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• BlackBerry OS devices are pretty much dead after January 4th
• Unfinished 'Halo Infinite' cutscene hints at a future storyline
• Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro update 'paused' to fix dropped calls
• Telegram adds iMessage-style reactions and hidden text for spoilers
• The 'Tomb Raider' reboot trilogy is free on the Epic Games Store
• Sega left one of its European servers wide open
• Yukai Engineering's cute stuffed animal robot will nibble on your finger
• Apple's 2021 iPad is back to $299 at Amazon
• Here are the winners in tech for 2021
• Tesla recalls nearly half a million cars over camera and trunk defects
• New York City orders 184 Mustang Mach-E cars for police and government use
• The Morning After: 30 percent brighter OLED TVs are coming
• Tumblr blocks tags for 'sensitive content' in order to stay on the App Store
• Samsung says the Galaxy Flip 3 motivated more people to switch than its flagships
• JLab's latest $20 earbuds are designed to complement your skin tone
• T-Mobile pins latest data breach on SIM swapping
• 'Fortnite' is back online (updated)
• January's PS Plus games include 'Persona 5 Strikers' and 'Dirt 5'
• ‘Let’s Play! Oink Games’ is no Jackbox, but it's a worthy party game collection
• Rivian’s R1T electric truck brings adventure to the EV crowd
• Jabra's Elite 4 Active earbuds add ANC and better sweat resistance
• Roku expands its TV Ready program to include more brands and regions
• The best accessories for your new PlayStation 5
• The Morning After: Hyundai may be giving up on the combustion engine
• LG's new ThinQ recipe service sources ingredients from Amazon and Walmart

BlackBerry OS devices are pretty much dead after January 4th Posted: 30 Dec 2021 02:04 PM PST Pour one out for the BlackBerry, the former king of mobile. The company has announced that as of January 4th, classic devices running BlackBerry OS 7.1 or earlier, as well as OS 10, will lose key services. And by key, we mean absolutely crucial capabilities, like phone calls, texting, data and even emergency 9-1-1 access. You can also expect to have issues with Wi-Fi and apps like BlackBerry World and Desktop manager, Liliputing reports. January 4th will also mark the end for the PlayBook, the company's ill-fated tablet. Of course, none of this comes as a surprise. BlackBerry shut down its app store and its popular Messenger (BBM) service in 2019. There really was no coming back from that. If you'll recall, the company was way too late to respond to the threat of the iPhone, and failed to find much success by adopting Android. At least it still has QNX, BlackBerry's modern operating system that powers infotainment systems from Toyota, Audi, Honda, and plenty of other popular car makers.

Unfinished 'Halo Infinite' cutscene hints at a future storyline Posted: 30 Dec 2021 01:14 PM PST Caution: Major 'Halo Infinite' story spoilers follow. There's more to Halo Infinite's story than it appears — unofficially, at least. Windows Centralnotes fans have discovered an unfinished mid-credit cutscene hidden in the game's code. As you can see below, it's not just a throwaway moment, either. If anything, it's a strong hint at what might come next in a story add-on or sequel. The cutscene shows Esparza, the pilot you meet at the start of Halo Infinite, alerting Master Chief to a friendly UNSC tag. While the short segment is mysterious, some have speculated the tag belongs to a character that wasn't present in the core campaign, such as Commander Palmer or Spartan Locke. You might have a 'new' ally when the story picks up. It's not clear why 343 Industries left the cutscene code in the official release, or whether the clip reflects what you'll see in future content. We've asked for more information. Whatever the explanation, it's rare to see such potentially important material hiding in files a player could uncover.

Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro update 'paused' to fix dropped calls Posted: 30 Dec 2021 12:30 PM PST Bad news, Pixel fans: Google has confirmed it's pausing the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro December update over reports of call dropping and disconnecting. As Droid Life reports, the news explains why many Pixel 6 owners haven't received the update over the past few weeks. For the lucky few who managed to snag it and aren't having any issues, Google says you can sit tight.  But for those those experiencing connectivity issues, your only fix is to flash your phone to an earlier version of Android and perform a factory reset. As always, be sure to backup your device before attempting such a massive undertaking. The December update was meant to add new features like ultra-wideband on the Pixel 6 Pro, and Quick Tap to Snap for easily accessing Snapchat from your lockscreen. Google says those features will make their way to the January fix.  The delay is something of a debacle for the company, especially since the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro were meant to show off the combined power of Google's custom processor and software. This probably isn't the best way to prove it could build the Android equivalent of an iPhone.

Telegram adds iMessage-style reactions and hidden text for spoilers Posted: 30 Dec 2021 11:54 AM PST Telegram is squeezing in one last major update before 2021 wraps up. Among the new features is hidden text to mask spoilers. So, if you can't wait to blab about what happens in Spider-Man: No Way Home before everyone in the chat has seen it, you can select any section of your text and use the Spoiler formatting. This will hide the text in the chat, notifications and chat list. When your friends are ready to read what you think about [redacted] showing up, they can tap the spoiler text to read it. Also new are iMessage-style reactions. You can double tap any message to send a thumbs-up reaction. Tapping once (or tapping and holding on iOS) will let you select other emoji, such as a grin, fire, a shocked face or a thumbs down. You can change the default double-tap emoji in the Chat Settings on Android, and under the Stickers and Emoji section in iOS settings. In private chats, reactions are always enabled. Channel and group admins can decide whether to switch them on and what reactions the other members can choose from. Elsewhere, Telegram now has a useful translation option. Through the Language section in Settings, you can enable translation, which adds a Translate button to the context menu. You can nix languages you're able to understand and the Translate button won't be available on messages you receive in those languages. Translation is available on all Android devices, but iPhone and iPad users will need to be running iOS 15 or later. The number of languages Telegram supports depends on your operating system. In addition, users can generate QR codes for anyone with a public username, as well as bots, groups and channels. You can tap the QR code icon next to their username and select the colors and pattern before sharing it elsewhere. You can find your own QR code in Settings. The Telegram team redesigned the context menus on macOS with new shortcut hints and animated icons. The app will display a full-screen effect in one-on-one chats when you send certain emoji too. Earlier this year, Telegram added group video calls and other features, including a way to block others in group chats from taking screenshots and saving shared media, as well as live streams with unlimited viewers. There's been some blowback against Telegram this year, however, with reports suggesting there has been a significant uptick in the level of cybercriminal activity taking place on the encrypted messaging app.

The 'Tomb Raider' reboot trilogy is free on the Epic Games Store Posted: 30 Dec 2021 10:02 AM PST Free game promos are easy to find, but Epic is going one step further by offering an entire game trilogy for no charge. The Epic Games Store is offering all three Tomb Raider reboot titles (Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider) for free between now and January 6th at 11AM. They're Windows-only if you grab them from the EGS, but they're also complete versions that include post-launch DLC. Your experience with the games may vary. Some will highlight Rise of the Tomb Raider as the star of the series, and aren't always enthusiastic about Shadow. And expect to do a lot of crafting in between adventures. They're solid releases as a whole, though, and represented a return to form for a franchise that many felt had lost its way. At the least, they'll serve as good training tools for Uncharted's eventual PC launch.

Sega left one of its European servers wide open Posted: 30 Dec 2021 08:30 AM PST What could have been a damaging breach in one of Sega's servers appears to have been closed, according to a report by security firm VPN Overview. The misconfigured Amazon Web Services S3 bucket contained sensitive information which allowed researchers to arbitrarily upload files to a huge swath of Sega-owned domains, as well credentials to abuse a 250,000-user email list. The domains impacted included the official landing pages for major franchises, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Bayonetta and Total War, as well as the Sega.com site itself. VPNO was able to run executable scripts on these sites which, as you can imagine, would have been quite bad if this breach had been discovered by malicious actors instead of researchers.  An improperly stored Mailchimp API key gave VPNO access to the aforementioned email list. The emails themselves were available in plaintext alongside associated IP addresses, and passwords that the researchers were able to un-hash. According to the report, "a malicious user could have distributed ransomware very effectively using SEGA's compromised email and cloud services." So far there's no indication that bad actors made use of this vulnerability before VPNO discovered and helped Sega to fix it. Sega Europe was not available for comment. Misconfigured S3 buckets are, unfortunately, an extremely common problem in information security. Similar errors this year have impacted audio company Sennheiser, Senior Advisor, PeopleGIS, and the government of Ghana. Sega was the target of a major attack in 2011 which led to the exfiltration of personally identifiable information pertaining to 1.3 million users. Thankfully, this misconfigured European server didn't result in a similar incident.

Yukai Engineering's cute stuffed animal robot will nibble on your finger Posted: 30 Dec 2021 08:00 AM PST It wouldn't be CES season without at least a couple of offbeat robots showing up. Yukai Engineering, the maker of the Qoobo robotic cat tail pillow, has revealed a soft robot that nibbles on a user's fingertip. The company hopes the "somewhat pleasing sensation" will brighten up your day. Amagami Ham Ham has an algorithm called a "Hamgorithm" that selects one of two dozen nibbling patterns, so you'll never be sure exactly what you'll feel when you shove your digit into the robot's maw. Yukai designed the patterns — which include Tasting Ham, Massaging Ham and Suction Ham — to replicate the feeling of a baby or pet nibbling on one's finger. Yukai Corporation "Amagami" means "soft biting" and "ham" means "bite" in Japanese. Yukai based the look of the robot on a character from Liv Heart Corporation's Nemu Nemu stuffed animal series. There'll be a couple of finger-munching models to choose from: Yuzu (Calico Cat) and Kotaro (Shiba Inu). "Most people like the nibbling sensation but know they need to teach their children or pets to stop it, because kids and animals will otherwise bite them with full force eventually," said Yukai Engineering CMO Tsubasa Tominaga, who invented the robot at a hackathon earlier this year. "Amagami Ham Ham is a robot that frees humankind from the conundrum of whether 'to pursue or not to pursue' the forbidden pleasure." Pricing hasn't been determined, but Yukai and Liv Heart plan to run a crowdfunding campaign in the spring. In the meantime, those braving CES can check out Amagami Ham Ham at the show, and perhaps leave Yukai's booth with a slightly more tender finger. Among the other devices Yukai will show off at CES is Bocco Emo. The company has updated the original Bocco robot to act as a smart medical device. Yukai says hospitals in Japan are using it to monitor patients' vitals (via connected sensors like pulse oximeters and thermometers) and notify nurses about a patient's condition. During a pilot period, Bocco Emo was used to inform patients' families about how they're doing. It can also communicate with patients using sound effects, facial expressions and gestures while they wait for a nurse to arrive.

Apple's 2021 iPad is back to $299 at Amazon Posted: 30 Dec 2021 07:23 AM PST Don't worry if you didn't get (or give) the latest iPad this holiday season — you can still score one at a discount. Amazon is once again selling the 64GB standard iPad for $299, or $30 off its usual price. You can also buy the 256GB version at an all-time low price of $449. You may have to wait a while when the 64GB model isn't due to ship until mid-February, but it could be worthwhile if you're not in a rush to grab Apple's most affordable tablet. Buy iPad at Amazon - $299 The 2021 iPad is another modest update to a core design that hasn't changed for years, but those changes could make all the difference in some cases. The wide-angle front camera is much better-suited to video calls. The A13 Bionic chip is still very fast for this class of tablet, and the 10-plus hours of battery life is more than enough for typical tablet uses. There's even a headphone jack — imagine that. This isn't the iPad for you if you insist on Apple's latest technology: you won't find USB-C, thin bezels or second-gen Pencil support. You'll want an iPad Air (or mini, or Pro) for that. If all you want is a big screen for games, reading and TV marathons, though, this base iPad is an easy choice at a price like this. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Here are the winners in tech for 2021 Posted: 30 Dec 2021 06:30 AM PST Though this year is by no means one to celebrate, there were still some bright spots in the world of tech. It's with plenty of loathing that we admit this: NFTs somehow won this year. They've taken over. Reddit's day traders also deserve recognition for the way they've managed to manifest GameStop's slogan, "Power to the players." Also (and this might be the most painful to acknowledge), the Metaverse (sorta) took off this year. At least in terms of our lexicon, with mentions of the word skyrocketing since Mark Zuckerberg uttered it while announcing plan for a richer VR and AR-focused world. Maybe people were confused between "metaverse" and "multiverse" as in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Besides the things we love to hate, there are some products this year we genuinely liked as well. Apple continued to impress with its M1 chips and, more importantly, gave users a way to repair their own devices (kinda). Google's first-ever mobile chip powered clever experiences on the latest Pixel phones and showcased the company's AI and software prowess at a competitive price. As we continue to be bombarded by depressing news every day, it's worth taking the time to reflect on the wins this year, no matter how tiny. Noam Galai via Getty Images NFTs 2021 has not been a quiet year, so NFTs deserve something approaching praise for securing a spot in the highlights reel. NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are an attempt to create an immutable digital asset in an environment where such a thing has historically been tricky. For the industry's proponents, it's a way of imposing some form of scarcity on digital artifacts that you can't easily make scarce. Anyone can right-click and save a picture of a monkey wearing sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt after all. But only the person who paid a lot of money for the NFT can go around calling themselves the "owner" of the same. As Nietzche didn't say, NFTs are the lie agreed upon, suggesting that people respect the owner of the certificated copy of something over everything else. So far, the biggest and most notable moves in the NFT space have happened in the art market, with pieces being bought and sold for eye-watering numbers. On March 11th, digital artist Beeple sold Everydays: The First 5,000 Days at Christie's auction house for $69,346,250. Those hefty sums are, in some people's minds, justified because they believe that NFTs will become the new crypto, with everyone trying to get aboard the bandwagon before it goes big. After all, there are lots of folks who got rich during the Bitcoin boom that want to further enhance their fortunes, while some who were left behind now hope to get in on the ground floor on the next big thing. Others, meanwhile, think that the big craze in NFTs right now is to help folks move large quantities of money around away from the auspices of, you know, regulators. The NFT market is so awash with speculator cash that it's normal to have... questions. A recent Harvard Business Review article talks about how commerce can't work without "clear property rights," which NFTs help to impose. There's also the matter of whether NFTs could better enable more reliable and secure ticketing and permission systems? I'll be honest, I'm personally unconvinced by the argument that NFTs offer rights of ownership, since they don't necessarily confer upon the buyer the proper rights of ownership. These issues are, however, going to be worked out over the next few years, and it will only be when the speculation has died down that we'll see if NFTs have any residual worth. And, hey, not every deeply-technical cryptographic ownership record gets their own SNL sketch shortly after they broke into the mainstream, do they. — Daniel Cooper The Metaverse Mark Zuckerberg didn't invent the term, but by rebadging Facebook as "Meta," he helped kick off a wave of interest in the metaverse. While it was originally a dystopian view of cyberspace via Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, the metaverse now represents the next big online goldrush. You can think of it as the logical step forward from the mobile internet, a world where our online experiences can easily transition between multiple devices. And eventually, it could be something we interact with via AR and VR glasses. To be clear, we still don't have an exact idea of what the metaverse will be. The Meta renaming could easily be seen as a way for Zuckerberg to avoid his responsibilities as the leader of a fundamentally broken social media company. But other companies have been exploring this idea for years: Microsoft's HoloLens has proven to be surprisingly useful for commercial and front-line workers, and it's also core to Mesh, the company's ambitious solution for virtual meetings. The Borg-like Google Glass was widely ridiculed, but its failure hasn't stopped Google from thinking about its role in the metaverse, either. Maybe it'll take a killer new device, like Apple's fabled AR glasses, to bring the metaverse into focus. Or maybe it'll go the way of wearables — a category of devices that's useful for some people, but not necessarily essential for everyone. Either way, it's something that will forever be tied to 2021. — Devindra Hardawar Home fitness tech is here to stay As the pandemic kept many of us indoors and out of gyms, companies like Peloton, Apple, Tonal and even Amazon were able to pull us into new fitness habits and equipment. Apple Meanwhile, major fitness studios and gyms like Equinox, Soulcycle, OrangeTheory and F45 have modulated (while some created from scratch) their online services. Many companies expanded replayable class options or added live lessons, leaderboards and more in a bid to keep members fit – and keep those membership dues coming in. COVID-19 offered a chance to shift our workout habits and reduce gym costs. Why pay $50 for a high-intensity interval training gym membership when I can track myself in Apple's Fitness Plus classes, SharePlay with my friends and jump in my own shower, all for just $10 a month? Of course, the comparison isn't oranges for oranges, and despite cheerleading Peloton trainers and form corrections from gym coaches over video livestreams, it's very hard to get the degree of attention gained from in-person training. That's likely one reason why at-home exercise injuries have never been higher. The Wall Street Journal reported that emergency room visits after home workouts increased by more than 48% from the end of 2019 through the end of 2020, according to a survey by Medicare Advantage. However, just like traditional gyms did when the pandemic first hit, these businesses have to figure out how to hold onto their customers. Tonal Tonal is a 'Peloton for weight training' product that Engadget tested back in 2018. When our usual bench-press machines and squat racks were locked inside gyms over the last year and a half, Tonal saw demand for its resistance-training system rocket. Sales grew more than eight times year-over-year. In a bid to hold onto these new customers, the company recently introduced live classes for Tonal owners, with direct feedback from coaches and classes reportedly calibrated for each user. Meanwhile, Peloton, arguably the most recognizable at-home fitness company, faces more competition from (and litigation with) rivals and a tougher business outlook. After a rough earnings report in November, the company said it didn't expect to be profitable again until 2023. Worse, its Bike was involved in the death of an important character in the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That. But the company has plans (and cheeky responses). It's integrated into many corporate fitness plans, launched its first exercise game, announced a fitness camera for strength training and finally — added a pause button. The challenge will be keeping many of us from returning to our old gyms, cycling commutes, or our old, less healthy habits when things eventually return to normal. — Mat Smith Apple takes baby steps toward the right to repair Apple continued to impress the industry with its M1 Pro and M1 Max chips this year, putting them in new MacBooks that garnered rave reviews. And though the iPhone 13 Pro is just catching up to Android phones with its 120Hz screen, it's an undeniably good device with solid cameras and excellent performance. The Apple Watch Series 7 isn't much different from its predecessor, barring its larger display, but it's still the best smartwatch around. Plus, Apple TV+ gained much more credibility in 2021 with the giant pile of awards its original series Ted Lasso brought home. But the biggest thing that Apple did this year was to start selling DIY iPhone and Mac repair kits to consumers. After it was discovered Face ID on an iPhone 13 would stop working if a third party replaced its screen, the company first issued a software fix for this specific issue and announced the repair kits shortly after. The move was hailed by activists as a victory for the right-to-repair movement, given the company's history of making it obnoxiously difficult for you to get your Apple products fixed by anyone else. Of course, Apple could still do better — activists say the company's plans could be more comprehensive, for example. But this is a major reversal of policy that shows the company is opening up, ever so slightly. Last year, it allowed users to set third-party browsers and email apps as their default on iPhones and iPads. This year, it introduced FaceTime on the web as a means to allow PC and Android users to join calls that they had previously been excluded from. The company may never fully embrace integrating different ecosystems into its walled garden, but it seems they're at least listening to what people want and taking small steps towards giving users what they deserve. — Cherlynn Low Gamestop At the start of 2021, Gamestop's share price was $17.25. As of this writing, it's $136.88. This year has been so long that it's easy to forget many things that happened in January, including the Reddit-driven short squeeze that pushed Gamestop's stock price to as high as $500 at its peak. Despite subsequent criticism, calls for better regulation, a congressional hearing on what happened and multiple class-action lawsuits having been filed against parties like brokering app Robinhood, here we are 12 months later with the company's stock still higher than it's ever been before 2021. Andrew Kelly / reuters Of course, a company's share price isn't a true indicator of its overall performance and health. But this is a far cry from 2019 when GameStop was posting tens of millions in losses and planning to shutter up to 200 stores. In 2020, its main challenges were around trying to keep its outlets open in the face of stay-home mandates and making sure it had enough consoles to sell. This year, in possibly the most 2021 combination of words ever, GameStop announced it's working on an NFT platform based on Ethereum. It also signed a lease for a new 530,000 square-foot fulfilment center in Nevada and opened a new customer care center in Florida. It made $1.18 billion in the second quarter compared to $942 million in the same period in 2020. That could partly be due to the fact that Sony and Microsoft launched their consoles after the second quarter in 2020. Basically, 2021 has been a great year for GameStop, and not just for its business. Discovery+ is even working on a documentary (narrated by "Wolf of Wall Street" Jordan Belfort) on the entire fiasco titled GameStop:The Wall Street Hijack. Nine other films based on these events are reportedly in the works, according to Vulture. Gamestop wasn't the only company that Reddit's day traders flocked to in their nostalgia-driven frenzy, either. Companies like BlackBerry and AMC also saw their share prices surge, with the latter's stock jumping 480 percent at its peak. GameStop's slogan uncannily sums up the situation: "Power to the players." — C.L. Devindra Hardawar / Engadget Windows 11 If you had told me in January that Microsoft had its Windows 10 successor primed and ready for release by the end of the year, I would have laughed in your face. But Windows 11 is actually here, and it's a pretty solid step forward aesthetically (despite some clunky usability issues). I'd bet even Microsoft was surprised it managed to make that happen. Windows 11 rose from the ashes of Windows 10X, an OS variant that was originally supposed to focus on dual-screen devices, but was eventually canceled in May. That would explain why Windows 11 feels more like a fresh coat of paint on its predecessor. But despite that inauspicious start, it's still a worthwhile update: there's more of an emphasis on security, and the facelift brings some Mac-like pleasantries into the typically stark world of Windows. It's not a complete success — upgrading is an annoying process if you've got a self-built PC, and very old computers won't be able to upgrade at all (at least, not without going through a manual ISO installation). But at the very least, Microsoft managed to keep most of what made Windows 10 such a successful operating system, while also delivering a more mindful experience for PC users. — D. H. David Imel for Engadget Google Pixel 6 Pro The Pixel 6 Pro is my favorite Pixel yet. Yes, I wish Google offered a smaller handset in its latest flagship series, but that complaint aside, there's plenty to love. The company's first-ever mobile chip Tensor powers the phone's impressive AI features like live translation in messages and captions, as well as smarter voice typing features. Most of all, I adore the Pixel 6 Pro's cameras. If I'm headed out somewhere that I have the slightest sense might warrant some sort of picture-taking, I make sure to bring the 6 Pro with me. Its portrait mode, which I abuse for my food photos, is superior to every other phone I've used, and frankly, I'm partial to Google's colors and clarity. Plus, bonus features like Magic Eraser, Face Unblur and Action Pan give me the option to add fun effects or clean up my shots. Everyone I've taken pictures of has been impressed by the quality. Of course, the Pixel 6 is not without its flaws. Setting aside my complaint about its size, the Pixel 6 Pro also has a finicky in-screen fingerprint sensor. Google has also had to issue several fixes in recent weeks to address bugs that themselves were caused by over the air updates. Still, as a showcase for Google's strengths in software and AI, the Pixel 6 Pro fully delivers. Best of all, it does so for hundreds of dollars less than rival flagships. — C.L. Samsung foldables  In an admittedly niche industry, Samsung has pulled far ahead. Sure, it was one of the first to try its hand at foldables, but it's also arguably the last one standing. The foldable phone race really kicked off when relative unknown Royole showed off the first working prototype at CES 2019. Soon after, Huawei and Samsung announced their own devices. The original Mate X and Galaxy Fold made the rounds at various press events after, but only Samsung eventually sold its first-gen foldable to the general public (outside of China, anyway). David Imel for Engadget Motorola jumped on the trend, capitalizing on the sheer nostalgia value of its Razr Flip phone. Alas, all these initial attempts were doomed to fail. Foldables, it turns out, with their soft, vulnerable displays and damage-prone hinges, are hard to nail. Worse, the Razr Flip's screen just felt weird and flimsy, and its hinge would make a cracking sound when you open or close the phone. After a slew of reports of broken review units, Samsung returned with updated iterations of the Fold. It also released the Flip series, a smaller, Razr-like version that received its share of early complaints. Yet, today, Samsung not only continues to produce these foldables, but at cheaper prices, too. The Z series is now in its third generation, and Samsung said it shipped four times more foldables in 2021 than in 2020. While Huawei also unveiled a third version this year, its foldables haven't been available in most places outside of China. We've also yet to see a new version of the Razr this year, although Motorola did roll out a 5G-capable update in 2020 that we never got to test. Companies like Oppo and Xiaomi have also unveiled their own foldables recently, but they're relatively new to the game. By bringing the price of the Z Flip 3 down to a more competitive $999 while continuing to improve the durability and usefulness of its products, Samsung has shown it may be the only company with the resources and expertise to continue to deliver foldable phones, even if they may never gain mainstream popularity. — C.L.

Tesla recalls nearly half a million cars over camera and trunk defects Posted: 30 Dec 2021 06:22 AM PST Tesla's recall-filled 2021 isn't over quite yet. Bloombergreports Tesla has issued recalls for just over 475,000 vehicles to fix defects in camera systems and trunks. To start, the automaker has recalled all Model 3 cars in the 2017 to 2020 model years over a concern repeated use of the trunk may wear down a coaxial cable for the rearview camera — too much use and you may lose the signal entirely. The other recall covers 119,009 Model S sedans in the 2014 to 2021 model years. A factory misalignment of the front trunk (aka frunk) latch assembly can prevent a secondary latch from working properly, increasing the chances the trunk will pop open mid-drive. The Model 3 flaw doesn't exist in 2021 and newer production runs, while Model S drivers are safe if their EVs were built after December 23rd, 2020. You'll have to visit Tesla to get a fix, but the company will compensate anyone who paid for relevant repairs before the recalls took effect. None of the defects led to crashes or injuries, Tesla said. However, the recalls cap a series of issues that include an NHTSA investigation over Autopilot safety, recalls for components like touchscreens, and complaints about build quality problems like panel gaps. Simply speaking, the company developed more of a reputation for less-than-stellar reliability in 2021, and it's not clear when that situation might improve.

New York City orders 184 Mustang Mach-E cars for police and government use Posted: 30 Dec 2021 05:09 AM PST New York City has purchased 184 all-electric Mustang Mach-Es, and they're all going to be used for law enforcement and emergency response purposes. As Electrek noted, the move is part of the city's plans to buy over 1,250 electric vehicles in 2022. That, in turn, is part of a larger endeavor to "drastically cut citywide climate emissions" with the help of a $420 million investment.  In its announcement, the local NYC government said the Mach-Es will be used by the New York Police Department (NYPD), the New York City Sheriff's Office, the Department of Correction, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Department of Environmental Protection, NYC Emergency Management, DCAS Police and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. They'll be replacing those agencies' gas-powered vehicles after the city receives them by June 30th, 2022. NYC also said that its Mach-E purchase is part of its biggest EV purchase to date, though that may not be the case for long. The city has also approved the option to buy up to 250 Tesla Model 3 vehicles any time over the next five years.  Earlier this month, Ford announced that it's increasing the production of the Mach-E to 200,000 vehicles per year in the US starting in 2022 and in Europe by 2023. Company CEO Jim Farley said there's a huge demand for the electric vehicle, and Ford is reportedly delaying its Explorer and Aviator EVs to ensure that it can manufacture enough Mach-Es to keep up with the demand.

The Morning After: 30 percent brighter OLED TVs are coming Posted: 30 Dec 2021 04:20 AM PST While I didn't get it in time for our best buys of 2021, I am now the proud owner of an LG C1 OLED TV. It is beautiful, does 4K, HDR, variable refresh rates and more. Everything looks amazing on it. As I bought it, I thought about how I've never been at the vanguard of TV tech, and how it would only last a couple of weeks until LG ruins it all with even newer TV models. And like clockwork, here it comes. LG Display's next generation of OLED tech, called "OLED EX," that's supposed to "enhance brightness up to 30 percent compared to conventional OLED displays," The company also upgraded the TV's designs too, reducing bezel thickness by up to 30 percent on its 65-inch OLED displays. In defense of my new 55-inch OLED, this is LG Display, not LG, the part of the multinational company that brings this new TV tech to stores, so that doesn't mean it's landing in a new TV immediately. It's just, sigh, already on the horizon. -Mat Smith 'Fortnite' went briefly offline yesterday It's back now. If you had tried to play Fortnite yesterday, you may have had issues. Many players were unable to log in to their accounts and play games. At 1:13PM ET, Epic Games said it was investigating "an issue," and roughly six hours later, the battle royale hit was back online. Epic Games said that it would have "more details next week on what we're doing to help you make up for lost time." Continue reading. China says its space station dodged Starlink satellites twice this year SpaceX's constellation might pose a safety risk. Getty Images China has filed a complaint with the United Nations over two reported near-collisions between the in-progress Tiangong space station and Starlink vehicles. According to Chinese officials, the station had to perform evasive maneuvers on July 1st and October 21st this year to minimize the chance of a collision. In its complaint, the country asked the UN Secretary-General to remind countries (read: the US) that parties in the Outer Space Treaty are responsible for incidents beyond Earth, even if they involve private companies. The accusations line up with astronomer Jonathan McDowell's conjunction observations for both days. China further argued that SpaceX's satellites weren't always predictable. During the October incident, the Starlink craft was "continuously" maneuvering in a way that made it difficult to predict the orbital path. Continue reading. Rivian's R1T electric truck brings adventure to the EV crowd Not just an impressive EV, but an impressive truck. Announcing a vehicle is one thing, actually following through and building that vehicle at a factory and then selling it, that's an almost impossible feat for a new company. But like Tesla before it, Rivian has pulled it off and in doing so has built one of the best trucks on the road today, EV or otherwise. Roberto Baldwin gives it a test drive. Continue reading. Jabra's Elite 4 Active earbuds add ANC and better sweat resistance They're only available in some countries right now. Jabra only just launched its Elite 3 wireless earbuds, but here's their sequel. The Elite 4 Active is a step-up model that adds active noise cancellation and improved IP57 water resistance (up from IP55). Expect to get a claimed seven hours of battery life from the buds themselves and 28 hours when you include the charging case. The Elite 4 Active is available now in the UK for £120 (about $161), but they haven't been announced for the US just yet. Continue reading. Roku expands its TV Ready program More audio devices will be able to automatically pair with Roku TVs. Roku TVs will be able to pair quickly with even more audio products in the future. The company has expanded its TV Ready Certification Program, adding Element, JVC, Pheanoo and Philips this year, with Polk Audio and Westinghouse joining the list in 2022. Roku also opened the program internationally, and partners like Bose are expected to launch TV Ready devices in the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico soon. The TV Ready initiative makes it easy to connect soundbars and speakers to Roku TVs — so long as the audio device supports the feature, it will automatically be detected as soon as you plug it in. Continue reading. The biggest news stories you might have missed Samsung says the Galaxy Flip 3 motivated more people to switch than its flagships 'Let's Play! Oink Games' is no Jackbox, but it's a worthy party game collection Researchers used CT scans to virtually unwrap a pristine mummy The best accessories for your new PlayStation 5 January's PS Plus games include 'Persona 5 Strikers' and 'Dirt 5'

Tumblr blocks tags for 'sensitive content' in order to stay on the App Store Posted: 30 Dec 2021 03:50 AM PST Tumblr has restricted what its users can see on its iOS app in an effort to make sure it doesn't get kicked out of Apple's App Store again. One of the steps it has taken to comply with Apple's guidelines is to limit the results for certain tags or search terms that Tumblr says "may fall under the expanded definition of sensitive content." The website will even completely block some of them — make that more than some, based on this pretty lengthy list of banned and limited terms collected by Tumblr users that TechCrunch posted.  While the inclusion of specific words in the list is self explanatory, it also has some curious entries, such as "Eugene Levy" and "Tony the Tiger." The restriction will also make it harder to search for content related to mental health, such as PTSD, depression and anxiety, as well as issues like racism and transphobia. Those searching for a blocked tag will get a screen that says "This content has been hidden" instead of a page with results. They'll see the same notification if they try to access a blog that's been flagged as "explicit" on the app. Users may also see fewer suggestions under the "stuff for you" and "following" sections due to the new restrictions.  Tumblr has implemented these changes three years after it started completely blocking adult content on its platform. If you'll recall, Tumblr prohibited adult content in 2018 after Apple pulled its app from iTunes in response to finding child exploitation photos on the website. The social network said these changes only apply to its iOS app and that they won't affect anyone browsing Tumblr on the web or on Android. A spokesperson also told TechCrunch that the company is "working on more thoughtful solutions which will be rolled out in the near future."

Samsung says the Galaxy Flip 3 motivated more people to switch than its flagships Posted: 30 Dec 2021 12:53 AM PST The latest foldable Galaxy devices are a hit. Samsung shipped four times more foldables in 2021 than what it did in 2020, the tech giant has revealed. Further, it took only one month after they were released for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 to exceed the total accumulative sales of their predecessors last year. The company also said that it saw a "massive increase" in consumers who jumped brands specifically for its foldable phones — in fact, more people switched to Samsung for the Flip 3 than for its flagship devices.  While Samsung didn't rattle off specific numbers, it said it saw a 150 percent increase in consumers who switched brands for the Flip 3 compared to the Galaxy Note 20. It saw a 140 percent increase in people switching brands for the foldable compared to the Galaxy S21, as well. The Flip's form factor is of course its main draw, along with its front screen that gives users a way to use their phone without having to open it. As for the Fold 3, people who responded to Samsung's survey said they got it for its large screen, multitasking capabilities and S Pen support. In its post, Samsung said foldables are expected to grow tenfold by 2023, and it's heavily investing in research and development to be able to keep up with rival devices that will surely pop up. One of those competitors is Huawei's P50 Pocket phone, which is the company's first model that folds vertically like the Galaxy Z Flip.

JLab's latest $20 earbuds are designed to complement your skin tone Posted: 29 Dec 2021 10:00 PM PST When it comes to blending in, nearly all true wireless earbuds fail miserably. That's mostly due to predominantly black and white color options, with a few brightly-hued variants tossed in along the way. Even if the buds are tiny, they're still highly visible due to their color. JLab is on a quest to remedy this and the audio company teamed up with nail care brand ORLY to develop a solution. With the Go Air Tones, the duo selected a collection of seven Pantone colors that are "flattering for people across a spectrum of skin tones."  JLab says it worked with ORLY to select the final hues from an original collection of over 60 options. Given the beauty brand's experience with creating nude nail polishes, the seven colors "encompassed a variety of skin tones with a mix of warm, neutral and cool undertones. While the colors reflect actual skin tones, most users will find the colors "flattering" without an exact match, according to JLab. If you're having trouble selecting the best option, JLab offers an AR fitting room for a virtual try-on that might help you decide. JLab The Go Air Tones are the same earbuds as the $20 Go Air Pop that JLab debuted back in August. This means you'll get on-board touch controls, the ability to use either bud on its own, a collection of EQ presets and IPX4 protection from moisture. There's also an enclosed case with built-in USB cable for charging. JLab says you can expect up to eight hours on the earbuds themselves with an additional three charges from the included case. The only difference between the Pop and the Tones are the available color options for each.  The Go Air Tones are available for pre-order today for $20. They're scheduled to begin shipping in mid-January.  JLab

T-Mobile pins latest data breach on SIM swapping Posted: 29 Dec 2021 11:06 AM PST T-Mobile is still suffering from data breaches, although its latest headache may be more reflective of the phone business at large. The carrier has confirmed to Bleeping Computer that a recent data breach stemmed from SIM swapping attacks. Intruders compromised a "very small number" of customers by reassigning SIM cards or viewing "limited" account info, T-Mobile said. It's not clear what methods the attackers used, but SIM swaps are frequently used to take control of internet accounts and circumvent SMS-based two-factor authentication. The attacks sometimes rely on tricking or paying carrier staff to make the swaps.  The provider said it "quickly corrected" the problem using existing measures and took further steps to protect targets. The company also contended that swaps are a "common industry-wide occurrence." While that's sadly true, that won't be much help for victims — it could be a long while before SIM swap attacks are impractical.

'Fortnite' is back online (updated) Posted: 29 Dec 2021 10:34 AM PST If you had planned to play Fortnite today, you may want to make other plans. At the moment, many players are finding it impossible to log in to their accounts and play games. At 1:13PM ET, Epic Games said it was investigating "an issue," and promised to share more information once it had a solution to the problem. Fortnite is currently unavailable and players are unable to log-in while we investigate an issue. We'll provide more info when we have a solution to bring services back online. pic.twitter.com/B3wXvu5SL6 — Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) December 29, 2021 Epic hasn't said what's causing the problem. However, over on its status website, the company describes the incident as a "major outage." That same webpage notes the Epic Games Store is suffering from "degraded performance," According to Downdetector, there are also reports of people being unable to play GTA Online and access Discord, but it's not clear if those incidents are related.  2021 has seen its share of notable internet outages. It was only earlier this month an Amazon Web Services networking issue led to many websites, including Disney+ and Vice, becoming inaccessible for part of the day. We'll note here Fortnite runs on an AWS backend.      Update 12/29 7:40PM ET: Epic Games confirmedFortnite's servers are back online after the hours-long outage. "We'll have more details next week on what we're doing to help you make up for lost time," the company wrote in a tweet.

January's PS Plus games include 'Persona 5 Strikers' and 'Dirt 5' Posted: 29 Dec 2021 09:48 AM PST We're somehow just about to roll into 2022, which means Sony will soon refresh the lineup of games PlayStation Plus members can claim at no extra cost. Starting on January 4th, you'll be able to snag Persona 5 Strikers, Dirt 5 and Deep Rock Galactic. Persona 5 Strikers follows the events of Persona 5 (which PS5 owners can snag through the PS Plus Collection). The action RPG, which was released in the West earlier this year, pulls in elements from the Dynasty Warriors series too. It's the only one of January's PS Plus games that doesn't have a native PS5 version. Dirt 5 is the latest game in the long-running Dirt series. The off-road racing title, which emerged in November 2020, includes features like four-player splitscreen and the Playground creative mode. You can race across more than 70 routes in 10 global locations. Deep Rock Galactic, meanwhile, is debuting on PlayStation as a PS Plus game. The co-op first-person shooter arrived on PC and Xbox in May 2020. You'll play as a space dwarf and there are four classes you can choose from: engineer, gunner, driller and scout. Players explore procedurally-generated destructible cave systems and take on waves of aliens as they search for resources. PS Plus subscribers will until February 1st to claim those titles. Meanwhile, you have until January 3rd to snag the six games in the current lineup. You can snag Godfall: Challenger Edition, Lego DC Super Villains and Mortal Shell, as well as PS VR titles The Persistence (which you can also play without a headset), The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and Until You Fall.

‘Let’s Play! Oink Games’ is no Jackbox, but it's a worthy party game collection Posted: 29 Dec 2021 08:00 AM PST Every year I try to have a little "holiday gaming café" gathering at my apartment, where I invite friends over to play board and card games. While last year's party was understandably cancelled, this year I invited a small group over and we indulged in tabletop titles like We're Doomed and Parks. Inevitably we reached the point in the evening where people's attention started to stray so it seemed like a good idea to switch to party video games. But instead of the old standby Jackbox, I remembered that Oink Games had just released a board game collection and decided to give that a spin. We discovered that Let's Play! Oink Games was not like Jackbox Party Packs at all, as it did not work with phones and required separate copies of the game on separate consoles. Pass. So we turned off the Switch, hooked up my laptop and started up Jackbox Party Pack 8 instead. If you live in a friendless cave and aren't familiar with Jackbox, it's a pretty great series: Each "Party Pack" has five party games that anyone can join in with their phone (or any web browser) by going to Jackbox.tv and inputting the special room code. The narrator explains how to play and walks the group through each round — which makes it pretty great for those guests who aren't paying attention or are super, super drunk. Most of the games involve drawing, trivia or writing silly words. (My particular favorite is 'Mad Verse City' from Jackbox Party Pack 5, a rap game.) After everyone left, I decided to give Let's Play! Oink Games another try. And, while it isn't an alternative to Jackbox (it's more like Clubhouse Games, if anything), it is still a somewhat fun experience, though not worth the $22 I spent. There are only four games included with the set: Startups, Deep Sea Adventure, A Fake Artist Goes to New York, and'Moon Adventure. They're all computerized versions of Oink's tabletop games, which come in little card-deck-sized boxes and usually cost $20 each. In that respect, the video game version does seem like a good deal. You have a choice to play online with either people you know or strangers, offline with people you know, or offline with CPU opponents. Oink Games Offline with friends wasn't happening since, as I pointed out earlier, you all need your own copy of the game and a console. I tried to find an online match, only to discover there weren't any going on. So my only choice was offline with CPU opponents. Unfortunately, A Fake Artist Goes to New York can't be played with CPU opponents, as it's a drawing game where all the players but one are given a prompt, and you have to figure out who the "fake" artist is. I also discovered that Moon Adventure can have multiple players, but the user is tasked with playing them all since it's a cooperative game. So it's really a battle with resource management as you attempt to gather supplies before your oxygen runs out. I found this one the toughest of all, even after looking at the helpful instructions and videos the game builds in. For all my qualms with the title, the instructions are really well-done. However, the instructions didn't get me any closer to winning Startups, one of the two games where CPU players can participate. And man, are they merciless. The idea is to gather as many "shares" in a company as possible, but if you don't have the most you end up having to pay out to the person who does. It's like a modern version of Monopoly where you land on Boardwalk all the time. At least this one plays a lot quicker. The last game, Deep Sea Adventure, is my favorite. It's sort of competitive and sort of cooperative, as all the players must share the same oxygen supply and diving too deep will deplete it quickly. Once I got into the rhythm of gathering treasure and running back to the sub as soon as possible I mastered the game and was regularly kicking CPU butt. While it was perhaps unfair of me to expect Let's Play: Oink Games to be a Jackbox replacement, there's still a lot of room for growth in what they have. I'd like to see a mode where users who don't own the game can play on their own systems with a person who does, similar to how Mario Kart used to work on the DS. And I do hope they add more games, if only because this is an easier way to learn how to play instead of trying to puzzle out badly translated print instructions from Japanese, which is what you deal with in the physical versions.

Rivian’s R1T electric truck brings adventure to the EV crowd Posted: 29 Dec 2021 07:00 AM PST Announcing a vehicle is one thing, actually following through and building that vehicle at a factory and then selling it, that's an almost impossible feat for a new company. But like Tesla before it, Rivian has pulled it off and in doing so has built one of the best trucks on the road today, EV or otherwise. The all-electric Rivian R1T starts at wallet-busting $67,500, but for that money, owners will get the latest technology out there in a truck that's at home on the highway, around town, and crawling over rocks, and navigating muddy trails. We put one to the test in the rain in Northern California.

Jabra's Elite 4 Active earbuds add ANC and better sweat resistance Posted: 29 Dec 2021 06:29 AM PST Jabra only just launched its Elite 3 wireless earbuds, but it already has a follow-up. TechRadarnotes Jabra has introduced the Elite 4 Active, a step-up model that addresses a few of the omissions from the 3. They now have active noise cancellation to drown out the world during your workouts, while improved IP57 water resistance (up from IP55) should help deal with sweat and downpours. The features will otherwise seem familiar if you've seen the Elite 3, although that's not necessarily a problem. The Elite 4 Active packs 6mm drivers, a "HearThrough" mode to amplify outside sounds and single-bud listening. You'll have to make do with wired charging, but you still get a claimed seven hours og battery life from the buds themselves and 28 hours when you include the charging case. Availability in some countries is the bigger unknown. The Elite 4 Active is available now in the UK for £120 (about $161), but they haven't been announced for the US as we write this. We've asked Jabra if it can share more. Provided the earbuds do arrive stateside, though, they could easily represent a bargain. We liked the Elite 3 for a combination of a low price with strong sound quality, healthy battery life and comfort —the 4 Active builds on that formula. They may represent better value than the Echo Buds and other rivals that make more noticeable compromises.

Roku expands its TV Ready program to include more brands and regions Posted: 29 Dec 2021 06:00 AM PST Roku TVs will be able to pair quickly with more audio products in the future. The company has expanded its TV Ready Certification Program, adding Element, JVC, Pheanoo and Philips this year, with Polk Audio and Westinghouse joining the list in 2022. Roku also opened the program internationally, and partners like Bose are expected to launch TV Ready devices in the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico soon.  Bose vice president of Product and Experience, Doug Cunningham, said: "Roku TV Ready makes it easier than ever to set-up and use a Bose TV speaker for an improved audio experience. We are excited to bring this option to more Roku TV owners across the globe." The TV Ready initiative makes it easy to connect soundbars and speakers to Roku TVs — so long as the audio device supports the feature, it will automatically be detected as soon as you plug it in. Your TV will then turn off its speakers and switch audio output, and you'll be able to control your speaker's/soundbar's volume using the Roku remote. The program launched in 2020, with Sound United (the parent company of Polk, Denon, Marantz, Class A and Boston Acoustics) and TCL as the first official partners. Roku says the program provides participants with an "easy-to-implement" SDK for fast integration, as well as a wireless soundbar reference design that it launched at CES 2021. TCL released the first model based on the reference, and it of course pairs automatically with a Roku TV.

The best accessories for your new PlayStation 5 Posted: 29 Dec 2021 06:00 AM PST So you managed to buy a PlayStation 5 – congratulations, you beat supply shortages to obtain one of the most sought-after consoles in recent memory. Now comes the fun part. No PS5 is complete without a library of games and accessories to elevate your experience. Thankfully, you won't have as much trouble getting your hands on those. However, if you're new to the console, the tricky part is knowing what titles and peripherals are worth your time. We've gathered our favorites here to make the search easier for you. PlayStation Plus Sony If the PS5 is your first console or you're coming from an Xbox, one of the first things you'll want to pick up is a PlayStation Plus subscription. It'll help you flesh out your library. Sony gives a handful of free games away to PS Plus subscribers each month, and as long as you maintain an active membership, they're yours to keep. The selection is sometimes hit and miss, but you'll find a few gems every year. You'll also need PS Plus to play most games online, though a subscription isn't required for free-to-play titles like Call of Duty: Warzone. The addition of PlayStation Store discounts and cloud storage make PS Plus a no-brainer if you see yourself using your PS5 constantly. Buy PS Plus (1 year) at Amazon - $60 SteelSeries Arctis 7P+ SteelSeries Do the people you live with a favor and buy yourself a decent headset. It will help you stop nerves from fraying and is a must for any multiplayer game. The options for gaming headsets are vast, so we recommend picking one with a solid track record. SteelSeries recently updated its iconic Arctis 7 headset with the 7P+ which has improved battery life and a USB-C port for charging. What the company didn't change was the headband design that many people credit for making the Arctis 7 one of the more comfortable headsets on the market. The 7P+ costs the same as the standard 7+ variant, but also adds full support for the PS5's Tempest 3D audio technology. Buy Arctis 7P+ at SteelSeries - $170 WD Black SN850 WD Sony recently released an update to allow PS5 owners to expand their console's internal storage. And it's a good thing, because the 667GB of usable storage the console comes with can feel limiting quickly. We already published a comprehensive guide on the best SSDs you can buy for your PlayStation 5. You'll want to check that article out for a step-by-step guide on how to upgrade your SSD. But if you want to make things as simple as possible, your best bet is a Gen4 M.2 NVME SSD with a built-in heatsink. One of the better plug-and-play options is the SN850 from WD Black. It checks off all the compatibility requirements listed by Sony and is reasonably priced, too. Buy WD Black SN850 (1TB) at Amazon - $230 Samsung T7 SSD Samsung If you don't feel comfortable opening your PS5 to install a new SSD, another option is to purchase an external solid-state drive. Keep in mind that you can't play PS5 games from an external drive. However, it takes less time to copy one over from an SSD than it does to download it from the PlayStation Store. One of our favorite portable drives is the Samsung T7. It can write files at a speedy 1,000 MB/s and comes with a shock-resistant enclosure to protect the drive from physical damage. If you plan to use the SSD exclusively for storing games, you can save money by buying the standard model instead of the Touch variant with fingerprint sensor. Buy Samsung T7 (1TB) at Amazon - $170 DualSense Charging Station Sony While you can charge your DualSense controller with the USB-C cable that comes with your PS5, a more elegant solution is the DualSense Charging Station. It can store and charge two controllers simultaneously. In that way, you can always have a second controller ready to go if the one you're currently using runs out of battery. It will also free up the USB ports on your PS5 for other accessories. Buy DualSense Charging Station at Amazon - $60 Deathloop Bethesda This timed exclusive is one of the most stylish games you can play on the PS5. Arkane's latest puts you in a time loop in which you need to learn the schedules of your targets to assassinate all eight of them in a single day. The game's level design is dense in the best way possible, inviting you to learn all of the secrets of each zone so you can execute a successful run. Buy Deathloop at Amazon - $60 Death's Door Acid Nerve With a title that evokes the end of all things, you might think Death's Door is a bleak game. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Buoyed by a beautiful soundtrack and art style, it's one of the most thoughtful and pleasant indies I've played recently. Developer Acid Nerve's tribute to The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls is a must-play for those who love to lose themselves in a world of mystery and intrigue. Buy Death's Door at Sony - $20 Demon's Souls Sony If you've had the itch to try FromSoftware's Soulsborne series but don't know where to start, you'll find no better introduction than Demon's Souls. Developer Bluepoint Games has lovingly recreated the crumbling kingdom of Boleteria for the 4K era, making this remake one of the best-looking games on the PS5. Yes, it's as tough as you've heard, but a handful of quality-of-life improvements, including a much-needed performance mode, make the journey all the more rewarding. Buy Demon's Souls at Amazon - $70 Ghosts of Tsushima Directors Cut Sucker Punch Productions You've played games like Ghost of Tsushima before. It borrows from the familiar open-world formula popularized by Assassin's Creed and other Ubisoft titles. But that's not a knock against it. Far from it, Sucker Punch's latest is so easy to recommend because it executes the open-world concept flawlessly. The studio has created a beautiful playground steeped in Feudal Japanese culture, myth and history for players to explore, with something interesting to find beyond every ridge. Combat is also a highlight, allowing you to play either as honorable samurai, terrifying assassin or a mixture of both. And once you have finished Tsushima's touching single-player story, there's the excellent Legends multiplayer mode to keep you busy for the long haul. Buy Ghosts of Tsushima at Amazon - $70 Hades Supergiant Games If you pick up only one game from this list, make it Hades. It is as close to a perfectly executed game as you'll find. Everything from the art style, music, story and gameplay mechanics coalesces into one of the most memorable experiences in recent memory. Even if you're not a fan of rogue-like games, don't worry: Hades is so successful because even when you die, it never feels like you've wasted your time. Buy Hades at Amazon - $40

The Morning After: Hyundai may be giving up on the combustion engine Posted: 29 Dec 2021 04:34 AM PST Welcome back to The Morning After. Hope you had a great weekend and are ready for 2021 to be over and done with. (I know I am.) Today, we've drawn together the latest tech news from the last few days and several end-of-year pieces on the biggest stories of the year. But first, Hyundai might be giving up on new combustion engines. The company only just made and released its first electric car, but it's apparently ready to move fast, and leave the engines of old behind. Korea Economic Daily sources claim Hyundai shut down its research center's combustion engine design unit sometime this month. While there will still be some workers left to refine existing engines, the rest will move to EV-related work. Electrification is "inevitable," new research chief Chung-kook Park reportedly said in an email, and the transition will help produce cars that "dominate the future market." Park is probably right. In Hyundai's native South Korea, combustion-only car sales will be banned by 2030. -Mat Smith 'Final Fantasy XVI'delayed a half year due to COVID-19 The reveal is now scheduled for spring of 2022. Final Fantasy fans were promised more information about the next installment of the role-playing series before the end of 2021. Sadly, that announcement and the game have been postponed. "When we last spoke, I promised I would have more information on Final Fantasy XVI sometime later in 2021," producer Naoki Yoshida wrote on Twitter. "However, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to keep that promise, as complications from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have delayed the game's development by almost half a year." Continue reading. In 2021, Apple addressed past mistakes Just don't call it an apology. The last year for the iPhone and Mac maker was marked with more than a little bit of course correction. Beyond moving forward with its M1 PC chips in more powerful setups, Apple nixed the problematic keyboards found on the last few generations of MacBooks and improved battery life across the entire range of iPhone 13 models. The biggest change – and one we won't quite see the significance of until next year – is product repairs. Apple will sell repair parts and instructions to customers who want to fix their iPhones themselves. Continue reading. Lego's 'Sonic the Hedgehog' set arrives in the new year The Green Hill Zone kit is a nostalgia trip for Sega fans. Lego After nearly a year of work, Lego has revealed that its Sonic the Hedgehog Green Hill Zone set will be available online and in Lego stores on January 1st, 2022 for $70. The brick-based recreation of the game's first – and best-known – area includes minifigs for Sonic, Dr. Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik), two critters and the Phantom Ruby. Sonic won't dart around loops, unfortunately, but there is a Technic lever to launch him (or any other characters) along with ring add-ons, of course. Continue reading. Apple reportedly hires Meta's AR public relations lead The move happens as Apple AR headset rumors continue to swirl. Apple As rumors continue to build about its augmented reality headset, Apple has reportedly hired Meta's AR public relations head Andrea Schubert, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his weekly newsletter. "Meta, with Oculus, has been the market leader in headsets, so such a hire makes sense as Apple nears its launch," Gurman wrote. Schubert has been Communications Director with Meta's Reality labs and comms lead for Oculus with Meta since March 2016. Apple's potential AR headset is already the subject of all kinds of rumors. One recent one speculated that the headset might depend on another device like an iPhone or a Mac computer. Or it could be a standalone device with dual 8K displays that could cost up to $3,000. And a third rumor, this one from Gurman, indicated that it would play "high-quality VR games." Continue reading. AMD and OnePlus are the latest to cancel in-person CES 2022 plans Add them to the list. AMD and OnePlus have both withdrawn their physical presences at the technology event. While they didn't provide detailed explanations, the move was clearly in response to the rise of COVID-19's Omicron variant, like many other companies that have already withdrawn from CES. AMD was already poised to launch its 2022 products through a livestream on January 4th. OnePlus said it would introduce the OnePlus 10 Pro in January and was rumored to unveil the phone at CES. For now, Samsung, Sony and LG are all still set to exhibit in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. I'm taking bets. Continue reading. 'Arcane' creators explain why Jinx and Vi are the stars of the Netflix series Basically: They're really cool. Jinx and Vi are the sisters at the heart of Riot Games' hit Netflix series, Arcane, and they were picked for the spotlight out of a lineup of more than 150 League of Legends champions. For Arcane creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee, the stars really couldn't have been anyone else from League of Legends lore. "They kind of got our special treatment already because we just really liked them," Linke told Engadget. "And so, when we had to think about like, which characters do we want to stick with for many years to come? I think it was pretty obvious." Continue reading. 2021 showed us that trucks and SUVs don't need gas engines America's best-selling vehicle style is just as popular when electrified. Steady advancements in power systems over the past few years — alongside skyrocketing demand for larger, electrified vehicles that cater to the US market — has led to a watershed moment in 2021: the emergence of EV pickups and SUVs. 2021 may have been the tipping point. Continue reading.   The biggest news stories you might have missed Riot Games settles class-action gender discrimination lawsuit for $100 million Amazon's 'New World' is among the year's biggest moneymakers on Steam India's version of 'PUBG Mobile' rolls out device bans for cheaters Xiaomi's 12 Series phones are among the first with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chips Samsung's latest C-Lab projects include a smart guitar with LED guides Acrimoto's three-wheeled roadster EV combines weird with fun NASA has finally launched the James Webb Space Telescope Hitting the Books: Amiga and the birth of 256-color gaming The best accessories for your new Xbox Series X or S The best apps to download on your new smartphone 'Forza Horizon 5' turned me into a racing game fan

LG's new ThinQ recipe service sources ingredients from Amazon and Walmart Posted: 29 Dec 2021 03:35 AM PST As usual, LG has unveiled its latest smart appliances for CES 2022, but this time they come with an unusual twist: a recipe service. The ThinQ Recipe app will let users choose from up to 10,000 recipes, with the app adding ingredients to your grocery list for delivery from Walmart or Amazon Fresh.  LG has partnered with SideChef on the app, letting you cook up anything from a single recipe to a weekly meal plan. It also uses the Scan and Cook feature from Foodspace Technology that scans a bar code on certain frozen and ready-to-cook meals, automatically sending cooking instructions to compatible LG ThinQ ovens.  LG The new feature is designed to work with LG's latest InstaView Double Range oven and Over-the-range microwave. The former uses LG's InstaView tech that lets you see inside the appliance by knocking twice on the glass. It also uses LG's ProBake convection tech with Air Fry and Air Sous Vide modes, while the microwave offers LG's Steam Cook tech to keep foods moist when cooking.  The new appliances with ThinQ recipe will be shown at LG's virtual exhibition booth at CES 2022 starting on January 5th, though LG didn't say when the app and appliances would go on sale. CES 2022 is still scheduled to proceed next week in Las Vegas, with LG, Samsung and Sony still committed as of this writing. Other companies including Amazon, Google, Meta and Lenovo have backed out of real-world involvement, however.

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