolutely use it on voice no matter what. Fast mode is excellent on drums… or at least drum machines. I don't have an actual drum set in my home to test it with. Miscellaneous Terrence O'Brien / Engadget One other thing you can't really dial in is direct monitoring. Being able to hear raw audio as it's coming into the interface is essential, but other devices like the MiniFuse and the Scarlett let you manually set the balance between direct monitoring and audio from the PC. On the Volt, it's simply on or off. If you press the direct button input one and two get panned hard left and right, press it again and they're both summed to mono. And that's it. If the direct input is too loud, you either need to change the gain on the preamp or turn up the volume in your DAW. One last thing to mention is the software bundle that comes with the Volt. It's not bad, but frankly there are better ones. The big coup here is Melodyne Essentials, a $99 app that lets you correct pitch and timing of recordings, sort of like Autotune. Relab LX480 Essentials reverb is another standout that recreates Lexicon's famous digital 480L reverb from the '80s. The other inclusions are enough to get you making music, but don't bring anything special to the table. The Softube amp sim and Ableton's Live 11 Lite are often included with other interfaces as well, and Spitfire Audio's LABS instruments are free and can be downloaded by anyone. (Also, if you don't have Spitfire's LABS you should rectify that, like right now.) Wrap-up Universal Audio's first serious foray into the budget interface world is definitely a success. The Volt 1 and 2 don't necessarily separate themselves from the pack, but they're still excellent audio interfaces at reasonable prices. The Volt 176, 276 and 476, however, bring something special to the table – an all-analog emulation of one of the most iconic compressors of all time. They also have a stylish and ergonomic design that many other interfaces in this pricepoint can't match. My trusty Scarlett 2i4 gets the job done and I don't feel any particular urgency to replace it. But I can tell you that if I had to go out and buy a new interface today, I would probably pick up the Volt 476.

Apple's latest AirPods drop to $140, plus the rest of the week's best tech deals Posted: 17 Dec 2021 08:45 AM PST With Christmas right around the corner, now's the time to make sure you have all your gifts in check and grab any last-minute holiday gifts you may need. Thankfully, there remain a good number of tech deals available, and a good portion of them are still slated to arrive before the holiday if you're quick to order. Apple's second-generation AirPods are still on sale for $90, while a couple of colors of the Apple Watch Series 7 are $50 off. NVIDIA's Shield TV Pro streamer remains on sale for $180 and you can get $230 off one of the latest Roomba robot vacuums at Wellbots. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. AirPods (3rd gen) Billy Steele/Engadget Apple's latest AirPods are down to $140, which is $40 off its normal price and a new low. We gave them a score of 88 for their more comfortable design, much improved audio quality and longer battery life. Buy AirPods (3rd gen) at Amazon - $140 AirPods (2nd gen) Chris Velazco / Engadget The previous-generation AirPods are down to $90 right now, or $70 off their normal price. While not the latest models, these are still decent earbuds that we liked for their improved wireless performance and good battery life. Buy AirPods (2nd gen) at Amazon - $90 Apple Watch Series 7 Cherlynn Low / Engadget The latest Apple Watch Series 7 is on sale for $350, or $50 less than usual. It's the most comprehensive wearable Apple makes and it earned a score of 90 from us for its larger screen, faster charging and handy features in watchOS 8. Buy Series 7 at Amazon - $350 Mac Mini M1 Engadget The Mac Mini M1 is down to a new low of $570, while you can get the model with extra storage for $750. Adorama even has the desktop with 16GB of RAM for $100 less than usual, too. This is the most affordable M1 machine you can get right now, and it's a good option if you prefer a desktop and want all of the performance improvements that come with one of Apple's latest chipsets. Buy Mac Mini M1 (256GB) at Amazon - $570 iMac M1 Apple Apple's 24-inch iMac M1 is $100 off, bringing the 8GB RAM/256GB storage model down to $1,399. We gave the colorful desktop a score of 89 for its speedy performance, stunning Retina display and thin design. Buy 24-inch iMac M1 at Amazon - $1,399 NVIDIA Shield TV Pro NVIDIA The high-end NVIDIA Shield TV Pro streamer is down to $180 right now, or $20 off its normal price. It's on the expensive side, but it's one of the best streaming devices you can get at the moment thanks to its Tegra X1+ processor, 16GB of expandable storage and support for 4K upscaling, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, Chromecast technology and more. Buy Shield TV Pro at Amazon - $180Buy Shield TV Pro at Best Buy - $180 Amazon Fire TV Cube Nicole Lee / Engadget Amazon's most powerful streaming device, the Fire TV Cube, has dropped to a new record low of $75. It supports 4K streaming, Dolby Vision and Atmos, plus hands-free Alexa controls. Buy Fire TV Cube at Amazon - $75 GOG.com Winter Sale ZA/UM GOG's annual winter sale has slashed prices of many popular PC games. Some of the highlights include Disco Elysium - The Final Cut for 55 percent off, bringing it down to $18; Cyberpunk 2077 for only $30; and Metro Exodus - Gold Edition for $14.80, or 63 percent off. Shop Winter Sale at GOG.com iRobot Roomba j7+ iRobot's latest vacuum, the Roomba j7+, has dropped to $619 at Wellbots when you use the code 30VAC at checkout. You can also still get the robot without the clean base for $449. This is one of the higher-end robo-vacs the company makes and it has new AI-driven computer vision technology that can detect objects and move around them as it cleans. That means it'll better avoid things like chairs and table legs, as well as unexpected obstacles like pet poop. The j7+ also comes with a clean base into which the robot will empty debris at the end of every cleaning job. Buy Roomba j7+ at Wellbots - $619Buy Roomba j7 at Wellbots - $449 GoPro Hero 10 Black Engadget GoPro's Hero 10 Black action cam is $100 cheaper at Amazon right now, bringing it down to $399. This model has the updated GP2 processor, support for 5.3K max resolution at 60fps, 4K at 120 fps and 2.7K and 240 fps. We also liked its Hypersmooth 4.0 feature, which stabilizes bumps while you're recording. While that's a great deal on the camera alone, you can spend $50 less and get the camera with a 1-year GoPro subscription if you shop directly at GoPro's website. Buy Hero 10 Black at Amazon - $399 Fitbit Charge 5 You can pick up the Fitbit Charge 5 for $130 right now, or $50 off and the same price as it was on Black Friday. This is Fitbit's most comprehensive fitness band and it earned a score of 82 from us for its full-color touchscreen, built-in GPS, onboard EDA sensors for stress tracking and multi-day battery life. Buy Charge 5 at Amazon - $130 Amazon Kindle You can grab the standard Kindle for $55 and get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with it. We gave this e-reader a score of 91 for its improved contrast display, extra front lights and sleeker design. Buy Kindle at Amazon - $55 Amazon Fire tablets A bunch of Fire tablets are on sale again — you can get the Fire 7 for only $35, the Fire HD 8 for $55 and the Fire HD 10 for $100. These are all close to Black Friday prices, so you're still getting a good deal even if you missed the sales a few weeks ago. We gave the Fire HD 8 a score of 81 for its refined design, good performance and new USB-C charging. Buy Fire 7 at Amazon - $35Buy Fire HD 8 at Amazon - $55Buy Fire HD 10 at Amazon - $100 Amazon smart thermostat Amazon's new smart thermostat is down to $48 right now, or 20 percent off its normal price. Like similar gadgets, it's designed to save you money on your home heating and cooling by automating the process. it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that other, more expensive thermostats do, but it's Energy Star-certified and supports a feature called Hunches, which will automatically adjust the temperature based on your habits. You can also control it with Alexa if you have an Echo speaker or smart display in your home. Buy smart thermostat at Amazon - $48 Sony WH-1000XM4 Our favorite pair of Sony headphones, the WH-1000XM4, are down to $248 right now, which is just about $100 off their regular price. We gave these cans a score of 94 for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity. Buy WH-1000XM4 at Amazon - $248 Instant Pot Duo Nova Walmart has an exclusive version of the 8-quart Instant Pot Duo Nova for $59. That's nearly half off the price that the normal model is going for on Amazon right now. You'll get seven cooking modes along with additional one-touch programs that make it easy to prepare things like soups, stews, porridge and more. Buy Instant Pot Duo Nova at Walmart - $59 Samsung EVO Select microSD Samsung's EVO Select microSDXC card in 128GB is down to $16, or 20 percent off its normal price. This is the latest model and while you can find microSD cards for less, EVO is a reliable brand and you're getting a full-sized adapter with this one. Buy Samsung EVO Select (128GB) at Amazon - $16 Chromecast with Google TV The Chromecast with Google TV has dropped to $40, which is $10 cheaper than usual. We gave the device a score of 86 for its 4K HDR streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision and Atmos support plus its much needed and very handy new remote. Buy Chromecast with Google TV at Best Buy - $40 Samsung 980 Pro Samsung's 980 Pro is one of the best internal SSDs you can get right now and a 1TB model is on sale for $170 right now. It has sequential read speeds up to 7,000MB/s and it'll work with the PS5 as long as you have a heatsink attached. Buy Samsung 980 Pro (1TB) at Amazon - $170 Crucial P5 Crucial's P5 NAND NVMe SSD in 1TB is on sale for $145 right now, or 19 percent off its regular rate. This drive can reach sequential read speeds of up to 3,400MB/s and its M.2 format makes it a good option for both desktop and laptop users. Buy Crucial P5 (1TB) at Amazon - $145 Razer Wolverine Ultimate Razer's Wolverine Ultimate gaming controller is down to $81, or nearly half off its normal price. The controller that comes with your Xbox is pretty good, but sometimes you might need a little more features from your gamepad. The Wolverine Ultimate may be wired, but it also has interchangeable thumbtacks and d-pads, so you can actually tweak the controller's layout according to the games you play and your own personal preferences. Buy Wolverine Ultimate at Amazon - $81 Amazon Echo Amazon's Echo smart speaker is on sale for $60 right now. We gave it a score of 89 for its solid audio quality, attractive design and inclusion of a 3.5mm audio jack. Buy Echo at Amazon - $60 Amazon Echo Dot The tiny Echo Dot has dropped to $30, and you can grab the Echo Dot with Clock for only $35. We gave it a score of 88 for its good audio quality for the price, compact design and tap-to-snooze feature. Buy Echo Dot at Amazon - $30Buy Echo Dot with Clock at Amazon - $35 Google Nest Mini The Nest Mini is down to $25. It's the affordable speaker to get if you want to put the Google Assistant in your home without dropping too much money, or taking up too much space. Buy Nest Mini at Best Buy - $25 Philips Hue White and Color smart bulbs (3 pack) Philips A three-pack of Philips Hue White and Color bulbs is down to about $77 thanks to a sale price and an additional 15-percent-off coupon that you can clip on the product page. That's the best price we've seen on this bulbs-only pack, making it best for those that already have a Hue bridge. You'll just have to wait a bit to get them as they will not ship until early January. Buy Philips Hue smart lights (3 pack) at Amazon - $77 Tidal HiFi PRNewsFoto/TIDAL For those curious about Tidal's HiFi service, you can take advantage of the company's holiday sale and get three months of the music service for just $1. Three months of the HiFi Plus Plan is also on sale for $2, and it gets you everything in the standard HiFi plan along with Master Quality audio with Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio support and other extra perks. Shop Tidal holiday sales Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

TikTok Kitchen will make its most popular recipes for you Posted: 17 Dec 2021 08:03 AM PST If you've ever seen a viral TikTok of a recipe that looks surprisingly delicious, you might soon be able to try the dish without having to make it yourself. Starting in March, the platform is opening hundreds of delivery-only TikTok Kitchen locations across the US. TikTok teamed up with Virtual Dining Concepts to create the ghost restaurants, Bloomberg reports. They'll start with around 300 locations and plan to expand to more than 1,000 by the end of 2022. Virtual Dining Concepts has notable experience in this field, having worked with YouTube megastar MrBeast on his MrBeast Burger virtual restaurants (that brand's first brick-and-mortar location is now in the works). The TikTok Kitchen menu, which will change on a quarterly basis, will include some of the platform's biggest food trends. The initial batch of dishes features baked feta pasta (which Google says was the most-searched dish of 2021), a smash burger and pasta chips.  TikTok says it will give its cut of profits from the venture to the creators of the recipes, as well as burgeoning food creators on the platform. However, the service didn't clarify how it will determine the true creators of the dishes, as opposed to a user who might have copied a recipe and made it go viral.

Nintendo brings five more Sega Genesis games to Switch Online Expansion Pack Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:19 AM PST The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack lineup of Sega Genesis games has just grown by five more titles. Nintendo has added Altered Beast, ToeJam & Earl, Dynamite Headdy, Sword of Vermilion and Thunder Force II to the library. Nintendo rolled out the higher tier of its Switch Online service in October, which added Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games (and Animal Crossing: New Horizons DLC) to the existing offerings of NES and SNES titles, as well as cloud storage for save data and the option to play online multiplayer games. However, Nintendo charges a premium for the Expansion Pack. It costs $50 per year or $80 for a family plan, compared with $20 per year for the regular Switch Online service. Soon after Switch Online + Expansion Pack went live, players raised a number of issues they had with the service, such as strange control mapping for N64 games on standard controllers and iffy emulation quality. Others claimed they lost save data and encountered crashes. Nevertheless, Nintendo is continuing to bolster the lineup of Expansion Pack titles. It added N64 classic Paper Mario earlier this month, while Banjo-Kazooie will arrive in January.

Analogue Pocket review: Vintage fun with a new age feel Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:00 AM PST Earlier this week we gave a preview of the Analogue Pocket handheld retro gaming system. The modern take on '90s portable gaming ($220) offers so much more than just the ability to play most vintage portable games. It has built-in music making software, TV/video out via an accessory and, well many other things we wanted to do a proper dive on. We've had so much fun with this thing it's very easy to recommend right up top. If you simply wanted to know if it's a good gaming device, I can safely say that it is and thanks for stopping by. If you want to know more (and you should) then get comfortable as we're going for a ride. First, a little history. Analogue is often described as a "boutique" console manufacturer. It specializes in a very specific type of retro remake. Instead of building a small PC that can run emulators, Analogue's FPGA "cores" allow it to mimic vintage consoles at the hardware level. The idea being, all games play as nature intended with none of the emulator quirks to contend with. The company's early creations were more in the "how to spend it" category. This walnut Neo Geo, for example, or how about this slightly too-fancy NES (and the all-metal reboot). More recently, Analogue's Mega SG (Genesis) and Super NT (SNES) took a slightly more accessible approach, cementing the company's place as the retro console maker de jour. The Pocket aims to build on this legacy with a focus on, somewhat obviously, gaming on the go. It's also the first Analogue console to play carts from different retro brands. At launch, it natively plays cartridges from any of the Game Boy variants. It'll also play Game Gear cartridges with an adapter. Neo Geo Pocket Color, TurboExpress and Atari Lynx adapters are on the way. Another key difference to most retro machines is that Analogue products are designed to play physical media, not ROMs (although you can sometimes find ways around that as the internet is ever industrious). This really is about doing the old school thing in a modern way with minimal adulteration. That said, the Pocket is compatible with flash carts (that can play ROMs from an SD card), but that's a quirk of its fidelity – if it works on a Game Boy, it likely works here etc.. By extension, you can also use any of the original Game Boy accessories such as the GB Camera, printer and any titles that had extras such as rumble packs or gyro sensors. You can even connect the Pocket to an authentic Game Boy for multiplayer player fun. In short, all of Analogue's consoles are functionally 1:1 reproductions of the hardware they honor, just with the Pocket it's multiple systems in one. There are, of course, some modern advances that are deemed useful enough to not distract from the authentic experience. For one, the Pocket has a backlit display. Something that didn't make its way into a Game Boy until the Advance SP (although there was the Game Boy Light in Japan). The Pocket's 3.5-inch screen is also bigger than the largest on any Nintendo GB handheld (2.9-inches on the Advance SP) and covered in modern Gorilla Glass. Then, of course, there are some modern tweaks such as "save states" and a variety of display presets to match the original hardware (including modes for different iterations of Game Boy). James Trew / Engadget What you won't see here are endless submenus with the hyper specific settings that you tend to find in emulators (or their frontends) like RetroArch. It's clear the goal with the Pocket is to remove as much user configuration as possible so you can plug in your game and go. Likewise, the Pocket's connectivity is limited to the Game Boy link port, a headphone jack and an IR port for Game Boy Color (GBC) games that support it (such as Donkey Kong Country or Pokémon Crystal). That's to say, there's no touchscreen, no WiFi or any other such redundant jazzy features. Alas, there's also no video out, but this can be added with the Dock accessory ($99) which allows for Bluetooth/USB controller connectivity along with an HDMI port for connecting to a TV. Battery-wise, thankfully, it's not a trip to Target for a big stash of AAAs. The 4,300 mAh cell is good for around six hours of play time and it charges over USB-C. It's pretty clear that the Pocket's design was heavily inspired by the original dot-matrix Game Boy (aka DMG – that's the iconic one pictured here) and GBC with its portrait configuration. Although one obvious difference is you'll find four main buttons, which is curious as every system the Pocket imitates only had two – although some, like the Atari Lynx, do have additional system buttons. There are also (slightly spongy) shoulder buttons around the back which were introduced on the Game Boy Advance (GBA), along with "start" and "select" buttons at the bottom, with one more inbetween them that brings up the Analogue menu whatever you're playing/doing. Those extra thumb buttons make more sense when you take into account that Analogue has not only partnered with GB Studio — a popular drag-and-drop Game Boy game making tool — but has also added a dedicated spare FPGA for developers to tinker with and use for their own homebrews. How that gets used we'll have to wait and see, but if you make games in GB Studio you can run them right off the Pocket's SD card using a proprietary .pocket format. In short, the handheld is aiming to be a viable platform for indie titles made within the constraints of '90s era hardware. Did I mention that it has music production chops, too? The Pocket comes with a version of Nanoloop — a lightweight but comprehensive music-making app for Game Boy — baked right in. Analogue even made cables specifically so you can connect it to desktop and MIDI sequencers. More on this later. James Trew / Engadget The above is a long way of saying that it's obvious Analogue has put a lot of thought and care into making something that isn't just another way to play Super Mario Land. The addition of tools for developers and an easy pathway to play indie creations give the Pocket one foot in the present. The addition of Nanoloop, likewise, gives it a broader appeal without breaking away from its retro authenticity. So, you get it, it's a clever little thing, but what does it play like? I won't lie, when I inserted Tetris and powered the Pocket up I was, well, I was taken to the Analogue OS home screen. Right now it's very simple with five menu options, of which, only three are currently available: Play Cartridge, Tools and Settings. The other two are Library and Memories which are currently grayed out until the first firmware update — which Analogue says is coming in a few weeks from publish time. There's a lot to be excited about in Analogue OS, but for now it's pretty straightforward, and I'll flag the more interesting parts as they come. Back on the home screen, tapping "Play Cartridge" suddenly teleported me to my secondary school in 1990. The Game Boy had just been released and a few people in my year had one. I still remember being fascinated by the weird green and black display and crunchy sound. The Pocket in its original DMG screen mode replicates this look with amazing accuracy. I have other retro handhelds, and the "authentic" green-and-black modes combined with a mishmash of resolutions and displays never look quite right. Even the fact that the Pocket has a backlight, which of course the first ever Game Boy never had, somehow doesn't break the spell. For example, the Pocket even replicates the tiny gaps between pixels on the DMG's display. This means that the fist-pumping plumber in the top left of Super Mario Land's home screen looks almost indistinguishable from how he did in 1989 (bar that light). My other handheld that runs a fork of RetroPie doesn't have this level of fidelity. You can do all sorts of custom configurations to possibly come close, but that's long and life is short. Pocket does it out of the box, no tweaking needed. James Trew / Engadget If you prefer your nostalgia hit to feel like other versions of the Game Boy, there are modes for those, too. Specifically the Game Boy Light and the Game Boy Pocket. There's also Analogue's own custom mode. What's interesting is that if you place a GBA game into the Pocket, the choice of display modes changes to match. That's to say, you'll get the screen variants of that platform (Original LCD, SP 101) along with another custom Analogue mode specific to that system. As for the Game Gear, you'll get Analogue mode, GG LCD mode and "GG LCD+" which is like the former, with just a shade more pop in its colors. Analogue's own display modes tend to be more modern in style with higher color saturation and no pixel grid. Beyond the presets there are some controls for customization within the menus. These are done by system, and include desaturation controls, sharpness and a frame blending toggle (to mimic the original hardware's slow responsiveness). Though they are nowhere near as extensive as on most software emulators, and I feel it's all the better for it. I am not against deep levels of control, but navigating RetroArch's deep menus has never been my kind of fun. One slight quirk here is that when you change the volume during play, you'll see a corresponding plus or minus sign float over the left side for a second or so. But if the Pocket is in certain display modes, like Analogue's own custom preset, or any game with a white background, you can't see it because it's showing white on white. It doesn't change anything, but it did catch me out for a moment wondering if the volume control wasn't working. Thanks to the square display, original Game Boy games perfectly fill the space available and, not coincidentally, the Pocket's display is exactly 10x the resolution of the original on each axis. This means upscaling is really just a case of adding a zero onto the end of the number of pixels being displayed. Specifically it's an 1600x1440, 615 ppi LCD. This sort of detail is almost as important (maybe as important) as running emulation at the hardware level rather than software. Retro gaming has a storied history of using computational and display limitations for creative effect. If you've ever played old games on a modern emulator and display, you may have noticed something was a bit off; that retro "feel" wasn't there. That's why many emulators offer things like scanlines — because they soften square edges and make things look a bit more authentic. James Trew / Engadget The problem is, scanlines are a bit of a blunt tool. Analogue claims it went out of its way to mimic original displays, "quirks" and all. And from what I can tell, that includes things like response time and refresh rates. An example of this is found among the GBA screens. Despite being a big step up in the number of colors it could display at one time (512 up from the GBC's 56) the screen still didn't have a light until later iterations. This gave the games on the early GBAs a distinct look and you can activate a mode that replicates that, if that's your preference. Or go more modern if it's not. The benefit to this will largely depend on the game you are playing, as some lean into the limitations of the hardware more than others, but it feels much more authentic than regular old scanlines to me in terms of juicing that vintage vibe. I, personally, love the original screen modes. They feel like scanlines done right. The start screen for Sonic on the Game Gear, for example, somehow seems more detailed when viewed in the original GG LCD mode. Our hedgehog's wagging finger seems just that little more detailed and the font more "3D" – for lack of a better word. In terms of game compatibility, theoretically, there should be very few titles that worked on original hardware that don't work here, if any. I only had 10 or so games to test with, but the only things that were problematic were a US version of Mario Kart Super Circuit and Mickey Mouse - Castle of Illusion on the Game Gear which loads fine but crops off some of the bottom of the game. The European version of Mario Kart I had worked just fine, but the US one seemed to stall after loading. Analogue suggested I give that cart a good clean, which I did, several times, but I never got it to work despite it working instantly on my GBA. It's clear that there's no reason it shouldn't work, and a company rep confirmed their copy works their end, but such are the quirks of very old cartridges, perhaps there's just something off with the pins on that one copy that doesn't sit right on the Pocket. As for Mickey? Analogue says that's to do with how that particular game was programmed and there's already a fix coming in new firmware. The only other thing that didn't work was a very unofficial "108 games in one" multicart. That also seemed to at least open but then just hung. This also worked in original hardware, but again… it's hard to know if it's just a physical quirk (pins aligning etc) or something else. James Trew / Engadget What did work was the Game Boy Camera. It's always surprising to me that cartridges that relied on watch batteries for saves would still work today, but both the camera and every other game I had with a cell in it seemed to still be going strong with saves intact. Either way, the Game Boy camera is a delight on the Pocket, that backlight really helps. It remains pretty awful on vintage hardware. Analogue also tells me that in the forthcoming erosion v1.1 firmware update, you'll be able to save your Game Boy Camera photos directly to the Pocket's SD card. This is actually very cool indeed given that, right now, extracting images from it is kinda a pain in the butt and involves either getting hacky or spending out on something like a ROM dumping cart. For anything other than the Game Boys, you'll need a separate $30 adapter to play. Right now the only one available is the aforementioned Game Gear one. I won't lie, with a game inside it does look a little inelegant, with the cart popping right over the top of the Pocket. I was only able to test the two games on it, and one is the weirdly-cropped Mickey Mouse, but it was still playable and just as much fun (and infuriating) as I remembered the first time around. The fact you can't jump on top of and ride those tree stumps still doesn't sit right with me all these years later. Of course, three generations of Game Boy plus the Game Gear already opens up a pretty substantial library but once the adapters for the Atari Lynx, the Neo Geo Pocket and the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 arrive there's a whole lot of fun to be had with this one tiny console. Notably, the last system in that list is technically a home console and not a handheld. So there's more than just portable gaming here. The TurboExpress just happened to take the same game cards as the home-based PC Engine. Such is the curious world of retro gaming. Analogue OS I already mentioned the basics of the Pocket's native operating system. Right now, it's mostly limited to playing cartridges and some high-level system tweaks. You'll find some video and audio options and a few system-specific settings (like playing GBC games in GBA mode). Right now, even save states are barely supported. The version of the OS I tested has a quick-and-dirty save/load state option and that's it. Analogue claims, however, that version 1.1 "will allow you to do everything imaginable with save states." James Trew / Engadget The more intriguing feature that's currently unavailable is "Library." On its website, the company describes Analogue OS as "purpose-built for exploring and celebrating all of video game history." It claims to offer the option to install the artwork for every single game it could play, full save states, game "playlists" and more. That "more" includes the ability to develop custom FPGA "cores" so you can, within limits, turn the Pocket into other retro systems, although there are plenty of caveats and also, a high level of skill in this area is involved. A skill I definitely do not have. Fortunately, there's a strong community around Analogue and its open source rival MiSTer. Both pull from the same family of FPGA chips so the likelihood of cool stuff coming further down the line is very high. Though it's not clear how playlists or the game library will work, given that you have to have the cartridge inserted into the Pocket to play a game, any software shortcut for that seems a little redundant, at least for now – I'm interested to see how it's actually implemented. Where this will really come into its own, I suspect, is in making the Pocket experience more holistic and complete. Having access to information and data about the entire world of retro gaming in your hands along with the ability to share playlists and game progress will definitely add a robust layer to the platform. Either way, for now there really does seem to be a lot of exciting new features coming, yet sadly we can't test them until that next firmware update gets released. The Dock and other accessories While the Pocket is all about reviving the handheld magic and all its portability, Analogue made a dock that adds a few important features. Most obviously, it allows you to play your favorite retro games on the biggest screen in the house over HDMI. I won't lie, it wasn't quite the seamless experience I was expecting. First, I needed to update the firmware. That's normal given this was an early test unit, but I still had a few occasions where I had to do things in a certain order for it to take. Once I had it working though, it's pretty straightforward. The first thing you'll notice is how pixelated things are. No fault of the Pocket's obviously. This is just what happens when you upscale a game made for a 2.5-inch display and run in on a 55-inch modern TV. It's still perfectly playable though and adds a nice alternative playing option. James Trew / Engadget There are some other important benefits to the dock. Not only can you add USB controllers as mentioned, you can also connect Bluetooth and 2.4g controllers. This opens up the possibility of four players where GB Studio titles developed for third-party FPGA cores support it. Given there are only two USB ports on the dock, you'll need two wireless controllers as well to achieve this. Though it appears you could use four Bluetooth ones at the same time (but support for 2.4g controllers tops out at two). Right now, you'll either need a USB controller with a long cable or one of the officially supported 8Bitdo wireless controllers (Pro 2, M30 and the Arcade Stick). PS4 and Switch Pro controllers will also work. More options will be supported in that all important 1.1 update (SN30 Pro, PCE and so on). That said, I was able to pair an SN30 controller today and it worked just fine. I also had success with a very old, very generic Xbox controller, so it seems support is there, perhaps they are just ironing out some kinks. One final thing I should note is that when playing via the Dock, most of the display modes become inactive and you're shuttled onto what appears to be the Analogue preset by default. Analogue's home consoles to date have come with extensive options for filtering, resizing, adding faux scanlines and the like when playing on a modern TV, so it would be good to see a similar suite of options come to the Dock. Multiplayer There's an unsung benefit to imitating a system at the resistor level via FPGA – you can connect the Pocket to original Game Boys for multiplayer fun. This is no small thing. Modern software emulators allow for online multiplayer on many systems (usually with Netplay), but often this falls apart for handhelds. The need for a cable back in the day made it quite a lot harder to trick a game into thinking it's connected to another "machine." There are some workarounds, but they aren't always so elegant or authentic (half the magic with handhelds is your own private screen). With the Pocket, you can literally just plug it right into another Game Boy, if you have the right cable. The port on the Pocket matches that of the Game Boy Pocket (GBP) and onward. That's to say, if you had a GBC and two copies of Tetris you can use the original Nintendo link cable and it should work. If you don't happen to have the original cable you can buy Pocket's own do-it-all link cable ($16). The only two models that aren't instantly compatible are the DMG and the Micro. I tested out the following scenarios using Analogue's own cable: Pocket GBC and Pocket to GBA. All worked perfectly. Even GBA games that support Single Pak two player (only one copy of the game needed) work. Mario Kart Super Circuit is one such title and the experience is just like the old days – just a little bit of waiting for the game to setup and you're off to the proverbial races. Two player Tetris was as fun as it ever was and I might just have to buy another one of these things as you can, of course, also just connect two Analogue Pockets together, too. James Trew / Engadget Nanoloop It's beyond the scope of this review to give a full breakdown of what Nanoloop is, but if you've ever seen (or heard) music made/performed on a Game Boy, this humble app is likely running the show (or LSDJ, but they are both conceptually similar). A version of Nanoloop is built right into the Pocket's OS and it's not just a nice add-on feature. This is evidenced by Analogue selling no less than four different cables ($20 each) that allow you to connect Nanoloop on the Pocket to external MIDI hardware, Desktop music MIDI software, other Pockets and hardware with audio sync (such as Korg's line of Volcas or Teenage Engineering's Pocket Operators). I won't lie, if you're not familiar with music sequencing, the learning curve here is steep. Add into that the limited sonic capabilities of the Game Boy and it's hard to eke something musical out of the app. At least at first. Persevere, though, and you might just find that Nanoloop is something of a stealth addiction – certainly it's a great value add that I really hope draws in more people to the platform. Given that you can pipe out the audio to headphones or a dedicated speaker via the headphone port it's not just a time sink, you can be annoying your friends and neighbors in no time. Wrap up James Trew / Engadget If you've got this far, then there's a good chance that, like me, you're pretty excited about the Pocket. For casuals, $220 to play games you might already own (or worse, have to navigate the second hand market to buy) might not quite be the value proposition you were looking for. And that's fine, Pocket isn't aimed at casuals. Pocket is for those that love, live and breathe retro gaming and who want the absolute best experience possible. For handheld gaming, right now, Pocket is that best experience. Absolutely hands down, no doubt about it. Everything from start to finish is as authentic as it can be without being needlessly pedantic (like not having a backlight for DMG/GBC games etc.). The experience is further elevated by select modern concessions. The aforementioned light, the curated display presets and the smart features in the operating system to mention a few. The fact that Analogue added in some complementary additions, such as that spare FPGA core and the tight support for GB Studio only serves to reassure me that the Pocket will just get better with time. There are, of course, a few areas for improvement. The shoulder buttons aren't the best. Some of the display modes obscure on-screen messages at times. The adapters look a little goofy with a game in them. But these are details. And detail is, apparently, what Analogue does best. And perhaps the bigger detail to be concerned about is getting yourself a spot in line. Orders just reopened, but already demand has been so high that you likely won't get one until 2023.

The best accessories for your new iPhone Posted: 17 Dec 2021 06:58 AM PST New iPhone 13 owners should think about the accessories they want for their new handset not long after unboxing it. Like with last year's iPhone 12s, this year's models don't come with a charging adapter, so that's one thing you'll probably need to have on hand. If you plan on going all-in on wireless charging could you skip that, though, and thankfully there are many more MagSafe accessories to choose from now than there were last year. We've tested out some of the newest iPhone accessories available and gathered the best ones here. Apple MagSafe wireless charger Valentina Palladino / Engadget There are often better and cheaper alternatives to Apple's first-party accessories, but the company's MagSafe wireless charger is worth considering if you have a new iPhone. Like all other MagSafe accessories, this charging pad uses magnets to attach to the back of the latest iPhones and it's surprisingly strong. Not only can you safely pick up your handset and use it with the disk still attached, but the iPhone can dangle by the charger's cord without falling off. (You still probably shouldn't do this.) The charging plate itself is about a quarter-inch thick so it barely adds any heft to the iPhone. The magnets only attach to the latest iPhones, but it will still charge older models wirelessly, going back to the iPhone 8. I only wish the cable were longer than three feet so that you had more leeway to use your iPhone on the couch or in bed while powering it up. Apple's accessory comes in at $39 (although we've seen it go on sale a few times), but if you want to spend a bit less, Spigen's $25 ArcField magnetic wireless charger is a decent dupe. It's magnets are nowhere near as strong as those on Apple's charger — so you definitely shouldn't pick up your iPhone by this cable — but it'll power up your handset and stay put while doing so. Buy Apple MagSafe wireless charger at Amazon - $39Buy Spigen ArcField at Amazon - $25 Mophie 4-in-1 wireless charging mat Valentina Palladino / Engadget You may have accumulated a number of devices that support wireless charging at this point and Mophie's 4-in-1 charging mat is an easy way to power them all. It's an 11-by-8-inch rectangle with four spaces for different items to charge simultaneously. Two of those spots are large enough to accommodate smartphones while the other two in the center are smaller and fit things like AirPods perfectly. It also has an optional attachment for an Apple Watch, which means it could actually charge up to five devices at the same time. I found the mat useful as a charging hub, turning to it each night to charge my iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods Pro. It's worth noting that both my iPhone and my AirPods Pro live in cases, and I didn't have to remove either in order to charge them with Mophie's mat. But while the mat's size allows it to do a lot at once, it's also tough to find a big enough spot for it. It'll fit on most nightstands, but you may have to rearrange things first. Mophie has a 3-in-1 charging station that takes up less space and has dedicated spots for your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods. Buy Mophie 4-in-1 charging mat at Amazon - $150Buy Mophie 3-in-1 charging station at Amazon - $110 AirPods Billy Steele/Engadget It's well known now that AirPods are the best wireless earbuds for those with iPhones. Apple made its standard AirPods even better this year with the introduction of the third-generation models, which have an improved design, noticeably better sound and longer battery life. We appreciate the new "contoured" design, which is way more comfortable than previous AirPods, and the H1 chipset makes features like hands-free Siri and speedy pairing and switching possible. They're well worth their $179 price tag — but if that's a bit steep for you, Beats' new Studio Buds are a good alternative. At $150, they have the same H1 chip inside along with balanced sound that doesn't sacrifice the punchy bass that Beats devices are known for. Buy AirPods (3rd gen) at Amazon - $179Buy Beats Studio Buds at Amazon - $150 Anker Nano II 45W GaN charger Anker While Apple's 20W charger works just fine, you can opt for a more versatile adapter in Anker's Nano II 45W charger. Not only can it fast-charge an iPhone, but it can also power up a 2020 MacBook Air at full speed, along with mid-sized devices like iPads. It's 34 percent smaller than other 45W chargers, and it uses GaN technology to prevent overheating. We also appreciate that its prongs flip down to make the adapter even more compact when you need to travel with it. The 45W model will set you back $40, but Anker also makes a $34 30W version and a $66 65W two-port model for when you want to charge your phone and your laptop at the same time. Buy Nano II 45W charger at Amazon - $40Buy Nano II 30W charger at Amazon - $34Buy Nano II 65W charger at Amazon - $66 AirTags Valentina Palladino / Engadget Apple's AirTags make it easy for iPhone users to locate things they might misplace. Just attach one of the tiny Bluetooth trackers to your keys, backpack or wallet and then use the Find My app to keep track of them. If you know your stuff is within reach, you can force the AirTag to play a tune to lead you to it. And when you truly don't know where something is, you can enable Lost Mode to be automatically notified when the Find My network locates the item. AirTags only work with iPhones, but iPhone users have other Bluetooth tracker options (namely Tile's). But Apple's gadgets have a convenience level that's similar to AirPods — your iPhone will automatically identify a new AirTag nearby and immediately pair with it, and it's quite simple to manage multiple AirTags in the Find My app. Buy AirTag at Amazon - $29 Anker 637 MagGo charging station Valentina Palladino / Engadget Remember Amazon's adorable Echo Spot, the orb-like smart display that was eventually replaced by the Echo Show 5? Well, Anker's latest magnetic charging station looks much like it, just without the tiny touchscreen and with a lot more connectivity options. The 8-in-1 device has a magnetic charging pad on the front and a bunch of ports on its back: three AC outlets, two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports. The magnets in the charging pad are quite strong and able to hold up an iPhone 13 Pro Max so it looks like it's floating in mid air. You can even use it when your iPhone has a MagSafe case on, too. Since the iPhone screen is angled upward and clearly visible while charging, Anker's device would make a good addition to a desk, or even a nightstand for those who want to use their phone as their evening clock. And on top of that, it'll keep all your other cables organized and (mostly) out of sight. Buy MagGo desktop charging station at Amazon - $100 Anker Powerline II USB-C to Lightning cable Valentina Palladino / Engadget We've been fans of Anker's Powerline charging cables for a long time and its Powerline II USB-C to Lightning cord is no exception. First, it's more affordable than Apple's — you'll pay $19 for a three-foot cable from Apple, whereas Anker's three-foot cord costs $13. It also has MFi-certification, which means it's passed enough tests to get Apple's seal of approval as a safe, reliable iOS accessory. While not all of them are made out of braided nylon, those that don't still have a 12,000-bend lifespan so you can use it without fear of wire fraying after a few weeks. Anker also has a similar USB-C to C cable in the Powerline III series that should work well for charging the latest iPads and MacBooks. Buy USB-C to Lightning cable at Amazon - $13 Belkin MagSafe Car Vent Mount Pro Valentina Palladino / Engadget Belkin's MagSafe car mount is easier to use than one of those fussy clamps you pray will stay put on a vent while you're driving. The strong magnets truly make this accessory — the iPhone 13 snaps into place on the mount's credit-card sized plate and doesn't budge even if you have to quickly swerve to avoid hitting a squirrel. The clip that attaches to your car's vent is also quite snug and you can swivel your phone into landscape or portrait mode. Even if you don't drive to work on a daily basis anymore, this will come in handy on the days you're in the office and when you need to consult Google Maps during your next roadtrip. Just remember that this mount won't charge your iPhone; it's just a magnetic holder. You can, however, weave a charging cable through an opening in the back of the mount so you can neatly power up your phone while driving. Buy MagSafe car mount at Amazon - $40 Peak Design Mobile Tripod Valentina Palladino / Engadget There are plenty of ways to prop up your iPhone, but Peak Design's new mobile tripod is one of the more elegant solutions I've tried. It's a 0.3-inch thick plate made of anodized aluminum with strong magnets inside and three legs that fold down and out. It attaches to the back of the latest iPhone and delivers a generous lift off the surface it's sitting on. Out of all of the stands I've used, it's the one that looks and feels most like a tripod thanks to its micro ball-head, which lets you adjust the angle of your phone nearly 360 degrees, and its three legs, which provide much more support than your standard phone-case kickstand. The Mobile Tripod is a solid option for those who use their phone cameras for everything from family photos to vacation landscape shots, and those who want to use their phone almost as a second screen while travelling. It's a bit steep at $80, but you're paying for a sturdy accessory with a thoughtful design — plus the Peak name. Of course, there are plenty of more affordable MagSafe phone stands such as Moft's Snap-On Stand and Wallet, which props up your iPhone while holding a few credit cards, Anker's MagGo phone grip, and the now-ubiquitous PopSockets. Just keep in mind that, while MagSafe accessories like these are convenient, they ultimately won't be as sturdy as something securely snapped onto your smartphone. All of the MagSafe stands, wallets, chargers and other accessories I've tried eventually fell off if I applied enough force. Buy Mobile Tripod at Peak Design - $80Buy Moft Snap-On Stand and Wallet at Amazon - $30Buy MagGo phone grip at Amazon - $16Buy MagSafe PopGrip at Amazon - $30 MagSafe cases Valentina Palladino / Engadget There are many more MagSafe cases available now than there were just a year ago, and they run the gamut from affordable to quite expensive. If you like silicone cases, it's usually best to save some money and get a third party one rather than buying Apple's. However, the first-party silicone MagSafe case is worth considering for its luxurious feel and slim design. It doesn't add much heft to the iPhone at all and it gives you a bit more protection against scratches and drops. It also has a premium, smooth texture that makes it nicer to hold than cheaper silicone cases. Apple also makes hard-shell MagSafe cases, but we typically prefer Otterbox for that level of protection. The company's Symmetry+ line is only a hair thicker than Apple's but they are slightly more flexible, making it easier to take your iPhone in and out. They also have Otterbox's signature rubberized bumper around the edges and, although you can't remove it like you can with some of its other heavy-duty cases, it provides an extra cushion if you accidentally drop your iPhone. But Otterbox's cases will set you back $60 or more — for something more budget-friendly, Spigen's Mag Armor series is worthy of consideration. At around $20 each, these cases are made of shock-absorbing TPU and they have a raised lip around the camera array to protect it. They're compatible with MagSafe accessories and they only add about 0.15-inches of thickness to the overall profile of your iPhone. These are good options if you want to add only what's necessary to your phone to protect it against the occasional drop or bump. Shop Otterbox Symmetry+ casesBuy Spigen Mag Armor case at Amazon - $20

Amazon knocks $100 off the GoPro Hero 10 Black Posted: 17 Dec 2021 06:20 AM PST The GoPro Hero 10 Black offers significant updates from the Hero 9 like improved image quality, a faster UI and more slow-motion options — but it also costs significantly more. Now, you can pick up the camera alone for $399 at Amazon, $100 off the regular price and less than launch price of the Hero 9.  By GoPro Hero 10 Black at Amazon - $399 With a faster GP2 processor, the Hero 10 black offers 5.3K maximum resolution (up from 5K) at up to 60 fps, 4K at 120 fps and 2.7K and 240 fps. It also comes with the latest Hypersmooth 4.0 feature that stabilizes rough bumps, along with new tone mapping and noise reduction. All of that results in noticeably better and smoother video, which helped it achieve an excellent 92 Engadget review score.  As with the Hero 9, it has a front screen that lets you frame yourself when looking at the camera, but that display now runs at a smoother 30 fps rather than 20 fps as before. Other features include a new horizon leveling option and faster navigation. The main downside is lower battery life compared to the GoPro 9. The new deal is even better than Amazon's $450 price we saw during Amazon's Black Friday sales. However, keep in mind that you can still get one cheaper from GoPro directly if you're willing to sign up for its 1-year GoPro subscription. Right now, it's available from GoPro for $350 rather than the usual $400 price with the subscription included for one year (it costs $50 per year after that). Amazon's $399 deal, by contrast, is more for folks who really just want the camera with no strings (or forgotten subscriptions) attached. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

FedEx receives its first fully-electric GM Brightdrop delivery vans Posted: 17 Dec 2021 06:00 AM PST FedEx has received it's first five GM-built electric delivery vans out of an order of 500, the company announced. The move represents an important landmark for FedEx in its stated goal to be have an all-electric delivery fleet and be carbon neutral around the world by 2040.   "The delivery of the first BrightDrop EV600s is a historic moment, born out of a spirit of collaboration between two leading American companies," said FedEx's chief sustainability officer Mitch Jackson. "[T]ransforming our pickup and delivery fleet to electric vehicles is integral to achieving our ambitious sustainability goals announced earlier this year." FedEx FedEx was announced as a key customer for the Brightdrop EV600 vans and has been testing Brightdrop's electric EP1 pallets over the last while. GM, which owns Chevrolet and Cadillac, spun out the Brightdrop business unit early this year. "The EV600 combines the best attributes of a traditional and a step-in van into one vehicle, keeping driver safety, comfort, and convenience top of mind," said Brightdrop CEO Travis Katz. "It's also the fastest built vehicle, from concept to market, in GM's history." The all-wheel-drive EV600 has 600 cubic feet of cargo space and can go up to 250 miles on a charge. Inside, drivers get a security system in the cargo area, auto-locking doors and motion-activated interior lighting. They also benefit from automatic emergency braking and parking assistance. The EP1 is a kind of trolley often found in stores an warehouses, with 23 cubic feet of space and an electric motor that makes it easier to move heavy objects.  The first five EV600s are being delivered to FedEx's Express facility in Inglewood, California. To support them FedEx is building charging stations across its network of facilities, including 500 already installed across California. It's also working with utility companies to evaluate electrical grid capacity required for its charging infrastructure.  While FedEx has thrown its electric delivery lot in with GM, rival UPS has ordered 10,000 electric delivery trucks from UK-based Arrival Ltd. Amazon, meanwhile, placed an order for 100,000 Rivian electric delivery vans and even owns a 20 percent piece of the company. Amazon is ahead of both FedEx and UPS, having already started Rivian electric deliveries in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Engadget Podcast: Why the Analogue Pocket is the perfect retro portable Posted: 17 Dec 2021 05:30 AM PST This week, Devindra chats with Engadget Editor-at-large James Trew about the Analogue Pocket, an innovative portable gaming device that accurately can play cartridges from older systems like the Game Boy, Game Gear and Atari Lynx. Also, Senior Editor Dan Cooper joins to dive into this week's news and why you should be watching HBO's Succession. Senior Editor Jessica Conditt also joins to dive into her investigative feature on MetaWorld, an intriguing VR project that turned out to be a scam. Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News! Engadget · Why the Analogue Pocket is the perfect retro portable Subscribe! iTunes Spotify Pocket Casts Stitcher Google Podcasts Topics Analogue Pocket: the perfect retro portable (for a price) – 1:15 Dell's Concept Pari is an ingenious movable webcam – 22:41 Concept Luna - a laptop that's easier to repair and recycle – 29:46 Apple removes all mention of CSAM scanning from its website – 35:34 SharePlay comes to MacOS Monterey – 39:21 Working on – 41:47 Pop Culture Picks – 52:23 Jess Conditt on her investigation into MetaWorld – 1:05:03 Video livestream Credits Hosts: Devindra Hardawar, Daniel Cooper Guests: James Trew, Jessica Conditt Producer: Ben Ellman Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos,Luke Brooks Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Kyle Maack Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

Meta reportedly facing FTC probe over its acquisition of VR workout app 'Supernatural' Posted: 17 Dec 2021 04:55 AM PST Meta, formerly Facebook, is firmly in the FTC's crosshairs over its various acquisitions that the agency believes may have been made to dominate the space and eliminate competition. According to The Information, one of the purchases the Federal Trade Commission is looking into is its $400 million deal to acquire Within, the developer of popular virtual reality workout app Supernatural for the Oculus platform.  The agency reportedly opened a probe into the purchase after Thanksgiving, almost a month after the companies announced the acquisition back in October. If the report is true — neither the FTC nor the companies confirmed the regulatory review to the publication — then Within and Meta wouldn't be able to finalize the deal for another year. It could take even longer than that if the agency challenges it in court. Within wasn't the only VR app developer that Meta had acquired, but the others were apparently too small to be investigated. VR fitness apps, like at-home workout equipment, soared in popularity during the lockdown, and Supernatural quickly became popular after its launch in April 2020. As The Information notes, one of the FTC's possible lines of inquiry is whether Meta was planning to develop a VR workout app of its own. It will take Meta less time to snap up an existing product than make one of its own, after all. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg famously said in the past that "it's better to buy than to compete," with regards to Facebook's Instagram acquisition. The FTC recently filed new antitrust charges against the company, accusing it of using its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions in 2012 and 2014 to secure its position in the market. Meta is still also facing an investigation over its reported $400 million Giphy purchase in 2020.

The Morning After: 'Final Fantasy XIV' is so popular that Square Enix stopped selling it Posted: 17 Dec 2021 04:15 AM PST Square Enix is suspending the sales and delivery of Final Fantasy XIV Starter Edition and Complete Edition because it's doing too well and the company's servers can't keep up. The decision applies to both physical and digital versions of the game and will happen in the coming weeks. FFXIV players have been struggling with lengthy queues ever since the Endwalker expansion came out in late November. They still have to wait hours to get into a server and be able to play the game. It's a little inside-baseball, but I'm planning a story on the record-breaking online RPG — but can't access the game while this suspension continues. I guess I'll have to find something else to write about over the holiday season. At least I have Deathloop and Metroid Dread to keep me busy. — Mat Smith What happened to the 'Meta' Instagram handle? A motorcycle magazine controlled it for years — until Facebook changed its name. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images When Facebook decided to change its name, changing its websites, business documents and more, the company didn't control the @Meta handle on Instagram. It belonged to a small Denver-based magazine called META. The day of the announcement, the magazine posted a photo of assorted print issues with the caption "Since 2014." But by the next day, the account had mysteriously vanished. @Meta now hosts all the content from the @Facebook Instagram page, while posts from META, the magazine, now appear under the @readmeta handle. What happened? And doesn't this break Meta's own rules about Instagram handles? Continue reading. Uber will test 'autonomous' food delivery sometime next year Expect meal kits, not fast-food. For now. Uber and autonomous vehicle company Motional announced a partnership for "autonomous deliveries" through Uber Eats. The pilot will launch at some point in "early 2022," but it won't offer the full range of Uber Eats options. Instead customers will be able to pick from "a curated set of meal kits from select restaurants." The joint venture isn't entirely driverless, either. A Motional spokesperson told Engadget: "We will be launching the service with safety operators present in the vehicle." Meal kit deliveries will be in Santa Monica, California, to start, where a large portion of Motional's team works. Continue reading. Researchers call new zero-click iPhone exploit 'incredible and terrifying' Apple has sued the NSO group over the 'nation state' level iMessage attack. Google researchers have described NSO Group's zero-click exploit used to hack Apple devices as "incredible and terrifying," calling it "one of the most technically sophisticated exploits we've ever seen," on par with attacks from elite nation-state spies. The Project Zero team said it obtained one of NSO's Pegasus exploits from Citizen Lab, which managed to capture it via a targeted Saudi activist. NSO's original exploit required the user to click on a link, but the latest, most sophisticated exploits require no click at all. Called ForcedEntry, it takes advantage of the way iMessage interprets files like GIFs to open a malicious PDF file with no action required from the victim. Last month, the US Department of Commerce added NSO Group to its "entity list," essentially banning it for use in the US. Continue reading. Arrival offers an early look at its first electric car Made for rideshare drivers, but not a taxi? Arrival Arrival is a UK–US startup that wants to revolutionize the design and manufacture of electric vehicles. Its first sales pitch is the Arrival Car, designed, first and foremost, for rideshare drivers during their working day. We've got an exclusive first look, but is it just me or does it remind you of the Johnny Cab from Total Recall? Continue reading.    The biggest news stories you might have missed Google makes it easier to spot price drops in Chrome | Engadget Apple releases Swift Playgrounds 4, letting budding iOS developers create on iPad Meta says 50,000 people were targeted by 'surveillance for hire' companies The Mac Mini M1 with 16GB of RAM is $100 off right now TikTok is testing a desktop livestreaming app

Sony's latest smartphone camera sensor gathers twice as much light Posted: 17 Dec 2021 03:25 AM PST Sony has unveiled a new type of stacked CMOS sensor that uses "two-layer transistor pixels" to double the light gathering capability. Typical image sensors have the light-sensitive photodiodes and pixel transistors that control and amplify the signal on the same layer. However, the new design puts the photodiodes on top and the pixel transistors below, "approximately doubling saturation signal levels," Sony said.  Sony pioneered stacked sensors that put fast memory and other electronics directly under the sensor, allowing for faster readout speeds and thus rapid burst shooting and reduced rolling shutter (jello effect) on cameras and smartphones. This latest sensor uses a similar idea, but packs the pixel transistors onto a separate substrate underneath the photodiode layer. Sony That means each layer could be optimized, allowing Sony to double the sensor's light saturation (well depth), or the amount of charge each pixel can hold. That in turn allows for around double the light-capturing capability. Sony notes that because the transistor pixels sit on a separate layer, it was able to boost the amplifier transistors in size. That allows for a bigger signal boost, reducing noise when shooting nighttime or other images in dark locations. The increased dynamic range will allow for "high-quality, low-noise images even in low-light," according to Sony.  Sony specifically stated that the tech will allow for higher-quality smartphone photography. With double the light gathering capability, it will allow for much improved light sensitivity even in relatively small, high-megapixel sensors. Sony has yet to say when this tech will make it to smartphone or cameras, but it plans to further improve the design for both large and small sensors.  Sony

US schools cancel classes following potential shooting threats on TikTok Posted: 17 Dec 2021 02:45 AM PST A number of school districts in the US has canceled classes for today, December 17th, due to shooting and bomb threats supposedly circulating on TikTok and other social media channels. According to Bloomberg and The Verge, they include districts in Michigan, Washington, California, Texas, Minnesota and Missouri. The threats reportedly don't mention specific schools, but school authorities across the country are on alert and have opted to work with law enforcement and ensure students' safety.  New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy tweeted that while "there are no known specific threats against New Jersey schools," authorities "will work closely with law enforcement to monitor the situation and remain prepared." In most cases, law enforcement agencies announced that they haven't found evidence that the threats are real and credible. A county sheriff in Missouri said that they don't think their schools are going to be attacked, but they want to be prepared just in case.  While the source of the threats remain unclear, California's Gilroy Police Department determined that the post thought to involve Gilroy High School actually originated from outside of LA. Similarly, the Baltimore County Public Schools Twitter account posted that law enforcement agencies had discovered that the threats originated from Arizona and aren't credible. (2/3) Law enforcement agencies have investigated this threat and determined that it originated in Arizona and is not credible. We want to continue to encourage members of Team BCPS to report suspicious or threatening activities or postings. — Baltimore County Public Schools (@BaltCoPS) December 16, 2021 In response to the situation, TikTok issued a statement stating that it's "working with law enforcement" to investigate the rumored threats. However, it denied any knowledge of the threats and said that it found no evidence that they originated or are spreading on the platform. We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness, which is why we're working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok. — TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) December 16, 2021

LG adds a 27-inch model to its refreshed UltraFine 4K OLED monitor lineup Posted: 17 Dec 2021 01:32 AM PST LG has unveiled its latest high-end UltraFine OLED 4K monitors aimed at pros and this time it has a smaller version that should be more affordable. On top of that, the new models come with more accessories to make calibration and working in bright rooms easier.  The 32-inch model appears to be much the same as before, with features like a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, true 10-bit color, 60Hz refresh rate and 99 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. As before, it also conforms to the VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black standard for OLED displays.  The relative lack of brightness and huge contrast ratio shows the compromises and benefits of an OLED display for content creators, in a nutshell. On the one hand, with 400 nits of brightness the UltraFine OLED is barely adequate for doing HDR color grading compared to much brighter (1,000 nit+) mini-LED displays like Apple's $5,000 Pro Display XDR or the $5,000 ASUS ProArt PA32UCG-K display. LG/Yi Cheol On the other, LG's OLED display has much better contrast, perfect blacks and zero blooming because each pixel illuminates individually. That feature can give color professionals a much better idea of the true contrast in an image. So in essence, buyers have to make a tough choice between brightness and contrast, both of which are important for color work these days — particularly with video.  The new 27-inch model will attract folks who want the benefits of OLED and the other pro features (10-bit color, 99 percent DCI-P3 and a 1,000,0000:1 contrast ratio) at a lower price. Both displays also offer features like a clean professional design, USB-C with 90W power delivery and four USB ports. It also comes a pair of DisplayPort inputs and one HDMI port. LG's doesn't say what kind for the latter, so it's likely not HDMI 2.1 — though that's not crucial for content creation pros.  The biggest upgrade over last year is that both monitors include a color calibration sensor (LG didn't say which one), along with its LG Calibration Studio software. They also come with a monitor hood so you can better control the image depending on room lighting. LG hasn't released the pricing yet, but its current 32-inch UltraFine Display OLED Pro Monitor costs a cool $4,000, so expect to see a similar price on the new model. The 27-inch version, meanwhile, will likely be north of $2K.

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