Oculus announced at GDC today that an updated version of its Rift virtual reality headset is on the way this spring. Oculus Rift S will cost $399, an increase of $50 from the Rift, while it's set to offer improved resolution and the same integrated audio system as the Quest (which is also debuting in the spring) and Go headsets.
Read MoreSmart speakers still have a lot of room for improvement. How often have you had to shout a command over your music, or had to endure mediocre sound for the convenience of using your voice? Qualcomm believes it can do better. It's unveiling chips that should lead to more powerful smart speakers. The QSC400 system-on-chip is meant to deliver a quicker and more intelligent response for voice assistants, even when it's very noisy. They can stay in standby for as much as 25 times longer (and thus wake up faster), handle more on-device AI and more effectively recognize your voice from a distance.
Read MoreWhether you're playing Fortnite, Apex Legends or PUBG, less lag means more wins. Netgear promises its new gaming router will deliver both. The company debuted the Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR300 WiFi Router at SXSW this week. It'll be available worldwide in April for $199, and pre-orders are open now.
Read MoreIn addition to making its RazerCare protection plans available for peripherals, Razer is expanding its lineup with a slightly more affordable keyboard, mouse and headset, which are all available today. The mechanical BlackWidow keyboard borrows several features from the $170 BlackWidow Elite. It includes Razer Synapse 3 compatibility for deep customization, such as individual key lighting, programmable macros and secondary function assignments.
Read MoreFollowing the powerful One X 360 camera (and some fun updates), Insta360 is now back with a rather eccentric device that aims to make better use of your VR headsets. The new Insta360 Evo is a dual-mode camera that captures 360 content when folded into a cube, as well as 180 3D content when unfolded (remember Lenovo's VR camera?). What's more, this convertible camera can stream freshly captured content directly to the likes of HTC Vive Focus, Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR, which will likely motivate users to create more VR content.
Read MoreIt's the aesthetic that grabbed me. Bluetooth speakers have become commonplace, but a desktop spheroid robo-speaker with glowing lights? That's intriguing. Being from a crowd-funded startup does lend itself to a bit of skepticism, but after getting to test the GravaStar by Zoeao, I found that it's no cheap plastic toy. It has a solidly built metal exterior, bright green accent lights, a Qualcomm chipset and Harman Kardon audio components. If the design appeals to you as well, you can pick one up for $129+ on Indiegogo as an early bird backer. And if you get in quick enough, you may even have one in your home before May.
Read MoreHow do you improve the Sonos One speaker when there aren't too many qualms about the basic design? If you ask Sonos, it's all about future-proofing. The company is rolling out a Gen 2 version of the One that shares the same design, but includes Bluetooth Low Energy, a newer processor and more memory. In other words, it should perform next-generation tasks that would simply be too much for the original to handle -- not that Sonos is saying just what those additions might be.
Read MoreUltimate Ears' Boom speakers have usually been colorful, but there's been a catch: you've always had to pick from whatever designs UE offered, which didn't help if you thought the company's choices were too gauche. Thankfully, UE has a simple solution. It's launching a MyBoom Studio feature that lets you customize the Boom 3 with a choice of eight colors and 12 fabrics across the body, caps and volume buttons. It's not infinite customization, but you have plenty of room to be flamboyant, safe, or something in between.
Read MoreIf you pre-ordered JBL's $399 Link Bar last August, you could end up waiting almost a year for it to arrive -- or possibly longer. Pre-order customers were originally told the all-in-one soundbar, TV box and Google Assistant speaker would ship in October. That didn't happen, and last month, unknown delays pushed shipping to spring. After pre-order customers noticed another ship-date change, Android Police confirmed with JBL that "in-market availability is now planned for mid-to-late summer."
Read MoreWhen you're shopping, you probably have a general look in mind. But how do you describe that to a shopping site? eBay might have an answer: have AI figure it out. It's implementing a feature that uses computer vision to find items that resemble what you're looking at. Tap the three-dot menu next to a product and it'll give you both simple category buttons (such as "athletic shoes") as well as a "looks like this" option to find visually similar items. Eye a green set of sneakers, for instance, and you should see comparable footwear without having to construct an elaborate search.
Read MoreThe Turing Award has recognized some of the biggest names in AI and computing over the years, and the latest winners are particularly heavy hitters. The three prize recipients for 2018 are Google VP Geoffrey Hinton, Facebook's Yann LeCun (above) and Yoshua Bengio, the Scientific Director of the giant AI research center Mila. All three helped "develop conceptual foundations" for deep neural networks, according to the Association for Computing Machinery, and created breakthroughs that showed he "practical advantages" of the technology.
Read MoreGoogle is joining Facebook, Stanford and other outfits setting up institutions to support ethical AI. The company has created an Advanced Technology External Advisory Council that will shape the "responsible development and use" of AI in its products. The organization will ponder facial recognition, fair machine learning algorithms and other ethical issues. The initial council is a diverse group that tackles a range of disciplines and experiences.
Read MoreWhen you roll up to a McDonald's drive-thru in the near future, you might notice the menu changing while you're ordering to persuade you to buy a few more items. The fast food giant is buying machine learning startup Dynamic Yield for a reported $300 million, and the first stop for the company's AI is the drive-thru window.
Read MoreIn an effort "to democratize AI," researchers at MIT have found a way to use artificial intelligence to train machine-learning systems much more efficiently. Their hope is that the new time- and cost-saving algorithm will allow resource-strapped researchers and companies to automate neural network design. In other words, by bringing the time and cost down, they could make this AI technique more accessible.
Read MoreNow that the US government has been ordered to prioritize AI, it's launching a website to promote its AI efforts. The newly available AI.gov showcases a number of initiatives over the years, including Obama-era moves like the strategic AI research plan as well as Trump-era initiatives like DARPA's quest to solve challenges through AI Next. To no one's surprise, the executive order plays a prominent role throughout -- this is ultimately an offshoot of the White House's site rather than a separate government entity.
Read MoreWe're only just beginning to scratch the surface of what artificial intelligence is capable of, from medical advancements to movie recommendations. Despite AI being a potential goldmine of help to humanity, even the greatest minds are partial to the odd spout of fear-mongering. The robots are coming to take our jobs, overthrow humanity, enslave us and the like. Skynet is but a dystopian dream at this point in time, but in some ways, AI is already winning. It's beating us at some of our favorite games, from Go to StarCraft II. Machine has begun to best man, but that's a good thing.
Read MoreImagine if you had the power to turn your old-school Microsoft Paint doodles into actual art. Well, NVIDIA's latest AI-driven software can do just that. The GauGAN image creator, named after the French post-Impressionist painter, uses generative adversarial networks to transform even the crudest of sketches into a photorealistic landscape. NVIDIA describes the tech behind it, a deep learning AI trained on a million images, as a "smart paintbrush."
Read MoreSophisticated AI generally isn't an option for homebrew devices when the mini computers can rarely handle much more than the basics. NVIDIA thinks it can do better -- it's unveiling an entry-level AI computer, the Jetson Nano, that's aimed at "developers, makers and enthusiasts." NVIDIA claims that the Nano's 128-core Maxwell-based GPU and quad-core ARM A57 processor can deliver 472 gigaflops of processing power for neural networks, high-res sensors and other robotics features while still consuming a miserly 5W. On the surface, at least, it could hit the sweet spot if you're looking to build your own robot or smart speaker.
Read MoreStanford is joining the rush to create AI research hubs, albeit with a slight twist. The university is opening the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI for short) with the goal of drawing input from across the university and across disciplines -- it wants input from the humanities, business, engineering and other fields in equal measure. It wants to be sure that AI provides a "better future for all of humanity" and addresses the "challenges and disruptions" they'll create for society, such as the effect of automation on the job market.
Read MoreUnfortunately, you're highly unlikely to see an official remaster of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Its special effects were shot on video rather than added to film, making an already daunting remastering process that much more difficult -- and since it's not a tentpole show like The Next Generation, CBS might not consider it worth the effort. Machine learning might make it easier for fans to fill the gap, however. CaptRobau has experimented with using AI Gigapixel's neural networks to upscale Deep Space Nine to 1080p. The technology is optimized for (and trained on) photos, but apparently works a treat for video. While you wouldn't mistake it for an official remaster, it provides a considerably cleaner, sharper look than the 480p original without introducing visual artifacts.
Read MoreGoogle may have backed out of the US military's Project Maven, but that doesn't mean other tech companies are unwilling to participate. The Intercept has learned that Oculus Rift co-founder Palmer Luckey's defense company, Anduril, won a contract to support the drone AI initiative in 2018. The firm will also support the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, according to newly obtained documents. While there aren't specifics around what that contract would entail, Project Maven relies on machine learning to detect people in drone videos and provide more effective intelligence data.
Read MorePrevious attempts to find a cure for Alzheimer's ended up in failure, but a new study out of IBM Research has the potential to spark a major breakthrough. A group of IBM researchers have harnessed the powers of machine learning to figure out a way to detect a biological marker associated with the disease -- a peptide called amyloid-beta -- with a simple blood test. The solution they came up with can even detect an individual's risk for Alzheimer's earlier than a brain scan can and way before symptoms start showing up. It can arm doctors with the ammo they need to be able to take better care of their patients.
Read MoreFinding a decent foundation is the Holy Grail of beauty that many makeup-wearers can only dream of. Even if you find something that just kind-of-works for you, chances are you'll stick with it instead of risking spending more on something that won't. But now, tech-focused cosmetics brand IL MAKIAGE says it's developed a shade-matching algorithm that's so effective it can find your perfect tone without even seeing your face.
Read MoreIt sounds like Amazon is working on a video news app for its Fire TV. Reportedly, the company has been approaching news organizations to negotiate distribution deals. People from those companies told The Information that Amazon's app will be free, ad-supported and could launch in the next few months.
Read MoreAmazon is now letting companies create voice skills for use in the office with the launch of Alexa for Business. Members can use one of dozens of blueprints to create their own voice-activated commands on Alexa without having to write code. The voice apps will only be accessible to employees of their organization and can't be used on any devices outside the company.
Read MoreAmazon loves to capitalize on popular products, and that apparently extends to the recent fascination with skincare products. The internet giant has introduced its first "dedicated" skincare line, Belei, to snap up customers who'd otherwise hunt down coveted Korean products. The initial catalog includes everything from basics like facial wipes ($9) to a slew of moisturizers (typically $35) and multi-purpose serums (up to $40), helping you deal with everything from acne to wrinkles. Notably, Amazon's own name is conspicuously absent -- it clearly doesn't want to you to associate your eye cream too closely with the company that made your Echo speaker.
Read MoreYou don't have to shell out over $100 for a Kindle Paperwhite if all you really want is to be able to read your ebooks in the dark. Amazon has announced a new entry for its basic Kindle line, and unlike its predecessors, it comes with adjustable lighting. Simply called the "all-new Kindle," the $90 device also has an updated e-ink screen with better contrast and a glare-free capacitive touchscreen display like its more expensive cousins. Amazon has also freshened up its design, giving it more rounded corners and making it available in two color options: black and white.
Read MoreAmazon just took a large step closer to establishing a second headquarters in Virginia. The Arlington County Board has voted unanimously in favor of granting Amazon an estimated $51 million incentive package that includes $23 million in cash over 15 years as well as a $28 million, 10-year investment for infrastructure and open space. It's just a small portion of the $481 million the county has ultimately promised (95 percent of which is indirect), but it gets the process underway.
Read MoreAmazon has officially acquired Eero, the three-year old mesh WiFi startup based in San Francisco. Like other mesh WiFi systems, Eero's routers can be placed throughout the home, allowing users to avoid the "dead zones" that can occur when relying on a single router.
Read MoreAmazon just made online shopping slightly more competitive. A Reuters source has learned that the internet heavyweight has stopped telling third-party sellers that they're forbidden from offering lower prices at rival sites. The insider didn't explain why Amazon made the move, and Amazon declined to comment on the decision. However, it follows political inquiries that might have put pressure on the company to take action.
Read MoreThere are a number of reasons why it can be laborious to set up a living room media player, not the least of which is WiFi -- you try entering a password with a remote. Those days might be gone if you have one of Amazon's devices, though. It recently released a pair of updates that give its current Fire TV devices the same WiFi simple setup feature you've seen in newer Echo speakers and the Smart Plug. If you've chosen to save WiFi passwords to your Amazon account, your media hub will hop online the moment it detects your network.
Read MoreAs Disney completes its acquisition of Fox there's more than just the Marvel universe at stake. One condition of the purchase is that it will sell off Fox's portfolio of regional sports networks, and as rumors late last year suggested, one interested party is Amazon. Reports from the New York Times and other outlets claim that while the Yankees are completing a deal to become the majority owner of the Yankees Entertainment Sports Network (YES), Amazon and Sinclair Broadcasting are among the groups chipping in to pay part of Fox's $3.4 billion asking price for the 80 percent the Yankees didn't already own. YES Network broadcasts games for the Yankees, Nets and the NYCFC MLS team. According to the reports, Amazon's stake in the business is enough for it to have the right to stream games in their local territories. That may not shift the live sports balance of power nationwide, but as Bloomberg points out a note from one analyst saying this could be a step toward unbundling regional sports networks from cable TV packages.
Read MoreAmazon has offered precious little information about its forthcoming Lord of the Rings series, but some Twitter and Instagram teases that started last month are finally bearing fruit. Previous posts showed the map of Middle-earth slowly being filled in with more info, and today's reveal gives a good idea of where the show will focus. The island of Númenor was added to the map, something you won't usually find on most Middle-earth maps. That's because the island was destroyed at the end of the Second Age, thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings.
Read MoreYou can buy tickets using voice commands now that Ticketmaster has given Alexa access to its events. If you've got nothing particular in mind, say "Alexa, open Ticketmaster." You can also ask the voice assistant to look for events you can go to with the date range and location you have in mind. For instance, you can say "Alexa, ask Ticketmaster to find events this weekend" or "find concerts in [a specific area]." Looking for tickets for a particular event? Just use the artist's or team's name: "Alexa, find Miami Heat/[another team or artist] tickets." You can select your seats and finalize your order from there.
Read MoreLast year, Amazon announced a healthcare venture with Warren Buffet and JPMorgan Chase. It was still in the planning stages at the time, but now the tech giant and its partners are finally ready to present their project to the public. They've named their venture "Haven," and according to the website they've launched along with the revelation, the name "reflects [their] goal to be a partner to individuals and families and help them get the care they need, while also working with clinicians and others to make the overall system better for all."
Read MoreAmazon is re-thinking its physical retail strategy, and will reportedly start another chain of grocery stores later this year alongside Whole Foods. But not all of its concepts will stand the test of time -- the company closing down its 87 retail pop-up stores throughout the US, perhaps because they're too limited in scope for Amazon's ambitions.
Read MoreSo many people were asking Alexa what song they just heard and who sang it that Amazon responded with a new Echo feature. Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers and Prime Music listeners in the US can use Song ID to hear the title and artist of each song before it plays on your Echo device. That should cut down on the "hundreds of thousands" of music questions Alexa hears daily.
Read MoreAmazon might adopt the central bank of Mexico's upcoming mobile payment system, according to Reuters. The e-commerce giant reportedly approached Banco de México (Banxico) and offered to support CoDi, a government-backed mobile payment technology that would allow users to pay for online and in-person purchases through QR codes. Phone-based payment systems have become popular in emerging markets like India over the past few years and has the potential to take off in Mexico where half the population doesn't have a bank account.
Read MoreRoku's devices aren't exactly suffering from lack of hands-free control: they already support Google Assistant and their built-in OS has its own voice AI. That list could still feel incomplete if Alexa is your virtual assistant of choice, though, which is why the company's latest update is a welcome one. The company's streaming devices and TVs are now finally compatible with Amazon's voice AI, thanks to the new Roku skill for Alexa. You can issue commands through an Alexa-powered device, such as Amazon's Echo speakers, and by adding "on Roku" as a suffix.
Read MoreMore internet giants are coming under pressure to crack down on anti-vaccination myths. Rep. Adam Schiff has sent a letter to Jeff Bezos expressing concern over a CNN report showing that Amazon was not only recommending anti-vaccination books and videos in its search results, but was displaying them in sponsored posts. Schiff worried that Amazon was spreading false scientific claims, including content that appears to be neutral on the surface. He effectively asked Bezos to stop suggesting these titles out of a duty to "act responsibly" and asked the CEO to answer questions about Amazon's stance on the material.
Read MoreAmazon is reportedly planning to open dozens of grocery stores in major US cities, which will be under different branding from its Whole Foods chain. The first location may open in Los Angeles before the end of this year, while it's signed leases for at least two other stores, according to Wall Street Journal sources.
Read MoreAmazon's physical Dash buttons are no more. The e-commerce giant has stopped selling its quirky, tap-to-order Dash buttons as of February 28th. It was an inevitable decision Amazon had to make with the advent of more advanced IoT devices, especially since more and more customers are using Alexa for hands-free shopping via the company's Echo devices. Besides, Amazon offers virtual Dash buttons buyers can easily access on its website or in-app.
Read MoreJust because Apple scaled back its self-driving car team doesn't mean it's out of the game. If anything, it made a potentially significant hire. The company has hired Michael Schwekutsch, the Tesla VP overseeing electric powertrains, as a Senior Director of Engineering at the Special Project Group (the division that includes driverless vehicles). There's no mention of what he's doing, to no one's surprise, but his experience speaks volumes.
Read MoreApple's senior director in platform architecture, Gerard Williams III, left the company last month after nine years, according to CNET. He might not be the most recognizable name from the tech giant, but he held a very important position for a company that's making it a point to design more and more of its own components. Williams led the development of all Apple processors from the A7, which first appeared on the iPhone 5S, to the A12X that's inside Cupertino's latest iPad Pros.
Read MoreIt's been well over a year since Apple first announced AirPower, a wireless charging mat that would power up an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods (with a wireless case) all at the same time. At the time, Apple said the device would be available sometime in 2018. But after its announcement in September of 2017, information was scarce, and it seemed Apple couldn't solve the heating and power challenges necessary to finalize the product. Now, Apple's pulling the plug for good.
Read MoreYou knew Texture wasn't long for this world once Apple News+ arrived -- and sure enough, the end is in sight. Texture has warned subscribers that its all-you-can-read magazine service will end on May 28th, 2019. You'll have a month-long free News+ trial (the same as for anyone else) to see if the new service scratches your itch. However, there's one main problem: many of Texture's subscribers can't make the jump.
Read MoreWith its latest product, Apple wants your money. But it also wants to be your personal finance coach. The company is pitching the Apple Card as a way to "help customers lead a healthier financial life," mostly through an intuitive app interface, a lack of fees and a unique new payment structure. The Card, issued in partnership with Goldman Sachs, does appear to give consumers greater control and understanding of their debt. But it's also another way to keep users stuck in the Apple walled garden -- how can you switch to Android when you owe thousands on your Apple Card?
Read MoreApple has started rolling out watchOS 5.2 to all users, but it's a bigger update for those in Hong Kong and 19 European countries than everyone else. The device's ECG app and irregular heartbeat detection features will come bundled with the update in HK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the UK and Switzerland.
Read MoreIt's public knowledge that Apple added silicone membranes to its third-generation MacBook keyboards to prevent debris from getting in, but how well does that work, really? Not necessarily as much as Apple would like. In response to a Wall Street Journal piece highlighting ongoing reports of problems, an Apple spokesman said the company was aware of a "small number of users" whose butterfly keyboards were having issues, and that it was "sorry" for the problems. It didn't say this was a systemic flaw, however -- it contended that the "vast majority" of MacBook Air and Pro users were just fine, and that customers should contact support if there's trouble.
Read MoreA US trade judge recommended a temporary sales ban on some models of iPhone following a ruling that found Apple infringed upon Qualcomm patents. The judge's decision was not binding and will be reviewed by the International Trade Commission (ITC). The commission also announced today that it rejected a proposed import ban in a separate case between the two companies after finding that Apple did not violate a Qualcomm-held patent.
Read MoreThe rollout of Apple News+ has not gone as planned for Apple. While the new subscription news service is supposed to be available in the Apple News app following the update to iOS 12.2, a number of users have taken to social media to complain about the app crashing repeatedly. Apple has reportedly issued a server-side fix to address the issue, according to 9to5Mac.
Read MoreApple may have left Mac users wondering where their update was after iOS 12.2 arrived, but it didn't leave them waiting for long. The company has released macOS Mojave 10.14.4, where the centerpiece is undoubtedly support for Apple News+ subscriptions (and, we'd add, Apple News in Canada). If you're the sort who'd want to catch up on magazines using your MacBook, you're set. There are other updates if you're not that enthused with News+, thankfully.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Apple's big event is over, and we have all the news to recap. If you need a shortcut just look right here. Beyond Apple and its new titanium credit card, rumors point to two new Nintendo Switch consoles on the way, and NASA has some sizing problems.
Read MoreAfter today's event, Apple changed the name of its fourth-generation Apple TV to Apple TV HD. The 1080p device, first introduced in 2015, is still priced at $149 and now has a clear title that differentiates it from the Apple TV 4K -- a slightly newer, pricier and, of course, 4K-compatible version of the set-top box.
Read MoreIt didn't take long to learn more about Beats' equivalent to the AirPods. The 9to5Mac team has discovered that iOS 12.2 includes imagery for the Powerbeats Pro, an all-wireless earbud set aimed more at the gym-going crowd. From a cursory glance, they're cosmetically similar to (though not identical to) the Powerbeats 3 from 2016. The difference, of course, is that lack of cabling -- like the AirPods, you'll slip them into a case to get a recharge. It's not certain if the case itself supports wireless power.
Read MoreApple just wrapped up its services event, giving us nearly two hours of news -- well, more like an hour-plus of news and 45 minutes of details on its forthcoming original programming. Still, there's a ton to unpack, even though the vast majority of Apple's announcements won't be useful for you, dear reader, until later this year. We'll run all the major details down here, as well as when you can give these new subscription services and apps a shot.
Read MoreTo enable the fleet of software and service updates Apple is announcing today, the company is readying iOS 12.2 for your iPads and iPhones. It's not a huge, feature-packed update, but there's a decent amount to unpack here. The main event is access to the new Apple News+ subscription service, which you can get a free trial of now. The existing, free Apple News app is also available in Canada for the first time with this update. Beyond News, if you have a pair of Apple's second-generation AirPods on the way, they'll work with your device now.
Read MoreApple has redesigned its TV app to make it easy to watch its new Channels, which includes video content from CBS All Access, Cinemax, Comedy Central Now, Epix, HBO, Showtime and Starz, among others. With the overhauled tvOS application, you won't have to use the standalone apps from these networks or streaming services, as you'll have access to everything they have to offer directly from the Apple TV app. Thanks to features like "Up Next" and "For You," Apple says its machine learning is smart enough to know what users should have in their queue, whether that be an episode of a series they're already watching or a new movie they might like.
Read MoreAs part of its big push into subscription services today, Apple announced Apple Arcade. From the sound of things, it's going to be a "Netflix for games" that lets users pay a monthly rate to play as many different participating games as they want. And from the sound of things, it'll work on the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. For starters, more than 100 new and exclusive games will be included. It'll live inside the App Store as its own dedicated tab, rather than launching as its own app.
Read MoreApple announced today that Apple Pay will be coming to mass transit systems in major US cities later this year. Portland, Chicago and New York City will be the first to support the payment service, which will allow passengers to quickly pay fares with their iPhone.
Read MoreAt its streaming service event in Cupertino on Monday, Apple announced that in addition to more than 300 magazine titles (including TechCrunch's ExtraCrunch) on its newly revealed News+ app, the company will also include subscriptions to the LA Times and Wall Street Journal. What's more, users will get access to the entire digital newsstand for $9.99 a year. Given that users would have to shell out more than $8,000 annually to acquire these magazines individually, that's a pretty good deal.
Read MoreThe rumors were true -- Apple is releasing its own credit card. Apple Card promises to make the most of the company's privacy, simplicity and (of course) integration with your iPhone. You can sign up for the Goldman Sachs-backed card directly from your device (it'll be useful right away), and it'll appear in an updated version of the Wallet app that can show your latest bills, transactions and spending history. Naturally, you can use Messages to ask for customer service.
Read MoreThough much of the hype around Apple's March 2019 event centers around streaming video, the company took the opportunity to introduce yet another service: magazine subscriptions. Called Apple News+, it'll be embedded into the Apple News app itself. Some of the periodicals already on board include Esquire, Wired, and newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. Apple News+ will have over 300 magazines in total, and all will be available via a single subscription for $9.99 a month. Family Sharing is included in that price. In a demonstration on stage, Apple showed off the service. Subscribers will see "live" animated/moving covers similar to live wallpapers. There's a My Magazines selection up top on the magazine home page, along with suggested issues. Recent issues of your favorite periodicals are automatically downloaded. According to Apple, there's also a human-curated "First Look" section plus a part for personalized story recommendations. There are three columns of thumbnails, each showing a different magazine. It's worth remembering that Apple's iOS had a separate magazine app before called Newsstand (Remember the Newsstand-only publication called The Daily?). However, you had to subscribe to each magazine or periodical separately. The genesis of this service may have come from Apple's purchase of Texture, a magazine subscription service, late last year. Seeing as Texture already had connections with a whole host of publications from Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith and News Corp, it could prove to be a pretty wise purchase. Yet, not all is rosy. Other outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post are still not there. This could be due to Apple asking for a 50 percent cut, and that it wants unlimited access. Additionally, publishers usually want direct access to customers, and not have to go through a middle-man like Apple. Still, the sheer ubiquity of Apple's News app on every phone and iPad could be enough to sway publisher's minds. Apple News+ is available today, with a free first month. It's launching in the US and Canada in English and French. There'll be 30 Canadian magazines plus the Canadian newspaper, The Star. It'll arrive in Europe and Australia later this fall, starting with the UK.
Read MoreApple's video service event is just hours away, but there are still a few rumors making the rounds -- including, apparently, pricing. Wall Street Journal contacts claim Apple has been negotiating to offer subscriptions to channels "such as" HBO, Showtime and Starz for $10 each through its new TV app, which would also include Apple's original programming. In that light, it would be closer to Amazon's Prime Video Channels, where the focus is on convenient access to third party services.
Read MoreIt's now a little clearer how Apple's rumored game subscription service might work -- including what you wouldn't get. Bloomberg sources claim the service will bundle paid games (most likely the more popular ones) for a flat monthly rate, and would likely exclude "freemium" games where you need to make an in-app purchase to unlock everything. Don't expect to get a Fortnite Battle Pass or Super Mario Run, then.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to your weekend! While we prepare for Apple's "show time" event -- check in with us live at 1 PM ET on March 25th -- it's time to look back at some of this week's highlight stories. Apple kept the news rolling all week with updated Macs, AirPods and more, while Microsoft brought its Defender antimalware setup to Chrome, Firefox and macOS. Then on Friday Netflix set a date for Neon Genesis Evangelion and Clippy stepped back into the spotlight.
Read MoreCan Apple actually take on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon in the increasingly crowded world of streaming video? We're about to find out on March 25th, when Apple is expected to give us a glimpse at its long-awaited video service. It's something the company has been building out in the open over the past few years, so it's not exactly a secret. After high profile flops like Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke, it's a bit tough to feel that excited about whatever Apple is cooking up -- but there's always the chance that it could offer something truly unique.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Apple's slow reveal of refreshed hardware continued yesterday with the new AirPods many people have been waiting for. There's also a flood of news coming in from the Game Developers Conference, and our first real trailer for season three of Stranger Things is here.
Read MoreApple has revealed new Watch bands and iPhone cases for spring, and they sure look like an explosion of colorful pastel hues to fit the season. You can now get an iPhone XS or XS Max silicone case ($39) in Spearmint, Papaya and Delft Blue, and the XS Smart Battery Case ($129) in Pink Sand. Meanwhile, the iPhone XS Max Leather Folio ($129) and Case ($49), as well as the iPhone XS Leather Folio ($99) and Case ($49), are now available in Lilac, Sunset and Cornflower.
Read MoreWhatever trouble Apple has had recruiting publishers for its paid news service, it appears to have scored at least one big coup. New York Times tipsters claim the Wall Street Journal has agreed to join the service mere days ahead of Apple's March 25th event. It's not certain what prompted the decision, although Apple's pitch has reportedly centered on giving publications access to millions of new readers.
Read MoreApple's hardware trojan horse continues to gallop a week ahead of its "show time" event next Monday. We've seen two new iPads and an iMac update, and now its increasingly ubiquitous AirPods are up. The rumors have been around for a while as to what was next for the AirPods. Noise cancellation? All kinds of wireless charging? Always-on Siri? How about some, but not all, of the above?
Read MoreApple is joining the fight against fake news by teaming up with three groups that offer news literacy training for young people. The company announced that the News Literacy Project and Common Sense, both based in the US, and Osservatorio Permanente Giovani-Editori in Italy would receive support from Apple in their efforts. "We've been impressed by the important work being done by the News Literacy Project, Common Sense and Osservatorio, empowering young people to be active and engaged citizens," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a press release.
Read MoreApple's iMac updates weren't the only changes the company made today. With less fanfare, it also lowered the cost of SSD upgrades for the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini. It lowered the cost to upgrade the 2013 Mac Pro RAM, too. These changes were first spotted by MacRumors. While they make the priciest SSD upgrades less expensive, the more reasonable upgrades -- the ones most people might actually buy -- haven't changed.
Read MoreWhatever video service Apple unveils at its March 25th event, live sports won't be a part of it. The company's Eddy Cue told Sports Illustrated in an interview that there was "not a lot" of thought about competing with Amazon or Facebook to secure rights for live games. While Cue didn't rule it out in the future, he noted that sports rights are "deeply fragmented" based on where, what and how you watch. A service that focuses on obtaining rights is "always going to be tiny," he said.
Read MoreIt's shaping up to be a busy week for Apple. Yesterday the company unveiled two updated iPads, and today it announced the iMac is getting a minor refresh. Going forward, the 21.5-inch model will be offered with an eighth-gen six-core Intel Core i5 CPU at the high end, plus 4GB AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. That top-tier sku will also include an eighth-gen six-core Core i7 processor as a configure-to-order option. At the entry-level, the 21.5-inch model starts with a dual-core seventh-generation Core i5 processor, and then moves up to configurations with eighth-gen quad-core chips.
Read MoreApple's online store went dark earlier this morning, and now it's clear why: The company decided to quietly roll out not one, but two new iPads ahead of its big event next week. The new, larger, 10.5-inch iPad Air will arrive with a 70 percent performance boost compared to its predecessor, thanks to the company's A12 Bionic chip with Apple's Neural Engine. That'll be useful alongside the now 20-percent larger display -- which is compatible with the first-gen Apple Pencil too.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to your weekend! While we take a look back at some highlight stories this week out of SXSW, there's a trial result in Apple v. Qualcomm, and a presidential candidate's past is quite relevant to our interests. Oh, and we rode in the Model Y. Almost forgot about that.
Read MoreFollowing a two-week trial, a jury has determined that Apple violated three Qualcomm patents in some iPhones. The jury awarded Qualcomm $31 million, the full amount it was seeking, though Apple had won a ruling to limit the potential payout.
Read MoreApple is firing back in response to Spotify's European Commission (EC) complaint. In a newsroom release, the company said that Spotify "seeks to keep all the benefits of the App Store ecosystem ... without making any contributions to that marketplace." It added that the App Store has generated $120 billion for developers while offering users a secure platform, and that Spotify is seeking to side to sidestep the rules that every other app follows. "Spotify has every right to determine their own business model, but we feel an obligation to respond when Spotify wraps its financial motivations in misleading rhetoric about who we are," the company wrote.
Read MoreIn a follow-up to its trolly CES banner ads, Apple just debuted a new commercial that again centers the iPhone as a more privacy-conscious option than the competition. Titled "Privacy on iPhone — Private Side," it focuses on how much we all value privacy, whether you're a wiseguy in a diner or a kid passing notes in class. It's tied up with the tagline "If privacy matters in your life, it should matter to the phone your life is on."
Read MoreApple is having a bad day. A litany of iCloud services are down or experiencing service disruptions, including sign-in, backup, reminders, Mail, Calendar and Find my iPhone features. On DownDetector, reports started spiking around 11AM ET, and the most common issues appear to be email connectivity and what the website deems "total blackout."
Read MoreApple has set the dates for this year's Worldwide Developers Conference. It takes place June 3rd to 7th at San Jose's McEnery Convention Center, the same venue as the last couple of years. At WWDC, Apple typically gives developers (and everyone else) an early look at upcoming versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS. We might also learn a little more about Apple's services (it's likely to announce streaming video and news subscription plans this month) or even get a glimpse at new hardware.
Read More"After careful consideration," wrote Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, "Spotify has filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission." The Swedish streaming company believes that it is the victim of discriminatory practices by the iPhone maker, regarding its app store. After what it describes as years of poor treatment, the company is going to regulators to ask, or force, Apple to "play fair." Confused? Here's a little context.
Read MoreSpotify announced in a blog written by CEO Daniel Ek that it has filed an unfair competition complaint against Apple with the European Commission (EC). The streaming company is claiming that Apple's App Store stifles competition by "acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers." By way of illustration, it said that Apple forces Spotify and other services to "pay a 30 percent tax on purchases made through Apple's payment system." That in turn forces Spotify to artificially inflate the price of its Premium membership "well above the price of Apple Music." In other words, by acting as a gatekeeper to apps like Spotify, while also offering a competing app, Apple is competing unfairly, Spotify said.
Read MoreHey, good morning! It's been a long time coming, but Apple's very own streaming video service will be officially unveiled in a few weeks. We also get a first look at the Harry Potter universe given the augmented-reality treatment, and Twitter's experimental beta app has also broken cover.
Read MoreIt turns out rumors of an Apple spring event were true: the company's next event will happen on March 25th at the Steve Jobs theater on Apple's Cupertino campus. And judging by the event invite, we'll finally hear about Apple's long-rumored video service. The rumblings had pointed to a spring event that would see the launch of Apple's news and video services, but the invite doesn't quite make it clear whether we'll actually get any info on that news product. There's also a chance we'll see new iPads, as Apple has refreshed its lineup in March for several years now, but one thing is for sure: we'll be there bringing you the news live as it happens.
Read MoreMore than a year after rumors circulated that Apple would produce an AR headset by 2020, the company seems to be on track to meet that goal. Full production could start as soon as the fourth quarter of 2019, well-sourced Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said this week. But as we get closer, it looks like Apple is scrapping plans for a standalone device and will rely, instead, on the iPhone.
Read MoreGood morning! As a squad of Engadget editors makes their way to SXSW for the weekend, we've been testing Samsung's latest smartwatch, taking a second look at the Switch and hearing some interesting news about Disney+.
Read MorePresident Trump knows words. He has the best words. And he showed some of those big beautiful words off yesterday during a press conference for the inaugural meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board with Apple CEO, Tim Cook. Or as Trump calls him, Tim Apple.
Read MoreTim Apple may have a new way to challenge Qualcomm outside of the courtroom: by luring some of the rival company's employees. The company has unveiled plans to add 1,200 jobs in Qualcomm's hometown of San Diego over the next three years, a 20 percent increase over previously mentioned numbers. The city will become a "principle engineering hub" for the company, with people focusing on "specialty" hardware and software projects.
Read MoreIn a change to its longstanding policy, Apple is apparently repairing iPhones with third-party batteries at its Genius Bars and Apple Authorized Service Providers. This is a about-face from its previous stance, which was to refuse repairs on iPhones with aftermarket batteries.
Read MoreWhen Lighthouse's intelligent security camera finally went on sale just over a year ago, the company believed that with AI recognition and 3D sensing technology, it offered something truly unique over its rivals. However, the promise of automatic face detection didn't really resonate with consumers, and the hardware maker shut down less than 10 months later. While the company slipped quietly into the night, its technology didn't, with none other than Apple ghosting in to acquire its innovations.
Read MoreIt took the better part of a year, but Gmail's customizable swipe actions have finally reached the iOS crowd. Google is updating Gmail for iOS to let you personalize what happens when you swipe right. You can tell it to mark a message as read, move it to a folder or delete it outright, among other options. suffice it to say this could help a lot if you're inundated with email (hello) and would rather not laboriously sort it all.
Read MoreIt's a safe assumption that most DJs have the itch to create some music of their own. Obviously many of them do, but for some, the expense of new gear or the learning curve involved with the software hinders that quest. To help bridge the gap, makers of the popular Serato DJ software are releasing a new product: Serato Studio (macOS/Windows). For those who already use the company's DJ hardware and software, things will be pleasantly familiar, helping ease you into the song-making process. Of course, you don't need to be a DJ; this tool is great for anyone who wants to make music with fewer "technical roadblocks" and more creative flow. Today's soft launch is for the free public Serato Studio Beta version, with limited slots available. If you sign up, you'll be able to kick the tires on this beta release and give Serato your feedback to help them hone the final product. Plus, you'll get updates as new functionality and features are added during that period. The official 1.0 release is expected sometime this summer (for the Northern Hemisphere) and will be a subscription-based model. Although pricing hasn't been announced, we hope it will be an affordable monthly fee similar to the company's other subscription products (usually $10-$15).
Read MoreDropbox has given its search function for desktop a much-needed boost by making it more like its mobile app counterpart. Now, when you tap on the little Dropbox icon sitting on Windows' system tray or Mac's menu bar, you'll find a search bar where you can type in your query. Its results will include not just the files synced and saved on your computer, but everything relevant it can find in your account. If you have a Professional or Business account, it can even search for text within documents.
Read MoreMozilla's Firefox Lockbox has been helping iOS users keep tabs on their many passwords for a while, and now it's making that tool available on Android. Like its iOS counterpart, the app helps you fetch any password you already have stored in Firefox (and thus synced across your devices). It's not a traditional manager, then -- this is more for ensuring that you can sign into a streaming service on a friend's TV.
Read MoreGoogle has released the first beta version of Chrome 74, and it comes with support for Windows dark mode. You'll find that the browser will now automatically load its darker-colored theme if you've switched on "Dark" in the platform's settings. The mode will transform Chrome into a more somber affair, with coloring that's mostly charcoal and a Google logo devoid of its usual bright hues.
Read MoreYour choices for iPad-friendly web browsers just got ever-so-slightly larger. Mozilla has released an arguably overdue version of Firefox that aims to take better advantage of the iPad's extra screen real estate. It supports iOS' built-in split screen and support for keyboard shortcuts, as you might expect, but there are also interface tweaks specific to the tablet version. Firefox now shows all your tabs as easier-to-discern tiles, and private browsing is a single tap away on the main screen.
Read MoreGoogle's push to tighten third-party API access is already going to cost the world Google+, but a change that more of you might notice is coming to IFTTT. The service sent out emails alerting users that their "recipe" scripts involving Gmail triggers and an action that could create a draft will go away as of March 31st. According to Google, the shift is a result of the Project Strobe sweep it announced last October. IFTTT said it worked with Google to keep the integration that will support triggers to Send an email, or to Send Yourself an email, but the API lockdown that's coming would've required too much work to change its services. Otherwise, integrations with Google will still be the same, but anyone relying heavily on the automated scripts may want to double check things before they get a surprise in a few days.
Read MoreKaia Health caught our attention last year with an app that tracks your motion using your phone's camera in a bid to help you achieve perfect squat form, though we found it didn't quite hit the mark. Still, Kaia is elevating the concept with an updated version called Kaia Personal Trainer. It says the app will track your exercises and reps, create workout plans tailored to you and offer audio feedback in real time.
Read MoreA new feature from Postmates lets people who live close to each other score free food delivery. The popular food delivery app's new "Party" feature groups together restaurant orders from customers who live in the same neighborhood. Hungry patrons can choose from a selection of trending restaurants that appear under the "Postmates Party" tab. They then have five minutes to join the "party" by completing an order at one of the select restaurants.
Read MorePatreon is rolling out a new price plan structure. Announced today, the new system comprises Patreon Lite, Patreon Pro and Patreon Premium -- three tiers that, according to the company, are designed to better match the needs of creators.
Read MoreAngry Birds has already made the leap from smartphones to augmented reality and VR. But now, Rovio is bringing some of those lessons back to the iPhone. With Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs, the latest game in the blockbuster franchise, you'll be able to take down evil swine in your living room -- or anywhere else you can find a flat surface. It uses Apple's ARKit to construct virtual stages atop the real world, while you use your phone as a slingshot to topple them with irate birds. Isle of Pigs is available for pre-order today on iOS devices, and it'll officially launch as a free app later this spring (you can bet there will be a plethora of micro-transactions).
Read MoreAs promised, Mozilla is about to make web videos decidedly less annoying. Its newly released Firefox 66 blocks auto-playing videos by default, preventing web ads or video sites from startling you when you're not ready (or willing) to watch. Some sites will still play the video regardless, Mozilla said, but will stay muted until you choose otherwise.
Read MoreValve doesn't just want you to watch Dota 2 eSports matches -- it wants you to have a small stake in them. It just released a Dota Pro Circuit app for Android and iOS that lets you win Shards (the in-game currency for Dota Plus members) by predicting the winners of Circuit matches. It's sports betting, just without spending real money beyond your existing subscription.
Read MoreIf you use Google's iOS keyboard Gboard, you can now translate to and from all languages supported by Google Translate -- that's currently 103. This means you can effectively type and translate in any supported language, in any app on your iPhone. The feature is a welcome addition, but it's a bit overdue. Gboard has supported translation on Android since 2017.
Read MoreToday, Slack removed 28 group accounts because of their "clear affiliation with known hate groups." The news comes shortly after the media organization Unicorn Riot leaked Slack messages by the group Identity Evropa. Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center have classified Identity Evropa as a hate group, but Slack would not say if it was one of the groups removed today.
Read MoreIf you're used to linking Dropbox to every device you own, you might want to reach for your credit card. Liliputing has noticed that Dropbox quietly started limiting its free Basic tier to a maximum of three linked devices as of March. If that's too confining, you'll have to shell out for a $10 Plus or $20 Professional subscription. You can keep any links you've already established, but you won't get to add any more until you go below that three-device maximum.
Read MoreThe first Android Q beta has arrived. And based on the features Google listed on Android Developers Blog, it could herald the arrival of more photography apps with depth effects like iPhone's portrait mode. The upcoming mobile platform allows applications to request a "Dynamic Depth" image consisting of a JPEG and various depth-related elements in the same file. That will allow developers to offer a variety of blur and bokeh styles and options in-app.
Read MoreThe furor over Sony TVs allegedly blocking Kodi appears to be over. Sony told Engadget it's rolling out a firmware update for some of its Android-powered sets that fixes a bug preventing Kodi from installing. While it didn't say just what the fix entailed, it had previously mentioned that it had incorrectly flagged Kodi as a "kernel object" -- Kodi would go on to specify that a "certain letter combination" in its package ID sparked the confusion.
Read MoreGoogle Drive for mobile has caught up with Gmail's refreshed aesthetics. The cloud service has gotten the Material Design treatment with new elements created to make it easier to use on smaller screens. GDrive for iOS and Android now come with the web version's Home tab, which surfaces files it believes are the most important to you at the moment.
Read MoreChrome is finally ready to make use of your keyboard's media buttons. Google has released the polished version of Chrome 73, and its centerpiece is support for the media keys on many newer PC keyboards. You'll need a Mac, Windows or Chrome OS system (Linux is coming later), but this will let you pause a web video even when the browser is in the background. We could see this causing problems if you regularly leave a media app open, but it could be immensely valuable if you treat YouTube like a jukebox or just have to dash off in a hurry.
Read MoreLoading websites over a slow connection can be frustrating and expensive. That's why Google offers Data Saver, a feature that lets Chrome reduce data use by up to 90 percent and load pages two times faster. Previously, this Lite feature was only available for HTTP pages. Now, on Android, Chrome is extending the function to HTTPS pages as well, meaning you'll be able to browse faster and securely, even if your network connection sucks.
Read MoreMozilla has made privacy Firefox's calling card, while lambasting companies it believes don't meet the bar on security. Its latest update to its web browser, an end-to-end encrypted file transfer service, fits the mold. Firefox Send was introduced in 2017 as part of the now-defunct Firefox Test Pilot, which allowed early adopters to try out experimental features, and is now being graduated. Those with Firefox accounts can now share files up to 2.5GB in size between browsers, while everyone else is limited to 1GB. It's also getting its very own Send Android app in beta.
Read MoreAdobe isn't just putting Flash on ice. In the wake of customer emails, the software giant has signaled that it will discontinue Shockwave for Windows on April 9th, 2019. The company had already phased out its Director authoring tool and the Mac player in 2017, but this represents the web plugin's final bow for most people. The only people receiving support beyond that will be enterprise customers, whose contracts run out in 2022.
Read MoreFlickr has taken extra steps to protect the photos on its platform uploaded under the Creative Commons license. On March 12th, the service will purge free tier users' photos until they only have 1,000 items saved -- not including CC-licensed items, that is. Flickr clairifed after it first announced the purge last year that it will not delete any Creative Commons photo. Now, its VP of Product, Andrew Stalden, has revealed that the platform will leave all CC images untouched, even those uploaded in the future. Further, Flickr will now memorialize accounts owned by deceased members to make sure they never get affected by the new free tier policy.
Read MoreJust days since rival Google Duo came to the web, Skype is overhauling its own browser-based service. The new Skype for Web boasts HD video for both private and group calls, call recording, and a notifications panel that keeps tabs on reactions to your messages, @mentions in group chats, or if someone quoted you.
Read MoreIf you ask Elf Audio's Marek Bereza, many music samplers are too fussy -- you're focused more on making tiny edits than, well, making music. He's trying to remedy that with his new Koala sampler. Inspired by the late J Dilla's knack for creating tracks with a BOSS SP-303, the iOS app is not only designed to be easy to understand, but doesn't give you ways to micro-manage your tunes. You just record samples with your device's mic, create sequences and perform those sequences with effects like pitching and stuttering. You can resample if you'd like to put your audio bites through effects, such as dropping them down an octave.
Read MoreAirbnb is buying last-minute hotel booking service HotelTonight, in another move on the traditional hotel industry. The HotelTonight booking app and website, which offers day-of hotel reservations at discounted rates, will still operate independently, at least for now. Once the acquisition is completed, HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank will lead Airbnb's boutique hotel category. "We started HotelTonight because we knew people wanted a better way to book an amazing hotel room on-demand, and we are excited to join forces with Airbnb to bring this service to guests around the world," said the HotelTonight CEO in a press release.
Read MoreGovernments have been exploring digital driver's licenses for a while, but there are quite a few flaws with existing approaches. You usually have to rely on a proprietary app, sometimes with uncertain security... and what happens if your phone is low on battery when you need to flash your credentials? Google might have a solution. XDA has discovered that Google is working on an IdentityCredential framework that would securely store and display digital IDs, including driver's licenses. It could also display your ID even if there isn't enough power to start Android -- you'd just need the power for a secure chip and a "low-power communication channel."
Read MoreIf you've been to a Sam's Club in the past two years, you might have used Scan & Go. The store's app lets you use your phone to scan the barcode of each item you put in your cart. When you're ready to check out, you can pay via the app and show your digital receipt to a store associate before leaving. Now, Sam's Club plans to make Scan & Go shopping even easier.
Read MoreMany schools use Chromebooks, but they might not always know how to make the most of those systems in the classroom -- and Google knows it. The firm is launching a Chromebook App Hub that will both help teachers find activity ideas and connect institutions with developers that might fit their needs. Educators can both create and look for "idea sparks" and apps based on the age range, subject, idea category and even specific learning goals.
Read MoreAndroid's Slices have typically only offered shortcuts for functions in third-party apps (and then only in limited form), but they're now ready to control the phone itself. The team at 9to5Google has noticed that Slices are rolling out for device settings on Pixel phones using Android 9 Pie. If you want to turn on your Bluetooth or check your WiFi network, you can find a toggle through a search in the Google bar.
Read MoreThe new iOS music-making platform Endlesss is scheduled to launch later this year, and as its release approaches, we're starting to get a better picture of what it will include. What we know is that Endlesss, driven by musician and software developer Tim Exile, has been pitched as "a virtual place where you can make and share music in the moment, solo or with friends." It's been in the works for three years, and this year, we'll finally get to see it on iOS.
Read MoreMicrosoft recently rolled out a number of major updates to its products, including a particularly handy new feature for Excel. Using the Android version of the app, users will be able to snap a photo of a printed data table and have it converted into a digital, editable spreadsheet. The feature, which is available to Microsoft 365 subscribers, isn't available on iOS yet but Microsoft is promising it will arrive soon.
Read MoreGab, the "free speech" social network that's become a haven for the far-right, has launched a browser extension that creates an alternative comments section for any website. The "Dissenter" plug-in -- which appears as a sidebar once enabled -- allows Gab users to discuss everything from tweets to Wikipedia pages in real-time without the fear of said comment being removed by a site's moderators.
Read MoreIn many ways, Canada's Japanese citizens were treated worse than their US counterparts in WW II internment camps. They had their property seized, and many were forcibly deported to Japan or had freedoms restricted after the war. Canadian author Joy Kogawa, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and design and experience agency Jam3, have detailed their experiences in a new AR app called East of the Rockies. Based on Kogawa's novels Obasan and Itsuka, it follows 17-year-old Yuki as her family adjusts to life in a Japanese internment camp during the war.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Samsung's bending its new phone to prove a point, the retro-game wave has finally revisited the Sega Genesis and Apple isn't doing anything (yet) about MacBook keyboard complaints.
Read MoreChairman Kazuo Hirai, who guided Sony through some difficult times over the last five years, has announced his retirement from the company. "Kaz" was appointed CEO and president of Sony back in 2012, shortly after it lost $6.4 billion in 2011. After slashing costs and refocusing the business on gaming and imaging, he brought Sony back to profitability, with the company earning $6.7 billion in fiscal 2017. Hirai stepped down from his CEO role shortly afterwards, handing the reins to CFO Kenichiro Yoshida.
Read MoreTesla has built another Powerpack system in record time, this time at Osaka train station in Japan, where it will be used as emergency backup and to reduce peak energy demand. According to the company on Twitter, the 42 Powerpack units will provide enough energy to safely move a train and its passengers for up to 30 minutes to the nearest station in the event of a power failure.
Read MoreUber has confirmed it's acquiring its main rival in the Middle East, Careem, for $3.1 billion. The deal is the region's largest ever tech transaction, outside of Israel, according to the Associated Press. It gives Uber significant access to the greater Middle East's 600 million-strong population -- the majority of who are under-30 and live in urban hubs -- ahead of its IPO. Its biggest western rival, Lyft, is expected to commence trading shares as soon as this week. Uber said the $3.1 billion transaction consists of $1.7 billion in convertible notes and $1.4 billion in cash.
Read MoreIf you're wondering how serious Pinterest is about turning itself into more of a shopping portal, here's your answer: the company has just hired former Walmart CTO Jeremy King as Head of Engineering. King headed Walmart's e-commerce team and oversaw most of the massive retailer's digital strategy, including in-store pickup of online orders and online grocery pickup. He also led the company's innovation arm called Walmart Labs. While Amazon continues to dominate the e-commerce space, Bloomberg says Walmart's online sales grew by 40 percent last year under his leadership.
Read MorePayments startup Square is turning its attention to cryptocurrency. According to tweets from CEO Jack Dorsey, the company is hiring engineers and a designer to "work full-time on open source contributions to the bitcoin/crypto ecosystem."
Read MoreRobocalls have gotten so bad that competitors AT&T and Comcast are teaming up to tackle the problem together. Their plan is to "authenticate and verify" calls. In other words, they'll let you know when an incoming call is really from the number listed on the caller ID and not a computer-generated call showing a fake number. This won't stop the unsolicited calls, but you might be more willing to answer a verified number.
Read MoreMusic publishers are suing Peloton, the maker of the connected exercise bike, for failing to license songs it plays in its streaming spinning classes. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by the National Music Publishers Association in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, and seeks $150 million in damages.
Read MoreLyft could commence trading shares under the "LYFT" ticker symbol as soon as next week, per The Wall Street Journal. Seven years after Lyft was founded, it's now virtually guaranteed to become the first public ride-hailing company, beating out bigger rival Uber, itself tipped to make its public markets debut in the latter half of the year. Lyft today revealed it plans to raise over $2 billion as part of its initial public offering (IPO).
Read MoreThe US hasn't been shy about pressuring its allies to ditch Huawei, but now it's turning to threats of serious consequences. The Wall Street Journal has learned that the US' Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, wrote a letter to Germany's economy minister warning that the US would limit its intelligence sharing with the country if it lets Chinese vendors like Huawei participate in building its 5G networks. Secure communications are vital for defense, Grenell argued, and companies like Huawei could undermine that security.
Read MoreHave you noticed that stereoscopic 3D is out of vogue, at least at home? So has NVIDIA. The graphics chip designer has unveiled plans to drop support for 3D Vision, its approach to gaming with 3D glasses. The last drivers to support 3D Vision will come with the final Release 418 in April, with future versions dropping it entirely. You'll still get support for "critical driver issues" in 418 through April 2020, but you'll otherwise need to move on.
Read MoreIf you needed any further evidence that NVIDIA is becoming more of a direct competitor for Intel, you might just have it. A Calcalist source claimed that NVIDIA has made an offer to acquire Mellanox, a chip maker best known for its high-performance computing and networking tech. While it's not clear how much NVIDIA has been willing to pay, Reuters insiders said that NVIDIA could pay more than $7 billion -- well past the $6 billion Intel reportedly offered a few months ago.
Read MoreIt seems counter-intuitive that, in the thick of a backlash against Big Tech's data privacy abuses, Dennis Crowley is pitching location tracking technology at South By Southwest. Foursquare, which he co-founded, recently announced Hypertrending. It's an in-app feature that shows a real-time heat map of where everyone on Foursquare (and the apps that use its technology) are hanging out in Austin. The data is anonymized and aggregated so you don't see how many people are in a particular bar or park.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to your weekend. Our SXSW crew is in Austin giving blood for the cause, while we look back at big stories from this week including our 15th birthday and the psychology behind the Momo hoax. Also, we'll dive into a strange cryptocurrency story and go for a ride in a Rolls-Royce.
Read MoreThe SEC isn't the only one concerned that Elon Musk may have crossed the line (again) with his tweets. A group of institutional investors has sued to stop Musk's "unchecked use of Twitter" to make "repeated misstatements" they believe hurt Tesla and, of course, its shareholders. Musk allegedly violated his duties to investors when he tweeted that Tesla would make "around 500k" cars in 2019, and backers want permanent safeguards to be sure this doesn't happen again.
Read MoreToday, Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren published a post on Medium in which she detailed why she wants to break up large Internet companies such as Facebook, Amazon and Google. In her post, she accuses these companies of using their vast resources to shape the playing field and buy up potential competition.
Read MoreRecreational marijuana use may be legal in ten states, but those in the corridors of power aren't keen on top-level CEOs lighting up in public. After getting heat from NASA, Elon Musk -- who took a drag on Joe Rogan's podcast in September -- could now be in hot water with the Pentagon, too. An anonymous US official has told Bloomberg that Musk's federal security clearance is currently under review thanks to that toke. The SpaceX CEO has secret-level access because of his leadership role at the private aerospace company, which has continued to secure military contracts (including a recent deal worth $297 million for three future launches of US defence payloads) after that now-infamous incident. The same official said Musk had refiled his SF-86 security form requiring him to come clean about any illegal drug use over the past seven years. Over 20 million viewers watched him smoke on a YouTube video of Rogan's podcast, so it's not like Musk can lie. The fact is, as Bloomberg points out, marijuana use remains a federal crime. SpaceX has declined to comment on the fiasco and Musk's more likely to share his thoughts on Twitter.
Read MoreAs Huawei continues to defend itself against accusations that ties to the Chinese government make it a security threat to other countries and claims that it has stolen technology from others, it announced a lawsuit against the United States, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas. At a press conference today in China, rotating chairman Guo Ping claimed that it was left with no choice after the actions of Congress, and said that moves to limit its business harmed both the US and China. According to Ping (reading from one of the company's folding Mate X devices) "Huawei has not, and will never implant any backdoors...and will not allow anyone else to do so."
Read MoreHuawei will reportedly sue the US government this week for banning its telecom products from federal agencies, according to the NY Times. The company is trying to defend itself from US charges that it's a security threat, and the lawsuit could be a move to force the US government to reveal more about what it knows. Recently, Huawei and its CEO Ren Zhengfei have gone on the offensive, citing Edward Snowden and saying, "there's no way the US can crush us.
Read MoreHuawei financial chief Meng Wanzhou is one step closer to facing sanctions-related fraud charges in the US. Canada's Department of Justice has issued an Authority to Proceed measure that greenlights the extradition process for Meng, making it that more likely she'll head south. A British Columbia Supreme Court will set the date for the extradition hearing at a March 6th court date where Meng will appear.
Read MoreRichard Plepler, the CEO of HBO, stepped down from his post on Thursday, according to the New York Times. Shortly after his departure was made public, Variety reported Turner television executive David Levy will also be leaving his company. The moves appear to mark a significant shakeup within Time Warner, the parent company of HBO. The changes come just months after AT&T acquired the media company for $85.4 billion.
Read MoreThis week in Ask Engadget: What's the best connected guitar amp?
Read MoreIf you're anything like us, you've already enjoyed two wonderful years with your Nintendo Switch, and there's no end to the honeymoon phase in sight. Though you're probably sinking way too much time into trying to win a round of Tetris 99 right now, between Nintendo's first-party classics and the eShop's vast catalog of celebrated indie titles, there's always something new to play. This endless supply can take a toll on the finances, though, especially when the same game is often more expensive on the Switch than it is on PCs and other consoles. But there is a way to save a few bucks here and there by buying games at their cheapest, and making your money go further is simply a case of shopping around.
Read MoreWe're back with another edition of "What we're buying," which focuses on gadgets and apps that our editors use in their everyday lives. This time, we're looking at the bags and cases that we put our valuable gadgets in. Deputy Managing Editor Nathan Ingraham sings the praises of his leather and canvas laptop bag, Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar fawns over a leather iPhone card case, and Senior Editor Nicole Lee loves the flexibility of her neoprene backpack.
Read MoreGone are the days where free games equated to ropey puzzle games and knock-off clones of games that had a price tag. These days, courtesy of in-app payments and the ease of offering both a sample of title alongside its full-fat version, there's actually plenty of great games to play without spending a dime. Put your card away, and consider this your starting point.
Read MoreSorry, but mobile gaming is the biggest player in the video game market. In 2018, it made almost half of the industry's global revenue. Smartphone games once existed separately from console and PC titles, but in the wake of titles like Fortnite, it's all got a little blurry. You'll find several games in our selection that are also available on your home consoles and PCs, but most of them sing on your smartphone, and the fact that you can play them absolutely anywhere makes up for any other pitfalls. Whether it's Android or iOS, here's some crucial games to start with.
Read MoreMost of us will never have the cash for a supercar, but we still want them to look cooler and go faster every year. At the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, automakers were happy to accommodate, with a fresh crop of electric and gas-powered super- and hypercars. Models from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pininfarina, Koenigsegg and Aston Martin tick all of our boxes: Ever more wild and futuristic looks, insane speeds and higher prices than a nice house.
Read MoreSo how do you categorize a beast like gaming on the PC? With decades of titles to pluck from (and the first port of call for most indie titles, too), there's so much to choose from. Gaming on your PC adds the benefits of (nearly always flawless) backward compatibility and console-beating graphical performance -- if you've got the coin for it. We've tried to be broad with our recommendations here on purpose. There are so many great games out there for your PC, consider these some starting points.
Read MoreNintendo's Switch is on a roll. Now into its second year, the youngest of the games consoles is punching above its weight with a mix of core Nintendo games that have pushed iconic characters like Mario and Link into the modern gaming age. The Switch is also a portable console, which has injected new life into older titles and indie hits that have never made it a Nintendo device before. The Switch's online store isn't the easiest to navigate, however, so this guide aims to help the uninitiated start their journey on the right foot. These are the games you should own -- for now. We'll be updating these guides regularly.
Read More(We've since updated our best games guide -- check it out here!) A series of missteps put Microsoft in second place before the Xbox One even came out. While it's likely to remain there until the next generation begins, there are a lot of people out there who have never experienced what the console has to offer. With the Xbox One X having a clear advantage over Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro when it comes to gaming on a 4K TV, there's never been a better time to jump in.
Read More(We've since updated our best games guide -- check it out here!) Sony's PlayStation 4 is fast approaching its sixth birthday, and that poses a problem. You see, game developers have seen fit to release a game for almost every day the console has been available, leaving you with well over 1,500 titles to choose from. The sheer volume of games on offer, coupled with the subjective nature of the medium, makes it impossible to definitively name "the best," and that's not what this list is about.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. This morning, we're mulling over the real problem with mobile gaming and taking a seat behind the wheel of a Huracán for some computer-aided drifting. Also, Anthem got a big update, and Samsung's mid-range phone has some impressive specs.
Read MoreIntel is halting development on its line of Compute Cards, according to a report from Tom's Hardware. The company will continue to sell its existing line of Compute Cards for the time being and will continue to offer support for the current generation of products through 2019. Beyond that, Intel is essentially leaving behind the modular computing concept.
Read MoreIntel has promised to launched its 9th Gen Intel Core mobile H-series processors in the second quarter of 2019 at the ongoing Game Developers Conference. An Intel spokesperson told PC World that the upcoming chips are based on the older 14nm Coffee Lake architecture. They could apparently give rise to a crop of powerful laptops gamers can use to play AAA titles while recording and streaming at the same time without having to worry about lags and performance drops. Those machines would be especially useful to creators who need to run resource-intensive programs, such as video editing tools, as well.
Read MoreNVIDIA has announced that its ray-tracing tech, only available on its new RTX cards so far, is coming to its older GeForce GTX 10-series cards in April. The technology will work on GPUs from the GTX 1060 and up, albeit with some serious caveats. Some games like Battlefield V will run adequately at low settings, but other games, like the freshly released Metro Exodus, will run at just 18 fps at 1440p -- obviously an unplayable frame-rate.
Read MoreThe US might currently have the world's most powerful supercomputer, but it isn't resting on its laurels. An international race is on to build exascale supercomputers (systems capable of a quintillion calculations per second) and today, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced Intel and sub-contractor Cray Computing will construct the first such system in the US. The supercomputer will be called Aurora, and Intel is aiming to deliver it to the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory in the Chicago area in 2021.
Read MoreThe drop in SSD NVMe prices means the miniature storage sticks are becoming increasingly accessible. Even the super-fast Samsung 960 EVO 500GB model, with speeds of 3,200 MB/s, recently dipped below $150 to make room for its successor. Sizing up the market, Western Digital is aiming its upcoming WD Blue SN500 NVMe SSDs at those on a budget. The new 500GB stick packs around half the read and write speeds of Samsung's 960 Evo (1,700MB/s and 1,450MB/s respectively) but, at $78, costs roughly half the price.
Read MoreIf a recent update is wreaking havoc on your computer, Windows 10 may automatically uninstall it, according to Microsoft support. A support note states some updates might be incompatible with your system or have other major bugs. If Windows can't repair the problem through other means, it could uninstall updates as a last resort.
Read MoreNVIDIA confirmed that it has purchased Israeli chip-maker Mellanox for $6.9 billion, its largest acquisition to date. The bid, rumored for several days, trumped a $6 billion offer made by Intel several months ago. It will reportedly help NVIDIA better compete in the server market, which accounts for about a third of its sales.
Read MoreIt was just last week when we heard that the 20Gbps USB 3.2 connectivity may show up on new devices later this year, but today, Intel is already talking about an even speedier USB4. At a Taipei event earlier today, the company revealed that this next-gen spec will once again utilize dual channels to achieve 40Gbps speeds, even on existing 40Gbps-certified USB-C cables. Better yet, thanks to Intel finally offering Thunderbolt 3 to manufacturers with open licensing, USB4 will be integrating this tech and thus effectively becoming the "new" Thunderbolt 3. In other words, USB4 will pretty much be the mother of all wired connectivity options, and will be ready for more powerful PCIe plus DisplayPort devices.
Read MoreMore than a few restaurant-goers in the US will want to check their bank statements. Earl Enterprises has confirmed that hackers used point-of-sale malware to scoop up credit and card data at some of its US restaurants between May 2018 and March 2019, including virtually all Buca di Beppo locations, a few Earl of Sandwich locations and Planet Hollywood's presences in Las Vegas, New York City and Orlando. It's a fairly large data breach -- KrebsOnSecurity discovered that a trove of 2.15 million cards were on sale in the black market as of February.
Read MoreThe end to Celebgate didn't mark the end to attempts to exploit superstars. Georgia resident Kwamaine Ford has pleaded guilty to hijacking Apple IDs of athletes (including NBA and NFL players) and rappers for the sake of spending sprees. From "at least" March 2015 onward, Ford tricked stars into handing over their account details primarily through a phishing campaign where he posed as an Apple customer support rep. Whenever he succeeded, he'd change the sign-in details and attempt to obtain credit card information. He'd use that to pay for "thousands of dollars" of travel, furniture and money transfers.
Read MoreIf you thought the DEA's mass surveillance was irresponsible, you're not the only one. The Justice Department's Inspector General has released a report showing that the DEA "failed to conduct a comprehensive legal analysis" of three bulk data gathering programs to verify they were above board. On top of this, the policies to govern data use were either vague or non-existent, opening up the potential for abuse.
Read MoreJeff Bezos' accusations of blackmail and extortion extend beyond just the National Enquirer and its parent AMI. Bezos' investigation team has determined "with high confidence" that Saudi Arabia had access to the Amazon chief's phone. Team leader Gavin de Becker pointed to a number of factors leading to the conclusion. Most notably, he rejected the Enquirer's claims that Michael Sanchez (the brother of Bezos' lover Lauren) was the sole source for the info. Sanchez told Page Six that the Enquirer had already seen text messages when it contacted him to investigate Bezos' possible affair -- there was another source, and de Becker's group believes Saudi Arabia is the most likely culprit given its methods, motivations and connections to AMI.
Read MoreAn experiment conducted by white hat hackers and reported by CNBC show that Tesla vehicles store more information than you might think -- and they even keep your data unencrypted. It's normal for cars to keep some information from the cellphones you pair with them via Bluetooth, such as contact numbers. But a Tesla computer can also store videos, locations and navigational data, since the company's vehicles have built-in dashcams, data recorders and other features meant to gather information. In the event of a crash, the video could even include exactly what happened leading to the accident.
Read MoreAirbnb has a hidden-camera problem Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic Airbnb may be a good alternative to staying in a pricey hotel, but the company is dealing with a hidden camera problem. The Atlantic takes a look a the issue and what Airbnb says its doing to fix it.
Read MoreJust after the Christchurch shooting I came across an article explaining how to make your Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts block violent videos. How-tos like this are depressingly necessary, because while Facebook removes an illustrated nipple for "community safety" at lightning speed with real consequences, the company isn't equally interested in policing content that's indisputably harmful. After the Christchurch attack, Facebook said it took down 1.5 million postings of the terrorist's mass-murder livestream within 24 hours, but only 1.2 million of those videos were blocked at upload.
Read MoreVerizon (which owns Engadget's parent company, Verizon Media) has opened access to a free version of its spam filter and is rolling out its anti-robocall tech. The Call Filter app detects and filters spam, while allowing you to report the numbers that called you. It can also automatically block robocalls. The $2.99/month version comes with some extra features, including caller ID, a personal block list and a risk meter.
Read MoreThe at-home DNA testing company Family Tree DNA is asking customers to share their genetic data to help law enforcement solve crimes. A video featuring Ed Smart, the father of kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart, attempts to frame the sharing of its genetic database with FBI as a positive. According to MIT Technology Review, the video will air as an ad in San Diego, where police were recently able to solve a 1979 murder after finding a link in a publicly available DNA database. The ad is part of a larger campaign featured prominently on Family Tree DNA's website.
Read MoreOffice Depot agreed this week to pay a $25 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly lying to customers in order to get them to pay for tech support. The retailer offered consumers a free virus scan, which would claim to the person's computer was infected with malware even if it wasn't. According to the FTC, Office Depot scammed customers out of millions of dollars for computer repair services between 2009 and November 2016.
Read MoreThe US has been vocal about its qualms with Chinese tech giant Huawei -- going as far as to charge it with a laundry list of crimes, from stealing trade secrets to wire fraud. But European governments have taken a more moderate approach. That might be changing though. A new report reveals that the UK is unhappy with Huawei's tech and concerned about the risks it brings to the country's telecommunications networks.
Read MoreSecurity experts aren't done poking holes in LTE's armor -- not by a long shot. South Korean researchers have found 36 vulnerabilities in LTE that enable a range of attacks, some more sinister than others. They include temporary inconveniences like disconnecting someone from the cell network through to eavesdropping and controlling the data itself. The team found the abundance of exploits by using a custom "fuzzing" (feeding large chunks of random data to look for irregularities) tool.
Read MoreThe US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that it shut down four separate robocall operations responsible for placing billions of illegal robocalls. The four organizations responsible for the calls agreed to settlements with the agency. Under those agreements, the companies will no longer be able to make robocalls or use automatic dialers to place calls, effectively barring them from the telemarketing business.
Read MoreJust because American internet providers are facing looser privacy regulations doesn't mean they're avoiding all scrutiny. The Federal Trade Commission has ordered AT&T, Comcast, Google Fiber, T-Mobile and Verizon (Engadget's parent company) to hand over information on their privacy policies and practices as part of an investigation. Now that these ISPs are "vertically integrated" companies that provide ad-supported content in addition to broadband, the FTC wants to better understand their approaches to privacy and prevent "unfair and deceptive" behavior.
Read MoreASUS may have inadvertently pushed malware to some of its computers through its update tool, but it at least has a fix ready to go. The PC maker has released a new version of its Live Update software for laptops that addresses the ShadowHammer backdoor attack. It also promised "multiple security verification mechanisms" to reduce the chances of further attacks, and started using an "enhanced end-to-end encryption mechanism." There are upgrades to the behind-the-scenes server system to prevent future attacks, ASUS added.
Read MoreFor nearly half a year, computer maker ASUS was unwittingly pushing malware that gave hackers backdoor access to thousands of computers, according to Kaspersky Lab. Hackers managed to compromise one of the company's servers used to provide software updates to ASUS machines. The attack, which has been given the name ShadowHammer was discovered late last year and has since been stopped. Engadget reached out to ASUS for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
Read MoreFamily tracking apps can be very helpful if you're worried about your kids or spouse, but they can be nightmarish if that data falls into the wrong hands. Security researcher Sanyam Jain has revealed to TechCrunch that React Apps' Family Locator left real-time location data (plus other sensitive personal info) for over 238,000 people exposed for weeks in an insecure database. It showed positions within a few feet, and even showed the names for the geofenced areas used to provide alerts. You could tell if parents left home or a child arrived at school, for instance.
Read MoreBuzzFeed News has confirmed a massive ad fraud scheme, which was originally uncovered by at least two fraud detection firms, that drained users' batteries and data. The scheme begins by hijacking the in-app advertisements of developers using Twitter's MoPub ad platform. It then silently runs autoplaying video ads behind legit banner advertisements, with the users being none the wiser. And since the video ads are still marked as completed even though none of the viewers got to see them, the scheme also rips off hapless advertisers.
Read MoreThe Department of Homeland Security and Medtronic are advising people with the latter's implantable defibrillators to keep their monitors and programmers updated and in sight. A warning issued by the department says over 20 Medtronic products are afflicted with vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers nearby. Sixteen of the products are implantable defibrillators -- some still sold around the world today -- while the others are the defibrillators' bedside monitors and programmers. According to the Star Tribune, as many as 750,000 devices for the heart come with the flaws.
Read MoreIt's a day of the week ending in the letter "y," so it should come as little surprise there's news of another Facebook privacy transgression. The company says it found in January that some user passwords were stored in plain text on its servers. Facebook's systems are supposed to mask passwords, and it has since fixed the issue.
Read MoreFinland's data protection watchdog is investigating Nokia owner HMD over claims its mobiles sent data to Chinese servers. The probe follows a report by Norway's public broadcaster NRK in which it claimed to have proof that Nokia phones are transmitting sensitive information to China based on a tip from a Nokia owner. The man in question, Henrik Austad, said he'd been monitoring the traffic from his Nokia 7 Plus only to find it was sending unencrypted information to a Chinese server while switched on. The sensitive data reportedly included his location, as well as the SIM card number and the phone's serial number.
Read MoreRussian hackers are targeting government systems ahead of the EU parliament election, according to cybersecurity company FireEye. The firm says that two state-sponsored hacking groups -- APT28 (aka Fancy Bear) and Sandworm -- have been sending out authentic-looking phishing emails to officials in a bid to get hold of government information.
Read MoreResearchers have revealed a now-patched flaw that would allow hackers to track your location history using Google Photos. Ron Masas, from security company Imperva, explains in a blog post that Google Photos -- which was recently subject to an Android TV bug -- was vulnerable to browser-based timing attacks, which could leverage a photo's image data to approximate the time of a visit to a specific place or country.
Read MoreInternet providers in New Zealand aren't relying solely on companies like Facebook and YouTube to get rid of the Christchurch mass shooter's video. Major ISPs in the country, including Vodafone, Spark and Vocus, are working together to block access at the DNS level to websites that don't quickly respond to video takedown requests. The move quickly cut off access to multiple sites, including 4chan, 8chan (where the shooter was a member), LiveLeak and file transfer site Mega. The block goes away the moment a site complies, and Vodafone told Bleeping Computer that a "number of sites" were unblocked that way.
Read MoreHey, good morning! Reassess that Android antivirus app you installed. There's a high chance it's useless. Also, more changes to the Tesla lineup, and Ikea tackles furniture accessibility with some 3D-printed hacks. What can you expect this week, then? To start with, live reporting and news from the Games Developers Conference in San Francisco. We've also got a selection of briefings that we can't yet talk about, as well as a few tech anniversaries worth remembering. Don't worry -- celebratory cards aren't required.
Read MoreIt can be wise to secure your Android phone with antivirus software, but which ones can you count on? You can rule out most of them, apparently. AV-Comparatives has tested 250 antivirus apps for Google's platform, and only 80 of them (just under one third) passed the site's basic standards -- that is, they detected more than 30 percent of malicious apps from 2018 and had zero false positives. Some of the apps that fell short would even flag themselves, according to the researchers.
Read MoreBeto O'Rourke's secret membership in America's oldest hacking group Joseph Menn, Reuters Beto O'Rourke: Democratic presidential candidate and... member of a hacking group? Reuters reports the former Texas congressman once belonged to Cult of the Dead Cow, an influential group "jokingly named after an abandoned Texas slaughterhouse." While there's no evidence that O'Rourke really got his hands dirty with what we'd consider nefarious "hacking," he was a member, which might help explain some of the policies he could champion during a presidential run.
Read MoreDemocratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke was a member of the influential US-based hacking group Cult of the Dead Cow (CDC), according to a report from Reuters. The former three-term congressman from Texas confirmed his involvement in the group to the publication, as did members of the hacking collective.
Read MoreLast month, a 19-year-old bug was discovered in WinRAR, a software used to extract .zip and other file archives on your Windows PC. The company was quick to patch the bug, but users who haven't updated to version 5.70 are still vulnerable. Now, opportunistic hackers are taking advantage of that. McAfee, a global software security company, revealed in a blog post that it has identified more than 100 unique exploits, with most of the targets in the US.
Read MoreUS Senators Roy Blunt and Brian Schatz want to protect people's facial recognition data and make it much harder to sell now that information is treated as currency. The lawmakers have introduced the bipartisan Commercial Facial Recognition Privacy Act of 2019, which prohibits companies from collecting and resharing face data for identifying or tracking purposes without people's consent.
Read MoreGenealogy company Family Tree DNA hit the headlines last month after it was revealed the firm had given law enforcement agencies access to its DNA database. The FBI was allowed to comb through the information in a bid to identify crime suspects, igniting confidentiality concerns and privacy fears. Now, the gene-testing service has announced it will let customers bar law enforcement from accessing their data.
Read MoreWhen a company is hacked, consumers usually find out about it through the press or emails. You probably remember the Target hack that spilled data from millions of credit and debit card accounts. But do you remember the last publicly disclosed Congressional computer breach? (It was in 2009.) That's because Congress doesn't have to report when representatives' networks are hacked. Two Senators want to change that.
Read MoreAs much as Google has done to keep malware out of the Play Store, some notable examples still get through. Google has pulled 210 apps from the store after Check Point researchers discovered that they were infected with the same strain of adware. Nicknamed "SimBad" based on the abundance of infected simulator games, the code hid in a bogus ad-serving platform and created a back door that could install rogue apps, direct users to scam websites and show other apps in stores. Check Point believes the apps' developers were tricked into using the platform.
Read MoreThe Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced today that they arrested a man accused of selling stolen login credentials online. The unnamed man, a 21-year-old living in Sydney, Australia, operated a website called WickedGen.com that advertised having almost one million usernames and passwords for Netflix, Spotify, Hulu and other services. Police believe he generated AU$300,000 (about $211,000) selling the stolen logins.
Read MoreMore than 9,200 Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees have access to a license plate database that allows authorities to track the movement of vehicles over time. The American Civil Liberties Union says more than 80 law enforcement agencies across several states are sharing license plate details with ICE, which purportedly doesn't have sufficient safeguards to prevent abuse.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump has revealed his proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year, which "supports the creation" of Space Force (USSF) as the sixth branch of the armed forces. The White House also hopes to bolster cybersecurity and NASA exploration missions.
Read MoreMore than 90 companies inadvertently exposed hundreds of thousands of documents and terabytes of data via Box, a cloud-based file-sharing system. Cybersecurity firm Adversis exposed the potential security concern and says everything from passport photos to social security and bank account numbers, prototype and design files, employee lists, and financial and IT data were revealed.
Read MoreCryptocurrency scams are nothing new, but they're rarely as large as this. US law enforcement has arrested Konstantin Ignatov over a fraud charge relating to OneCoin, the cryptocurrency he helped found. Ignatov, his sister Ruja Ignatova (also charged, but hiding) and others allegedly orchestrated a "multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme" where people received commissions for persuading people to buy OneCoin packages that themselves were junk. OneCoin reportedly rigged prices, sold people non-existent coins and didn't even have a true blockchain to manage the currency.
Read MoreFacebook is all too aware of how developers can make off with private data, and it's willing to go to court to fight that behavior. The Verge has learned that the social network sued two Ukranian men, Andrey Gorbachov and Gleb Sluchevsky, for allegedly swiping private user data through deceptive browser extensions. They enticed users with horoscope and "who are you like" quizzes that would use a legitimate Facebook sign-in at first, but asked users to install add-ons that would grab both publicly visible info as well as private friend lists. They'd also serve their own ads instead of Facebook's own.
Read MoreCitrix is best-known for software that runs behind the scenes, but a massive data breach is putting the company front and center. The FBI has warned Citrix that it believes reports of foreign hackers compromising the company's internal network, swiping business documents in an apparent "password spraying" attack where the intruders guessed weak passwords and then used that early foothold to launch more extensive attacks. While Citrix didn't shed more light on the incident, researchers at Resecurity provided more detail of what likely happened in a conversation with NBC News.
Read MoreThe UK govenment's demand for stricter regulation of internet companies is only growing louder. A report from a House of Lords committee has called for the creation of a central "Digital Authority" that would watch over all the efforts to regulate the technology world, particularly online giants. While the new body would largely let individual organizations (such as Ofcom and ICO) do their work, it would coordinate those larger efforts and recommend "additional powers" if there are significant problems.
Read MoreGoogle Chrome tends to auto update quickly and silently, but you may want to make sure you're on the latest version right now, as the company announced a zero-day vulnerability that it said attackers are "actively exploiting." As Chrome security engineer Justin Schuh explained in a series of tweets, the thing that makes this different from previous exploits that usually targeted Flash, is that the browser needs to be restarted for the fix to take effect. If you're on Chrome's stable channel, then the latest update should install version 72.0.3626.121 with the fix. Google also alerted users that the bug was being used in concert with a second exploit attacking the Windows operating system. According to its blog post, it may only impact people running Windows 7 32-bit systems, and those people are encouraged to upgrade to a newer version of the OS, or install patches when/if Microsoft makes them available (seriously, it's time to move on).
Read MoreIn November, researchers discovered a Facebook bug that allowed websites to extract data from users' profiles thanks to a security flaw relating to cross-site frame leakage (CSFL). Today, the same team has revealed a now-patched vulnerability that would let websites expose who you've been chatting to in Facebook Messenger.
Read MoreAccidental exposure of sensitive data is a major problem by just about anyone's standards, but it could be genuinely dangerous when the military is involved. The Washington Post has learned that the US Army inadvertently emailed sensitive recruitment data on more than 4,200 immigrants to recruits, including names, enlistment dates, languages and Social Security numbers. Over 900 of those in the mix are Mandarin speakers while dozens speak Russian, raising the potential for China and Russia to persecute the recruits or their families as punishment for becoming American soldiers.
Read MoreA bill that's progressing through Russia's legislature could grant authorities deeper control over internet access. The so-called "Sovereign Internet" bill seeks to set up a centralized hub officials can use to manage the flow of information in the nation. It also proposes a national domain name system that would enable a local intranet to continue operating if Russia is cut off from the global internet.
Read MoreThe US government might put an end to the controversial NSA phone surveillance program Edward Snowden exposed by the end of 2019. Republican congressional national security adviser Luke Murry revealed during a Lawfare podcast that Congress might not renew the USA Freedom Act, which authorizes the agency's call data bulk collection, when it expires later this year. He also said that the NSA hasn't even been using the system for the past six months, putting into question the agency's previous claim that data collection is vital to national security.
Read MoreOn a good day, Android TV, Google's Android OS for TVs, allows users to display photos from their Google Photos albums as screensavers. That's a nice perk -- when it doesn't potentially share your private photos with strangers. Over the weekend, a disturbed Android TV owner took to Twitter when he realized, through the Google Home app, he could access a massive list of random accounts, as well as photos they'd added to their Google Photos albums.
Read MoreGoogle's Project Zero security disclosure program is once again proving to be a double-edged sword. The company has detailed a "high severity" macOS kernel flaw that lets people modify a user-mounted file system image without the virtual management subsystem being any the wiser, theoretically letting an attacker go unnoticed by users. Apple is working on a patch, but the disclosure ahead of the fix could leave Mac users vulnerable until it's ready.
Read MoreWeb Authentication (aka WebAuthn) has been a de facto standard for no-password web sign-ins for a while given that many tech giants are already using it, but now it's official. The World Wide Web Consortium and the FIDO Alliance have finalized the Web Authentication format, making it the go-to option for logging into accounts with potentially greater security and convenience than typing in your credentials. If a site supports it, you can get in using biometrics (such as fingerprints or facial recognition), USB security keys, or nearby mobile devices like phones and smartwatches.
Read MoreThe "celebgate" photo leaks might be years old by now, but that isn't stopping the courts from doling out stiff punishment for the account hijacks. A federal judge has sentenced Chris Brannan to 34 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to identity theft and unauthorized access charges. He admitted to compromising the iCloud, Facebook and Yahoo accounts of 200 targets through both phishing attacks as well as social engineering (where he researched targets to answer their security questions).
Read MoreComcast is a media and telecoms conglomerate that made close to $28 billion in the last three months of 2018. You would think that a company of that size, and wealth, would be able to avoid a security blunder akin to making all default passwords "password." Alas, according to The Washington Post, the company allowed its customers Xfinity Mobile accounts to be hijacked because the default PIN was... "0000."
Read MoreWelcome, dear readers, to Engadget's new series, Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories.
Read MoreTomTom is mostly focusing on driverless navigation after stepping away from wearables and action cams. However, it still makes consumer GPS units, and to keep up with smartphones, has unveiled the TomTom Go Premium with IFTTT home automation tech built right in. The idea is that you can link up actions on the GPS to household devices and have it automatically open your garage door when you arrive at home, for instance.
Read MoreLyft has introduced free banking and deeply discounted repair services for drivers, perhaps in an effort to persuade the best of them to choose its company over Uber's. The ride-hailing service has officially launched Lyft Driver Services, and it includes access to free bank accounts and debit cards called Lyft Direct.
Read MoreFord is giving future 2020 Explorer owners the option to KonMari their vehicle's digital instrument cluster if they want to. Taking into account the number of screens people stare at and the huge amounts of information they have to process each day, the automaker has designed a "mindful mode" for the 12.3-inch optional screen. It will give them a way to get rid of all the information that doesn't spark joy on the display, leaving only the fuel gauge, the speedometer, the road ahead and the time it will take to reach their destination on a calming blue background.
Read MoreAfter Tesla's sudden about-face on plans to close stores and go all-in with online car sales, Elon Musk emailed employees to explain the situation. Electrek obtained copies of the message and Business Insider reported on its contents, which still didn't provide much in the way of exact information about potential closings and layoffs. In the message, Musk told employees: – Stores with a high visitation rate and that lead to significant sales will absolutely not be closed down. It would not make any sense to do so, except in rare cases where the rent is absurdly high. Moreover, Tesla will continue to open stores throughout the world that meet the above criteria. – Stores that are in a location with low visitation rates (ie empty most of their opening hours) and lead to low sales will gradually be closed down. This is analogous to seeds on barren ground. There is no reasonable way to justify keeping such stores open. – Stores that are somewhere in the middle will be evaluated over time to see there is some way to allow them to cover their costs. If there is, they will remain open, otherwise not. However, these stores will be given a fair opportunity to prove their case. The above principles also apply to the sales team. No one who is a major contributor to demand generation will be let go. That would make no sense. However, sometimes, in a company with 45,000 people, things happen that make no sense. It's apparently meant to reassure high-performing sales people and those at well-performing locations, but without concrete metrics they may still feel unsettled. For now, Tesla has higher prices and a number of retail locations remain open, but any spots that aren't doing consistent business are potentially on the chopping block as it emphasizes more efficient online sales processes.
Read MoreBoeing has detailed its promised software update for 737 Max jets, and it largely matches up with the rumored safety improvements that could reduce the likelihood of a crash. The anti-stall Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) will now compare the data from both of the 737's angle-of-attack sensors, rather than relying on one. If there's a disagreement of 5.5 degrees or more, MCAS won't kick in. The software will also reduce its input during an incident, and won't apply so much input to the stabilizers that the crew can't counteract it.
Read MoreNASA, Boeing and Uber have each announced plans for electric and hybrid passenger aircraft, but a smaller aviation company might beat them to the punch. Yesterday, Harbour Airlines announced that it will convert all of its seaplanes into electric aircraft. The company plans to swap its current, conventional engines for 750 horsepower electric motors made by magniX.
Read MoreTesla's Bioweapon Defense Mode might have nothing on what Jaguar Land Rover does to fight pathogens. The British automaker is exploring the use of ultraviolet light to kill bacteria, viruses and allergens in the cabin. The air conditioning system inside future vehicles would blast the unwanted organisms with medical-grade UV-C light, breaking down the intruder's DNA and rendering it harmless.
Read MoreDriving in an unfamiliar city can be stressful, and finding parking is even worse. Eventually, we'll have autonomous vehicles to deal with that for us, but until then, companies are looking at ways to ease the strain. That's why car rental brand Avis has partnered with mobility solutions company Arrive to add a space-finding feature to its app. The Avis app already lets drivers rent a car on the go, and includes a bunch of other helpful features such as remote car locking -- with Arrive integration customers in the US can now instantly find, book and pre-pay for parking. Arrive is already used in some 230 cities around Canada and the US, predominantly by third-party and business customers. Encouraging consumer use makes sense, especially as many city-dwellers don't drive a car on a daily basis -- knowing parking is already taken car of is just one less thing to worry about when you're behind the wheel.
Read MoreAutonomous delivery drone networks are coming to the US in earnest. UPS and Matternet are launching a drone "airline" that will use the robotic aircraft to carry medical samples between WakeMed's health care facilities in Raleigh, North Carolina. The drone of choice (an M2 quadcopter) can only carry up to 5lbs at distances as long as 12.5 miles, but it should still be faster, cheaper and more consistent than the current system of driving samples across town using cars. They won't have to deal with traffic snarls, after all.
Read MoreYou don't have to live in Los Angeles, Miami, Denver, Austin or Orlando to lock in discounted Uber rates anymore. The company announced today that it's expanding Ride Pass to another 20 US cities. The monthly subscription plan lets users secure consistent, low rates that aren't impacted by ridership spikes, traffic or weather. Now, significantly more users will be able to opt in.
Read MoreOver the past few decades, technology has made vehicles safer and easier to drive. Anti-lock brakes, traction control, torque vectoring and other bits of tech keep cars on the road instead of flying into a ditch when things get hairy. It's why newer cars typically handle corners better than older cars.
Read MoreDomino's is continuing its quest to let you order pizza through every device imaginable. It's partnering with Xevo on an app that can order pies through your car's infotainment system, no tethered smartphone required. You can avoid distractions by placing an Easy Order or repeating your last order, and track your food's progress. There's also an option to make an order by phone in case you have a complex request or just prefer human contact.
Read MoreHey, good morning! Yes, Apple's new video-streaming service is set to be unveiled later today -- we'll be reporting from the frontlines in San Francisco at 10am PT/1pm ET. Meanwhile, you might have missed Honda's plans for EV cycles, Overwatch changes are actually having an effect on toxic players and we put NVIDIA's RTX ray tracing to the test.
Read MoreElectric vehicle startup Faraday Future, which has been on life support for the past couple of years, has received a surprise cash injection from a mobile gaming company called The9 Limited. The9 will inject up to $600 million into Faraday, which it will use to build a new car called the V9 (based on its FF91 pre-production car) in China. The joint venture said it will build up to 300,000 EVs, with the first pre-production model scheduled to be arrive by 2020. It will also try to launch the FF91 into production in the US this year, Faraday said.
Read MoreBoeing may be close to delivering its fix for the 737 Max's anti-stall system and preventing future tragedies. The Wall Street Journal has learned through documents and sources that the FAA has "tentatively" greenlit software and training updates pending some final simulation and real-world flight tests. They could make their way to airlines within a few weeks, according to the insiders, although there's still the possibility of last-minute revisions and changes to the timeline.
Read MoreAfter years of backing out of major international markets, Uber appears ready to go on the offensive. Sources talking to Bloomberg claim the ridesharing firm is poised to buy Careem, its chief competitor in the Middle East, for the equivalent of $3.1 billion in cash and shares. It's not certain just what Uber would do with its acquisition. However, you might hear about it very shortly -- stakeholders have been asked to rubber stamp the deal by the evening of March 25th, and a deal could be made public as soon as March 26th.
Read MoreTesla's Autopilot system can ease some of the burden of driving, but it's not always polite (just ask anyone who's been cut off). Now, however, it appears to be learning some added manners. After a couple of weeks of off-hand reports, drivers now believe that Autopilot cedes the right of way when it detects that a car up ahead wants to switch into your lane. If a vehicle is making its intentions clear, Autopilot appears to make that car stand out on your instrument cluster and slow down to create a space. It's not certain what Tesla's technology is looking for (most likely the signal lights), but it seems to work just like what you'd expect from a courteous driver.
Read MoreHonda has shown an affinity for electric cars as of late, but what about the motorcycle crowd? Don't worry, you'll get your fix soon. The automaker has unveiled prototypes for both the CR Electric dirt bike (above) and the Benly Electric delivery scooter (below), offering a peek at how it will approach emissions-free transportation on two wheels. Honda didn't dive into the specs, but the CR Electric appears based on the CRF450 and uses a Mugen-developed motor along with Showa inverted forks.
Read MoreTesla's in-car browser is pretty infamous for being wonky, so it didn't come as a surprise when someone told Elon Musk on Twitter that they wish it worked consistently. The CEO's response? Tesla is about to upgrade the in-car browser to Chromium, Google's open-source browser project. That doesn't mean the vehicles will be getting Chrome: the Chromium project merely generates code for Chrome and other browsers from companies and vendors outside of Google, including Opera. It's likely that the Chromium code will just power Tesla's upgraded browser.
Read MoreGM has confirmed plans to build another electric vehicle at the same Orion Township, MI factory where it currently manufactures the Bolt, as well as test autonomous vehicles for Cruise. We don't have a name or potential release date for this next EV, but it will use the same BEV3 platform underpinning the recently announced electric Cadillac on the way. We visited GM's Orion factory back in 2016 as it ramped up Bolt production, and now the plan is to invest some $300 million and add 400 jobs there. This week Ford also announced an expansion at one of its Michigan plants to build more electric and autonomous vehicles, so now all that's left is waiting to hear about a battery-powered Mustang or Camaro.
Read MoreWhile EVs have come a long way -- even Ford is making electric trucks -- they're still a far cry from perfect. One of the biggest complaints is that the batteries need to be plugged in and recharged, and even when they're charged, they have a limited range. Fuel cell electric vehicles offer an alternative. Their "battery" -- actually a hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell -- can be replenished with hydrogen gas. The biggest problem to-date has been that producing hydrogen isn't an environmentally friendly process. We would also need the infrastructure to refuel with hydrogen. But, new technology from UMass Lowell could remove those barriers.
Read MoreAs Norway's capital city prepares to ensure all taxis are zero emission by 2023, Oslo is setting up a wireless charging system for cabs. It aims to have the first such fast-charging taxi system in the world, though it's not clear exactly when it will be up and running. Charging plates will be installed at taxi ranks, which will link to receivers installed in cabs. The system will charge taxis at up to 75 kW.
Read MoreTesla has quietly changed its EV maintenance policy, going from regularly scheduled service to an "as-needed" model, according to its "Car Maintenance" page. Before, it called for "recommended" service every 12 months and 12,500 for the Model S and X, and 24 months or 25,000 miles for the Model 3. Now, however, it simply says "your Tesla does not require annual maintenance and regular fluid changes," and instead recommends periodic servicing of things like brake fluid, air conditioning and filters.
Read MoreWhen Tesla axed its original referral program because it was getting too expensive to keep up, Elon Musk said the company isn't replacing it with a new one. The automaker must have realized that having a reasonable one in place is better than having none at all, though, because it has introduced a new referral program with more sustainable terms. Now, when someone purchases a Tesla using a friend's referral code, both of them will get 1,000 miles of Supercharging for free.
Read MoreBoeing charged airlines extra for two safety features that may have been able to detect in advance issues with the 737 Max planes involved in fatal crashes, according to the New York Times. The additional sensors provided checks on data collected by sensors on the planes and could have alerted pilots to potential issues. Boeing will now make one of those safety add-ons standard issue on the 737 Max.
Read MoreTo boost its electric vehicle (EV) production, Ford is investing $850 million in its Flat Rock, Michigan, assembly plant. It hopes to make the plant the home of its EV production. To do so, the company will also hire 900 employees incrementally through 2023. This investment is part of Ford's $11.1 billion commitment to electric vehicles, and it includes funding to build Ford's next-generation Mustang in Michigan.
Read MoreTesla filed a lawsuit this week against four former employees for allegedly stealing trade secrets and providing them to a rival company. According to the complaint filed with the US district court for Northern California, the ex-Tesla workers gave confidential information to autonomous vehicle start-up Zoox. The documents allegedly allowed the company to accelerate the development of its technology by cribbing off of Tesla's proprietary work.
Read MoreVolvo is continuing its bet on safety over speed. The company announced today that, beginning with model year 2021, all new cars will come with a "Care Key." Owners will be able to set a speed limit attached to the key, and anyone using it will be capped at that speed. The feature might be especially helpful if you plan on lending your car to new or speed-hungry drivers, and Volvo is hoping insurance companies will offer incentives to those who use Care Key.
Read MoreBMW has said that it wants to build all variants of its cars (hybrid, gas, electric) on the same production lines. So, a 3 Series with an internal combustion engine (ICE) will be built right beside one with a battery pack. It relies on the automaker being nimble and that means major changes to how BMW's EVs are built.
Read MoreVolvo plans to use cameras and sensors inside cars to combat drunk and distracted driving. The vehicles may intervene if a driver doesn't respond to warning signals -- cars may limit their speed, alert the Volvo on Call service (which will contact the driver) or perhaps even slow down and park. Volvo on Call may send additional help if necessary.
Read MoreNew York City is getting a self-driving shuttle, sort of. Optimus Ride announced plans to deploy its self-driving system at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the second quarter of this year. The vehicles will run in a closed loop on the Navy Yard's private roads. While this is a far cry from self-driving shuttles weaving through Times Square, the company claims this is first commercial self-driving vehicle program in the state of New York.
Read MoreIn an effort to encourage more residents to buy zero-emission vehicles, the Canadian government is proposing a CA$5,000 federal incentive as part of its 2019 budget plan. Some Canadian provinces like Quebec and British Columbia have EV rebates of their own, but this will be the first one with nationwide coverage -- something potential buyers have been asking for these past few years -- if it ever becomes a law.
Read MoreAudi's premium Silvercar rental service has just become more convenient for customers in select downtown areas in New York City and San Francisco. It will now deliver and pick up rentals at customers' homes or a location of their choosing for an additional fee, so long as it's located somewhere in Manhattan at 42nd Street (NYC), Columbus Circle (NYC), Downtown Brooklyn (NYC), Williamsburg Brooklyn (NYC) and Union Square (SF).
Read MoreWaymo announced plans to open a new technical service center in Mesa, Arizona. There, it will service and maintain its Waymo One cars -- the vehicles that make up its self-driving car service. Waymo launched the on-demand, autonomous rides (with human backup) in December. And, by the looks of this expansion, things are going well for the company.
Read MoreYou might remember Arcimoto as the company behind the "Fun Utility Vehicle" (FUV) -- a three-wheeled, electric vehicle that's scheduled to hit the streets in Oregon, California and Washington this summer. With the FUV underway, Arcimoto has opened presales for a similar vehicle with a new concept. Called the "Deliverator," it's a three-wheel, pure electric vehicle meant for local deliveries.
Read MoreJames Bond movies tend to be a reflection of the cultural zeitgeist, and that might be reflected in his choice of whip next time around. The Sun sources have claimed that the director of the next Bond movie, Cary Joji Fukanaga, wants 007 to drive Aston Martin's electric Rapide E (above) instead of one of its gas-powered coupes. It may seem like blasphemy for Bond's flashiest vehicle to be a sedan, but Fukanaga, lead actor Daniel Craig and the producers reportedly believed "the time was right" for the secret agent to use an emissions-free ride.
Read MoreNVIDIA has announced that its autonomous vehicle simulation platform Drive Constellation is now available and that Toyota will be the first customer. The cloud based platform, first announced by CEO Jensen Huang last year, will let self-driving car developers run tests on virtual, rather than real roads. Simulated vehicles can operate in situations ranging from routine to dangerous, "with greater efficiency, cost-effectiveness and safety than what is possible to achieve in the real world," NVIDIA said.
Read MoreThe UK unleashed its first full-sized autonomous bus today -- albeit in limited fashion. For now, the single-deck bus will navigate around a Manchester bus depot, where it will park and maneuver itself into a bus wash. But the technology onboard could soon make all buses safer, and it will be used again in 2020, when five autonomous buses carry passengers across Scotland's Forth Road Bridge Corridor, once the largest suspension bridge outside of the US.
Read MoreBoeing's original 737 Max safety analysis, used by the FAA to certify the aircraft, may have had several serious flaws, according to a report from the Seattle Times. The problems revolved around a software system called MCAS, suspected to have contributed to the Lion Air and Air Ethiopia crashes that killed 346 people in total. Investigators are also looking at possible maintenance lapses and potential pilot error. The situation may have been compounded by FAA rules that allow aircraft manufacturers to do some of the certification themselves.
Read MoreTesla isn't the only one unveiling a semi-affordable electric SUV in March. Fisker is signaling a shift toward more reasonably-priced EVs by unveiling a sub-$40,000 SUV that might claim a few advantages over its superiors. The automaker is aiming for a 300-mile range as standard through an 80kWh-plus battery (the Model Y will start at 230 miles), radar where the grill would be, and an "extended open-air atmosphere" available with a button press. You might not be in a rush to spend extra, then, although dual motors and all-wheel drive will be optional.
Read MoreNow that the $35,000 Model 3 is here, Tesla appears ready to streamline its options. The automaker has removed the Mid Range battery option from its Model 3 configuration tool, leaving a gap between the Standard Range and Standard Range Plus models (220 and 240 miles of range respectively) and the 310 miles or more of Long Range versions. The change applies in countries where the full Model 3 lineup is available, including the US, Canada and Mexico.
Read MoreThe Polestar 2 was unveiled ahead of the Geneva motor show via a livestream from Sweden. The automaker wanted more time to chat about the electric vehicle than the typical 15 to 20 minutes allotted at auto shows while also sticking to its environmental ethics and not flying journalists from all over the world to an event.
Read MoreHey, good morning! We'll cut to the chase: Here's the new Tesla crossover. It's a new kind of car for the company and will be on roads in 2020. Meanwhile, we've got cheaper NVIDIA GFX cards and a new, even longer number for pi.
Read MoreJust as Tesla's scheduled Model Y reveal kicked off, Ford (the company Elon Musk said killed his S-E-X-Y naming scheme by blocking the Model E name) had something to show the people. It didn't provide any details at all, but this curiously-colored Mustang logo looks like a hint of electrification coming to one of the few cars Ford still makes. It could be a nod to the Mach 1 / "Mach-E" electric performance SUV due in 2020 with a name hijacked from a famous Mustang, something related to a hybrid Mustang that's in the works, or maybe both? Ford confirmed to Autoblog that a hybrid Mustang is set for release in 2020, showed off a coupe with a similarly-colored logo in one of its ads and could enhance its "EcoBoost" turbocharged engines by adding some batteries. With the speedy Model Y slated to go on sale in late 2020, the prospect of additional competition is an intriguing one.
Read More"Tesla doesn't make slow cars." I've been told this by various Tesla employees over the years while sitting in the entire lineup of the company's cars. So I was surprised that it wasn't uttered again while I sat in the Model Y during a quick drive up and down the streets adjacent to Tesla's Design Studio. But it's true and this latest vehicle continues the tradition.
Read MoreTo say Tesla has been busy lately is a bit of an understatement. It finally opened orders for its long-awaited $35,000 Standard Range Model 3, it reversed a decision to shutter some of its showrooms, and it showed off its V3 Supercharging. So why not keep the news coming with the unveil its next car... err SUV, the Model Y
Read MoreTesla will reveal the Model Y later today, and you'll be able to watch the announcement as it happens. A live stream will be available on Tesla's website starting at 11 PM ET (you can sign up for a reminder, if you like). Update: It's now 11:18 PM ET and the event hasn't started yet, but you can watch along live with the stream embedded below. Update 2: It took until about 11:50, but the Model Y has been unveiled, check out all of the details right here.
Read MoreAmazon's latest partnership with Kia could sway those weighing whether to take the plunge on an electric vehicle. Kia electric vehicle buyers can now order at-home charging units and schedule home installation through Amazon. The South Korean automaker becomes the second to partner with Amazon to sell electric charging stations, joining Audi which came onboard last year.
Read MoreFaraday Future has already ditched plans to build a factory in Las Vegas, and now it's trying to end that chapter of its troubled tale by selling the land on which it was going to set up shop. The struggling carmaker is hoping to sell the 900-acre plot for $40 million.
Read MoreLess than one day after expressing confidence in Boeing's 737 Max fleet, the US government has decided to ground the plane involved in two recent crashes. According to CNBC, President Trump told reporters that the US was issuing an emergency order to ground both Boeing's 737 Max 8 and 737 Max 9 aircraft, following similar prohibitions in the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Indonesia, China and elsewhere. Trump made the decision in concert with FAA acting director Daniel Elwell and US transportation secretary Elaine Chao and had spoke with Boeing CEO about the move as well. "They are all in agreement with the action," he said. "Any plane currently in the air will go to its destination and thereafter be grounded until further notice."
Read MoreUber's ongoing driver lawsuit issue could be winding down. The ride-hailing company has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a legal battle instigated by drivers nearly six years ago, according to court filings. Drivers for the company argued that they are Uber employees, not independent contractors as Uber states, and are therefore entitled to expenses and wage protections. Uber's proposed settlement sees drivers receive a payout for expenses, but will not change their status as independent contractors.
Read MoreFuture Motion's Onewheel electric boards have added power and range over the years, but accessibility? Not so much. They've still been expensive and intimidating, not to mention clunky to carry around. That's where the just-unveiled Onewheel Pint might help. It's not only more affordable (relatively speaking) at $950, it's gentler on newcomers who'd otherwise worry about crashing out.
Read MoreGeneral Motors is ramping up its autonomous vehicle business. According to Reuters, the company is planning to hire 1,000 people over the next nine months to work on Cruise, a GM subsidiary that develops self-driving car technology. The hiring spree would double the amount of staff currently under the Cruise umbrella and would mark a major investment in autonomous efforts.
Read MoreSecretary of Transportation Elaine Chao has announced a council aimed at supporting transportation projects including hyperloops and self-driving cars. The Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology Council (NETT) hopes to make sure the Department of Transportation's complex structure of various administrations doesn't impede companies from deploying such tech.
Read MoreTesla's partial about-face on vehicle pricing will also have an effect on Autopilot pricing. Elon Musk has confirmed that prices for Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving will "revert to normal" on March 18th. The company shouldn't have dropped prices in the first place, Musk said, and only did so "because some simply couldn't afford it." Some existing owners felt as if they'd been ripped off after paying higher prices for features that still weren't fully unlocked.
Read MoreThe Trump administration announced its budget proposal for 2020 and tax credits for electric vehicles is on the chopping block, according to Reuters. The White House is proposing eliminating the subsidy, which provides up to $7,500 on the purchase of a new EV, claiming that it will save the government about $2.5 billion over the next decade.
Read MoreFor its 110th birthday, Bugatti is going back to its roots. The French car manufacturer is digging up the Bugatti Type 35, the company's famous racing car also called the Bugatti Baby, and giving it a modern makeover. The limited-run Bugatti Baby II features an electric powertrain, driving modes for kids and adults, and a price tag of 30,000 euros (about $33,000). The creation from Bugatti and Junior Classics will be on display at the Geneva International Motorshow this month.
Read MoreJust a couple of months after drone sightings grounded flights at one of the UK's busiest travel hubs, the nation is expanding drone no-fly zones around airports. As of Wednesday, the no-fly radius is widening from one kilometer to five kilometers (around three miles).
Read MoreWe've got the biggest stories from SXSW over the weekend, as well as news on more suspicious cryptocurrency dealings (to paraphrase, it was an elaborate pyramid scheme), and you've told us what you really thought about the Pixel 3.
Read MoreAfter saying that it will close most of its stores and go online-only, Tesla has changed its mind. The automaker announced that it will "only close about half as many stores" as it previously said, while reducing staff in some locations. In order to keep its revenue on track, Tesla added that it will raise vehicle prices "by about 3 percent on average worldwide."
Read MoreIf you thought sales for the fabled $35,000 Model 3 would quickly lead to a backlog... well, you guessed correctly. Tesla has extended US delivery times for the base EV by a full month, with new orders arriving in six to eight weeks instead of the original two to four. You'll have to shell out for the $37,000 Standard Range Plus variant if you want your Model 3 sooner.
Read MoreLooks like Porsche has drummed up massive interest for its Tesla rival, because the automaker has revealed that it received 20,000 reservations for its upcoming Taycan electric vehicle. The company also confirmed previous reports that it's increasing the planned production capacity. While it didn't mention a particular number, it told CNBC in January that it's doubling production from 20,000 vehicles to 40,000. Now, we know why.
Read MoreThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is starting to take a look at accidents related to electric scooters, according to CNBC. The ongoing study, launched at the request of health and transportation officials in Austin, Texas, comes as increased scrutiny has been paid to the number of injuries that occur on these shareable devices. The CDC confirmed to Engadget that it is conducting the study.
Read MoreJust weeks after Tesla launched sales of the long-awaited, $35,000 Model 3 in the states, CNBC reports that the company will sell the car in Mexico -- though it will cost $42,000 there. This makes Mexico one of the only other countries you can get the Model 3, and it indicates that Tesla is capable of higher production.
Read MoreThe City of Los Angeles is fighting for access to data from an unlikely source: scooters. City officials want to use location data from Uber-owned Jump's dockless scooters to inform public transit policies. But the company says that could lead to "an unprecedented level of surveillance," which the city could wield over companies and citizens, Politico reports.
Read MoreBird's e-scooters are on their way to Canada, Latin America and New Zealand under a program that allows local business owners to set up their own networks. The company is opening up Bird Platform, which it first announced in November. Operators of the local networks can obtain scooters at cost, allow customers to find the vehicles through the Bird app and take advantage of the company's technology to help manage their business. In exchange, Bird is taking a 20 percent cut of revenue from each ride.
Read MoreFiat has unveiled a concept EV to promote the idea of a completely customizable car that's available to everyone. The Centoventi, which means "120," in honor of Fiat's anniversary, would be sold as a bare gray car. The buyer could then pick four paint wraps, along with four bumpers and wheel wraps. You could even choose among a soft top or solar panel roof cover.
Read MoreAs promised, Tesla has unveiled the third version of Supercharging, the high-powered chargers that it has spread out to top off owners' batteries as they travel the country. The promise is that it will eventually bring down charging times by an average of 50 percent. Peak rates go up to 250kW per car thanks to a new liquid-cooled cable design, and new stations don't have to split energy between multiple cars -- you'll always get the fastest rate available. On the most efficient vehicles, like a Model 3 Long Range, Tesla expects they'll get 75 miles of charge in 5 minutes, and add range at a rate of 1,000 miles per hour. It claims that V3 Supercharging "enables our vehicles to charge faster than any other electric vehicle on the market today." That is, at least until vehicles supporting 350kW charging, like Porsche's Taycan and Audi's E-Tron SUV hit the market.
Read MoreHarley-Davidson has been teasing environmentally conscious bikers with its electric LiveWire motorcycle since 2014. Now, with the bike set to ship this fall, the company has revised its original specs. At the Geneva Motor Show this week, Harley announced that LiveWire will go 30 miles farther than we initially thought.
Read MoreAlphabet subsidiary Waymo announced today that it is going to let companies use its powerful sensor technology for purposes other than self-driving vehicles. It will start by selling one of its lidars: a 3D perimeter sensor that can measure distance by sending out pulses of laser light called the Laser Bear Honeycomb. The sensor, which will only be available to select partners of Waymo, is typically used on the bumpers of autonomous vehicles.
Read MoreThe great thing about concept cars is that automakers can just shoot for the stars when it comes to features. The Nissan IMQ concept unveiled at the Geneva Motor show is a good example of promising a lot of stuff in a car while simultaneously plotting the course for the future.
Read MoreYour next visit to Las Vegas might include a peek at the possible future of transportation. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has recommended choosing Elon Musk's The Boring Company to develop an underground tunnel loop that would use autonomous electric vehicles to shuttle people around the city's Convention Center (aka the LVCC). A proposed expansion (below) would include a much larger loop that would cover much of the Strip, McCarran International Airport and Las Vegas Stadium.
Read MoreTesla's Shanghai-based Gigafactory could have its assembly plant ready as soon as May and its production line operational by the end of the year, according to Reuters. The news service reports that a Shanghai city government official made the comments "on the sidelines" of an annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing this week, although no further details were given.
Read MoreGone are the days when racing sports simply involved cars hurtling around a track as fast as possible. Now, there are eye-watering volumes of data being processed every second, providing deep metrics and guidance on everything from tire pressure to traction control. This kind of intel was once the sole domain of racing drivers and pit stop crews, but now tire brand Pirelli has unveiled a system that'll give civilian track day goers the same kind of insight.
Read MoreNissan just reached an important milestone in electric car history -- though it likely won't be alone for long. The Leaf has become the first EV to top 400,000 sales, crossing that mark slightly over eight years since its December 2010 debut. Demand has been accelerating over that period too, The company was celebrating 200,000 sales back in December 2015. In other words, roughly half of all Leaf owners bought their car in the past three years.
Read MoreNearly a year after one of Uber's autonomous SUVs struck and killed a pedestrian, Elaine Herzberg, Arizona prosecutors said they did not find the company criminally liable in the incident. Reuters published parts of the letter from Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk. The collision video, as it displays, likely does not accurately depict the events that occurred. The case was referred from Maricopa County, where it occurred, due to a conflict. Uber has not commented on the letter, however the prosecutor's office has referred the case back to Maricopa County's office to see if the back-up driver -- who was apparently streaming Hulu at the time -- will face charges. NHTSA and the NTSB are still investigating the crash, even as Uber has resumed some testing.
Read MoreAdd Polestar to the ranks of automotive brands that are basing their car experiences around your phone. The company has launched a Polestar Explore app for Android and iOS as part of a larger strategy to handle virtually everything from your phone. You can read about the Polestar 2, configure it, pre-order it and eventually buy or subscribe to it without having to visit a website or (gasp) show up at a retail location. And when your phone can also serve as a key, you're effectively set -- you might not need physical interactions besides tapping on your phone's glass or grabbing your car's door handle.
Read MoreJeep isn't exactly synonymous with eco-friendly cars, but it's bent on changing that reputation. The 4x4 maker has unveiled plug-in hybrid versions of the 2020 Compass (below) and Renegade (above) crossover SUVs. Both meld a 1.3-liter conventional turbo engine with an electric motor to deliver both more power and, of course, a lower environmental footprint. They can pump out up to 240HP when both powerplants are engaged, hitting 62MPH in about 7 seconds, but they can also drive for up to 31 miles solely on electric power. You could commute emissions-free in the city while still having plenty of range and raw grunt for your off-road excursions.
Read MoreUniversities have proven solid training grounds for self-driving shuttles in Michigan and Melbourne. Now, a campus in Singapore is set to test a full-sized autonomous bus from Volvo. The Swedish auto-maker's single-deck 7900 electric vehicle will carry up to 80 passengers at a time from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
Read MoreHonda is coming to the Geneva Motor Show with more than just a pre-production electric car on its hands. The automaker has announced intentions to make all of its European car sales "electrified" (that is, hybrid or pure EV) by 2025 -- a big step up from the goal it set in 2017, when it expected 66 percent by 2025. The transition to electric powerplants has "gathered pace considerably" since two years ago, Honda's Tom Gardner said. The company pointed to its full hybrid tech (such as the two-motor system in the CR-V Hybrid) as a major factor on top of all-electric machines like the e Prototype.
Read MoreMitsubishi just unveiled the burly Engelberg Tourer concept with a plug-in electric hybrid drivetrain. It boasts an all-electric range of 43 miles, making it a practical daily driver that can carry a lot of cargo, thanks to the size and very boxy shape. It's backed up by a 2.4 liter gas engine, making it practical for long trips or heading out to the ski lodge.
Read MoreAston Martin dropped a hat-trick of announcements today, confirming work on three new vehicles: the Vanquish Vision Concept (codenamed AM9), the AM-RB 003 hypercar and the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept. The Vanquish Vision Concept -- which revives the Vanquish name -- has been in production for two years. Its arrival marks the first time Aston has put a mid-engine model into series production (which is slated for 2022). The twin-turbocharged engine's capacity is as-yet unspecified, but is likely to be around 3.0 liters, given the size of similar engines from other carmakers.
Read MoreAston Martin's Lagonda luxury brand will form part of the company's move to EV and hybrid only vehicles by the mid-2020s. A year after relaunching the premium marque with the Lagonda Vision saloon, the British automaker is back at Geneva to show off its new SUV concept. The Lagonda All-Terrain is an all-electric vehicle that will go into production in 2022 at a new facility in Wales.
Read MoreSubaru has unveiled the hybrid Viziv Adrenaline, a rough-and-tumble concept car that could be a preview of its next Crosstrek. It's a smallish SUV with protective plastic cladding at the corners and styling that's a bit more outlandish than its past concepts. It's mostly a styling exercise meant to show us what it might do next, and could presage future EV or plug-in hybrid crossovers.
Read MoreHonda's adorable e Prototype first appeared two years ago at the Frankfurt motor show. In Geneva, the automaker unveiled a closer-to-production prototype that still has the spirit of the original concept car and announced that in addition to starting production by the end of 2019, the automaker would also be taking reservations for the tiny car.
Read MoreBMW has unveiled its latest plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) vehicles at the Geneva Motor Show, including the first ever PHEV version of its small crossover, the X3 xDrive30e. That model will go about 31 miles on electrons alone, enough to go around town without burning any gas. If you want to do the latter, and go quickly while doing it, the four-cylinder gas engine produces 244 horsepower, with another 40 on top if when you marry the gas and electric motors.
Read MoreKia threw around words like "emotion" and "surprise" to describe its latest concept EV, but the first thing I felt when seeing it was "confusion." On the outside, "Imagine by Kia" is a handsome, muscular C-class crossover that, if anything, is a bit conservative for a concept car. Inside, however, the interior fried my brain with its faceted seats, mirrored surface and bizarre array of 21 angled screens on the dashboard.
Read MoreA single passenger EV is a good way to reduce your carbon footprint. But if you really want to make a difference, you go with a vehicle that transports a lot of humans around. That's what Mercedes is doing with its Concept EQV. a high-end van for moving lots of folks at once.
Read MoreAudi impressed us with the E-Tron SUV. It wowed us with the E-Tron GT and now it's hoping that its third EV will turn just as many heads. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, the new Q4 E-Tron Concept takes the formula of the automaker's electric EV and shrinks it down a bit. The vehicle has an expected range of 280 miles and will probably compete with the Tesla Model Y more than the Model X. The automaker also announced an augmented reality HUD that project images so they look like they're 12 meters ahead of the vehicle. Sadly, they didn't have a demo of the system. Once it goes into production around the end of 2020, this crossover will be the first Audi where owners can customize their headlight startup signature.
Read MoreMercedes-Benz said it would participate in Formula E this year, and now you know what it'll bring to the track. The tri-star badge has unveiled its first racer for the all-electric league, the EQ Silver Arrow 01 (no real relation to the Silver Arrow concept), and it's clear it will at least be competitive. The machine will pump out up to 340HP during qualifiers and in FanBoost mode (272HP in normal racing, 306HP in attack mode), and hit 62MPH in a brisk 2.8 seconds. There's a 52kWh battery to keep it humming throughout the entire race.
Read MoreSince November, Uber users in nine US cities have been able to earn points and claim incentives through the company's loyalty program, Uber Rewards. Now, customers across the country can earn the ability to, say, jump the line of people waiting for rides home from the airport, which may frustrate everyone else just enough to get them to sign up.
Read MoreDoes it make sense? No it doesn't. Do we love it? Yes we do. The ID Beach Buggy concept is the kind of car you wanted as a kid and by the time you grew up, they didn't make them anymore. Sure you can hunt one down and spend years restoring it, but sadly life has a way of ruining those plans. But you can live vicariously through this EV concept that would take you to the beach without spewing pollutants into the sky.
Read MoreAs it promised last year, Pininfarina is taking on Rimac with the Battista, a 1900 horsepower/2,300 nm (1,700 ft-pound) hypercar EV that the company calls "the most powerful road-legal car ever designed and built in Italy." Suffice to say, this car will be quick, with a top speed of "over 350 km/h" (217 MPH) and a zero to 62 mph time of "under 2 seconds." Though the target market might not care much, it will have a 120 kWh battery that'll give it about 450 km (279 miles) of range.
Read MoreThe Geneva Motor Show is about to begin and this year the focus will be electrification. From Audi to Volkswagen, the halls of the Palexpo will be filled the future of passenger transportation.
Read MoreVolvo is nothing if not safety-conscious, and it's making clear that speed is one of its greatest concerns. The Swedish brand is limiting the top speed on all its cars to 112MPH starting with the 2021 model year. Safety technology and city infrastructure isn't enough to prevent injuries at high speeds, Volvo said. The lower limits would both address this gap and encourage better driver behavior. On top of this, it hinted at using technology to restrict speeds.
Read MoreAmerican safety officials are looking into the circumstances surrounding another fatal Tesla crash. Both the NTSB and the NHTSA have confirmed that they're investigating a collision between a Model 3 and a semi truck in Delray Beach, Florida on March 1st. According to the police report, the truck was turning left to enter a main thoroughfare when the Model 3 crashed into the semi's trailer, shearing off the car's roof and killing the driver. It's not certain if Autopilot was active, although the Model 3 kept traveling for more than 500 yards before coming to a stop.
Read MoreTesla is following up a very busy February with an even more hectic March. Elon Musk has announced that his brand will unveil the long-promised Model Y crossover at the LA Design Studio on March 14th. On top of that, you can expect the first "v3.0" Supercharger station to switch on March 6th at 8PM Pacific. Musk didn't provide more clues beyond that, but you might already have an idea as to what to expect.
Read MoreFor many would-be electric car buyers, slow charging is frequently a major obstacle -- even Porsche's promise of 15 minutes for 250 miles is agonizingly long when you're in a hurry to get home from work. The upstart brand Piëch (created by Toni Piëch, a descendant of VW's Ferdinand Piëch) might just eliminate that hurdle with its just-unveiled Mark Zero. The electric sports coupe uses "special" battery cells that can handle high currents without a risk of overheating, allowing it to reach an 80 percent charge in an extremely speedy four minutes and 40 seconds. It might not take much longer to top up your EV than it would to fill the gas tank in a conventional car.
Read MoreHow Arrivo got Colorado to back a wild-eyed highway scheme Aaron Gordon, Wired Futuristic transportation company Arrivo, cofounded by Brogan BamBrogan and Andrew Liu, sold Colorado Department of Transportation on a plan to build a system that would move pods and cars on sleds at hundreds of miles an hour along the medians of the state's highways. The company said it could do so without Hyperloop-esque vacuum tubes. It never happened. In fact, the project never really started. No feasibility study. No proof of concept. And then Arrivo shutdown at the end of 2018 due to a lack of funding with a lot of unanswered questions.
Read MoreSelf-driving car companies are quickly coming to grips with some hard financial realities. Sources talking to The Information claim Drive.ai, one of the few companies operating autonomous shuttles, is looking for buyers. It's reportedly shopping itself around to "bigger rivals" and hired an investment bank as an advisor. There's nothing definite, and Drive.ai might opt to raise money if there's no sale, but it's notable that the company might be on the market less than a year after it deployed its first self-driving vans.
Read MoreTesla's across-the-board price drops have been helpful for new car buyers, but painful for veteran owners who just watched their EV's value plunge. There's some consolation, however: Tesla is lowering the prices of its autonomy upgrades. Anyone who bought a vehicle before the price drops can buy the Autopilot upgrade for $2,000 after delivery, or half as much as before, while springing for the Full Self-Driving pack on top of that costs $3,000 instead of the earlier $7,000. You're saving about $6,000 if you go all-in, Tesla said.
Read MoreIn addition to opening orders for the $35,000 Model 3 yesterday, Tesla also made sweeping changes to how it sells cars that will shut down many of its showrooms. But, it also announced that it was working on solving one of the pain points many owners come up against: the service center.
Read MoreLyft has revealed its financial details for the first time as it prepares for an initial public offering. Like rival Uber, it first filed the paperwork confidentially in December, and now its S-1 is public through the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lyft lost $911 million in 2018, but doubled revenue to $2.1 billion from 2017. It had $8.1 billion in bookings over the year, up from $4.6 billion in 2017. Lyft didn't state how much it's looking to raise in the IPO -- it left a placeholder figure of $100 million in the filing. It plans to go public on Nasdaq under the "LYFT" ticket symbol.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. And then it was March. Tesla closed February with an electric-vehicle announcement we've been waiting for, and Mat Smith offers some opinions for you to choose from on foldable phones.
Read MoreTesla just made its high-end vehicles more reasonably priced for potential buyers. In addition to launching the long-awaited $35,000 Model 3, the automaker has also slashed the prices of its higher-end Model S and Model X configurations. The long-range Model S and Model X vehicles now cost $83,000 and $88,000, respectively, down from $96,000 before savings. That makes the long-range Model S just $4,000 more expensive than the base version, despite having a range that's 65 miles longer and a top speed that's 15mph faster.
Read MoreNow that the Atari VCS team has once again delayed its retro console to give it more powerful innards, it's ready to show what that redesign looks like. The developers have unveiled what they say is the "production-ready" system design, and it pays even more of an ode to the Atari 2600 than before. The main body now floats above the base like the 2600 did, and addresses multiple "practical considerations" in the process. To start, two of the USB ports are now front-facing -- it's much easier to plug in a controller or keyboard.
Read MoreWelcome back to Engadget's Gaming IRL, a monthly segment where we run down what our editors are playing. And basically, we've been dying a lot in Apex Legends. We're also catching up with Spider-Man on the PlayStation 4, and Just Cause 3 from 2015. There's no shame in bringing up older games -- I bet we've all got a mighty large backlog to work through. We'd also love to know what you've been playing, shout out in the comments below!
Read MoreLast year Sega showed off its own miniaturized retro console to join Nintendo and Sony, but unfortunately it was delayed. Now the company announced during this year's Sega Fest that the Genesis Mini / Mega Drive Mini will launch in the US and Japan on September 19th. It appears this console will feature different localized versions of certain games. Among the 40 games it will have, the company confirmed (at least in Japan) classics like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Shining Force, Gunstar Heroes and Comix Zone, Space Harrier II, Puyo Puyo 2, Rent-a-Hero, Castlevania Bloodlines and Powerball.
Read MoreThe line between esports and other competitions continues to blur, and the latest sign is a new show from ESPN that's about to air. College Esports Championship: Countdown will run every week, starting tonight at 9 PM ET. It's all leading up to the very first ESPN Collegiate Esports Championship (CEC) in May, as various schools compete in Overwatch, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Hearthstone, StarCraft II and Heroes of the Storm. Viewers can watch on ESPN3, as well as Twitch, YouTube and Twitter. The show will be hosted by Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez and LeTigress, as they cover the week's collegiate esports action and its growing presence on campuses. It's not quite the March Madness you're used to, but who knows, maybe one day students will be standing behind esports commentators holding weird signs supporting their university. A YouTube stream for the show is embedded below.
Read MoreTyler Barriss was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a US district court judge today for placing fake 911 calls, including a swatting incident in 2017 that resulted in the death of a man in Wichita, Kansas, according to the Associated Press. The fatal shooting was the fallout of an argument over a $1.50 bet in Call of Duty between Barriss and another gamer.
Read MoreSega isn't stopping the international release of Judgment despite halting Japanese sales over a voice actor's arrest for cocaine use. The company has confirmed that Ryu Ga Gotoku's PS4 legal drama is still coming to the West (including the US and UK) on June 25th, and has posted a trailer to match. The character voiced by Pierre Taki in Japan (Kyohei Hamura) is still present in the new clip, but he isn't as prominent as he was the first time around.
Read MoreIt's been a long journey, but we're finally here: the last episode in Telltale's Walking Dead video game series. When the studio folded in September last year, we weren't sure if Clementine's story would ever be completed. But thanks to Skybound Games -- a company owned by Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman -- and some former Telltale employees, it's done. Finito. Case closed. The choose-your-own-adventure series has come a long way since its premiere in April 2012. We've lost lead characters and watched the world slowly descend into anarchy. Back in reality, meanwhile, we've seen a once-beloved game studio rise, overextend and fall. Here, two of Engadget's editors reflect on The Walking Dead and its West Coast creators.
Read MoreAfter several teasers over the last few weeks, Gearbox Software officially revealed Borderlands 3 at Pax East. The first trailer reveals the long-awaited sequel will include over a billion guns (including some with legs), plenty of familiar faces (such as a saxophone-playing Brick and Tiny Tina) and some new characters. It also showcases a number of locations, including a swamp, desert and city full of highrise buildings, as well as plenty of enemies for you to take down.
Read MoreOriginally set for last fall, Bethesda's Elder Scrolls: Blades mobile game is finally playable in early access on iOS and Android. Bethesda says it's sending out email invites in "waves" and you can still sign up to get one if you forgot the first time round in June, when it was announced at E3.
Read MoreThe official unveiling for Borderlands 3 is a mere day away as we write this, but that isn't stopping Gearbox from trying to further whet your appetite. The studio has posted a "Mask of Mayhem" teaser trailer that whips around a giant static scene that raises as many questions as it answers. The clip shows multiple new personalities among likely returning characters like Brick, Claptrap, Moxxi and Tiny Tina. More importantly, there are loads of cryptic clues -- you'll want to pause the video many times to catch everything.
Read MoreYou might have felt like you had cutting-edge moves when you boogied through Dance Central -- thanks to the Kinect -- on Xbox 360, or when you downloaded it on your Kinect-less Xbox One. But soon, you'll be able to tear it up in virtual reality. Harmonix is bringing Dance Central to VR this spring. It'll be available on Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S, and it's set to be a launch title on the forthcoming Oculus Quest.
Read MoreBethesda has been mostly tight-lipped about Wolfenstein: Youngblood since unveiling it at E3 last year, but it's not holding back now. The publisher has revealed that its co-op anti-Nazi shooter will debut July 26th on PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One. You play as BJ Blazkowicz's daughters Jess and Soph (either with a friend or an AI substitute) as they track down their missing dad in an alternate history Nazi-occupied Paris circa 1980. The new story trailer (below) makes clear that there's plenty of the modern series' over-the-top action, although there's also a bit of mystery involved -- it's now clear that BJ doesn't want to be found, and that he's up to something big.
Read MoreJust months after Activision laid off 8 percent of its workforce, EA is the latest AAA games publisher to announce its own job cuts. The company behind FIFA and recent blockbuster Apex Legends is letting 350 people go (roughly 4 percent of its workforce) from marketing, publishing and other areas, according to an internal email obtained by Kotaku. Those affected have reportedly been aware of looming layoffs since October and will be given severance. EA boss Andrew Wilson said in the email that the move would streamline decision-making in the affected departments and improve customer support.
Read MoreGameStop is getting into esports. The company announced today that it is partnering with esports organization Complexity Gaming to open up the GameStop Performance Center in Frisco, Texas. The 11,000 square foot venue will serve as Complexity Gaming's new headquarters and will host public events designed to help amateurs get into esports and help gamers connect with one another.
Read MoreThere aren't many great H.P. Lovecraft-inspired games, let alone ones that venture outside of Lovecraft's time period, but Rock Pocket Games and Funcom think can do both at once. They've announced Moons of Madness, a "cosmic horror" game that blends Mars exploration with Lovecraftian supernatural elements and at least a few cues from Dead Space. You assume the role of a technician at a Mars base who grapples with failing systems, a missing EVA team and strange visions, all of which ties into a strange signal emanating from the planet. You're fighting both against very real (and appropriately tentacled) enemies as well as your own possible insanity.
Read MoreThe story of Final Fantasy XV comes to an untimely end on Tuesday with the release of its first and final DLC, "Episode Ardyn." The game follows Ardyn Lucis Caelum, the mysterious antagonist of Final Fantasy XV, during an era before main protagonist Noctis was even born. Players will learn what first drove Ardyn to seek revenge against the Lucian throne, setting the groundwork for the entire series.
Read MoreThe Lord of the Rings universe just keeps on expanding. Even though the original blockbuster trilogy finished up 16 years ago, and the subsequent Hobbit films sort of bombed, entertainment giants think there's still mileage in the franchise. Amazon has announced a forthcoming TV series, and now Daedalic has revealed it's working on a new game, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.
Read MoreIn between launching a range of outlandish pink products and affordable accessories so far this year, Razer made the surprising move of abandoning its online game store and mobile team. The latter, in particular, is an awkward move after two generations of Razer Phones, while the likes of ASUS, Xiaomi, Nubia and Vivo are capitalizing on the rapidly growing mobile gaming market. Never one to admit defeat, CEO Min-Liang Tan said this was just part of his company's evolving mobile gaming strategy, with its focus shifted to software as the industry transitions to 5G.
Read MoreOne surprise announcement coming out of today's Vive Ecosystem Conference in Shenzhen is HTC's Streamlink, an in-house VR app that lets your PC-powered or standalone Vive headset -- like the new Vive Focus Plus -- receive HDMI signal from any USB video capture card -- some of which can be bought for as low as $65 per piece in China, according to an HTC rep. There are many potential use cases here, of course, but HTC is specifically pitching this as a new way of playing games on your consoles -- namely PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One S -- as well as watching videos from your set-top box.
Read MoreNo Man's Sky studio Hello Games has rolled out a steady stream of updates to take its stargazing simulator from "cautionary indie tale" to "Best Ongoing Game award nominee" in just two years. No Man's Sky is a sprawling exploration of the universe and a near-infinite number of its planets, filled with crafting, digging, flying, building and hodgepodge creatures of all kinds. And, soon, it'll all be in VR.
Read MoreOne of the most iconic cyberpunk games of the '90s and early-2000s, a point-and-click adventure called Beneath a Steel Sky, is finally getting a follow-up. Beyond a Steel Sky will hit Apple Arcade later this year, coming directly from original creators Charles Cecil and Dave Gibbons. Gibbons is a legendary graphic-novel artist best known for collaborating with Alan Moore on Watchmen, while Cecil is a co-founder of Broken Sword and Beneath a Steel Sky studio, Revolution Software.
Read MoreThe Overwatch League's Philadelphia Fusion will build a $50 million esports arena to host its matches and is expected to be playing in the new building by early 2021. The 3,500 seat arena will be notable as it's the first dedicated, purpose-built stadium for esports in the Western Hemisphere. (By comparison, the esports arena in Arlington, TX was a repurposed section of the city's convention center.) Comcast, which owns the Philadelphia Fusion, plans to break ground on the 47-acre site this summer. The Fusion Arena will be located in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which is already home to the city's NFL, NBA, NHL, and NCAA teams.
Read MoreNow that GDC 2019 has wrapped, it's time to take a quick look back at all the week's gaming news you might have missed.
Read MoreBlizzard has been waging a war against toxic players for a while, but how is it faring, exactly? Quite well, it seems. The company's Natasha Miller has revealed that the number of matches with "negative behavior" has dropped 40 percent since the addition of endorsements, the "looking for group" feature and penalties for prematurely quitting matches. Players were not only encouraged to play as a team and stick through the entirety of matches, but could find teammates who were more likely to complement their skills and gameplay styles.
Read MoreNow that Battlefield V's long-promised battle royale mode is nearly here, how else are DICE and EA going to keep you interested? By moving the action halfway around the world, apparently. The developers have posted an updated roadmap teasing a fifth chapter in fall 2019 that might be set in the Pacific. While the team isn't directly sharing details beyond the hints of "all-out invasion" in a brand new theater, the title ("Awakening the Giant") says a lot. PC Gamer points out that Japan's Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was concerned the Pearl Harbor attack "awaken[ed] a sleeping giant" by dragging the US directly into the conflict. Don't be surprised if BFV has you island-hopping as the US first reels from the Japanese assault and eventually turns the tables.
Read MoreDICE and EA are determined to keep Star Wars Battlefront II fresh a year after the loot box fiasco effectively came to an end. They're releasing an update on March 26th that introduces Capital Supremacy, a Clone Wars-era mode that includes AI characters for the first time in competitive Battlefront II matches. Two teams of 20 human players, each augmented by 12 computer-guided troopers, will race to invade each other's spaceships. It's a complex, multi-stage mode that could lead to prolonged fights if there are any big upsets.
Read MoreAlan Wake and Max Payne studio Remedy Entertainment has revealed when its latest game, the mysterious, atmospheric Control, will arrive. It'll land on PS4, Xbox One and PC (through the Epic Games Store) August 27th.
Read MoreIn the wake of seemingly endless teases and leaks, DICE and EA are ready to show gameplay from Battlefield V's imminent Firestorm battle royale mode. True to the scoops, it's not quite a cookie-cutter BR experience. While you'll have familiar mechanics like dropping into the arena, an ever shrinking circle and varying gear quality, you can also complete objectives (such as contestable resupply points) and unlock safes to score better equipment. Get knocked down and you'll still have a pistol to defend yourself, so enemies take a risk if they come to finish you off.
Read MoreGameStop announced today that it is naming George Sherman as its new chief executive officer. The former head of Verizon retailer Victra has served as an executive at Advance Auto Parts, Best Buy Services, Home Depot and Target. He'll be charged with overseeing a changing business model for the brick and mortar game retailer that has been in financial trouble in recent years.
Read MoreBig fun sometimes comes in small packages. Hamsterdam from Muse Games is one such example.
Read MoreA short film that premiered at GDC highlights the photorealism potential of Unreal Engine, and it would be easy to assume Rebirth is a live-action short given how life-like it looks. The video depicts an atmospheric environment full of craggy rocks, hills and fog, along with an imposing, industrial structure. We then see a futuristic car speeding across the landscape towards the building.
Read MoreIt's been one year since Sea of Thieves set sail, and to celebrate, developer Rare is releasing an anniversary update that brings new story adventures, a new trading company, a new competitive mode, various world improvements and fishing, because every pirate needs some quiet downtime amid the plundering.
Read MoreThe final season of Telltale's The Walking Dead series will come to an end next week, when the fourth and last episode is released by TWD creator Robert Kirkman's Skybound Games. When Telltale Games virtually shut down and laid off everyone working on the project any release of the game's finale seemed in doubt, but then Skybound announced plans to complete the series with participation from "many of the talented, passionate team members" who originally worked on it. For players, they'll be able to end Clementine's story leading a community of lost children fighting through a world infested with zombies. After years of following along it will hopefully be a satisfying ending, despite everything that transpired at the game's studio and its impact on developers. There's a brief trailer that shouldn't give away too much about the story, but you can play it yourself on March 26th when its released on Xbox One, PS4, Switch and on PC via the Epic Games Store.
Read MoreRockstar Games announced today its plans for ongoing improvements to Red Dead Online, the multiplayer component of Red Dead Redemption 2. In an update set for later this spring, the developer plans to introduce a new play style system that will let gamers choose between an offensive mode with few limitations on player interaction and a defensive mode focused on exploring the in-game world.
Read MoreEverybody wants to rule the world, even AI-controlled alien robots. And in Speaking Simulator from Affable Games, you absolutely can -- you'll just first have to convince the rest of humanity to let you.
Read MoreThere hasn't been a Lucasfilm Games-badged release since before 1991's Monkey Island 2, but that isn't stopping Disney from resurrecting the classic label. The company recently posted several job listings for producers and marketers under the Lucasfilm Games badge, all of whom would oversee the development of games based on "Lucasfilm IP" like Star Wars. The team plans to support a wide range of platforms that could include living room consoles, PCs, smartphones and "AR/VR platforms."
Read MoreWhen Tim Sweeney built ZZT in 1991, he didn't know how to program graphics. Instead of coding actual characters and objects into his game, he used text symbols, and the main character was simply a smiley face trailing across the screen. "That included both a game goal, and just running through levels and shooting monsters," Sweeney told Engadget at the Game Developers Conference. "It also included an editor so everybody could build their own levels."
Read MoreWhen the Duffer Brothers said Stranger Things 3: The Game would tie in with the third season of the Netflix series, they weren't kidding. Bonus XP's suitably retro beat-em-up is due to launch on the Switch (and most likely other platforms) on July 4th, or the same day Stranger Things 3 is available to stream. The title has you playing one of 12 protagonists from the series and battling through events from the show, including the Starcourt Mall that has been at the center of Netflix's teasers from day one.
Read MoreKonami is celebrating its 50th birthday with three new compilations based on Castlevania, Contra and its early arcade games, each available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC (via Steam).
Read MoreOverwatch has a new entrant: support medic Baptiste. After a couple of months of battle-testing on the game's public server, the newbie is now live with the latest patch. Not only does the Haitian add a dose of diversity to the online shooter, but he also brings his own unique loadout and skill set, including a three-round burst gun that doubles as a long-distance healing device for protecting allies. Baptiste also packs some rugged kicks that let him leap over obstacles and the ability to generate an immortality field to protect nearby teammates.
Read MoreBioWare may be racing to fix Anthem after its bumpy launch, but it doesn't have to worry quite so much about its bottom line. NPD Group data shows that the shared-world shooter was the top-selling game in the US in February, and the second strongest game for 2019 up to that point (Kingdom Hearts III is the year's current champion). Moreover, this was the second best launch month for a BioWare game, falling only behind Mass Effect 3's debut in 2012.
Read MoreAnthem has had a rough launch, and no one is more aware of the issues than developer BioWare. In a candid blog post, company general manager Casey Hudson acknowledged the early run has been "rougher than expected" and said the team is "very disappointed" with the number of issues plaguing the title. Despite the problems, BioWare is offering reassurances to gamers that BioWare will continue to support and improve the game.
Read MoreApex Legends season 1 is now underway, and beyond the updates previously Respawn had revealed would be included in today's patch (including a new character, balance changes and character hitbox fixes), it revealed 499,937 accounts have been banned for cheating so far. You'll have a better way to report cheating and abuse, which you can do from the spectate view after your character dies or from the Squad tab.
Read MoreGoogle is getting into game streaming. The company today revealed Stadia, the evolution of its efforts to make digital, on-demand video games reliable and viable. It'll be available this year in the US, Canada, the UK and Europe. Google dropped the news during an hour-long showcase at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Read MoreGoogle is planning to reveal its "vision for the future of gaming" at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) later today, where it seems we'll finally get a look at the company's long-rumored streaming project. Likened to a "Netflix for games," Project Stream will allow players to stream a huge number of AAA games on their PC or laptop for a set monthly fee.
Read MoreHalf-Life 2 writer Chet Faliszek and Riot Games veteran Dr. Kimberly Voll are launching a new game studio with a focus on co-op titles. Dubbed Stray Bombay, the venture will leverage Voll's AI prowess to power "not just enemies but...the entire experience," according to the duo's new blog post. Faliszek, meanwhile, will tap into his wealth of work for Valve's co-op titles like Portal 2 and the Left 4 Dead series.
Read MoreTonight at the Game Developers Conference, Warren Spector showed off a "pre-alpha" glimpse of System Shock 3 that's being developed using the Unity engine. Naturally, the SHODAN AI is back and up to no good, but there's very little else to go on in terms of detail. Spector spoke during the Unity press conference and discussed how its technology helped the team create a world full of "robots, mutants and the dead" that impresses feelings of fear, horror and dread upon the player. It's carefully using "intense, focused light" to help achieve the right look, press play and see if they've got it right so far.
Read MoreLate last year Tencent and Activision started testing an Android mobile version of Call of Duty, and today at GDC, announced that the game will start a beta test soon that's available in regions including Europe as well as North and South America. Call of Duty: Mobile maintains the look and feel of the game's performance on at least Xbox 360 and PS3-era hardware, plus it promises familiar maps from previous entries like Black Ops and Modern Warfare. The mobile version is a free-to-play title focused on competitive multiplayer matches in modes like Search-and-Destroy, Team Deathmatch and free for all. There's no word on exactly when the beta test will start on both iOS and Android, but interested players can sign up for access on the official site here, and check out a brief trailer below.
Read MoreThe nostalgic Atari VCS console has been delayed yet again, but at least this time you're getting more for your money. The creators have pushed back the system's launch to the end of 2019 in return for an upgrade to an as yet unannounced embedded AMD Ryzen chip, complete with Vega-based graphics. It'll offer more power for games, of course, but it'll also pull off feats you might not expect in a retro box, like native 4K video playback and support for protected streaming video services like Netflix.
Read MoreApex Legends has exploded in popularity since the battle royale game arrived last month, and EA and Respawn aren't wasting much time in making the first seasonal Battle Pass available. The Wild Frontier pass arrives March 19th for 950 Apex Coins ($9.50). If you buy it, you'll unlock three themed character skins immediately, for Lifeline, Wraith and Mirage. You can earn more than 100 additional rewards each time you level up, including weapon skins, banner frames and XP boosts.
Read MoreBeat Saber is practically a mandatory game for any VR platform worth its salt, and Oculus knows it. The company has announced that Beat Games' rhythm title will be available for the Oculus Quest when the headset launches this spring. There aren't any mentions of new features for the slice-and-poke music title, but the Quest's self-contained design might be enough of a plus by itself. You won't have to worry about tripping over wires just because your performance was enthusiastic.
Read MoreActivision Blizzard is apparently making headway with the launch of the city-based Call of Duty League it announced in February. According to ESPN, an esports executive from the company has already been meeting with prospective buyers -- namely professional CoD teams and Overwatch League owners -- to talk business and tell them that the franchise fee will cost them a whopping $25 million per team slot. That puts its franchise fee in the same price range as the Overwatch League, which also cost the first batch of owners $20 million per team. ESPN says the company later sold expansion slots for between $30 to $60 million.
Read MoreThe Overwatch League is going on the road next season, as all teams will be playing in their home cities, according to commissioner Nate Nanzer. Last year's inaugural season took place entirely at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, save for the finals, which were held in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In 2019, a few "homestand" events will take place with teams competing in Dallas, Atlanta and LA (at a different venue).
Read MoreCompetition in the gaming gear space might just heat up -- Turtle Beach, best known for its gaming headsets, is buying game accessory maker Roccat for $14.8 million. The company isn't shy about its plans. It's snapping up Roccat to add keyboards, mice and other gaming peripherals to its catalog in a bid to create a "$100 million PC gaming accessories business." Both sides are betting this will help them expand into regions where they're historically weak. You'll be more likely to see Roccat gear in North America, for example.
Read MoreEA is moving deeper into competitive gaming territory by opening an eSports broadcast studio. There are two main studios: the competitive area and a player lounge. The former includes 360-degree sets, spectator cameras and media and audience seating. The player lounge is styled like a New York loft and is kitted out with robotic cameras and directional microphones. The facility also has a control room, a green screen area and a four-person analyst desk.
Read MoreAfter failing to live up to the hype, No Man's Sky was in danger of becoming a cautionary tale for game developers. But a series of improvements, each more impressive than the last, culminating in the massive Next update released last August, have gone some way in assuaging players' regrets. Now Hello Games is readying its next chapter, Beyond, available as a free download this summer. It essentially bundles three planned updates into one larger release, according to the studio, including the first part announced today, No Man's Sky Online.
Read MoreAfter months of waiting, Battlefield V's long-promised (but conspicuously absent) battle royale mode is nearly here. DICE and EA plan to make Firestorm available on March 25th to all players, and they've shed more light on what the mode will involve in a reveal trailer (below). The 64-player experience will take place on the largest Battlefield map to date, Halvoy, and will grant access to some rather unusual advantages if you complete objectives. Apparently, a farm tractor carrying artillery is one of your options. You can also expect helicopters, tanks and one-time perks like V-1 strikes.
Read MoreYou're probably not going to get Left 4 Dead 3 any time soon, but you might get the next best thing. Original developer Turtle Rock Studios and Warner Bros. have announced Back 4 Blood, a team-based zombie shooter that aims to modernize the L4D concept with "new features and state-of-the-art technology." The game is so early that there isn't even a logo for it yet, but Turtle Rock said in an FAQ that it will be a "premium, AAA title" initially designed for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Read MoreHTC is nearly ready to launch its unlimited Viveport Infinity service after months of teasing. The VR subscription tier is launching on April 2nd for $13 per month or $99 per year, and will offer more than 600 apps and games for both Vive headsets and Oculus Rift. Your access will also carry over to stand-alone headsets based on Vive's Wave platform. You'll also get perks such as a revised Viveport Video app, monthly 10 percent discount coupons and the occasional freebie.
Read MoreIt's no secret that EA paid top streamers to promote (and to some extent, influence) Apex Legends, but how much did those streamers make? In one case, it might have been quite a lot. A Reuters source claimed that EA paid Ninja (aka Tyler Blevins) a cool $1 million to play the game on February 5th. He might not have been obligated to play for long, either. An EA spokesperson told Kotaku that any streamed gameplay after "midday" on February 5th was "completely organic" -- that is, they wanted to keep playing.
Read MoreBaptiste, the Haitian combat medic who grew up an orphan, will make his Overwatch debut next week. The game announced on Twitter that Baptiste would be coming out on March 19th. Last month, we learned some details about Baptiste in a revealing trailer and letter, and he's been playable on the game's public test server ever since.
Read MoreThe developers of Hyper Light Drifter have introduced their second game, and it's about as strange as you'd expect... if not more so. Heart Machine has offered a brief peek at Solar Ash Kingdom, a game that blends a "surreal" world, "massive enemy encounters" and, importantly, "wild high-speed traversal." From all indications, it's like rollerblading on acid -- we hope you like gliding effortlessly through the clouds on your way to attack giant eye creatures.
Read MoreIf you're an '80s or '90s kid, you might remember searching the globe for the evil villainess Carmen Sandiego and her fleet of henchmen. You'd follow clues (from what was likely your first PC) based on foreign currencies, flags, languages and landmarks to track the international menace -- all without leaving your family's "computer room." Now, Google Earth is reviving the search with a series of Carmen Sandiego games.
Read MoreThe man who pioneered the battle royale sensation is moving on from the game that bears his name. Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene is leaving PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds to work on a new division within PUBG Corp. He's moving to Amsterdam from Seoul to lead PUBG Special Projects, though still retains some ties to his namesake game, on which he'll be a consulting creative director.
Read MoreSega has halted the sales of Yakuza spin-off Judgment in Japan after Pierre Taki, one of its actors, was arrested on suspicion of using cocaine. Taki voiced and served as the model for a yakuza named Kyohei Hamura in the game, which was released in its native country as Judge Eyes for the PS4 in December. According to The Mainichi, his urine sample tested positive for cocaine and he also later admitted to using a small quantity.
Read MoreYes, an honest-to-goodness Borderlands sequel (not a pre-sequel) appears to be on the horizon. Gearbox has posted a teaser for what's likely to be the Borderlands 3 reveal at PAX East on March 28th. It doesn't say much about the game, but there's not much mystery here -- not when it features Borderlands' signature cell-shaded art and a "3" at the top.
Read MoreFor years, the idea of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gamers teaming up and shooting enemies together was just a pipe dream. Walled gardens and exclusives meant picking a side and dealing with the consequences. However, thanks to the popularity of games like Fortnite, those multiplayer lobbies are now a much more accepting place. The battle royale shooter opened up last year, allowing players to find friends on other platforms and drop together. Now, Epic Games going one step further and automatically forcing PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players to fight one another every time they board the Battle Bus.
Read MoreWe may not know when the new Harry Potter mobile game is coming, but we do have an inkling of what it'll be like when it arrives. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will focus on the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, hunting out and capturing rogue creatures, people and objects that have escaped from the wizarding world. You, as a new recruit to the team, will be tasked with protecting the muggle world from these calamities as they crop up.
Read MoreNext week The Division 2 arrives on PC, PS4 and Xbox (exactly when will vary based on what edition you've purchased and where you live -- there are multiple charts), and like many other games, it will bring a substantial "Day One" download with it. As a connected loot shooter, you won't be playing this one offline while waiting, and disc buyers on PC, Xbox One and PS4 can expect a download of between 48GB - 52GB to get everything in place. One page on Ubisoft's website indicates that PS4 players will be burdened with a 90GB download, but that appears to be an error -- 90GB to 100GB is just the amount of free space the game needs to install fulls on Sony's system.
Read MoreApparently, Square Enix doesn't believe Octopath Traveler is mobile enough. The developer has unveiled plans to bring the well-received Switch RPG to Android and iOS devices, in the form of a prequel, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. It'll preserve the signature mix of 3D environments with retro-style 2D characters, just with touchscreen-friendly controls. The team isn't shedding much light on the plot, but you'll play a 'Chosen One' who'll fight a horrific evil that has "fortune, power and fame."
Read MoreNext week, Pokémon Go will experiment with a new feature: lunch hour raid battles. On March 13, from 12pm to 1pm in your local time zone, Pokémon Go will increase the number of raids. If the one-day trial run goes well, lunchtime brawls might become a regular part of the game.
Read MoreWhen E3 kicks off later this year, Electronic Arts will be seen but not heard. The company announced today that it will be forgoing its standard press conference at the event. Instead, EA will be focused on EA Play, its annual showcase that will kick off Friday, June 7th -- a couple of days before E3 opens its doors on June 11th.
Read MoreIt's the stuff of nightmares. You're looted out of your mind, there are only two squads left standing, and you get double-tapped from the other side of the world by a Wingman-wielding Pathfinder. Well, you can sleep soundly now sweet Lifeline, because the first Apex Legends balance patch has dropped and the inevitable has occurred: The Wingman's been nerfed. Specifically, the pistol's maximum rate of fire has been reduced, and the Skullpiercer attachment doesn't increase headshot damage by quite the same degree anymore. Also, when firing wildly from the hip in moments of sheer panic, the Wingman is less accurate and bullet spread takes longer to settle after your frantic volley (assuming you won the firefight in the first place).
Read MoreYou've gotta pay your dues in shooter game Anthem. Like Destiny 2 and Warframe, you get ahead with tireless grinding, repeatedly working through the same missions to get your hands on better guns and better loot. So a recently-discovered bug is threatening the entire gameplay. As player YeetLordSurpreme revealed yesterday, the game's level 1 rifle is actually the strongest weapon in the entire Anthem universe -- and developer BioWare has confirmed the whoopsie.
Read MoreTelemundo Deportes has launched the first ever Spanish-language esports streaming channel in the US, showing just how big professional gaming competitions have become these past years. The programming division in charge of NBCUniversal's Spanish-language sports events and magazine programs will livestream competitions and and playthroughs on both YouTube and Twitch. It will kick off its competition coverage with the EA Sports FIFA19 FUT Champions Cup that will take place on April 5th to 7th, followed by the next events in the Global Series' lineup until the grand finals this summer.
Read MoreH1Z1 got somewhat left behind as rival battle royale games like Fortnite, Apex Legends and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds exploded in popularity over the last year or so. Its player numbers dwindled and the H1Z1 Pro League didn't even finish its first season due to a lack of interest. Back in September, a different development team took over as Daybreak Game Company revealed the title would be renamed Z1 Battle Royale (or Z1BR). The rebranding is now official as of today, as a wealth of updates arrive in a major patch.
Read MoreApex Legends has grown its player base at lightning speed since it appeared almost out of the blue in February, citing 50 million players after just over a month since release. It's not much of surprise, then, that livestreaming platform Mixer has just added it to its HypeZone, a dynamic stream that showcases the players mere moments away from achieving victory in different games, which includes the likes of Fortnite, PUBG and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Read MoreNot satisfied with the swashbuckling adventures of Fortnite Season 8? Epic Games has you covered. As part of its first update to the game since things kicked off last week, the company will put you on the hunt for secret pirate bounties thanks to a new item: treasure maps.
Read MoreNumerous games have offered behind-the-scenes footage that shows how cutscenes came to be. But what if you could play the entire game that way? Capcom, at least, is willing to give that a shot. When Devil May Cry 5 launches on March 8th, the Deluxe Edition will include an option to watch the live action footage used to visualize cutscenes before the CG comes into play. In essence, it's like watching a low-rent, sweded version of Devil May Cry -- action figures, cardboard trucks and simple costumes fill in for the usual digital wizardry.
Read MoreBungie is ready to debut the first season of Destiny 2 since the studio announced its split with Activision, and it's not a major break with convention -- though it might give you a reason to come back, even if you haven't played for a while. The Season of the Drifter is beginning March 5th with a focus on both the mysterious figure's signature Gambit mode as well as his background, particularly his connection to the enigmatic Nine that have persisted since the original Destiny.
Read MoreApex Legends might not be growing at quite the breakneck pace it enjoyed during its first week, but it's still climbing at a very healthy rate. Respawn and EA have confirmed that the battle royale shooter now has more than 50 million total players worldwide after just over a month since the surprise release. They haven't revealed the number of simultaneous players, but its first weekend saw upward of 2 million people playing at the same time.
Read MoreWeezer's latest stab at relevance is an island in Fortnite that features songs from their new record, The Black Album. Players can visit "Weezer World" by jumping into the game's Minecraft-style Creative mode. The island itself is modelled after a theme park, with Weezer's massive logo at the entrance and playable mini-games scattered throughout.
Read MoreGoogle has a habit of introducing goodies on April Fools that last long after the gags are over, and that isn't changing for 2019. The company has added a Snake game to Google Maps that lets you play the classic title themed around major cities. You'll play as an ever-growing double decker bus snapping up passengers in London, for example, while you'll play as a cable car in San Francisco or a commuter train in Tokyo. You can also choose a "world" map if you'd rather gobble things up on a planetary scale.
Read MoreUntil now, you've had to use Chrome to sign into your Google account with a security key. You won't have to be quite so choosy going forward, though. Google has transitioned to using the new Web Authentication standard for hardware-based sign-ins, making your key useful in Firefox, Edge and other browsers that rely on the format. That could be particularly helpful if you want to check your Gmail on an unfamiliar PC and would rather not install Chrome or punch in a password.
Read MoreIn case you were wondering what's next in smart displays and hubs, the Google Store may have revealed the answer. As Android Police points out, a (now-removed) interactive graphic on the store's connected home page listed all the smart devices we're accustomed to along the top, however clicking on the Home Hub brought up details for something else: a "Nest Hub Max." According to the description, it has a 10-inch HD screen, a built-in Nest camera with motion and sound alerts as well as stereo speakers.
Read MoreGoogle is making it easier to capture clear photographs of receipts and other documents. Following on from the AI-powered suggested actions feature unveiled out last year, which automatically brightens and rotates images, the company is this week launching a new crop and adjust function for snaps of printed items and text-heavy pages.
Read MoreToday, Google signed a memorandum with Cuba's telecom monopoly ETECSA to create a cost-free connection between the two networks. Doing so will boost Cuba's internet speeds, but this peering agreement comes with a catch. Cuba will first need to install a new undersea fiber-optic cable to physically connect its network with a Google "point of presence." And that could take years.
Read MoreA device codenamed "Atlas" has long been rumored as the Pixelbook's successor, especially since (as 9to5Google noted) it's being built by the same manufacturer. But if these recent video leaks truly feature the laptop, then Atlas might not be a Made by Google Chromebook at all. About Chromebooks has unearthed the videos from within the Chromium Bug Tracker, and they show a device that doesn't look anywhere like Google's premium offering.
Read MoreGoogle is expanding its Taiwan operations, which is already its largest R&D base in Asia after acquiring HTC's Pixel team. The tech giant has announced that it's establishing a new and bigger campus in New Taipei City, so it can double the size of its team. It will serve as Google's new engineering HQ in the country and as home to its hardware projects once the company starts moving employees to the new location by the end of 2020. The company will also hire hundreds more employees -- it says it's putting special emphasis on encouraging women to apply for technology roles -- to work in the campus throughout this year.
Read MoreGoogle didn't completely scrap its robotic dreams after it sold off Boston Dynamics and shuttered the other robotic start-ups it acquired over the past decade. Now, the tech giant has given us a glimpse of how the program has changed in a blog post and a New York Times report. With the Boston Dynamics team at its disposal, Google's robotics program focused on machines designed to move and look like us -- humanoid robots like BD's Atlas. The new lab called "Robotics at Google," however, focuses more on software: more precisely, in using machine learning to develop robots useful in the real world.
Read MoreGoogle just made it easier to lock down your account if you're a G Suite user. The internet giant is trotting out a series of updates for two-step verification, starting with the interface itself. You'll see new instructions text and images to walk you through the process of setting up a security key, and the flow for that process now changes depending on the browser you're using. You'll get an experience unique to Chrome or Safari, for instance.
Read MoreGoogle and newspaper publishing company McClatchy announced a new partnership that will aim to develop sustainable business models for local news publications. As part of the ongoing Google News Initiative, the companies will be teaming up to create the Compass Experiment, which will provide local news coverage to three mid-sized communities in the US that currently suffer from a dearth of sources of information.
Read MoreGoogle is finally ready to bring its fast-loading AMP tech to Gmail after more than a year of testing. Now widely available on the web, "dynamic email" (as Google calls it) gives you web-based interactions that would normally require opening your browser. You can fill out forms, reply to Google Docs comments or even browse catalogs, among other things. It also ensures that you get the latest version of content, so you can get the latest product listings or social network recommendations without needing a follow-up message.
Read MoreYou might soon have an easy way to let Google Maps users know when you're hosting a big get-together. Android Police has discovered that Google is quietly giving at least some Android users the option to create public events. If you have it, you can go to the Contribute tab and create a party, a meet-up or another public gathering, complete with optional descriptions, categories and web links.
Read MorePhil Harrison won't budge. As a vice president and general manager at Google, he's spent the past 15 minutes explaining why Stadia, the company's freshly announced game-streaming service, will actually work on the existing internet infrastructure across North America and Europe. He's focused on the investments Google has made over the past 20 years in cloud networks, talking up the company's 7,500 server nodes, custom CPUs and partnerships with major internet service providers.
Read MoreThere's a good chance we'll remember Google's Stadia announcement as a landmark moment in gaming. In one fell swoop, Google laid out its plans for an ambitious game-streaming service that goes far beyond anything we've ever seen before. Stadia promises unparalleled graphical power, near-instant access and the ability to play the latest titles on almost any screen. As Google's announcement went on, the future came into focus -- a world where the frustration of modern consoles didn't exist and games flowed as freely as water.
Read MoreGoogle has created its first ever AI-powered Doodle to celebrate Johann Sebastian Bach's birthday, and it can turn your tunes into masterpieces in the Baroque composer's style. Starting on March 21st, you'll be able to play with the interactive Doodle, which will prompt you to compose a two-measure melody or pick one of the pre-existing choices. When you press the "Harmonize" button, it will use machine learning to give you a version of your melody that sounds like it was composed by Bach himself.
Read MoreThe European Commission has fined google €1.49 billion ($1.69 billion) over what it calls "abusive practices in online advertising." That's on top of the $5 billion and $2.4 billion fines it slapped on the search giant in 2018 and 2017. Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Google "shielded itself from competitive pressure" via exclusive advertising contracts with publishers. Google did this mainly through its AdSense service, which dominated 70 percent of the market in Europe over a 10 year period.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. We finally have a name and a few details for Google's new gaming service, and Samsung's Galaxy Fold has made an unexpected appearance on YouTube. Plus, Netflix's April release schedule is all laid out, and Nathan Ingraham has an opinion about the new iPad Air.
Read MoreAfter the European Commission slapped Google with a $5 billion fine for antitrust violations, the tech giant has been trying to keep its practices in check. Its latest move? To ensure that European users know they can install and use browsers and search engines other than Chrome and Google. The tech giant will start asking both current and new users in the region their preferred browser and search applications. While Android users can download almost any app they want, the company is likely doing this to show the EU its "continued commitment to operating in an open and principled way." Perhaps in an effort to avoid any more fines in the future.
Read MoreEarlier today at GDC 2019, Google officially revealed Stadia, a game-streaming service that will be available later this year in US, Canada, the UK and Europe. There's a lot Google didn't cover -- like pricing and an exact launch date -- but the company did show off a custom-built controller for the service that has a dedicated button for Google Assistant. It also demoed fancy style transfer tech that can use AI to change the look of a game in real time. Don't rely on my terse summary though, we've condensed all the highlights down to a 14-minute clip to get you caught up in a flash. And be sure to follow all of the latest news from GDC in San Francisco right here.
Read MoreGoogle's Stadia game streaming service isn't just using the cloud to make games playable anywhere -- it's also using the technology for some clever artistic tricks. A Style Transfer feature uses machine learning to apply art styles to the game world in real time, turning even a drab landscape into a colorful display. If you'd like to play in a realm that resembles Van Gogh's Starry Night, you can.
Read MoreGoogle is backing up its new Stadia game streaming service with some honest-to-goodness hardware -- but not a box. The internet giant has unveiled a gamepad built with Stadia in mind, and it borrows a few cues from its earlier design patent. The wireless gamepad connects over WiFi, not Bluetooth, giving it access to the internet, and makes use of that through its dedicated buttons. You can press a "capture" button to save and share gaming moments, while a Google Assistant button can provide help when you're stuck.
Read MoreGoogle+ isn't the only Mountain View property that's getting the axe on April 2nd. Apparently, the Inbox app is also bidding its users farewell on the same day. The tech giant first revealed that it's going to discontinue its smarter take on email late last year, but it didn't say when specifically. Now, Google has started notifying users that Inbox will be going away in 15 days (from March 18th) through a screen that pops up when they fire up the app.
Read MoreGoogle has added some of the most requested Tasks features in an effort to make it the "one destination to track what you need to do in G Suite." When you create or edit a task from within Calendar on the web -- you need to activate Tasks for Calendar for the option to show up on the side menu -- you'll see a new field marked "Add date/time" to set a reminder and indicate its recurrence.
Read MoreGoogle has something big to celebrate for Pi Day this year: one of its teams has broken the Guinness World Record for the most accurate value of pi. Emma Haruka Iwao and her colleagues used the power of cloud computing to calculate for 31,415,926,535,897 digits of pi. That's 9 trillion digits more than the previous record and a whole novel longer than the 3.14 value most of us know. To accomplish that task, Iwao had to run a pi-benchmark application called y-cruncher on 25 Google Cloud virtual machines for 121 days.
Read MoreGoogle's Spotlight Stories is no more. The VR studio's executive producer, Karen Dufilho, has sent out an email to announce that the division is shutting down. Stories started as a partnership between Google and Motorola as a way to create 360-degree videos for mobile. Eventually, it created interactive content for the tech giant's Daydream VR headset, though you can also watch them on a computer via YouTube.
Read MoreHidden in the most recent version of Chrome is the ability to change its default search engine to a more privacy-friendly option. With the release of Chrome 73, Google has quietly introduced DuckDuckGo as a preferred search option in more than 60 markets including the United States and the United Kingdom.
Read MoreIf you're one of the few mobile gamers who actually spend money on in-app purchases, you might begin to see fewer ads. While developers make most of their money with advertising, in some cases, ads hurt in-app purchases by disrupting the gameplay of cash-flush gamers. Now, Google is using machine learning to only show ads to players who aren't likely to spend money on in-game purchases. This will spare big spenders the interruption.
Read MoreGoogle is taking steps to address one of the most commonly-cited smartwatch complaints: battery life. In a bid to increase the time between charges (which at this juncture is usually two days max), Google Fit's latest update will come with a battery-saving low power GPS mode.
Read MoreGoogle is turning to the brains behind Assassin's Creed ahead of its gaming debut later this month. Jade Raymond, who clocked in over a decade at Ubisoft, has been appointed vice president by the tech giant. "I'm excited to finally be able to share that I have joined Google as VP!" she tweeted on Tuesday. It's currently unclear what she will work on at the company.
Read MoreGoogle's Lookout is now finally available for download, though it's only compatible with Pixel devices in the US set to English at the moment. The application was first announced at Google's annual I/O Conference in 2018 and was designed to help the blind and visually impaired navigate their surroundings. It comes with three modes: Explore, Shopping and Quick Read. Explore, its default mode, gives users audio cues about their environment, telling them if there's a chair or a cute dog blocking the way, for instance.
Read MoreYou can now dictate your texts with Google's Gboard keyboard even when you're offline, at least if you use a Pixel. Google's AI team announced that it updated the Gboard's speech recognizer to recognize characters one-by-one as they're spoken, and it is now hosted directly on the device. By no longer having to send data over the internet, Gboard's voice typing should now be faster and more reliable. Google explained in a blog post that it wanted to create a speech recognizer that was "compact enough to reside on a phone" and wouldn't be derailed by unreliable WiFi or mobile networks.
Read MoreAlphabet offshoot Jigsaw is launching a Chrome extension designed to help moderate toxic comments on social media. The new open-source tool, dubbed "Tune," builds on the machine learning smarts introduced in Jigsaw's "Perpesctive" tech to help sites like Facebook and Twitter set the "volume" of abusive comments. Using "filter mix" controls, users can either turn toxic comments off altogether (what's known as "zen mode") or show selective types of posts containing attacks, insults, or profanity. Tune also works with Reddit, YouTube and Disqus.
Read MoreGoogle announced last year that it's shutting down Allo, its smart messaging app, in March 2019. Apparently, the time is now. A banner across Allo's official website clearly states that the app is saying goodbye on March 12th, and you'll have to export your chats if you don't want them to vanish into the ether. Allo's Help page says you can download your conversations and all the photos, videos and files in them by going into Chat under Settings. All your messages will be saved as a CSV file, while your media will be downloaded as a zip package.
Read MoreGoogle's handling of sexual misconduct by executives is coming under more scrutiny thanks to new details emerging from a shareholder lawsuit. Investors have claimed Google chief Larry Page granted Android creator Andy Rubin a $150 million stock grant without seeking approval of the board first, even though Rubin was under an investigation at the time. Page instead got "rubber stamp" approval eight days after the fact, according to the suit. It's not certain if he was aware of the investigation.
Read MoreIf Google ever makes hardware to go along with its rumored game streaming service, you might have an idea as to how it will work. Yanko Design has spotted a recently published Google patent application for an internet-connected game controller that would be independent of any one host device. It could receive notifications for chat, play invitations and other content, and could launch the relevant app on any relevant device -- you could jump into a multiplayer match on your tablet if the TV is in use, for instance.
Read MoreGoogle is rolling out "continued conversation" to smart displays over the next few days, the company has confirmed to Android Central. The tech giant launched the feature for smart speakers last year in an effort to make conversations with Assistant feel more natural. It gives you a way to ask the voice AI follow-up questions without having to say "Hey, Google" over and over again. Now, that capability is coming to all Assistant-powered smart displays in the US set to English, including Google Home Hub and Lenovo Smart Clock.
Read MoreYouTube is launching new information panel that will appear when users search for controversial topics. The text boxes will appear at the top of search results and will offer fact checks from verified partners to help combat the spread of misinformation. For now the feature is launching first in India and will be available in Hindi and English, but will be coming to other regions and languages in the future. YouTube confirmed the feature to Engadget.
Read MoreUntil now, you've had to visit a uBreakiFix location to get your Pixel 3 fixed in an official capacity. That's helpful if you're nearby, but an absolute pain if your phone breaks and you'd rather not risk voiding the warranty. After today, you can relax -- Google has finally given Pixel 3 owners the option to send their devices to its mail-in repair center. While it could take up to 10 days to receive your phone, it beats having to turn to third parties.
Read MoreIf you've played a mobile game, you've likely had the option to pay for access to a higher level or purchased some kind of in-game currency. Or, you might have watched an ad in exchange for those benefits at no cost. Today, Google Play launched Rewarded Products, an easier way for Android developers to offer gamers free perks (think: advanced levels or coins) in exchange for "monetizable action," like watching ads.
Read MoreGmail's Smart Compose has been widely available on the desktop for a while, but it's been quite limited in the mobile world. Unless you happen to have a Pixel 3, you've been out of luck if you've wanted Gmail to help write your messages. Thankfully, Google is casting its net much wider. Android Police has discovered that Smart Compose is rolling out to other devices, including third-party phones like the Galaxy S9+ and OnePlus 6T. Engadget can attest to the expanding hardware support, as you can see on the Essential Phone above.
Read MoreYou can ask Google Assistant to make a restaurant reservation over the phone for you in 43 states as of today, as Google is bringing its Duplex automated voice-calling tech to more Pixel phones. It was previously available to a small number of Pixel owners in a few cities.
Read MoreToday, Google released TensorFlow Privacy, an open-source tool that will help keep your data anonymous, even as AI learns from it. The now-public code is based on differential privacy. That's what allows Gmail's Smart Reply to guess what you're going to say by collecting data from other people's emails, and at the same time, keeps Smart Reply from revealing any juicy secrets people have typed before.
Read MoreGoogle has teamed up with European research organization CERN to create an augmented reality application that walks you through the Big Bang. And the icing on the cake? It features soothing narration by Tilda Swinton. The app will take you on a 360-degree journey that starts with the birth of the universe followed the formation of the first stars, our solar system and our planet.
Read MoreGoogle has kept its education initiatives, ranging from Chromebooks for schools to teaching software, within the confines of the classroom. But it's now branching out with a consumer-facing learning app in India. "Bolo" (Hindi for "speak") is essentially a reading assistant for elementary school children that harnesses Google's speech recognition and text-to-speech smarts.
Read MoreGoogle is borrowing a few cues from Instagram and Pinterest to encourage more shopping in its search results. The internet giant is testing shoppable ads within image searches -- find a picture of your ideal desk and you can tap a shopping tag button to see basic details as well as a link to buy it. This only applies to sponsored ads, thankfully, so you don't have to worry about ads covering the images you want to see.
Read MoreGoogle will ban all political ads in Canada ahead of the country's federal election this year, the company told The Globe and Mail. Back in December, the Canadian government passed a bill that would require online platforms to keep a record of all the political and partisan ads they publish directly or indirectly during election season. Google asked officials to amend parts of the bill before it passed, warning them that they would be too difficult to comply with.
Read MoreLast year, Google's parent company Alphabet announced Chronicle, a cybersecurity division spun out of X (previously Google X). Now, Chronicle has launched its first commercial product -- a global telemetry platform called Backstory. According to Chronicle, it's a bit like Google Photos, but for business network security.
Read MoreIn a surprising contrast with typical pay disparity situations, Google found it was paying men less than women working in similar roles in 2018. In particular, Level 4 Software Engineers who identified as men "received less discretionary funds than women," Google said.
Read MoreStarting this week, you'll be able to use Google Maps to locate Lime scooters, bikes and e-bikes in more than 80 cities. In a trial-run that began last December, the app gave transit users a Lime option, but it was limited to 13 cities. By the looks of this expansion, the test-run went well.
Read MoreApp store curators frequently have to walk a fine line when deciding what to ban, and Google is proof positive of this. The internet giant told California Rep. Jackie Speier that it wouldn't ban Saudi Arabia's Absher app from Google Play despite calls from Speier and other members of Congress to remove it. The mobile software lets Saudi men control and track travel permissions for women and migrant workers, leading to an outcry that Google and Apple were promoting "sixteenth century tyranny." However, Google determined that Absher didn't violate its agreements and could remain on the store.
Read MoreSamsung has revealed its Notebook 9 Pen and Notebook 9 Pro will go on sale this Sunday, March 17th. The 2-in-1 Pen, as the name suggests, comes with an S Pen and has an aluminum body that's just under 1.5 centimeters thick on the 13.3" model. There are also versions with a 15-inch screen. The 13.3-inch model weighs 2.47 pounds and the larger versions start at 3.28 pounds. Samsung claims the device offers up to 15 hours of use on a single charge.
Read MoreHP is expanding its recall of laptop and mobile workstation batteries because of concerns over "fire and burn hazards." HP actually announced the broader recall in January, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission didn't post it on its website until this week because of the government shutdown.
Read MoreFacebook has signaled some openness to regulations, but it's making things clearer this weekend. Mark Zuckerberg has posted an editorial floating four ideas for regulating the internet, including approaches that could apply worldwide. To begin with, he believed that governments should set "baselines" for online content and require filtering to minimize the chances of vile content reaching the platform. Facebook shouldn't make too many decisions about speech by itself, Zuckerberg said, and planned an independent moderation committee to match.
Read MoreFacebook's Aquila wasn't the company's only experimental project meant to boost slow mobile internet speeds. According to a Business Insider report, the social network also explored the use of fixed-wing bird-size drones to provide people in remote locations the capability to stream data-intensive content such as videos and photos. The project called Catalina started sometime in 2017 and shut down after Aquila did in mid-2018. It was named after the California island, which used to rely on pigeons to carry messages to the mainland and back. In fact, Facebook called Catalina's pseudo-internet "pigeonet," though the drones were apparently closer in size to sparrows.
Read MoreDon't read Mark Zuckerberg's posts if you're trying to revisit Facebook's biggest moments. The social network told Business Insider that it "mistakenly deleted" some of Zuckerberg's posts a few years ago "due to technical errors," including every post he wrote between 2007 and 2008. It didn't try to bring them back because the work would have been "extensive" and was "not guaranteed to be successful," according to a spokesperson.
Read MoreFacebook will broadcast live Major League Baseball games once again this season. However, it will offer far fewer games than last year. Under the latest one-year deal, Facebook will stream six non-exclusive games on Watch, one per month during the regular season. That's a big step down from the 25 exclusive games Facebook aired last year.
Read MoreOn the same day that Facebook announced it was banning white nationalism from its platforms, journalists obtained a lengthy email chain involving Instagram's content moderators, highlighting their struggle to crack down on anti-Semitism.
Read MoreIn an effort to prevent foreign interference yet again, Facebook is rolling out more stringent advertising rules in the EU ahead of the European Parliamentary elections. Similar to previous election rules enforced in the US and other locations, anyone who wants to buy political ads in the region must be authorized to run them. Facebook will require them to submit documents proving their identity and will also conduct technical checks to confirm their location, as well as to prevent bad actors from tricking the company. In addition, all political ads in the EU will be labeled with a "Paid for by" disclosure, so voters can clearly see who bought the ad and what their contact details are.
Read MoreThe Department of Housing and Urban Development has charged Facebook with violating the Fair Housing Act. It says the company encouraged, enabled and caused housing discrimination through ad targeting. The charge follows a complaint the department filed against Facebook in August.
Read MoreFacebook is banning white nationalism and separatism material from its platform and Instagram as of next week, following a prior ban on white supremacy. It will prohibit praise, support and representation of the ideologies, including specific phrases such as "I am a proud white nationalist" and "Immigration is tearing this country apart; white separatism is the only answer," as Motherboard first reported.
Read MoreFacebook's war against shady accounts isn't about to slow down. The social site has pulled 2,632 accounts, groups and accounts for conducting "coordinated inauthentic behavior" across Facebook and Instagram. The perpetrators were linked to Russia, Iran, Macedonia and Kosovo, although Facebook stressed that it didn't find connections between each activity besides similar tactics.
Read MoreFacebook rushed to pull down footage of the New Zealand mass shooter's video from its platform, but it didn't start doing so until after the live broadcast was done. In a new post, Facebook VP of Integrity Guy Rosen discussed the company's successes and shortcomings in addressing the situation, as well as its plans to prevent videos like that from spreading on the social network in the future.
Read MoreFacebook is already under regulatory scrutiny in the US, but it could be subject to much more pressure if one House representative has his way. Antitrust subcommittee chairman Rep. David Cicilline has written an editorial in the New York Times calling on the FTC to investigate Facebook for potential antitrust violations. He's concerned that the social network not only leveraged its power to collect and share data through questionable means, but tried to "obstruct" overseers and "smear" critics while simultaneously engaging in "denial, hollow promises and apology campaigns" that accomplished little.
Read MoreFacebook has settled the lawsuit accusing the company of violating housing discrimination law through its ad system, and it's making changes to reduce the chances of future issues with housing ads and beyond. Marketers who want to run ads for credit, employment or housing will no longer have options to target using age, gender or ZIP code. They'll also have a "much smaller" range of categories to use in the first place, and won't have access to "detailed" targeting that relates to protected social classes. As a user, you'll eventually have access to a tool to search for housing ads targeted at locations across the US, even if you wouldn't normally see them.
Read MoreFacebook says a total of 4,000 people viewed the New Zealand mosque shooter's livestream before it was taken down. Less than 200 people were watching during the assailant's live broadcast, according to the social network, none of who reported it. Facebook says the first user report came in 29 minutes after the 17-minute live video started, which was 12 minutes after the livestream ended. The stats form part of Facebook's latest update detailing its ongoing response to the sharing of NZ shooting posts. They reveal the small scale reach of the original broadcast but, as we know, that ultimately didn't stop it from being widely circulated around the web.
Read MoreFacebook has never said when its execs learned about Cambridge Analytica's misuse of data, but The Guardian might have some insights. Its sources claim Facebook board member Marc Andreessen met Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie back in the summer of 2016, well before the scandal became public. Reportedly, the meeting in Andreessen's office was established to understand just how Cambridge Analytica was using the data and how Facebook could solve it. It's not clear who else was present, but the discussion apparently included Cambridge Analytica's "contacts with Russian entities."
Read MoreFacebook is introducing new revenge porn detection tools that use AI to track down intimate images shared without the subject's consent. It claims machine learning can help it to detect near nude images and videos before a user reports them. A human moderator then reviews the flagged content, removing it if it violates Community Standards. Sharing revenge porn will almost certainly result in Facebook banning the account it originated from, said the company, though an appeals process is available in case of incorrect takedowns.
Read MoreIn a note today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the departures of two high-ranking executives. Chris Cox was the company's chief product officer and had been with Facebook for 13 years, while Chris Daniels took over operations of Whatsapp last May after running its Internet.org initiative. Now both are departing, at the same time Zuckerberg leads the company toward his vision of a unified, encrypted platform that he claims will focus on privacy. Cox appeared to reference those plans in a post about his exit, saying: As Mark has outlined, we are turning a new page in our product direction, focused on an encrypted, interoperable, messaging network. It's a product vision attuned to the subject matter of today: a modern communications platform that balances expression, safety, security, and privacy. This will be a big project and we will need leaders who are excited to see the new direction through. As Zuckerberg describes it, no one will immediately take over Cox's role. Will Cathcart will move from running the Facebook app to leading Whatsapp, while Fidji Simo will take over for Cathcart. Meanwhile, former VP of growth Javier Olivan will lead the effort to integrate its services. The plan appears to be the development of a "privacy" (whose privacy that is remains unclear) walled garden users won't want to leave, and this shuffle at the top reflects how Zuckerberg will make it happen. As the CEO said in closing: This is an important change as we begin the next chapter of our work building the privacy-focused social foundation for the future. I'm deeply grateful for everything Chris Cox and Chris Daniels have done here, and I'm looking forward to working with Will and Fidji in their new roles as well as everyone who will be critical to achieving this vision.
Read MoreFacebook announced today that it is introducing a dedicated "Facebook Gaming" tab to help gamers find the content they're looking for on the platform. The tab will be available in the main navigation bar in Facebook's app. The feature is getting a slow rollout, starting with a portion of the 700 million people who Facebook claims interact with gaming content each month. The navigation option will start appearing for more gamers on Facebook over time.
Read MoreInvestigations into Facebook's data handling keep piling up. The New York Times has learned that federal prosecutors are in the midst of a criminal investigation into the data deals Facebook arranged with tech companies. It's not known when the investigation began or just what the focus is, but a New York grand jury reportedly used subpoenas to obtain records from two or more "prominent makers of smartphones." The deals included heavyweights like Apple, Microsoft and Sony.
Read MoreFacebook has restored Senator Elizabeth Warren's ads calling for people's support in her mission to break up tech giants after facing backlash for pulling them down. The social network seems to have backtracked after Politico reported on the takedown. A few days ago, the Senator accused Facebook, Google and Amazon of using their vast resources to snap up competition and tilting the playing field in their favor while using people's personal information. She laid out proposals designed to counter their influence, including reversing tech mergers like Facebook's and Instagram's.
Read MoreWith all the controversy surrounding Facebook right now, it's easy to forget that the company actually does plenty of good for people across the world. At SXSW 2019, Facebook's Art House hopes to show that with a 2,200 square foot mural, which will be gifted to the community in Austin, Texas. To make this happen, Facebook teamed up with non-profit organizations HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere), Out Youth, Yes Mentoring and Todos Juntos to commission 15 local artists and groups to create a large-scale piece that will live in downtown Austin for the next six months. They will be joined by members of Facebook Artists in Residence (AIR), a program Facebook founded to provide resources to artists and help them show off their work at the company's campuses.
Read MoreWhen your reputation is as shattered as Facebook's, all you can do is try to change course. And amid an ongoing crisis caused by its continuous disregard for protecting users' data, co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote a 3,000-word manifesto on his "privacy-focused vision" for the company. In it, the embattled Facebook chief detailed how he plans to take the social network into a new era by focusing on "simple, intimate places" where people can have private interactions and enjoy features such as end-to-end encryption. Additionally, Zuckerberg said Facebook will start reducing permanent content and offering better safety and secure data storage, though it's unclear when these changes are going to take place.
Read MoreFacebook announced today a new plan of action for combatting misinformation surrounding vaccinations. The social networking giant will start by reducing the ranking of groups and Pages that spread false information about vaccines so they appear less often in the Facebook News Feed. On Instagram, it will prevent anti-vaccination content from appearing on Instagram Explore and on hashtag pages.
Read MoreFacebook doesn't have a sterling reputation for privacy given its numerous data scandals, and Mark Zuckerberg wants to address it. In a reflection of what he said during a recent fiscal results call, the CEO outlined plans to rework more of Facebook's services around a "privacy-focused" approach over the next few years. This includes "simple, intimate" places where no one else can see your data, the use of end-to-end encryption, a reduced amount of permanent content, greater safety and secure data storage. Zuckerberg also vowed more interoperability between apps and networks.
Read MoreDays after Facebook Messenger's dark mode was outed on Reddit, the social network has made the update official for iOS and Android. For now, you can only enable it by sending the crescent moon emoji in an existing chat thread or new message. It's a clever ploy by Facebook to get users actively chatting -- instead of simply activating the mode via settings -- at a time when it's facing increased competition from rivals like TikTok. Messenger is also the first of Facebook's social apps (which span its eponymous social network, Instagram and WhatsApp) to officially get a dark theme. "Messenger's dark mode provides lower brightness while maintaining contrast and vibrancy," Facebook writes in its blog post. "Dark mode cuts down the glare from your phone for use in low light situations, so you can use the Messenger features you love no matter when or where you are." It's promising to make the feature accessible via the settings tab in the near future. Facebook first announced Dark Mode in October as part of the Messenger 4 update, which it said would roll out in phases. The overhaul primarily focussed on decluttering the app by reducing the amount of tabs from nine to three, including the Chats tab for all your conversations, the People tab where you can see who's online and the Discover tab for connecting you with businesses. Last month, Messenger also introduced the option to unsend messages during a 10-minute window.
Read MoreFacebook is quick to tout its efforts to thwart misinformation campaigns in major European countries and the US, but its approach in other countries might not be quite so enthusiastic. Developers in Moldova told BuzzFeed News that they'd been asking Facebook to address fake news and misinformation in the country for three years before it finally removed the offenders. The Moldovans said they used a browser add-on (Trolless) to generate a database of fake accounts and had been using the official reporting tool to draw attention to them since 2016, but didn't have any luck until they made direct contact with a Facebook employee in January 2019.
Read MoreFacebook has cracked down on companies churning out and peddling fake accounts. The social network has filed a lawsuit in US federal court against four companies and three individuals based in China, not only for promoting the sales of fake accounts, but also for offering fake likes and followers for a price. In its announcement, Facebook said the defendants' scheme encompasses several platforms and networks other than Facebook and Instagram, including Amazon, LinkedIn, Twitter, Apple and Google. The defendants were identified as electronics and hardware manufacturers, as well as software and online advertising service providers.
Read MoreDo you hate tech companies' forced attempts at humor on April Fools' Day? So does Microsoft. The Verge has learned that company marketing chief Chris Capossela told employees not to indulge in any public April Fools' Day gags through a company memo. Data suggested that these pranks not only have "limited positive impact" but can result in "unwanted news cycles," Capossela said -- to put it another way, they can frequently backfire.
Read MoreThe dream of the '90s was alive in Microsoft Teams this week when Microsoft's old office assistant, Clippy, showed up. If you used Microsoft Office between 1997 and 2001, you likely remember Clippy as the animated paperclip that popped up and offered tips for using the software. Microsoft did away with Clippy in 2001, so people were surprised to see Clippy stickers appear in Microsoft Teams this week. And they were even more surprised when, just a day later, Microsoft offed the little guy again.
Read MoreJust days after launching Windows Defender extensions for Chrome and Firefox, Microsoft is bringing its antivirus software to more platforms, starting with the Mac. Of course, it no longer makes sense to call it Windows Defender, so now it's Microsoft Defender.
Read MoreMicrosoft really, really wants you to know that Windows 7's security updates will end soon. A newly deployed update will warn users that Microsoft will stop providing security updates for the operating system after January 14th, 2020, with a not-so-subtle reminder that the software has been around for 10 years. The updates should start appearing on April 18th. The alert will be hard to miss when it arrives the first time, though you'll thankfully have the option of disabling future reminders.
Read MoreMicrosoft Teams, the company's Slack-like workplace collaboration tool, is celebrating its second birthday this week. What better time to unveil new features? Some seem truly innovative, like being able to choose the background you'd like to use during a video chat (maybe to hide the fact you're calling in from a coffee shop). And others, like private channels, really should have been there from the start. But what's clear is that Microsoft isn't giving up on this space: It still wants to change the way we work.
Read MoreMicrosoft has developed and started testing Windows Defender Application Guard extensions for both Chrome and Firefox to better protect enterprise PCs. The feature, which used to be an Edge exclusive, keeps PCs safe by opening web pages not included in administrators' trusted sites in a virtual container. That way, it can prevent attackers from gaining entry into the company's system if the website turns out to be malicious.
Read MoreSkype conference calls could be about to get a whole lot busier. Microsoft is planning to bump up the maximum number of group call participants from 25 to 50 (18 more than can fit into a Group FaceTime call). The audio and video buttons will be enabled for larger groups, so people can more easily mute their microphones or turn on/off their webcam.
Read MoreMicrosoft announced today that it has updated its Wireless Display app to add support for the Xbox One. The latest version of the app will allow gamers to stream PC titles from Steam and elsewhere directly to Microsoft's gaming console. The app also offers Xbox controller support so you'll be able to play the game with familiar controls.
Read MoreMicrosoft's computer vision app for the blind and poor-sighted, Seeing AI, just became more useful for those moments when you're less interested in navigating the world than learning about what's on your phone. The company has updated the iOS app with an option to explore photos by touching them. Tap your finger on an image and you'll hear a description of both the objects in that scene as well as their spatial relationship. You can get descriptions for photos taken through Seeing AI's Scene channel, but they'll also be available for pictures in your camera roll as well as other apps (through options menus).
Read MoreWhen Microsoft launched the "Your Phone" app last year, it gave users instant access to their mobile photos and text messages on Windows 10 PCs. And at its Surface launch last fall, it teased at something even better: mirroring and accessing your entire phone via your PC. With this week's Your Phone update, Windows Insiders will finally get to test the "phone screen" mirroring feature. So rather than reach for your phone to respond to a Snap, you'll be able to respond directly from your desktop.
Read MoreMicrosoft has become the first major cloud provider to open a data center in South Africa. Its two new Azure facilities in Cape Town and Johannesburg have been in the works since 2017, and while they were originally slated to go live in 2018, their arrival still pips other big players to the post -- Amazon plans to open a data center there in 2020, while Huawei announced back in November its intention to deliver on the continent later this year.
Read MoreIt's been over two years since Microsoft discontinued its Band fitness wearable and axed any future plans for it. Now, tech giant is putting the product line to rest: it's shutting down the Health Dashboard and pulling all Band apps from the iOS App Store, Google Play and the Microsoft Store on May 31st. It will also be deleting all the data users uploaded to the Health dashboard that day.
Read MoreThe initial 5G rollout in the US has been underwhelming, in part because those vaunted gigabit-class speeds have been nowhere to be found. AT&T, at least, is inching closer to that goal. The provider has declared that it's the first US telecom to top 1Gbps on a mobile 5G network, achieving the feat in "multiple cities" using Netgear's 5G hotspot. In an interview with PCMag, the company's Igal Elbaz described it as a virtue of improving software.
Read MoreAT&T has been accused of slapping a 5G label on top of what is effectively still a 4G LTE network, and now there appears to be some evidence to support that theory. According to a study conducted by OpenSignal, AT&T's so-called 5G E network offers similar speeds to LTE and actually clocked in just a tick slower than enhanced 4G services from Verizon and T-Mobile.
Read MoreT-Mobile is rolling out home internet service with an invitation-only trial starting today. It hopes to connect 50,000 homes in rural and underserved areas through the LTE program this year.
Read MoreNever mind the possibilities opened up by millimeter wave 5G and other many-gigahertz technologies -- the FCC is already thinking about the next generation beyond that. The Commission has voted unanimously in favor of creating a category of experimental licenses that range from 95GHz to a whopping 3THz -- effectively, the limits of usable wireless technology. The Spectrum Horizons order would let companies experiment with this ultra-high frequency tech for as long as 10 years, and would make it easier for them to sell real-world products while they're in that test phase.
Read MoreThe Federal Communications Commission issued a new proposal today designed to help first responders better locate 911 callers. The proposed rules would require cellular providers to provide more detailed locations of callers, including a vertical location that would make it possible to find out what floor of a multi-story building a caller is on. If approved, the requirements would go into effect starting in April 2021.
Read MoreVerizon is planning to bring 5G mobile service to at least 30 US cities this year, and now we know when it'll switch on the first parts of its new network. The provider (which owns Engadget's parent company, Verizon Media) will open up its 5G mobile network in Chicago and Minneapolis April 11th.
Read MoreAll the phones have been powered down here in Barcelona. Some have even been folded up to make the journey home. After a week's worth of flagships, foldables and 5G, we're departing MWC with a good idea of what the immediate future of phones looks like. We covered a lot of news over the last few days, and it's understandable if you didn't catch all of it. Here are the biggest stories from the show.
Read MoreCare.com is considered the go-to site for caregivers in the US, but it just faced a serious shakeup. The company has confirmed that it took down 46,594 daycare center listings (45 percent of the listings in its database) after a Wall Street Journal report found that hundreds of listings weren't actually state licensed as claimed. Some falsely claimed their licenses, while others either didn't exist or didn't know they were on the site in the first place.
Read MoreBaseball season is the best season, regardless of what summer tells you. So take a cue from the MLB's Korea marketing team, grab your glove and get ready for 162 games, that's 486 hours, of Great American Pastime. Of course, not everybody is into sportsball -- and that's fine -- we've got plenty of news of companies playing games of their own too.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to your weekend! The Sega Genesis and iPad Mini are back, AirPower is out and Valve has a lot of news to share. If you need to catch up on everything Apple announced then look no further. Also, we drifted in a Lamborghini this week. It just seemed worth mentioning again.
Read MoreA few weeks after Sinemia users reported their accounts were wrongfully terminated, the company is offering more details. Sinemia is sticking to its explanation that accounts were closed due to fraudulent activity or misuse. Now it says misuse could include using the Sinemia card to purchase concession stand items, using multiple Sinemia accounts on the same device or seeing the same movie more than three times -- a full list was provided to Engadget via email and is reproduced below.
Read MoreCanon is going up against Fujifilm with its first instant cameras, the IVY CLIQ and CLIQ+. You can save digital photos or load them up with 10 sheets of Zinc paper and print in 2x2- or 2x3-inch formats. The cameras pack built-in flashes and selfie mirrors, optical viewfinders, microSD card slots, USB charging and auto exposure/focus. They feature wide and relatively fast 25.4mm f/2.2 lenses.
Read MoreIn what should be its final vote on the matter, the European Parliament approved its new, highly controversial copyright rules. While the Copyright Directive is meant to empower creatives and news publishers, the rules are seen by many as over the top and a threat to freedom of expression. The directive has been debated since the EU first voted on it in 2016, and while the rules are now final, it's likely the debate will continue as the directive is handed down to member states.
Read MoreIn the end, we 'll be left with a system that can't work, run by a company that doesn't want it to work, and that won't protect the very people it's intended to protect.
Read MoreSony has announced a follow-up to its tiny rugged camera from 2017, the RX0, and it's just as tough and handy. The RX0 II has a 15.3-megapixel sensor and a Zeiss Tessar T 24mm F4 fixed wide-angle lens with a 20-cm minimum focus distance for scenic shots. It's very similar in size to its predecessor, with a 2.3in x 1.59in x 1.38in body that weighs just 132 grams. However, it's a lot more selfie-friendly, thanks to an adjustable LCD screen that can flip 180 degrees upward and 90 degrees down.
Read MoreIKEA isn't officially unveiling its first Sonos-powered speaker until April, but that isn't stopping the furniture store from offering a look in the meantime. As you can see here, the SYMFONISK looks like... well, a Sonos speaker with IKEA design cues. Its boxy, fabric-covered style appears to be a fitting complement to your plywood tables and cabinets. The company even suggests that it could serve as a wall-mounted shelf (below), although that would make it an awfully expensive part of your decor.
Read MoreArlo's 4K wireless security camera will finally be available worldwide and will also be easier to find in the US starting this week. The company originally released the security cam in the country in January this year, a month after it introduced the device. Now, Arlo Ultra is getting nationwide distribution through stores like Best Buy and is also making its way to retailers in other countries.
Read MoreAt Engadget, we spend every day looking at how technology will shape the future. But it's also important to look back at how far we've come. That's what This Week in Tech History does. Join us every weekend for a recap of historical tech news, anniversaries and advances from the recent and not-so-recent past. This week, we're looking back at Android Wear, Twitter and Friendster (yep, that's a deep cut).
Read MoreThe weather's warming up, which means spring is almost here. That heralds the cleaning out of musty apartments, students studying for finals and of course, allergy season. Dyson just unveiled a trio of products that can take care of all of those vernal needs and more. There's a new smart cordless vacuum, an air purifier-slash-personal fan and a smart light that takes its cues from the sun.
Read MoreOne of the most well-known brands in dieting is undoubtedly Weight Watchers. Since the 1960s, the company has helped people shed pounds through food-logging (customers keep track of point values assigned to foods) and through weekly group meetings. Despite the occasional change (meetings are now optional instead of mandatory, for example), the system has remained popular with consumers, and it's consistently ranked as No. 1 as "Best Diet for Weight Loss" by US News & World Report.
Read MoreAuthorities in San Francisco are considering banning the sale of e-cigarettes until the FDA carries out an investigation on their effects on health. Officials from the city -- which has already banned the sale of flavored tobacco and flavored vaping liquid -- said such a review should have been completed before e-cigarettes entered the market.
Read MoreInternet companies say they've been scrambling to remove video of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, but US politicians are concerned they haven't been doing enough. The Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Bennie Thompson, has sent letters to the CEOs of Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube asking them to brief the committee on their responses to the video on March 27th. Thompson was concerned the footage was still "widely available" on the internet giants' platforms, and that they "must do better."
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Ready to get started with March Madness? We have all the advice you'll need to stream college games this month, plus info on Apple's latest iPads and the bad news about MySpace. Also, Farscape fans should open up Amazon Prime, and Apex Legends is getting its first new character. Finally, don't forget to check back here at 1 PM ET to watch Google's big game streaming announcement.
Read MorePlantronics was close to being acquired by Logitech last year, but unfortunately that deal fell through. Now Plantronics, best known for being one of the first companies to make Bluetooth headsets, is trying to craft a new image. Together with Polycom, the teleconferencing outfit it snapped up a year ago, they're rebranding as Poly -- a punchier name meant to show they're not stuck in the past.
Read MoreIf you live with disabilities, shopping for furniture can be difficult. Many common furniture items aren't designed with accessibility in mind, and those that are can be rare or non-existent. IKEA Israel has a technological solution: 3D print pieces that make them easier to use. The store has collaborated with Milbat on ThisAbles, a project that provides 3D-printed add-ons for furniture that can be tough to use with certain conditions. Among the 13 initial items are easier-to-grab handles, bumpers to protect cabinets and lifts to raise couches.
Read MoreAt Engadget, we spend every day looking at how technology will shape the future. But it's also important to look back at how far we've come -- that's what This Week in Tech History will do. Join us every weekend for a recap of historical tech news, anniversaries and advances from the recent and not-so-recent past. This week, we're looking back at the creation of the internet, the first successful telephone call and the birth of the man who shaped modern physics as we know it.
Read MoreMarch is Women's History Month and last Friday was International Women's Day. Many organizations, including tech companies, took the opportunity to celebrate the occasion in different ways. Google, for example, partnered with UN Women to share stories of women's rights defenders around the world, Facebook held an event that shone the spotlight on notable women in the community, and Twitter asked prominent users to tell tales of inspirational women in their lives.
Read MoreIn 2017, Traeger added WiFi connectivity to its line of wood pellet grills with the Timberline series. While being able to control and monitor your grill remotely is more handy than you might think, the privilege was limited to two models with a starting price of $1,700. Sure, you could also send recipes from the company's app to the Timberline 850 and Timberline 1300 too, but that's still a big investment for a grill. Today, the company revealed its 2019 lineup, and the so-called WiFire technology is available across the board. And the best part is the most affordable model starts at $799.
Read MoreThe US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it is charging Volkswagen and its former CEO Martin Winterkorn for defrauding US investors during the company's "Dieselgate" scandal. The agency accused the company and its top executive of issuing more than $13 billion in bonds and securities in the US despite knowing that more than half a million vehicles in the market failed to meet emissions standards.
Read MoreFormer Mt. Gox chief Mark Karpeles has been found guilty of falsifying financial records but acquitted of all other charges, including embezzlement. According to Bloomberg, the court has given him a two-and-a-half year suspended sentence, which means he won't have to serve jail time unless he commits another violation within the next four years. Tokyo-based Mt. Gox used to be the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world until it lost $500 million worth of bitcoin in 2014 to a cyber heist.
Read MoreIKEA will reveal the first of its Sonos connected smart speakers at an exhibit in Milan next month. This isn't the first we've seen or heard of the speaker, and we knew IKEA had plans to start selling it in the US and Europe this August. An unveiling next month seems to follow the original timeline, which is good considering IKEA just delayed the launch of its smart blinds.
Read MoreIKEA is delaying the launch of its smart blinds until later in 2019 in order to work on a firmware update. The Verge reports that the Swedish furniture maker pushed back the release date for the smart blinds, which were expected in Europe last month and in the US in April, because it found an opportunity for "improved functionality". What kind of functionality, exactly? Mainly, the smart part.
Read MoreCalifornia Senator and presidential hopeful Kamala Harris wants to create a $15-million fund for state and local government technology projects. She doesn't want to focus on routine IT maintenance, but on making government services more accessible to the public. Today, she'll introduce the bill, the Digital Service Act of 2019.
Read MoreAfter months of talking about limiting flavored e-cigarettes, the FDA ready to take more definitive action. The regulator has unveiled draft rules that would let it restrict sales of e-cigs with flavors that could appeal to kids (that is, everything outside of menthol, mint and tobacco). It would "prioritize" enforcement on sales of those flavors in ways that make them easily accessible to or enticing for kids. This could include retail stores where kids can walk in at any time, online stores with weak quantity limits and products whose look and flavor could appeal to the younger crowd.
Read MoreHey, good morning! The "Keurig for insert-food-or-drink-here" is the new "It's like Uber, but for pizza/pet walkers/curtains." This time, LG's got a prototype ice-cream machine that'll whip up a frozen dessert of your choosing. Meanwhile, we're dropping prototype phones and looking back at the World Wide Web, 30 years on.
Read MoreSXSW 2019 isn't just about films, politicians, designers and social media founders. There are also gadgets here to check out. Enter LG's SnowWhite, a concept machine designed to let you easily make ice cream at home. The SnowWhite is basically like a Keurig, featuring a pod-based system that allows you to choose the base and flavor for a variety of frozen desserts. That means it isn't just limited to ice cream: You might also be able to make gelato, granita, sorbet, yogurt and more. I say "might" because LG is adamant that the SnowWhite is only a prototype right now -- this is more about showing off what the company thinks it can create for your home. That said, LG did just introduce its automated HomeBrew machine at CES 2019, so the SnowWhite could eventually become a reality. If it does, LG says you'll be able to make ice cream, gelato or any of the other desserts listed above in two to five minutes. In addition to that, the system can clean itself and may offer both a touchscreen and physical dial for controlling its settings. Unfortunately, the SnowWhite at SXSW wasn't a working model, which is disappointing because it would've been great to have a scoop in this Texas heat. But, considering the popularity of Keurigs, the SnowWhite isn't a bad idea. Now I just hope LG adds some sort of smartphone integration in the future, because that would make my life even easier. I could just pull out my phone, use an app to tell the SnowWhite what to make me and in a few minutes, boom, I'd have ice cream waiting for me in the kitchen. Ultra lazy status achieved.
Read MoreSome politicians don't believe the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act does enough to protect kids in the modern era, and they're hoping to update it accordingly. Senators Ed Markey and Josh Hawley have introduced a bill that would amend COPPA with stricter controls on kids' data. It would ban ads targeted at kids, and would require an "Eraser Button" that would let kids and parents wipe data. The measure would still ban the collection of personal data for kids under 13 without their parents' consent, but it would also ban collecting data from the 13- to 15-year-old crowd without the user's permission.
Read MorePayPal made it possible for businesses to get paid instantly, but what if you're an individual who just wants funds in a hurry? You might be set after today. The payment service has launched an Instant Transfer option in the US that shuttles money directly to your bank account, not just your debit card. It'll carry a 1 percent transaction fee and isn't worth it in most cases, but it could be vital if you need to pay a bill and would rather wait seconds for your funds instead of hours or days.
Read MoreThis isn't the internet that Tim Berners-Lee envisioned when he laid the groundwork for the World Wide Web 30 years ago today. Rather than the free and open online utopia he envisioned, "the web has evolved into an engine of inequity and division," he wrote in 2018, "swayed by powerful forces who use it for their own agendas." And, by God, he's going to fix it -- even if he has to break the entire system to do so.
Read MoreFollowing two air disasters months apart, Boeing has promised to release software updates for all of its Boeing 737 Max aircraft by next month at the latest. The updates were developed in the aftermath of the Lion Air Flight 610 disaster that killed 189 people, the company said, and include changes to flight control systems, pilot displays, operation manuals and crew training.
Read MoreSmart speakers are so popular the UK is using them to help calculate inflation. Every year, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) adds top consumer products to its "basket of goods," a collection of goods and services that indicates how people are spending their money. Annually, popular items are added, and passé products tossed. So while smart speakers made the cut, hi-fi speaker systems got the axe.
Read MoreSpain is putting on hold a scientific investigation that involved zapping prisoners' brains with electricity to curb violent urges. A pilot study saw the technique -- known as transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS -- carried out on 41 violent male prisoners, 15 of them serving murder sentences.
Read MoreWhile many parts of the world are still struggling with voting machines, Estonia appears to be embracing online voting with gusto. In the country's recently finished parliamentary elections, nearly 44 percent of votes were cast through the i-voting system -- a major milestone when just 16 percent of Estonians voted online in 2009's EU elections. The result isn't a total surprise when the nation has spent most of the past two decades digitizing government functions, but it's still no mean feat given everything involved.
Read MoreWelcome to Engadget's new series, Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories.
Read MoreWhile most of us now need Buzzfeed quizzes about "things only '90s kids would recognize" to remember what a Blockbuster is, the franchise's inevitable demise is still something to be commemorated -- if only by finally returning that VHS copy of Batman Forever you've been holding onto. But even as some companies fade into oblivion, others flourish in the market spaces left over. Here are a few from this week.
Read MoreLeft-wing US politicians have landed at SXSW 2019. A day after sharing her proposal to break up companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon, US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) expanded on her plans at the event. And she wasn't the only one from her party here today. On Saturday, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) featured in a session where she notably didn't talk about Big Tech, but instead focused on the Green New Deal and automation, among other topics including pay inequality and racism.
Read MoreSomething strange is going on at Sinemia, where customers are reporting their accounts are being wrongfully terminated. Beginning last week, subscribers of the discounted movie ticket company took to Twitter and Reddit, where they report their accounts have been closed for suspected fraudulent activity. To make matters worse, Sinemia's response has been vague.
Read MorePhiladephia has passed a law requiring almost all businesses to accept cash payments, effectively banning cashless stores. It comes into force July 1st, and businesses which violate it face a fine of up to $2,000.
Read MoreIf there's one thing the internet excels at, it's helping people forget the rules of Occam's razor. For many, there are usually no simple explanations for anything, and everything is a signpost to a grand conspiracy to do others harm. In the wake of one man's death, people on the internet have indulged their worst instincts, although what's worse is that this time, they might have a point. QuadrigaCX was one of Canada's largest Bitcoin exchanges, controlling assets believed to be worth around $200 million CAD. Unfortunately, Gerald Cotten, its co-founder and CEO, passed away in December 2018. Cotten was the only one who could access the company funds, leaving it unable to pay its creditors.
Read MoreValve has laid off 13 employees, including people working on virtual reality, according to UploadVR. The company has confirmed the layoffs after the publication discovered that it removed a number of employee names from its website. While letting over a dozen people go might sound like bad news for the SteamVR platform, the company said that it doesn't spell major changes for its plans going forward. Presumably, that means Valve will continue working on virtual reality.
Read MoreLegendary piano maker Steinway & Sons has released a piano that allows musicians to record their own live performances. Each Spirio | r comes with an iPad Pro and accompanying app that allows users to record, play back and edit their own songs in Steinway's own high-resolution audio format.
Read MoreDemocrats have revealed a bill that aims to restore net neutrality rules. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were among the senators and congresspeople who announced the Save the Internet Act Wednesday. It's being introduced in both the House and the Senate and aims to codify the previous protections in law. Schumer called it a "real bipartisan effort," and hearings on the legislation are set to begin next week.
Read MoreToothbrush subscription company Quip just announced that it now has a pint-sized version specifically geared towards children. If you're a podcast listener, you're probably already familiar with the toothbrush company that has nailed targeted advertising by sponsoring a bunch of popular shows. Even if you're not a fan of podcasts, the metal-toned, minimalistic Quip toothbrushes likely have popped up on your Facebook or Instagram feed since the company's launch in late 2015.
Read MoreAfter smart home security company August was acquired by Assa Abloy (smartlock outfit Yale's parent company) back in 2017, many assumed the business would disappear in a consolidation of the smart lock market. But now, over a year since the August brand released new hardware, it's back with a new wireless doorbell camera called the August View.
Read MoreInstant Pot cookers already have a loyal following, and now they're about have some extra clout, too. Corelle Brands, the company behind kitchen brands like CorningWare and Pyrex, has unveiled plans to merge with Instant Pot's creators Instant Brands. The two hope to create a "world-class" housewares company that covers food prep head-to-toe, whether it's the actual cooking or storing leftovers. Instant's CEO, Robert Wang, also touted that this would help foster its "expanding product development pipeline."
Read MoreNow that the Democrats have the majority in the US House of Representatives, net neutrality is back on the table. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has revealed that Democrats will introduce a bill to restore Obama-era net neutrality rules on March 6th. They haven't detailed just what the legislation would include, but its not-so-subtle name (the Save the Internet Act) makes the bill's intentions clear.
Read MoreGood morning! We test five-camera phones, hear the death knell for the PlayStation Vita and take a look at what's happened in 15 years of Engadget. Yep, this site has seen it all.
Read MoreA lot has changed since Engadget was born, both in the gadgets we use and what we do with them on a regular basis. When the site started in 2004, fitness trackers, voice assistants and electric cars were the stuff of fiction. Now most of these are commonplace, so much so that we put our trust in them on a daily basis. To celebrate Engadget's 15th birthday, here are 15 things that didn't exist 15 years ago.
Read MoreAmazon keeps tweaking the benefits of its Twitch Prime package for Prime customers with moves like adding free games and taking away ad-free streams. The latest change will be particular appealing to certain gamers, as it's teamed up with Nintendo to dangle up to a year of free Switch Online service with the package.
Read MoreNintendo might launch two new Switches as early as this summer, reports the WSJ. As previously rumored, one would likely be a smaller and cheaper model with a focus on portability. However, Nintendo might also release a higher-end model Switch aimed at more serious gamers, in competition with Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One. It wouldn't have quite as much power as those consoles, however, according to the report.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. After a week full of reveals and announcements, we're taking a closer look at Google's Stadia promises and everything Apple's updated iPads have to offer. Also, Nintendo is getting (back) into VR, and Comcast has an internet TV box.
Read MoreNintendo proved that its cardboard Labo kits could actually be decent gaming accessories -- especially for kids. But the idea of using Labo to bring VR to the Switch sounds even more far-fetched. Could an under-powered system with a low-resolution screen actually produce believable virtual reality? It turns out, it can.
Read MoreNanoloop has been a cornerstone of chiptune music for years, but using one has meant either owning a Game Boy or making do with a mobile app. You won't have to make those compromises for much longer. Developer Oliver Wittchow and crew are crowdfunding a dedicated, handheld version of the music-generating wunderkind. You'll still have a gamepad-like interface, four-channel synth and 4x4 matrix sequencer, just in a form factor that frees up your other gadgets.
Read MoreVlambeer hasn't really had a presence on the Switch, but it's rectifying that in very short order. The indie studio is bringing three titles to Nintendo's current console, starting immediately with Nuclear Throne. While the top-down wasteland shooter is largely unchanged from what you've seen before, that's not a bad thing if you like its Robotron-meets-post-apocalypse vibe.
Read MoreHyrule is about to get down. Cadence of Hyrule - Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda (what a mouthful) is heading to the Nintendo Switch this spring. It's a top-down 2D roguelike that infuses the universe of The Legend of Zelda into the rhythmic world of beloved 2015 indie game Crypt of the NecroDancer.
Read MoreTim Schafer and Lee Petty of Double Fine Productions made a short appearance on Nintendo's Nindies Showcase today to help introduce a new rock-flavored action game. And no, it's not Brutal Legend 2. Instead, it's a new property titled Rad, which follows a young man as he swings a baseball bat through an irradiated wasteland.
Read MoreThe delightfully difficult game Cuphead is making its way to the Switch this Spring, Nintendo announced at GDC 2019 on Wednesday. The game will be ported with the same hand-drawn cell animation and jazzy soundtrack by Kristofer Maddigan that endeared fans to the original console version.
Read MoreHey, good morning! Between all the motor show news from Geneva, Mark Zuckerberg is pitching a privacy-focused revamp of Facebook (what would that even look like?), and there's a blast from the past, 1995 to be precise, with some post-Virtual Boy virtual reality on a Nintendo console -- hopefully minus the eyeball ache of the original.
Read MoreThe line of cardboard DIY kits Nintendo offers for its Switch console keep expanding, and the latest one is Labo VR. It will go on sale April 12th in a few different packages: a $40 Starter Set + Blaster that can be grow with two $20 Expansion sets adding either a Camera & Elephant or Bird & Wind Petal, or as a complete $80 VR Kit with everything included from the start. Nintendo claims that by eliminating the head strap of most VR wearables and opting for devices that players hold up to their faces, it will make for a more social experience. While we're waiting to find out exactly how quickly our arms get tired, another fascinating question will be how engrossing an experience be with the Toy-Con VR goggles pressed up against the Switch's 720p, 60 fps display. Most VR headsets on the market feature much higher refresh rates and pixel density to enhance realism, so we'll need to go face-on with one to see how it fares. However, the addition of a tactile system with most of the projects could enhance the experience considerably, moving beyond the simple handheld controllers connected to other systems. So far the Labo toys have been a rewarding -- if time consuming -- investment, and it will be interesting to see if the trend continues next month. Nintendo Labo: VR Kit will launch in retail stores with two primary configurations, one that includes all Toy-Con creations and one that includes a smaller selection of projects to get started: Nintendo Labo: VR Kit: Available at a suggested retail price of $79.99, the complete Nintendo Labo: VR Kit includes the Nintendo Switch software and materials to build all six Toy-Con projects – the Toy-Con VR Goggles, Toy-Con Blaster, Toy-Con Camera, Toy-Con Bird, Toy-Con Wind Pedal and Toy-Con Elephant – as well as a Screen Holder and Safety Cap. It's a good option for kids and families who want to dive in to the full experience. Nintendo Labo: VR Kit – Starter Set + Blaster: Available at a suggested retail price of only $39.99, the Starter Set includes the Nintendo Switch software, plus all the components to build the Toy-Con VR Goggles and Toy-Con Blaster, as well as the Screen Holder and Safety Cap. The Starter Set is a great entry point into the world of Nintendo Labo VR. Players that own the Starter Set can purchase the following optional expansion sets to expand their experience: Nintendo Labo: VR Kit – Expansion Set 1**: Available at a suggested retail price of $19.99, Expansion Set 1 includes the Toy-Con Elephant and Toy-Con Camera. Nintendo Labo: VR Kit – Expansion Set 2**: Available at a suggested retail price of $19.99, Expansion Set 2 includes the Toy-Con Wind Pedal and Toy-Con Bird.
Read MoreNintendo is adding a pair of vintage NES games to its Switch Online library next Wednesday. Starting on March 13th, you'll be able to play Kid Icarus and StarTropics on the online service. Kid Icarus, which was released in North America in 1987, has assembled a sizeable cult following over the years and fans have called for a sequel. Nintendo, for its part, hasn't totally put the platformer to bed, though updates have been rare. Kid Icarus: Uprising for 3DS, released in 2012, received a warm reception from critics who welcomed the revival of the franchise.
Read MoreThe developers of Friday the 13th: The Game might not be able to add any more DLC to the game, but they can certainly bring the horror survival title to more platforms. Gun Media told Variety a Switch version of the game will arrive this spring, so you can try to escape Camp Crystal Lake (or hunt down young campers if you play as Jason) while you're on the go.
Read MoreLast year Valve launched a Dota 2 card game spin-off that took aim Hearthstone and Gwent, but according to the team, Artifact hasn't lived up to anyone's expectations. In a blog post, Valve announced it's dropping the old plan of developing a stream of gradual updates driven by conversations with the community. Instead it will "re-examine the decisions we've made along the way regarding game design, the economy, the social experience of playing, and more." Artifact represents the largest discrepancy between our expectations for how one of our games would be received and the actual outcome. But we don't think that players misunderstand our game, or that they're playing it wrong. Artifact now represents an opportunity for us to improve our craft and use that knowledge to build better games. At least one of those decisions could be the game's business model. As we noted when its release date appeared, those competing card games are free, while Artifact opted for a $20 starting price and made additional booster packs of cards available for an extra fee on top of that. That made it similar to traditional Magic: The Gathering, a game designed by Artifact's project lead, but, as RockPaperShotgun notes, could come off as stingy compared to both the big guns and even smaller alternatives like Shadowverse or Eternal. Valve made some big upgrades about a month after launch, but judging by the tone of the post -- or Steam Charts stats that count an average of just 353 simultaneous players over the last 30 days or reviews that are only 15 percent positive over the last 30 days or its fewer than ten viewers on Twitch -- it didn't help hold player's attention. Since then the team has been largely silent. Now it's entering a period of "process of experimentation and development" that's expected to take "significant" time, it's still unclear exactly what the future holds for Artifact, but at least Valve is acknowledging where things stand at the moment.
Read MoreBlizzard just re-released Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft 2 through online gaming marketplace GOG.com. First released in the mid-nineties, the pair of real-time strategy games are now available for the first time digitally. In the first game, players return to the original Azeroth and must raise an army of humans or orcs to fight their enemies. The second Warcraft game, Tides of Darkness, takes place on the high seas, and sees humans and orcs joining forces with elves, trolls, dwarves, and other creatures.
Read MoreA patch to Anthem released on Tuesday that will allow for faster performance as well as some added features. The update includes NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and NVIDIA Highlights. The game developer claims that Anthem players will see up to 40 percent faster performance with DLSS. DLSS uses AI to continually make the game more efficient, and automatically delivers updated algorithms to your machine.
Read MoreThe rise of proprietary game launchers appears to be getting worse, but there's at least one company headed in the opposite direction. Bethesda has announced that its upcoming games will be available through Steam, including Doom Eternal, Rage 2, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. On top of that, it's bringing Fallout 76 to Steam at some point later in 2019. While that won't help the shared-world RPG fare any better, it will at least ensure that you can start complaining about the game that much sooner.
Read MoreSteam's ages-old game library screen is getting a much-needed overhaul. Valve has previewed a redesign that keeps the familiar column of games on the left, but shakes up seemingly everything else. You'll see rows for your recently played games and, crucially, game updates -- if there's a new character or an important upgrade, you'll know it right away. Your friends list will also appear directly in the library to help you leap into their multiplayer matches.
Read MoreDetroit: Become Human, Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain are all making their way to PC for the first time in 2019 through the Epic Games Store. To date, the games have only been available on PlayStation 3 and/or PS4. The Quantic Dream titles are a bit of a coup for Epic as it takes aim at the likes of Steam, though Epic had plenty of other news about its store at GDC, including a Humble Bundle partnership and deals for upcoming games.
Read MoreThere was already a preview program for the Master Chief Collection when 343 Industries was fixing the Xbox One version, but it's giving the concept another shot now that the PC ports are on the way. It's launching a Halo Insider Program that will give you a chance at playing pre-release versions of all Halo games and services, whether they're for console or PC, in return for feedback. You're not guaranteed to get into every test, but it may your best shot at playing a future Halo game in advance.
Read MoreDon't be surprised if the online performance of some Steam games happens to get a boost. Valve has released a software framework that lets Steam partners make use of its network. The move should improve the connection quality (including lower lag), guarantee better support for home routers and protect players against denial of service attacks with anonymized traffic and more resilient systems.
Read MoreOne of the issues with relying on user reviews to rate content is the possibility that some of those reviews may not be written in entirely good faith. Recently Rotten Tomatoes took new steps to manage the impact of fake reviews submitted for Captain Marvel, while Netflix responded to several instances of "review bombing" by removing written reviews from its service entirely. Over the years Steam has taken a few different steps to deal with the issue, but now its latest response is a combination of automated scanning and human moderation teams. In a blog post it explained the plan: "we're going to identify off-topic review bombs, and remove them from the Review Score." In practice, what it has is a tool that monitors reviews in real-time to detect "anomalous" activity that suggests something is happening. It alerts a team of moderators, who can then look through the reviews who will investigate, and if they do find that there's a spate of "off-topic reviews," then they'll alert the developer, and remove those reviews from the way the game's score is calculated, although the reviews themselves will stay up.
Read MoreDon't worry if you think the Epic Games Store's features are threadbare at the moment -- there's a good chance the features you like are in the pipeline. Epic has posted a public roadmap for its portal, and you can expect a steady stream of additions. Most notably, it's hoping to add cloud saves as soon as May, with offline mode upgrades planned for April. Things should get rosier after that, with user reviews, wish lists, mod support and in-game overlays expected in the next four to six months.
Read MoreWe hope you weren't determined to run The Sims 4 on the same PC you had when it came out in 2014. The developers have warned that the life simulator will end support for 32-bit operating systems and non-Metal Macs in June 2019. Simply put, it's about "growing, improving and optimizing the game." And for Mac users, it's virtually necessary. Apple started deprecating OpenGL visuals as of macOS Mojave, and Metal is the only way EA can guarantee cutting-edge performance and features going forward.
Read MoreIf you're fed up of dying too quickly after dropping into a Fortnite or Apex Legends match, another battle royale game with a fresh twist is on the way -- one in which you might be able to get out of dodge fast when a massive firefight goes down. The battle royale fundamentals are all present in Notmycar: you'll drop from a plane onto an island, race around to pick up guns and gear and fight to be the sole survivor as the playable area shrinks. The main difference here is that instead of running around and building structures, you play as a car.
Read MoreValve giving a major expansion to its game streaming service. Just ahead of the 2019 Game Developers Conference, the company announced the release of Steam Link Anywhere, a new feature that will let gamers remotely access and play their favorite titles on basically any machine with Steam and an internet connection.
Read MoreNVIDIA has unveiled its cheapest Turing-based card yet, the $219 GeForce GTX 1660. Much like the $279 GTX 1660 Ti, it offers Turing performance that bests the GTX 1060 by around 15-30 percent. At the same time, it lacks the RT (ray tracing) and Tensor cores on NVIDIA's RTX series cards, making it about a third cheaper than its RT doppleganger, the $349 RTX 2060.
Read MoreThe 17-year-old classic Dwarf Fortress is considered a pioneer in gaming through its massive, highly interactive world, but it's a tough sell to modern gamers with its ASCII graphics and its absence on modern game stores. That won't be an issue for much longer: Bay 12 and publisher Kitfox Games have announced that Dwarf Fortress is not only coming to Steam and Itch.io, but will launch with honest-to-goodness artwork. While it won't ease the learning curve for the game, you at least won't have to squint at your screen quite so intensely as before.
Read MoreGamers who remain on Windows 7 can now play World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth with the added boost of DirectX 12. Microsoft announced that Blizzard would be the first game developer to offer DirectX 12 support for Windows 7. This will be good news for stubborn Windows 7 users who still haven't upgraded to Windows 10. Thanks to the API's support for multi-threading, players can expect a framerate boost even on the older OS.
Read MoreAfter years of waiting and more than a few hiccups, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to the PC. Microsoft and 343 Industries have unveiled plans to release the whole anthology one game at a time on both the Microsoft Store and Steam, starting with the prequel that has been conspicuously absent in the MCC since its debut: Halo: Reach. This may prove to be slightly tortuous if you're a fan of the main story, but it will give you a chance to play the title while taking greater advantage of modern hardware.
Read MoreThe original 1996 Diablo is now available for the first time digitally on GOG.com. Fans of Blizzard's classic RPG can choose between two modes; an old-school version with 20 FPS, SVGA graphics and Battle.net multiplayer support, or a more modern version with out-of-the-box Windows 10 compatibility, bug fixes and high-resolution support. Windows users can go to GOG.com and download the re-release for $9.99; there's no need to download the Blizzard app. Unfortunately, Mac users are left in the dust: The company told Engadget that this release is Windows-only and didn't say if it would create a Mac-friendly version of Diablo in the future.
Read MoreDriveclub has struggled despite its early hype and eventual refinement, and now Sony is ready to end its troubled saga. The company has announced that the servers for Driveclub, Driveclub VR and Driveclub Bikes will all shut down just before midnight British time (about 7PM Eastern) on March 31st, 2020, and that it will stop selling games and their add-on content August 31st, 2019 at a similar time. Any single-player components will still work, but that's the problem -- as the name suggests, Driveclub is an inherently social game.
Read MoreIf you've been patiently waiting for Media Molecule's Dreams, you'll be happy to learn that early access begins April 16th. You'll be able to buy the PS4 crafting tool and LittleBigPlanet follow-up in the PlayStation Store for $30 in the US, and $40 in Canada. Dreams isn't fully built-out yet, but this rough release will let users test some of the core functions -- like designing games, creating music and sculpting characters.
Read MoreIf you're an Angry Birds diehard, you'll be happy to hear that Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs is available on PlayStation VR for $14.99. And Rovio and Resolution Games have added 13 new levels of play. Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs launched on Vive and Oculus Rift in February, and it looks like that was just the beginning. In addition to the new platform, the game makers hope to have 100 levels available by the end of the year.
Read MoreSony is celebrating a major milestone: it has already sold over 4.2 million PlayStation VR systems as of March 3rd, 2019, less than three years after it started selling the device. Not shipped to retailers, but sold by retailers. In other words, there are as many as 4.2 million people out there with PS VR headsets of their own. The tech giant started selling the device in 2016 as a virtual reality platform that plugs into a PS4 console -- something that likely helped boost its sales and popularity.
Read MoreDuring the State of Play event on Monday, PSVR players got their first look at the upcoming Iron Man game from Camouflaj, which is slated for release later this year.
Read MorePixelOpus hasn't said much about Concrete Genie since its 2017 reveal and last year's gameplay clip, but the studio is nearly ready to show its hand... hopefully. The PS4 title is now slated to launch in fall 2019, or considerably later than the earlier spring 2019 window (which was itself a delay). However, it'll come with an as yet undescribed PlayStation VR mode to spice things up. Also, an accompanying trailer (below) gives you a good summary of the story. You play Ash, a bullied child whose street art is instrumental as both his escape and, of course, a game mechanic -- he has to paint his hometown back to life while dealing with the bullies trying to make his life miserable.
Read MoreThe first episode of Sony's live streaming State of Play event will take place today at 5PM ET/2PM PT. The Nintendo Direct/Inside Xbox-style event will feature game reveals, trailers and gameplay footage of upcoming titles for the PS4 and PS VR. You can watch the live stream on Twitch, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube via the video embedded below.
Read MoreAfter declining to run PlayStation Experience last year and pulling out of this year's E3, Sony is turning to a different strategy for game announcements and updates. On March 25th, its State of Play streams will debut on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter and Facebook at 5PM ET.
Read MoreSony is bringing PlayStation Now to more countries across Europe. As of today, players in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway have full access to the game streaming service. A public beta opened in those nations last month.
Read MoreAnthem has had a launch troubled by various glitches, but its developers announced a patch that will deal with crashes and balance issues -- among many other things -- is going out between 8 and 10 AM ET on Saturday morning. As it attempts to compete in the "loot shooter" category, Destiny 2 is updating with new tweaks for its second season and The Division 2 is close to release, increasing the pressure to get things running smoothly and hang onto whatever player base it has. The list of fixes and tweaks is far too long to list fully, but check the Reddit post for all the details. The crash issues on PS4 should be among those addressed, as head of live service Chad Robertson noted a few days ago that it had identified causes for the "power-down crash" some had experienced, and after checking had not found evidence the game caused consoles to "brick."
Read MoreThe latest update to the PlayStation 4 operating system has a feature that some users have craved for years. From today, the console will now properly sync with iOS devices, giving iPhone and iPad users the ability to game with the PS4 Remote Play app. Given that Sony first launched remote play (for its Xperia Z3) in October 2014, it's certainly been a long time coming.
Read MoreIf you're a fan of the popular Yakuza game, then you've probably been eagerly anticipating the newest installment of the gangster series. Judgment will be available for PlayStation 4 on June 25th.
Read MoreGamers would love to play BioWare's new loot shooter Anthem but there's one problem: the game keeps shutting off their console. A number of players have taken to Reddit and other forums to complain that Anthem appears to be plagued with an issue that at best boots them to the main menu and at worst caused affected users to need to rebuild their PS4's disk database.
Read MoreYou knew the PlayStation Vita wasn't long for this world, and now it's official: Sony has discontinued the last two Vita models. The move marks the last step of a long, gradual phase-out that included a halt on first-party games in 2015, the discontinuation of physical games and the end to PS Plus freebies. If you're looking for the handheld, you'll either have to get lucky at a retailer (if there are any units left) or track down a second-hand model.
Read MoreWhen Apple announced the first iPad mini in 2012, the tablet's purpose was clear: It squeezed just about everything that made the regular iPad such a pleasure to use into a smaller, cheaper package. It's no wonder the mini built such a devoted following. After a few more years, though, Apple stopped updating its line of small tablets, leaving its fans with a tough decision to make: Do they move up into a bigger iPad instead? Or buy one of Apple's "Plus" phones to try and get the best of both worlds? Or should they just hang on until Apple decided to give the mini some attention? The people who went with that last option ultimately waited three years, but Apple has finally delivered the goods. The new, $399 iPad mini is here, and the many improvements you'll find here make it a pleasure to use. As familiar and as capable as this mini is, the context around it has changed: It's no longer the entry-level iPad, and the rise of big smartphones means the convenience of a small tablet isn't quite what it used to be. After living with the new mini for over a week, I'm convinced there isn't a better small tablet out there. Whether a tablet like this still meaningfully fits into your life, though, is a question only you can answer.
Read MoreTablets often go unused, and when you do want to play with it, it's probably dead because you forgot to charge it. At least, that's what happens to me. Lenovo, however, has come up with a potential solution to the neglected tablet dilemma: the Smart Tab. It was a finalist for Best of CES this year in the smart home category, and here's why: You can place it inside a companion Bluetooth speaker dock, at which point it becomes an Alexa-powered smart display similar to Amazon's Echo Show. This way, when the Smart Tab is not being used as a tablet, it still has a purpose as a smart display. And unlike a normal smart display that's meant to stay in one place, it, of course, can also be used as a portable tablet. As a standalone Android device, the Smart Tab is pretty mediocre. But as a smart display, it's great.
Read MoreHuawei wants to establish a new smartphone imaging frontier (again) with the P30 Pro, and it looks like it's succeeding. With up to 10X zoom, a wide-angle lens, a similarly killer night-shooting mode and a time-of-flight camera that might be this year's secret weapon, can all this hardware best the Pixel 3's software smarts? Immediately after the big on-stage reveal, I took the P30 Pro to the streets of Paris, because a) the Eiffel Tower is very zoom-friendly, and b) the nighttime streets are pretty darn gorgeous.
Read MoreThe Range Rover line of vehicles commands a premium price. The British automaker is known for luxurious SUVs that are able to navigate the toughest terrain. That well-earned reputation includes all its vehicles -- even the entry-level Evoque, which has seen a slight design refresh and has received all the latest tech. The most intriguing is the new ClearSight Ground View that helps keep drivers from scraping the bottom of the Evoque while off-road.
Read MoreFalconry is among humanity's oldest hunting techniques with evidence of the practice dating as far back as 2,000 BCE. It's listed as part of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In Falcon Age for the PS4, you too can experience the majesty of falconry -- or at least a digital facsimile.
Read MoreFans of the venerable horror puzzler Five Nights at Freddy's will have something to scream about as the latest iteration of the series arrives on VR headsets at the end of April. I got to play through a few of the levels at a recent PSVR demo event came away sufficiently jump-scared to want to play the rest of the game as soon as it's released.
Read MoreI would like to get in my time machine and explain to my college crew teammates what I'm looking at. It appears to be an ergometer (that's a fancy word for "rowing machine"), except the pull isn't a chain but a flat ribbon of fabric. There's no resistance lever on the side, and the underside is one big, swoopy curve, not unlike the hull of a boat. It has minimalist metal legs, similar to some TVs. Most important, there's a 22-inch screen attached, staring you right in the face. It's an erg from the future. As a college rower I dreaded the erg; using it felt lonely and monotonous. But I might have liked the Hydrow. As its creators describe it, it is the Peloton of rowing machines -- which is to say, it's an erg for the home, with a monthly subscription plan that includes live and prerecorded workouts hosted by a mix of instructors. The program also includes mat exercises meant to complement rowing, like yoga poses. Hydrow won't ship until May and has yet to receive some of its most compelling software features. But even in its early stages, it comes closer than anything else to capturing the sensation of rowing on water.
Read MoreThere's never been a better time to be a retro video game enthusiast. Playing old video games on modern screens used to require elaborate cabling and detailed electronics knowledge, or you would have to wade into dodgy ROM sites and tinker with confusing emulators. Today, however, we are blessed with a panoply of options, led by Nintendo's "classic" mini-consoles. But the premium, top-of-the-line retro console maker remains the hipsterish British-American company, Analogue. Analogue's Super NT, a Super Nintendo (SNES) hardware emulator released last year, was a revitalization of the SNES library ready to plug and play (and upscale) to modern HD televisions with a graphical fidelity unmatched by even Nintendo's own offerings. But the Super NT was just the tip of the retro spear, because, as any '90s kid will tell you, some console wars never die. And sure enough, Analogue has just released their take on the other dominant console of the 16-bit era: the Sega Genesis. Analogue's Mega SG is a beautiful little piece of hardware that does for the Genesis/Sega CD/Master System library what the Super NT did for the Super Nintendo -- and is the better value proposition of the two.
Read MoreWhen I was young -- and I mean young, around six or seven -- my extended family would get together at my grandmother's house nearly every Sunday. And often on those days, for at least an hour or two, my cousin and I would play on her Sega Mega Drive (aka Genesis) together. Our go-to game was ToeJam & Earl, I think mostly because we needn't fight over one controller and it was co-operative, rather than competitive. Though my memories of the game are fond, the sequels released over the following decade completely passed me by. That's why I've had my eye on ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove -- an homage to the '90s classic that secured initial funding on Kickstarter in 2015. As it turns out, though, some memories are better being just that.
Read MoreThe inside of Justin Roiland's head is a magical, mysterious place filled with wondrously quirky, foul-mouthed, morally ambiguous characters. And so, too, is Trover Saves the Universe, the latest title from Roiland's fledgeling studio, Squanch Games. I was afforded an hour of hands-on time with the game at GDC last week, and let me tell you, if you're a fan of Rick and Morty, action platformers or just gratuitous cartoon violence and swearing, you're gonna love this game.
Read MoreYesterday, Apple unveiled Apple News+, an all-you-can-eat subscription service that offers access to over 300 different magazines and periodicals, including newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, for $9.99 a month. I already subscribe to a couple of other Apple services like iCloud and Apple Music that are a little bit underwhelming, so I'll admit I'm a bit wary of getting another one. But for a magazine lover like myself, News+ sounded incredibly intriguing.
Read MoreSince it first partnered with Leica on the P9, Huawei has focused on delivering unique cameras on its flagships. With the P30 and P30 Pro, the company continues that tradition by serving up a four-camera setup with an intriguing new sensor that promises vastly improved performance in low light.
Read MoreI can't spend $1,000 on a smartphone. I just can't. I've walked into countless phone stores, credit card in hand, with every intention of buying the latest flagship. I walk up to the demo area, wake the handset I've already decided to buy and spend a few moments swiping through the app drawer, willing myself to follow through on the purchase. My throat tightens and a few minutes later my legs are moving involuntarily out the door and down the street. It's been this way for years. I love high-end smartphones but can't stomach the price-tag when I think about the rent, bills and unpaid student loans waiting for me at home. Instead, I've veered toward OnePlus and similar brands that offer flagship performance at two-thirds, or sometimes even half the price of phones from likes of Samsung, Google and Apple. And now, Chinese giant Xiaomi has finally entered Europe, including the UK. That makes its latest flagship, the glossy Mi 9, a tantalizing prospect for people like me, who want the best, or close enough, on a tighter budget.
Read MoreWelcome to the first episode of our new explainer series, Upscaled. We're going to be examining the components and gadgets that are helping move technology forward, and in this first episode, we're looking at graphics cards.
Read MoreWhile other automakers were debating the merits of the electric car, Nissan was already selling the Leaf (the little EV hit the market in 2010, two years before the Model S). The automaker has sold over 400,000 units since then. That's impressive. But in the past nine years, the EV market has changed, and when the latest version of the vehicle was unveiled, it had a range of 151 miles. That's clearly not enough for our new over-200-mile-range vehicle world. So in January of this year, the Leaf Plus (starting at $36,550) with 226 miles of range appeared. Problem solved, right? Well, maybe.
Read MoreGetting through the grocery store with your sanity intact can be tough -- what with the legions of shelf stockers, geriatric Rascal riders and bawling basket babies blocking you at seemingly every aisle. But that's a walk in the park compared to the challenges you'll face in Supermarket Shriek by UK-based studio, BillyGoat Entertainment. The premise of the game is simple. You're a man, stuck in a shopping cart, with a goat. Firmly wedged into the lorry, your only means of mobility is your shrieks of terror propelling you through maze-like markets riddled with boobie traps. With 30 levels available at launch later this summer, that adds up to a lot of hollering. The controls are delightfully straightforward. In single-player mode, you can control the man and the goat independently using the left and right triggers -- having one yell turns you left, having the other yell turns you right, have them scream simultaneously to move forward. There is no reverse. But, like most games, Supermarket Shriek even better with a friend. Plug a microphone into each of your XBox or Playstation controllers and have each person start yelling. The louder you are, the harder you turn and the faster you go. The effect is similar to the classic NES game, Marble Madness, but each person has control of just half the avatar's movement. It's a challenge, and be sure to keep plenty of lozenges on hand. It becomes even more challenging when you begin to encounter the various obstacles littered around each level. From giant guillotine blades to water hazards, flame pits, and springboards, there are more than enough ways for you to fail at every turn. However if you can complete the level quickly enough, you'll earn 3 Stars (like Angry Birds) and unlock the ghost racer of whoever is currently sitting atop to global leaderboards, allowing you to rerace levels against the best screamers on the planet. Supermarket Shriek is slated for release on the Xbox, Playstation and Switch later this summer. It's expected to retail for around $10-15.
Read MoreVR technology has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past few years with optics and capabilities steadily improving even as hardware prices continue to decrease. Leading this revolution is the newly revealed Rift S from Oculus, the company's first headset released in nearly three years.
Read MoreIf you've ever watched The Little Mermaid and thought to yourself, "dang, that'd be some good hunting," have I got the game for you. Swimsanity is a four-player adventure shooter set at the bottom of the sea that offers a surprisingly wide variety of co-op and competitive gameplay styles.
Read MoreOver the past few months, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has been adamant that one of his goals is to "increase the health of public conversation" on the site. Because it's no secret that, as great as Twitter is at connecting you with people across the world, it's also great at connecting you with bots, trolls and spam. Unsurprisingly, Twitter wants to change that. And it's hoping to find a solution by publicly testing new conversation features, through an experimental program that users can apply to participate in. This launched last week as an app called Twttr, which I've been using as my main tool for reading and writing tweets for the past week.
Read MoreI've always been fond of Apple's iPad mini; I bought the first one as a Mother's Day gift, and the iPad mini 4 was one of the first big reviews I ever wrote for Engadget. Unfortunately, Apple hasn't shown its smallest tablet nearly as much affection: As I write this, it's been more than three years since the company gave the mini a refresh. In that time, we've seen Apple launch and redesign a line of pro-grade tablets and build a stunningly competent entry-level model. Frankly, I had nearly given up on the mini entirely -- that is, until Apple announced a refreshed model earlier this week.
Read MoreIt used to be that, if you wanted to buy the best possible iPad, you splurged on an iPad Air. It wasn't just sleek -- it was terribly powerful, too. (Well, for the time, anyway.) In 2015, though, the company launched the iPad Pro, and before long, the iPad Air line was discontinued and left to the annals of Apple history. Until now, that is.
Read MoreGrado Labs was late to the wireless game. The company knows it, and it has good reasons for not jumping in sooner. "Wireless technology has never been very good, so just like closed-back, we could make them, but people would expect them to sound like our wired headphones," John Grado told me in 2017. "And they won't." Grado did say that the technology was improving and that the company planned to dabble in wireless soon. Fast forward to October 2018. Grado Labs announced its first wireless model: the GW100. The $249 headphones look similar to the company's Prestige Series, with a mostly black design and silver accents. What's most intriguing about the GW100, though, is not only the trademark Grado sound, but that these are supposedly the first open-back wireless headphones which can deliver great audio quality, but has its drawbacks.
Read MoreSamsung's first foldable Galaxy phone is still more than a month away from launch, but as tends to happen, it looks like someone has gotten their hands on one early. It's unclear if the one appearing in a phone unlocker's YouTube video is a retail version or an early prototype, but SamMobile notes it appears to originate from Vietnam, which is home to one of the company's manufacturing hubs. The video is a much clearer hands-on than anything we saw that the Galaxy Fold's unveiling event (it stayed in glass cases and in the hands of demonstrators), but what jumps out the most is a visible crease on the unfolded screen.
Read MoreWhen Apple released the impressive and wildly expensive iPad Pro last fall, I started thinking that the company could use an iPad XR. I imagined a tablet that takes the high tech found in the new iPad Pro but cuts some corners to make it more approachable to the masses. The new iPad Air isn't that. Instead it's like the 10.5-inch iPad Pro from 2017, except with a price cut and a few spec bumps. That's not very exciting. What's more, the iPad Air doesn't have the flashy bezel-less display, Face ID sensor and support for the new Apple Pencil, like the existing iPad Pro does. But compared with the basic $329 iPad, the new iPad Air has worthwhile improvements: a bigger, better screen, a much newer processor, more storage and support for Apple's Smart Keyboard accessory. It's a logical step up from the base iPad, and it also says a lot about how Apple views its tablet lineup. Nearly every review of the new iPad Pro noted that it was powerful, impressive hardware that nonetheless couldn't fully replace a "real" laptop. The iPad Air is an admission that while not everyone needs the expensive iPad Pro, there's a market for a nicer iPad than the base model.
Read MoreHP is ready to outdo the HTC Vive Pro and Samsung Odyssey with its latest VR headset, the Reverb. Confirming a February leak, it features an astoundingly sharp resolution of 2,160 by 2,160 pixels per eye, while those other headsets have around half as much. It's sometimes tough to see the benefits of more pixels on monitors and TVs, but VR headsets are another story, since your eyes are practically right up against the displays. That's something commercial customers will likely appreciate, since it makes things like workplace simulators even more realistic.
Read MoreHP is launching an updated lineup of Envy laptops with longer battery life, the latest Intel processors and the option of an AMD processor in some models. The 17-inch model even has some features that may appeal to gamers. None of these laptops are radical changes from last year's models, but they all represent a nice set of upgrades if you like HP's formula.
Read MoreSony's 24.2-megapixel A6400 APS-C camera was a surprise, filling a gap between the A6300 and A6500 that didn't really need to be filled. Both in how it looks and the technology inside, it didn't seem like a great leap over the A6300. It also lacks important features (like in-body stabilization) found in the A6500. However, with 4K video, a pop-up screen, a microphone jack and reasonable $900 price tag, I thought it might make a great poor-man's vlogging camera.
Read MoreOne of the worst concerts I've ever attended in my life -- in terms of pure sound quality -- was at Barclays Center. I get that arena shows are never going to be known for their top-notch acoustics, but the concrete cavern that the Brooklyn Nets call home is particularly bad. It's why I chose it as the venue to see Elton John and test out Peex Live, a service that promises to deliver an ideal music experience no matter how bad your seats (or sound engineer) are. There's a catch though: You have to wear headphones at a concert. That's about the most unintuitive thing I've ever heard of.
Read MoreApple has the AirPods for the iPhone, and now Samsung has a true wireless headphone made specifically for its Galaxy lineup. The Galaxy Buds offer a lot of the same features as most other true wireless earbuds: charging case, on-board controls, audio transparency, easy access to virtual assistants and more. There's one major caveat though: Unless you own one of Samsung's recent Galaxy handsets or an Android device, key features on the $130 Galaxy Buds won't be available to you.
Read MoreWhen it's time to start building their new, premium smartphones, companies like Samsung are usually driven by a simple mantra: "more." More power, more features, more cameras. And it's to the point where — after a while — it all starts to seem like overkill. Sure, all of these high-end devices are drool-worthy, but honestly, who needs that much smartphone? Maybe you do, since you're reading a review on Engadget. And so do I, as you might expect from a professional phone snob. The thing to remember is that, broadly speaking, we're the outliers here. Most people want a powerful, capable phone that doesn't cost $1,000 and won't feel obsolete in a year. That's where Samsung's smaller, $750 Galaxy S10e comes in. If phones like the S10+ represent the company at the peak of its hardware and software game, the S10e reflects an understanding that these new developments really shine when more people get to use them. The end result: A smartphone that, while not as flashy as its siblings, packs nearly all of the modern conveniences that make those pricier devices such a pleasure to use.
Read MorePicture this: you're holding two glossy all-glass concept phones for a photo, then one slips off and shatters another unit on the table. The room goes quiet. Everyone looks on in awe. You are left red-faced not because you broke a phone, but because you broke one of the few rare units in existence. That was exactly what happened to me at yesterday's Vivo APEX event in Hong Kong.
Read MoreWith last year's release of the Pixel 3 and 3 XL Google answered the call of competing smartphones by adding some significant software upgrades, and subtle hardware changes, to its flagship line-up. Aside from the addition of the controversial notch to the XL, the Pixel's body didn't change much from previous iterations; the company also switched to a glass back and provided a full HD+ HDR screen. Indeed, most of the real developments were on the software side. While these were substantial enough to wow reviewer Cherlynn Low and earn the phones scores of 90 and 89 respectively, users were less enthusiastic.
Read MoreThe pinnacle of high society is the Rolls-Royce. Only the richest TV and movie characters roll up in a Rolls. When they hop out of the back, you know that they're the heirs to a diamond mine or a diabolical supervillain with a huge bank account. So it's not surprising that the back of the first SUV from the automaker exudes an aura of exclusivity that transcends automobile segments. But they let me drive it all the same.
Read MoreWhen we first reviewed the Nintendo Switch back in 2017, reviewer Devindra Hardawar declared it was "unlike any system we've seen before." Indeed, the hybrid console sought to improve the Wii U's offerings with streamlined hardware, unique Joy-Con controllers, a custom NVIDIA Tegra X1 chip and a 6.2-inch 720p screen. In re-examining the Switch two years after its initial release, Devindra bumped up the console's score to 88 (from the previous score of 84) due to a much improved selection of games, durable hardware and a competitive price for the online service.
Read MoreLeica made a few waves with its original Q camera in 2015, and not without merit: the Q was a compact full-frame camera that took advantage of the company's reputation for high-quality lenses. You'll be glad to hear, then, that Leica is back with a full-fledged sequel. The just-unveiled Q2 borrows the same basic formula, including the non-removable 28mm f/1.7 prime lens, but gives you a much higher-resolution 47.3-megapixel sensor and, at last, 4K video capture. It's also billed as the only camera in its class (admittedly a rather small class) with dust and water resistance.
Read MoreCorsair is in general, a gamer's brand. The company makes PC components like memory and cases, as well as accessories like mice and keyboards for those who want to fully optimize their play experience. But let's be honest, you don't need to be a gamer to appreciate how good these products are. The K70 and K95 RGB are my favorite keyboards to work on, and the HS70 headset is also popular around the Engadget office. So imagine my delight in finding out that Corsair was venturing away from gaming with its latest keyboard. The K83 Wireless Entertainment Keyboard is aimed at folks who need a good media controller for their smart TV, HTPC or Roku.
Read MoreSamsung's Galaxy Watch Active is cute. That's obviously not the only thing going for the company's latest workout-friendly wearable, but its relative cuteness is surprisingly important here. After all, it directly affected the components Samsung used here, not to mention the overall experience of living with the Watch Active. And at $200, it's also relatively inexpensive for a fitness-focused Samsung smartwatch.
Read MoreThe Nintendo Switch is no Wii U -- we knew that much when we reviewed it on March 1st, 2017. Its portable design lets you play your games anywhere, and it seamlessly turns into a home console when you dock it, something that still feels magical today. Best of all, you can hand off one of its controllers to a friend for some quick head-to-head action. While Sony and Microsoft chased the specter of high-end 4K gaming, Nintendo, once again, took a different path -- one that ultimately led to its most innovative console yet. It's still not perfect, but Nintendo managed to fix most of the complaints, like a lack of titles and no real online service, from our initial review. And it also showed us a few surprises along the way.
Read MoreSamsung's Galaxy S10 may be all display on the surface, but what's underneath that enigmatic exterior? Quite a lot, apparently. iFixit has torn down the entire S10 family, and it's evident that Samsung has stuffed each phone to the gills. Most notably, cooling is everywhere. The back cover, display and wireless charging pads are blanketed in graphite, while the touted copper heat pipe is much larger -- it's closer to that in the Galaxy Note 9 than the cooling you saw in the S9. The iFixit team believes this might be necessary to keep the reverse wireless charging from cooking the phone.
Read MoreLast year's Versa smartwatch was a big hit for Fitbit, and there was no way the company couldn't make a sequel. The follow-up we did get, though, isn't exactly what some were expecting. This year's Versa Lite is exactly what its name implies — it's not a next-generation wearable so much as it is a pared-back version of last year's watch. That might not sound like the most exciting development to come out of Fitbit, but it's definitely one of the most practical. At $160, the Versa Lite is about $40 cheaper than the original, and the company hopes it'll be enough to sway people who have never wanted a smartwatch before.
Read MoreNote: The video above mistakenly states that the Novation Circuit does not have velocity sensitive pads. The review below correctly reflects that it does. Synthesizers and samplers are starting to look more and more like consumer electronics. That's been driven in large part by companies like Korg and Roland building small, affordable devices that make instant gratification a priority. Price and ease of use are finally being treated with the same importance as sound quality, which is key for reaching budding electronic musicians and producers. Elektron, on the other hand, has always been one of those companies that focused on making high-end toys for "serious" musicians. Even its relatively affordable instruments -- the Digitakt and Digitone -- cost around $750. But the Model:Samples is different. It's a legitimate entry-level device that tries to deliver everything special about Elektron gear at a beginner-friendly price.
Read MoreGood morning! Geneva's Motor Show has kicked off in style (as always), so we've got a preview report and, well, things that have already broken cover. We also have our definitive verdict on the new Galaxy S10+, but don't expect many surprises -- it's another great phone. You might see a few surprises, though, in our list of the best games you can play on the PS4, the first of our best-games guides for your gaming device of choice. Yes, it's an internet powder keg, but it's not a list set in stone either. The Engadget team will be updating the list regularly, so your comments and Twitter rage suggestions are welcome.
Read MoreWith all the foldable fever burning through MWC 2019, it's hard not to feel a little disappointed that the phone I'm reviewing is the S10+ and not the Galaxy Fold. But that doesn't mean the S10+ is a bad phone, even if the flagship line, and smartphones in general, are growing a little stale. The S10 and S10+ are the result of years of fine-tuning a formula, so much so that it feels like there's little room left to grow. For its tenth flagship, Samsung decided to focus on the display, camera and software, bringing the S10+ closer to perfection than ever. Despite some quirks and a $1,000 starting price, this is an excellent handset that still manages to pack a few surprises.
Read MoreMobile World Congress is finally, officially over, but there's no time to rest — not when we got the chance to test the Nokia 9 PureView around Barcelona, at least. We received the device just in time for its official release today, and early birds can pick up HMD's new photographic flagship for $599 for the first week; after that, the price balloons up to the regular $699.
Read MoreThe gas-powered Hyundai Kona is a great little crossover. It's inexpensive, it's fun to drive, it's got distinctive styling and it has room for you, your friends and some of their stuff. Then Hyundai went and made an EV version of the tiny SUV and it's a better vehicle in almost every way. But, more important, it's the electric car that a lot of folks have been waiting for.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Happy Friday! We've got robots handing boxes, a new car with a mindful mode and Spotify is trying to get you to pay for two accounts instead of sharing with your significant other. Good luck with that.
Read MoreWhen we first met Handle the wheeled robot was hopping and jumping to show off its agility, but a new demo video from Boston Dynamics is much more practical. In this one, larger Handle units work autonomously to move boxes around inside a a warehouse environment. According to the company, the boxes weigh about 11 pounds each, but the robots can handle up to 33 pounds. Whether or not they're truly suited to this work is hard to tell, even with computer vision and all the slick counterbalancing shown, operating in a real-world environment with potential obstacles could be more complicated. Still, just like the first video, the quick sure movement is a reminder that the robot apocalypse is rapidly approaching.
Read MoreThe Air Force wants to see if AI-powered autonomous drones can help human pilots better perform their mission. In a press release, the Air Force said it was seeking input from the tech industry in a new AI initiative for autonomous drones it calls Skyborg. Still in its planning stages, the Air Force is looking for market research and concept of operations analysis for Skyborg to get a sense of what technologies are out there for such a fleet. It is seeking to launch protoypes of the autonomous drones as early as 2023.
Read MoreSilicon Valley startup FarmWise Labs announced today that it is teaming up with Michigan-based manufacturing and automotive company Roush to create autonomous vegetable weeders. The companies will work together over the course of the year to create prototypes for self-driving robots that will be able to navigate across crops. If all goes well, they will start to scale up with additional units in 2020.
Read MoreThe US military is testing delivery drones that can transport supplies over long distances and be thrown away after each use. Made of cheap plywood, the bigger version of the two gliders being tested can carry over 700 kilograms, or roughly 1800 pounds. As reported in IEE Spectrum, the scientists at Logistic Gliders, Inc. revealed that their gliders just successfully completed a series of tests with US Marines. If cleared for mass production, the LG-1K and its bigger counterpart, the LG-2K, could cost as little as a few hundred dollars each.
Read MoreRobots might be a little more appealing -- and more practical -- if they're not made of hard, cold metal or plastic, but of a softer material. Researcher at Brown University believe they've developed a new material that could be ideal for "soft robotics." It's already demonstrated that it can pick up small, delicate objects, and it could form customized microfluidic devices -- sometimes called "labs-on-a-chip" and used for things like spotting aggressive cancers and making life-saving drugs in the field.
Read MoreYou didn't think a 2020 summer Olympics set in Japan would go without some robots, did you? Sure enough, they're on their way. The Tokyo Olympics' Organizing Committee has launched a Tokyo 2020 Robot Project that will have automatons providing assistance both to spectators and crews behind the scenes. Robots from Toyota (above) will help wheelchair-bound guests by guiding them to their seats, delivering food and providing event info. Panasonic, meanwhile, will provide Power Assist Suit exoskeletons (below) to help workers carry food, trash and other heavy cargo with relative ease.
Read MoreMIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has developed a new system that gives robots the power to pick up and handle any object, even those they haven't seen before. Despite how smart machines have become, most factory robots still need to be preprogrammed with the objects they're going to handle -- that's why roboticists are taking it upon themselves develop technologies that can teach themselves how to manipulate various items. CSAIL's system called kPAM works by creating visual roadmaps of objects by seeing them as collections of 3D keypoints.
Read MoreShrimp may be small, but some of them can pack quite a wallop. One of the pistol shrimp's claws, for instance, delivers such an explosive amount of force that it creates a shockwave of superhot plasma that can take out prey or create impromptu shelters. It only makes sense, then, that scientists hope to harness that power. A team has developed a robot claw that mimics the pistol shrimp's basic behavior to generate plasma and, potentially a valuable tool for underwater science and industry.
Read MoreAfter a few years of testing its robot valets, Stanley Robotics will officially put its fleet to use at France's Lyon-Saint-Exupéry airport this week. If you plan to park in the robot-lot anytime soon, you'll leave your car in a special garage-like box. One of Stanley's robots will literally pick up your car and deliver it to a spot. When you return, the system will use your flight information to determine when to bring your car back to a box, where you can pick it up and drive off. As the company says, that should mean no waiting or searching the parking lot.
Read MoreRobot hands tend to skew toward extremes. They can pick up delicate objects or heavy objects, but rarely both. MIT CSAIL's solution? Avoid hands altogether. Its researchers have developed a Venus flytrap-like gripper that can grab objects as fragile as a grape, but also items 100 times its weight -- even if they're oddly shaped. The trick relies on a combination of clever physics with brute force.
Read MoreRobots typically aren't good choices for studying deep sea animals like jellyfish -- not when their light, noise and movement can scare away those creatures. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution may have a far less intrusive option, though. Their planned Mesobot observer is designed to move as quietly as possible while collecting data about aquatic life. The four-foot-tall robot moves using six large but low-power thrusters that won't cause a stir, and its LED lights can switch to red (which many deep sea species can't see). A two-day running time should also minimize attention-getting trips to the surface.
Read MoreIn 2012, Moritz Simon Geist left a promising career as a research engineer in Germany to build robots and travel the world playing music full-time. He'd studied classical music in school, starting with the clarinet and piano, and toured with punk bands since he was a teenager in the '90s. That was when he started tinkering with equipment, building cheap solutions for complex audio problems and creating brand-new tools.
Read MoreThe next target for automation: baseball umpires. The Atlantic League, an independent baseball league, announced today that it will use tracking technology to assist umps in calling balls and strikes during the 2019 season in partnership with Major League Baseball. If the experiment goes well, MLB will consider implementing a similarly automated system for its future seasons.
Read MoreImagine you're using a VR headset and as a car races past, you hear it whip from left to right. Only the sound literally moves from left to right because it's coming from a robotic speaker that zips across the room. From the looks of a new patent, audio company Harman is dreaming up speakers that would do just that.
Read MoreNearly one year after robotics startup Jibo was sold off for parts, the company's social robot of the same name is informing users that it will be shutting down. In a message accompanied by a dance, the robot informed owners that its servers are going offline, which will severely hamper most of its functionality. Engadget attempted to reach out to Jibo to confirm the shutdown, but the company's email address bounces the message back and its support page is offline.
Read MoreMIT's original Cheetah robot is already quite nimble on its feet, but there's now a smaller counterpart that might put it to shame. Researchers have shown off a new Mini Cheetah that can pull off a number of slick moves, including backflips -- it's the first four-legged robot to pull off the feat, according to MIT. It can also walk upside-down Exorcist-style, pick itself up after falls and trot at a relatively brisk 5.5MPH on less-than-smooth terrain.
Read MoreSamsung is attempting to put to rest doubts over the Samsung Galaxy Fold's durability by revealing how each device is tested. The company released a video on Wednesday that shows its devices undergoing a factory stress-test, where a line-up of brand new Samsung Galaxy Folds fold, and then unfold, and then fold again.
Read MoreSamsung has announced its new soundbar lineup: the Q series, optimized for -- you guessed it -- the company's QLED TVs. The HW-Q70R and HW-Q60R are the latest offerings from Samsung's ongoing collaboration with Harman Kardon, with the premium HW-Q70R supporting Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
Read MoreSamsung has launched its biggest A-series phone ever, and it has a pretty impressive camera setup, too. The Galaxy A70 packs a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED 20:9 1,080 x 2,400 display with an "Infinity-U" notch. That houses the 32-megapixel, f/2.0 selfie camera that beats the main camera on many other phones. On the back is a 32-megapixel F1.7 main camera (trumping the 24-megapixel main camera on the last model), an ultra-wide-angle camera and a depth sensor.
Read MoreSamsung usually publishes an earnings guidance so investors know what to expect when its full earnings come in. Now, the tech giant has pre-empted its guidance with a warning in what Reuters says is an unprecedented move, perhaps in an effort to prepare its investors for a bad first quarter as early as possible.
Read MoreSamsung's US marketing team is in the midst of turmoil, and that might include some high-profile casualties. Wall Street Journal sources claim that Samsung recently fired "several" workers in its American marketing division after an internal investigation into possible violations of policies through dealings with business partners. Not long after, Samsung's marketing chief Marc Mathieu (above) and VP of media and partnerships Jay Altschuler both left -- it's not clear that the events are connected, but the timing is at least raising eyebrows.
Read MoreSamsung is working on a "perfect full-screen" phone that will be 100 percent display, with no notches, bezels or cut-outs. According to Yang Byung-duk, the company's display R&D vice president, "Technology can move to the point where the camera hole will be invisible, while not affecting the camera's function in any way."
Read MoreIf you, for some unknown reason, thought Samsung's flexible device rollout would stop with the Galaxy Fold then we have bad news. Bloomberg cites unnamed sources saying that the company is already working on a pair of follow-up smartphones, with one shaped like a clamshell (folding vertically so that the top meets the bottom) and another that folds away just like Huawei's impressive Mate X. The rumors suggest that the vertically folding device could appear late this year or early next year, while the one that folds out is due after that.
Read MoreSamsung had a surprise in store at Unpacked last month, when it revealed its Galaxy S10 camera app will include an Instagram mode. The company is adding another, more laidback third-party integration as Samsung Health users can access content from mindfulness service Calm as of today.
Read MoreThere's no better symbol of plastic ocean pollution and '80s consumerism gone wild than the Garfield phones of Brittany. The handsets, in the form of the aggressively unfunny cat, have been washing up on French beaches for decades. However, the novelty has long since worn off for residents who have been picking them up since the '80s. Now, a local anti-litter group called Ar Vilantsou has finally found the source: a lost shipping container.
Read MoreDialysis, a common treatment for kidney disease, is far from pleasant, and companies and researchers are constantly working to improve the process. Now, researchers from Humacyte Inc., Duke University and Yale think they're one step closer to using bioengineered blood vessels. These would replace synthetic polymers and donor tissues, which carry risks of inflammation and immune system rejection.
Read MoreIt can be costly and time-consuming to train police dogs when each candidate might have different skills and personalities. China's solution? Make copies of the best-performing dogs. The state-backed China Daily reports that the city of Kunming, the Yunnan Agricultural University and Beijing Sinogene Biotechnology are about to train Kunxun, a two-month-old Kunming wolfdog cloned from a "great" canine detective. The aim, as you might guess, is to save time and money -- they'll know that Kunxun is more likely to learn quickly and perform well.
Read MoreMicrosoft is on its way to replacing data centers with DNA. The company and researchers from the University of Washington have successfully automated the process to translate digital information into DNA and back to bits. They now have the first, full end-to-end automated DNA storage device. And while there's room for improvement, Microsoft hopes this proof-of-concept will advance DNA storage technology.
Read MoreA team of scientists at Stanford have figured out a way to make hydrogen fuel out of saltwater. The discovery could open up the world's oceans as a potential source of energy. Researchers view electrolysis, or the act of splitting water into hydrogen and gas, as a promising new source of renewable energy. But it comes with many roadblocks; a major one being that only purified water can be used in electrolysis. Seawater tends to corrode water-splitting systems.
Read MoreGoogle and others have developed smart clothing with built-in integrated circuits, but what if the textile itself formed the circuit? That's the idea behind The Embroidered Computer, an interactive installation from artist and researcher Irene Posch and designer/artist Ebru Kurbak , shown at this year's Instanbul Design Biennial. It's a working 8-bit electromechanical computer made from gold, linen, hematite, wood, silver and copper that functions equally as a decorative textile. As Posch notes on her website, the piece explores "the appearance of current digital and electronic technologies surrounding us, as well as our interaction with them." At the same exhibition, the artists also showed off The Yarn Recorder, a device that can record and playback sounds using steel-cored yarn.
Read More3D printing can already create sensors for NASA rovers, rocket engines, safer football helmets, dentures. Name it, and it seems like it can be 3D printed. But the technology is still pretty limited, partly because most 3D printing systems can only make parts made of one material at a time. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin have discovered a way to use light to 3D print with more than one material.
Read MoreWhen making a documentary on something as groundbreaking and controversial as CRISPR, the gene editing tool that could potentially help us eradicate cancer, you need a deft touch. Lean into the hard science, and it might be too complex for general viewers. Focus intensely on the downsides -- like its potential to lead us down the dark path of eugenics -- and it might sound unnecessarily preachy. Go too light on either of those aspects, and it might be hard to take your film seriously.
Read MoreGenetically modified fish are about to become more of a practical reality in the US. The Food and Drug Administration has lifted an import alert on AquaBounty's genetically modified AquAdvantage salmon eggs, allowing the fish to reach the US over three years after they received initial approval. Congress told the FDA in 2016 to block modified salmon until it issued labeling guidelines, and the Administration believes Congress' newly-enacted National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard meets that criteria.
Read More23andMe is betting that its gene testing kits can help identify another major health risk: diabetes. The company plans to offer a report that identifies your genetic predisposition toward type 2 (that is, adult onset) diabetes. Unlike the company's earlier reports, the test provides a polygenic score based on gene variant research data from roughly 2.5 million customers, 70,000 of which reported diabetes -- it's not relying on any public information. Ideally, this would help you change your diet and habits to reduce the chance of developing diabetes.
Read MoreForget France. In the 21st-century artisanal cheese world, all roads lead to the tiny town of Greensboro, Vermont, home to the Cellars at Jasper Hill. There, brothers Mateo and Andy Kehler craft some of the best cheeses in the world: Jasper Hill has won at least one award from the American Cheese Society every year since 2013, as well as global recognition at the World Cheese Awards. Their ability to raise dairy cows, create cheeses and age other companies' products in their $5 million, 22,000-square-foot facility has made them role models for the 500 or so indie cheesemakers in the US.
Read MoreThere appears to be more than one promising sign in the quest for an HIV cure. Researchers have given a London patient a bone marrow stem cell transplant that has left him HIV-free for the past 18 months. As the donor has a very rare genetic mutation (CCR5 delta 32) that makes them HIV-resistant, the stem cells sent the HIV into remission with only a "mild reaction" from the treatment. It's a positive sign, and it suggests that the stem cell transplants that 'cured' Tim Brown in 2007 weren't just flukes.
Read MoreTwo new works from the Factory of the Living exhibition at the Pompidou Center in Paris show how digital technology is influencing art and biology. Both pieces were developed in "collaboration" with living organisms:The first, H.O.R.T.U.S. XL astaxanthin.g, from ecoLogicStudio was built using cyanobacteria, and the second, Urban Morphogenesis Lab's XenoDerma, gets an assist from an asian fawn tarantula.
Read MoreSony is reportedly getting ready to pull up some of its stakes in the smartphone business. According to Nikkei Asian Review, the major tech manufacturer is planning to cut up to half of its smartphone workforce by 2020. The potential layoffs could leave as many as 2,000 people without a job, though the company is expected to transfer some of those workers to other divisions. Engadget reached out to Sony regarding the layoffs and will update this story if we hear back.
Read MoreThe US-led Huawei backlash isn't hurting the company's bottom line. Buoyed by strong smartphone sales in its native China, the electronics manufacturer reported a 19.5 percent increase in 2018 revenue, breaking the $100 billion mark for the first time. Net profit also surged by over 25 percent compared to a year ago to hit 59.3 billion yuan ($9 billion).
Read MoreManufacturers have been coming up with creative ways to design bezel-free phones since the iPhone X arrived. After a parade of one notched phone after another, they've started releasing fully bezel-free devices with pop-up selfie cameras instead. One of the companies is Oppo, which has at least two phones like that under its belt. Now, a couple of leaks (by Slashleaks) show that the Chinese manufacturer is working on another device under an upcoming series named Reno with a pop-up cam that's not quite like its previous offerings: it's wedge-shaped and slides out from one end only.
Read MoreIf you're more interested in LG's unabashedly weird G8 ThinQ than the relatively safe Galaxy S10, you're in luck. LG has announced that the G8 will arrive on April 11th, with pre-orders starting March 29th at major carriers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon (Engadget's parent company). It'll undercut its South Korean rival's price by a fair margin -- pricing starts at $820 up front versus Samsung's $900, and that's before the usual promos that knock as much as $150 off the price.
Read MoreSamsung is no stranger to using TV events as sales pitches for its smartphones, but now it's taking over an entire TV show. Variety has learned that the March 25th episode of NBC's Tonight Show will replace the usual studio program with a tour of Jimmy Fallon's favorite New York City locales (complete with The Roots and guests) shot entirely with a Galaxy S10+ phone. In essence, it's one long ad for the smartphone's cameras. Samsung's Patricio Paucar isn't shy about the reasoning, either -- it's an attempt to "break through the noise" and get people to pay attention when they might tune out the usual commercials.
Read MoreNokia phone brand owner HMD Global is understandably nervous about Finland investigating claims that its handsets send sensitive data to China, and it's trying to clear its name. The company said in a statement that it "mistakenly included" the device activation software for Chinese phones in a "single batch" of Nokia 7 Plus phones meant for other countries. However, that data was "never processed" and wasn't personally identifiable, according to the company. It was fixed through a software update in February 2019, and "nearly all" phones already have that patch.
Read MoreHuawei might know how to build photo-centric smartphones, but the concept of web pages is apparently beyond its grasp. As spotted by Evan Blass, it unveiled an event page for the phone that reveals pretty much everything you'd want to know ahead of its March 26th Paris Event. As expected, it'll have a quad camera array -- with the main packing a 40-megapixel sensor -- and 10X hybrid zoom, doubling the P20 Pro's 5X zoom.
Read MoreRemember how shampoo magnate John Paul DeJoria threw himself into the mobile world five years ago? He's now offering smartphones -- and they might be appealing if you find most budget phones a little boring. Rokit's newly launched Io 3D and Io Pro 3D (above) both offer glasses-free 3D without the expense that usually comes with the tech. You won't need to go to the length of buying a RED Hydrogen One just to bedazzle your friends. There's even an "expansive" catalog of content to watch through an app that that hosts movies and other stereoscopic material.
Read MoreSamsung's just finished its recent phone-launch extravaganza leaving several new handsets to choose from. If you're not a fan of super-sized phones like the S10+, but want to spend that little bit extra, you may be angling for the Galaxy S10. It has many of the hallmarks you'd want in a handset: A quality camera, good battery life, a zippy experience and... a headphone jack! It's still a valuable item to be carting along with you on everyday adventures, so slipping it into a protective case like one of Speck's Presidio line is a no-brainer. In fact, Speck has provided us with a Galaxy S10, three of its cases and a GrabTab ($9.95) for one lucky reader this week. The Presidio Grip ($39.95+), V-Grip ($39.95+) and Pro ($39.95+) all have "Impactium shock barrier" drop protection and easy-to-hold exteriors. They're also a slim fit and allow for wireless charging without removing the case. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to five chances at winning Samsung's latest, along with the peace of mind that Speck cases can provide. Good luck! Winner: Congratulations to Carlos Y. of Canoga Park, CA!
Read MoreXiaomi released its third gaming phone today, the Black Shark 2, and this time around, it's using a pressure-sensitive display to cram in even more controls. That way, not only does the phone have an in-display fingerprint sensor by Samsung, it lets you map left and right controls to the screen. So you'll be able to control your games more easily through the screen, rather than by adding on physical buttons.
Read MoreThe quest to create all-screen phones has led to some unusual camera designs, but ZTE's ideas might just take the cake. Notebook Italia appears to have leaked details of two phones, the Axon S and Axon V, that would go to great lengths to avoid notches or cutouts. The Axon S (above) would reportedly tuck both its two front and three rear cameras into a sideways slider running the entire height of the phone. Even the ZTE branding would stay hidden until you're ready to take a photo. This design would make sense for many outward-facing photos, although your selfies might be slightly askew.
Read MoreIn the event that tensions between Huawei Technologies and the US reach a boiling point, Huawei has a backup plan: its own operating system (OS) for phones, tablets and computers. The OS has been rumored for years, but Huawei confirmed its viability with the South China Morning Post, saying it could be used if the company were cut off from Android or Windows. It's seen as a last resort, but given the current discord between the US and Huawei, it's not entirely surprising that the company has a plan B.
Read MoreSamsung has unveiled the highest-capacity smartphone DRAM chip yet, a 12GB LPDDR4X package that will give premium smartphones more memory than the average laptop. The chip will be ideal for complex multi-camera devices and folding smartphones with high-resolution screens. "With more smartphones adopting more features, Samsung has seen increasing demand for higher-capacity DRAM chips from phone makers," the company said.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. We reviewed Samsung's smaller Galaxy S10 just in time for Google to deliver the first beta version of Android Q. Also, there's some information on how much the Apex Legends launch cost to pull off, and Microsoft's new Xbox One app brings PC games streaming to your console.
Read MoreIt's that time of year when Google offers an early peek at the next version of Android, and sure enough, the first Android Q preview beta is here. Like previous Android betas, the emphasis here is more on functional updates rather than razzle-dazzle. Most notably, privacy is a major focus. You can limit location gathering to when an app is running (much like on iOS) and restrict apps' access to media, while Google will restrict apps' power to either jump to the foreground or collect sensitive info like IMEI and serial numbers.
Read MoreIt's no secret that smartphone sales are on the decline worldwide as consumers hold on to their handsets for longer. The trend is particularly visible in China, the world's biggest tech market, and a major battleground for the industry's leading manufacturers. When China slumps, even Apple and Samsung get burned. And the latest official sales data out of the country, via Reuters, paints a dire picture. Smartphone shipments in China fell to their lowest in six years in February, according to a government-affiliated research group.
Read MoreIf you bought RED's Hydrogen One hoping that its module system would improve its frankly lackluster camera technology, you might not want to hold your breath for an imminent upgrade. RED has pulled references to the conventional camera module from the Hydrogen One page, leaving its fate up in the air. Company founder Jim Jannard didn't go into detail as to why the module mention vanished, but indicated that RED was in the midst of "radically changing" the Hydrogen program to appeal to both pros and everyday users -- the camera system in particular is due for a shake-up.
Read MoreAfter selling some of its operations to Google, HTC isn't quite the player in the phone business that we remember, but it still has some impressive hardware that could use a software update. Back in August the company announced several phones in line for an upgrade to Android 9 Pie, but since then things have been pretty quiet, even as other flagship phones slowly ticked themselves off of the list. While its Android One U11 Life model is already operating on Google's latest software, the company tweeted Monday that it "anticipates" updates for the U11, U11+ and U12+ in Q2. That could vary based on countries and operators, but there's at least a chance users could see Pie before the likely reveal of Android Q at Google's I/O developer event in early May.
Read MoreThe new Palm is a tiny smartphone for occasions when your regular device is just too overwhelming.There's now a battery pack that will address the bite-size phone's short battery life. Mophie has released a battery case and power station keychain for the Palm.
Read MoreYou may recall that a little over a month ago, Meizu launched a crowdfunding campaign for its futuristic "Zero" port-free smartphone, but at $1,299 a piece (plus that single $2,999 "Exclusive Pioneering Unit"), it comes as no surprise that the overly-ambitious Indiegogo project failed with just 29 backers. Despite the existence of working units, there's no word on the Zero's future at this moment, but in response to a related thread on Meizu's official forum, founder and CEO Jack Wong gave a surprisingly upfront -- if not a little disheartening -- one-liner. "This crowdfunding project was just the marketing team messing about," Wong said, "the holeless phone is just a development project from the R&D department, we never intended to mass-produce this project."
Read MoreChinese electronics manufacturer Oppo announced today its latest smartphone, the F11 Pro. The company went all in on cameras with its new midrange handset. The F11 Pro is the latest smartphone to feature a 48-megapixel primary camera. As for the front-facing lens, Oppo tapped another emerging trend and equipped the device with a pop-up camera.
Read MoreFoldable phones arrived in a big way over the last month, but there's a fundamental problem that they haven't quite figured out. The buzzworthy phones introduced at Samsung's Unpacked and MWC aren't truly foldable; they're bendable. The good news is Corning, the company behind Gorilla Glass, is hurrying to come up with a solution.
Read MoreLineageOS (and its ancestor CyanogenMod) has a history of breathing new life into old Android devices, and that's truer than ever in 2019. The developers have released LineageOS 16, a ROM that introduces Android 9 Pie to devices that in some cases stopped receiving official updates years ago. The initial 30 supported models includes hardware from as long ago as 2014, including the Samsung Galaxy S5 and OnePlus One.
Read MoreOnePlus' quest to eradicate bezels might be reaching its logical conclusion: virtually no bezels at all. Well-known tipster OnLeaks and Pricebaba have posted renders purporting to depict the OnePlus 7, and its centerpiece would be a nearly-all-screen 6.5-inch design that ditches the notch in favor of a Vivo NEX S-style front-facing camera. Not surprisingly, OnePlus wouldn't be opting for the elaborate mechanism or depth sensing of Oppo's Find X.
Read MoreAfter years of talk, the era of 5G is finally upon us. This time around, you couldn't take more than a few steps on the MWC show floor without bumping into someone driving a delivery truck via 5G, or seeing a man remotely directing a surgery across town thanks to 5G's ultra-low latency. (In case you hadn't heard, MWC is weird.) For most of us though, 5G just means faster data for our smartphones, so we wanted to take a moment to dig into what the 5G phones we found in Barcelona really bring to the table.
Read MoreBesides whole new families of phones, the evolution of augmented reality and the true start of 5G networks and devices, you couldn't escape the folding phone. MWC went so hard on the old folding device trend, we began to see them even where they didn't exist.
Read MoreThe last week has been a whirlwind of jamón-flavored chips, 5G talk and things that fold, so naturally, we're still reeling a bit. As we begin pulling ourselves out of this trade show-induced stupor, though, we've taken stock of everything we've seen in Barcelona and compiled this list of our favorite smartphones from the show floor. Not everything that made the cut will be a massive success, or go on sale around the world -- still, because of the ambition and ingenuity that went into each of these devices, each is worth celebrating in its own way.
Read MoreToday, Google added Motorola's Moto G7 to its fleet of Google Fi-compatible phones. The Moto G7 debuted last month just ahead of MWC, and it stuck to Motorola's trend of bringing mid-range phones to everyone. Now that Google is offering it when people sign up for its Fi wireless service, the Moto G7 is the newest low-cost Fi phone.
Read MoreGoogle has come up with a compromise to make its "OK Google" feature more secure. Rather than allow users to unlock their Android devices completely (a security risk), the Voice Match command will soon limit "OK Google" to open the Assistant interface on the lock screen. There, interactions will be limited to "personal results," things like Google Calendar, email, reminders and shopping lists.
Read MoreVivo is no stranger when it comes to a list of "firsts" in the smartphone market, with notable achievements including the in-display fingerprint reader, the notch-less all-screen design, the pop-up front camera, the dual-display implementation and, most recently, the port-less all-glass device. Now, the Chinese company is flexing its mobile muscles by tapping into the gaming segment, and it's doing so by way of a new sub-brand dubbed iQOO, which awkwardly stands for "I Quest On and On." Naturally, its first namesake smartphone is also quite the powerhouse.
Read MoreFacebook has announced a new feature called "Why am I seeing this post?" which will help you better understand the content that shows up on your News Feed from friends, Pages and Groups you follow. Not only that, but this will also give you more control over what you see in the News Feed, letting you easily manage the posts you interact with on the site. The company says this is the first time it has built information on how News Feed ranking works directly into the Facebook app, noting that it is part of its efforts to be more transparent with users about how its algorithms target you.
Read MoreAustralia may take a stricter approach to violent online material than Europe in light of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. The government is introducing legislation that would punish social networks that don't "expeditiously" remove "abhorrent" violent content produced by perpetrators, such as terrorism, kidnapping and rape. If found guilty, a company could not only face fines up to 10 percent of their annual turnover, but see its executives imprisoned for up to three years. The country's Safety Commissioner would have the power to issue formal notices, giving companies a deadline to remove offending material.
Read MoreFacebook COO Sheryl Sandberg took to the Instagram blog this evening saying "We have heard feedback that we must do more – and we agree" (the post was also published as an op-ed in the New Zealand Herald). Despite the lack of credibility big tech companies have when it comes to dealing with dangerous hate groups, the post's title claims "We Can Win Against Hate." Specifically citing the mass shooting in Christchurch New Zealand, Sandberg revealed that it identified more than 900 videos showing portions of the shooter's original 17-minute Facebook Live broadcast. As a result, it's making an unspecified investment in research to identify these edited versions of violent videos and block them. More important, however, is news that the company is "exploring" restrictions on who can go Live. Coming nearly two years after a murderer in Cleveland broadcast his crime on a Facebook live stream, it seems horrifically late to start thinking about adding rules now. Still, even with a long list of incidents, all Sandberg could say is that potential restrictions could happen "depending on factors such as prior Community Standard violations." It's also updated the review process to respond more quickly on similar videos in the future, and listed ways it's supporting people in New Zealand via local organizations and the government.
Read MoreIn a move so overdue you're probably checking the date stamp on this article, Instagram could finally be about to launch a seek bar on videos posted on users' feeds. The feature, discovered by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong, would let you skip backwards and forwards through a video without having to start it again from the beginning (as every other video player ever made already allows).
Read MoreWhile Twitter has had a night mode on mobile since 2016, the feature's been missing something essential: a black color scheme. Up until today, Twitter's Dark Mode was just a blue-and-gray user interface, designed to put less strain on your eyes. But now Twitter is adding more options to its iOS app. Not only will you get a true, black-colored dark mode called Lights Out, but you can also start setting up your device to enable the feature automatically. Android users got that option in 2017, and Twitter is finally expanding it. So whenever the Twitter app for iOS knows it's night time, it'll turn it on all on its own, if you so choose.
Read MoreTwitter is considering a label for tweets that violate its rules but believes should remain on the platform because they're in the public interest. Twitter's head of legal, policy and trust Vijaya Gadde said in a Washington Post interview such a label could "put some context around [a tweet] so people are aware that that content is actually a violation of our rules and it is serving a particular purpose in remaining on the platform."
Read MoreApparently, the US government views Grindr as a threat to national security. According to Reuters, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) informed the Chinese gaming company that owns the dating app that its ownership constitutes a national security risk. Now, facing pressure from the US, Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd is looking to sell.
Read MoreTelegram's ability to unsend messages is no longer a novelty among chat apps, but it's now taking that feature well beyond what you'd get from others. An update to the service lets you delete any message in your private chat history, whether you're the sender or the recipient. You can even wipe out an entire conversation (on both sides or just your own) with two taps. It's an audacious step, but one the company feels is necessary in the modern climate.
Read MoreWhatsApp is experimenting with yet more tools to help fight the spread of fake news. A new beta for Android labels messages you send as "frequently forwarded" if they've been shared five or more times. You can even see the exact forwarding count by diving into the Message Info section. It's limited to messages you send rather than ones you receive, but it could give you second thoughts about sharing a sensationalist piece more than once.
Read MoreFacebook has admitted that it suspected Cambridge Analytica of scraping data from the platform even before the first reports about its massive data collection were published. The Guardian has learned about the social network's suspicion from a court filing by Washington DC's attorney general's office, which sued the company over the scandal. That filing opposed Facebook's motion to seal one of the documents the attorney general submitted to the court: an email exchange between the social network's senior managers revealing that they knew of CA's "improper data-gathering practices" as early as September 2015. The Guardian didn't publish its first piece on Cambridge Analytica until December 2015, and the scandal didn't blow up until 2018.
Read MoreYou might open Instagram to see what your friends are doing, look at a cute puppy or like pretty pictures of other people's food -- but there's something much darker under the surface. While other platforms are working to eradicate hate speech and stop the spread of conspiracy theories, hate-fueled and misguided information is flourishing on Instagram. As The Atlantic writes, Instagram is "the internet's new home for hate."
Read MoreFacebook is making it a bit easier to keep track of who's talking to who in a busy group chat. It's rolling out a thread feature for Messenger that lets you reply to specific messages (including media and emoji). If you ask an important question, you won't have to scroll through chat to see if someone answered it. You only have to long-press on a message to start a response.
Read MoreConfronted by the UK's Parliament, Snapchat admitted its age verification process doesn't keep users younger than 13 years old from signing up. That's not exactly a big secret. Users are simply asked to enter their birthday, which could easily be fudged. But Snapchat's admission is significant.
Read MoreYouTube has terminated a channel Alex Jones was reportedly using to skirt his ban from the platform. On a video posted on Resistance News, which was a secondary Infowars channel according to Media Matters, Jones described last week's New Zealand mosque shootings as a "false flag" operation and attacked Muslims.
Read MoreInstagram is moving a little deeper into commerce by allowing you to buy goods without leaving the app. The checkout feature will at first be a closed beta in the US with more than 20 brands involved, including Adidas, Nike, Zara, Kylie Cosmetics, Uniqlo, Burberry, H&M, Mac, Prada and Michael Kors. More brands will join in the coming months.
Read MoreTwitter has previously been criticized by some parties for alleged bias against conservatives, and now it's facing a lawsuit (PDF) from a politician. Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA) is seeking over $250 million in damages for things like alleged censorship, "shadow-banning" of conservatives and allegedly ignoring "lawful complaints" about offensive material hosted on Twitter's servers. Nunes blames the defendants for the results of his 2018 run for re-election, where he won by a smaller margin than prior results that his lawsuit described as "sweeping majorities."
Read MoreIn the 24 hours after the mass shooting in New Zealand on Friday, YouTube raced to remove videos that were uploaded as fast as one per second, reports The Washington Post. While the company will not say how many videos it removed, it joined Facebook, Twitter and Reddit in a desperate attempt to remove graphic footage from the shooter's head-mounted camera.
Read MoreFacebook hoped to help people across the US stay more informed about local news, information and events when it launched its Today In feature in November. But Facebook says it's having trouble finding enough news to feed into the service -- in part because it hastened the demise of hundreds of local newspapers.
Read MoreIn the early 2000s, MySpace introduced us all to the world of social networking. Within a few years it became huge platform for music, where bands could share their songs and users could customize their profiles with their favorite tracks. Even as its popularity faded in the shadows of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, and as music streaming sites came to dominate, MySpace hung on as a music platform. The fact that it helped launch artists like Arctic Monkeys, Panic! At The Disco, Sean Kingston and Kate Nash -- as well as its Justin Timberlake-themed redesign -- gave it a certain amount of credibility.
Read MoreTinder has revealed that it no longer relies on its top-secret "Elo" desirability score to create matches. Instead, it apparently uses a new algorithm that sounds very similar to the old one, with the most important parameter being how much you use the app. Despite saying "the case has been solved," Tinder didn't really describe exactly how the new system works, leaving jilted users to (once again) speculate on why they're failing to, well, score.
Read MoreJust because Google+ is shutting down on April 2nd doesn't mean your years of social posts will be lost in the void. The ArchiveTeam recently started caching public Google+ content to make it available on the Internet Archive after the fateful day. This won't include content that was deleted or made private before the archival process began, and might not include all comments or full-resolution media. Still, this will ensure that you have some way of reliving moments years down the road.
Read MoreInternet giants have been racing to pull copies of the New Zealand mass shooter's video from their sites, and Facebook is illustrating just how difficult that task has been. Facebook New Zealand's Mia Garlick has revealed that the social network removed 1.5 million attack videos worldwide in the first 24 hours, 1.2 million of which were stopped at the upload stage. This includes versions edited to remove the graphic footage of the shootings, Garlick said, as the company wants to both respect people affected by the murders and the "concerns of local authorities."
Read MoreFollowing other social networks, Reddit has also faced people trying to reshare video of a terrorist attack on a mosque in New Zealand. Now two notorious subreddits, r/watchpeopledie and r/Gore have been banned for hosting links to it. Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell shared a picture of a moderator saying "The video stays up until someone censors us." In 2015 Reddit chose to ban instead of quarantine a number of racist groups, and researchers found the move made its community less toxic overall. On the banned pages, Reddit posted a note saying their removal is because of violating its policy against content glorifying or encouraging violence, although it doesn't explain how they were left up so long in the first place.
Read MoreTwitter is testing yet another new feature: a "subscribe to conversation" button that would let users follow a thread without liking or replying to it. Twitter user and software engineer Jane Manchun Wong (who's known for finding this kind of thing) discovered the prototype in the Android version of the app. In response to her tweet about it, Twitter said this is an attempt to make the platform more conversational. It's now the latest in a flood of changes we've seen from Twitter.
Read MoreSnap will launch a gaming platform for its social media app next month, according to Cheddar. The service (codenamed "Project Cognac") has been rumored for awhile, and will reportedly feature externally developed games that will work inside the Snapchat app. It sounds much like the gaming tab just unveiled by Facebook, which features Instant Games, eSports streaming, and more. Google is also about to make a big gaming announcement at GDC next month, possibly to launch its own platform.
Read MoreFacebook and YouTube are working to remove "violent footage" of the New Zealand mass shootings. The gunman -- who killed 49 people and injured 20 in shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch -- appeared to livestream his attack to Facebook using a head-mounted GoPro camera. New Zealand Police said they were moving to have the "extremely distressing footage" removed.
Read MoreFacebook and Instagram were down for the better part of the day Wednesday, and now we know why. According to Facebook, the outage was the result of a server configuration change. The social networking giant said the issue has since been fixed and all of its products and services are accessible once again. "We're very sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate everyone's patience," the company said.
Read MoreFacebook's Watch Party won't just help you help watch online videos with friends -- it'll soon help with old-school TV. The social network is launching a new Watch Party experience that will let you host live TV shows, starting with sports. Start a party and you can cheer in chat, create polls and offer trivia questions based on player stats. It's not going to compare to gathering around the couch, but it should deliver more of a thrill than everyday group discussions.
Read MorePeriscope, the livestreaming app owned by Twitter, is banning fake engagement on the platform. This includes fake hearts, chats, followers, and views. In a Medium post, the company told users to expect an "increase in enforcement actions" as the policy takes effect. Similar to Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms, Periscope users can also expect account-level spam reporting options in the future.
Read MoreThere were rumors flying around recently of Twitter working on a "News Camera," which would bring a Stories-style feature to the social network. And, well, it turns out that's partially true. At SXSW 2019, Twitter is launching a revamped camera for its app that will make it easier to tweet pictures and videos. This new camera, which starts rolling out to users today, has the potential to be one of the biggest changes to Twitter in the past few years -- right up there with the company's shift to 280 characters. While that may be the case, the new feature still feels very much like Twitter though, not a clone of Snapchat or Instagram Stories.
Read MoreWhatsApp appears to be working on a new feature to help users identify whether an image they receive is legitimate or not. While picking apart update 2.19.73, WABetaInfo discovered a "search by image" function that will let you upload a received image directly to Google to reveal "similar or equal" images on the web. With this info, you should be able to more accurately judge whether the picture is real, or fake news.
Read MoreWe haven't heard much from Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger since they resigned from Facebook last September. But on Monday, the pair spoke at SXSW 2019 about the rise of Instagram, social media rivals like Snapchat and whether governments should break up Facebook. Systrom and Krieger founded the photo-sharing app in 2010 and, in 2012, sold it to Facebook for $1 billion dollars. Since then, Instagram has quickly become one of Facebook's most prized possessions, thanks to its 1 billion monthly unique users (and counting).
Read MoreIf you're claiming disability benefits, a latergram of you hiking or going out dancing could soon get you in trouble. A proposed Trump administration rule would allow agency officials to snoop on the social media accounts of Social Security disability recipients. The White House is working with the Social Security Administration to propose a new rule that allow for social media monitoring in order to crack down on fraud, reports the New York Times.
Read MoreYouTube creators can now apply AR selfie filters to their YouTube Stories. The animated masks, glasses and 3D hats are similar to those you've seen elsewhere, like on Snapchat or Instagram. But Google promises its machine learning capabilities make these the best selfie filters yet.
Read MoreTwitter is making good on its promise of testing new conversation features in public. The social network has launched Twttr, an experimental app that lets early adopters try prototypes of new Twitter features. It'll start with the conversation test, which turns threads into chat-like presentations with color-coded users and indentation. However, Twitter told TechCrunch it could use the app to explore other changes, such as new ideas for status updates and pinned introductory tweets.
Read MoreThe only thing better than watching great videos is hate-watching terrible ones while making jokes about them with friends. Facebook caught onto that idea with its Watch Party feature, and it might soon bring something similar to Instagram, according to code uncovered by reverse-engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong. A feature called "cowatch" could let you and others watch Instagram stories, videos, Instagram TV (IGTV) or other content in a similar way to Watch Party.
Read MoreWaiting for Twitter to respond to harassment reports can be frustrating -- even more so if you're trying to get the social network to remove tweets containing your personal information. In an effort to ensure that it can respond to doxxing attempts as quickly as possible, the company has expanded its reporting tool to include a section where you can tell it more about the offending tweet. When you report a tweet, choose "It's abusive or harmful" and then "Includes personal information" to be able to specify what kind of sensitive detail is being shared.
Read MoreFacebook just cracked down on more fake accounts in the UK, and this time it was a relatively sophisticated scheme. The social network has pulled 137 bogus accounts (including for Instagram), groups and pages for "coordinated inauthentic behavior" that tried to play two sides of the political debate in the UK. The perpetrators posed as both far-right and anti-far-right activists and spread divisive rhetoric about immigration, racism, religion, free speech rights and LGBT issues, among other contentious topics. If that sounds familiar, it should -- just like the US saw in 2016, the culprits were trying to stoke political tensions under the guise of rallying support.
Read MoreQueen Elizabeth II might be the next big Instagram influencer. Her Majesty made her first ever post to Instagram today while visiting the Science Museum in London. Her post, made from the official TheRoyalFamily account, was a photo of a letter sent to her great-great-grandfather Prince Albert from 19th-century mathematician, engineer and computer pioneer Charles Babbage.
Read MoreMicrosoft might have an all-digital Xbox One ready in the next few months. Also, we explain how that dumb Momo hoax embarrasses us all and how Samsung's Galaxy Fold will just be the start of a generation of folding phones.
Read MoreOh man, we really do live on the dumbest timeline. You probably recognize the horrifying visage you see above: it's Momo, the mascot for the internet's newest outrage sensation. The Momo Challenge, as it's called, reportedly encourages children and teens to commit increasingly brazen acts of self-harm and criminality. It's also a complete and utter, laughably obvious hoax. Your kids are fine, literally nobody on the entire internet has fallen for this -- except, well, countless adults, law enforcement agencies, news outlets and school districts. You know, the responsible folks. The Momo in the picture, it should be noted, is real. The figure is not digitally generated, nor is it photoshopped. "Momo" actually exists as a static sculpture, dubbed "Mother Bird," and was created by Japanese artist Keisuke Aisawa, who made it for his employer: the special effects company, Link Factory. It was first displayed in a Tokyo horror-art gallery back in 2016. View this post on Instagram ????????????? ?????? #???? #??? A post shared by ??????????? (@j_s_rock) on Aug 22, 2016 at 7:13am PDT During its run at the gallery, visitors snapped pictures of the sculpture, officially titled "Mother Bird," and posted them to Instagram. Eventually the images made their way to Reddit's r/creepy forum where it was further disseminated across the internet, all the while morphing into the Momo Challenge. Momo made her first appearance in the mainstream early last year after authorities in Argentina warned of a "WhatsApp terror game" following the suicide of a 12-year-old girl. In the following months, the rumor of "El Momo" made waves in Mexico before eventually landing on news desks here in the US that fall. By that point, school officials and local police departments were claiming that Momo was being spliced into children's programming on YouTube and spread among WhatsApp users. The panic even spread to the UK at the start of 2019 before hopping the pond back to the United States late last month. At the end of February, a Twitter user going by Wanda Maximoff issued the following warning in a now-deleted tweet, The Atlantic reports, "Warning! Please read, this is real. There is a thing called 'Momo' that's instructing kids to kill themselves. INFORM EVERYONE YOU CAN." That tweet was viewed more than 22,000 times over the next few days before exploding onto the mainstream consciousness thanks to Kim Kardashian discussing the Challenge with her 129 million-odd Instagram followers. Yet despite there being no confirmed cases of kids and teens even participating in this activity -- much less dying from it -- adults and authority figures around the country have flipped out, rushing to protect children from an online menace that doesn't actually exist. What we have here is a full-blown moral panic. I wish I could tell you that moral panics were something new but, as Chris Ferguson, professor and co-chair of psychology at Florida's Stetson University, explains to Engadget, they've been around for millenia. "I mean, you can see narratives in Plato's dialogues where Athenians are talking about Greek plays -- that they're going to be morally corrupting, that they're going to cause delinquency in kids," Ferguson points out. "That's why Socrates was killed, right? Essentially, that his his ideas were going to corrupt the youth of Athens. Socrates was the Momo challenge of his day." Unfortunately, humanity appears to still be roughly as gullible as we were in the 5th century BC as new moral panics crop up with uncanny regularity. In recent decades we've seen panics about Dungeons and Dragons leading to Satanism, hidden messages in Beatles songs, killer forest clowns, the Blue Whale, the Knockout Game, and the Tide Pod Challenge. Despite the unique nature of threat presented in each panic, this phenomenon follows a pair of basic motifs, Ferguson explained. "There's this inherent protectiveness of kids," he said. "There's also the sense of like, kids are idiots and therefore adults have to step in and 'do something' -- hence the idea that your teenager can simply watch a YouTube video and then suddenly want to kill themselves. It's ridiculous if you think about if for 30 seconds but, nonetheless, this is an appealing sort of narrative." "There's the general sense of teens behaving badly and technology oftentimes being the culprit in some way or another," Ferguson continued. "It just seems that we're kind of wired, particularly as we get older, to be more and more suspicious of technology and popular culture." That is due, in part, because the popular culture right now isn't the popular culture that the people in power grew up with. It's a "kids today with their music and their hair" situation, Ferguson argues. He points out that "Mid-adult mammals tend to be the most dominant in social species," but as they age, their power erodes until they are forced out of their position by a younger, fitter rival. "As we get older, eventually we're going to become less and less relevant," he said. Faced with that prospect, older members of society may begin to view fresh ideas and new technologies as evidence of society's overall moral decline. kids: we're afraid of dying because of climate change boomers: that's ridiculous! we're afraid a Japanese half-woman half-bird sculpture is trying to kill you through the internet — Notorious Sexual Freak Mrs. Beverly Bighead (@mechapoetic) March 2, 2019 When presented with unfamiliar tech and notions, "we may have the sense that we're losing control of culture gradually," Ferguson speculates. "That makes [moral panicking] easy for us because of that anxiety to push back against anything new." Conversely, the motivations for people to commit these hoaxes is depressingly straightforward: it's fun being a jerk online. Trolling folks into believing that a nightmarish chicken lady is grooming your kids for suicide by targeting their Peppa Pig videos is done for a variety of reasons: simple amusement, as attention seeking behavior, or as an act of revenge. "I think sometimes people like to start these things because they want the reaction," Ferguson said. "They want to feel like they're smarter than all these knuckleheads," who fell for their ruse. Unfortunately, in today's social media landscape where attention serves as the de facto currency, simply ignoring the trolls -- hoping that they'll get bored and quit -- isn't likely to happen. And for as long as people keep reproducing, society will be faced with intergenerational strife as "the kids with their music and their hair" grow up, rightfully displace their elders and assert themselves as gatekeepers of the dominant culture. Even when faced with their own mortality and declining social influence, today's panic stricken adults do still have a quantum of solace: Aisawa announced earlier this week that, in the wake of the Momo Challenge fallout, he has destroyed the original sculpture. "It doesn't exist anymore, it was never meant to last," Aisawa told The Sun. "It was rotten and I threw it away. The children can be reassured Momo is dead – she doesn't exist and the curse is gone."
Read MoreFacebook is once again receiving bad press, for being a rapacious consumer of personal data. The company is under fire for its refusal to allow users to opt out of being found by their phone number when those digits were only supplied for two-factor authentication. TechCrunch is drawing attention to the annoyance, pointing out that some folks are now learning about the bait'n'switch.
Read MoreIf you come across more and more product pins on Pinterest in the future, that's because the platform has rolled out tools that make it easier to sell goods. In fact, companies can now upload their full catalogs to the website, which can turn Pinterest into some sort of a storefront for various brands. The social network's new dashboard can easily create product pins from the items in companies' catalogs. It also gives them a way to organize their feed and make their posts easier to discover.
Read MoreThe only thing more popular on the internet than racism is a good hoax. The more batshit, the better. Every wacky conspiracy imaginable, from vaccines causing autism to the world being flat, can be found on the interwebs. But even more popular are the near-mythical hoaxes which have convinced folks that the Slender Man is real and Momo (pictured below) is anything other than a well-photoshopped screencap. And while the following news is in no way fake, it will give you pause -- if even for a Momo.
Read MoreTikTok had to make sweeping changes after reaching a settlement with the FTC for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). One of those changes is directing users under 13 to a separate app experience that doesn't allow them to share videos. In order to determine which users can access the regular interface and which ones will have to make do with the age-appropriate version, TikTok has been prompting people to verify their birthdays. Unfortunately, the company's implementation seems to be far from perfect, because some users above 13 got their accounts deleted by mistake.
Read MoreTwitter already hides superfluous replies to your tweets, now it's toying with handing that power to the masses. Software engineer Jane Manchun Wong, who has a knack for discovering what social media apps are building, outed the user moderation feature in a tweet on Thursday. A Twitter senior product manager has since confirmed the function is in development. As shown in screenshots, the update effectively allows users to hide individual responses to their tweets via the menu icon at the top right of a reply. Meanwhile, those reading along can unlock the hidden posts by following the same steps.
Read MoreThe scientists working on NASA's Mars helicopter project are done building the actual 4-pound vehicle that's blasting off to the red planet with the Mars 2020 rover. But they can't just strap the helicopter to its bigger companion's belly and call it a day -- they first have to prove that it can actually fly in Martian conditions. That's why in late January, the team replicated our neighboring planet's much thinner atmosphere in JPL's Space Simulator in order to make sure the helicopter will be able to take off. Spoiler alert: they were able to successfully conduct two test flights in Martian conditions on separate days.
Read MoreApparently, plans to put US astronauts on the Moon by the late 2020s weren't ambitious enough. Vice President Pence announced at the National Space Council that the US now planned to return people to the Moon by 2024, about four years earlier than expected. He argued that the US "must remain first in space" this century for the sake of the economy, national security and writing the "rules and values of space" by establishing a more permanent presence.
Read MoreA historic spacewalk was scheduled to occur this week, with only women operating outside the ISS for the first time ever. News of the event was revealed earlier this month when a flight controller tweeted about the schedule, but as NASA noted at the time "assignments and schedules could always change." Now that has happened, as the second of three planned spacewalks will instead be performed by a man and a woman, Nick Hague and Christina Koch. According to NASA, last week when Hague performed the first operation with astronaut Anne McClain, there was an issue with the fit of McClain's spacesuit. In what is essentially the "t-shirt" area of the Enhanced EMU suit astronauts wear on spacewalks, the Hard Upper Torso (H.U.T.) comes in three sizes: Medium, Large and XL. McClain had trained in both the medium and large sized units, but discovered that the medium size worked better for her. According to a spokesperson, there are two medium-sized units onboard, however only one can be ready in time, so Koch will go with Hague instead and history will have to be made another day. While there's some confusion over how this could happen, it seems like there are a few issues going on. Of course astronauts are measured extensively before their trip, but there is no way to simulate the extended effects of zero gravity on their body and earlier this month McClain tweeted that she's grown by two inches since launch.
Read MoreAstronauts aboard the International Space Station have to exercise and alter their diet to endure extended stays in microgravity, but NASA and the ESA hope to find a better way. They're about to start a study that will explore how artificial gravity might keep astronauts in good shape. Volunteers at the German Aerospace Center will spend 60 days in bed starting on March 25th at an incline that will send blood away from their heads. Once a day, a "selection" of the subjects will take a spin in the Center's short-arm centrifuge in a bid to send blood back toward their legs.
Read MoreAstronomers have clocked a spinning star at 2.5 million MPH and grabbed an image that leaves no doubt where it came from. Using NASA's Fermi Telescope and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), a team of scientists imaged pulsar J0002, originally discovered by citizen science project Einstein@Home. What makes it look so cool is the clear evidence it came from a recent supernova. "Thanks to its narrow dart-like tail and a fortuitous viewing angle, we can trace this pulsar straight back to its birthplace," said NRAO scientist Frank Schinzel.
Read MoreAn asteroid slightly wider than the Empire State Building has confused scientists by shooting out plumes of dust, as a new set of close-up images from NASA shows. Bennu, the near-Earth asteroid that NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has been observing since December 31st, is already confounding scientists in a variety of ways.
Read MoreIt turns out Ultima Thule is a kind of lumpy space snowman. If you've been following NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, you know Ultima Thule is an object in Kuiper Belt, the donut-shaped region of icy bodies beyond Pluto. New Horizons made the farthest flyby in human history when it passed Ultima Thule on New Year's Day. As data from New Horizons makes its way back to Earth, scientists are beginning to analyze the data it collected, and they're making surprising discoveries.
Read MoreAfter successfully getting its Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) and back, SpaceX has shifted focus to another huge project: the interplanetary Starship. In a tweet, Elon Musk showed off tests on the Starship's heat shield, the part that will keep it from burning up when it returns to Earth. The blow-torch like devices brought the temperatures up to 1,650 degrees Kelvin (2,500 degrees F) at the most extreme, white-hot regions -- enough to stand the heat of orbital re-entry, Musk said.
Read MoreNASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative is still going strong nine years after it was first announced. In fact, the agency has just revealed the 16 small satellite projects hitching a ride on bigger missions from 2020 to 2022. The selected CubeSats, which include ones designed to deploy an inflatable antenna and another that's meant to test solar sails, come from various educational institutions and research organizations from 10 different states.
Read MoreToday, in a surprising move at a Senate hearing, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine proposed that Orion, NASA's upcoming crew vehicle, may fly aboard a commercial rocket. This was the first time that the possibility had been broached by the NASA administrator.
Read MoreBefore a Martian dust storm took out Opportunity in June 2018, the rover was able to capture hundreds of images that NASA has now released as a panorama. The 360-degree photo is composed of 354 images overall, taken by the rover's Panoramic Camera (Pancam) from May 13th through June 10th. It shows the vehicle's final resting place in Perseverance Valley located in Endurance Crater's western rim. The rover lost touch with NASA in June after it reported the approaching storm that ultimately covered its solar panels with dust and rocks.
Read MoreToyota is going to the moon. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has teamed up with the carmaker to build a pressurized self-driving rover that will land on the lunar surface in 2029. The six-wheeled transporter will be able to carry two humans for a distance of 10,000 kilometers using solar power and Toyota's fuel cell technology. The rover will be about the size of two minibuses, with 13 square meters of habitable space, and the astronauts on board will be able to take their suits off inside the vehicle as they explore. It will land on the moon before the human expedition arrives, and travel independently to meet them.
Read MoreNASA has developed a new imaging technique that let them capture, for the first time, the interaction of shockwaves from two supersonic jets. They were taken by a new, high-speed camera system developed to help NASA design a supersonic airplane that produces much quieter sonic booms. "We never dreamed that it would be this clear, this beautiful," said NASA physical scientist J.T. Heineck.
Read MoreJust about a week after launching on its inaugural voyage, the SpaceX Crew Dragon has one more step to complete: returning to Earth. First, the uncrewed spacecraft will undock from the International Docking Adapter on the ISS that it has called home for the last few days, which is scheduled to occur at about 2:31 AM ET. Once all the hooks are released, as NASASpaceflight.com explains, it will complete a separation burn and prepare to deorbit. Part two is the actual sea landing, with splashdown in the Atlantic scheduled to occur around 8:45 AM ET, although the timing could change based on wind and other variables. NASA TV will cover things live on its streaming channel (embedded below) starting at 2 AM, and then coming back on the air at 7:30 AM ET.
Read MoreAfter several decades of human spaceflight, you're finally going to see the first all-female spacewalk. NASA has confirmed that astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch will venture outside the International Space Station on March 29th. This wasn't intentional, the agency told Axios -- it just so happened that the particular crew aboard the ISS led to the team-up. If you've been following the progression of the space program, however, it might not be quite such a surprise.
Read MoreBack in February, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft touched down on asteroid Ryugu to collect samples for scientists back home. Now, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released a video of the brief contact between the probe and its target asteroid taken by a small on-board camera. It shows the moment Hayabusa2 fired a bullet into Ryugu's surface to kick up dust and fragments it can grab -- something the probe was supposed to have done back in October 2018 if not for the fact that the asteroid has much bigger gravel than its ground team expected.
Read MoreSpaceX's Crew Dragon has completed the last leg of its historic first journey. The capsule docked with the International Space Station through a "soft capture" at 5:51AM Eastern, with astronauts aboard the ISS opening the hatch shortly after 8AM. There wasn't much to greet the ISS crew this time around, as the test flight only included 400lbs of supplies and the human-shaped Ripley test device. Still, it's an important moment in NASA's Commercial Crew Program -- an American capsule has docked in orbit.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous.Welcome to your weekend! We're ready to recap everything we saw at Mobile World Congress this year, and there are EV updates from both Tesla and Hyundai. Speaking of Elon Musk, SpaceX pulled off its first Crew Dragon launch last night while you were sleeping.
Read MoreEver since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian Soyuz missions to get astronauts back and forth from the International Space Station. In order to maintain control over its own missions, the Commercial Crew program has sought replacements, with SpaceX and Boeing in competition for the contract. After a number of delays, SpaceX will go first with a test launch of its Crew Dragon vehicle, scheduled to take off from Launch Complex 39A in Cape Canaveral at 2:49 AM ET. SpaceX will have a live webcast of the Crew Demo-1 launch, which you can watch here, along with coverage from NASA TV. The broadcasts should start at 2 AM. To synchronize with the ISS, it's an instantaneous window so there's no waiting for this one -- it either will or will not go tonight.
Read MoreWhether or not Apple Music is coming to Google Home, there are signs you might get to use it with some Google-powered devices. The 9to5Google team has found multiple lines of code in Apple Music's Android app that reference Chromecast support, including some added through recent updates. While there's no guarantee this would be implemented any time soon, it suggests you could soon pipe Apple's latest Drake exclusive to a compatible Chromecast dongle, speaker, smart display or TV.
Read MoreYou'd have thought that DC Universe would provide full access to every DC comic, but not so -- even after an expansion, you've had to sift through a "curated" selection. Your options are about to expand, thankfully. As of April, DC Universe will provide full access to DC's digital comic library in April. Any given issue will have to be at least a year old, but you'll get to read comics dating back 80 years. while the company didn't put out a full list, you'll likely have the chance to flip through early Action Comics and Detective Comics issues. The pricing won't change, DC said.
Read MoreThe streaming era is producing its own music stars and SoundCloud is tapping the industry's tastemakers to help you discover them. Putting its financial woes aside for a minute, the service is doubling down on playlists promoting its fresh artists across genres (hip-hop, electro) and moods (morning routines, first dates). This time it's getting a little help from music journalists including former Pitchfork editor-in-chief, Mark Richardson; electronic music critic, Philip Sherburne; hip-hop reporter, Sowmya Krishnamurthy; and Pitchfork and Rolling Stone contributor, David Turner.
Read MoreSony found the partner it was looking for to give Crackle, its ad-supported streaming service, a much-needed boost: Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSS Entertainment). The partners are relaunching the service as a joint venture called Crackle Plus, with CSS Entertainment being the majority owner. According to Variety, Sony will provide the back-end technology and will continue licensing movies and TV shows from Sony Pictures to the service, but it's taking a backseat to its new partner. It's getting 4 million five-year warrants to purchase Class A shares of CSS Entertainment in return.
Read MoreIt's only been a few months since HDHomeRun launched its $35 per month Premium TV service, but now the company has emailed customers to announce it's shutting down. Cord Cutters News posted the email, which informed subscribers that it would work until the end of their plan date, but could not be renewed. The email doesn't get into why the offering is so suddenly going away, but the fact is that major Hollywood studios have sued its provider, Omniverse TV, claiming the company doesn't have the rights to distribute their programming. Still, HDHomeRun owners can expect to see their devices continue to work as they always have, just without the streaming subscription TV package. Users can record TV and stream it to TVs, set-top boxes and mobile devices, just like always. The question now is what other innovations it can make to attract cord-cutters when even the cable companies have taken notice of this market.
Read MoreApple News+ arrived last week with iOS 12.2, and now you can get an early taste of the updated Apple TV app through the official beta program. The redesigned app touted by Apple during its event earlier this week is available in the public beta version of iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3.
Read MoreBaseball fans can now watch MLB games on Sling TV, just as the new season gets underway. Sling TV announced on Thursday the addition of two new channels exclusively for baseball; MLB Network and MLB Strike Zone. MLB Network will feature live regular season and postseason game telecasts and a nightly news program, "MLB Tonight". Strike Zone will feature highlights, updates and more when live games air on Tuesday and Friday evenings.
Read MoreLast month, the MGM network Epix launched a standalone video streaming service called Epix Now. Initially, it was available on Apple TV, Android and iOS. But as of today, it's also available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, too. This will give more customers access to the network's four live channels, original shows and movies. The expansion will also help Epix Now secure a better foothold in the living room, where Roku and Amazon Fire TV have a stronghold.
Read MoreYouTube TV is now available in every US TV market after it arrived in Glendive, Montana, the last one YouTube needed to finish the rollout. It had just a few markets to add after a broad expansion in January, which made the service available to 98 percent of Americans at the time.
Read MoreSpotify is testing a discounted subscription for two in the hopes of curbing password sharing. Premium Duo gives you and a person you live with individual Premium accounts for €12.49 ($14) per month. There's unique perks including a Duo Mix playlist made up of tracks you both like, the ability to share your entire library of saved music, and a Duo Hub where you can manage accounts and settings. For now, the test is limited to Colombia, Chile, Denmark, Ireland and Poland, with no word on more markets. Spotify says the subscription is available to new and existing users -- and you keep all your saved Premium music and playlists when you switch.
Read MoreMulti-view streaming has already invaded the live sports arena, but it's always made sense for multiplayer gaming. Enter Twitch, which is today debuting its Squad Stream feature that lets up to four creators livestream together in the same window.
Read MoreAmazon Prime Video is continuing its sci-fi push with Wild Seed, a drama series based on the first of Octavia Butler's Afrofuturist Patternist books. The show will come to Amazon courtesy of Viola Davis and Julius Tennon of JuVee Production, and will be written by author Nnedi Okorafor and Rafiki filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu.
Read MoreIf you search for BBC programs on the Google Podcasts app or through Assistant, you might get a handful of results at most -- or none at all -- instead of the dozens you'd usually get in the past. The broadcaster has pulled its offerings from the app after the tech giant altered its search function to direct viewers to its own service instead of BBC Sounds and other third-party services.
Read MoreApple's "It's Showtime" event revealed the technology industry's worst-kept secret: The company was building its own TV service. The back half of the event was designed to show off the litany of A-listers the company had signed up. Steven Spielberg, Oprah, Jennifer Anniston, J.J. Abrams, Reese Witherspoon and Big Bird all turned up. And yet, it was all so underwhelming.
Read MoreSpotify isn't just reserving personalization for obvious playlists like Discover Weekly. The streaming giant is planning to personalize some of its other playlists based on your tastes. You won't get the exact same playlist as a friend, in other words. The company was betting that this will increase the odds of songs reaching the "right listeners," not to mention encourage longer listening sessions.
Read MoreSpotify promised more acquisitions after powering its way into the world of podcasts with its one-two buyouts of Gimlet and Anchor in February, which came on the back of its first-ever operating profit. Today it remained true to its word by announcing yet another deal, this time for podcast studio Parcast, a rising star of the industry that's been making waves on the Apple Podcasts chart. Spotify is keeping quiet about the financial details of the transaction.
Read MoreNetflix is about to give horror fans another star-studded fix. It's premiering Chambers, a psychological horror series starring Uma Thurman, on April 26th. The series revolves around a heart attack survivor in a "New Age pocket" of Arizona who starts taking on the traits of her transplant donor -- and not surprisingly, they aren't exactly endearing. It's supposed to start as a "grounded human story," but things go awry from there.
Read MoreOn stage at today's "show time" event, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Apple TV+, an ad-free subscription home for the company's new push into original content. With the Apple TV app now extending onto other smart TV platforms while collecting shows and movies from other outlets into Channels, it's giving people even more of a reason to stick with Apple by adding exclusives you can't get anywhere else. According to senior VP Eddy Cue, "Apple TV+ will be home to some of the highest quality original storytelling that TV and movie lovers have seen yet." We've heard a lot about its content buying spree over the last year or so, but on stage, execs kicked things off with a video featuring big names like Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Octavia Spencer. Spielberg himself appeared on stage first to talk about Apple TV+ and the stories he wants to tell. Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston showed up to talk about their new project The Morning Show, along with co-star Steve Carell, before Alfre Woodard and Jason Momoa hit the stage to talk about See, a new sci-fi series coming to the service. Kumail Nanjiani was up next, discussing his experiences as an immigrant that will be a part of the series he's writing with his wife for Apple, Little America.
Read MoreWith Apple TV Channels, the company has created a way for you to pick and choose your favorite networks and watch everything within its TV app. The selection includes traditional channels like CBS and Comedy Central, premium networks like HBO and Showtime, as well as online streaming services like Brit Box and Acorn TV. On top of giving you a single spot to watch all of this content, you'll also be able to download shows and movies to your devices to watch online. So what about all that original content we've been hearing about? That'll be in Apple TV+, a separate service that Apple announced today.
Read MoreToday something rare is happening: an Apple keynote with possibly zero hardware news. The company recently sent out invitations for a March 25th press event with the words "It's show time" and an animated countdown clock -- the sort of old-timey touch you simply don't see in theaters anymore. That's as clear as a confirmation as any that Apple is about to unveil is long-awaited video streaming service. Other than the company's various original content deals, ranging from movies to TV shows, we've heard surprisingly few details about how the service will work, what it will cost or what it will include. Given that Apple already announced some minor iPad and iMac updates last week, we expect the company will use most of its allotted time to do a deep dive on the service itself, with very few, if any, asides related to hardware. In any case, all will be revealed soon. Join us today at 10am PT/1pm ET and follow along with our liveblog straight from the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino.
Read MoreAs streaming giants dig deeper into their pockets for more video content, some projects often fall by the wayside. Following a report by Bloomberg, YouTube has confirmed it has canceled two of its high-profile shows: sci-fi thriller Origin and comedy Overthinking with Kat & June. Bloomberg also alleged that the video service is no longer accepting pitches for big-budget scripted content, but Google has denied that is the case.
Read MoreWith its hardware announcements out of the way, the stage is set for Apple's main event. Today is all about Apple's shift to services: video streaming, news and gaming subscriptions, and maybe even a credit card. And you'll be able to watch the keynote live as it happens at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino right here at 1PM Eastern/10AM Pacific. Or, if you spend all your time on Twitter, you can watch it there and get live updates from Apple's official account. We'll also be on the ground with live coverage direct from Apple's campus.
Read MoreNetflix's flood of content includes a significant anime push -- Ghost in the Shell, Ultraman -- and as part of that it's going to be the first streamer with Neon Genesis Evangelion on tap, worldwide. The classic series will go live on Netflix June 21st, complete with all 26 episodes plus the two films: Evangelion: Death True² and The End of Evangelion. There's a brief trailer to help reacquaint you with its mech action and melodrama, but we figure you can just mark your calendar.
Read MoreBatman is about to celebrate his 80th 'birthday' (his first appearance in Detective Comics) on March 30th, and DC Universe is using that as an opportunity to hand out more freebies. The service is providing free access to a wide swath of its Batman movies, TV shows and (of course) comics for 24 hours that day, starting at midnight ET. It doesn't include everything -- most notably, Christopher Nolan's movies still aren't an option. However, you'll still have access to quite a large chunk of the Dark Knight's catalog.
Read MoreNetflix is testing a less expensive mobile-only plan in India, which may help it expand its userbase in the world's second most populous nation. A small number of users are reportedly trying the plan, which, at 250 rupees (around $3.64) per month, is half the cost of its typical entry-level subscription there. They can only watch shows and movies in standard definition and on a single phone or tablet at once, according to the Economic Times.
Read MoreCable companies have been nervous about streaming services for a while, but now they have a particularly good reason to be jittery. An MPAA report citing IHS Markit data has shown that there were more subscriptions worldwide to online video services (613.3 million) than there were for cable (556 million) in 2018, reflecting a 27 percent jump in streaming over 2017. Cable subscriptions dropped two percent in that period. IP-based TV overtook satellite, too, indicating a larger overall shift to the digital realm.
Read MoreComcast's latest bundle isn't a cable TV service, exactly, since it's aimed at the increasing number of subscribers who only have internet. Xfinity Flex will tie together paid internet video services as well as free ad-supported options in what VP Matt Strauss called a "unified experience, similar to what we've done on X1." Xfinity Flex costs $5 per month (in addition to the internet service customers already have) for access and comes with a 4K and HDR-ready wireless set-top box with an X1 voice remote. It's scheduled to launch March 26th, and will be available to customers who have Comcast internet.
Read MoreMindy Kaling is bringing "relatable, awkward teen moments" to Netflix. She announced on Twitter that she and screenwriter Lang Fisher are working on a 10-episode comedy. Loosely based on Kaling's own childhood, it will portray the modern-day life of a first generation Indian American teenage girl.
Read MorePandora is giving you more control over your listening experience. Starting today, the streaming service will offer a new feature called Pandora Modes. Designed to help you fine-tune the types of songs that come up on your favorite stations, Pandora Modes gives listeners the ability to pick between different styles of music discovery. It's available to both free and premium users.
Read MoreNetflix's growing catalog of interactive shows now includes another aimed at the younger crowd. The service has unveiled Battle Kitty, an animated series where kids help its namesake warrior fight monsters on an island and become a champion. Its origins are as unusual as the format, too. It's based on Instagram posts from animator Matt Layzell (known for work on titles like Sanjay and Craig and Pinky Malinky), who'll be a showrunner for the first time.
Read MoreSpring is here at last and while many of us will want to enjoy the sunshine after what's been a long, harsh winter in many places, we'll still have evenings where we want to kick back and watch something. As always, Netflix has a trove of new shows, movies and documentaries coming our way when the calendar flips to the next page. Among the highlights for April are You vs. Wild, an interactive survival show starring Bear Grylls (April 10th) and the long-awaited nature docuseries Our Planet, which is narrated by David Attenborough and from the creator of Planet Earth (April 5th).
Read MoreFans of Farscape, the cult sci-fi show from 1999 that features a lost astronaut, deadly mercenaries, and puppets, are in for a treat. All four seasons of the Jim Henson Company series, newly remastered in HD, will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on March 19th. Curious viewers can ask Brian Henson, one of the show's creators, questions at a Facebook Live event on March 19th, at 12:45 PT.
Read MoreNetflix is wasting no time capitalizing on the success of its choose-your-own-adventure experiment with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. The company announced today that it already has another user-controlled experience in the works that will put viewers in control of a Bear Grylls adventure. The eight episode series, called You vs. Wild, will be available to stream starting April 10th.
Read MoreThe Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ESPN announced today that UFC pay-per-view fights will be available exclusively to US audiences through ESPN+. The agreement will go into effect starting April 13th for UFC 236, featuring a rematch between lightweights Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier, and will run through 2025.
Read MoreYou don't have to pick up a PS4 to take advantage of PlayStation Vue's multi-picture mode in your living room. Sony is introducing the multi-view feature to the Apple TV (not pictured here) on March 18th through an update, and it'll even one-up the PS4 version by supporting four channels at once instead of three. If you absolutely have to keep tabs on news and sports, you won't have to feel like you're missing out.
Read MoreWe've been listening to a lot over the past month, but two items stand out. Managing Editor James Trew discusses DJ Kutski's podcast, and Social Media Producer Michael Morris discovers an expanded audio version of the classic Star Wars films.
Read MoreConference tournaments are over. The 68-team field is set. It's officially time for March Madness. While technically the first game is on Tuesday, we all know the real action begins later in the week. This Thursday and Friday are arguably the two biggest days of the year in sports (and likely the two least-productive days at your job). However, the 2019 NCAA Tournament officially begins Tuesday and Wednesday (March 19th and 20th) with two First Four matchups -- or as the purists call them, play-in games. Both of those games will air on truTV, but if you have a cable log-in, you can stream them through the March Madness Live app.
Read MoreLast year, Spotify gave away a free Google Home Mini speaker to US users, and this year, it's bringing that offer to the UK. Starting today, both new and existing Premium for Family Plan subscribers can sign up to get a free device -- normally priced at £49 -- until May 14th while stock permits, Spotify said.
Read MoreStreaming services don't usually give out free episodes or allow users to access their lineup without signing up for a trial period anymore. Now, DC Universe is moving away from those practices, perhaps in an effort to give fence-sitting fans and skeptical viewers the chance to sample its offerings. It's giving everyone free access to the first episodes of Titans, Doom Patrol and Young Justice: Outsiders, starting today (March 15th) until March 29th.
Read MoreEarlier this year, Netflix apologized to the people of Lac-Mégantic after it came to light that Bird Box used actual footage of the Canadian town's fatal rail disaster. At the time, it said it couldn't make changes to finished content anymore, but now the streaming giant has changed its tune. A Netflix spokesperson told the BBC and The Canadian Press that the company and the Bird Box filmmakers have decided to replace the clip. "We're sorry for any pain caused to the Lac-Mégantic community," the streaming giant said.
Read MoreIn December MoviePass closed out a turbulent year with new subscription plans for moviegoers and a path to profitability, all with a new exec Khalid Itum taking over day to day operations. Now reports have surfaced that that Itum has resigned, as Business Insider notes that three other managers also left recently, and Variety cites sources claiming Itum had been largely absent in recent weeks. The company confirmed Itum's departure, as well as other execs jumping from full-time to contracted roles. With CEO Mitch Lowe apparently retaking a leadership role, the situation is looking as troubled as ever. Just this week, parent company Helios & Matheson Analytics told investors that " a material weakness relating to subscription management existed" causing it to overstate revenue by several million dollars in the third quarter. That's because it was counting money from subscriptions that were suspended because the customers hadn't opted into MoviePass' new terms. This doesn't seem like a great revelation for a company already under investigation for possible fraud.
Read MoreApple Music users in the US can now listen to their tracks on Amazon Fire TVs (or sticks). The news comes only months after Apple Music became available on Echo devices stateside. Apple's streaming service is also expected to come to Echo users in the UK in the coming weeks.
Read MoreApple's big 'show time' press event is under two weeks away, but the company is still working to ensure it has a potent lineup for its long-teased video streaming service. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is still chasing collaborations with the likes of HBO, Showtime and Starz for pay-TV content to sit alongside its own original programming and movies.
Read MoreSpurred by the success of Black Mirror spinoff Bandersnatch, Netflix is going all-in on interactive shows. Over the next two years, the streamer is "doubling down" on the format, which lets you pick what happens next by choosing from multiple storyline options.
Read MoreNetflix has revealed its new anime lineup and confirmed a couple of projects we've heard of in the past. To start with, the streaming giant has reassured fans that Ghost in the Shell: SAC _2045 will premiere on the service in 2020. It will be a full 3DCG anime like the company promised, and you can get an idea of what it might look like when CG Ultraman -- helmed by the same people behind the upcoming GitS series -- arrives on April 1st. Netflix has also announced that it's giving Capcom's Dragon's Dogma the anime treatment with help from CG firm Sublimation.
Read MoreThree seasons down the line, the fledgling Drone Racing League (DRL) is still not a household name. But it continues to draw major broadcasters and is now set to make its debut on social media. For its upcoming world championship season, the DRL is making the switch from ESPN to the home of NASCAR: NBC and NBC Sports. For the first time, viewers will also be able to tune in on Twitter via the official @DroneRaceLeague account. The new season commences August 11th.
Read MoreAfter bundling Hulu's ad-supported plan with Spotify Premium for an extra $3 per month, the streaming giant is going a step further. For a limited time, Spotify will offer that Hulu plan for free with a $9.99 Premium subscription. The offer begins today and will run through June 10th or "while supplies last." If you already committed to Spotify Premium with Hulu's ad-supported tier for $12.99 a month, you'll be automatically switched over to this new $9.99 deal. Spotify also offers Hulu (with ads) and Showtime for student Premium subscribers at $4.99 monthly.
Read MoreThe Bluths are back. A new round of Arrested Development is appearing on Netflix this week, along with its star-filled action/heist flick Triple Frontier, Love Death & Robots and another season of Queer Eye. On Amazon Prime, it's time for the final season of Catastrophe, CBS All Access is starting the second season of The Good Fight and Hulu has the premiere of Shrill. For gamers The Division 2 tops the release list, and will be available in just a few hours if you bought one of the Early Access-eligible copies. On TV, Comedy Central's excellent series Corporate wraps up its season run, and Formula 1 kicks the 2019 season off this weekend in Australia. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Read MoreIt'll be particularly easy to stream NCAA March Madness games this year, especially if you'd rather watch matches in total privacy. The NCAA and CBS are making the March Madness Live app available on 17 platforms for 2019, including first-time support for Android TV (shown above) and Oculus Go. That last addition could be particularly helpful if you live in a packed household -- you could have a big-screen game experience (including the 21 VR-native broadcasts) without monopolizing the TV or your phone.
Read MoreIf you subscribe to AT&T's DirecTV Now, keep an eye on your bill -- prices are going up again. Last July, AT&T increased the cost of its live TV streaming bundles by $5 per month. And according to Variety, beginning in April, AT&T will add another $10 per month. That means the cost of a monthly subscription has gone up more than 40 percent in less than one year. In addition to the price changes, AT&T will streamline its DirecTV Now plans offering just two, rather than its current five (though existing customers will not be kicked out of their packages).
Read MoreYou don't have to grab an Android phone if you want to listen to Tidal's Master audio on your phone. Tidal has introduced support for the "studio quality" format to its iOS app, giving you an option if standard compressed music doesn't do your headphones justice. If you insist on listening to the Beatles or Janelle Monáe as if you were in the recording booth, this might be your best shot.
Read MoreApple wants as many people as possible to have access to its upcoming streaming video service -- even if they don't have Apple TV. It's been working with a number of TV makers on AirPlay 2 and iTunes compatibility, so they can easily watch Apple's original shows and movies on larger screens. Now, Apple is close to sealing a deal with Roku for AirPlay 2 support, according to MacRumors.
Read MoreNBC has run a limited version of its streaming news channel for the past few months. Soon, however, it'll be ready to open the taps: the broadcaster is officially launching its free NBC News Now service in early May. It'll be available on a plethora of devices (including living room devices like Apple TV and Roku) and should deliver eight hours of original programming per day, including live updates both on the hour and for breaking stories. The ultimate aim is to provide around-the-clock content, NBC News President Noah Oppenheim said.
Read MoreIf you're a Sonos owner in the US who's interested in listening to music in high quality, you might be pleased to learn there's another streaming option available for you through the Sonos app. French streaming service Qobuz, which arrived stateside last month, is now integrated with the Sonos platform.
Read MoreSpotify and Samsung are expanding their partnership. The companies announced today that new Samsung smartphones will ship with Spotify preinstalled. For eligible owners of Samsung's latest flagship handset, the Galaxy S10, Spotify is offering six months of its premium subscription service for free.
Read MoreThe Karate Kid fans will get another dose of the LaRusso vs Lawrence rivalry when Cobra Kai returns to YouTube Premium on April 24th. The first trailer for the show's second season just dropped and it's full of throwbacks to the original film -- not the three sequels because they ignored Willam Zabka's marauding brute Johnny Lawrence. Here, however, he gets equal billing with Ralph Macchio's idealistic karate champion Daniel LaRusso.
Read MoreGood news, Disney junkies: The upcoming Disney+ streaming service will include "the entire Disney motion picture library". Disney CEO Bob Iger made the announcement at a company shareholder meeting, according to Polygon. The move marks an end to Disney's "Vault" system, which only allowed certain animated titles to be available in stores for a short time. Back when everyone had VHS or DVD collections of all the Disney classics, the Vault strategy may have just been annoying. In 2019, the Vault system means that you'll have to get creative if your kid wants to watch Aladdin on a random Thursday night and you don't own an actual physical copy.
Read MoreSpotify, Pandora, Google and Amazon are fighting back against royalty increases that could be as high as 44 percent. The four companies -- each with its own streaming service -- have issued appeals against the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) decision to give songwriters a major pay raise.
Read MoreIf you listen to Pandora regularly, you might notice new channels, shows, podcast and playlists popping up. Roughly one month after finalizing its $3.5 billion acquisition of Pandora, Sirius XM announced a first-ever, original content team for the platform. As Sirius explains, this is a move to generate music, sports and talk programs as a way of moving the service beyond just streaming music. It's also likely an attempt to take on the likes of Spotify, which recently made its own investment in podcasts.
Read MoreFor the first time in its history, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's seminal novel One Hundred Years of Solitude will be adapted for the screen. The author's family is allowing Netflix to produce a Spanish-language series based on the classic book, which was first published in 1967. Marquez's sons Rodrigo Garcia and Gonzalo Garcia Barcha will be executive producers, and the series will be set in and filmed mainly in Colombia.
Read MoreGoogle Podcasts is still a fairly basic app in spite of meaningful upgrades, but that might change before long. Product Manager Zack Reneau-Wedeen has announced that Podcasts will start showing search results for individual episodes, not just whole shows -- you can start playing a favorite episode right away. While it's only available to a handful of Google Podcasts users at the moment, it should be available to everyone before the week is over.
Read MoreWhile The Jonas Brothers are getting ready to hit the road for their comeback tour, cameras have been following them around for an Amazon Prime Video documentary. Fans will get an inside track on the siblings' life story as well as their "family's perspective on everything."
Read MoreSoundCloud has taken some steps to reform its paid streaming music services since a messy 2016 debut, but student pricing hasn't been part of it. You've paid $10 per month while your Spotify- and Apple Music-toting classmates shelled out half as much for years -- and they've sometimes received more in the bargain. The company is at last closing the gap, though. It just launched a SoundCloud Go+ plan for students that offers the same unfettered access for $5 per month, making it a considerably better deal if you need some tunes for study breaks.
Read MoreNetflix has released a trailer for its Ultraman CG anime series before the kaiju killer blasts his way to the streaming series on April 1st. The sneak peek shows high school student Shinjiro Hayata as he assumes the mantle from the original Ultraman, his father Shin. It looks like the new show is set a few years after the events in the Japanese live-action series from the 1960's. In the new anime, Shinjiro has to take over his father's role and fuse with the "giant of light" to transform into Ultraman when a new set of invading aliens arrives after a period of peace.
Read MoreLuminary Media wants to find out just how much people will pay for podcasts. The company has rounded up more than 40 big-name creators with the intention of launching a subscription-based podcast network. The service -- which is set to launch in June, according to the New York Times -- will offer a Hulu-style model. Listeners will be able to stream nonexclusive content for free or pay $8 per month for an ad-free experience with access to shows only available through Luminary.
Read MoreWhen the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Los Angeles Lakers tonight, fans will have the ability to watch the game in a way they have never seen before. On ESPN3, the sports network's online streaming service, the game will be presented with Full Court Press, an augmented broadcast designed by Second Spectrum. It will present information on screen in real time that fans would normally have to turn to to another screen to find.
Read MoreInternet-based live TV appears to be thriving after some of the novelty has worn off -- at least, in some cases. Bloomberg sources claim Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV have grown dramatically in the past year, reaching a combined 3 million subscribers. Hulu reportedly grew the quickest, jumping from 450,000 users at the start of 2018 to nearly 2 million, but YouTube might not complain after surging from 300,000 viewers to more than 1 million. But what prompted the growth?
Read MoreBack at TwitchCon in October, Twitch announced a karaoke game called Twitch Sings. Think of it as SingStar or Rock Band, except you're performing to a real audience. It's still in beta (and should have a proper release soon), though Twitch is already running a contest with a $20,000 prize at stake.
Read MoreYouTube is trying to dissuade creators from posting videos about the Momo Challenge (a viral self-harm hoax allegedly targeted towards kids) by stopping ads from running against such content. It told The Verge videos related to Momo violate advertiser guidelines, and as such can't be monetized.
Read MoreFor the third year in a row, the RIAA's annual report (PDF) shows recorded music revenue growing rapidly, shooting up 11.9 percent from 2017 for a total of $9.8 billion. Just as we saw over the last few years, the reason for that growth came from one area: streaming. Whether it's from paid subscriptions, ad-supported services or digital radio types, the $7.4 billion haul from streaming contributed 75 percent of revenue for the year, matching the RIAA's mid-2018 stat.
Read MoreThe iPad mini and iPad Air Apple quietly announced ahead of its big March event will come with eSIM support. Cupertino's latest iPad Pros have eSIM support, as well, but these new entries are the first non-Pro models with the feature. While the Apple SIM works similarly -- and present in older non-Pro iPads -- it's only compatible with the tech giant's partner carriers. By giving these devices eSIM support, they'll be able to work even on the networks of non-partner carriers.
Read MoreIt might seem like there's no winning against Facebook and Google, tech companies whose reach and influence are now practically inescapable. Facebook's inability to police its own platform led to widespread misinformation ahead of the 2016 election. Google still can't keep YouTube safe for kids. Meanwhile we're addicted to our phones and social networks, even if they make us miserable. So where do we go from here? Douglas Rushkoff, the renowned media theorist who's popularized concepts like viral media, suggests one way: Banding together and fighting for our collective humanity.
Read MoreAs the former lead VR filmmaker for Google, Jessica Brillhart helped the search giant come to grips with an entirely new medium. Now, she's striking out on her own with Vrai Pictures, her New York-based outfit focused on delivering immersive experiences. While "virtual reality" is in its name, Vrai is also exploring every component that goes into a decent VR (and augmented reality) experience. At SXSW this week, she's headlining as a keynote speaker and unveiling Traverse, a spatial audio platform that lets you walk around a soundscape as if you were listening live. And she's kicking things off with The King himself, Elvis Presley.
Read MoreJust opposite the Austin Convention Center there's a mechanical split-flap display -- the kind you might see in a 20th century train station -- propped on a slim strip of grass, fluttering off terse verses like this one from 11:26 AM on Friday: SOMEONE BUYS A TICKET, THE JURY HAS MADE A DECISION, THE ARTIST PREPARES AND THE PRICE OF COTTON RISES.
Read MoreAlphabet's Sidewalk Labs will showcase more ideas for its Toronto neighborhood this weekend as part of its plan to make outdoor public space enjoyable all-year round -- even in harsh Canadian winters. One of the prototypes is a hexagonal paving system. The slabs are porous and heated, which may keep snow and ice at bay without salting. They're easy to replace, and include LED lights that can, for instance, help direct traffic flow during construction or mark street closures.
Read MoreEvangelo Spartiatis, 18, still remembers seeing professional soccer players on Facebook and Instagram wearing "some vest" during training. "What is that?" he recalls thinking. "Why are they wearing it?" Well, as it turns out, what was once a curiosity for him three years ago is, now, something he's all too familiar with. That "vest" Spartiatis talks about is part of a GPS-tracking system he has to wear every day he trains at the Atlanta United Academy, where he plays for the Under-19 development team of the current Major League Soccer (MLS) champion. He's one of Atlanta United's 155 youth players training with the Apex GPS, a wearable designed to measure their distance covered, acceleration, deceleration, speed and work rate. Developed by STATSports, a company founded in 2008 in Northern Ireland, the Apex Athlete Monitoring system consists of a vest that goes between a player's shoulder blades and a small, lightweight GPS device that attaches to it. During a typical training session, its system will collect millions of data points from players, which, STATSports says, can be streamed to a laptop, smartphone, tablet or smartwatch in real time. This allows coaches and training staff to monitor a player's performance live, both in training or in an actual match. If a player isn't covering ground they're supposed to, or if they're not running as fast as they could, the team's staff will know immediately.
Read MoreBefore you watch The Silence trailer Netflix just released, we'll tell you that the plot looks strikingly similar to A Quiet Place. In both, the world is under attack from creatures who hunt prey by sound, and one family overcomes the disaster by utilizing the heightened senses of a deaf child. Yes, both films rely on a deaf child.
Read MoreYou'll be able to enjoy the indie action RPG Hyper Light Drifter without having to play through the notoriously difficult game once its animated adaptation arrives. And if you're already a fan, you don't have to worry about the game getting mangled by clueless showrunners: the project is headed by the game's creator, Alx Preston, and producer Adi Shankar. You might know Shankar as the person behind Netflix's adaption of Castlevania -- another 2D game like Hyper Light Drifter -- and Devil May Cry.
Read MoreInfinity, a new movie ticket subscription service with options for singles, couples, and families, is expected to launch this fall. Similar to Sinemia and MoviePass, Infinity can be used at any participating movie theatre rather than a specific chain. Viewers can add on access to IMAX and 3D for an added monthly fee. Numerous perks include discounts on food and beverages, rollover movie credits, and easy ticket redemption on the Infinity mobile app or website.
Read MoreWe're less than a week away from the premiere of Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone reboot, and we're starting to get a sense of how the series will start -- thanks to two eerie trailers released by CBS.
Read MoreThis week The Walking Dead TV show airs its season finale, at nearly the same time the Telltale game series comes to an end. That's along with the series finale of Broad City, and the NCAA Men's basketball tournament moving through the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds. For movie fans, Aquaman is on 4K Blu-ray this week, while Amazon Prime debuts season one of its Hanna TV series and Netflix drops in another season of Santa Clarita Diet. For gamers there's Yoshi's Crafted World on Switch, while Final Fantasy VII is available on both Xbox One and Switch. Sandra Oh hosts Saturday Night Live ahead of the season premiere for Killing Eve next week, while Barry and Veep both kick off new seasons this weekend. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Read MoreAn upcoming documentary might be able to answer some of the things you've been wanting to know about Twitch video game streamers, such as how they build their communities or earn money from the platform. The National Film Board of Canada and European channel Arte France is releasing a four-part documentary webseries entitled Streamers on March 27th. It focuses on 14 professional Twitch streamers, including GoldGlove, CohhCarnage and MANvsGAME, who boast 1.38 million, 1.06 million and 503,000 followers, respectively.
Read MoreStacy Spikes just wants to get people to the movies. As the co-founder and CEO of MoviePass, he helped popularize the idea of cinema subscriptions. (This was before MoviePass brought in a new CEO and his ambitious -- but ultimately unsustainable -- $10 monthly plan.) As he pondered his next endeavor, he started noticing just how many ads we're subjected to in theaters, something that seems especially egregious as ticket prices keep climbing. And that's not counting the product placement we see in films.
Read MoreAlamo Drafthouse is getting ready to officially launch its subscription service. After several months of beta testing, CEO Tim League told Business Insider the company is going to make its Alamo Season Pass available to the public before the end of the year. The service will let subscribers view an unlimited number of movies at Alamo Drafthouse theaters across the country starting at $20 per month. Engadget has reached out to Alamo Drafthouse to confirm the details of the plan and will update this story if we hear back.
Read MoreAfter giving us a brief Stranger Things 3 teaser yesterday, Netflix is treating us to the show's full-blown trailer. The clip crams plenty of action into its almost three-minute-long duration, with more nods to Spielberg (possessed toys for the Poltergeist fans), the dawn of '80s consumerism (malls and ice cream parlors), and enough spandex to please Olivia Newton-John.
Read MoreThe monthly movie ticket subscription service MoviePass is switching back to the $9.95 per month uncapped plan that proved highly popular, but was ultimately unsustainable. There's a catch, though. Subscribers must pay for an annual subscription upfront, bringing the total to roughly $120 for a year's worth of unlimited movie tickets.
Read MoreToday, we got our first glimpse of the Lucy In The Sky trailer. Starring Natalie Portman and Jon Hamm, this is the first feature film directed by Noah Hawley, who's behind Fargo and Legion. Lucy In The Sky is loosely based on the headline-grabbing story of astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak. After returning from space, Nowak had a breakdown in which she drove from Houston to Orlando, where she attempted to kidnap a woman involved in a love affair with another astronaut.
Read MoreFox and National Geographic have completed their investigation into Neil deGrasse Tyson over alleged sexual misconduct, and have decided to give both Cosmos: Possible Worlds and StarTalk the go-ahead. While the channels didn't reveal their findings (they have "no further comment"), they now expect to find a new air date for Cosmos after a last-minute delay and will return Nat Geo's remaining 13 StarTalk episodes in April.
Read MoreNetflix has decided to shelf family sitcom One Day at a Time despite the show's warm response from critics. Following a three season run, the comedy show about a Cuban-American single mother's struggle to raise her family will not be renewed for a fourth season. Revealing the news on Twitter, Netflix explained that the show's lack of viewers played a role in its cancellation. In a tweet, show creator Mike Royce said the show was exploring potential platforms to host future seasons.
Read MoreAng Lee hasn't given up on high-frame-rate cinema despite the expensive misfire that was Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. The two-time Oscar winner is shooting his upcoming film, sci-fi assassin thriller Gemini Man, in 3D at 120 frames-per-second (fps) and 4K resolution. There's just one problem: theater chains may not be able to screen it in the format. To ensure it gets a wide release that matches Lee's intended vision, Paramount is writing to cinema owners with instructions on how to bring their projector equipment up to speed, reports The Playlist.
Read MoreBy now, we're all used to targeted ads on social media. And whether you're comfortable with having your interests shared with advertisers or not, it looks like "addressable advertising" is coming to your smart TV too, sooner rather than later. Several top media companies -- including Disney, Comcast, NBCUniversal, CBS and Discovery -- announced they're teaming up with smart TV company Vizio to develop a new standard that might make commercials feel eerily personal.
Read MoreWhat if Captain America was elected President? What if Spider Man had joined the Fantastic Four? What if those and other What If plots came to TV? According to Slashfilm, Marvel Studios wants to adapt the popular What If comic books into an animated series to stream on Disney+.
Read MoreFilmmakers don't accidentally make a movie for virtual reality headsets. Creating VR media is a multi-step process involving specialized cameras and equipment, not to mention an entirely new approach to storytelling. Creators tell a story in VR because they crave a deeper human connection than the one offered by a static, 2D screen, even if it means their work will be seen by fewer people.
Read MoreAfter the critical and commercial flop of the original Doom movie in 2005, many fans of the early-90s' first-person shooter game agreed the Doom universe was probably best left as that: a game. But if Hollywood is good for anything, it's bleeding a once-popular franchise dry, and with the game series' recent revival, someone somewhere decided we needed a movie reboot. Now the trailer for Doom: Annihilation has dropped, and it's a bit... meh.
Read MoreThe world will end one day. That's a plain fact; what's unknown is the exact manner in which humanity will be erased from existence. Whether the oceans will boil us from below like a massive earthenware lobster pot, or a nuclear holocaust will strip the planet bare, or biological warfare will infect our evolutionary timeline, is anyone's guess, and everyone has a theory.
Read MoreQuibi, an upcoming mobile-first video streaming service, will create a series based on Snap's founding. Film executive Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman -- HP Enterprise's former CEO and current Quibi chief -- have announced their plans for Quibi and SXSW, and they include making both scripted and unscripted originals available for streaming. The duo picked up a screenplay entitled Frat Boy Genius, which nabbed the top spot at the 2018 Black List, for the platform. As you can guess from that title, it tells a semi-fictionalized story of Snap's beginnings that shows Spiegel in a pretty unflattering light.
Read MoreFrom the beginning of The Inventor, HBO's upcoming documentary about the failed blood testing startup Theranos, director Alex Gibney ties the story of founder Elizabeth Holmes to another notable tinkerer: Thomas Edison. Like Holmes, he tried to "fake it till he made it," throughout his career. After buying the rights to an early incandescent bulb design, he spent years claiming he'd solved the light bulb problem, long before he finally created one that lasted over 1,200 hours. Unlike the Theranos founder, though, he succeeded before his failures caught up with him.
Read MoreSteven Spielberg is no fan of streaming services winning Oscars when they only have tiny presences in theaters, but is he really campaigning to change the rules? Not necessarily. Movie industry veteran Jeffrey Katzenberg told Hollywood Reporter in a chat that Spielberg "absolutely did not" say he was pushing for longer theatrical release requirements or otherwise trying to prevent services like Netflix from qualifying for awards. Katzenberg claimed instead that IndieWire "heard a rumor" and, when it received a statement from Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, "twisted it around."
Read More'Game of Thrones' first look: Inside the brutal battle to make season 8 James Hibberd, Entertainment Weekly HBO's insanely popular epic concludes in April, but the battle to film the battles, and to keep them from being leaked ahead of time, was a constant struggle for the crew. Entertainment Weekly goes behind the scenes of the final season and offers a spoiler-free primer ahead of its debut in a few weeks.
Read MoreHow could HBO outdo its massive Westworld role-playing experience from last year's SXSW? By asking Game of Thrones fans to prove their devotion by drawing blood. Bleed for the Throne, the network's massive blood drive in partnership with the Red Cross, is one of the most elaborate marketing stunts at this year's show. By taking part at SXSW, or other drive locations around the US, fans are also entered into a contest to attend the Game of Thrones premiere in New York City later this year.
Read MoreFrom discounted weekday-only movie subscriptions to $30 unlimited passes, rollover tickets, debit cards to avoid online fees and direct ticket sales, it seems like Sinemia has tried just about everything to get people to buy movie tickets. Apparently, Sinemia has another trick up its sleeve in its battle against MoviePass: you can now purchase $100-worth of tickets for just $70.
Read MoreAnd then there was one. A Blockbuster video rental store located in a suburb of Perth Australia announced that it will be closing its doors for good at the end of the month, according to local newspaper the Eastern Reporter. It was the last remaining Blockbuster on the continent. Once it ceases offering rentals at the end of March, there will only be one Blockbuster in the world remaining. The final store is located in Bend, Oregon.
Read MoreIn addition to taking on the role of Captain Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Brie Larson is also going to become a top line star for Apple's upcoming lineup of original content. According to Variety she has signed on to star in and executive produce a currently untitled series that will place her in the role of a CIA agent. The show will be based on a yet-to-be-published memoir from former CIA spy Amaryllis Fox.
Read MoreAssociate News Editor Mariella Moon dives into Netflix's stalker series 'You' while Senior News Editor Richard Lawler offers up an almost anti-romantic comedy with 'The Lobster.'
Read MoreThis week there's another flood of Netflix content, including Alfre Woodard's Juanita, Walk. Ride. Rodeo. and the documentary F1: Drive to Survive. For gamers, Devil May Cry 5 is a highlight, along with Beat Cop. Creed II and The Favourite are notable movies arriving on Blu-ray, but we'll be tuning in this weekend to see the second season of American Gods, as well as the premiere of HBO's The Case Against Adnan Syed. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Read MoreIt won't surprise you to hear that Steven Spielberg doesn't think streaming movies should win Oscars, but now he appears to be backing up those words with deeds. A spokesperson for Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment has indicated to IndieWire that the director will rally support for rules restricting Oscars for streaming movies when the subject comes up at the Academy's Board of Governors meeting in April. Spielberg "feels strongly" about the issue and will be "happy" if others take his side, the spokesperson said.
Read MoreOpera announced that it is offering free VPN protection to all users on Android. The latest version of the company's Android app will include a built-in VPN, expanding a service that it first made available to mobile beta users last month and has offered in its desktop app for years. The VPN will be available starting in Opera for Android 51, which will start rolling out in the Google Play Store today.
Read MoreAt Engadget, we spend every day looking at how technology will shape the future. But it's also important to look back at how far we've come. That's what This Week in Tech History does. Join us every weekend for a recap of historical tech news, anniversaries and advances from the recent and not-so-recent past. This week, we're looking back at a number of key events in the history of Oculus VR. Late March has historically been a huge time for Oculus VR, a company that you can credit for ushering in the modern virtual reality era. Just last week at GDC, Oculus unveiled its second-generation VR headset, the Rift S. But that new product is mostly just an iteration on the original Oculus Rift, which was released just over three years ago, on March 25th, 2016.
Read MoreWhile Valve worked closely for years with HTC on Vive VR hardware, it's about to introduce a virtual reality headset of its own. A teaser page on the Steam website shows off this image of the Index, with the tagline "Upgrade your experience" and a May 2019 date. This occurs despite layoffs of some employees on its hardware team, which Valve said would not mean major changes to its plans. The development of Steam VR gives some ideas of what Valve would like to do, but there are no details or specs on the Index itself. Hints of the device have appeared with trademark filings and even a logo, but we don't even know if it will use the "Knuckles" finger tracking controllers we've seen from Valve a few times over the years. Whatever it is, we'll know more about how it competes with Oculus, HTC and the rest very soon.
Read MoreThere are a number of challenges you face if you're interested in a Magic Leap One headset, not the least of which is trying it. Are you really going to drop $2,295 sight unseen, even if you're an eager augmented reality developer? You won't have to in the near future, provided you live in the right city. Magic Leap partner AT&T has announced that it will carry the One Creator Edition in a few of its stores, giving you a chance to try the hyped-up wearable yourself. It'll start with the company's flagship Boston store (on Boylston) April 1st, followed by Chicago (on Michigan Avenue) April 3rd and San Francisco (1 Powell) April 6th. Online orders will be available April 5th.
Read MoreBang & Olufsen is teaming up with premium luggage maker Rimowa for a limited-edition version of the Beoplay H9i headphones. There's a focus on aluminum here, as the headphones will have a warm light grey finish and come with an aluminum Rimowa carrying case. As with the standard H9i, they include active noise-cancellation and a touch interface.
Read MoreAlongside the P30 Pro, the P30 and a bunch of accessories, Huawei had a surprise: smart glasses. No, it isn't 2016. The company is working with Korean eyewear (and pop-culture influencer) Gentle Monster to produce a line of smartphones eyewear that people might be willing to wear in public. CEO Hankook Kim took to the stage in Paris to, well, badmouth Snapchat Specs before hurling out some hollow design platitudes and, well, words of little of consequence.
Read MoreHuawei loves to throw in a peripheral to bolster its big phone launches and in Paris, it's time for the FreeLaces to make an appearance. While it sounds more like the latest Flyknit creation from Nike, these wireless headphones actually have some considered design touches and features.
Read MoreIt's been a long time since smartwatch wearers had to settle for boxy lumps of plastic around their wrists. Now manufacturers are able to cram these wearables full of features, style is firmly back on the agenda, as demonstrated by Garmin which has just announced four new color options for its Vivomove HR smartwatch.
Read MoreBasketball fans can now experience the game in augmented reality. The NBA now has a mixed-reality app for the Magic Leap One headset that will allow for a wide range of immersive features. Fans with the mixed-reality headset can now view live NBA games, game replays, and highlights across multiple virtual "screens."
Read MoreIf you're eager to don HTC's professional Vive Focus Plus headset, you won't have much longer to wait... although you will pay a hefty sum for the privilege. The company has announced that the Focus Plus will be available through the Vive website in mid-April for $799 in 25 markets around the world. That's a hefty increase over the $599 you'd pay for the enterprise version of the original Vive Focus, but HTC is clearly betting that the Plus' advanced performance will make all the difference for exacting users.
Read MoreApple at long last has updated its AirPods, and subsidiary Beats may be set to expand its own product lineup with its first true wireless earbuds. CNET reports Beats will announce a fully wireless version of its Powerbeats next month.
Read MoreSex toys have come a long way since the early days of crudely-shaped, buzzing hunks of plastic. They're sleek, discreet and boast all kinds of features designed to give your sexy time a techy twist, from connected cameras to VR compatibility. But these additions can often come at the expense of battery life, and no-one wants to run out of juice in the middle of playtime. Enter the Esca 2, the second iteration of the Bluetooth-enabled interactive vibrator, which boasts a larger battery capacity.
Read MoreHalf a decade has passed since Android Wear debuted. During that time, we've seen in-screen fingerprint readers, rollable TVs, self-driving cars, super-smart AI, phones with folding screens and more. In the midst of all that technological advancement, Android Wear has remained relatively unchanged. In its five years, Google's OS has grown smarter and more useful and has even undergone a serious makeover. But the system, now known as Wear OS, still doesn't feel fully matured.
Read MoreStanford has released the results of its Apple Watch-based heart study more than a year after it began, and it appears to have been a success, with a few caveats. Only 0.5 percent of the more than 400,000 volunteers received warnings of irregular heart rhythms, but physicians later verified that 84 percent of those notifications were atrial fibrillation episodes and thus potential signs of trouble. To put it another way, the technology both avoided a glut of false positives (a major concern going into the study) and was reliable enough that it was worth a follow-up with doctors.
Read MoreGarmin is hoping its new line of smartwatches will strike a chord with the kind of thrill seekers you might find flying planes and racing cars -- and we might assume they're expensive planes and cars, given the high asking prices. The new MARQ collection, as it's called, is geared toward pilots, ship captains, explorers and athletes. The smartwatches range from $1,500 to $2,500 and can supposedly do everything from calculate your performance vehicle's average speed to send email notifications while you zip around a racetrack.
Read MoreFrom keys to luggage, smart technology lets us keep track of pretty much everything these days -- and that includes our pets. Whistle is perhaps the most prominent company in the pet tracking business, but now a new contender has entered the ring with a feature-packed dog collar that makes keeping tabs on our furry friends even easier. Fi's smart GPS dog collar monitors your pet's activity, tracks its location instantly and, most importantly, has a whopping three-month battery life.
Read MoreA grungy live music bar off Austin's 6th Street was the site of a stirring Shakespeare performance at South by Southwest on Sunday. "All the world's a stage..." began the actor, perched on a leafy pedestal. He was about a foot tall and only visible through Magic Leap One headsets. "Tabletop theater" is what the the Royal Shakespeare Company has termed demos like this -- miniature productions that you can apparently watch anywhere -- and they are Magic Leap's first collaborations with the theater world.
Read MoreThere are countless products available that help you track your sleep, giving you insights into your sleep patterns and quality. But there's been nothing to help snoozers identify sleep apnea, a potentially-serious condition that could traditionally only be diagnosed by a sleep clinic. Now, health device maker Withings has released a new update to its sleep tracking mat that could help users recognize the symptoms of this disorder.
Read MoreTinker Hatfield made people jump off their seat at a SXSW 2019 panel. Literally. The legendary Nike designer, who's behind the Air Max and most iconic Air Jordans, took off the sneakers he wore to the stage and gave them away to one lucky person in the crowd. Then, to top it all off, Hatfield put on a pair of yet-to-be-released Nike Reacts -- no big deal. But he didn't come to Austin just to hype up sneakerheads. During his session, Hatfield of course talked about the Nike Mag, HyperAdapt and Adapt BB, the three self-lacing shoes he has designed for the sportswear giant.
Read MoreYou might have missed the news, but earlier this year Fitbit quietly released a pair of new wearables — the Inspire and Inspire HR — through its Health Solutions division. You couldn't walk into a store and pick one of these up; you ever got one, it would probably be because your workplace or your insurance company gave you one. These kinds of big, specialized device sales deals might represent the future of growth for Fitbit, but the company this morning announced it would sell these updated fitness trackers direct to consumers, too.
Read MoreA second generation of Alphabet's Glass Enterprise Edition with a USB-C port and 5G capability appears to be in the works, according to leaked photos via Brazilian technology news website Tecnoblog. The photos are from Anatel, the Brazillian FCC, which has approved the latest glasses for use in Brazil. The new generation of Glass Enterprise should have a few notable changes, assuming these photos are indeed of a forthcoming model. First, a USB-C port for charging will replace the magnetic cable in the earlier generation, as we can see in the pictures below unearthed by Tecnoblog.
Read MoreSticking to its upward trajectory, the wearable market saw staggering growth through the end of 2018. That's not entirely a surprise. While the wearable business is tough, the market as a whole has been steadily increasing. But the rate at which the market has expanded more recently is impressive.
Read MoreMicrosoft has released a steady stream of State of Decay 2 updates to make the horror survival sim less mundane and more like Zombieland. And so the game has overcome a jittery start -- blame bugs and repetitive gameplay -- to attract a sizeable community of 3 million survivalists. Microsoft is fostering that horde with its new Choose Your Own Apocalypse update, available now, ushering in the toughest challenges yet.
Read MoreFollowing up on Sony's first State of Play stream, Microsoft has added a new video presentation that's focused on indie game developers. The first ID@Xbox Game Pass is also timely, coming just after we learned about Apple Arcade, which will launch this fall offering its own subscription setup full of offbeat games. For Microsoft, it announced that Oxenfree developer Night School Studio will make its next game, Afterparty, available to Game Pass subscribers at launch. We've been waiting for this game's trip through hell/bar crawl experience since 2017, and it's due out later this year. Plus, the Xbox team is bringing it to PAX East along with Void Bastards, Operencia: The Stolen Sun, Supermarket Shriek and The Good Life.
Read MoreThe FDA is behind a horror video game designed to teach teens about the dangers of smoking. Inspired by the statistic that three out of every four high school students who start smoking continue on to adulthood, One Leaves sets players in a cell with three other teens. The free PC and Xbox One game's objective is to escape the cell, but only one of the players will succeed. The game is being released as part of the FDA's "The Real Cost" youth tobacco prevention campaign, which is aimed at youth who are 12 to 17 years of age.
Read MoreGoogle had some major news on the gaming front Tuesday when it announced Stadia, its game-streaming service. Microsoft's Xbox chief Phil Spencer was among those who paid attention to Google's event, and he was quick to remind his team Stadia wasn't the only big-name upcoming game streaming project. "Google went big today and we have a couple of months until E3 when we will go big," he wrote in an internal email obtained by Thurrott.
Read MoreIf rumors are to be believed, we may see a Netflix for video games (that you'll actually want to use) as soon as this month. And like streaming video before it, the rise of on-demand gaming could mean coughing up for several services. But if anyone has a trump card it's Microsoft, and now it's preparing to use it. The company just announced that Xbox Live is coming to iOS and Android by way of a new software toolkit for developers.
Read MoreThere are so many competing attempts to become the Netflix of Gaming -- in more than one form -- it can be hard to remember who is in the mix. Sony just recently reminded everyone of PS4 Remote Play with a new app for iPhones and iPads, and we're already anticipating a big announcement from Google next week. Microsoft doesn't have much new information to share about its own game streaming platform, Project xCloud, but exec Kareem Choudhry did give viewers a live demonstration of the technology during an Inside Xbox broadcast. In an accompanying blog post he confirmed it's still on track to begin real-world tests later this year, and carefully pitched it as an addition to traditional console gaming -- which is still going to be a source for 4K and HDR experiences -- while this can be an option for use on the road or while someone else is watching TV.
Read MoreIf you need a new controller for your Xbox One, Microsoft has just introduced the second model in its "Phantom" series, this time as a white special edition release. It's slated to go on sale for $70 April 2nd, following the black Phantom controller released late last year. Both of them feature a two-tone finish with see-through elements transitioning to solid paint toward the grips. It's still a neat look, even if it isn't the reworked Elite "V2" controller suggested in rumors last year. Functionally it's the same as Microsoft's other standard Xbox One controllers, with Bluetooth and a headphone jack aboard. If you are looking for something with a similar color scheme but slightly upmarket, there's an all-white version of the Elite controller that launched last fall and is still selling for $150.
Read MoreJust because you're playing Crackdown 3 doesn't mean you've played its predecessor -- in fact, that's not too likely when the second game launched nearly nine years ago. The developers want to plug that hole in your gaming history. In addition to teasing some updates to the current game (more on those in a moment), they've revealed that Crackdown 2 is now free as an Xbox One backwards compatibility title. It's not the revelation that the first game was, but it will show you how the series evolved before its big hiatus.
Read MoreThose rumors of Microsoft releasing a disc-free Xbox One in 2019 are gathering steam. Windows Central sources claim the system will be named the "Xbox One S All-Digital Edition" (a very Microsoft-like name if we've ever heard one) and would ship worldwide in early May, with pre-orders starting in mid-April. The tipsters didn't mention pricing or design changes, but Thurrott previously heard that axing the Blu-ray drive could slash the price by up to $100.
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