Matt Brian

Former Managing Editor, UK

Matt Brian has spent over fifteen years sourcing, writing and editing stories about technology, video games and psychedelic rugs. After applying for his first role at The Next Web using his own Wordpress blog, Matt had a brief stint at The Verge before finding his forever home at Engadget in 2013. Originally joining as a news editor, Matt quickly became Managing Editor of Engadget's UK Edition, leading a small team of reporters that produced scoops and closely covered the UK tech news cycle before it was rolled into the global Engadget team. These days, Matt spends his time leading a worldwide news team from his base in the UK, while finding some of the best discounts and savings on popular tech products.

Articles by Matt Brian

The rise and rise (and rise) of ’Fortnite'
When a video game that counts Drake among its fans has breakfast TV shows around the world discussing its effect on younger players, it has truly made it. No, we're not talking about Grand Theft Auto, but Fortnite, Epic Games' mass-multiplayer shooter that has more than 40 million players across consoles and PC, and continues to grow at a rapid pace. When Fortnite launched as a paid Early Access game in July 2017, it was solely as a PvE (player vs. environment) experience. Players completed levels by collecting materials and crafting super-elaborate bases to repel hordes of zombies. Reviews were mostly positive, but Epic kept one eye on the success of another Early Access game -- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) -- and quickly spun out a free-to-play mode, "Battle Royale," the following September.
Upgraded Raspberry Pi 3 delivers more power and faster networking
Despite selling over 14 million of its low-cost DIY computing boards, the Raspberry Pi Foundation adheres to a slow release cycle. The company typically waits over a year to refresh its range, and even then improvements can be very subtle. That's exactly the case with its flagship board, the Raspberry Pi 3, which has today been upgraded to offer more speed in every sense of the word.
Sky to offer Netflix content alongside its own
While Sky continues to wade through multi-billion dollar bids from Fox and Comcast, the UK pay-TV provider has quietly been working behind the scenes to bring new content and services to its platform. Earlier this week, the company announced that it had signed a deal with Spotify to bring a dedicated music app to Sky Q boxes, while adding a whole host of personalisation features. Today, however, Sky has gone one better, confirming a new partnership with streaming giant Netflix to offer the US company's TV and movie content alongside its own across Europe.
UK to review online trolling laws
Over the last nine months, the UK government has looked at various ways to make the internet safer for people across Britain. In October 2017, culture secretary Karen Bradley published an Internet Safety Green Paper, which discussed a voluntary levy on major social media companies to fund awareness and preventative activity against online trolls and in turn help users report threatening behaviour. Today, the Prime Minister -- supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport -- announced a new independent review "to make the UK the safest place to be online." It'll seek to clarify whether current laws are effectively treating online and offline behaviour the same.
UK Android upstart Wileyfox goes into administration
When UK phone maker Wileyfox burst onto the smartphone scene in August 2015, the company positioned itself as a small company that operated on small margins, with a plan to sell powerful but low-cost Android handsets. Its first two phones -- the Swift and the Storm -- delivered on that promise, earning favourable reviews for their premium design and impressive spec sheet. The company's next releases, however, didn't fare as well. It was forced to ditch the Cyanogen operating system and build its own Android platform, which ultimately led to it offering reduced prices if you didn't mind putting up with lockscreen ads.
UK group planning complex 200-mile autonomous car trial
As the UK attempts to position itself at the forefront of autonomous driving, the government -- with help from startups and universities -- has embarked on a number of trials in order to rack up the necessary miles on the road. This normally involves putting a self-driving through the small patches of the best and worst British highways have to have offer, providing car makers with the data they need to manufacture a safe autonomous vehicle and pave the way for updated laws and regulations in order to govern them.
EV chargers are coming to BP petrol stations this year
With the UK government pledging to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040, the major fuel giants will need to evolve or face losing a sizeable share of their income to the rising number of alternative energy companies. We've already seen Shell begin installing charging points inside petrol stations in order to satisfy the rising number of EV owners, but it'll soon be joined by rival BP after it announced that it has invested in electric vehicle charging company FreeWire to bring mobile charging units to a select number of forecorts.
UK plans to let drivers report road accidents online
British road users may soon be able to report accidents online, under new plans drawn up by the Department for Transport. The consultation, opened today by Transport Minister Jesse Norman, will allow citizens to suggest new ways for drivers to share details of traffic incidents with police and save time in the process.
Google trained its AI camera with help from pro photographers
When Google unveiled its $249 Clips camera back in October 2017, it was easy to question Google's motives. Lifelogging cameras weren't a new idea, nor were they particularly successful, and given the rise in smartphone imaging and video quality, it was a tough ask to let a wearable camera automatically capture important moments. With Clips expected to debut in the coming weeks, Google has penned a blog post (first detailed by The Verge) detailing how it's trained its algorithms to identify the best shots. In order to do that, its AI needed to learn from something or someone, so Google called in photography experts from various different backgrounds and supplied their model with some of the best photography available.
Virgin Media is giving all of its TV customers a V6 box
Virgin Media's next-generation V6 box is now over a year old. Since its launch, the company has managed to install more than a million of the 4K-ready set-top boxes in UK homes -- roughly a quarter of its total customer base. However, with a number of older, less-capable boxes still in use, Virgin Media has come up with a way to drag the remaining three-quarters of subscribers into the present: give away the Virgin V6 box for free.
TalkTalk begins winding down its mobile business
TalkTalk is in the process of shutting down its mobile business, effectively ending its tenure as a dedicated quad-play provider. According to MoneySavingExpert, the company has begun notifying customers that they are unable to renew their mobile plan at the end of their contract and is offering special deals to those who switch to O2.
Amazon will focus on 'bigger' movies to lure people to Prime
Having made its name buying smaller, niche independent projects to build its TV and movie division into a multi-award-winning studio, Amazon plans ramp things up a little moving forward, Reuters reports. According to sources, the company will increase its spending on new films, dedicating as much as $50 million to more commercial projects. Amazon will reportedly reduce the number of art-house movies it buys, which it typically acquires at events like the Sundance Film Festival for figures in the low millions, in its bid to lure more people to Prime and onto its expanding streaming service.
Amazon’s Echo Spot bedside speaker clock comes to the UK
Last year was a big year for Alexa. First, Amazon released updated versions of its popular Echo speakers and then brought its smart assistant to screens with the launch of the Echo Show and the Echo Spot. However, like many Amazon products, they often take their time to travel across the Atlantic. The Echo Show took around five months to launch in the UK and we've been waiting since September for its smaller sibling to make its debut. Today, Amazon announced that its smart alarm clock will cost £120 and is now available to pre-order.
Google bought a UK startup that turns screens into speakers
Over the past year, Google has demonstrated its desire to step up its hardware game. The company bought HTC's Pixel team for $1.1 billion, designed its own imaging chip for the Pixel 2 and also hired a key Apple chip designer. Bloomberg reports that in its bid to gain an edge on the competition, Google has quietly snapped up UK startup Redux, a small team focused on delivering sound and touch feedback via mobile displays.
Apple will combat iPhone addiction with more parental controls
Apple plans to incorporate new controls into its smartphones that will allow parents to control how much their children use them, Bloomberg reports. In response to a public letter issued on January 6th by two investment groups -- with a combined $2 billion in Apple shares -- on the company claimed it has always protected kids' interests but vowed to do more to keep them safe online.
Amazon set to bid for Premier League streaming rights
When the English Football Association opens the bidding for Premier League broadcasting rights in February, it may see keen interest from a significant but not-so-unexpected source: Amazon. Bloomberg reports that the online retailer is preparing to bid for matches next month, likely providing traditional UK broadcasters Sky and BT with some much-needed competition over the next three years.
Brits are paying more for music streaming than ever before
The UK economy might be slowing, but a new report shows that Brits aren't averse to paying for the things they love. The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) revealed today that sales of music, movies and video games reached a record high in 2017, helped mostly by digital services like Spotify, Valve, Netflix, Amazon Sky, Apple and Google.
Apple poaches three Amazon video execs
Apple's push into original programming has been given another significant boost after it was revealed the company lured three executives over from rival Amazon Studios. Variety reports that Tara Sorensen, who joined Amazon in 2012 and helped lead its children's TV division, will jump ship to continue the same role within Cupertino. She'll also be joined by legal affairs chief Tara Pietri and international development executive Carina Walker.
The UK decides 10 Mbps broadband should be a legal right
Over the past decade, the UK government has attempted to lock in a basic level of broadband service across Britain. The idea is that by 2020, members of the public will have the legal right to request speeds of at least 10 Mbps from their ISP, whether they happen to live in a big city or in the countryside. It's all part of the government's Universal Service Obligation (USO), which was laid out in the Digital Economy Act passed earlier this year. Ministers originally considered adopting BT's voluntary offer, which would have seen it spend up to £600 million giving 1.4 million rural residents access to speeds of at least 10 Mbps. However, in a statement today, the government confirmed that it now will go down the regulatory route as it provides "sufficient certainty and the legal enforceability that is required to ensure high speed broadband access for the whole of the UK by 2020."
Sky’s restructured TV pricing is simpler and more flexible
As UK consumers have become more confident with streaming services and accessing content via a low monthly subscription, UK broadcasters have been forced to take notice. These days, the all-you-can-eat package is no longer the de-facto option, with companies like Sky choosing to split bigger content bundles into more bitesize options. In July, it broke up Sky Sports into 10 individual channels, allowing sports fans to pay only for the sport they actually wanted to watch and chop and change whenever it suits. Now, it's bringing the same flexibility to traditional TV.

...