LG's UltraFine 5K Display has returned after a months-long hiatus, although you might not scramble to get one depending on what device you're using. The updated version of the 27-inch monitor is compatible with the USB-C output from recent iPad Pros, making it a viable option if you need a large secondary screen for media previews or screen mirroring. The earlier model only played nicely with Thunderbolt.
Read MoreJBL made a big splash last year at Google I/O 2108 with its $400 Link Bar that works as an Android TV Box, Google Assistant speaker and Chromecast device all in one. It turned out to be harder to stuff all that in than expected, however, as the device was significantly delayed following pre-orders that started nearly a year ago. Now, the wait is over, as JBL has announced that the Link Bar is finally available.
Read MoreIt's hard to spice up USB hubs when they're practically ubiquitous. Sony's solution? Make it indispensable to pro photographers. The company's newly announced MRW-W3 hub is billed as the "world's fastest" UHS-II SD (and microSD) card reader, supporting read rates up to 300MB/s. Whether or not it lives up to the boasts, it should easily transfer your camera's giant RAW photos and 4K videos. This isn't a one-trick brick, either -- it's meant to handle many of your laptop's other needs while you're on the road.
Read MoreOne year ago, Moment released an anamorphic lens for smartphones. Now, the company is bringing a rectangular lens to drones. The new Moment Air lineup includes an anamorphic lens for the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom, plus new filters and a smartphone case that's thin enough to fit in your drone controller.
Read MoreV-Moda's heavy duty Crossfade M-100 headphones -- known for their 3D-printed personalization -- have been given an upgrade. The Crossfade M-100 Master has been engineered in conjunction with Roland in what V-Moda calls a "creators first" approach, making the headphones particularly suited to DJs, producers and video streamers. Roland bought a majority stake in V-Moda in 2016, so it's no surprise the two are closely working together.
Read MoreThe Raspberry Pi 4 promises to be a boon for homebrew gadget makers, but it has flaw that could pose headaches for some users. Tyler Ward and others have discovered that the Pi 4 isn't using a properly designed USB-C port. Instead of giving two pins their own resistor, Raspberry Pi created a custom circuit that has them sharing a single resistor. As a result, some USB-C chargers (those with "e-marked" cables) will only recognize the Pi 4 as an audio accessory and won't charge it.
Read MoreAcute Kidney Injury (AKI) kills 500,000 people in the US and 100,000 in the UK annually, often because it's not detected soon enough. Researchers want to use AI to change that. DeepMind, the Alphabet-owned AI company, partnered with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop an AKI prediction algorithm. In a paper published in Nature today, the partners share their findings that the algorithm can predict the presence of AKI up to 48 hours before it happens. The model correctly identified 9 out of 10 patients whose condition worsened to the point that they needed dialysis.
Read MoreItalian design studio Ultravioletto has created a mirror that lets you see yourself the way corporations see you: as a collection of data points. At first, the Neural Mirror installation (located at a former church in the Italian city of Spoleto), seems like an ordinary mirror. But after you've been duly scanned and processed (with the system estimating your age, sex and emotional state) you'll quickly see something else; a ghostly vision of a machine's idea of who you are.
Read MoreOakland, Calif. is now the third US city to ban the use of facial recognition technology. The city passed an ordinance yesterday that prohibits the use of the technology on the grounds that it is often inaccurate, potentially invasive and lacks standards. "Face recognition technology runs the risk of making Oakland residents less safe as the misidentification of individuals could lead to the misuse of force, false incarceration, and minority-based persecution," Council President Rebecca Kaplan wrote in a letter recommending the ban.
Read MoreResearchers at the University of California, Irvine have created an artificial intelligence system that can solve a Rubik's Cube in an average of 1.2 seconds in about 20 moves. That's two seconds faster than the current human world record of 3.47 seconds, while people who can finish the puzzle quickly usually do so in about 50.
Read MoreGrammarly revolves around AI-based writing suggestions, but now it's giving you an at-a-glance way to see what needs improving. The service's browser and desktop app editors have been updated with color-coded AI suggestions that revolve around four categories. Red underlines point out basic issues of correctness, such as spelling and grammar. Blue addresses clarity problems like concision and difficult-to-read sentence structure, while purple offers advice on the tone of your piece. You'll even see progress bars that show how close you are to refining your writing in a given category.
Read MoreEven though the whole 5G smartphone thing didn't work out, Intel is still working on hard on its Loihi "neuromorphic" deep-learning chips, modeled after the human brain. Now, it has unveiled a new system, code-named Pohoiki Beach, made up of 64 Loihi chips and 8 million so-called neurons. It's capable of crunching AI algorithms up to 1,000 faster and 10,000 times more efficiently than regular CPUs for use with autonomous driving, electronic robot skin, prosthetic limbs and more.
Read MorePlayers will soon get a chance to battle it out with DeepMind's Starcraft II AI. Alphabet and Blizzard will test AlphaStar in a small number of public matches. It'll be a Herculean task for the human players, to put it lightly. The AI has the accumulated knowledge of 200 years of playing Starcraft II, and earlier this year beat a team of professional players 10-1. So, for the average gamer, the odds of beating AlphaStar are laughably impossible -- but it'll be fun to watch.
Read MoreCities and companies might be turning away from facial recognition, but federal agents are embracing it -- whether or not the public is fully aware of what's happening. Georgetown Law researchers and the Washington Post have discovered that FBI and ICE investigators have been using state DMVs as a "gold mine" for facial recognition data, scanning hundreds of millions of photos to create an unofficial surveillance infrastructure. Officers routinely use the info to help track down suspects in "low-level" crimes like petty theft, and they use it frequently -- the FBI by itself conducts 4,000 facial recognition searches per month.
Read MoreIt's difficult to simulate quantum physics, as the computing demand grows exponentially the more complex the quantum system gets -- even a supercomputer might not be enough. AI might come to the rescue, though. Researchers have developed a computational method that uses neural networks to simulate quantum systems of "considerable" size, no matter what the geometry. To put it relatively simply, the team combines familiar methods of studying quantum systems (such as Monte Carlo random sampling) with a neural network that can simultaneously represent many quantum states.
Read MoreFacial recognition technology is mistakenly targeting four out of five innocent people as wanted suspects, according to findings from the University of Essex. The report -- which was commissioned by Scotland Yard -- found that the technology used by the UK's Metropolitan Police is 81 percent inaccurate and concludes that it is "highly possible" the system would be found unlawful if challenged in court.
Read MoreCreating digital renderings and editing images can take hours, but researchers from MIT and IBM want to change that. They've trained AI to generate photographic images from scratch and to intelligently edit objects inside them. While this could be beneficial for artists and designers, it also offers insight into how neural networks learn context, and the team hopes to leverage the tool to spot fake or altered images.
Read MoreAmazon's adventures in fashion haven't usually set the world on fire, but it might have a more appealing option: have someone else pick your apparel choices. It just launched a Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe service that, for $5 per month on top of Prime, has a stylist choose clothes based on your tastes. You start with a survey that helps set your preferences and measurements (a tight fit, a retro look and a long torso, for example), and then stay in touch with the stylist through the Amazon app to fine-tune the selection. You get as many as eight of those hand-picked items in a monthly box (you can preview the contents) and pay only for what you keep beyond the one-week try-on period.
Read MoreUC Santa Barbara has had enough of retailers selling its patented LED light bulb technology without authorization. This week, the university filed a lawsuit charging Amazon, IKEA, Walmart, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond with infringing its patents. According to Nixon Peabody, the law firm representing UC Santa Barbara, this is the "first-of-its-kind direct patent enforcement campaign against an entire industry."
Read MoreMost people probably wouldn't mention the sci-fi family drama Fast Color if they're asked to list all the superhero films that came out in 2018. Now, according to Deadline, Amazon Studios is planning to introduce Fast Color's world to more people by giving Viola Davis and her husband Julius Tennon's JuVee Productions the go-ahead to create a series based on the film. The movie tells the story of three generations of black women with superpowers: Ruth, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw (San Junipero/Black Mirror), her mom Bo and her daughter Lila. Critics praised it for taking a more grounded approach to the genre, so it's very different from the superhero flicks we're used to.
Read MoreAmazon's Ring security service is working 200 law enforcement agencies, according to an email obtained by Motherboard. A few days ago, the publication learned that Ring forged partnerships with law enforcement agencies. Some of those partner agencies are reportedly required to advertise Ring home security cameras in exchange for free units and for access to an anonymized portal that allows them to request security footage from users. A Ring spokesperson denied that the program was supposed to be a deep, dark secret, but the company never disclosed the number of partnerships it maintains.
Read MoreAmazon hasn't officially revealed the cast of its much-hyped Lord of the Rings series, but it's more than willing to talk about the creative team. The internet pioneer has unveiled the producers and writers behind the Tolkien-based show, and many of them are responsible for beloved shows -- even if you're not particularly familiar with the names involved. Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay are just part of the picture.
Read MoreAmazon's fondness for surveillance camera technology apparently includes programs that ask homeowners to volunteer their own cameras. Motherboard has learned that Amazon has partnerships with US police departments that have law enforcement agencies advertising Ring cameras in return for free giveaway units and an anonymized portal where they can request footage directly from homes. While it's not as clandestine as it appears (more on this in a bit), there are worries the two sides are working too closely and encouraging locals to compromise their privacy.
Read MoreAmazon keeps on expanding its delivery options, perhaps to ensure that you won't have an excuse not to buy that thing you've just carted. In 2018, it launched an in-car delivery service for GM and Volvo owners, which it also eventually offered to Ford and Lincoln vehicles. Now, the e-commerce giant is giving select Honda models access to Key by Amazon In-Car delivery, as well, so you can have your package dropped right inside your car wherever it is you've parked.
Read MoreAmazon announced today that it inked best-selling author Dean Koontz to a five-book deal. The agreement will also include a short story collection called Nameless that will be available for free to Amazon Prime and Kindle Unlimited customers on November 12th as a Kindle eBook and Audible audiobook. The first full-length novel in the five-book run will be titled Devoted and is set to be available next spring.
Read MoreAmazon is apparently confident The Boys will prove a hit -- so confident that it's committing to more before the Prime Video show is even available. The company has renewed its ugly-side-of-superheroes production for a second season days ahead of the series' July 26th premiere. On top of this, Amazon has confirmed that Aya Cash from You're the Worst will take on the role of Stormfront, the most powerful member of Payback (a spoof of the Avengers) and a "diabolical" character.
Read MoreOrlando has canceled Amazon's facial recognition pilot following a series of technical problems and other issues, according to Orlando Weekly. The city started testing the facial recognition software -- which, according to a study, shows gender and race bias and tends to misidentify dark-skinned women -- back in 2017. After the first trial period expired in mid-2018, local officials showed hesitation in renewing the partnership before deciding to go through with a second pilot. Looks like the second go was just as unsatisfactory, though, because a memo sent to the City Council reportedly said the pilot didn't make "noticeable progress" and that Orlando doesn't have immediate plans to launch more facial recognition trials.
Read MoreSometimes during major online sales, too-good-to-be-true deals accidentally make it to storefronts. Often the retailer cancels those orders after realizing the mistake, but sometimes lucky bargain hunters actually receive the goods they found for way below market value. Case in point: some eagled-eyed photography enthusiasts say they saved thousands on high-end gear during Amazon's strike-hit Prime Day sale, with the retailer seemingly shipping some of the goods.
Read MoreAmazon is getting to set to stream the Premier League this year, and even though it only has 20 mid-week matches, it wants to multiply the impact as much as possible. To that end, it announced that it has acquired a four-part documentary on BVB Borussia Dortmund's quest to capture the German Football League (Bundesliga) championship. Called Inside Borussia Dortmund, it will air globally starting in August, coinciding with Amazon's first round of Premier League streaming.
Read MoreOn the same day that Amazon announced plans to overhaul its business terms for its third-party sellers, the European Commission (EC) has opened a formal antitrust investigation into the retailer, designed to assess whether its use of sensitive merchant data is in breach of EU competition rules.
Read MoreAmazon doesn't have a shining reputation when it comes to the way it handles its third-party sellers. Merchants have reported restrictions on where they can sell, being kicked off the site for no obvious reasons and issues with counterfeiting. But Germany has forced Amazon to change its attitude, and the retailer will now be overhauling its terms of service for third-party sellers worldwide.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Morning, there! Did you join the not-so-secret society of Instant Pot owners following those Amazon Prime Day sales? We're here to make sure it doesn't gather dust, with a bunch of tips (and crucially) recipes for you to test out. There's also major updates to Pokémon Go, and we give our verdict on Sony's powerful Xperia 1 phone.
Read MoreToday, Amazon will start its fifth annual Prime Day, which has been expanded to 48 hours this year. Designed to enlist (and keep) Prime members, it is the company's biggest shopping event of the year -- on the same level as Black Friday -- with extensive discounts and deals across the entire site. At a time when Amazon would likely prefer that all its employees hunker down to meet increased demand, a group of warehouse workers in Shakopee, Minnesota are going on strike. It isn't the first time the workers in Shakopee have raised their concerns. But it will be the first major work stoppage event for Amazon in the US and could be a harbinger of things to come.
Read MoreDespite an influx of new models last year, Amazon's Echo probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you think of high fidelity. The company wants to change that by introducing a higher-quality version of the Echo to better compete with the like of Sonos, according to Bloomberg. Amazon's Lab126 research division has reportedly produced prototypes that are larger than the current Echo in order to pack in at least four tweeters.
Read MoreAmazon announced today that is is planning on retraining one-third of its workforce to help ease the effects of automation. The e-commerce giant is pledging $700 million that will go to providing "upskill" training designed to move people in positions vulnerable to automation into new jobs across the company. As many as 100,000 employees are expected to undergo the retraining process by 2025.
Read MoreYou won't find Lady Gaga's new beauty line at Sephora or Ulta, or even alongside the Fenty counter at your local department store. The songstress announced that Haus Laboratories -- her upcoming line of cosmetics -- will be sold exclusively on Amazon. The musician's line is the first major beauty brand to sign an exclusive deal with the online retailer.
Read MoreDon't go looking for a customer support phone number for Amazon in Europe -- you probably won't find one. The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Amazon isn't obligated to provide a phone helpline to customers in the region, rejecting Germain claims that the company's site violated national consumer protection laws by failing to clearly display a support phone number. An online shopping platform like Amazon is "not obliged in all cases" to make a phone number available, according to the judges.
Read MoreLord of the Rings fans have been patiently waiting for the long-promised Amazon series. While we still don't know when the show will debut or who will star in it, Amazon has more Lord of the Rings news. Today, Amazon Game Studios announced that it's working on a Lord of the Rings massively multiplayer online game.
Read MoreThe NHS has teamed up with Amazon to bring its health information to Alexa. As part of the NHS' long term plan to make its services available digitally, users will soon be able to ask Alexa questions such as "Alex, how do I treat a migraine?" or "Alexa, what are the symptoms of chicken pox?" Alexa will then provide information drawn directly from the NHS website.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Good morning, there! Amazon's Prime Day faces a threat, and we're not talking about Target and eBay's competitor sales. We also nail down some more details on Pokémon Sword and Shield, get a better look at what might be the front of the Google Pixel 4 and see the reality of 5G speeds when it gets to a phone and city near you.
Read MoreAmazon has ordered ten episodes of a comedy series about the lives of four black women in New York City from Tracy Oliver, reported Deadline. Oliver, who is best known for her work in Girls Trip, Awkward Black Girl and teen drama The Sun is Also a Star, will be writing and executive producing the show. Amazon Studios and Universal Television will produce the show in association with Amy Poehler's production company, Paper Kite Productions.
Read MoreWhile Amazon is busy hyping up this year's Prime Day extravaganza, its workers will be drawing attention to more serious issues than price cuts. Staff at a warehouse in Shakopee, Minnesota will hold six hours of strikes on July 15th (the start of Prime Day) to demand less stringent quotas and the conversion of more temporary workers into permanent employees. The quotas make the work dangerous and unreliable, according to the workers, and permanent work will help create a "livable future." Workers in the US have protested before (including a December protest in Minnesota over support for East African workers), but not during crucial sales days -- you've only really seen that practice in Europe until now.
Read MoreAmazon is moving fairly quickly on its plan to deploy thousands of internet satellites. The company has filed for FCC permission to launch 3,236 satellites as part of Project Kuiper. The spacecraft would be grouped into 98 orbital planes, and fly at altitudes between 366 and 391 miles. The filing reiterated Amazon's plans to connect "tens of millions" of people around the world, although the company warned that it couldn't cover everything -- it asked for a waiver on a requirement to serve the whole US as its satellites wouldn't cover parts of Alaska.
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, Amazon turns 25. Few companies have done more to shape the modern internet (and, some might argue, modern capitalism) than Amazon. CEO Jeff Bezos incorporated the company 25 years ago today, and it was another year before Amazon launched as an online bookstore. It was still longer before it became the internet Goliath it is now -- but the list of things that Amazon has significantly changed 25 years in is dizzying.
Read MoreAmazon must put the brakes on its potential tie-up with food delivery company Deliveroo, a UK competition regulator has ruled.
Read MoreAmazon faced lawsuits over third-party sellers in the past, but it always came out unscathed. Now, though, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia has decided that the e-commerce giant can be held liable for products sold by third-party vendors doing business on its website. As Reuters noted, the decision could lead to an onslaught of lawsuits against Amazon from buyers who end up with defective products from sellers using the platform.
Read MoreBack in May, Amazon introduced a new Alexa feature that makes it easy to delete your voice history -- apparently, that could be pretty handy if you don't want Amazon to keep copies of your Alexa conversations. In a letter sent to Sen. Chris Coons from Delaware and obtained by CNET, the tech giant has revealed that it keeps your voice recordings and transcripts until you manually delete them. Even if you choose to expunge your voice recordings., though, Amazon will still keep records of Alexa interactions containing certain details.
Read MoreAmazon is preparing to build a big presence in Bellevue, WA, the affluent suburb of Seattle where it was originally founded. The company on Tuesday began the permitting process for Bellevue 600, a 43-story tower in the city's downtown that will accommodate an estimated 4,200 workers, reported The Seattle Times. Not only will the building be the largest built by Amazon, it will be the largest in the city. The anticipated completion date for the tower is 2024.
Read MoreThe rumors of an imminent Apple Card launch were on the mark. As part of Apple's latest earnings call, CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the iPhone-centric credit card will be available in the US sometime in August. He didn't provide a specific date or other launch details, although Apple has already explained a fair amount about it -- you sign up for the card from an iPhone, and can use it either through Apple Pay or through a flashy titanium card that will be mailed to you for free within a few days.
Read MoreApple's latest earnings report is out, and as many had expected, it's very much on-trend with the numbers we've seen coming out of Cupertino this year. The company managed to grow its overall revenue a little, raking in a total of $53.8 billion compared to $53.3 billion this time last year. That's... not a huge amount of growth, but it was enough to claim an all-time Q3 revenue record, according to CEO Tim Cook. Unfortunately, Apple's iPhone sales showed little sign of recovering — the company saw just under $26 billion in iPhone sales this quarter, continuing a streak of year-over-year declines.
Read MoreApple has been pushing its way into the world of augmented reality for years. Now, it wants to get more users involved. Working with artists like Nick Cave, an American fabric sculptor and performance artist, Apple has installed AR art in public spaces in San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Users in those cities can sign up for a free Today at Apple experience called [AR]T. It involves an interactive walk to tour the AR installations, an in-store session that teaches the basics of creating AR using Swift Playgrounds and an AR installation in the store.
Read MoreApple won't be first major vendor out of the gate with a 5G smartphone, but it may have a comprehensive lineup when it's ready. Historically accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now expects all three 2020 iPhones to support 5G, not just the two highest-end models. Apple will be helped by falling 5G hardware costs (you could see limited 5G support on $250 Android phones, Kuo said), more resources thanks to the Intel modem business acquisition and expectations from both carriers and customers. At that stage, 5G may be treated as a given in the iPhone's price class -- and carriers might not offer as many subsidies without 5G support.
Read MoreAs much as Apple emphasizes privacy, it hasn't completely avoided eyebrow-raising behavior. The Guardian has learned from a source that Siri quality control contractors regularly hear sensitive info, including medical info, criminal activities and even "sexual encounters," much like their counterparts at Amazon and Google. They're only listening to less than one percent of daily Siri activations, and frequently only for a few seconds each, but some of them include request-linked data like app info, contacts and locations. Like its peers, Apple is gauging how well its voice assistant is fulfilling requests and wants to know what happened after a command.
Read MoreIn March, Apple made a fuss over its plans to introduce a credit card. But we haven't heard much about Apple Card since. Now, Bloomberg reports that the card will reportedly launch in the first half of August. The update suggests that the card is on track, as Apple initially said it would be ready this summer.
Read MoreThe rumors were (mostly) true -- Apple is buying the "majority" of Intel's smartphone modem business for $1 billion. The deal will see Apple take on 2,200 Intel workers as well as equipment, intellectual property and leases. Apple expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2019 so long as regulators approve the handover.
Read MoreApple may ditch the butterfly mechanism keyboard on its laptops sooner than expected. The rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro -- predicted to ship this year -- may arrive with a scissor mechanism instead of the long-troubled butterfly design. According to MacRumors, historically accurate Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared his prediction for this change with investors today.
Read MoreThis year started with a slew of TV manufacturers showing off hardware ready to work with Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit protocols, and now LG says its 2019 TVs are ready to support both features. That makes it, by its claim, the first global TV manufacturer with support for Apple's smart home control system (Apple doesn't have a list of supported TVs on its website yet) and one of few so far to support AirPlay 2. Samsung still has exclusive integration of Apple's new TV app, but with AirPlay 2 built-in, LG owners can use their iPhones, iPads and Macs to stream video, podcasts, images or music directly to the display. That will include Apple's TV+ originals when they launch later this year, and of course includes the ability to sync up with other AirPlay-ready hardware for multiroom audio. With HomeKit support, LG TVs can be controlled via Siri or the Home app in iOS, with control of power, volume and input selection. Plus, like other accessories, it can become a part of scenes and automations to prep things for movie night, or whatever else you have in mind. The update with Apple's features is "starting" this week, so even if you have a 2019 model TV, it could take a few weeks before it's actually available. LG 2019 TVs with AirPlay (from Apple's list): LG OLED LG NanoCell SM9X series LG NanoCell SM8X series LG UHD UM7X series
Read MoreSeptember is only a few short weeks away, which means we're fast approaching the likely date for Apple's fall event and, barring a major surprise, the reveal of this year's iPhone lineup. The latest rumors suggest Apple will have again have three models to showcase, much like last year's trio of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR.
Read MoreIn addition to releasing iOS 12.4, Apple has also announced that it's patching older versions of the platform for devices that can't run the latest rollouts. We're talking about models as old as the iPhone 4s and the first-generation iPad mini. Not to teach those old devices new tricks, but to fix a bug that prevents them from using GPS.
Read MoreNobody really knows -- except those inside the company -- what Apple has planned for self-driving cars, but it appears to be making moves to ensure it has the right people to be a major player. Apple has lured over another big name from its potential rival, with Steve MacManus, the former Vice President of Engineering at Tesla, joining the company.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. If you're heading back to school -- or shopping for someone who is -- we have some relevant electronics advice. Also, Equifax's big data-breach settlement isn't as big as it seems, and it's time to update your Apple stuff.
Read MoreAfter months of rumors, Intel is reportedly close to finding a buyer for its phone modem division... and it won't surprise you to hear who the candidate is. Wall Street Journal tipsters claim Apple is in "advanced talks" to buy the modem chip outfit, with the reportedly $1 billion-plus deal possibly ready within the next week. The companies had been discussing a sale since summer 2018, according to the sources, but had been on-and-off until sometime after Apple reached its truce with Qualcomm, leading Intel to halt its 5G work.
Read MoreThe releases of iOS 13, watchOS 6 and macOS Catalina are likely just a couple of months away, but that isn't stopping Apple from giving the current versions a big sendoff. The tech behemoth has released iOS 12.4, HomePod 12.4, tvOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3 and macOS 10.14.6, most of which bring important tweaks. The iOS update is most useful if you're setting up a new iPhone -- you can wireless transfer data directly from an old handset to a new one instead of restoring from iCloud or iTunes. Apple News has also seen some refinements, with downloaded issues showing up in My Magazines and all News+ publications appearing in the catalog at the top of the feed.
Read MoreApple reportedly is looking to buy exclusive rights to original podcasts, reported Bloomberg. The company has reached out to executives of media companies, but there's no clear strategy in place yet. Since Apple's share of the podcast market is so large (anywhere from 50 to 70 percent of podcast listeners are estimated to tune in on the Podcasts app), any movement would likely shake up the industry.
Read MoreOurPact, one of the parental control apps Apple dropped from the App Store earlier this year, is now back on iOS. After The New York Times reported in April that Apple pulled or limited 11 of the 17 most popular parental control applications, the tech giant explained that it did so because they put users' privacy and security at risk.
Read MoreApple has disabled its Walkie Talkie Watch app due to a vulnerability that could've allowed someone to listen in on other iPhones, the company told Techcrunch. In a statement, Apple said that the vulnerability -- which requires specific conditions and actions to exploit -- hasn't been used against anyone as far as it knows. It apologized to users and said it would restore the app once a fix is found.
Read MoreApple has revealed its back-to-school promotions for this year, and they include a much longer trial period for students who want to try out its music subscription service. Eligible college students can now enjoy Apple Music for six months instead of the usual three at no cost, so they don't have to worry about paying the $5-a-month discounted rate for half a year. According to an internal memo obtained by Appleosophy, the offer is already available and will last until September 26th, 2019.
Read MoreQuietly lost amidst some upgrades to the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is a notable absence from Apple's online store: the 12-inch MacBook has been discontinued. The laptop was first introduced in 2015 and ushered in a new era of MacBook design for Apple -- it was the first to use USB-C, the first with the controversial and problematic butterfly keyboard, and the first Mac laptop without a glowing Apple logo in years. Apple has confirmed to Engadget that the 12-inch MacBook is no more.
Read MoreThe App Store opened for business 11 years ago this week and to mark the anniversary of its app marketplace, Apple is reviving its old iOS poker game. The redesigned Texas Hold 'em app has a new lease on life with more characters, sharper graphics and gameplay that should prove a bit more of a challenge. It's also now free to play.
Read MoreThe iCloud website is handy when you want to check info from an unfamiliar device or just prefer to use a browser, but the need to enter your password could be enough of a pain that you might just pull out your phone instead. Soon, though, it could be relatively effortless. The company is testing a beta iCloud site that uses Face ID or Touch ID to sign you in. You'll need a beta version of iOS 13, iPadOS or macOS Catalina, but after that it's just a matter of using your face or finger to sign in with compatible Apple gear.
Read MoreCan Apple hack it in Hollywood? We talk to the man behind Apple TV+ Stuart McGurk, GQ UK Apple officially revealed it's TV streaming service in March, but it won't debut for the masses until this fall. There have been all kinds of reports swirling about content, including reports that Apple executives were micromanaging creative direction. GQ sat down with senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue to find out more about TV+, and get some clarity on a few of those rumors.
Read MoreAfter years of controversy and technical difficulties, Apple could be about to give up on the butterfly mechanism keyboard in its MacBooks. According to a report authored by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo -- who has a decent record in accurate Apple predictions -- the company is on track to release a refreshed MacBook Air later this year, this time with a keyboard design based on scissor switches.
Read MoreA video call is a great way to connect with friends and family when you can't physically be together. But even if you're staring directly at your loved one's face, there's still something a little off about the whole process. The way your phone's screen display and camera lens sync up means you're never quite able to look your conversational partner squarely in the eye. Until now, that is. Apple is allegedly working on a new feature that subtly adjusts your gaze during video calls, so it appears as if you're looking into the camera when you're actually looking at the screen.
Read MoreThe latest transparency report from Cupertino comes with a couple of sections its previous ones didn't have -- ones that reveal how many takedown requests it received. Apparently, Apple received 80 App Store takedown requests for legal violations in the second half of 2018, from July to December. A total of 770 applications were specified in the requests, 626 of which came from the Chinese government. The vast majority of the apps China wanted to remove violate the country's illegal gambling and pornography laws.
Read MoreApple is rejecting claims that it's fussing over the content in shows for its upcoming TV+ service. In an interview with GQ, senior VP Eddy Cue denied New York Post rumors that he and Tim Cook were leaving notes on scripts and otherwise meddling with the production of TV+ shows. There has "never been one note" passed along,he said, stating that the execs "leave the folks [alone]" who know what they're doing.
Read MoreApple once dreamed of self-driving cars with retractable bumpers. In 2015, the company filed a patent for "extendable bumpers" with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The patent was published this morning, but even if Apple were once serious about adding inflatable bumpers to its vehicles, the company has since pivoted and scaled back its Project Titan self-driving vehicle efforts.
Read MoreA lengthy Wall Street Journal article described design chief Jony Ive leaving Apple as a process that started long before it was announced last week, and specifically linked it to issues with CEO Tim Cook. The article claimed Ive was "dispirited" by Cook's lack of interest in design -- particularly in comparison to Steve Jobs -- and now Cook has responded in an email to NBC News reporter Dylan Byers.
Read MoreSome owners of Apple's current-generation MacBook Air might be due for a free but important fix. Reports from 9to5Mac, AppleInsider and MacRumors indicate that Apple has found a logic board problem with a "very small number" of MacBook Air units that will warrant free repairs for up to four years after the original purchase date of a given machine. The company hasn't detailed the nature of the issue or added the Air to its official repair extension page, but the symptoms can include "power," according to 9to5Mac.
Read MoreJony Ive's departure was made official last week, but may have begun years ago because of Apple's shift in focus from design to operations, according to the WSJ and Bloomberg. Citing multiple unnamed sources, the reports stated that Ive was "dispirited" by Tim Cook's lack of interest in design, especially considering the close synergy he shared with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. At the same time, Ive was coming into Apple's offices much less often than before, "straining the cohesion central to product development," the WSJ stated.
Read MoreThe FAA's free app that kept drone pilots aware of "no fly zones" performed a much-needed service -- but had few fans. The federal agency teamed up with drone software maker Kittyhawk to create a new version of the B4UFLY app that is being released today. The revamped app makes use of Kittyhawk's airspace controller, Dynamic Airspace, to manage real-time flight restrictions, authorizations and guidance.
Read MoreNetflix is tracking some users' physical activity, but it isn't exactly moving into Fitbit's territory. Details of the test first emerged when a security researcher said the Netflix app on his Android device requested access to his physical activity data. It might seem odd on the surface that Netflix would like to know when you're moving around, but there's some solid reasoning behind the move.
Read MoreGoPro's main application is absorbing major Quik video editing features as part of the company's quest to create a single-app experience. The action camera-maker purchased Quik back in 2016 when it was still known as Replay and offered it as a standalone application. Now, it's rolling out what it says is the first in a series of updates meant to bring all its mobile editing tools in one place.
Read MoreThis week, Senior Editor Billy Steele indulges his inner DJ with a $4 app.
Read MoreIf your computer or phone was pinging you a little less frequently today, it might be because Slack had some service issues. It said on its status page some people had issues sending messages and that others couldn't access their channels at all. Slack said it was fully up and running again about an hour after the issues emerged, so you shouldn't have any more problems in trying to send GIFs to your co-workers.
Read MoreLast fall, Magic Leap launched its Independent Creator Program (ICP), which was meant to give developers the funding and support they need to launch apps and games on the company's augmented reality headset. Today, the first app to come out of the program is available. Portugal-based ONTOP Studios has created PuzzlAR: World Tour, an AR version of its popular mobile game, for Magic Leap One.
Read MoreTinder wants to keep its users safe in the nearly 70 countries that have discriminatory LGBTQ laws. Today, the company is launching a feature called Traveller Alert. When members of the LGBTQ community open the app in one of those countries, the alert will warn them about the potential dangers LGBTQ people face.
Read MoreAs of today, you can use OpenTable's updated iOS app to book dinner reservations or have your food delivered. OpenTable announced that it's partnering with Uber Eats, Caviar and Grubhub to offer meal delivery from over 8,000 restaurants in 90 cities across the US.
Read MoreGoogle Photos is a great way to organize and store your photos, but it's a bit on the beefy side, taking up space and needing constant access to the cloud. So it's not ideal for people with mid-tier phones, or those who don't have a reliable data or internet connection. Enter Gallery Go, a lightweight photo gallery that boasts a lot of the features of Google Photos, and is designed to work offline.
Read MoreMore Americans will be able to take advantage of on-demand Frappuccinos. Starbucks announced today that it's expanding its partnership with Uber Eats, aiming for nationwide delivery by early 2020. Currently, only 11 cities offer the service; Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Orange County, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC.
Read MoreWe've long favored Pixelmator Pro as an effective and affordable alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Now an update to the image editor will make it easier for you to perform advanced visual editing right in Apple Photos. The Pixelmator team unveiled Pixelmator Pro 1.4 Hummingbird today, which includes an extension that brings its entire suite of editing tools to Apple's photo library. Nothing is missing from the extension -- users can perform layer-based edits, edit RAW photos, paint with digital brushes and more.
Read MorePandora is rolling out Voice Mode to all users today. While you may have used Pandora voice controls on smart products like Amazon Alexa or Google Home, the new feature takes voice commands to the next level. It's meant to be more like a personal assistant for music, and it promises to deliver music selections tailored to each individual user.
Read MoreScoring a pair of limited-edition Vans or Air Jordans just got easier for Chinese consumers. Online sneaker marketplace GOAT announced their official launch in China today with a new localized app just for Chinese consumers, along with a WeChat version tailored for the popular messaging app. In the past, Chinese consumers relied on the US app to buy and sell sneakers. The nation has already grown to become GOAT's second-largest market, just behind the US.
Read MoreWhatsApp has only had limited availability on basic cellphones until now, but Facebook is about to throw the gates wide open. The messaging app is now available on the KaiStore, making it available to "millions" of low-cost KaiOS cellphones with at least 256MB of RAM. "Most" KaiOS phones will come preloaded with WhatsApp in the third quarter of the year, and that's no small number when over 100 million of the phones have shipped to date.
Read MoreSlack has become an essential part of the daily workflow for many of us, but its desktop app has perhaps been in need of a little TLC. An update is rolling out over the next few weeks that Slack claims will make the app more efficient and help you get more things done.
Read MoreAirbnb wants to make it easier to find work-friendly listings, and its solution is fairly simple. Before, the company would ask if you were traveling for business at checkout. Now, it's offering a work trip toggle that you can select at the beginning of your search. The feature will bring up listings that are more relevant for business trips.
Read MoreTinder is exploring a different approach to fighting app store fees -- it's simply ignoring what the store operators want. The dating giant has introduced a default payment process into its Android app that skips Google Play's system entirely, instead taking payments directly. And if you go this route, you lose the option of switching back to Google Play after the fact.
Read MoreThatgamecompany's Sky: Children of the Light is finally available on iOS. The title, from the creators of Journey, was announced years ago and has lived in beta limbo for a long time. Last month, Thatgamecompany said Sky would arrive on July 11th, and while it's a week late, it's finally ready.
Read MoreLyft's support for public transportation will soon include one of the biggest mass transit systems on the planet. The ridesharing firm is rolling out access to real-time New York City subway directions through its app over the months ahead, giving locals a one-stop directory for some of the most common transportation options in town. You'll still have to pay with your MetroCard (or a tap of your phone), but you could use just one app to take a Lyft car to an urgent meeting, the subway for your return and a Citi Bike for the last leg of the journey.
Read MoreChrome's Incognito Mode hasn't been working as well as promised lately -- some sites now check for private browsing and insist that you sign in before you can read an article. Google sees that as a flaw, though, and intends to set things right. The company will use the July 30th release of Chrome 76 to close a "loophole" where sites could check for Chrome's FileSystem framework (disabled in Incognito Mode) and use its absence to detect a private session. Google will also change any other methods of detecting Incognito going forward.
Read MoreModular synthesizers are having something of a moment right now. Even mainstream players like Korg are trying to bring them to the masses. So it's no surprise that Ableton -- maker of one of the most popular digital audio workstations (DAW) in the world -- is trying to get in on the hype. Today the company officially launched CV Tools, a set of virtual devices for Live 10 that bring your computer and your modular gear closer together.
Read MoreIf you suddenly have an urge for McDonald's at home, you won't need to go through UberEats to get it. The fast food chain has expanded its delivery options to include DoorDash. The rollout will start in Houston, where the courier option will be available in over 200 restaurants starting on July 29th. McDonald's will also be part of the DashPass subscription service, so you won't have to pay extra for delivery if you regularly get your Big Mac fixes at home.
Read MoreMore than two years after it arrived in South Korea, LG's long-delayed contactless mobile payment system has finally gone live in the US. LG Pay is available on the G8 ThinQ at launch. In the coming months, it'll be available on V50 5G, V40, G7 and V35 from Google Play, and it'll work on all future flagship devices.
Read MoreBy the end of the year, you'll be able to track your Domino's Pizza delivery via GPS. The company is known for embracing technology, and it's done things like deliver pizza via robots and self-driving vehicles and allowed orders through cars and Alexa devices. It's experimented with cashless stores and even turning on smart home porch lights when the delivery person is near. But telling you where your pizza is as it's en route to your door might be Domino's most practical tech experiment yet.
Read MoreDigital reading app Libby has for some time allowed bookworms to play its audiobooks through Android Auto. Following an update that arrived today, folks with CarPlay-enabled infotainment systems can listen to the app's books through their setups too.
Read MoreWaze is adding another useful piece of information you may want to know before going a particular way. It's adding estimated toll prices to a route's data panel whenever applicable, putting it alongside that route's ETA and traffic situation. If you don't usually drive to where you're going and don't know how much you'd have to spend in toll fees, it could help you decide which road to take. The feature will start rolling out today, but only in the US, Canada and Isreal. We've asked Waze whether it'll also be available in other regions, and we'll update you when we find out.
Read MoreNiantic built its reputation on location-based games like Pokémon Go, Ingress and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, but its roots are in its Field Trip app for finding nearby activities. And believe it or not, the company has kept the app going since 2012 -- even after the split with Google. Now, though, it's ready to wind down its original project. The team is shutting down Field Trip's services sometime later in 2019 in order to "prioritize" its efforts on augmented reality experiences.
Read MoreMozilla is making it easier to choose the best Firefox add-ons from a sea of extensions you'd usually have to wade through. The latest version of Firefox for desktop now comes with a list of recommended extensions, which have been chosen based on their security, usability and usefulness. You can find the curated list in the Get Add-ons page within the Firefox Add-ons Manager. Mozilla has also added a feature that allows you to report any bad extension you come across directly through the Add-ons Manager itself.
Read MoreTinder is finally ready to take the wraps off its lightweight dating app. The company has formally unveiled Tinder Lite for Android, a version of the service designed for areas with limited data and lower-cost phones. It still has the familiar swipe-based matching, chats, "super likes" and paid features like seeing everyone who has liked you. For the most part, it's just a leaner app that should perform better in less-than-ideal conditions.
Read MoreGoogle Translate's instant camera feature will now make translating a foreign street sign as easy as aiming your phone -- even if your native language isn't English. The company today unveiled a set of new updates to its translation tool, including the ability for instant camera to translate between any of more than one hundred languages supported by Google Translate. In other words, English no longer needs to be one of the languages used. This means users can translate from Bengali to French, or from Catalan to Polish or many other combinations.
Read MoreSharing files through Dropbox is not a new concept. For years, the company has made it pretty easy to share any file or folder stored in your Dropbox with others, regardless of whether or not they have an account of their own. A new feature called Dropbox Transfer (launching in private beta today) aims to remove the last bits of friction from that process by focusing specifically on sending files, not necessarily collaborating on them.
Read MoreSpotify has been testing a smaller, lighter version of its app since mid-2018 in hopes of expanding its reach to regions where internet connections are slow and people tend to use low-end-to-mid-range devices. Now, that app is finally ready for primetime. Spotify Lite is now officially available on Google Play for 36 markets with more to follow. As you'd expect, those markets include developing regions across Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, including Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, the Philippines and India.
Read MoreMozilla seems to have made significant progress on its Apple News competitor over three months after it was announced. According to various sources, the organization has sent out invites to users, inviting them to participate in the upcoming beta launch of its news subscription service. Mozilla called it the "Firefox Ad-free Internet" in the invites, since it's meant to give users access to content from their favorite publications without having to look at ads.
Read MoreThe monthly movie ticket subscription service MoviePass temporarily shut down today. The company claims it did so to complete work on its mobile app. It's unclear how long the outage will last, but in a tweet MoviePass said the service could be down for "several weeks."
Read MoreWe all know how startling it can be to accidentally open a front-facing camera and find your own unassuming face looking back at you. Now, imagine if you saw that image every time you made a purchase. In China, Alibaba's e-wallet affiliate Alipay will soon add beauty filters when you pay with its facial recognition system.
Read MoreThe email app Superhuman was profiled by the New York Times just a week ago as a buzzworthy startup with big names from Silicon Valley lining up to pay $30 per month for its service. Since then, a blog post by Mike Davidson dived into what that money gets users has caused a war of words among many in the tech industry over privacy and communications. Other than just providing a 'premium' email client that comes with tons of keyboard shortcuts and AI assistant to make reaching Inbox Zero easier, it turned on by default a feature that puts a tracking pixel in each outgoing email. If you opened an email sent by a Superhuman user and viewed the images, then they got a report of when you opened it, how many times you opened it, and even where you were when you read the email. This revelation has creeped some people out for very good reasons explained by Davidson, so now Superhuman founder and CEO Rahul Vohra explains in a blog post that it's changing the policy. Rahul Vohra, Superhuman: We have stopped logging location information for new email, effective immediately. We are releasing new app versions today that no longer show location information. We are deleting all historical location data from our apps. We are keeping the read status feature, but turning it off by default. Users who want it will have to explicitly turn it on. We are prioritizing building an option to disable remote image loading. According to Vohra, "I am so very sorry for how our read status feature made folks feel. We did not imagine the potential for misuse. Now we are learning and changing." Many supporters of the app/feature pointed out tracking pixels online and in email aren't new, and that many businesses -- like our own The Morning After newsletter -- collect information on their readers. Still, the original configuration of Superhuman seems quite a bit different in the granularity of the information collected, and how unexpected the behavior is. Read receipts are usually visible to the receiver, and don't include location flags without some sort of opt-in. The new Superhuman setup seems to respect this, but we'll see how it's received by the public.
Read MoreBill Gates might regret losing to Google in the mobile OS domain, but Microsoft continues to work on various projects for Android. It just rolled out Your Phone, an app that mirrors Android phone notifications so you can see them directly on your desktop. It will show new messages from Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Messenger and other apps, and if you dismiss them on your PC, it will also dismiss them on your phone -- a major time-saving convenience.
Read MoreUber Eats has a new option for those diners who want the ambiance of a restaurant but hate the wait. The company has unveiled a dine-in feature in some cities that lets customers pre-order food on the app and then eat at the restaurant, according to TechCrunch. And unlike most of Uber's services, the driver or the courier is cut out of the equation entirely. Diners order food on the app and arrange transportation to the restaurant themselves -- there's currently no option to link a ride with your food order. Diners pay with the Uber Eats app, and can add an optional tip. Uber Eats launched the dine-in feature back in November, and is currently testing it in Dallas, Austin, Tucson and San Diego, reported Eater.
Read MoreStations is Spotify's answer to Pandora, letting you tune in and listen to curated music without having to lift a finger. That convenience made it an immediate hit when it launched last month, but one important feature was missing for iOS users: CarPlay support. Spotify has quietly fixed that issue by (as spotted by a Reddit user),and now lets you control your music directly from your in-dash entertainment system.
Read MoreWhile becoming more and more popular, podcasts are far less share-friendly than videos because of their long-form and audio-only nature. An Adelaide-based company aims to change that with a new iOS app called Bullet. It lets you create 30 second video snippets, complete with captions, suitable for sharing on social media. That way, you can post enticing bits of a podcast that are watchable without sound to share with your friends -- a win for consumers and producers alike.
Read MoreGoogle recently unveiled "Manifest V3," a new suite of proposed Chromium browser changes that would make it a lot harder to block ads. Now, the third-party browser Brave, which uses Chromium technology, has essentially defied Google by unveiling extremely rapid ad-blocking tech (in beta) that's much, much faster than before, but without the Manifest V3 limitations.
Read MoreComcast's newly announced parental control feature for its xFinity xFi WiFi dashboard can do more than just set limits for your kids' most favorite apps. It allows you to set a specific amount of time that your child can spend online -- once the time is up, it can disconnect all the devices associated with that particular child's profile from your WiFi network. An older resourceful child could probably find a way to circumvent that limitation, but that applies to any other parental control product.
Read MoreYou don't have to wonder when LG will roll out AirPlay 2 and HomeKit to its TVs in the US -- it's here. The Apple ecosystem support is now available to higher-end 2019 LG TVs in the country through a firmware update. The features are currently ready for OLED and NanoCell 4K LCD sets with ThinQ capabilities, excluding the SM8100 series. Other 4K sets will get their updates later in the year.
Read MoreHuawei has seen its business hold steady through the first half of 2019 despite the international issues that surround it. The company has been accused of being too close to China's leadership, producing insecure products that could be used for surveillance.
Read MoreTesla's utility-sized energy storage has become a practical reality. The tech company has introduced the Megapack, a container-sized battery meant for "large-scale" storage that could help quickly deploy renewable energy and even replace conventional "peaker" power plants that come online when there's high demand. A single Megapack has up to 3MWh of storage, or roughly 14 times the 210kWh of a Powerpack. That, in turn, leads to very rapid deployments. Tesla claimed it could deploy a clean 250MW, 1GWh power plant in less than three months, or four times faster than a similarly-sized fossil fuel plant.
Read MoreeBay is (at long last) launching its answer to "Fullfillment by Amazon" sometime next year, starting in the US. It's called "Managed Delivery," and it will offer sellers in the country what it says is a cost-effective warehousing and shipping service. Sellers can store their inventory in any of the strategically located eBay-managed warehouses around the country, allowing them to offer faster shipping to customers who'd have to wait a while for their purchases to arrive otherwise.
Read MoreBack in April, Australia passed a bill that seeks to punish social networks for failing to remove violent content from their platforms. Now, the country's antitrust watchdog wants to establish a unit dedicated to keeping an eye on the tech giant's activities. It's one of the 23 proposals written in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) 623-page report on the tech giants' anti-competitive behavior in the country. According to Reuters, the dedicated unit within the commission will look closely into how the companies use algorithms to match users with ads.
Read MoreElon Musk's plan to connect major cities with Hyperloop tunnels is raising the interest of investors. Boring Co. authorized the sale of $120 million in stock today, reported Bloomberg. It's the first outside investment for Musk's infrastructure company, which plans to build underground tunnel systems that would fast-track the journey between cities like New York City and Washington, DC, or Los Angeles to San Francisco. The chief investors included the Silicon Valley-based 8VC and Vy Capital, which is based in Dubai.
Read MoreThe US is intensifying its already stepped-up scrutiny of the tech industry. The Department of Justice is launching a comprehensive antitrust review of "market-leading online platforms" to see if they're abusing their leading positions. There's no definite goal beyond determining whether or not there are any anti-competitive practices. The review will focus on internet platforms involving search, shopping and social networking, however.
Read MoreThe rumors of Huawei laying off a large chunk of its US staff have come to pass. The company is cutting over 600 of the 850 jobs at its Futurewei Technologies research wing in the country in response to the "curtailment of business operations" by the US government's trade blacklisting. Simply put, the researchers can't do their jobs now that it's illegal for Futurewei to transfer much of its work to its parent company.
Read MoreIf a picture really is worth a thousand words, then great product photography needs to be at the top of the agenda for anyone selling stuff on Etsy, eBay, Kickstarter or basically anywhere online. Sometimes, though, shooting on your iPhone just doesn't cut the mustard, and hiring a professional photographer -- or even just the right kit -- is pretty expensive. Enter the Square Photo Studio, which will take high quality product shots for you, at the fraction of the cost.
Read MoreEtsy is expanding its online shopping empire, albeit not in the way some would have expected. The company plans to acquire Reverb, one of the largest marketplaces for musical instruments, for $275 million. This is a chance to expand into a "new vertical" with a business that follows a similar strategy, Etsy said. It intends to run Reverb as a stand-alone business and help it grow through improved search, a stronger community and easier buying and selling.
Read MoreIf Huawei was hoping to mend its reputation in the wake of the de facto US ban, it's about to be disappointed. The Washington Post and 38 North have published joint reports indicating that Huawei helped build Koryolink, North Korea's highly restrictive cellphone network that went live in 2008. According to documents, Huawei partnered with China's state-owned Panda International Information Technology on projects in North Korea for at least eight years, with cooperation starting when then-dictator Kim Jong Il visited Huawei's headquarters in 2006. Huawei provided elements like cellular infrastructure, network management and encryption, while Panda provided software and transported Huawei gear.
Read MoreIt's been a tumultuous year for Huawei's businesses in the US, and the company's highest-ranking officials are speaking out. Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei spoke with Yahoo Finance in an hour-long interview published today, explaining the company's plans to manage the US government's impositions, as well as his interpretation of the intentions behind those actions.
Read MoreYou knew NVIDIA couldn't resist reviving its GPU-based Apollo 11 recreation for the Moon landing's 50th anniversary. Sure enough, the tech firm has updated the demo to take advantage of its RTX ray tracing technology, allowing a more faithful rendition of the moment Buzz Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong to the lunar surface. The biggest improvement, as you might suspect, is the lighting. Real-time raytracing captures how the Sun's rays bounced off the lunar lander and even the spacesuits -- the glowing highlights and varied shadows are closer to what you saw in the TV footage and photos than the slightly dulled look of the 2014 demo.
Read MoreFresh off its high-profile feud with Apple, Qualcomm is suffering more legal woes. An investigation by the European Commission has found Qualcomm abused its market dominance in the manufacture of 3G baseband chipsets and will have to pay a steep €242 million ($271 million) fine.
Read MoreThe Unicode Consortium teased the next round of emoji additions for 2019, and now it's clear just what they'll look like when they reach your phone. Both Apple and Google are marking World Emoji Day (July 17th) by showing their adaptations of the dozens of emoji characters coming to their platforms later in the year -- you can find a few of Apple's examples above, and Google's below. In both cases, the focuses are on inclusivity and a bit of whimsy.
Read MorePresident Trump's desire to lift some restrictions on Huawei won't go unchallenged. A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill, the Defending America's 5G Future Act, that would effectively set the original blacklisting in stone. It would "codify" the executive order forbidding sales of telecom equipment to customers posing national security risks, bar the removal of Huawei from the Commerce Department Entity List without an act of Congress. It would also block waivers that any administration might offer to US companies doing business with Huawei.
Read MoreThere is seemingly no end in sight for Uber and Lyft's ongoing worker status dispute. The raging debate has seen battles in the UK Supreme Court, multimillion-dollar lawsuits, driver strikes and only a few small victories for labor groups. Now, the waters have been muddied even further following reports that Uber and Lyft essentially bribed drivers to protest in the companies' best interests.
Read MoreIt's been one month since Facebook (and its partners) announced plans to launch Libra cryptocurrency. Already, US lawmakers are calling for Facebook to pause those plans. Now, some legislators want the company to stop altogether. According to Reuters, the Democratic majority of the House Financial Services Committee drafted legislation that would prevent big tech companies from functioning as financial institutions or issuing digital currencies.
Read MoreeBay doesn't want Amazon to get all of the spotlight during Prime Day 2019, and it's taking a dig at the glitch that interrupted the consumer holiday last year to offer a Crash Sale. If Amazon goes down, eBay will release a flood of "too-good-to-be-true" deals. But you don't have to wait around for an Amazon fail to score deals on eBay. Beginning at 8am PT today, eBay is offering savings like $2,000 off an LG OLED 65-inch 4K Smart TV.
Read MoreHuawei appears to be prepared for a long trade battle despite the US government's promises of easing some restrictions. Wall Street Journal sources claim Huawei is prepping "extensive" layoffs at its Futurewei research offices in the US, with "hundreds" of people out of 850 expected to lose their jobs. Some of its China-born staff will reportedly have the option of staying with the company if they return to their homeland.
Read MoreThe House committee investigating antitrust in tech is about to call some big names to the microphone. Aides for antitrust panel chairman Rep. David Cicilline have confirmed that the committee is holding a hearing on July 16th where it will question executives from Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook. The exact focus of the questioning isn't clear, but it's likely to follow the basic competitive concerns that launched the investigation.
Read MoreXiaomi has a long history of shadowing Apple's moves, and that now includes one of its cutesier inventions: Memoji. As part of the launch of its CC9 phone series, Xiaomi has introduced human "Mimoji" (it previously had animals) that are a not-so-subtle riff on Apple's 3D avatars. While Apple doesn't have a lock on the concept -- ask Samsung -- the art style is uncannily close, right down to the giant eyes and tiny tongues. It's just a matter of different hat and hair styles.
Read MorePlease enjoy this guide to the speakers, headphones and streaming apps we recommend to students, just one part of our larger 2019 back-to-school series. In addition to top picks in 11 categories -- everything from laptops to smartphones to gaming and dorm gear -- we went big on tips and buying advice this year. We didn't just want to tell you what to buy, but we wanted to help you choose wisely, and then make the most out of your decision.
Read MorePlease enjoy this guide to the best consoles, games and accessories for students, just one part of the larger 2019 back-to-school special. In addition to top picks in 11 categories -- everything from laptops to smartphones to gaming and dorm gear -- we went big on tips and buying advice this year. We didn't just want to tell you what to buy, but we wanted to help you choose wisely, and then make the most out of your decision.
Read MoreThe support shared among readers in the comments section is one of the things we love most about the Engadget community. Over the years, we've known you to offer sage advice on everything from Chromecasts and cameras to drones and smartphones. In fact, our community's knowledge and insights are a reason why many of you participate in the comments. We truly value the time and detail you all spend in responding to questions from your fellow tech-obsessed commenters, which is why we've decided to bring back our "Ask Engadget" column. This week's question is a buying comparison between a Chromebook or a 2-in-1 Surface Pro 7. Weigh in with your advice in the comments -- and feel free to send your own questions along to ask@engadget.com! I'm going to college in September and I want a device that can do all. At first I wanted to get a Surface Pro 7 since it's both a laptop and tablet (I would think a tablet is necessary for drawing diagrams) but then my friend told me I should just go for a Chromebook since it's cheaper and will get me by. What do you think?
Read MoreFor many students, their first year at college is the first time they'll be entirely responsible for their personal finances. Such independence can be stressful, but it doesn't need to be as long as you're savvy, organized and disciplined. And there are plenty of apps and services that can help you stick to a budget when you're worried about cash.
Read MoreJapanese decluttering extraordinaire Marie Kondo has inspired many to get rid of unnecessary junk in their homes. As it turns out, clearing out stuff that doesn't "spark joy," per the MariKon program, can actually help you feel good about your life. Having less mess is not only good for general well-being but can also make you more productive at school. Just as Kondo showed the world the life-changing magic of tidying up on Netflix, I am about to show you how much more manageable your academic life can be when you declutter your backpack, locker and dorm. And no, I won't be asking you to consider if your possessions spark joy. Our goal is to give you all the tools you need to succeed at school without anything extraneous dragging you down.
Read MoreBy design, school is supposed to challenge you -- to push at the boundaries of your understanding of the world and make you a more well-rounded person. It's not supposed to be easy as much as it is fulfilling, but thankfully, there are ways to make your educational journey a little less difficult. Luckily for you, a lot has changed since most of the Engadget team went to school. To help out, we've gathered a few apps here that should prove especially useful as you gear up for more long days of learning. (Trust us, you'll probably miss them someday.) Oh, and don't worry: Every one of these handy apps is available for iOS and Android, so everyone gets to benefit.
Read MoreEven though there are dozens of video-streaming services to choose from, thankfully they're not all the same. And for those of you who may be on a budget, like students, that's a great thing, because it means you can likely find one that suits your needs. Whether you're trying to save money or simply don't care to have a cable subscription, there are plenty of standalone streaming services for watching TV, movies and sports, both live and on demand, that aren't too expensive.
Read MoreYou've been watching Tfue, AnneMunition, Ninja and Pokimane, studying their habits and on-air setups -- cameras on faces and keyboards, friendly borders around ad boxes, quality lighting, quirky banter, and plenty of reminders to donate, donate, donate. You've played Fortnite and League of Legends every day for the past month. Mentally, you're ready to go live on your streaming channel. Now it's time to get your gear in order.
Read MoreEvery student needs a good note-taking system. The human brain, after all, can only store and retain so much information. There's nothing wrong with relying solely on pen and paper (and if that's your preference, go for it!). But if you're reading Engadget, we suspect you're interested in some kind of digital equivalent: an app that can store those handwritten notes or, if you're ready to take the plunge, let you record everything with a keyboard or stylus. It should be fast, intuitive and, most important, accessible from all of your favorite devices.
Read MoreIf you're bound for college or high school, there's good news and bad news when it comes to choosing a laptop. On the plus side, there are more choices than ever, which means there's a good chance you can find a notebook that's perfect for you. The downside: With so many options, it's often hard to figure out what's actually worth buying. We've recommended some of our favorite laptops as part of our annual back-to-school guide, but here are some tips to keep in mind. First off, consider what your needs are: Your laptop is going to see you through every class report and Netflix binge for the next four years. Get a machine that can do both. For many students, a modern ultraportable will be enough. But if you want to game or edit media, you'll have to make sure you find something with a bit more power.
Read MoreHappy Monday, fam! I'm extremely pleased today to introduce our 2019 back-to-school guide. And that's not just because it's my favorite time of year (that would actually be our holiday gift guide), but because this has turned out to be our largest and most ambitious back-to-school series yet. In addition to top picks in 11 categories -- everything from laptops to smartphones to gaming and dorm gear -- we went big on tips and buying advice this year. We didn't just want to tell you what to buy, but we wanted to help you choose wisely, and then make the most out of whatever you chose. You can see all of our product and service recommendations in this hub, and throughout the week you'll see us posting various related stories -- everything from how to buy a laptop for school in 2019, to an explainer on streaming college sports. (Hint: It's more complicated than it seems.) I also highly suggest our upcoming roundup of apps to help you keep up in class -- there's more than one item in there I wish I had at my disposal [redacted number] years ago. Check out our guide today and then stick with us -- we have a lot of good stuff coming.
Read MoreIn between cramming for never-ending tests, going out with your classmates and campaigning for the student union, you still need to keep fit. The good news is, you don't have to do that last bit all by yourself. Plenty of smartwatches can stand in for your mom, reminding you to go take a walk after you've sat in front of your computer for too long. There's also gear that you can take with you on your runs to make the grueling exercise more tolerable. In curating this list, we thought not only about what could make your workouts more fun and productive, but also devices and services that help you stay on top of your fitness regimen. These include apps that help manage your diet or exercise plans, so you don't have to splurge on a whole new gadget. Some options are even free. Here's what we recommend.
Read MoreWe hear you're going places? That's what school is all about, after all. But we're being a little more literal: Getting to class is often half the battle. That's why we've dedicated a whole section of our back-to-school guide to the best personal electronic vehicles for navigating your way to campus or between classes. We also know that every journey is different, so we picked a few different modes of transport that should cover all the bases -- whether you're going 20 miles or 20 yards to the vending machine. (We're not judging.) What did we consider when compiling this list? Glad you asked. For us, the key factor had to be that each ride was focused on a different type of commute. After that, we considered portability, price (hint: these things don't tend to come cheap) and good old-fashioned fun. Going to school can feel like a chore, so we wanted to make the experience as enjoyable as it is practical. Below you'll find our top picks, with arguments as to why each is perfect for the job.
Read MoreWe'll be honest, we realize most students will buy a laptop to use at school and call it a day. But opting for a desktop instead isn't the craziest idea, especially if your needs extend beyond standard email-and-Netflixing. Having a more robust machine with a desktop-class processor and possibly more RAM and storage could make sense for both serious gamers as well students with creative hobbies, like photography, filmmaking or audio production. Depending on your budget, of course, you could still buy a laptop for taking notes in class, but you might even be able to get away with a cheaper device like a tablet and keyboard folio. For the purposes of this back-to-school guide, we selected five machines -- two Macs and three PCs -- including two systems built for gaming. Here's what we recommend.
Read MoreA life without music is a pretty dull one. Obviously, you need to make sure you're ready for the school year with some solid headphones, a decent pair of speakers and something good to listen to. There's an overwhelming number of choices out there when it comes to personal audio, but because we review this stuff year round, it was easy for us to just cull the list for you. Whether you need something with noise-cancelling to block out an annoying roommate, or headphones for the gym that shrug off sweat, we've got you covered. And, what you listen to on those speakers and headphones is just as important. You'll want to stay on top of the latest podcast sensation and you need a way to stream the new Bon Iver album for your crush. But remember, music isn't just a passive experience: We're also recommending a few tools for the budding songwriter and producer. It may sound cliché, but these are some of the most important years of your life, and how you soundtrack them will stay with you forever.
Read MoreThe life of a student isn't all taking notes, writing essays and broadening horizons. Sometimes, you just want to blow off some steam. And for some of us, that means loading up a new game (or an old familiar one) and transporting yourself elsewhere. Welcome to the console gaming section of our back-to-school guide, where we've homed in on several upgrades, running the gamut from accessories, games (duh) and even whole consoles (lucky you). While we're pretty taken with Nintendo's Switch, we've also included recommendations for Xbox, PlayStation and even a VR headset, with game suggestions throughout to help make some new friends or get the party started. And if you need even more game-buying advice, click here to find our top picks for every platform and also be sure to check out the PC gaming section of our back-to-school guide.
Read MoreSure, studying is important. But in between classes and hitting the books everyone will need time to relax with some Netflix. Some students might be able to get by with just a laptop, tablet or even phone for TV watching, but we think you can do better without breaking the bank. We've picked out a few TVs, keeping in mind that students will need sets that are smaller and not too expensive. And, if you happen to pick a TV that doesn't already have streaming apps built in, we've listed some of our favorite streaming devices, too. Speaking of streaming apps, you'll need good stuff to watch. We're not bothering recommending Netflix because let's face it, you probably already are mooching off your parents have your own account. Instead, allow us to recommend some services you might not have heard of -- say, for anime and manga fans.
Read MoreSo you've picked out a shiny new laptop, tablet or phone to take with you to school this year. Well, it's nothing without some apps. Your hardware may come with the basics, but there's a whole world of tools for creating things, getting organized, tracking your life and -- in some cases -- just staying sane. (That's easier said than done come finals time.) Our top choices here will help you get your life in order and also exercise those all-important creativity muscles. You may not be going after a degree in music production, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't stay up all night jamming in Ableton Live. All told, we've got picks for visual art, photo editing, meditating, getting better sleep, making an album in your dorm room, writing the next great novel (or term paper) and much more. We've also tried to cover a variety of price points -- in fact, many of these apps are free, at least to start. But in a lot of cases, stepping up to a premium subscription or full purchase will make them that much more useful, so we've outlined exactly what you get for your money and what you can get before you have to pay.
Read MorePC gaming is serious business. This is where video game fans go when they want the highest resolution, lowest latency and most precise experiences available, from first-person shooters to top-down team-based strategy titles and beyond. In a word, PC games are slick -- and so is the gear. It's easy to break the bank in this world, especially for a student on a budget. With gaming laptops starting at $1,000 and towers priced even higher, it's important to get equipment that's durable, high-quality and as affordable as possible. That's why we've compiled the following list of laptops, PCs and accessories that make the most sense for students in 2019. PC gaming is perfect for streaming, marathon play sessions or making new friends (dorm-wide tournaments, anyone?). To accomplish all of these things, you'll need more than just a laptop. On top of processing power and graphics cards, there are mice to consider, headsets to mull over, keyboards to test and streaming boxes to put through their paces. And if you need to justify the cost to anyone (ahem, mom), simply put it this way: You'll be able to use most of these things for homework, too.
Read MoreEach year, laptops are one of the most well-represented categories in our back-to-school gear guide. And for good reason! With the exception of the relative few who prefer desktops, for almost every other student setting foot on campus this fall, a notebook is going to be the most important tool at their disposal. And it's no minor purchase either. Our favorite ultraportables cost north of $1,000, and even a decent budget model will set you back at least $500. And once you do make the investment, it's something you're not likely to replace for three, four, who knows how many years. For the purposes of this guide, we're going to focus on what Engadget considers the best of the best. Our philosophy is: A laptop is one of the most critical pieces of gear a student needs, and it's worth investing in build quality, performance and battery life that will stand the test of time. Oh, and don't worry, we have lots of picks for gaming laptops specifically -- you'll want to check out the gaming section of our back-to-school guide for that. Right now, we're just thinking about the best all-around laptops; the best for most people, in most use cases. Here's what we would buy if we were spending our own money.
Read MoreOur back-to-school guide wouldn't be complete without a section on dorm living. After all, you're going to be spending a lot of the year there (though hopefully not too much time). To really trick out a dorm room in 2019, we needed to focus on both comfort and convenience. Oh, and space savings, too. We think smart displays make a lot of sense, given how versatile they are. In particular, we opted for products that use Google Assistant over Amazon's Alexa because we think most people already tend to use Google for most services. We also suggested cooking gear that would be allowed in most dorms, including an electric kettle and the multifunctional Instant Pot. And to brighten up your new place a bit, we've also listed a couple different lighting options. From a high-tech smart clock to a basic coffee dripper, we think this is a solid shortlist for making your tiny abode feel like home away from home.
Read MoreBeyond recouping precious minutes of personal time, there are other, wider-reaching benefits to upgrading your commute. For those who only have a few miles to cover, a personal EV could replace a car ride.
Read MoreHere's all of the gear you need to take your hiking game to the next level.
Read MoreEarlier this year I was infected with the #vanlife bug. Well, more like the #overlanding bug in my case, but I've been camping and working from the road for over a month now. I get to soak up this country's natural splendor and scurry after Slack notifications. But be warned, would-be digital nomads, this is no walk in the (national) park. I need a lot of gear, like solar panels, batteries, a refrigerator, cell boosters and tons more to make it happen. Here's what I took on the road for my first month (and why).
Read MoreAh yes, sweet summertime. The few months of the year when your time is best spent outside, and that means time in the backyard, if you're blessed with one. Here's all the gear you need to turn your backyard into an outdoor summertime haven.
Read MoreIf you're reading this at a desk, take a moment to stand up and locate your nearest window. You might see a street, a garden or even some fields. Whatever your current view, you are peering at the edge of the great outdoors, and adventure is beckoning. But this is Engadget, and we believe there aren't many things in life that a sprinkling of gear can't improve -- and that includes the time you typically reserve to escape a screen (ironic, we know).
Read MoreAmazon claims Prime Day 2019 will be a "two-day parade of more than a million deals." The action starts July 15th and new deals will drop as often as every five minutes for a full 48 hours. Today, Amazon released a preview of what's to come.
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. We'll be updating this list regularly -- this time, we welcome Pocket City to the fold.
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. In our summer update, we've added Beat Saber which replaces Fortnite. With a busy few months for games coming up, expect more changes in the future.
Read MoreNintendo's Switch is on a roll. 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.
Read MoreA 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 MoreSony'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 MoreIf you've been considering a Fire TV Recast, now is the time to buy - the DVR is on sale for its lowest price ever. From today, the Recast is on sale for $129.99, a saving of $100.
Read MoreWhich gaming camp are you in? Xbox? PlayStation? PC? Can't decide? No matter, custom gaming computer company Origin PC has managed to cram them all into one machine -- and has even thrown in the Switch for good measure.
Read MoreAmazon Alexa can be helpful on Windows, but you can't quite treat your PC like a supersized Echo when third-party voice helpers don't work until you've signed in. That might not be a hurdle in the near future. Microsoft has released a Windows 10 preview on the Slow ring that allows the use of third-party assistants "above" the lock screen. The company doesn't mention Alexa by name, but it's the only major AI helper on Windows beyond Cortana -- Amazon would just have to update its app to enable voice commands in more situations.
Read MoreWelcome to the latest episode of Upscaled, our explainer show where we look at the components and parts that make our favorite tech better. In this episode we're checking out AMD's new Zen 2 processors. These chips are crazy fast, and pack up to 16 cores into a consumer design, all while being remarkably power efficient. So how did AMD do it? Processor clock speeds have barely increased in years, but chips keep getting faster. What tricks are engineers using to keep the improvements coming? One of AMD's areas of focus was instructions-per clock, or IPC, a measure of how quickly the CPU can execute basic functions, and an area where AMD has historically lagged behind the competition.
Read MoreQualcomm is shaking up its once-a-year approach to updating its flagship mobile processor, and it could be good news for Android phone fans who crave raw performance. The chip maker has introduced an upgraded Snapdragon 855+ that wrings extra performance out of the familiar 855 design. The eight-core Kryo 485 CPU now runs at up to 2.96GHz instead of the earlier 2.84GHz, and the Adreno 640 graphics should deliver a 15 percent speed boost.
Read MoreComputer security just lost one of its founders. Fernando "Corby" Corbato, credited with inventing the computer password, has died at the age of 93. The MIT researcher devised the concept of password-protected user accounts when establishing his Compatible Time-Sharing System, which let multiple people use a computer at the same time. It was just a matter of establishing "compartmentalization" and basic privacy, Corbato told the Wall Street Journal in a 2014 interview, but the move would help shape digital security going forward.
Read MoreLast week AMD officially released its new Ryzen 3000 Series CPUs and Radeon RX 5700 graphics cards, but there's a small problem with the CPUs. As some Linux users quickly noticed, there's an issue with newer distributions based on 5.0 or higher that makes the OS unable to boot. Some people have been able to get around that by taking the systemd component back to an older version or a newer patched edition, but now gamers on Windows are having an issue with Destiny 2. Over the last few days they noticed the game would not launch when used on systems with the new chips and reported the problem to Bungie. In a statement, AMD told Phoronix that it has implemented a BIOS fix for the problem that's causing the issues and distributed it to motherboard manufacturers. Now we just have to wait until they make the patched versions available to customers, which Forbes mentions could happen as early as next week for beta releases. Separately, NVIDIA should have a fix out soon to address BSOD crashes on systems combining the Ryzen 3000 with GeForce GPUs. AMD: AMD has identified the root cause and implemented a BIOS fix for an issue impacting the ability to run certain Linux distributions and Destiny 2 on Ryzen 3000 processors. We have distributed an updated BIOS to our motherboard partners, and we expect consumers to have access to the new BIOS over the coming days.
Read MoreThe PC market has been pretty gloomy of late, but global shipments went up by at least 1.5 percent after two down quarters, according to Gartner and IDC. Lenovo led the pack with a 25 percent share, followed by HP and Dell with 22.2 and 16.9 percent, respectively. The growth was driven in part by the latest Windows 10 refresh and an easing of the Intel CPU shortage, which has adversely affected PC sales for the last 18 months.
Read MoreMicrosoft is taking its disdain for passwords to a new level. It just released a Windows 10 preview for Fast ring Insiders that gives you the option to make all accounts on a particular device "passwordless" when logging into the operating system. Flick a switch in settings (under Accounts -> Sign-in options) and a password won't work at all. You'll have to use Windows Hello face recognition, fingerprint detection, a PIN code or a physical security key to unlock your system. If you don't already have Hello enabled, Microsoft will walk you though it the next time you sign in.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to your weekend! While Steve Ballmer celebrates a couple of new LA Clippers arrivals, Microsoft spent this week dropping teasers for Windows 1.0. We also had some EV news from the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and AMD just dropped a surprise on NVIDIA's Super new graphics cards.
Read MoreAMD unveiled its new Radeon RX 5700 line of graphics cards with 7nm chips at E3 last month, and with just days to go before they launch on July 7th, the company has announced new pricing. In the "spirit" of competition that it says is "heating up" in the graphics market -- specifically NVIDIA's "Super" new RTX cards -- all three versions of the graphics card will be cheaper than we thought. The standard Radeon RX 5700 with 36 compute units and speeds of up to 1.7GHz was originally announced at $379, but will instead hit shelves at $349 -- the same price as NVIDIA's RTX 2060. The 5700 XT card that brings 40 compute units and up to 1.9GHz speed will be $50 cheaper than expected, launching at $399. The same goes for the 50th Anniversary with a slightly higher boost speed and stylish gold trim that will cost $449 instead of $499. That's enough to keep them both cheaper than the $499 RTX 2070 Super -- we'll have to wait for the performance reviews to find out if it's enough to make sure they're still relevant.
Read MoreMore than 32 million patient records were breached between January and June 2019. That's more than double the 15 million medical records breached in all of 2018, says healthcare analytics firm Protenus. According to the company, the number of disclosed incidents rose to 285 in the first half of the year, and the longstanding trend of at least one health data breach per day shows no signs of slowing down.
Read MoreIf you heard the reverberation of a few thousand heads exploding last week, it was the sound of information security professionals reacting to US Attorney General Barr saying that Big Tech "can and must" put backdoors into encryption. In his speech for a cybersecurity conference at Fordham University, Barr warned tech companies that time was running out for them to develop ways for the government to break encryption. FBI Director Christopher Wray agreed with him.
Read MoreSix critical security vulnerabilities that were patched in the iOS 12.4 update released earlier this month were originally discovered by security researchers at Google. Natalie Silvanovich and Samuel Groß, two members of Google's Project Zero bug-hunting team, alerted Apple to the issues. Silvanovich will be laying out the details on several of the bugs and provide a demonstration of exploits in action at the Black Hat security conference set to be held in Las Vegas next week.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. We're barely clear of the big Equifax settlement, and Capital One has suffered a hack that exposed information for more than 100 million Americans. In other news, Google posted more details about its Pixel 4, and you need to check on your digital movie locker account.
Read MoreLos Angeles police officers are the victims of what appears to be a serious data breach. The city's Personnel Department has warned the LAPD that intruders stole personal information for roughly 2,500 officers and 17,500 officer applicants, including names, dates of birth, partial employee serial numbers and login details for the applicants. More info may have been taken, an official told NBC Los Angeles.
Read MoreJust as Equifax announced a settlement for its massive data breach, Capital One has revealed that someone hacked into its systems earlier this year. According to the company, someone exploited a "configuration vulnerability" that allowed them to access and decrypt customer data affecting over 100 million people in the US, and about 6 million in Canada.
Read MoreWelcome to 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 MoreMarcus Hutchins' efforts to stop the spread of WannaCry malware just helped him avoid prison time. Judge JP Stadtmueller has sentenced Hutchins to a year of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to creating and distributing Kronos banking malware. He was a teen when he committed the offenses, according to the judge, and he was "turning a corner" before he faced charges. Hutchins acknowledged that he'd made "bad decisions" and that he had "no desire" to slip back into a life of online crime.
Read MoreOur state and local governments found themselves under siege in 2019 from William Plunketts for the internet age. But rather than pistols and roadblocks, this new generation of bandits come armed with encryption algorithms and demands for bitcoin. Can today's American cities and counties, long hamstrung by both a lack of interest and funding for cybersecurity efforts ever hope to withstand these digital muggings? Just ask Lake City, Florida.
Read MoreToday the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released Vol. 1 of its report (PDF) on Russian attempts at election hacking in 2016. However, much of the information in it has already been released -- like knowledge that hacking attempts reached all 50 states in one form or another -- or is blacked out. As the New York Times notes, information redacted includes some of the key lessons for 2020.In public statements about the report, senators in both parties on the committee noted there is still work remaining to be done to ensure election security in 2020. Despite that, earlier today Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the consideration of election security bills. In response, Senator Ron Wyden said in a statement that "We shouldn't ask a county election IT employee to fight a war against the full capabilities and vast resources of Russia's cyber army. That approach failed in 2016 and it will fail again."Key Findings and Recommendations: The Russian government directed extensive activity against U.S. election infrastructure. The Committee found the activity directed at the state and local level began in at least 2014 and carried into at least 2017. The Committee has seen no evidence that any votes were changed or that any voting machines were manipulated. Russian efforts exploited the seams between federal authorities and capabilities, and protection for the states. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are, by design, limited in domestic cybersecurity authorities. State election officials, who have primacy in running elections, were not sufficiently warned or prepared to handle an attack from a hostile nation-state actor. DHS and FBI warnings to the states in the late summer and fall of 2016 did not provide enough information or go to the appropriate people. The Committee found that while the alerts were actionable, they provided no clear reason for states to take the threat more seriously than other warnings. DHS has redoubled its efforts to build trust with the states and deploy resources to assist in securing elections. Since 2016, DHS has made great strides in learning how election procedures vary across states and how to best assist those states. The Committee determined DHS's work to bolster states' cybersecurity has likely been effective but believes more needs to be done to coordinate efforts. Russian activities demand renewed attention to vulnerabilities in U.S. voting infrastructure. Cybersecurity for electoral infrastructure at the state and local level was sorely lacking in 2016. Despite increased focus over the last three years, some of these vulnerabilities, including aging voting equipment, remain. As states look to replace machines that are now out of date, they should purchase more secure voting machines. At a minimum, any machine purchased going forward should have a voter-verified paper trail. Congress should evaluate the results of the $380 million in state election security grants allocated in 2018. States should be able to use grant funds provided under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to improve cybersecurity in a variety of ways, including hiring additional IT staff, updating software, and contracting vendors to provide cybersecurity services. When those funds are spent, Congress should evaluate the results and consider an additional appropriation to address remaining insecure voting machines and systems. DHS and other federal government entities remain respectful of the limits of federal involvement in state election systems. America's decentralized election system can be a strength against cybersecurity threats. However, the federal government and states should each be aware of their own cybersecurity limitations and know both how and when to obtain assistance. States should remain firmly in the lead on running elections, and the federal government should ensure they receive the necessary resources and information. The United States must create effective deterrence. The United States should communicate to adversaries that it will view an attack on its election infrastructure as a hostile act and respond accordingly. The U.S. government should not limit its response to cyber activity; rather, it should create a menu of potential responses that will send a clear message and create significant costs for the perpetrator.
Read MoreNow that facial recognition is more common, so are the laws aiming to limit its scope. San Francisco, Oakland, Calif. and Somerville, Mass. have all passed laws prohibiting city use of facial recognition. Now, a group of Congresswomen hope to pass the first federal legislation to limit the technology. According to CNET, the No Biometric Barriers to Housing Act is expected to be introduced this week.
Read MoreNew York City could become the first city in the country to ban the sale of geolocation data to third parties. A bill introduced today would make it illegal for cellphone and mobile app companies to sell location data collected in the city. It would impose hefty fines -- up to $10,000 per day, per user for multiple violations -- and it would give users the right to sue companies that share their data without explicit permission.
Read MoreThe reports of an impending Equifax settlement were true. The company has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, attorneys general and New York's Department of Financial Services over its massive 2017 data breach. It will pay between $575 million to $700 million to victims, states and regulators, including a restitution fund that will pay up to $425 million to provide credit monitoring for up to 10 years. About $300 million is guaranteed for the monitoring payout, with $125 million more waiting if that initial amount runs low.
Read MoreThe Russian government has been linked to a number of high-profile hacks, but it just became a target -- and the data that was stolen says a lot about its apparent goals. A hacking group nicknaming itself 0v1ru$ infiltrated the servers of SyTech, a contractor for the FSB intelligence agency on July 13th. They compromised the firm's Active Directory server and stole 7.5TB of data. The intruders revealed a number of projects that SyTech had been working on for the FSB (and fellow contractor Quantum) since 2009, some of which were pure research while others came to fruition.
Read MoreIn 2016, federal agents arrested NSA contractor Harold Martin for stealing up to 50TB of classified information, and reports claimed that included offensive hacking technology designed to break into foreign computer networks. Sources for the data he took included the NSA, CIA and US Cyber Command over two decades between 1996 and 2016. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett sentenced Martin to nine years in prison for the offense -- per his plea agreement, even as each of the twenty charges against him could have carried up to a 10 year sentence -- and while that has ended the case, it didn't answer all the questions. Around that same time, the "Shadow Brokers" started leaking classified NSA hacking tools online, tools that included exploits later used by malware like NotPetya and WannaCry. According to CyberScoop, the judge noted a suspicious Twitter message linked to an account Martin supposedly operated that went out hours before the leaks, and the government declined to comment further. Prosecutors told the judge they never found proof he shared the documents from anyone, and speculation about how the group got its classified information is still unconfirmed. As for Martin, his sentence includes credit for three years already served, as well as three years of supervised release.
Read MoreRemember that time Equifax had a data breach and leaked an incredible amount of information -- addresses, social security numbers and even driver's licenses -- on more than 143 million people in the US alone? That was revealed nearly two years ago, and tonight media reports suggest the company is closing in on a settlement with federal and state agencies including the FTC, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state attorneys general. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported it could pay between $650 and $700 million, near the $690 million figure Equifax told investors it had set aside for a penalty. According to the reports, details will be announced on Monday, and the amount could vary depending on how many people file claims. It's not clear how much those affected could expect in compensation, but the settlement supposedly includes terms to create a fund for that purpose. The Equifax breach came after hackers exploited a known flaw in unpatched software that its former CEO pinned on one employee instead of flawed policies. The data broker already agreed to new rules on security policies in some earlier settlements, and it remains to be seen if or how this will add additional oversight.
Read MoreTens of thousands of Slack users will have to change their passwords after the company learned new details about a 2015 data breach. If you created your account before March of that year, haven't changed your password since and don't log in via a single-sign-on provider (i.e. an organization's Slack network), you'll need to update your credentials.
Read MoreRemember when FaceApp went viral for all the wrong reasons? That happened again recently, though this time, the controversy became big enough for a US Senator to get involved. New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer has asked the FBI and the FTC to launch a probe into the Russian-developed selfie-editing app after it was discovered that it uploads users' photos to the cloud and that it requires "full and irrevocable access to their personal photos and data."
Read MoreYour Fitbit and other Bluetooth gadgets could be giving away your location data. Researchers from Boston University (BU) detected a vulnerability in several high-profile Bluetooth devices that could allow third-parties to determine your location and other sensitive information. In the wrong hands, that information could be used for stalking or abuse. That's especially concerning given that basically everyone is carrying around a Bluetooth device.
Read MoreBulgaria's government is dealing with a massive security breach that might have affected almost all adult residents' information. According to Reuters, the country's finance minister has confirmed that hackers infiltrated the National Revenue Agency's (NRA) network at the end of June, and one of the tax agency's officials said the attack likely originated from outside the country. A person claiming to be a Russian hacker told the Bulgarian media that their group was responsible for the attack in an email sent via a Russian address.
Read MoreSprint's security team is having a very, very lousy 2019. On top of the earlier Boost Mobile breach, the carrier has revealed that hackers obtained "unauthorized access" to an unspecified number of Sprint accounts through Samsung's "add a line" website. The provider said that the data didn't pose a "substantial risk" for fraud or identity theft and didn't include credit card or social security numbers, but there's still good reason for concern. Intruders may have seen names, billing addresses, phone numbers, device IDs and account numbers, among other sensitive details.
Read MoreApple is still working to plug the holes created by a security exploit recently discovered in video conferencing app Zoom. According to The Verge, Apple quietly pushed out a security update for macOS that removes vulnerable software installed automatically by RingCenter and Zhumu -- two video conferencing tools that use Zoom technology and suffer from the same security holes.
Read MoreTrickBot malware may have stolen as many as 250 million email accounts, including some belonging to governments in the US, UK and Canada. The malware isn't new. In fact, it's been circulating since 2016. But according to cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct, it has started harvesting email credentials and contacts. The researchers are calling this new approach TrickBooster, and they say it first hijacks accounts to send malicious spam emails and then deletes the sent messages from both the outbox and trash folders.
Read MorePolitical campaigns will need cybersecurity to avoid a repeat of the 2016 presidential election, but are often strapped for cash. The Federal Election Commission made a ruling today that will make it legal for campaigns to secure low-cost services from cybersecurity firms, as long as the firms offer the same rates to their non-political clients. According to the New York Times, FEC lawyers initially had concerns that the practice would violate campaign finance laws designed to prevent corporations from currying favor with political candidates.
Read MoreIt's not just Zoom scrambling to fix the exploit that allowed intruders to hijack Mac webcams. Apple has issued a silent, automatic update to macOS that removes the web server used to streamline access to the video conferencing app. The update isn't completely necessary when Zoom has already issued its own patch, but this ensures that people running older Zoom releases won't be vulnerable.
Read MoreK12.com, an online education platform, inadvertently exposed the personal information of nearly seven million students, according to security researchers at Comparitech. The exposed database contained full names, email addresses, birthdates and gender identities, as well as the school that the students attend, authentication keys for accessing their accounts and other internal data. The information was available online for more than one week, and it's unclear if the database was at any point accessed by malicious actors. Engadget reached out to K12.com for additional information regarding the data exposure and will update this story if we hear back.
Read MoreZoom is acting quickly on the security flaw that let intruders hijack Mac users' webcams. The video conferencing firm is releasing a patch on July 9th (that's today, if you're reading in time) that removes access to the local web server behind the vulnerability. It'll also let you manually uninstall Zoom and remove all traces of the app so that there's no chance of an exploit later on. Another update, due for the weekend of July 12th, will also ensure that rookies who choose "always turn off my video" will automatically have their preferences honored in those situations where a meeting host would normally require that video switches on.
Read MoreMarriott might soon face a stiff penalty for the massive November 2018 data breach. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office plans to fine the hotel chain £99,200,396 (about $123.7 million) for allegedly violating the EU's General Data Protection Regulation through the incident. Marriott didn't conduct "sufficient due diligence" when it bought Starwood, according to the regulator, and "should also have done more" to improve security.
Read MoreA serious security flaw in the Mac version of conferencing software Zoom can hijack webcams, but also leave users vulnerable to phishing and DOS attacks.
Read MoreFCC Chairman Ajit Pai is advancing the war against robocalls. Today, he proposed adopting rules that would ban caller ID spoofing of text messages and robocalls originating outside of the US. More than 40 state attorney generals have urged the FCC to adopt the new rules, and the Commission is scheduled to vote on them at its August 1st meeting.
Read MoreThe UK's data privacy authority has announced it intends to levy its largest ever fine against airline British Airways (BA). The airline will have to pay £183.39 million ($230 million) to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for failing to protect its customers' data.
Read MoreThe European Union was quick to report online interference in its recent elections, but the system designed to catch that interference apparently needs some improvement. The New York Times has learned through records and interviews that the EU's Rapid Alert System hasn't been very effective in aggregating meddling data or transmitting alerts. Most member states haven't contributed to its database, and what data is there tends to be a "mishmash" that may go unanalyzed. Disagreements over the seriousness of interference attempts have also led officials to avoid issuing alerts.
Read More7-Eleven Japan's mobile payment app had such poor security measures, the company had to shut it down just a couple of days after its release. In an announcement explaining the issue, the company admitted that hackers were able to break into 900 users' accounts and to charge 55 million yen ($507,000) in illegal purchases to their debit and credit cards on file within that period, from July 1st when the 7pay app rolled out to July 3rd when the service was shut down.
Read MoreThis week Kody Kinzie, co-founder of the ethical hacker group Hacker Interchange, reported that its YouTube channel had received a strike for breaking one of its rules. Which rule? A ban against "Instructional hacking and phishing: Showing users how to bypass secure computer systems." Fellow information security professionals and others -- including some Google employees -- came out in support of the Null Byte channel and its Cyber Weapons Lab series, while YouTube retracted the strike and reinstated the removed videos. The company claimed removing the video and adding the strike was a mistake, and has taken the stance that its policy has always contained a ban against videos that encourage "dangerous and illegal behavior," including hacking. Still, as mentioned in a tweet, there are exceptions "for videos if the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific or artistic."
Read MoreMany existing keyless entry systems aren't secure, but few people are likely to replace their cars just to reduce the chances of a determined thief making off with their ride. Kia UK has an official stopgap solution, though. It's taking a cue from third parties and releasing KiaSafe, a case that serves as a minuscule Faraday cage to block the key's wireless signals. There's nothing particularly special to it -- it's ultimately a metal-lined pouch -- but that's all might you need to prevent someone from swiping your car while you're asleep.
Read MoreD-Link has settled a two-year-old lawsuit filed by the FTC over its products' insufficient security, and it has agreed to a few conditions to put the issue to bed. To start with, the company is required to implement a comprehensive software security program, which includes testing products for vulnerabilities before they're released, ongoing monitoring of its products to address security flaws, automatic security updates and accepting vulnerability reports from security researchers.
Read MoreIn a way, Chrome can enable your impulse buying habits by automatically filling out your payment details when you shop online. You used to have to sync your browser to access those details on all your devices, though -- until now, that is. So long as you're logged into a Google account when you first type out your payment details on Chrome, you'll be able to access those details across devices (and anywhere Google Pay is accepted) even if you don't switch on the browser's sync feature.
Read MoreThe recent surge in state-backed hacking campaigns isn't dying down any time soon. US Cyber Command has reported that unnamed state actors are making "active malicious use" of a 2017-era Outlook vulnerability (long since patched) to escape the email client's sandbox and run malware on a target system. While officials didn't say who was involved, some clues have hinted at a possible connection to Iran.
Read MoreChinese border guards are reportedly installing surveillance apps on the phones of some travelers. According to an investigation by the Guardian, The New York Times and Süddeutsche Zeitung, the app extracts emails, texts and contacts, as well as info about the device. Without notifying phone owners, border guards have installed the app when people attempt to cross from the Kyrgyzstan region to the Xinjiang region, an area where the Chinese government has long restricted the freedoms of the Muslim population.
Read MoreWith AI tools making it increasingly easy to create fake explicit images, the problem of revenge porn is only getting worse. Now, the state of Virginia has expanded its law against harassment through the sharing of sexual images to cover deepfake images and videos.
Read MoreBack in April, Ford chief Jim Hackett admitted that the company overestimated the arrival of self-driving cars. He added that the applications of Ford's first autonomous fleet will likely be narrow, "because the problem is so complex." Now, the automaker has acquired a Michigan-based company called Quantum Signal to help it solve those problems and advance its goal of launching a self-driving vehicle business. Quantum Signal may not be a household name, but it played an important role in helping the US military develop software that can control its robotics vehicles from thousands of miles away.
Read MoreWaze's Carpool service is all about adding more passengers to save money on your commute, so wouldn't it make sense to invite multiple riders in one go? You can now. Waze has updated its Carpool app with an option to easily add multiple passengers to a carpooling session -- it can take just a couple of taps to fill every spare seat. This might be vital if you were counting on taking the HOV lane to work, or if you just want more than one person to talk to during a long trip.
Read MoreToday, a bipartisan group of senators are introducing the largest highway legislation in history. The America's Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 proposes investing $287 billion over five years in federal transportation projects. While it includes standard measures like funding for highways and bridges, at least a few billion dollars are slated for reducing carbon emissions and installing EV chargers along highway corridors.
Read MoreUnited Airlines is joining the likes of Delta and British Airways in using biometric security to speed up your airport visits. The airline has forged a deal with Clear that will bring speedy facial recognition and fingerprint scanning to its frequent flyers, helping them skip the usual document checks. Clear will be available in United's hubs at Newark Liberty International and Houston George Bush Intercontinental this summer, and there are "efforts" underway to make Clear lanes available at Chicago O'Hare in the moths ahead. Many passengers will get discounts on Clear as well, although the amount depends on just how devoted you are.
Read MoreThe process of training self-driving car AI is seldom efficient when you need to either use a massive amount of computing power to train systems in parallel or else have researchers spend ages manually weeding out bad systems. Waymo might have a smarter approach: use the same principles that guide evolution. The company has partnered with DeepMind on a "Population Based Training" method for pedestrian detection that has the best neural networks advance much like lifeforms do in natural selection, saving time and effort.
Read MoreNever mind playing games in your Tesla -- for many, the dream has been to catch up on shows while charging or waiting for a passenger. And that vision might soon come true. Elon Musk has revealed that Tesla's cars will "soon" offer Netflix and YouTube streaming so long as the car is stopped. He didn't go into detail for the functionality, but claimed it would have an "immersive, cinematic feel" since you're sitting in posh seats with surround sound.
Read MoreNeed another look at Honda's adorable electric vehicle? Some new images and a teaser video take you inside the Honda E prototype to check out its dual 12.3-inch touchscreens. The menu has a similar style to Honda's current touch UI, but with two screens it's designed for easy use by both driver and passenger -- even if they're in separate apps. It's very customizable, with a quick swipe to add or remove shortcut items. Honda seems intent on making its software live up to the experience people expect from their smartphones, and allows for swiping or browsing through both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The idea is that if the EV is parked, then those inside can even watch video on the large screens. Naturally, it also has its own voice-controlled Honda Personal Assistant, while a smartphone app can monitor its charging, start the car with a digital key or send navigation details to the dual-screens. It's still a prototype and this is just a video demo, but it certainly doesn't make things easier for anyone in the US who knows Honda's strategy will keep the E away from here.
Read MoreThe state of California and a quartet of auto manufacturers have agreed on a fuel efficiency deal in the wake of rollbacks at the federal level. Ford, BMW, Volkswagen and Honda have all signed up to a pledge to make their engines more efficient -- to the tune of 3.7 mpg -- every year until 2026. That's better than the rolled back standards as proposed by the EPA, but not as strict as those in the Clean Power Plan.
Read MoreSpin, the e-scooter startup acquired by Ford, is rolling out its redesigned electric scooters and bringing them to more cities across the US. The new scooters have a larger frame with a wider and longer platform. They come with bigger, tubeless tires for better shock absorption, more intuitive bike-handle braking, a boosted rear drive for improved acceleration and security screws meant to cut down on tampering and vandalism. And with an extended battery life, they should travel up to 37.5 miles on a full charge.
Read MoreThere are some things man was not meant to do. Flying across the English Channel on a hoverboard may be one of them.
Read MoreDuring Tesla's earnings call today, the company announced that one of its longest-tenured executives -- outside of CEO Elon Musk -- is leaving the company. CTO JB Straubel is credited with helping to create the company's battery technology, and according to his company bio helped launch programs like its Supercharger network and the Tesla Energy business. More than a decade ago, when the company had only produced 27 vehicles, he was talking about building a $20 - $30,000 electric car, and Tesla has come considerably closer to doing just that. On the call Straubel said he wanted to make sure people knew this wasn't " some lack of confidence in the company or the team or anything like that." He joins a long list of executives to leave Tesla in recent weeks, months and years, however many weren't announced so publicly. Elon Musk announced that former VP of technology Drew Baglino will take over his duties.
Read MoreTesla may have broken a quarterly record by delivering 95,356 cars over the past three months, but its latest earnings report is leaving its fans and its stockholders wary. Yes, all those cars delivered helped the company rake in a total of $6.35 billion in revenue, up considerably from the $4.5 billion Tesla reported in its first quarter. Even so, those revenue figures didn't quite live up to Wall Street's expectations; couple that with the $408 million loss the company also reported, and it's little surprise that Tesla's share price has taken a bit of a drubbing in after-hours trading. (At time of publication, its stock price had dipped around 10 percent.)
Read MoreGeneral Motors and its self-driving car subsidiary Cruise will miss their goal of rolling out driverless cars by the end of the year. According to Financial Times, Cruise said more testing is needed. "Delivering self-driving cars at scale isn't just about winning the tech race, it's about winning the tech race and the trust race," Cruise chief executive Dan Ammann wrote in a blog post today.
Read MoreMuch as Ford and Honda are doing with Mustang and Civic inspired EVs, Renault is going nostalgic by building an electric version of the beloved, best-selling 4L (Quatrelle), aka the Renault 4. The e-Plein Air (meaning "open air") is based on the 1968-69 Plein Air, a topless, doorless beach-friendly version of the 4L that only sold 563 copies.
Read MoreIt's now much easier to ask for permission to fly drones in controlled airspace even if you're only doing it for fun. The FAA is giving recreational drone pilots access to the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) system -- the result of its collaboration with the industry that automates the application and approval for airspace authorizations. In the past, you've had to obtain permission from the FAA as a hobbyist the slow way if you want to fly near airports and other controlled locations. This update means you can now get near-instant permission from the agency.
Read MoreBMW has confirmed it will charge a subscription fee for Apple CarPlay. Drivers of 2019 models and onward will get a year's access for free, and then have to pay to continue to use the service, which allows owners to sync their iPhone with the car's infotainment system. It'll cost $80/£85 per year, or as was the previous outright cost, you can buy a lifetime subscription (20 years) for $300/£295. So if you're only planning on using the car for a couple of years, a yearly payment works out cheaper.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Good morning to everyone that isn't subject to an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department. Ford is putting EV torque to entertaining use, and Nintendo is supposedly ready to help out Switch owners with Joy-Con drift problems.
Read MoreFord is trying to show its rabid pickup truck fans that EVs aren't just for latte-sipping Tesla pilots. In an impressive demonstration of torque, an electric F-150 prototype towed 10 double-decker rail cars stuffed with 42 current-model F-150s, weighing over a million pounds (500 tons) in total. That shows promise that it could beat Ford's current towing champ, the 2019 F-150 with a 3.5L twin-turbocharged V6, that's rated to tow 13,200 pounds (6.6 tons).
Read MoreDaimler has plans for self-driving trucks, autonomous taxis and cars that drive themselves on the autobahn. Now, it's moving forward with its vision to bring fully automated, driverless parking to the Mercedes-Benz Museum parking garage in Stuttgart, Germany. The system, a joint effort with Bosch, will allow visitors to park their autonomous vehicles with a few taps of an app.
Read MoreWhen New Yorkers were stuck without access to multiple subway lines for 90 minutes on July 19th, that was really just the culmination of ongoing woes. The City has obtained Metropolitan Transportation Authority reports showing that the NYC subway system's Automatic Train Supervision has been failing frequently in recent months, with 13 failures since June. The technology controls switches and routing on its own, and failures force the MTA to rush out human operators that can offer manual control like they do on most lettered lines.
Read MoreUber is testing a subscription option that offers all-inclusive or discounted access to all its services. It's trialing a few variants of the plan in Chicago and San Francisco. All of them include trips on Jump e-bikes and scooters at no extra cost, free Uber Eats deliveries and a fixed discount on Uber rides for $24.99/month. In other locales, Uber is testing cheaper passes that include free Uber Eats deliveries above a certain order threshold as well as discounted rides.
Read MoreIn a departure from previous years, next year's Hyperloop competition will be held in a six mile curved vacuum tunnel. Previously, the competition was held in a straight ¾ mile test tunnel which is located at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Read MoreCannondale has electrified a significant chunk of its bicycle lineup, and now it's determined to conquer the mountain biking world in earnest.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to your weekend! Chevrolet unveiled its tech-filled 2020 Corvette, and Comic-Con is in full swing. We'll take a look back at someone this week's highlight stories, like Neuralink's plan to connect brains with computers, and fresh news from Friday like Hulu's surprise Veronica Mars drop.
Read MoreAfter decades of speculation and nearly endless teasing, Chevrolet has unveiled the long-awaited mid-engined Corvette. Scheduled to begin production later this year, the 2020 Stingray brings the "fastest 0-60 time of any entry Corvette ever" -- with a starting price promised under $60,000 and a right hand-drive version -- thanks to a naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 engine capable of 495 HP. We'll leave the performance breakdown and peeks at the engine compartment's "jewel-like setting" to Autoblog, but there's some new tech inside that frame too. Chevrolet calls its interior a "driver-centric cockpit," and for the first time the Corvette has a fully digital instrument cluster. That's in addition to the high-res infotainment screen with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and optional 4G LTE connection. The Performance Data Recorder / Valet Mode system it added in 2014 has been updated for high resolution 1080p recording, plus it allows the driver to create custom point-to-point road courses and compare performance between different trips over the route automatically.
Read MoreTesla is opening a V3 Supercharger station right on the Las Vegas Strip. The automaker released a video today with more details about its newest charging site, located next to the LINQ hotel's High Roller ferris wheel. Drivers can take advantage of Tesla's latest charger, which has a charging capacity of 250 kW (a rate which adds 75 miles to a long-range Model 3 in 5 minutes). Unveiled earlier this year, the company claims its next generation model can cut down average charging time by 50 percent.
Read MoreGeneral Motors wants to make it easier for Chevy EV-owners to charge their vehicles at home. Customers can now visit the Chevrolet.com Charging Page and search for certified charger installers. They'll be able to fill in details about their home, compare quotes and contact an installer from the page. Chevy hopes the new feature (the result of a partnership with Qmerit) will convince more people to buy EVs.
Read MoreToyota's first dedicated vehicle for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo isn't a flying car, but it shows promise. The automaker today unveiled the APM (Accessible People Mover), an all-electric vehicle it designed especially for next summer's event. The open-air, three-row vehicle can reach speeds of up to 12 mph and accommodate up to five passengers. Each car is powered by lithium-ion batteries and can run 100 kilometers on a single charge. A fleet of 200 APMs will be used to transport people to different competitions and the Olympic Village.
Read MoreHonda might have delighted the European market with details of its cute and compact electric Honda E, but that's no use to American drivers -- the Honda E isn't destined for US soil and even if it was, its top range of 125 miles is pretty useless for such a vast country. But the company is reportedly working on something new and exclusive for the States: a modular EV platform that puts affordability, performance and -- crucially -- a long cruising range at the top of the agenda.
Read MoreUber is taking its retail offerings up a notch. Last year, the company teamed up with Cargo to let drivers hawk goods ranging from snacks to phone chargers. Now, Uber and Cargo are hoping riders will buy more expensive products, like Amazon Echos, Apple AirPods, Oculus devices and Glossier make-up.
Read MoreA couple of months after Tesla started selling the "full self-driving" option again, Elon Musk warned interested customers that its price will "increase substantially over time." The first price hike happened on May 1st, adding $1,000 to the $5,000 -- or $7,000, if customers didn't opt for the add-on upon ordering their vehicles -- price of the package. Now, the company chief has revealed on Twitter that Tesla will add another $1,000 to the add-on's price tag starting on August 16th.
Read MoreLotus decided to make its latest hypercar not only all-electric but also incredibly powerful. The Evija is the company's first car with an electrified powertrain, which translates into a disgusting amount of power (2,000 PS or roughly 1973 in horsepower). For Lotus, the car represents a new beginning. CEO Phil Popham said the Evija will "re-establish our brand in the hearts and minds of sports car fans." For everyone else, it's a car that wants to go toe-to-toe with Tesla's Roadster in every way possible. Except for affordability. This is apparently what you get when you pay £1.7 million (over $2.1 million) for your next EV.
Read MoreTesla may have broken its own records, manufacturing 72,531 Model 3 sedans in the three months that ended June 30th. But employees say in the push to ramp up Model 3 production, they were forced to cut corners and work in difficult, unsafe conditions. A handful of employees who work in Tesla's open-air GA4 production tent told CNBC that they used electrical tape to quickly repair cracks on plastic brackets and housings and worked through extreme heat, cold and wild-fire smoke.
Read MoreYes, Tesla is still fiddling with prices -- and whether or not you like it depends on which electric car you were looking for. The company has once again dropped the Standard Range versions of the Model S and Model X, raising the respective base prices to $79,990 and $84,990. The vehicles are now that much more out of reach for some buyers, then, although people splurging on the Performance variants do get the Ludicrous option at no extra cost -- that's a $20,000 savings. And Model 3 buyers will, for the most part, be smiling.
Read MoreThe biggest problem with drones is their lack of endurance, but Swiss researchers have developed a new model that helps reduce that problem. Eschewing the regular four blade design, EPFL startup Flybotix's drone has just two propellers, letting it fly twice as long as regular models. It's just as easy to pilot as a standard UAV, but the increased longevity and small size makes it ideal for inspecting dangerous areas or doing search and rescue in a collapsed building, for instance.
Read MoreThe UK government is continuing its electric vehicle push by giving Jaguar Land Rover a £500 million ($620 million) loan guarantee to help advance its position as a global EV maker. This means that should Jaguar Land Rover default, the government will assume its debt obligations up to that amount. The funding pot, from UK Export Finance, is designed to give the UK a foothold in the EV market, and will help support Jaguar as it invests billions in building an electric XJ saloon at its Castle Bromwich factory. The car maker has also promised that from next year all of its models will be available in an electric version.
Read MoreIt'll likely take a while before a Hyperloop network can take passengers to their destinations, but a team competing at the 2019 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition is giving people a glimpse of what that could look like. A team from the Netherland's Delft University of Technology is debuting a panoramic virtual reality experience of its Atlas 02 pod at the SpaceX headquarters in California ahead of next week's competition.
Read MoreSo much for VW keeping a tight lid on the ID.3's finished design. Auto Conspiracy and others have obtained a promo video for the electric hatchback's interior, showing an appropriately very connected machine. The early look suggests the ID.3 will use a slightly more Teutonic variant of the cabin from Seat's el-Born concept, with an all-screen instrument cluster, a likely 10-inch center touchscreen and a twistable shifter placed on the dash. However, the biggest addition may be what you can't see: modern voice control.
Read MoreThe Trump administration isn't deterred by legal attempts to preserve a once-planned increase in fuel efficiency penalties. The NHTSA has issued final rules freezing the fine at $5.50 for every tenth of a mile per gallon a new vehicle consumes above required standards, halting an Obama-era plan that would have gradually raised the penalty to $14. The NHTSA said it was just following Congress' desire to ensure the rate stayed at the statute's requirement.
Read MoreNorth Carolina may be a future destination for a Hyperloop One transit system. The company and several transit partners are exploring a hyperloop that could link Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the RDU International Airport, near the Research Triangle Park. A pre-feasibility study suggested that traveling between Raleigh and Durham or Chapel Hill (a distance of around 30 miles) could take less than ten minutes, while hyperloop corridors in the region may ease traffic.
Read MoreA Porsche 911 is, by design, a pure sports car. Since 1963, the automaker hasn't deviated from building exciting two-door sportscar rockets. But not all of the 911 community is satisfied with what comes out of the factory in Stuttgart, Germany.
Read MoreWhat was once rumored is now official: Ford is going to use VW's electric car platform, called MEB, for some of its own battery-powered vehicles. The announcement builds on the "global alliance" that the pair announced back in January. Ford says it will use VW's MEB to build "at least one high-volume fully electric vehicle" in Europe "starting in 2023." The MEB framework is already being used in a variety of yet-to-be-released EVs by Volkswagen and its subsidiary brands. Ford is the first external company beyond e.GO Mobile AG, a German EV startup, to use MEB, however.
Read MoreLiDAR (laser pulse-based radar) is an essential component of autonomous driving, as it's what vehicles use to detect obstacles like other cars or pedestrians in order to navigate around them. But LiDAR systems aren't cheap. Now, autonomous vehicle sensor and software company Luminar has announced a new platform which will be a lower-priced alternative to current LiDAR systems.
Read MoreBack in 2017, Las Vegas' self-driving shuttle service got into a minor collision after just an hour into its year-long trial. While it truly was a minor incident and nobody got hurt, the fact that an autonomous vehicle was involved prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to launch a probe. Now, the agency has wrapped up its investigation and has revealed two probable causes for the incident. First is that the truck that collided with the shuttle didn't stop when it was supposed to, which is consistent with the local government's claim after the accident. The other is that the autonomous vehicle attendant didn't have easy access to the shuttle's manual controller.
Read MoreHarley-Davidson's first electric motorcycle will soon hit the roads, and while the LiveWire will have a longer range than first expected, at 140 miles of city driving on a single charge, you'll still need to hook it up to a charger once in a while. To help you save on electricity fees, Harley is offering free charging for US customers.
Read MoreAir France-KLM plans to swap boarding passes for facial recognition on Air France flights departing from John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City and George Bush International Airport (IAH) in Houston. The trial run is expected to impact more than 2,200 passengers daily, and it will help Air France-KLM advance its goal to bring facial recognition to all US gateways by 2020.
Read MoreToyota is getting into the semiconductor business, partnering with auto supplier Denso to form a new company focused on chip manufacture.
Read MoreA former Tesla employee is being sued for downloading data related to the company's Autopilot feature and allegedly taking that data to a Chinese rival company.
Read MoreThe 10 million miles Waymo's self-driving vehicles have driven in the real world is a feat in and of itself, but that figure is just a tiny fraction of what it has driven in simulation. At TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility, the Alphabet-owned company has revealed that it has driven over 10 billion virtual miles to test its technology. Waymo's simulation testing allows it to recreate multiple variations of real driving scenarios or to create completely new ones anytime it wants, so that its self-driving technology can learn without the risk of causing or encountering road traffic accidents.
Read MoreBentley decided to look forward with its EXP 100 GT concept car. The vehicle is meant to help celebrate the automaker's 100 years by looking at the future of grand touring.
Read MoreThe Bloodhound supersonic car project might be all about getting from A to B as quickly as possible, but its journey to date has been anything but streamlined. Since the project was announced in 2008, it's been besieged with obstacles, and last year came within a hair's breadth of shutting down completely. Now, though, it's back on track, and its team has announced a new testing timeline.
Read MoreHey, good morning! Welcome to your Wednesday. Don't expect a Tesla Model S or Model X refresh, but do say farewell to a few MacBook options. Welcome the new home for streaming Friends -- HBO Max. And, if you're feeling decadent this July, why not upgrade your Uber? It's like Economy Comfort Class, but with traffic.
Read MoreTesla has finally made it possible for Model 3 owners to use DC fast chargers that aren't part of its own Supercharger network. It just released an update for the EV that adds compatibility with all "CHAdeMO" DC fast chargers across North America. Now, Model 3 owners can pay $450 for the same adapter that's been available to Model S and Model X owners for a long time now, and get a fast charge at nearly any third-party station.
Read MoreLyft is testing a special line of cars just for riders who use wheelchairs. The ridesharing company announced today that it was piloting a new WAV (wheelchair accessible vehicle) service in Los Angeles and San Francisco Counties. All drivers will be certified by First Transit and operate 2019 Toyota Sienna vans, which include a folding ramp for side entry.
Read MoreIt took years to become more than a concept, but the first all-electric Mini you can keep is official. The Mini Electric (also known as the Mini Cooper SE) is now slated to start deliveries in March 2020, and will hew closer to the conventional two-door Mini in design than the 2017 vision. You won't get massive wheels ('just' 17 inches at most), elaborate headlights or fanciful bodywork. The focus is on what's under the surface -- BMW aims to preserve the Mini's characteristic pep in a more environmentally-conscious format.
Read MoreUber is adding a new ride option that aims to make your journey a more personal and relaxed affair. Uber Comfort is an upgrade on the everyday ride, and ensures you have extra legroom in a newer, mid-size car, where you can make advance requests relating to things such as the temperature, and whether or not you want to chat -- choices which have until now only been open to Uber Black customers. The option is available at select cities across the US, and can only be offered by Uber drivers with a rating of 4.85 or higher.
Read MoreTesla fans got excited last month after rumors of a Model S refresh started doing the rounds -- a driver near Tesla's Hawthorne design studio claimed to have spotted a mysterious test car, and of course the internet was abuzz with theories. Alas, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that there's no refreshed Model S -- or X for that matter -- on the horizon.
Read MoreMaryland's electric vehicle (EV) tax credits are so popular, they're already gone. According to the state's Motor Vehicle Administration, the $6 million fund meant to cover the tax credits was depleted before the fiscal year began on July 1st. The state offers a $100 credit per kilowatt-hour of battery capacity for EVs and plug-in hybrids (with a maximum $3,000 rebate), but so many drivers have applied for the credit, there's a waiting list with more than 700 applicants.
Read MoreGoogle's self-driving car project Waymo is looking for ways to distinguish itself in the cut-throat taxi market, where it must compete with ridesharing apps and other self-driving services as well as traditional taxis and public transport. To address this challenge, Waymo is focusing on better amenities to appeal to regular customers.
Read MoreIt's not just American officials who think Boeing's 737 Max software needs more polish. A Bloomberg source said that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has told Boeing to make five changes to the airliner before it can return to service. They're mostly consistent with the FAA's requests, including improvements to the angle of attack sensors, training, manual trim controls and a software flaw linked to a lagging chip. However, the EU regulators also want Boeing to address a previously unmentioned issue with the autopilot failing to switch off in some emergencies -- it might not give pilots enough time to prevent a stall.
Read MoreMany airliners can land automatically, but they don't really land autonomously -- the airport is guiding them in with a radio signal (the Instrument Landing System). And when many smaller airports don't have this feature, it's not even an option. Researchers at Technische Universität München might just make true autonomous landing a practical reality, though. They've successfully tested a system that uses a combination of computer vision and GPS to have the aircraft land itself.
Read MoreIt took more than a year, but GM's self-driving company is close to receiving a giant cash infusion. Cruise Automation confirmed to Reuters that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) had approved SoftBank's $2.25 billion investment in the driverless tech company. SoftBank will have a spot on Cruise's board as a result of the deal. However, a Reuters source claimed that SoftBank wouldn't have access to the technology itself -- a condition CFIUS reportedly set out over concerns that the Japanese firm's investments in Chinese tech would compromise American trade secrets.
Read MoreVW clearly wasn't satisfied with setting the electric car record for the hill climb at 2018's Goodwood Festival of Speed. The automaker's ID.R racer (driven by Romain Dumas) returned to this year's festival in grand style, setting a hill climb time of 41.18 39.9 seconds -- fast enough to break an overall hill climb record that had been set 20 years ago by Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren MP4/13 Formula 1 car. That was no mean feat given its lower power (500kW versus an equivalent 574kW). You can see the achievement below.
Read MoreWhile announcing plans to build a "range" of electrified vehicles at its Castle Bromwich, UK plant, Jaguar confirmed that the first new EV to roll off the line there will be an all-electric version of its flaship sedan, the XJ. Development of the new car is being handled by the same team that built Jaguar's all-electric I-Pace SUV that we called "exceptional."
Read MoreGogoro is expanding its on-demand scooter rental service. In August, the two-wheeled, electric Smartscooters will be available as part of a ridesharing program in Taiwan called GoShare. The scooters will use Gogoro's swappable batteries, so instead of stopping to charge the vehicles, riders can pick up a new battery at a GoStation and be back on the road in a matter of minutes.
Read MoreVW and Ford appear close to formalizing their partnership on EVs and self-driving cars. Reuters sources claim the two have forged an "outline agreement" that will see them ally on more than just commercial vehicles. Most notably, VW would share its EV-oriented MEB platform with Ford. While VW had previously talked about opening MEB to competitors, it hadn't mentioned Ford by name -- this suggests that your future Ford could share the same basic underpinnings as something like the ID Crozz.
Read MoreSay hello to the Odyssey 21, an electric SUV built by Spark Racing Technology, the same company that designed and built the first and second-gen Formula E cars.
Read MoreCharge's electrified Mustang is controversial. The original, after all, is an automotive icon that many associate with 'American muscle,' a sub-genre of cars that growl loudly and consume gasoline like water. The Mustang before me, however, does neither of those things. It's powerful, yes, but runs on batteries and will, presumably, be whisper-silent on the road. For some, the combination is an attractive blend of technology and 1960s design. For others, it's a monstrosity that betrays the Mustang heritage.
Read MoreBMW and Mercedes started working together on autonomous cars earlier this year, and now they have optimistic plans to deliver them. The automakers announced that they're developing Level 4 self-driving cars that can handle freeway driving chores without human intervention, though a driver will still need to be at the wheel. Such vehicles will include driver assist and automated parking systems and go on sale to the public by 2024.
Read MoreThe Lightyear One is long. Really long. The length and sloping roof make sense, though, once you realize the entire vehicle is powered by the sun. Together, the roof and hood offer a staggering five square meters of integrated solar cells underneath a safety glass which, the company promises, is strong enough for a clumsy adult to walk on without making dents. I wasn't able to test this claim at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, unfortunately. But early in the morning, before the car-loving masses had shown up, I was able to sit and truly admire its unusual profile for a while.
Read MoreThere's only one word that accurately describes the Honda e: adorable. The pop-out door handles. The compact wing mirrors that are actually tiny cameras. The simple, oval-shaped front that houses the Honda badge and two bright, circular headlamps. From every angle, it's just freakin' cute.
Read MoreLyft just illustrated how it will respond in the middle of a crisis. The company has introduced a Disaster Relief Access Program that promises support for people in affected areas. In situations when the roads are safe, the ridesharing firm will typically hand out free codes both through its own social network avenues as well as local news outlets, non-profits and Facebook's Crisis Response Hub. It'll also honor emergency declarations that affect road closures and pricing, including caps on Prime Time (read: surge pricing).
Read MoreNo, Lotus isn't ready to spill the beans on its Type 130 electric hypercar. It is, however, ready to give the car a name: meet the Evija (pronounced "ev-eye-a"). While the company's choice of name is a bit strained -- it means "the first in existence" or "the living one" -- it makes sense given both Lotus' traditions and what it represents. The company has long given its cars names starting with E (Esprit, Elise, Exige), and it only seems fitting to name an EV as, well, "Ev."
Read MoreSelf-driving venture Waymo has been given permission by California authorities to transport people in its robotaxis. According to TechCrunch, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) gave Waymo the green light this week, issuing a permit that will allow the company to participate in the state's Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service pilot. This means that Waymo employees will be able to hail a self-driving vehicle and take guests on rides within the company's South Bay territory.
Read MoreOne could fairly assume that riding in an SUV as large, expensive and, well, as orange as the 2019 Bentley Bentayga would turn a few heads. I certainly know I did. But as I found out during a test drive through Silicon Valley last Thursday, this full size SUV hybrid makes for a surprisingly sedate ride.
Read MoreTesla didn't have the greatest start to 2019, but it's looking rosier toward the middle of the year. The company set records for both production and deliveries in the second quarter, having made 87,048 electric cars and delivered 95,200 of them during the three-month span. Those are large strides compared to both the last quarter (77,100 made and 63,000 delivered) and a year earlier (53,339 made and 40,740 delivered), and leave Tesla with a nicer problem than it has had in recent times: a growing production backlog.
Read MoreAt an event at its newly christened Innovation and Engineering Center California in Belmont, Volkswagen unveiled its Type 20 concept car that's essentially a 1962 Microbus with a lot of tech crammed inside and its engine swapped for a battery pack and electric motor.
Read MoreScooter services have their share of issues, but Lime will at least make sure there's a scooter to use in the first place. In the wake of a limited release in three countries, Lime has made scooter reservations available in the US ahead of an international rollout later in the week. If you know you'll need a two-wheeler in the next 15 minutes, you can book one through the app instead of hoping that it'll still be around when you're ready to ride. You can still grab another scooter if it's more convenient, of course -- it'll just release the scooter you'd reserved.
Read MoreIntel and a team of automotive companies have teamed up to create new guidelines for autonomous vehicles. The intention of the "Safety First Automated Driving" paper, published today, is to establish a framework of universal safety principles that all self-driving cars should abide by. The standards deal primarily with how the industry should monitor and report safety standards when building and operating autonomous cars.
Read MoreTesla Motors is suffering from some significant brain drain. On Monday, upstart electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors announced that it is hiring Peter Hochholdinger, Tesla's former head of production, to serve as its vice president of manufacturing, according to Reuters. Hochholdinger, who previously served as a longtime executive at Audi, officially left Tesla last week.
Read MoreAs of today, when Uber customers in Atlanta and San Diego open their Uber app, they'll see Jump bikes and scooters, as well as Lime scooters, in the main map. According to TechCrunch, Uber plans to add bike and scooter availability to its app in more cities, but it's unclear which cities the feature will appear in or when.
Read MoreIf you've already mastered Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, the game has another challenge for you. When Activision and Beenox revealed their revival of the Naughty Dog classic last month, they kicked off the Nitro Grand Prix. With that first race complete, Activision is ready to launch the second: the Back N. Time Grand Prix.
Read MoreSo much for Pokémon Go's initial success being nothing more than a fad. The Pokémon Company has released a series of videos in Japanese noting that Niantic's location-based mobile game has been downloaded over 1 billion times since launch. Some of those are re-downloads, and it's not clear how many players are active (Superdata estimated 147 million monthly users as of May 2018). All the same, it's an achievement for a game many thought might fizzle out after a few months.
Read MoreEpic is finally ready to show a sliver of Fortnite season 10 a day before its August 1st debut, and it seems like nostalgia is the order of the day. The company has posted a brief story trailer suggesting that you'll see locations, goodies and themes from the game's two-year history, such as the golf carts from Lazy Links and seasonal items. It's not certain just what will make the cut. If there's a place or pickup you miss dearly, though, there's a chance you might see it again.
Read MoreFans of the meditative, mobile puzzle game Monument Valley will soon have more obstacles to tackle. British game developer Ustwo confirmed on Twitter today [via a job posting] that there will be a Monument Valley 3. It's still early days, so there are no details on a release date or what exactly the new entry to the series of M.C. Escher-style puzzlers will involve. The studio is currently hunting for a new game director, who will likely shape the course of the new game. "We'd also love a new Game Director to bring their own spin to this world, giving them freedom to explore while keeping just enough elements of Monument Valley 1 and 2 to stay true to our fans," an Ustwo spokesperson told Engadget over email.
Read MoreWhen Starfleet calls, Trekkies will answer, and Starfleet's latest call to action involves the world's first free-roam Star Trek experience. Later this year Sandbox VR will launch the first Holodeck VR experience, where fans can enter the world of Star Trek to complete a mission involving problem-solving, combat and -- of course -- phasers.
Read MoreAt E3 for each of the last two years we've seen previews of Remedy Entertainment's supernatural action game Control, and on August 27th, players will be able to experience its world for themselves on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. You should read through our impressions after an hour-long demo in June to understand what it's like to pick up The Director's gun and attempt to make your way through "The Oldest House" -- a government agency headquarters that has come under attack by a supernatural force.
Read MoreEA Sports has been unusually silent about NBA Live 20 -- the game's absence from EA Play even sparked fears that it was slated for cancellation. Luckily, fans only have to wait a few more months. Polygon noted that EA released a financial report on Tuesday listing the basketball game in the third fiscal quarter of 2019, which means it'll be released between October 1st and December 31st. The game was initially expected to hit stores in September, during the same week as last year's Live 19.
Read MoreEA and Respawn are stepping up their esports ambitions for Apex Legends. They've announced a Preseason Invitational that will represent the largest volume of talent amassed for a competitive Apex Legends event, with 80 teams of three (that's 240 people) competing for a $500,000 prize pool. The event takes place in Krakow, Poland between September 13th and September 15th and will use a double elimination format where teams have a shot at redemption until the final 20 teams strive for the top prize.
Read MoreIt's not entirely fair to say Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf became a millionaire overnight. You don't beat out millions of other players on the path to winning the first Fortnite World Cup without untold hours of practice and playing at a consistently high level over an extended period. But after utterly dominating six matches of battle royale chaos at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City Sunday, the 16-year-old Pennsylvania resident walked away with the title and a $3 million check in his back pocket.
Read MoreThe first-person psychological horror game Blair Witch is set to arrive next month. Today, Bloober Team released the first gameplay trailer. The minute-and-a-half clip offers a preview of just how creepy the woods, haunted houses and monsters of Black Hills Forest will be. It gives us a better idea of how the game will get to your head and shows just how important antiquated cellphones will be.
Read MoreThe end to the Fortnite World Cup won't mark the end to Epic's esports plans for the year -- not by a long shot. The developer has announced a Fortnite Championship Series that will have gamers playing across whole seasons. "Every single result matters," Epic said, and there will be a leaderboard to keep tabs on results across the season. There will be "millions of dollars" on the line, too.
Read MoreBethesda's re-release of the first three Doom games didn't get the warmest reception, to put it mildly. The titles all required a BethesdaNet account (and thus an internet connection) to get started -- a frustration for a game series that started when home internet access was still a novelty. The publisher is putting things right, however. It's promising a fix that will make the BethesdaNet account optional, letting you slay demons whether or not you're online.
Read MoreJust a few months after EA announced its Madden NFL 19 bowl set new viewership records, it's laid out a schedule of events for the 2020 season. Madden NFL 20 launches next week on August 2nd -- or three days earlier for people who pre-order a special edition -- and it's touting the ability for players to go "from couch to champion." EA has announced that it's increased the number of spots available in online eliminations, with its first Classic event scheduled to occur starting August 30th. There, fans will compete to represent one of the NFL's 32 teams at the Club Championship in December. Then there's the Madden NFL 20 Challenge during Super Bowl weekend and the Madden NFL 20 Bowl during next year's draft. The NFL and EA have aligned the esports schedule to work along with the league, seeing it as a way to keep viewers and gamers engaged. NFL VP of Gaming & Esports Rachel Hoagland said in a statement that "We view esports as a key accelerant to growing the NFL. It enables new ways for young fans to engage in the sport through Madden NFL competition." The league has also snagged sponsors including Pizza Hut and Snickers, and this year signed up the first "virtual stadium rights deal in esports" that will put MCS Major live events in Pizza Hut Stadium. In a world where Fortnite exists, making sure gamers still tune into your sport any way you can is probably a good strategy. More details about the esports events were announced tonight during a Twitch stream that you can watch right here.
Read MoreQuakecon 2019 is underway and one of the first big announcements from the event is that the first three Doom games are now available on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. You'll also be able to carry around the first two entries in the classic FPS series on your iOS or Android device too.
Read MoreBetween fake news, viral clickbait and biased reporting, it's hard to get a sense of what is really true when reading the headlines. So a new game being pitched on Kickstarter aims to take the public behind the curtain and show them how journalism works by putting them in the driving seat.
Read MoreIf you want to collect monsters commonly associated with the villainous Team Rocket, you may want to put on a pair of sneakers and play some Pokémon Go in the next few days. As part of the game's Team Rocket invasion, you'll spot monsters like Rattata, Zubat, Magnemite and Meowth (of course) a lot more frequently until August 1st, 1PM Pacific Time. You might even get the chance to catch a Shiny Ekans or a Shiny Koffing.
Read MoreHyper Light Drifter has arrived on iOS. The retro 2D RPG -- which is set to become an animated series -- has seen major acclaim since its release in 2016 thanks to its beautiful pixel art, dreamy soundscapes and fun combat. The release supports 120 fps on the iPad Pro (and 60 fps on other Apple devices), which is double the framerate of the Switch version, and it comes with the extra weapons, enemies and areas previously only available on the Switch special edition, so even more people get to enjoy this atmospheric adventure to its fullest. Get it from the App Store now, or on Linux, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Read MoreIt's no secret that online gaming can harbor toxic and abusive behavior. But a new survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says as many as many as two-thirds of US online gamers have experienced "severe" harassment. More than half of the respondents said they've been targeted based on their race, religion, ability, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity. Nearly 30 percent claim they've been doxxed in an online game, and nearly a quarter of respondents say they've been exposed to white supremacist ideology.
Read MoreThe wait is over for GTA: Online's long-rumored "Vinewood Casino." The Diamond Casino & Resort opened its doors today. The "sprawling entertainment and luxury living complex" offers plenty to bet on, including roulette, blackjack and three card poker, plus slot machines and horse racing. And if gambling isn't your thing, you can always hangout in the infinity pool on the roof or customize your master penthouse.
Read MoreBlizzard announced the latest Overwatch hero, Sigma, on Monday and now it's revealed more details about the newest addition to the tank roster. The 62-year-old's real name is Siebren de Kuiper, and he's a Dutch astrophysicist and professor.
Read MoreYou won't have to fire up a computer to play the spiritual successor to Theme Hospital. Two Point Studios and Sega are bringing Two Point Hospital to PS4, Switch and Xbox One sometime in late 2019. It'll remain faithful to the absurdity of the PC hospital management title (the existence of a Clown Clinic should say everything), but will be "fully rebuilt" to take advantage of gamepads and the Switch's mobile experience.
Read MoreAre you such a big Fortnite fan that you can't bear the thought of having to stop playing to watch the Fortnite World Cup finals? You're in luck. Epic Games has introduced picture-in-picture streaming as part of the game's 9.41 update, giving you a way to tune into the esports tournament even while you're trying for a victory royale of your own. You just have to hit a "watch now" button in the lobby to tune in before launching a match. This probably won't help your chances of winning in the slightest, but it could be handy if you treat Fortnite as a social space and don't want to leave your squad to keep up with World Cup happenings.
Read MoreWe hope you're prepared for trouble, because you can now fight Team Rocket grunts in Pokémon Go. Niantic has started rolling out the update it promised a week ago, adding dark-colored PokéStops with the Team Rocket logo at various locations in the game. Just spin the stop to fight a grunt's shadow Pokémon and capture the poor, abandoned monster with a Poké ball after you beat its heartless trainer.
Read MoreBlizzard waited a little longer than fans expected, but it has at last revealed the identity of Overwatch's 31st playable character. Following a couple of mathematical-oriented teasers over the weekend, the developer confirmed rumors and leaks that Sigma is joining the ranks.
Read MoreWhen the Kingdom Hearts: VR Experience dropped earlier this year, it was incomplete and missing some levels that might have put a damper on your nostalgia trip. Now, Disney and Square Enix are rolling out the experience's second part, which turns more worlds from the series into a virtual trip down memory lane, including Hercules' Olympus Coliseum. It's still free like the first part was, and it will be arriving on the PSVR on July 24th in the US and July 25th in Japan.
Read MoreEpic is still finding ways to mark Fortnite's season transitions in grand style. The studio just finished a "Final Showdown" event for the end of season nine that interrupted the battle royale with a brawl between a giant monster and an equally massive robot defending humanity. It's not a spoiler to say the robot won (there wouldn't be much of a game otherwise). As usual, though, the victory left the map irrevocably changed -- you can view the aftermath in the clips below.
Read MoreAnother Blizzard co-founder is stepping away from the company. Just a few months after Mike Morhaime left his role as Blizzard CEO and president, his fellow founder Frank Pearce has announced that he's also hanging up his hat as Chief Development Officer. Pearce founded the gaming giant 28 years ago with Morhaime and Allen Adham, who left in 2004 but came back in 2016 to oversee the development of several new titles.
Read MoreHarry Potter: Wizards Unite has been out for one month, and makers Ninantic and WB Games are ready to kick things up a notch. Tomorrow, they're launching the game's first community day. Similar to the way community days worked in Pokémon Go, tomorrow's event is meant to bring users together and will offer in-game bonuses -- like a chance to earn three-times Wizard XP when you down Baruffio Brain Elixir.
Read MorePlayers have been asking for it for years and finally, it's arrived: Blizzard is introducing Role Queue to Overwatch. From today, players in the PTR will be able to beta test a feature that allows them to choose the role they want to play -- tank, support or damage -- before a match begins. Usually this decision-making happens in a fairly fraught 40 seconds before a match starts, as everyone selects their heroes and responds to other players' role choices -- so it's not uncommon to feel bummed out as a team comes together.
Read MoreSix years after Plants vs. Zombies 2 staggered into the world, the next entry in the series is on the way. PopCap Games is hard at work on Plants vs. Zombies 3, and it's already offering you the chance to pit flora against undead fauna once again.
Read MoreAlexa could add color and suspense to your murder mystery game nights if it's getting a bit stale lately. X2 Games, created by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell and Hollywood creative director Zai Ortiz, has released an Alexa-powered board game entitled St. Noire. And, yes, it's exclusively available through Amazon. To be clear, you won't be hearing Alexa's robotic voice when you play the game, so you don't have to worry about the assistant ruining your immersion. The technology simply powers the game's immersive background sounds and cinematic voice performances, which are made up of over 2,500 lines of dialogue performed by actors portraying 12 different characters.
Read MoreErangel, the map in which the battle royale craze truly began in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, is getting a major overhaul for season 4. PUBG Corp said the update brings Erangel in line with more recent maps, adding new buildings, revamping terrain and improving graphics.
Read MoreWelcome back to Engadget's Gaming IRL, a monthly segment where we run down what our editors are playing. This time around, we've finally got our hands on Kickstarter darling Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, as well as some more impressions on Super Mario Maker 2. And for a change of pace, we take a look at an intriguing visual novel, Miss Fisher and the Deathly Maze. We'd also love to know what you've been playing, shout out in the comments below!
Read MoreHowever well Streets of Rage 4 turns out, it should at least have a top-tier soundtrack. Guard Crush Games, Lizardcube and Dotemu have revealed that the side-scrolling beat-em-up will have music from Motohiro Kawashima and Yuzo Koshiro, both of whom produced soundtracks for the original Streets of Rage games. They'll tap into the "thumping club anthems" you may remember from the first three titles while creating new sounds.
Read MoreOnce again, G2A is being forced to defend its marketplace for digital video game codes and keys. Mike Rose, founder of game publisher No More Robots, launched a petition earlier this month that calls on the company to remove all independent games from its platform. "G2A's platform hurts indie devs time and time again," the Change.org description reads. "By allowing anyone to sell illegitimate keys for their games online, with incredible ease, and no ramifications or checks." At the time of writing, more than 5,000 developers and players have signed the petition. Why are smaller studios so vexed with G2A? And how are people able to both obtain and sell illegitimate keys? For a full explanation, read on.
Read MoreA new Super Monkey Ball game will be arriving later this year -- at least, it will in Japan. Game magazine Famitsu confirmed this week in a blog post that a new entry in the popular series will be available for PC, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The game, apparently titled Tagogo Super Monkey Ball, is scheduled to be available on October 31st in Japan. There's no word yet on if there will be a western release for the title. Update: The game has been officially announced for PS4, Switch, PC and Xbox One, with a US release date of October 29th.
Read MoreUbisoft's game subscription service for PC and Stadia, Uplay+, will launch on September 3rd. When it was announced at E3 in June, we knew there would be more than 100 games included but we didn't know which ones. Thanks to today's update, now we do.
Read MoreThe Netflix model doesn't work for video games. Neither does the Spotify plan, the HBO Go ecosystem or the Amazon Prime Video marketplace. Sure, digital distribution is king and subscription-based streaming services will absolutely become a dominant market force in gaming. But, when it comes to paying content creators, current subscription models just don't make sense. Especially for indie games.
Read MoreNiantic finally launched trainer battles on Pokémon Go late last year, giving you a way to take on friends or any other random players you come across. Now, the game developer has started rolling out an upgrade for the feature that'll have you swiping on the screen. The Charged Attack mechanic in trainer battles used to be all about tapping on icons as fast as you could. After installing the update, though, you'll have to swipe on the screen to collect as many icons as you could to power up your Pokémon's attack instead. It's more Fruit Ninja than Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, but it could amp up your enjoyment if you never quite liked furiously tapping on your phone.
Read MoreRespawn may have a particularly poetic way to exact justice on Apex Legends cheaters: give them a taste of their own medicine. The studio has revealed that its anti-cheating efforts will include matchmaking between detected cheaters and spam accounts. Their aim bots and hacks won't be much fun if they're playing against similarly dirty competitors.
Read MoreVideo game projects may have found their stride in the crowdfunding world. According to ICO Partners, fewer games are being pitched on Kickstarter, but a greater percentage are reaching their goals. And the total amount raised by gaming campaigns is up year-over-year.
Read MoreBlizzard thinks it has a straightforward way to prevent Overwatch cheaters from wrecking others' matches: bring those matches to a screeching halt. As part of a developer update, Game Director Jeff Kaplan has revealed that Blizzard will automatically shut down matches when it detects cheating. It's not certain how the studio will catch this behavior, but it's promising that only the cheater will face "very harsh actions." You won't lose the SR points from a competitive match just because a ne'er-do-well joined your team and forced an abrupt ending.
Read MoreG2A still has a problem with sketchy game key resales, to the point where developers like Mike Rose have suggested that it would be better to pirate games instead. The site thinks it has a way to mitigate the problem, though. It's proposing a tool that would let verified developers block certain game keys from sale. They'd just have to paste the keys into a control panel to remove them from sale. In theory, this would prevent unscrupulous resellers from peddling keys they've obtained through bogus review requests and giveaways rigged using bots.
Read MoreHow female characters in FIFA led to a diversity movement at EA Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat Discussions on diversity and equal pay have taken over in the week following the 2019 Women's World Cup, especially in the US. EA game designer Katie Scott explains how her work on FIFA's "The Journey" story mode lead to improving representation of female characters -- work that eventually kickstarted company-wide change.
Read MoreKonami's attempt to ride the retro console bandwagon, the TurboGrafx-16 mini, now has a release date and a rather hefty game list. The company has revealed that the mini will be available exclusively through Amazon on March 19th, 2020, with pre-orders starting July 15th. While the designs will vary depending on which region you hail from, you'll have access to just shy of 50 games (there are a few duplicates, despite Konami's claims) split between the US' TurboGrafx lineup and Japan's PC Engine catalog.
Read MoreIt's been a couple of months since we first heard about Minecraft Earth, the augmented reality version of Mojang's game that makes the real world a playscape full of your blocky creations. It promised a beta release of the game would arrive this summer and now, along with a new trailer, the company says it will launch on iOS within the next two weeks, with Android following "soon thereafter."
Read MoreWhen you think of kid-friendly video games, StarCraft might not top the list. But that could change. A new version, StarCraft: Cartooned, reimagines every unit, structure, map, menu and mission with art by CarBot Animations. The usually dark game is swapping its Warhammer-like visual style for a complete makeover with cute cartoon graphics.
Read MoreMany folks who enjoyed Supermassive's interactive horror hit Until Dawn did so by passing the controller between friends whenever the story shifted to another character. For its upcoming Dark Pictures Anthology, Supermassive has announced couch co-op and online multiplayer modes starting with Man of Medan, the first game in the series.
Read MoreEpic Games has added Air Strikes to the Fortnite arsenal. With the weapon, you can launch a canister of colored smoke into an area and summon a hail storm of fire from above. You'll find the canisters in floor loot, chests, supply drops, vending machines and llamas. Once a canister is launched and comes to rest, 20 missiles will appear about 120 meters above the smoke. Each missile has an explosion radius of 3.5 meters, and each missile deals damage to players and structures.
Read MoreZombies are on their way to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Activision announced today that "Operation: Apocalypse Z," a multiplayer-centric content pack that will conjure up game mode similar to the classic Zombies maps of previous games, will be coming to PlayStation 4 on July 9th. The mode will also be arriving on Xbox One and PC on July 16th.
Read MoreThe second year of Destiny 2 is ramping down with Shadowkeep around the corner, and that can only mean one thing in Bungie's world: it's achievement-hunting season. The developer is kicking off 2019's Moments of Triumph on July 9th, giving you a chance to earn rewards for key character milestones. There are only teasers as to what the achievements involve, although names like "Bedazzled" and "O Murderer Mine" suggest you may have to get creative.
Read MoreCapcom clearly couldn't resist the temptation to hop on the card game bandwagon. The gaming giant has teamed up with GungHo to release Teppen (no, not Tekken), a card battler for Android and iOS that revolves around better-known characters from Street Fighter, Devil May Cry, Darkstalkers and other classics. If you've ever wanted to see Chun-Li fight Dante or Morrigan take on Mega Man, you can make it happen.
Read MoreWayForward thinks it has a simple way to keep the River City formula fresh: reverse the roles. It's releasing River City Girls, a revival of the side-scrolling brawler that has high school girls Kyoko and Misako laying waste to everyone between them and their captured boyfriends. True to the spirit of the series, virtually anything is a weapon -- baseball bats, bikes and even park benches are fair game.
Read MoreNetflix's release of Stranger Things 3 has brought along an unprecedented number of marketing tie-ins, which include a link to Fortnite. Some familiar-looking teleporters popped up in the game's mall area yesterday to join already-included Scoops Ahoy ice cream powerups, and tonight Epic announced the full details of their crossover. Unfortunately, unlike the Avengers: Endgame and John Wick collaborations, there doesn't appear to be any kind of new limited-time game mode. Instead, as expected, there are a couple of new skins available allowing players to take on the appearance of Chief Hopper or the Demogorgon (that cost 1,500 and 1,200 "v bucks" respectively), plus a "Vines" weapon wrap. If anything else appears in-game, let us know -- but no spoilers, not everyone has finished season three yet.
Read MoreComparing Chinese President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh may be amusing to some, but the Chinese government isn't laughing. Officials have now stripped video game publisher Indievent of its business license for its involvement in the Taiwanese horror game Devotion, which referenced the controversial meme. The news came from Another Indie co-founder Iain Garner, who tweeted the text of the order earlier this week. While Red Candle Games, the Taiwanese developer of the offending game, is out of reach of Chinese government sanctions, the China-based Indievent isn't so lucky.
Read MoreHitman 2 has had its share of unusual updates and events, but its latest may be particularly appealing if you're music-minded. IO Interactive has outlined a July roadmap with a string of music-themed activities, most notably the "I'm With the Band" Challenge Pack arriving on July 11th. Finish five band-related tasks on the Santa Fortuna map and you'll unlock a violin -- you could literally bludgeon someone with your musical tastes.
Read MoreWhen it comes to game streaming, it's not just the likes of Microsoft, Google and Sony who are trying to capture players' attention. There's a mobile-focused option too, and it's now available in the UK.
Read MoreFortnite is no stranger to big-budget entertainment collaborations. It's already welcomed Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hawkeye as part of its Endgame mode and let players stealthily assassinate their rivals via its recent John Wick partnership. For a while now, Epic Games has teased the introduction of something a little more paranormal as part of a tie-in with Netflix's Stranger Things. With Season 3 of the smash TV series only a day away, the Fortnite world has become a touch more threatening, with dark portals appearing in the games' popular Mega Mall area.
Read MoreYou might be less inclined to panic the next time a game you've crowdfunded becomes an Epic Games Store exclusive -- particularly if you're a Shenmue fan. Ys Net has informed Shenmue 3 backers that it will (with Epic's financial support) accept refund requests from those unhappy that the PC version won't be available through Steam until a year after its initial release. How much you'll get back will depend on whether or not your rewards have already been implemented, but you won't have choose a PS4 copy just to signal your displeasure.
Read MoreFans of run-and-gun shooter Cuphead have surely been waiting patiently for the arrival of the game's first expansion, which Studio MDHR announced at E3 2018. You might have been expecting to get to grips with new playable character Ms. Chalice, weapons, charms and even more fiendishly difficult bosses sometime over the next few months, but the Delicious Last Course DLC has now been delayed until next year.
Read MoreThe forthcoming NBA 2K20, set for release on September 6th, will feature the WNBA. 2K Games revealed back in February that the WNBA was set for inclusion in some shape or form, and while the official PR blurb doesn't specify exactly how that's set to look, the recently-released trailer confirms it. The WNBA made their console debut in EA's NBA Live 18 a couple of years ago, so it's about time 2K -- arguably the big dog in NBA games -- stepped up.
Read MoreGrab a camel and don't forget your sunscreen, because the next expansion of Blizzard's Hearthstone will be desert themed.
Read MoreThe second season of Apex Legends goes live today, and in addition to new characters, major map changes and improved weaponry, we'll also see the introduction of Ranked Leagues. In a blog post, the game's developers said Apex is a "dynamic game that takes time and effort to master," so Ranked Leagues will be a place players can go to prove their skills and gain recognition for their hard work.
Read MoreActivision Blizzard has revealed the next two teams for its upcoming Call of Duty esports League, bringing the total franchises announced so far to seven. The latest squads will represent Los Angeles and Minnesota.
Read MoreAlan Wake might make its way to PS4 or Switch (or even mobile) after developer Remedy Entertainment snagged back the publishing rights to the 2010 cult classic from Microsoft. It told investors it would earn royalty payments of about 2.5 million euros this year for its previously released games, and, in a related move, it regained the rights to Alan Wake.
Read MoreWhile most pranks that originate from YouTube are terrible, a recent one targeted at homeless people in Los Angeles was particularly abhorrent and cruel. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, a group of online pranksters connected with popular YouTuber Paul Denino -- better known by his online handle Ice Poseidon -- created a fake homeless shelter on Google Maps that directed people looking for a place to stay to a private mansion he was renting.
Read MoreGoogle is levelling up its security for businesses. The company unveiled a host of new protections for its G Suite, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Cloud Identity customers at the Next Tokyo summit. G Suite Enterprise admins can choose to enroll high-risk employees in an advanced protection program, automatically receive anomalous activity alerts and enable one-click access to additional apps.
Read MoreIt only took half a year, but Dish's receivers are finally ready to work with Google Assistant. The satellite TV provider has started rolling out an update for Hoppers that lets you use the voice remote to check the weather, control your smart home and, of course, steer the Hopper itself. The update works with all Hopper generations as well as Joey and Wally devices.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. July is almost over. So after you double-check your UltraViolet account, it's time to look over quarterly results from Apple and Samsung to find out what's working (services) and what isn't (high-end phones). Plus, the new look for Android Auto is rolling out and you can pre-order a Switch Lite.
Read MoreAs promised, Google is ready to make websites respect Incognito mode whether they like it or not. The company has released Chrome 76 for Linux, Mac and Windows, closing a loophole that let sites detect private browsing by looking for the presence of a key framework. If you're tired of sites insisting that you either sign in or use the standard mode, relief is in sight.
Read MoreUntil recently, infotainment systems were sort-of-useful at best or plagued with horrendous interfaces at their worst. The introduction of Android Auto and CarPlay got automakers to finally start thinking about how people use touchscreen devices. Google and Apple took what they knew about touchscreens, voice assistants and media, creating easy-to-use interfaces.
Read MoreReports have swirled for days of Google paying people $5 in gift certificates to scan their faces, and now it's clear just why: it's for the Pixel 4. Google has confirmed to The Verge that the paid scans were meant to improve the accuracy of the Pixel 4's face unlock feature by collecting more face data and improving algorithms. Facial recognition has a history of bias in gender and skin color, Google said, and it was important to offer both "inclusiveness" as well as "robust security and performance."
Read MoreBefore the Trump administration declared a 'national emergency' effectively banning Huawei, Google and Huawei were reportedly months away from launching a Huawei-branded smart speaker. The companies allegedly planned to reveal the speaker at a trade show in Berlin this September and to sell it online in the US. But progress came to a halt when the Trump administration blacklisted Huawei, sources told The Information.
Read MoreThe familiar microphone icon in Google's search bar might soon be a thing of the past, according to some recent changes spotted by 9 to 5 Google. On some phones, Google's old-school "Voice Search," with the prompt "Say 'Hey Google,'" has been replaced by the four-dot Assistant logo and the term "Ask your Assistant." As a reminder, that's just like the one at the bottom of Google's Pixel launcher. It still opens the same interface as before, but the search is now performed by Assistant and displays the results in a slide-up card.
Read MoreGoogle got a lot right with the Pixel 3a. It has excellent cameras, reliable performance, respectable battery life and clever software. Best of all, at $400, the Pixel 3a costs half the original price of the flagship Pixel 3. And this formula of compelling features at a relatively lower price has proven successful. Google said Pixel sales for this quarter are double what they were a year ago.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. This morning, we've got an update on SpaceX's latest rocket launches and the details on Apple's billion-dollar acquisition. Also, we're looking for your impressions on Google's Nest Hub, and it seems hoverboarding across the English Channel is probably a bad idea.
Read MoreSmart speakers aren't just cool gadgets to play with for some differently abled people, such as those dealing with mobility issues or vision loss. For them, a smart speaker could be an important tool that can help them become more independent in their day-to-day lives. According to Google's Nest team, they receive a lot of emails from people with disabilities, telling them how the Home speakers are giving them more independence. That's why the tech giant has teamed up with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to give away 100,000 Home Minis to people living with paralysis and their caregivers.
Read MoreJust over a year ago, Google parent company Alphabet was hit with a $5 billion fine from the European Union for antitrust violations. As you might have expected, that put a dent in the company's profits -- but this year, there's no such issue to worry about and Alphabet's financials reflect that. In today's quarterly earnings release, the company is reporting revenue of $38.9 billion, up 19 percent year-over-year. And profits hit $9.9 billion, up 201 percent over a year ago. Even if you look at Google's accounting where last year's fine is excluded, profits are up 13 percent.
Read MoreTulsi Gabbard, one of the many Democratic presidential hopefuls, is suing Google for at least $50 million. Gabbard filed a federal lawsuit against the company today, claiming that it suspended her campaign's advertising account for six hours following the first Democratic debate. Doing so, the lawsuit reportedly states, infringed on Gabbard's free speech.
Read MoreGoogle wants to make it easier for users to search for content through Google Images. To do so, it's rolling out a new, AMP-powered Swipe to Visit feature. When you select an image, you'll see a preview of the website header at the bottom of the screen. You can keep scrolling through Google Images, or swipe up on the preview to load the AMP (accelerated mobile pages) version of the site.
Read MoreGoogle's app for the hard of hearing is now within reach of many more people. The tech firm's Sound Amplifier app now supports devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or later, not just 9.0 Pie like it did months ago. You won't need a relatively cutting edge device to understand a conversation or sound from a TV -- just a decent set of headphones. There's a new look with a visualization feature, too.
Read MoreGoogle finally has a launch date for the Nest Hub Max more specific than "the summer." In the wake of 9to5Google and Droid Life discovering a (since-pulled) store listing, Google has confirmed to CNET that the smart display will be available on September 9th. That's clearly on the tail end of the season, but heartening for anyone who's been waiting since May for a larger, camera-equipped version of the original Hub.
Read MoreTime is running out for Chrome developers to follow Google's new privacy rules. The company announced today that third-party developers have until October 15th to comply with updated restrictions on user data, or risk getting kicked off Chrome's Web Store. Google unveiled the changes earlier this year as a result of Project Strobe, its audit on how third-party services handle user privacy.
Read MoreEarlier this month, Facebook board member and billionaire investor Peter Thiel accused Google of working with China's government. Today, The Wall Street Journal reports that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he and President Trump have no national security concerns about Alphabet Inc.'s work in China.
Read MoreGoogle has confirmed Google Photos now has more than a billion users. It surpassed the milestone earlier this summer, a little over four years after it unveiled Photos, Google told Fast Company in a profile of the service.
Read MoreGoogle knows hearing Assistant's loud and crisp responses when you're trying to sleep could be incredibly annoying. That's why it's switching its responses off when you ask the voice AI to turn off your connected lights via a Google Home or a Nest Hub device.
Read MoreThe fledgling internet balloon industry just marked an important achievement. Alphabet's Loon has recorded over 1 million hours of stratospheric flight for its balloons, covering about 24.9 million miles. The figures aren't completely shocking when they've been pressed into service for hard-hit areas like Puerto Rico and Peru, but it's still significant when the technology only graduated from project status one year earlier.
Read MoreFollowing a long legal process that started in 2015, Google will pay out $11 million to settle 227 claims from people who believe they were wrongly denied a career at the company because of their age. The settlement agreement is still waiting for the approval of the judge overseeing the case. Google has also committed itself to additional training for employees and managers to make them aware of age discrimination and related issues.
Read MoreGoogle has to pay the FTC a multimillion dollar fine to settle a probe into YouTube's shortcomings when it comes to protecting kids using its service, according to The Washington Post. The agency launched an investigation into the video-sharing platform to figure out whether it violated federal data privacy laws for children by collecting data from kids under 13. By the end of the probe, WP says the commission found that Google and YouTube failed to protect children adequately and that they collected their data, which breached the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA.
Read MoreDuring a Reddit "Ask me Anything" session, Director of Product Andrey Doronichev dished some more details about Google's Stadia online gaming service coming in November. Questions covered number of subjects, from social features to technical details to Google's commitment to the platform. Perhaps the most pertinent thing that Google revealed, however, is how the Stadia Pro subscription will work and what you'll get.
Read MoreToday, Google announced that Youngstown, Ohio, will be the first city in its Compass Experiment, a joint venture with newspaper publishing company McClatchy to revive local news. The announcement couldn't be more timely, as Youngstown's long standing publication The Vindicator will close its doors on August 31st.
Read MoreGoogle wouldn't let the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing go by without a Google Doodle. The company released its commemorative video Doodle today. The nearly five-minute animated clip follows Apollo 11 from launch, to the Moon and back, and it's narrated by someone with firsthand knowledge of the mission: Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins.
Read MoreIt's one thing to voluntarily share your phone activities with friends and family, but some app developers have been encouraging far more sinister uses. Google has pulled multiple people-tracking Android apps from the Play Store after Avast discovered that they're largely meant to enable stalking. Once the would-be spy has physical access to the target's phone, they install a tracking app that collects sensitive details like location, text messages and call history. They even help snoops hide evidence of the apps -- you won't find icons or other telltale clues. After that, the stalker can watch their victim through a desktop.
Read MoreLast year, Google released an augmented reality feature for its Arts & Culture app that turns phones into a pocket-sized museum dedicated to Vermeer paintings. Now, the tech giant has rolled out a new collection for the application's "Pocket Gallery," this time focusing on colors as a theme. The new collection includes paintings from various artists, including Rembrandt, grouped according to their color palettes.
Read MoreGoogle's controversial Project Dragonfly has officially been shelved. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week, Google's vice president of public policy, Karan Bhatia, said that work on its censored Chinese search engine had been "terminated." A spokesperson later confirmed that Google has no plans to launch Search in China, and that there is no work being undertaken on such a project.
Read MoreBike-sharing is a convenient way to get around a city, but with so many schemes operating concurrently it's sometimes tough to know where the nearest station with available bikes is. Now, Google can tell you.
Read MoreThis spring Alphabet subsidiary Wing LLC became the first drone delivery company to receive FAA certification, and the company has successfully launched drone delivery service in Australia and Helsinki. Now, with more drones in the sky, it needs a way to keep them safe. Today, Wing formally introduced its OpenSky app, which could serve as an air-traffic control system for drones.
Read MoreOne of the leaders of a mass walkout last year in protest of Google's handling of sexual misconduct cases has left the company, Bloomberg reports. Meredith Whittaker was the founder of Google's Open Research Group and served with AI Now, an ethics organization which criticizes the use of technology in areas like policing and surveillance.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to Friday! Some Google employees are apparently listening to a small percentage of your Assistant queries, there's a new full-frame camera that's just very small and it's time to get excited for augmented reality Minecraft -- it's landing later this month.
Read MoreGoogle is making it much easier to place calls through its Voice service's web interface, adding an always-visible call panel that shows your number and suggested contacts. The panel will remain on the screen whatever it is you're doing, whether you're checking messages or listening to voicemail. It even gives you instant access to the keypad, though you can hide it if you'd rather see more suggested contacts instead.
Read MoreGoogle will soon unveil a refreshed News tab that places a priority on publishers, rather than headlines. The company today tweeted a preview of the redesigned news section for the desktop version of its search engine, which will roll out to users over the next few weeks. The change falls in line with recent efforts by the search giant to be more responsive to the needs of publishers and cut down on fake news.
Read MoreGoogle can't resist the urge to create another social network even after the Google+ shutdown for everyday users. The company's experimental Area 120 unit has developed a social network, Shoelace, that helps people get together in real life. You pick your interests, and the creators help you hook up with like-minded people for various activities, whether they're custom-created or hand-picked. If you're new to town, for instance, you could find fellow runners or a local book club.
Read MoreIt's no secret that Google records your conversations with Google Assistant after you say a "wake word." But what you might not know is that Google uses contractors to manually review a handful of those recordings, about 0.2 percent. Yesterday, VRT NWS released reports detailing how it listened to thousands of recordings leaked by a whistleblower working for Google. At least one audio clip included a couple's address and personal information about their family.
Read MoreIf you see advertisements for a mall that look like they came straight out of the '80s on today's print edition of The New York Times, fire up Google Lens. Those neon-colored ads are most likely for Starcourt, the fictional Hawkins, Indiana mall that serves as the backdrop for some of Stranger Things 3's most heart-pumping scenes. Google has been teaming up with magazines and museums to place digital information, which you can only see through its Lens technology, on top of real-world objects. This partnership with NYT and Netflix is no different.
Read MoreFrom the very start, Google intended to fine-tune the gesture-based navigation system it introduced with Android Pie in an effort to make poking around phones with edge-to-edge screens feel a lot more natural. One of the gestures it was working on would summon Google Assistant with a swipe -- now that feature is rolling out with Android Q's fifth beta version that's available for Pixel devices. Users can swipe from one of the bottom corners of their phone to call on the platform's high-tech helper if they need it. The feature also comes with "handles," presumably on those corners of the screen, to serve as the gesture's visual representation.
Read MoreThe 50th anniversary of our first successful trip to the moon is fast approaching. And Google, which rarely shies away from marking a significant moment in history, has laid out some of the ways in which it'll celebrate the half-century since Apollo 11 reached the lunar surface.
Read MoreIf you're sitting in a coffee shop and you spot a neat mural on the wall, you could soon use your smartphone to identify the local artist who was behind it. A new feature of Google Lens currently being tested in San Francisco will recognize the artworks you see outside of galleries and tell you how to contact the artist.
Read MoreYou won't lose access to your games on Google Stadia even if its publisher decides to exit the platform. That's one of the things the tech giant has revealed in a comprehensive update to the service's FAQ where Google promises that once you purchase the game on its platform, you'll own the right to play it. That means you'll still be able to access it even if time comes that it's no longer available for purchase to other players. "Outside of unforeseen circumstances," the FAQ says, "Stadia will aim to keep any previously purchased title available for gameplay."
Read MoreMost American students aren't learning how to code in elementary or middle school -- and if they are, it's likely they reside in an affluent school district. Google hopes to bridge the gaps in computer science education with Code with Google, a free coding curriculum that teachers can use to introduce their students to the basics of coding.
Read MoreGoogle could soon add a button to its Chrome browser that would make it possible to pause or play video from any tab. A recent release of Chrome's Canary development version has a new feature called Global Media Controls, as seen by Techdows, ZDNet and others. Once enabled, a play icon will appear next to the URL (beside the bookmark star) if you have a video playing in any tab. By clicking on it, a larger control pops up that lets you pause, play, or skip forward/backward without actually going to the video itself.
Read MoreGoogle has suspended Trends alerts in New Zealand following criticism from the government that it published the name of a murder suspect, in violation of a court order.
Read MoreGoogle Photos' product lead David Lieb took advantage of some downtime this week to start a surprisingly open dialogue on Twitter. Yesterday, he asked users what they want to see next from Google Photos -- new features, bug fixes, performance improvements, etc. The conversation lasted for hours, and it shed light on a few changes coming to the service. One of the most notable is that Google Photos plans to add a manual face tagging feature that will let users tag faces it doesn't recognize.
Read MoreSonos users in the UK will soon have another option to control their speakers, as Google Assistant support is arriving with a software update that's rolling out as of today. You can use the voice assistant to control your setup directly through Sonos One and Beam, or use a connected Google Home device or the Assistant app.
Read MoreAlphabet's internet-delivering balloon service, Loon, expects to begin commercial service in Kenya sometime this year. The company just received approval from Kenyan officials to begin flying and testing over the country, and a Loon spokesperson said commercial service could be available in the coming months.
Read MoreOne of the cornerstones of Google's business (and really, the web at large) is the robots.txt file that sites use to exclude some of their content from the search engine's web crawler, Googlebot. It minimizes pointless indexing and sometimes keeps sensitive info under wraps. Google thinks its crawler tech can improve, though, and so it's shedding some of its secrecy. The company is open-sourcing the parser used to decode robots.txt in a bid to foster a true standard for web crawling. Ideally, this takes much of the mystery out of how to decipher robots.txt files and will create more of a common format.
Read MoreOn top of announcing 10 new RTX Studio laptops, NVIDIA has some news that will make GeForce RTX creators happy. The latest Studio driver, due to be released shortly, will support 10-bit color for all GPUs in Adobe Photoshop CC, Premier CC and other OpenGL-powered apps. That's a pretty big deal, because up until now, you needed to buy a costly Quadro RTX card to get the most out of your fancy 10-bit HDR monitor for photo or video editing. Now, you get the same feature with GeForce RTX, too.
Read MoreApple has used the back-to-school season as an excuse to tidy up its laptop line, and one machine has been culled altogether. It killed the 12-inch MacBook, robbing the company of its smallest, quirkiest, laptop, but booting it from the lineup is a sane move from Apple.
Read MoreApple isn't waiting until the fall and macOS Catalina to trot out Mac updates. The company has updated the MacBook Air and the entry 13-inch MacBook Pro with newer hardware and, in one case, a price cut. The Air now starts at an easier-to-swallow $1,099 (conveniently $999 for students) and introduces a True Tone display to the lineup. You won't find a newer processor or other spec updates, unfortunately, but there's now a clearer reason to buy the Air versus a 13-inch MacBook Pro. Oh, and there's no longer a 12-inch MacBook to buy, so your choice for an 'entry' Mac laptop just became that much clearer.
Read MoreLast year, reports emerged Facebook was working on a video chat camera you'd plug into your TV. It sounds a bit like its Portal smart display, albeit without the need for a dedicated screen. One reported aspect of the device is that it'd offer video streaming, including Facebook Watch. It seems Facebook has been trying to strike deals with other major streaming services too.
Read MoreElon Musk isn't the only one who wants us to communicate via brainwaves. Facebook also has ambitious plans to interface with computers using wearables and one day let us type rapidly with our brains. Now, neuroscientists from the University of California, San Francisco (backed by Facebook's Reality Labs) have demonstrated a system that can translate speech into text in real time using brain activity only. While impressive, it shows that the technology still has a long ways to go.
Read MoreThe highest court in the EU has issued a ruling that affects websites using Facebook's Like button plugin. It determined sites should obtain the consent of visitors before the plugin captures and sends their data to Facebook, whether or not you click the Like button. Alternatively, sites will have to prove there's a legitimate reason for collecting data and transmitting it to Facebook.
Read MoreFacebook's Instant Games, casual games that you can play with friends, have never quite found a home since they were introduced in 2016. While serious gamers tend to overlook them, free-to-play Instant Games are surprisingly popular with some estimates saying more than 20 billion game sessions were played over two years.
Read MoreFacebook's $5 billion FTC fine is historic, but everybody knew it was coming. Three months ago, during its last quarterly earnings report, the social network estimated that it would be fined between $3 billion and $5 billion over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. And even though the FTC ended going for the higher fine, the company's stock still kept rising today after the news broke. It's also pretty clear that $5 billion is pretty much a wrist slap, after Facebook reported second quarter revenues of $16.9 billion today, up 28 percent from a year ago. What good is a huge government rebuke if Facebook can barely feel the loss?
Read MoreFacebook has had a lot of bad days since the Cambridge Analytica data scandal first erupted in March 2018. But today might be the worst: The FTC formally announced its $5 billion fine as well as a 20-year settlement order that dictates a new management structure, the creation of an independent privacy committee and new rules about how it must monitor and report potential privacy issues. The company was also separately fined $100 million by the SEC and announced it discovered that some of its partners (including Microsoft and Sony) still had access to Facebook user data after it was supposed to have closed it off late last year. Coincidentally, a documentary on Facebook's misdeeds called The Great Hack is hitting Netflix today, bringing even more negative attention on the company. Meanwhile, CEO Mark Zuckerberg will have to answer to investors this evening after the company releases its quarterly earnings report. And you know what? This isn't going to change a thing.
Read MoreFacebook is embroiled in yet another data privacy debacle even as it's settling with the government over past actions. In a statement acknowledging its FTC settlement, the company revealed that its code had allowed "continued data access" to 12 partners even after it had wound down integrations in late 2018. It only discovered this after an unnamed party warned it about a bug and prompted an investigation. Moreover, Microsoft and Sony still had access to "limited types" of friend data for previously known features, such as Facebook access on the PS3 and PS Vita as well as syncing friends' contact info with another service.
Read MoreFacebook isn't just settling with the FTC over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The social network has also agreed to pay the US Securities and Exchange Commission $100 million over charges of making "misleading disclosures" over the risk of abusing users' data. The SEC alleged that Facebook knew about the data breach in 2015, but continued to describe possible data breaches to investors in purely "hypothetical" terms. It also didn't have "specific policies or procedures" in effect to make accurate disclosures in light of the results of the investigation.
Read MoreThe Federal Trade Commission has announced that Facebook will pay a massive fine in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The social network will pay $5 billion to settle the charge that it broke a 2012 FTC order concerning the privacy of user data. And, as part of the settlement, Facebook has had to agree to a new management structure and new rules about how it manages user data.
Read MoreOculus Venues, the platform's feature that crams stadium-sized experiences into a VR headset, is arriving on the Quest today. Venues gives you a way to hang out with friends inside virtual social experiences and even to meet new people at big events like concerts, basketball games and soccer matches. Oculus is rolling out the feature's summer lineup on July 24th, as well, which includes the Liverpool Football Club vs Sporting Clube de Portugal game at Yankee Stadium and Tenacious D's performance in the animated and rock opera Post-Apocalypto.
Read MoreThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reportedly plans to issue a complaint over Facebook's handling of phone numbers and facial recognition. According to The Washington Post, the FTC plans to allege that advertisers managed to target users who provided their phone numbers for Facebook's two-factor authentication security feature. Sources also told The Washington Post that the FTC will accuse Facebook of providing insufficient information about the ability to turn off the facial recognition tool that offers photo tag suggestions.
Read MorePlugging a new address into your smartphone's map app can show you where to go in seconds. But in places like rural Bangladesh and Indonesia, there are millions of miles of roads that are still uncharted territory. Facebook now hopes its AI technology will make it easier for volunteers on OpenStreetMap to add unmapped areas. The social media giant announced today that it is opening its Map with AI tool to the entire OSM community, allowing anyone to use the tool to identify areas in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Eventually, the company hopes to expand its mapping tool to cover the entire world.
Read MoreFacebook revealed its cryptocurrency plans just a month ago, and already it's the subject of a wave of fraudulent ads. As The Washington Post reports, around a dozen fake accounts, pages and groups have appeared on Facebook and Instagram, presenting themselves as official hubs for Facebook's not-yet-available Libra currency.
Read MoreIf VR is ever going to go mainstream, it's going to need to ditch the bulky accessories while still letting people interact with the virtual world. It's an idea that researchers at Facebook's Reality Labs are developing with a prototype called Tasbi. The device is a chunky, wrist-worn haptic bangle that uses a combination of squeezes and vibrations to let you "feel" what you're doing in-game.
Read MoreModerators of Facebook Groups could soon get more leeway in controlling who sees the comments made on their forums. The US Patent Office today granted Facebook a patent for content moderation that would let moderators limit viewership of posts by "problem" users. Gizmodo, which reported the news, described it as a patent for "shadowbanning." The company, along with other social media giants like Twitter and Instagram, have been accused by critics of engaging in the practice of secretly restricting who sees a user's content.
Read MoreFacebook's reported $5 billion settlement with the FTC isn't even official yet, but that isn't stopping politicians from bristling at it. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Josh Hawley and Ed Markey (pictured) have sent a letter to the FTC requesting answers about the rumored settlement, expressing worries that the penalty would be "woefully inadequate" given privacy violations like the Cambridge Analytica affair. The questions cover not just the rationale behind the supposed deal, but the evidence gathering methods and punishments beyond the fine.
Read MoreFacebook has launched a new reporting tool designed to tackle scam ads. The feature lets UK Facebook users flag online ads that link to dubious get-rich-quick schemes or questionable cryptocurrency sales, which will then be reviewed by a dedicated anti-scam team. Facebook has also earmarked £3 million for anti-scam initiatives run by financial charity, Citizens Advice.
Read MoreFormer Vine boss Jason Toff announced he'll be joining Facebook next. In a Twitter post, Toff shared that he'll be leading Facebook's New Product Experimentation (NPE) Team. Revealed last week, the NPE Team will focus on "entirely new experiences for building community," and the high-profile hire could be promising.
Read MoreThe US government views cryptocurrencies, including Facebook-backed Libra, as a national security issue. In a press conference today, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Treasury Department has "very serious concerns" that Libra could be misused by money launderers, terrorist financiers and other bad players. While the concerns are not entirely surprising, they do make the US government's stance on cryptocurrency more than clear.
Read MoreFacebook is determined to reassure officials that its Libra cryptocurrency is above-board. As part of prepared testimony for a July 16th Senate hearing, Calibra head David Marcus has stressed that the social network won't offer the virtual money until it has "fully addressed" regulators' concerns and received approval. He also reiterated privacy promises. The Libra Association won't keep personal data beyond basic transaction info, Marcus said, and Facebook won't share Calibra wallet info with the rest of the company.
Read MoreThe inevitable has happened for Facebook. After weeks of reports that the company was working to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its privacy practices, the two parties have finally come to an agreement. The Wall Street Journal reports that commissioners voted to approve a $5 billion settlement -- something Facebook had already accounted for -- for the social network over its "privacy missteps," with three Republicans voting to approve the deal and two Democrats opposed.
Read MoreFacebook and Carnegie Mellon University have built another artificial intelligence bot that beat some top poker pros. While AI bots have been to best professional players in one-on-one competition, Facebook claims it's the first time a bot has been able to beat top pros in "any major benchmark game" when there's more than one opponent at a time. Pluribus bested professionals in no-limit Texas Hold'em in a couple of different formats: five AI bots and one human, and one bot and five real-life players. The researchers behind Pluribus wrote in a paper published in Science that creating such a multiplayer poker bot "is a recognized AI milestone."
Read MoreFacebook wants to give Oculus a boost by acquiring game studios and signing exclusive deals for VR versions of well-known games. According to The Information, Facebook plans to bring Assassin's Creed and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell to Oculus Quest and Rift S. Facebook will reportedly invest less than $1 billion in this approach, but The Information claims Mark Zuckerberg is personally involved.
Read MoreFacebook is more diverse than it was six years ago, but the company admits it has a long way to go. Today, Facebook released its 2019 Diversity Report, and while it employs more women and minorities than it did a few years ago, it's still predominantly male. In the US, the majority of its employees are White or Asian. But those numbers are expected to change. In the next five years, Facebook hopes at least half of its workforce will be women, under-represented minorities, people with disabilities and veterans.
Read MoreToday, Facebook announced a New Product Experimentation (NPE) Team that will be responsible for developing new apps. The goal is to give people "entirely new experiences for building community" and to do so outside of Facebook's existing platforms. According to Facebook, it's a way to create small, focused apps and gauge users' interest. Some features may be rolled into Facebook's other products, but it's too soon to say for sure.
Read MoreFacebook isn't just concerned with the fake news, conspiracy theories and malicious content spread on its platforms. It's also worried about the rumors spread about its platform. According to Bloomberg, the company has a special software program called Stormchaser used to track and debunk misinformation about Facebook, including rumors spread on WhatsApp.
Read MoreUS lawmakers have asked Facebook to "immediately cease implementation plans" of its Libra cryptocurrency. Before it proceeds any further, the House Financial Services Committee, led by Democrat Maxine Waters, wants to examine risks around cyber security, global financial markets and national security concerns, it said in a letter to Facebook.
Read MoreMicrosoft has been distancing Cortana from Windows for months. First, it split the virtual assistant from search in Windows 10. Then, a beta version of a standalone Cortana app appeared on the Windows Store. And starting today, Windows 10 Insiders are able to test the new Cortana app beta in Windows.
Read MoreThe next time you fire up any of the web versions of Microsoft's Office applications, you might notice something slightly different about them. Starting "relatively soon," Microsoft is dropping the "Online" branding of its Office Online suite and will refer to the web apps as simply Office. The decision means that the company's products like "Word Online" and "PowerPoint Online" will now simply be "Word" and "PowerPoint." The same goes for the rest of Microsoft's line of Office apps.
Read MoreToday, Microsoft leaked what could be a new Windows Start menu. The company accidentally shared a Windows 10 internal build (18947) with its Insider Program, Windows Central reports. The most striking change is a completely redesigned Start menu that swaps live tiles for a grid of app icons.
Read MoreMicrosoft is on the hook at home for alleged crimes abroad. The company has agreed to pay about $25 million in settlements with both the Justice Department and SEC over charges that its Hungary subsidiary violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The division allegedly discounted prices for its resellers and distributors between 2013 and 2015, using the increased profit margins to fund bribes for government officials and clinch lucrative software deals with Microsoft.
Read MoreToday, Microsoft announced that it's investing $1 billion in the Elon Musk-founded company OpenAI. The two companies will work together to bring supercomputing technologies and AI to Microsoft Azure. And OpenAI will run its services exclusively in Microsoft's cloud. Ultimately, the partners hope to build artificial general intelligence (AGI), a technology that some say will match or exceed human intellect.
Read MoreWe're all used to hearing how well Microsoft has been doing by now, so the company's earnings report for Q4 2019 comes as no surprise. Once again, the tech giant performed well, delivering a "record fiscal year." CEO Satya Nadella attributed this to "our deep partnerships with leading companies in every industry... resulting in larger, multi-year commercial cloud agreements and growing momentum across every layer of our technology stack."
Read MoreMicrosoft is keen to show that its election security system is more than just a theoretical exercise. The company has demonstrated the first voting system to use its ElectionGuard tech, promising a vote that's both easier and more trustworthy. The example hardware is pieced together from off-the-shelf parts and includes a Surface tablet (in a fiddle-free kiosk mode), an everyday printer and an Xbox Adaptive Controller to make voting more accessible. That's relatively unique in itself by proving that you can use regular components, but the software is ultimately what glues it all together.
Read MoreMicrosoft's ever-expanding tests for its Chromium-based Edge browser have reached the corporate crowd. The software firm has started enabling enterprise features in Edge's Dev builds, most notably the vaunted Internet Explorer mode. If a company absolutely needs IE 11 to visit a legacy site, you can try the option without having to switch browsers or give up the creature comforts of the modern web. IT managers can even create a site list that automatically flips to the legacy mode.
Read MoreMicrosoft has blocked the latest major Windows 10 (May 2019, version 1903) update on its own Surface Book 2. According to the company, a compatibility issue caused some apps and games that used the Nvidia GPU to crash after the update was installed. Until that glitch is resolved, Surface Book 2 owners won't be able to download the update.
Read MoreMicrosoft has already given users of older Windows versions some not-so-subtle hints that it's time to move on. Now, it's giving them more of a push by removing things dear to their hearts: their board and card games. The software giant is shutting down several Internet Games for people using Windows 7 and earlier, including Backgammon, Checkers, Hearts, Reversi, Spades and MSN Go. Just when you'll lose access will depend on your version of Windows.
Read MoreMicrosoft set the internet abuzz last week when it made a cryptic announcement about the "all-new" Windows 1.0 -- and now we know why. As we'd already speculated, it's all about Stranger Things. To celebrate the return of the show -- set in 1985, Microsoft's banner year -- the company is launching the Windows 1.11 app. It features classic Paint and Terminal programs, as well as Stranger Things-themed puzzles and exclusive content. No floppy disk required.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Yesterday's Orion test went off without a hitch, and we're sure that Samsung is hoping its Galaxy Fold can eventually say the same thing. Also, Microsoft is putting out weird teasers, and Volkswagen is imagining an electric version of its microbus.
Read MoreMicrosoft is up to something. Yesterday the Windows team dropped a sizzler video on Twitter, announcing the "all-new" Windows 1.0. It posted the same video over on its Instagram account, but only after it had wiped every single other post from its page. The video winds backwards through the catalog of Windows logos, before eventually settling on the Windows 1.0 design, which is now being used across all of its social channels.
Read MoreWe hope you liked the features added in the Windows 10 May 2019 update, because it may be a while before other noticeable upgrades happen. Microsoft committed to a biannual major release schedule for Windows 10 back in 2017, and now it confirmed that the "19H2" update set to roll out later this year "will be a scoped set of features for select performance improvements, enterprise features and quality enhancements." The good news, though, is that installing it will be handled more like the monthly patches Microsoft already delivers, so it shouldn't be disruptive to your schedule. It's also not a big surprise, since more noticeable feature changes -- like its new Linux kernel -- have been in testing since February with a build number indicating a release in spring 2020. Windows 10 Insider beta testers in the slow ring will get the first rollout of 19H2 starting now, but with no visible feature changes at all while Microsoft tests the update process. Assuming all goes well, it should be available for everyone in September. We'll see if this staggered feature release brings a future of "seamless OS updates" sooner rather than later.
Read MoreVerizon (Engadget's parent company) looks to be on track to meet its goal of bringing 5G coverage to more than 30 US cities this year. It has nearly doubled the number of locales in which 5G service is available by activating it in Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis and Washington, DC.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to your weekend! T-Mobile and Sprint have cleared a major hurdle on the way to completing their merger, but first, we'll examine just what is so special about Google's Pixel 3a and go over some other highlight stories from last week. Also, Hideo Kojima dropped a new Death Stranding trailer overnight, and the IRS wants its piece of your cryptocurrency profits.
Read MoreSprint and T-Mobile have cleared a significant hurdle towards completing their merger. The Department of Justice rubber-stamped the deal on the condition that the carriers sell some parts of the business to Dish Network.
Read MoreT-Mobile and Sprint are still grappling with state lawsuits attempting to block their merger, but they can at least take some consolation from the federal government. CNBC sources claim that the Department of Justice is expected to approve the merger on July 25th (that's tomorrow, if you're reading in time). The union is contingent on T-Mobile selling assets to Dish, though. Reportedly, Dish will buy T-Mobile's prepaid phone business for $1.4 billion, and spend another to snap up $3.6 billion in wireless spectrum. You can likely say goodbye to a T-Mobile-owned Metro, then.
Read MoreIt's finally happening: 4G is coming to the London Underground. After years of promises, Londoners will at last be able to check their email while traveling on the Tube.
Read MoreEven switching your phone to airplane mode won't keep it from being a risk on some Boeing jets. A 2014 FAA study revealed that some cockpit screens on Boeing 737 and 777 jets are vulnerable to interference from WiFi, cell phone signals or even weather radar. Bloomberg reported today that while many have been replaced, some jets still contain the outdated models built by Honeywell International, Inc.
Read MoreDid you have fewer gripes about your cellphone service earlier this year? You're not alone. JD Power's latest US wireless network quality study indicates that the ratio of complaints about call and data performance dropped for every major carrier in the country during the first half of 2019. Verizon (disclaimer: that's Engadget's parent company) had the fewest complaints per 100 people (seven) in all six of the regions studied, but other networks weren't far behind. US Cellular tied for first in the north central US, and both AT&T and T-Mobile usually took turns in second place. Sprint was the lone company consistently trailing behind, although it still saw an improvement.
Read MoreVerizon (Engadget's parent company) has unveiled the latest device that connects to its 5G network. The Inseego MiFi M1000 is the first 5G hotspot available through Verizon, and it costs $650 upfront. If that's a little out of your price range, there's a payment plan through which you can pick up the hotspot for $27.08/month for 24 months or it's available for $500 with a two-year contract.
Read MoreT-Mobile has a simple way to draw you into its stores: it's straight-up bribing you with free food. The carrier is partnering with Taco Bell on "T-MoBell" (yes, we know) pop-up stores at signature T-Mobile locations in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City between July 23rd and July 25th. Anyone who attends will get free tacos, special T-MoBell Freeze drinks (aka white cherry) and branded merch like socks and stick-on phone wallets. The two are even courting celebrity chasers with promises of "special guests" at each location, such as The Bachelor's Colton Underwood in Chicago.
Read MoreThe FCC is acting on its plans to open up mid-band frequencies for 5G. The Commission has voted in favor of an order that would eliminate the restrictions on who can own 2.5GHz spectrum, including a Kennedy-era requirement for educational uses. These airwaves have been "underutilized" for years, the FCC claimed, and making them available will theoretically help with both "closing the digital divide" in rural areas and furthering the current US 5G strategy.
Read MoreAT&T is making quick use of FCC rules explicitly allowing carriers to block robocalls by default. The network will start automatically blocking fraud calls (and issuing suspected spam call alerts) for new phone customers as a matter course, at no extra charge. You'll have to opt out if you don't want the company to screen calls this way. Existing customers, meanwhile, will see the feature automatically reach their accounts in the "coming months."
Read MoreCarriers will tell you that 5G is a huge leap over LTE, but how much better is it in the real world? According to Opensignal's crowdsourced data, it's indeed a lot faster -- but mainly in the US. The research firm has found that peak download speeds on 5G reach just past 1.8Gbps in the States versus 678Mbps for LTE, or about 2.7 times faster. That's owing mainly to the use of millimeter wave spectrum whose ultra-high frequencies (about 30GHz and up) allow such a huge bandwidth boost. Other countries don't have it quite so rosy, though, and there are caveats to the American figures.
Read MoreBritish carriers apparently aren't put off by US pressure to ditch Huawei for their 5G network deployments. The Guardian's sources understand that all four of the UK's largest wireless providers (EE, O2, Three and Vodafone) are all using Huawei to build their 5G networks. The Chinese firm is reportedly involved with six out of Vodafone's seven initial 5G cities, while it's also helping with "hundreds" of EE sites. O2 and Three have also awarded contracts to Huawei, according to the tipsters.
Read MoreFake meat is coming to a barbecue near you. Impossible Foods has been granted approval by the FDA to sell its plant-based meat in US grocery stores this fall, reported Bloomberg. After expressing some initial doubts, the agency formally ruled that soy leghemoglobin -- the additive in Impossible Burgers that gives it a meat-like flavor and makes it "bleed" -- is safe for consumers to eat. If no objections are raised, the FDA rule change becomes effective on September 4th.
Read MoreAfter unveiling it at CES 2019, Vizio has announced that it's finally rolling out support for Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit platforms. Coming via an update to its SmartCast 3.0 platform, it'll let users play videos, music and photos directly from iPhone, iPad and Mac devices. Best of all, it'll work not just on its recent 2019 TVs, but on Vizio SmartCast models dating all the way back to 2016.
Read MoreCorporate lobbyists have a lot of sway over American politics, but a startup might have a way to bring power back to everyday people: crowdfunding. CrowdLobby's recently launched platform asks people to back campaigns around community-submitted issues, with successful efforts funding an appropriate lobbyist who advocates for the cause. The general target is $50,000, or about enough to influence politics at the state level.
Read MoreThe European Union has some very long-term environmental goals, but it might not wait around to make some crucial changes. The Guardian has seen proposals from the EU's lender, the European Investment Bank, that would bar funding for any energy infrastructure project that depends on fossil fuels after 2020. EU members counting on funding for gas pipelines and similar projects would have to either scramble for alternative funding next year or reconsider their plans.
Read MoreI don't know about y'all, but I'm spending this weekend stomping Nazis in the new Wolfenstein title (assuming it ever finished downloading). But if exacting revenge on some of modern history's most notorious villains isn't really your thing, we are still living in the Golden Age of Television -- well, at least technically. We've seemingly traded in our 600 channels for a half dozen individual streaming subscriptions and there's somehow still nothing on but Game of Thrones. Here are some of highlights from Engadget's entertainment coverage this week.
Read MoreRED is countering the tales of its smartphone camera woes with something more exciting... if also cryptic. Company chief Jarred Land has teased an upcoming Komodo camera that doesn't appear to fit into the company's usual categories. While the lone image doesn't show much more than a compact body with an interchangeable lens mount, Land is happy to tell you what Komodo isn't.
Read MoreBy the end of August, an estimated 10,000 taxpayers will receive letters from the IRS warning them that they may owe back taxes on unreported cryptocurrency earnings. While it might not be immediately obvious, you must include cryptocurrency earnings when you file federal taxes. As with tax evasion for traditional currency, anyone convicted of evading crypto taxes could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Read MoreOn paper, LG's CineBeam Laser 4K sounds like a dream projector. 4K? Check. Massive image up to 120 inches on your wall? Check. It's also short-throw, meaning it doesn't have to be setup on the opposite side of the room. And it's got a discrete, fabric-covered design.
Read MoreThe House has just passed a bipartisan bill created to put a stop to all the annoying and disruptive robocalls you get. Introduced by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone and Ranking Member Greg Walden, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act enjoyed support from almost all the representatives and passed with a 429-3 vote. The bill is very similar to the anti-robocall bill the Senate passed in May with a few differences -- according to The Hill, there won't be any formal proceedings to resolve discrepancies between the two, but informal negotiations will happen in August.
Read MoreFederal agencies are once again poised to test emergency alerts, but this time it's all about where you won't see them. The FCC and FEMA are conducting their fifth nationwide Emergency Alert System test on August 7th at 2:20PM ET, but only on TV and radios. They want to gauge the preparedness of the alerting system when there's no internet access -- important if a crisis knocks out data but not power.
Read MoreThe organizing committee for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo have unveiled the designs for the medals. The baubles that'll hang from the necks of the winningest athletes in each game reflect their struggle for brilliance in the years before the games themselves begin.
Read MoreEarlier this year, news reports exposed that not only did DoorDash (and others, like Instacart) sometimes lower its payout to delivery workers when customers tipped, its payment system didn't make clear that this was happening. Last month it changed payouts to show how much of "Dashers" income came from the company vs. tips, but it still used customer tips to account for some of the guaranteed fee it would otherwise pay for a delivery, instead of simply adding them on to an already set rate. Tonight, after a New York Times reporter gave a first-hand account of what it was like to make food deliveries for DoorDash and UberEats via Bike -- and after UberEats sent an email to customer touting the fact that they know where their tips are going -- DoorDash Tony Xu announced his company will change its policy. Without getting into specifics, which he said will be announced "in the coming days," Xu tweeted that his company misunderstood "that some customers who *did* tip would feel like their tip did not matter." So now, "the new model will ensure that Dashers' earnings will increase by the exact amount a customer tips on every order." Or, the way you probably thought tips worked.
Read MoreIt's not always as quick as you might like to pick up a pizza on the way home, but Pizza Hut might have a solution: borrow a page from the online shopping world. Its Hollywood restaurant (6660 Sunset Boulevard) has started testing Amazon Locker-like "cubbies" for carryout orders purchased through any method. Each cubby includes a display that shows your partial name as well as a lining that keeps your food hot and your drinks cold. You won't have to wait for someone at the counter -- once you've paid, you just double-tap the screen and grab your meal.
Read MoreStarbucks is licensing its mobile ordering and loyalty program tech to Brightloom, which you might know more as Eatsa. Yes, that's the same company that used to run restaurants that took orders via iPad kiosks or its mobile app and dispensed quinoa bowls from a wall of digital cubbies. Brightloom now focuses on providing automation technology to restaurants, and its agreement with Starbucks will allow it to offer the coffee chain's mobile technology as an end-to-end, cloud-based platform to franchise holders around the world.
Read MoreToday, the FDA launched its first e-cigarette prevention TV ads. Part of "The Real Cost" campaign, they're meant to educate teens on the dangers of e-cigarette use. The ads will target nearly 10.7 million teens, aged 12 to 17, who have used e-cigarettes or are open to trying them. The short clips feature street magician Julius Dein, who turns a vape pen into a cigarette before onlookers. The trick is supposed to highlight the fact that teens who vape are more likely to start smoking cigarettes.
Read MoreWhen the USS Boxer took down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz, it apparently represented a baptism by fire for new technology. The Wall Street Journal understands that the action was the US Navy's first use of MADIS (Marine Air Defense Integrated System), an anti-drone system adapted for the sea. The technology uses jammers to block a drone's communications and force it to crash. Some versions of MADIS can also fire at the drones, although it's not clear that was the case here.
Read MoreNASA's Apollo 11 has had an outsize influence on our culture since July 20th, 1969. That's the day the spaceflight mission successfully completed its lunar landing, paving the way for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to become the first humans to ever set foot on the Moon. To this day, Apollo 11 remains one of the biggest achievements in the history of space exploration. It's only fitting, then, that those first steps Armstrong and Aldrin took have also made their mark on sneaker culture. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 this week, we're showing you some of the best shoes that have drawn inspiration from the mission and its Moon landing. Brands such as Adidas, Nike, New Balance and Vans have all created designs paying homage to this historical feat, in official and unofficial ways. While there are sneakers that NASA has collaborated on, others simply look like they were meant to be Moon boots. Let's take a look and appreciate them one by one.
Read MoreDrone company Parrot, maker of the Anafi 4K folding drone, is reportedly leaving the mini-drone market. This week, Wirecutter confirmed that Parrot is retiring its Mambo and Swing drones, and supposedly, websites like Amazon have been slowly running out of stock.
Read MoreIn time for the holidays, Toys "R" Us parent company Tru Kids is planning to open two permanent stores. This time around, the stores will include things like theaters for movies and video games, STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Math) workshops and a treehouse where kids can play. To pull it off, Tru Kids is partnering with tech retailer b8ta.
Read MoreAn error in Uber's systems on Wednesday led to people being charged 100 times what their ride should have cost. One user was charged $2,053 dollars on a ride that should have cost $20.53.
Read MoreAs governments around the world try to figure out how to deal with everything from Bitcoin to Facebook's Libra, Japan has usually been a step or two ahead in dealing with cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has been a legal form of payment there since 2017 and it's begun issuing licenses for exchanges. Now Reuters reports, based on anonymous sources, that the country's government is at the lead of an effort to create a SWIFT-style system to manage cryptocurrency payments and supposedly battle money laundering. There's very little detail about what this means or how it would potentially work, but SWIFT is the network that banks use to securely send money around the world. Cryptocurrency users aren't necessarily looking for more government oversight -- and interference -- so the question of how regulators would insert such a system also needs to be answered. Even with the regulation Japan has now, just last week the Remixpoint exchange reported it lost $32 million worth of currency after being hacked. According to the report, the network is supposed to be implemented in the next few years" with cooperation from other countries.
Read MoreIt's been 28 years since German consumer product maker Braun got out of the audio business, but any audiophile will still be able to recognize the company's classic LE range of speakers. Today, Braun announced that Pure Audio will launch new speakers that will reinvent its classic design. Pure will license the Braun name from Procter and Gamble. The new LE speakers will make their debut at IFA in Berlin, Germany this September.
Read MoreDJI's new Ronin gimbal for mirrorless cameras was designed to be a compact version of the Ronin-S, making it much easier to carry for your photo or YouTube shoots. The single-handed 3-axis model, called Ronin-S Compact (or Ronin-SC), weighs only 2.4 pounds or just a bit over a kilo -- DJI says that's 41 percent lighter than the Ronin-S released in late 2018. The manufacturer used a combination of aluminum, magnesium, steel and composite plastic to create a lightweight gimbal that's also easy to take apart and fit inside bags.
Read MoreAt least one sex tech product caused a stir at CES last year. As you might remember, the company Lora DiCarlo had a Robotics Innovation Award for its Ose "blended-orgasm machine" revoked and then reinstated. This year, likely hoping to avoid another debacle, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) says it will allow tech-based sex products.
Read MoreSony has again put its rivals on the back foot with the launch of the A7R IV full-frame mirrorless camera. It packs a 61-megapixel back-side illuminated sensor with 15 stops of dynamic range, delivering the highest resolution yet for a full-frame camera. If that won't do it, you can capture images of up to 240 megapixels using pixel-shift mode. Conversely, should you not need or want to capture enormous RAW files, it delivers 26.2 megapixel photos in APS-C crop mode.
Read MoreGameStop thinks it has a way to keep its stores relevant as downloads take hold: revamp the stores themselves. The chain has unveiled a team-up with designers at R/GA on a pilot program to renovate stores and give them a "place in the video gaming culture." The concept stores will have layouts and purposes meant to appeal more directly to gamers. You'll have new ways to try games before buying them, shops that cater solely to retro games and hardware, and even esports competitions with "homegrown" leagues.
Read MoreThe Bank of England has chosen Alan Turing, computing pioneer and a code-cracker during World War Two, to be featured on its new £50 note. Turing contributed significantly to the field of mathematics, but his achievements were not fully recognized during his lifetime as he was gay, which was illegal at the time.
Read MoreEurope's Galileo satellite network, freshly approved by the FCC for US smartphones, has suffered a serious outage. The system has been down since Friday due to what officials at the European GNSS Agency (GSA) have described as a "technical incident related to its ground infrastructure." That means users with newer smartphones that support Galileo will be relying on GPS, Russia's Glonass or the Chinese Beidou networks for navigation, instead.
Read MoreNintendo wasn't the only company this week making headlines about switches. Facebook's poker playing AI turned the tables on some Texas Hold'em pros, Foxconn pulled the old switcheroo on the state of Wisconsin, and Luminar's new LiDAR is poised to turn the autonomous vehicle market on its ear.
Read MoreJust hours after a "social media summit," the president's Twitter account posted a thread aimed at, of all things, cryptocurrency. After starting off by claiming he's "not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air" Trump took specific aim at Facebook's new effort Libra. In the series of tweets he said "Facebook Libra's "virtual currency" will have little standing or dependability. If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks, both National and International." What does this mean for possible regulation of cryptocurrency in general and Facebook's digital currency specifically? Until there's actual policy in place, it's difficult to know. A Libra hearing in front of the Senate's Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs is scheduled to take place next week on July 16th.
Read MoreSigma is known for being extra. It's pulled off stunts like a super wide-angle version of its super wide-angle camera, experimented with peculiar shapes and introduced lenses that let you shoot macro from a distance. Now, the company has unveiled the Sigma fp, the world's smallest, lightest mirrorless digital camera with a full-frame sensor.
Read MoreFoxconn's long-promised factory in Wisconsin will finally begin production in May 2020, but to start, it's only creating 1,500 jobs. That's far fewer than the 13,000 jobs it once said it would add. At this rate, Foxconn will likely lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in state subsidies, many of which were meant to reward job creation.
Read MoreEtsy's latest attempt to boost sales isn't sitting well with creators. The company has announced that, starting July 30th, it will give "priority placement" in US search results and advertising to items that ship free and to sellers that guarantee free shipping on orders costing $35 or more. While it's offering a tool to help include the shipping cost in the price, the decision has outraged sellers on Etsy's forums and on social networks -- they're concerned that this effectively punishes smaller outfits that can't afford to swallow the shipping costs.
Read MoreLocation tracking can sometimes mean the difference between life and death when it comes to 911 calls. If you ring the emergency services with a cell phone using your provider's network, the call handler is able identify where you are, and ensure help is sent to the right place. Now, the chairman of the FCC says the same function should be enabled on VoIP calls.
Read MoreDomino's is testing cashless stores, with customers only being able to use their card, contactless payments (like ApplePay or Android Pay), PayPal and Instagift cards to buy their pizzas both in store and when they have orders delivered. The trial is running at five locations in Australia.
Read MoreQuip, the electric toothbrush company that seemingly sponsors every podcast, is expanding into dental care. The company has launched Quipcare, a free app that lets patients book pay-as-you-go dental services like teeth cleanings, check-ups, fillings and X-rays. Quipcare is intended as an alternative for those who don't have dental insurance, or who have hit their coverage limit.
Read MoreTeenage Engineering announced it was adding modular options to its Pocket Operator line back in January. A month later, the company cited manufacturing issues when it cancelled pre-orders for the 170 analog synth and the 16 keyboard designed to be used with it. In an email this morning, Teenage Engineering says those two pieces of gear are shipping via its website. Indeed both are now listed as in stock when you add them to your cart.
Read MoreNever mind using small drones for battlefield recon -- if Russia has its way, they'll be another part of the arsenal. The country's Defense Ministry recently told Izvestia that it's not only outfitting platoons with small drones, but will eventually outfit these drones with weapons. There are already "miniature bombs" in development, the Ministry said. The move was apparently a response to experiences in Syria, where ISIS tried attacking a Russian base with commercial drones (such as the one pictured above) modified to carry explosives.
Read MoreNow that the 4th of July festivities are winding down, let's take a look back at the most American stories Engadget ran this week.
Read MoreThe American government is particularly wary of China these days, and it's determined to make an example out of those who would share US secrets with its major rival. A California federal court has convicted UCLA professor Yi-Chi Shih for reportedly stealing and sending missile guidance chip technology to China, not to mention separate charges for fraud, false tax returns and false statements to agency staff.
Read MoreMore and more Americans are scooping up 65-inch TVs, so much so that they're now apparently the most popular screen size in the country. Market research company TrendForce reckons tumbling prices have led to a shift in the most common screen size: 65-inch screens have been getting cheaper in recent weeks, while prices on 55-inch displays have remained much the same.
Read MoreHey, good morning! Hey there! We hope you enjoyed your Independence Day. You might have missed a Bluetooth cassette player (finally?), why the folding phone revolution is delayed and how Netflix pulled episodes of its own show for the first time.
Read MoreIf you find that having your music in good quality, being able to skip tracks with fast forwarding and fitting all your media onto one device is just too convenient, then we've got good news: Cassette tapes are making a comeback.
Read MoreTo celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Walkman sold (the TPS-L2, naturally), Sony is showing off the history of the portable music player in central Tokyo. It will run across the summer, through until September 1st, with writers and experts offering up interviews and talks on the iconic cassette (and CD) player series. Sony has assembled 230 different Walkmans laid out on a "Walkman Wall", and the whole thing shouldn't be hard to find -- a giant neon-yellow WM-F5 will lead the way.
Read MoreLos Angeles residents will soon be able to float off into distant worlds while their aches are soothed in a virtual reality massage center, which opening this Friday, July 5th. At the outset, the Esqapes Immersive Relaxation Center, supposedly the first of its kind, will offer 10 different VR environments for you to try and relax in, including a sauna, a koi pond at an ocean-side resort and a ski cabin with a crackling fireplace.
Read MoreThis week, Senior Editor Kris Naudus takes a look at a book that will please both sci-fi nerds and design geeks. 'Typeset in the Future' explores the typography and design in science fiction movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek, and more.
Read MoreNintendo revealed a cheaper, handheld-only version of its ultra-successful Switch a couple of weeks back. The Switch Lite won't ship until September 20th, though you can pre-order one as of today.
Read MoreObsidian had already revealed its Fallout-esque sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds will debut on PC, Xbox One and PS4 October 25th. Sometime after that, it'll land on Switch too. Nintendo's console is less powerful than Sony and Microsoft's ones, and won't pack as much punch as a typical PC, so it remains to be seen how well The Outer Worlds will run on the hybrid.
Read MoreThe Switch might not be the first device you think of for a VR gaming experience, but you can't fault Nintendo's experiments with the medium. Earlier this year we got Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Labo VR, and now the next title to land is Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Within this mini VR adventure you'll be able to explore four courses in 360 degrees and even go for a VR ride in a mine cart, as you guide Toad through his popular puzzle adventure. The free software update is available now.
Read MoreTwo years in, the Nintendo Switch continues to fly off store shelves. The house of Mario sold 2.13 million Switch consoles in the three months leading up to June 30th, 2019, bringing lifetime sales to 36.87 million. That's a small, but impressive increase on the 1.88 million that it sold during the same period last year. The first quarter (Nintendo's fiscal year ends in March) is usually a quiet one for Nintendo, so any improvement is notable. Still, the company will need bigger performances this fall and over the holiday season to reach its fiscal year target of 18 million Switch sales.
Read MoreYou no longer have to wonder when you can throw caution to the wind and install Android on your Switch. Homebrew developers at XDA have released the first publicly available Android firmware for Nintendo's system, a take on the Android 8.1-based LineageOS 15.1 for compatible models. It's still buggy, including issues with battery life, auto-rotation and sensitive touchscreen input, but the core functionality is there. Effectively, it's a small Android tablet with a pair of controllers attached -- you can browse the web, play 3D games and otherwise use it like you would other mobile devices.
Read MoreIn the future, Fire Emblem: Three Houses will get a patch to completely replace the male protagonist's voice. That's because Nintendo has decided to re-record Male Byleth's lines after several accusations of abusive behavior against his voice actor, Chris Niosi, surfaced over the past week. Some people also accused him of having the tendency to break NDAs. Niosi's credits include other anime and video game titles, including Mob Psycho 100, Octopath Traveler, Pokémon and Sailor Moon.
Read MoreObsidian promised months ago that Pillars of Eternity 2 would come to Switch owners, but what good is that if you're a newcomer to the role-playing revival? Don't worry, you won't have to read a wiki to catch up. Obsidian has confirmed that the original Pillars of Eternity will reach the Switch on August 8th, with pre-orders already available. It's a Complete Edition, too, with the two White March expansions included to fill out the saga.
Read MoreWhile the Pokémon Company and mobile game developer DeNA have yet to announce an exact date for their upcoming mobile game's release, they're at least showing signs that it'll soon arrive on your phone. They've now opened pre-registration for Pokémon Masters on both Android and iOS devices through Google Play and Apple's App Store, respectively. The Official Pokémon Masters Channel has also uploaded six new gameplay videos to drum up interest in the strategy and battle game, which pits you in a 3v3 match against AI.
Read MoreNow that Nintendo has finished upgrading the Switch's internals, the company has turned its attention to what's on the outside. The company has teamed up with Disney to create a Tsum Tsum-branded version of the new console to coincide with the launch of a Tsum Tsum game. Both the dock and the console get the Tsum Tsum dot branding, with a pair of Mickey Ears sitting over the home button.
Read MoreSuper Mario Maker 2 is as much about building your own Mario courses as it is playing through the millions of stages other players have already uploaded. But many players have already hit the limit of how many courses they can upload at once, forcing them to pull an older creation off Nintendo's servers if they want to share a new one. They'll now have a bit more flexibility, as Nintendo has increased the course upload limit from 32 to 64.
Read MoreNintendo has reportedly instructed customer support representatives to offer free Joy-Con repairs with "drift" issues for free. According to an internal memo obtained by Vice, the gaming giant has told support reps not to charge customers for Joy-Con repairs if the controllers are manifesting the infamous drifting behavior that causes them to move things on the screen on their own. They were even told that it's no longer necessary to request for proof of purchase -- they can take customers at their word. In addition, Nintendo has apparently advised representatives to issue refunds if they previously paid for a Joy-Con repair, which typically costs $40 or so.
Read MoreAs successful as the Nintendo Switch has been, there's been a consistent headache: Joy-Con drift. Many gamers have reported the controllers' analog sticks registering non-existent input (hence drifting), forcing players to either adapt or send the peripherals in for repairs. There may be legal pressure to do something, though. Lawyers at Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith have filed a class action lawsuit in the US against Nintendo alleging that its sells Joy-Cons knowing they're "defective." The suit also maintains that Nintendo refuses to fix the drifting for free, and hasn't even acknowledged the issue despite widespread reports.
Read MoreThe 1997 N64 classic GoldenEye 007 was a game that introduced first-person shooters to millions of new gamers, even if it did cause the occasional family squabble.
Read MoreThe latest entry in the Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise is dropping for the Nintendo Switch today, July 19th, and it comes with a nice surprise for fans of the god of mischief. Loki is joining MUA 3: The Black Order as a playable character from day one, Marvel Games has announced at San Diego Comic-Con, where it also revealed the other superheroes/villains/mutants that will be making their way to the game in the future.
Read MoreThis week, Nintendo announced an updated version of the Switch. Meanwhile, one of its oldest consoles celebrated its thirty-sixth birthday. The Nintendo Entertainment System was released on July 15th, 1983 and went on to sell over 61 million units worldwide in its lifespan, thrilling multiple generations of kids and adults with 8-bit graphics in titles like Super Mario Bros. and the Legend of Zelda.
Read MoreThe anti-Brexit game Not Tonight may be a year old, but it's still just as relevant. With the Brexit deadline pushed back to October and heightened political tension in the US, the game's digs at the gig economy, right-wing extremism and nationalism are timely. Soon, you'll be able to take all of that on the go. No More Robots and developer PanicBarn are bringing the RPG game to Nintendo Switch with new content.
Read MoreYou'll be able to help Luigi and his new pal Gooigi tackle hordes of ghosts at the spookiest time of year, because Nintendo has confirmed Luigi's Mansion 3 will arrive on Switch October 31st. In the first incarnation of the series on the hybrid console, Luigi and his gooey doppelgänger Gooigi will battle through the haunted Last Resort hotel. You can switch between the two, or you can rope in a friend to play as Gooigi. There's also a multiplayer mode called ScareScraper in which up to eight people can play together online and locally.
Read MoreThe murmurs of an upgraded Switch were true -- although you might want to put hopes for a Switch Pro on ice, at least for now. Nintendo has quietly unveiled a new revision of the standard Switch with dramatically improved battery life. Instead of the original's 2.5 to 6.5 hours, the new model manages a much healthier 4.5 to 9 hours. That's about 5.5 hours of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild versus the earlier three hours, Nintendo estimated. You shouldn't have problems playing through a cross-country flight.
Read MoreThe latest controller from the minds of 8BitDo is fully customizable, allowing you to adjust button configurations and sensitivity levels for the joysticks, triggers and vibrations. Using 8BitDo's Ultimate Software, you can also set up macros for the SN30 Pro+ controller and with custom profiles, you can save settings on a game-by-game basis. The SN30 Pro+ works with Nintendo Switch, PC, macOS and Android, and the battery should be good for up to 20 hours of use on a single charge.
Read MoreThis article contains no story details, beyond those revealed in the game's official trailers. There is discussion of some mechanics and procedural details yet to be shown by Nintendo. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the game Fates should have been. Developer Intelligent Systems has made a lot of tweaks to its formula for the series' first outing on the Nintendo Switch, and the result of those changes is a game that marries Fire Emblem's dual personalities in a meaningful and satisfying way. If you don't know about Fire Emblem already, a quick primer: It's an almost-three-decade-old tactical RPG franchise from Japan that only came to the West after characters like Roy appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee on the GameCube. It didn't truly rise to worldwide prominence until the release of Awakening on the 3DS in 2012.
Read MoreA new Nintendo Switch might be on the way. No, we're not talking about the Switch Lite, or the long-rumored Switch Pro, which as its theoretical name implies would offer a sizeable bump in performance. As The Verge notes, some FCC filings suggest that Nintendo is refreshing the original Switch with a new processor and flash storage. The specifics are vague (one document literally says "change of SoC type") but it's safe to assume they'll be small upgrades that don't require a special model name. Sony, for comparison, took a similar approach with its quieter PS4 Pro last year.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Nintendo reveals its next console, and we even have a peek at Samsung's next Galaxy Note. There's also a new update for Google's AI-powered Translate camera, and the last Windows 10 preview is testing a post-password lifestyle. It's Thursday.
Read MoreWe knew it was coming, but Nintendo's finally drawn the curtain back on a smaller, portable-only version of its successful Switch console. It'll be out in September, in plenty of time before the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield this November. But a lower price of $200 doesn't come without its sacrifices. What did Nintendo have to take out to get the price so low? Check out our table for the full skinny -- you might be surprised at what didn't get cut, and be sure to check out our full review when it drops some time closer to launch.
Read MoreThe rumors were true: Nintendo was working on a new kind of Switch, and here it is. The Switch Lite is a slightly different console, designed for handheld play, and will arrive September 20th priced at $200. When it does land, it'll come in three different color choices. No more neon red, you'll be able to pick from yellow, gray and turquoise options. But that substantial price cut comes with some spec differences.
Read MoreFor July, Nintendo is adding Wrecking Crew and Donkey Kong 3 to the list of classic NES titles that Switch Online subscribers can play, but the biggest news is a feature that will work across the entire library: Rewind. Similar to a feature that Nintendo put in last year's SNES Classic Edition and that Capcom included in its Mega Man Legacy Collection, the gameplay rewind lets players instantly pause, seek through the last few moments of play and try things all over again.
Read MoreSuper Mario Maker 2 players are having a busy summer. Nintendo announced today that players have uploaded 2 million courses on the level creator since its worldwide release on June 28th. The highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch sequel to Super Mario Maker also lets users create courses that anyone can play, but with a world of assets and features not seen in the original. Players can choose between 100 Nintendo-designed levels or any of the levels created by other Mario fans.
Read MoreThe doctor is in. Nintendo's latest mobile game, Dr. Mario World, has arrived a day early on iOS and Android. Several Engadget editors were able to play Nintendo's match-three puzzler before the expected launch date of July 10th. The new mobile title hit iOS early today before it became available on Android as well.
Read MoreThe very first game based on The Terminator was supposed to be an NES side-scroller from Sunsoft, but it never panned out that way. The company lost the movie license and reworked the game into what would become Journey to Silius. However, evidence of what that game looked like was seemingly lost to the ages... until now. Gaming Alexandria has obtained a promo video Sunsoft made to advertise the Terminator game at winter CES 1989, offering a rare peek at what the title was supposed to look like.
Read MoreNintendo has been slowly expanding how and where you can play Tetris 99. In February, the company released the battle royale game as an online exclusive for Switch. A few months later, Nintendo offered downloadable content, so users could play the game offline. While you could still battle against opponents, offline you were forced to duke it out against bots. Now, it looks like that's going to change. Nintendo appears to be planning an offline multiplayer mode.
Read MoreIf you've ever complained that the differences between Pokémon game editions were too small, relief might be in sight. When Pokémon Sword and Shield arrive in November, they'll include not just differences in the creature lineup and trainers, but version-exclusive gyms in "certain towns" with unique gym leaders. You'll take on the martial artist Bea in Sword, while the goth Allister will fight you in Shield. This probably won't justify buying the Dual Pack with both variants unless you're a completist. Still, it promises to add some genuine variety to the experience.
Read MoreIt stands to reason that a music creation app on a game console should have sound samples from consoles, doesn't it? Korg certainly thinks so. It's updating its Gadget app for the Switch with both a Sega Genesis-derived drum machine (Otorii) and a Taito arcade synth (Ebina). Both are as retro-looking as their names imply, and they each sample their fair share of classic games.
Read MoreNintendo is set to release its latest mobile game Dr. Mario World on July 10th, and we're starting to get a better idea of what the game will look like. Today, Nintendo dropped a trailer that reveals how the game's multiplayer mode will work. It also launched a new site with general info, like when and where you can download the game.
Read MoreTo date, playing a Layton game in English has meant playing on either a Nintendo handheld or your phone. Soon, though, you'll have the chance to solve puzzles on your TV at home. Level-5 and Nintendo have announced that the Deluxe Edition of Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy will be available on the Switch in North America and Europe on November 8th. It's much-improved visually over the 3DS version, of course, but the sheer amount of extra gameplay may be the real draw.
Read MoreIf you were too young to play the original Diablo when it was new or just don't want to buy it again to indulge in some nostalgia, you're in luck. Game developer Rivsoft has made the classic action RPG available to play in a web browser using rebuilt source code, complete with atmospheric music and then-cutting edge graphics. The team warned that this preserves all the "bugs and badly written code," but that may be part of the charm -- you can hack and slash your way through dungeons like it was 1996 all over again.
Read MoreCloud saves are making their way onto the Epic Games Store, but they're only available for a couple of games so far. The first titles to support the feature are Moonlighter and This War of Mine, which are currently available for zilch via Epic's rotating lineup of free games.
Read MoreIn the face of pressure from the Chinese government, Tencent and Riot Games have added age-based time limits to League of Legends in China, Polygon reports. Minors now get booted from the game after two hours of play, and the companies use China's national ID numbers -- which are used to make accounts -- to verify ages. Supposedly, the new rules are an attempt to curb gaming addiction.
Read MoreCorsair has bought Origin PC, a company that specializes in building gaming systems. Corsair didn't reveal how much it paid, but it was pretty open as to why it struck the deal.
Read MoreQuakeCon is right around the corner, and Bethesda is determined to capitalize on the wave of good vibe for id Software's gaming legacy -- including, we'd add, the looming 25th anniversary of Doom II. To that end, it's launching a QuakeCon sale on Steam that runs until July 30th. There are steep discounts on recent id-associated titles like the 2016 Doom reboot (67 percent off), Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (also 67 percent off) and Rage 2 (50 percent off), not to mention classics like the Quake Collection (67 percent off) and the original Commander Keen series (50 percent off).
Read MoreSeveral months after the PS4 launch, the trippy adventure game Vane is ready for the PC crowd. Friend & Foe has launched the title on Steam for $20, with the soundtrack available separately through Steam and Bandcamp for $7. It preserves the exploration-driven gameplay where you shift between bird and child forms to traverse a mysterious world and discover your destiny. The computer version reflects all the PS4 updates so far, including "more forgiving" checkpoints.
Read MoreOverwatch League fans who might have been hoping for a traditional home and away format similar to other sports, in which teams play half their games at their own venues, might be left disappointed at least for the 2020 season. Blizzard has revealed the league format for next year, in which regular-season matches will take place in teams' home bases.
Read MoreYou won't have to snag a PS4 if you want to experience the synesthesia of Tetris Effect. Enhance has confirmed that its music-driven, effects-laden take on the classic puzzler is coming to PCs on July 23rd. It should take advantage of the extra power, too, with support for 4K and higher resolutions (including ultra-wide monitors) as well as an unlocked frame rate. And yes, there's support for VR headsets -- HTC Vive and Oculus Rift owners can fully immerse themselves in the psychedelic experience.
Read MoreIn another sign of gaming trends folding in on each other, Valve's own 'Auto Chess' spin-off of Dota 2 is testing out a battle pass. The still-in-beta Dota Underlords is free to play, so like other "free" games, mixing in bonus packages that people will pay for without making them annoying or a waste of money is key. Epic has executed the strategy repeatedly with Fortnite and is already in season nine, while battle royale challenger Apex Legends caught flack for an underwhelming first "season" of offerings.
Read MoreValve is tinkering with the way Steam works, and it wants you to try those experiments for yourself. It's launching a Steam Labs section with usable "works-in-progress" that might make it to the regular game portal if there's enough positive feedback. Only three projects are available to start, but at least one of them could be genuinely useful if you're scrounging for new games to play.
Read MoreLate last year Logitech acquired Blue Microphones, and a tweet indicates their next combo project is for gamers. We've already seen the debut of the Blue Ember XLR microphone for streamers, but it seems likely that this Logitech G product will actually be a new set of Blue-designed headphones for the gaming lineup. All we can see is a logo that's probably located on an ear cup -- that bears little resemblance to the older A Logitech G933 gaming headset pictured above -- but what they'll sound like is what matters, and Blue has come through on that front before. Expect them to be unveiled July 9th -- the usual set of streamers and influencers are already touting the unveiling date on their Twitch channels and social media profiles -- when we should find out how these will help you get more kills and/or talk to the folks in the stream chat a little more clearly.
Read MoreWith AMD's next generation of GPUs just days away, NVIDIA is making good on its drawn-out tease with a trio of new graphics cards: the RTX 2060 Super, RTX 2070 Super and the RTX 2080 Super. What does that "Super" mean? Well, there's not a single answer to that.
Read MoreSony has more than just the pre-PS5 sales slump to worry about in the near future. Company financial chief Hiroki Totoki has warned that US plans for expanded tariffs on Chinese products could force a price hike on PlayStation consoles. The tech giant is still exploring its options, Totoki said, but passing the costs to consumers was one of them. There hasn't been a firm decision as it's not clear whether or not widened tariffs will apply in the first place -- that depends on the Trump administration's negotiations with China.
Read MoreDespite flagging sales of late, Sony's PlayStation 4 has sold 100 million units, making it the fastest-selling console to hit that number. In its latest earnings report, Sony revealed that it sold 3.2 million PS4s between March 31st and June 30th, after announcing last quarter that it had sold a total of 96.8 million units since the console came out. That means it hit the 100 million figure on the nose in 5 years and seven months, just two months quicker than Nintendo's Wii.
Read MoreHideo Kojima's upcoming "cinematic adventure" game for PlayStation 4 is still quite a mystery, but this Death Stranding trailer that debuted at Comic-Con last week reveals more about it. Leaks of the video appeared online recently, but now you can watch it at home in full quality, as the character "Heartman" -- based on filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn -- explains his connection to the world. As you may guess by his name, his heart stops every 21 minutes, allowing him to spend three minutes in "the world of the dead" before he's shocked back to life... for another 21 minutes. Death Stranding will be released November 8th, with a long list of featured stars including Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Troy Baker and Guillermo del Toro.
Read MoreEA's subscription service, EA Access, finally arrives on PS4 today. For $5/month or $30/year, you'll get unlimited access to a range of games from EA's vault, including FIFA 19, Battlefield V, A Way Out, Titanfall 2, Mirror's Edge Catalyst and The Sims 4. More games will be added later, including FIFA 20 and Madden NFL 20.
Read MoreBloodborne is one of the most lauded titles of the current console generation, and a key ingredient in making FromSoftware's game so memorable for so many is its delectably dark soundtrack. The atmospheric score by Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh, Michael Wandamacher, Yuka Kitamura and Nobuyoshi Suzuki includes nightmarish, etherial tracks and faster-paced pieces that ramp up the tension during boss battles. Bloodborne's soundtrack was already available to stream, but fans might be glad to learn there's a vinyl edition on the way, four years after the game arrived.
Read MoreGamers have been eagerly awaiting Marvel's Iron Man VR game since a hands-on demo was made available in February, and now more details have been revealed about the upcoming title. Developer Camouflaj talked to PlayStation Blog during San Diego Comic Con to discuss how it took on both the game's biggest challenge and biggest selling point: flying in VR.
Read MoreSony raised some eyebrows when it said Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 would no longer be a free game for PS Plus subscribers in July, with Detroit: Become Human Digital Deluxe Edition (which includes Heavy Rain) taking its place. But if you're wondering why the change occurred, statements from Sony and PES publisher Konami didn't shed too much light on the matter, beyond revealing who made the call.
Read MoreWe get it -- you really don't like the PlayStation Classic. You've told us, over and over again. We weren't huge fans when we reviewed it, but that was when it cost $100. The price quickly dropped over the next few months, to $60, $40, and even $30. Now, as Wario64 points out on Twitter, it's easily available at both Best Buy and Amazon for just $25 -- a 75 percent discount from the starting price. Sure, the controllers might feel a little cheap, but at least there's two of them. The 20 pre-loaded games may not be the strongest list ever and includes PAL versions with poor performance but again -- there's 20 of them, which include titles like Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal and Final Fantasy VII. And people have even modded the system for successful sideloading. Whatever the issues of this attempt to cash in on the mini-retro-console craze, at some point it's cheap enough for nostalgia to win out. The real problem with buying one now -- other than finding it unopened in six months once you've forgotten you even purchased it -- is feeling like a sucker when they start giving them away on Black Friday. We'll see you back here next year for the Genesis Mini and TurboGrafx-16 mini.
Read MoreIn an unusual move for Sony, it's making a change to its free PS Plus game lineup for July. It previously said the offerings would be Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 and Horizon Chase Turbo. Now, it's swapping out PES 2019 for Detroit: Become Human Digital Deluxe Edition, which includes another Quantic Dream game in Heavy Rain (a previous PS Plus giveaway).
Read MoreIf you surf, there's a good chance you use Surfline. The call-in swell forecasting service started in the '80s and has blossomed into a video-streaming source of information that surfers rely on to plan trips and or just hit their local break. But those high-definition cameras that surfers use to monitor the waves are about to be used for another purpose: Recording your session.
Read MoreSamsung is one of the few remaining companies to still be making higher-end Android tablets, so it's nice to see the company show up with a new one this year. The newly-announced Galaxy Tab S6 follows up last year's Tab S4. Like its predecessor, the Tab S6 is a 2-in-1, designed for those who need to get work done on the go. To that end, Samsung focused on a few principles -- a portable, thin and light design, powerful guts and helpful multitasking software. After checking out some early models of the Tab S6, I must say, I'm pretty pleased with the changes Samsung has made since the S4.
Read MoreSony is no stranger to the true wireless-earbud craze. The company introduced the WF-1000X almost two years ago and followed with the WF-SP700N in 2018. However, even with that experience, Sony hasn't really seemed to hit its stride. There are always issues holding the products back from making the leap. Sony has perfected its over-ear noise-canceling headphones, the WH-1000XM3, and now it's leveraging some of that technology to improve its true wireless buds. Enter the $230 WF-1000XM3, Sony's best true-wireless product and a new contender for the top spot overall.
Read MoreSince we reviewed Jaybird's Run, the company's first truly wireless earbuds, the competition has heated up significantly. So much so that just making the Run fully waterproof isn't enough -- Jaybird needs something bold to turn heads (and ears) again. Enter the Vista ($180): they're lighter and sleeker than the Run buds, while also delivering significantly better audio quality and some useful upgrades.
Read MoreCompetition is supposed to be good, right? It means a bigger selection and better prices, so it's great for consumers. But when the Epic Store launched last December, gamers were pissed. Because it meant their digital games collection was now fragmented between even more services. Gamers like having their collection all in one place, and for most that means sticking with Steam. That isn't great for rival sites like GOG. While it was created as a place to buy classic titles, it's evolved into a marketplace that sells a lot of indie games and even some AAA fare. It added some Steam-like features in its GOG Galaxy launcher, which incorporated things like play stats and leaderboards. But still, there was the fragmentation problem. Galaxy 2.0, now in closed beta, is designed to fix that problem by bringing everything back together.
Read MoreI like playing games where stuff blows up, be it vehicles, fuel canisters, enemy bunkers, or brainpans. Suffice to say, I was more than a little reticent to try out Concrete Genie, a game about overcoming bullying with street art, from studio Pixelopus and published by Sony Interactive. However, after an hour or so with the game (enough to cover the first couple of levels), I came away pleasantly surprised. It's certainly not my cup of tea but it could well be yours.
Read MoreIn a brutal camera market, only the strong survive. Until recently, Panasonic has not just survived, but thrived by focusing on niche, video-centric mirrorless cameras like the GH5. With the S1 and S1R models, though, it's going head-on with rivals Nikon, Canon and Sony in the more competitive, and potentially lucrative, full-frame mirrorless market.
Read MoreWhen I was younger I took my acoustic guitar with me wherever I traveled. It's ridden in the back of a van to the Poconos, taken rides down to the Jersey Shore and even flown to the Grand Canyon and Disney World. But it was always a hassle to bring places. It's bulky and fragile. Even if I trusted an airline to treat my guitar with care (which, to be clear, I 100 percent do not), it's prohibitively expensive these days to check something of that size every time you fly. Over the years a number of companies have tried to address this problem, most notably Martin with its Backpacker guitar. But if you prefer your electric guitar and a handful of pedals, then you've been SOL. This is where Jammy is supposed to come in. It's a portable digital guitar, with actual metal guitar strings, that comes apart and easily fits in a carry-on or even a backpack. You can plug a pair of headphones straight into it or connect to a regular guitar amp. It also has a companion app that allows you to change the sound from acoustic to electric or add effects. What's more, since it's digital, it can never go out of tune! It all sounds too good to be true. And for the most part it is.
Read MoreDon't let its size fool you -- Sony's latest point and shoot is meant to be a powerhouse. The RX100 VII, unveiled today, is equipped with advanced tracking and autofocus features we previously saw in the full-frame, mirrorless A9 camera. In many ways, the seventh variant of the RX100 is a different species. It comes with an external mic port and a "Single Burst Driving Shooting Mode" that can take up to seven still photos with one shutter press, both new to the RX100 line.
Read MoreLast October's release of the Nest Hub (neé Home Hub) wasn't Google's first foray into smart displays -- the company had already released the Home, Home Max and the Home Mini. They were all solid, if not outstanding, hits with reviewers. The Nest Hub earned praise from Senior Editor Nicole Lee for the premium feel of the fabric finish, the substitution of an ambient EQ light sensor for a camera, and for how it worked (fairly) seamlessly with other Google products, including the Nest Hello doorbell.
Read MoreAlthough IKEA is mostly known as a purveyor of flatpack furniture and Swedish meatballs, it has dabbled in electronics as well. In years past, it's launched its own line of smart bulbs, Bluetooth speakers and a lamp with a built-in wireless charger. This year, it's upping the pedigree of its electronics offerings thanks to a partnership with Sonos. The new line of Sonos-powered speakers is called SYMFONISK -- apparently Swedish for "symphonics" -- and will feature two debut models: a bookshelf speaker and a 2-in-1 lamp-speaker combo. At just $99 and $179 respectively, the idea here is that they're able to offer Sonos-level quality without the Sonos-level price.
Read MoreWhen NVIDIA announced its revamped Super RTX video cards earlier this month, the bulk of the attention was on its affordable midrange entries, the RTX 2060 Super and 2070 Super. For just $399 and $499, they delivered significantly faster speeds than their predecessors, and they arrived just in time to go head to head with AMD's latest Radeons. Then there's the RTX 2080 Super, which replaces the RTX 2080 at the same $799 price. Based on its specs alone, it didn't seem like a huge leap forward. That's something my testing confirms.
Read MorePeriod- and fertility-tracking apps are nothing new, but they've seen a resurgence over the past few months. Traditional device makers like Fitbit, Garmin and Apple are beginning to incorporate the functionality into their wearables and smartwatches and some, like Garmin, are extending that functionality into standalone apps. While Apple had period-tracking in its Health app for awhile, the next iteration will soon let women know when their fertile period is, with or without the watch.
Read MoreThe EV market continues to expand, with more automakers releasing more vehicles. At auto shows, the cars of the future are now shown with electric powertrains instead of giant V8 engines. Automakers have also started looking backward for the vehicles of tomorrow. A few years ago, Mini sort of did that. The Mini brand, a subsidiary of BMW, has always had at least one toe in the nostalgia pool. So when the Mini SE appeared, fans of small cars and electrification were excited.
Read MoreSennheiser has spread the gospel of its Ambeo tech for years. The broad pitch is incredibly immersive audio for AR, VR and your living room. As far as consumers are concerned, though, Ambeo is just a headset that records 3D audio and headphones for Magic Leap. At CES 2018, Sennheiser revealed it was cramming the technology inside a soundbar, so we could all use it for a more common activity: watching TV. It took the company another year and a half to release the $2,500 Ambeo Soundbar, and the wait was mostly worth it.
Read MoreI've been using AfterShokz bone conduction headphones ever since I reviewed them in 2015 and they've become an inseparable part of my bike rides. The open-ear design allows me to pump up my soundtrack, while still being able to hear traffic and other goings on around me. Improvements have come incrementally with a few notable leaps, but the new AfterShokz Aeropex model seems to be the culmination of the past years' developments. It's lighter than the previous Air model (Trekz being dropped from the product name), with better sound and improved waterproofing which should keep them from being susceptible to repeated outpourings of sweat. The new AfterShokz Aeropex is available starting today for $159.95. I've had the chance to use them for the past couple of weeks, so I can provide some perspective on how this new model works, especially in comparison to previous versions.
Read MoreRemember when we said gaming laptops were going to get wild this year? Behold Acer's Predator Triton 900, a massive 17-inch notebook with one of the craziest screens we've ever seen. It can swivel forward and backward to give you something like the flexibility of a standalone monitor. But is a funky screen hinge enough to justify a $3,800 starting price? Probably not.
Read MoreWelcome back, it's Monday time. Over the weekend, Marvel decided to announce enough superhero TV and movies to keep you going for the next few years, while another Pixel 4 leak suggests some wacky hand gestures might be coming to Google's next flagship phone. To celebrate the Apollo 11 Moon landing, we also have several stories behind the historic first steps on the moon.
Read MoreGaming phones are a rare breed, and the nascent category has already proved to be too much of a challenge for Razer. Some companies still see it as an opportunity to tap into the ever-growing esports market, however. Devices land with gimmicks like detachable controllers on Xiaomi's Black Shark 2, or a built-in cooling fan on the Nubia Red Magic 3. Neither could top last year's ASUS ROG Phone though when it comes to accessories: It offered a clip-on fan, a WiGig screen-casting dock, a clamp-on controller pad, a mobile desktop dock and a bizarre dual-screen dock. ASUS never shared sales figures for the ROG Phone, but it must have done well enough to warrant a sequel packed with many upgrades. The ROG Phone II is the world's first smartphone with a 120Hz AMOLED display, and it's also the first to feature the more powerful Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset. Another first here is the integration of two vibration motors, just, it hopes. to make gaming a tad more immersive.
Read MoreWhen Senior Editor Richard Lai reviewed the OnePlus 6T, new features like its distinct dewdrop notch and in-display fingerprint reader stood out to him. As the company's first offering through a US carrier and the successor to the popular OnePlus 6, the device had a lot to live up to. But it came with some trade-offs. While the 6T maintained a premium build and powerful Snapdragon 845 chipset, it ditched the headphone jack and offered some weak haptic feedback. Richard awarded the 6T an overall score of 89 (two points less than he gave the OnePlus 6). User reviewers, who tend to score more harshly, gave the 6T an average score of 84.
Read MoreIn the Instagram and YouTube age, your outdoor adventures basically didn't happen unless there are good images and videos to share. At least that's how it feels sometimes. So why is it that your photos and carefully curated montage clips don't visually pop quite as much as those of your favorite action sports athlete? It could be the gear you're using, the lighting or maybe your settings. Either way, it's probably more than something a filter can fix (even my beloved Clarendon). To help you up your game, we spoke to several experts. From pro skateboarders to wingsuit fliers and YouTube creators to make sure you have all the tools you need. We hope that next time, you absolutely get the shot. (If you want to add Clarendon after the fact, that's up to you). Before we get to the experts, though, there are a few basics to consider. When it comes to action shots, there's one name that's pretty hard to avoid: GoPro. Its Hero line of cameras has become synonymous with outdoor activities, thanks to the rugged design and extensive range of accessories. At the time of writing, the Hero 7 Black is the flagship, and that's the camera we're recommending. We love the built-in stabilization, and the waterproof design has stood the test of time. For aerial video and photos, we're recommending the superlative Mavic 2 Pro.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. It's time to find out if Apple's new MacBook Pro is worth the money, plus we'll break down the controversy over G2A's business model. Meanwhile, Nintendo slipped in a Switch upgrade and an iconic Braun product line is coming back.
Read MoreLast fall, Apple finally updated the MacBook Air. In doing so, it made choosing the best entry-level Mac laptop far more complicated than necessary. The Air was directly pitted against the 12-inch MacBook and the cheapest 13-inch MacBook Pro (sans Touch Bar). There was no clear-cut best option: There was too much feature overlap, and no one machine was a winner in all regards. Fortunately, Apple simplified things quite a bit last week by discontinuing the 12-inch MacBook and updating the Air and entry-level Pro. The Air simply got a $100 price drop and a True Tone display, but changes to the Pro were more extensive. But after about two years of status quo, the $1,299 MacBook Pro got some substantial changes: It now has an eighth-generation Intel quad-core processor, better speakers, a True Tone display and the controversial Touch Bar with Touch ID. Oh, and both laptops also have Apple's supposedly more reliable keyboard design, which the company first introduced in May. Now it's a lot easier to compare these lineups. If you want to save cash and aren't working on processor-intensive tasks, the Air is probably for you. But if you require more horsepower, the MacBook Pro's quad-core processor is a major improvement for an extra $200.
Read MoreThe successor to Sony's highly acclaimed A7R III has arrived. Today, at an event in New York City, the company introduced its A7R IV, a full-frame mirrorless camera that comes with a whopping 61-megapixel Exmor R sensor. Sony says this new shooter is all about offering "medium-format-level" image quality in a package that's both compact and lightweight. In addition to that pixel-packed sensor, the A7R IV features a 15-stop dynamic range, ISO sensitivity up to 32,000, continuous shooting up to 10 frames per second (with auto-focus and auto-exposure tracking) and 567 phase-detection points cover around 74 percent of the frame. Simply put, this thing is a powerhouse.
Read MoreCritter & Guitari has been pumping out interesting musical devices since at least 2008. But a few years ago the company streamlined its selection of instruments to focus on two products: the ETC video synthesizer and the Organelle music computer. What makes the latter unique is that it isn't a synthesizer or a sampler; it's both or neither or some combination of things. It is, at its heart, a computer running patches built in Pure Data, a visual programming language primarily used for creating and manipulating audio. Though, much of that is hidden, and you can just fire it up and start playing if you want. Since its introduction in 2016 the Organelle has received multiple software updates. But about two weeks ago, it got its first major hardware upgrade.
Read MoreI don't love admitting this, but it can be hard to take Sony's phones seriously sometimes. That's not because of a lack of effort on its part — it's more that the phones they do release often seem gleefully out of step with the mobile mainstream. Need further proof? Just look at the Xperia 1. This is the first high-powered flagship Sony has released in some time, and it's nothing if not unusual. Super-tall, super-high-res screen? Check. A vibration motor that plays along with your music? Uh-huh. A surprisingly small battery? Sadly, yes. There's little question that the Xperia 1 is the kind of device only Sony would make, and that no other smartphone maker out there is working with the same set of priorities. Occasionally, that means the Xperia 1 feels refreshing. The rest of the time, though, it's enough to make you wish Sony had just made a few decisions differently.
Read MoreUnsurprisingly, most smart-home gadgets are fairly human-centric. But what about all the furbags that live with us? Don't they deserve a little slice of the connected dream? Petcube certainly thinks so. The company has two pet-camera products, the Bites and the Play. The former lets you sling treats at your cat or dog, while the latter has a laser allowing you to "play" with them remotely. Both models have just been refreshed, with a few interesting upgrades: a wider camera view (180 degrees, up from 138) and Alexa baked in. They're available starting today.
Read MoreWith this week's announcement of Nintendo's new Switch Lite console, we've been thinking about the handheld that preceded it: The Nintendo 3DS, a successor to the wildly popular DS that took the dual screen and added the ability to display games in 3D -- without glasses. When Engadget reviewed the first model of the 3DS, it hit big with its satisfying clamshell design, circle pad thumb slider and 320 x 240 touchscreen. Reviewer Tim Stevens found the 3D gameplay a bit finicky but a nice enhancement to the graphics quality in titles like Ridge Racer 3 and Face Raiders.
Read MoreFor once, AMD made NVIDIA sweat. NVIDIA's new RTX Super graphics cards are clearly a response to AMD's new midrange GPUs, the Radeon RX 5700 and 5700 XT. For months, AMD has been hyping how much faster they are than the first RTX cards. The only solution for NVIDIA was a surprise batch of faster cards, which, in turn, led to AMD announcing a price drop at the last minute. Witness the capitalist ideal of competition in action.
Read MoreSenior Editor Billy Steele knew it was only a matter of time before Grado Labs released a pair of wireless headphones showcasing the company's distinct open backed design and stellar sound quality. When the GW100 was released in March, he approved of how light and comfortable the set was, as well as its better-than-expected battery life. However, he was less thrilled by the build quality and reliance on micro-USB charging. He also saw very little need for headphones that were both wireless and open-backed. Despite delivering solid audio quality across musical genres and a great fit, the GW100 was unable to earn a score higher than 80.
Read MoreBoosted made its name by becoming the de facto electric skateboard. When rumors emerged that the company was working on a scooter, I had mixed feelings. I worried Boosted might bring out a me-too product and, well, scooters tend to be a little dorky. When the $1,599 Rev was finally revealed earlier this year, I was proved wrong (at least about the first part). The Rev is clearly inspired by San Francisco, the city Boosted calls home. Most garden-variety scooters offer somewhere between 250 and 500 watts of power. At the high end, that's enough to get you up some pretty decent inclines, but you'll feel every slow, meandering yard. The Rev offers a whopping 1,500 watts.
Read MoreLeica isn't exactly known for offering cameras that both offer long-zoom lenses and a relatively affordable price, but it's ready to bend those rules a bit. The company has introduced the V-Lux 5, an upscale rebadge of Panasonic's FZ-1000 II long-zoom camera. The differences mostly boil down to a spruced-up design with the signature red dot on the front, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when the core camera is solid -- this is a fairly powerful option for travelers.
Read MoreNow that Instant Pot is virtually synonymous with pressure cooking for some people, the company behind it is turning to another kitchen trend: air fryers. The recently acquired Instant Brands has introduced the Instant Vortex Plus, a seven-in-one air fryer that promises the company's usual versatility for more cooking modes. On top of its namesake feature, it can also bake, broil, dehydrate, reheat, roast and rotate an included rotisserie spit. You might not need to change devices if you want to make chicken and french fries, and the 10-quart capacity should be enough for many meals.
Read MoreZero has been on a roll for the past few years. Great electric motorcycles keep coming off their assembly line and the number I see on the streets of Northern California keeps growing. Before, if you rode an electrified motorcycle you got stares and questions. Now, not so much. Like Teslas, Zero is no longer an oddity.
Read MoreAfter teasing it earlier this week, Logitech has now revealed its new gaming headset, designed to help you sound like a professional streamer. The G Pro X marks the debut of Blue VO!CE software, which includes a suite of real-time mic effects that will let you tune your voice based on your individual preferences. Out of the box, you'll be able to select preset filter profiles that match your own voice's unique tone and volume, or you can customize a filter using pro-grade effects such as a compressor, de-esser and de-popper.
Read MoreCanon has unveiled a pair of PowerShot cameras that are well suited for YouTube and Instagram creators, even more so than its high-end EOS R cameras. The G7 X III and G5 X II, successors to the PowerShot G7 X II and G5 X, both pack 20-megapixel 1-inch CMOS sensors with DIGIC 8 image processors, and can shoot photos at 20 fps with a respectable ISO level of 12,800.
Read MoreThe Gladiator is essentially a Jeep Wrangler with a bed strapped onto the back. During my tests, I found it to be capable on both dirt and asphalt. But it's not for everyone.
Read MoreWas anyone really asking for a mobile Dr. Mario game? That was my immediate thought when Nintendo announced Dr. Mario World, its new free-to-play mobile title for iOS and Android, which launches on Wednesday July 10th. Then I realized Nintendo would be crazy not to capitalize on phones for an addictive new puzzler. Super Mario Run, the company's first mobile game, was a money-making hit. Pokemon Go was a worldwide phenomenon, and even though Nintendo only had a partial stake in it, investors still ate it up. The bigger question, really, is why did it take so long to resurrect Dr. Mario on smartphones?
Read MoreThe unveiling of the Radeon 5000 family and Ryzen third-gen chips at Computex made it clear this was going to be a special year for AMD. Its latest CPUs include a monster 12-core chip for just $499. And with its latest video cards, the Radeon RX 5700 ($349) and RX 5700 XT ($399), AMD is finally bringing its long awaited "Navi" architecture (now called Radeon DNA, or RDNA) to a consumer GPU. But NVIDIA was paying attention. Last week it announced beefed up "Super" versions of its RTX cards, which, on paper, seemed to erase AMD's performance advantage. All of this is great news for gamers, who now have a strong new lineup of affordable midrange graphics cards to choose from. But AMD is once again at risk of being overshadowed by its flashier competitor. (No wonder it rushed out a last-minute price drop.)
Read MoreThe word that Senior Editor Chris Velazco used to sum up his experience reviewing the iPad Pro 12.9 was "wow." While the ever popular tablet offers sleek hardware, an "absurdly fast" A12X Bionic chipset and a significantly improved Apple Pencil, it still lacks features on the software side that would have made it a realistic laptop replacement. Despite its speedy performance, Chris felt limited by iOS 12's abilities and continually needed work arounds to accomplish tasks that would have been simple on a laptop. While the iPad Pro 12.9 is an "impressive technical achievement," Chris ultimately wanted more from the software side and gave the tablet a solid, but not spectacular, score of 84. Users were actually more disappointed by iOS 12, awarding the device an average score of 78.
Read MoreEverybody seems to love wireless earbuds these days, but for the past few years, I've yet to find a pair that truly satisfied me. They always sound worse than wireless earbuds with short cables, like the BeatsX. And I find their main selling point -- the complete absence of any wires -- to be more of an inconvenience. (Where do you put them if you need to yank one out to talk to someone?) But leave it to Sony to finally deliver a pair of wireless earbuds that even a curmudgeon like me can adore. The WF-1000XM3 ($230) is its latest entry in premium noise canceling wireless earbuds, and it brings along some of the company's tech from last year's excellent over-ear headphones. There's a more efficient version of that model's noise cancelling processor, the QN1e, which offers even better sound dampening. A new digital audio converter (DAC) and amplifier delivers 24-bit audio -- or at least, as close to that resolution as Bluetooth can provide. And the new hardware also gives both earbuds the ability to connect directly to your device. The last model just passed audio from the left bud to the right.
Read MoreThe Firefly 2 turned more than a few heads when it was released back in 2016. Lighter, sleeker and smarter than its clunky and cumbersome predecessor, it felt like the future of cannabis consumption. But in the following three years, the world turned. Today, pre-packaged concentrates and edibles are all the rage. Do dry herb vapes still have a place in today's cannabis market? The Firefly 2+ makes a compelling argument that yes, they do.
Read MoreWhen reviews editor Cherlynn Low spent some time with Samsung's Galaxy Book 2 back in October, she determined that the brilliant display, long-lasting battery and LTE connectivity made a compelling argument for owning the tablet. While it would make an ideal device for people who value a hearty battery and do most of their work in a browser, the performance of the Snapdragon 850 processor was sometimes frustratingly sluggish. A sturdy magnesium body with a built-in kickstand, included S Pen and a keyboard helped compensate for the performance issues, with the Galaxy Book 2 earning a decent score of 83.
Read MoreYou step out the back door of a London laundromat and into a grimy, orange-smoke-filled junkyard. A mysterious voice sings out from a nearby radio, asking for your help to put right what has gone wrong. Armed with nothing but a sonic screwdriver donated by your new friend, you have to scavenge for parts to build a device that can summon your rescue vehicle.
Read MoreBlipblox is a synthesizer designed for children. The company behind it, Playtime Engineering, even calls it a toy. And it certainly looks like one. It's made out of bright, glossy, primary-colored plastic. The large knobs and buttons are clearly meant for the clumsy hands of a child. Oh, and it's covered in crazy blinking lights that are mostly there for show. But if you start digging a little deeper, you'll find more than just a plaything.
Read MoreWelcome to the latest episode of Upscaled, our explainer show where we look at the components and parts that make our favorite tech better. This week, we're talking about Apple's new Mac Pro, an insanely powerful new computer that's also a major change from the previous model. The last Mac Pro was a sleek black cylinder, a radical new design for a desktop computer, but one that ultimately limited the ability to upgrade the Mac Pro with new parts. The new design is a return to a typical desktop design, or so it appears. Under the hood, there's a number of unique design decisions and parts that potentially give the new Mac Pro unique capabilities, but may saddle it with some of the same flaws as its predecessor.
Read MoreNot everyone has the space, money or quite honestly patience to foster a rambunctious Aibo. But that doesn't mean you'll have to spend the rest of your days alone. The forthcoming Kiki from Zoetic AI offers an equally rewarding and, with a $1499 price tag, slightly more affordable domestic robotic pet experience without all the servo noise.
Read MoreRobots are going to play a large role at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and Toyota is determined to be at the forefront -- if in some occasionally strange ways. The automotive giant has unveiled its robot lineup for the summer games, and one of the biggest attention-getters is the Field Support Robot. The autonomous machine looks like a very tiny version of the e-Palette, and will carry javelins, shot puts and other items from throwing events. It won't actually fetch the items -- that's still up to humans -- but it will help reduce the number of staff on the field.
Read MoreThe idea of small robots teaming up to form one giant robot is commonplace in sci-fi shows like Voltron, and researchers are seeking ways to make that a reality. Now, modular robots have just become more intelligent, thanks to a project at ModLab at the University of Pennsylvania.
Read MoreA robotic arm smoothly traces the movements of a cursor on a computer screen, controlled by the brain activity of a person sitting close by who stares straight ahead. The person wears a cap covered in electrodes. This "mind-controlled" robot limb is being manipulated by a brain-computer interface (BCI), which provides a direct link between the neural information of a brain that's wired to an electroencephalography (EEG) device and an external object.
Read MoreThe "Keurig of cocktails" concept isn't exactly new, but that's not stopping companies like Barsys from perfecting the robotic bartender. Next week, Barsys is launching its robotic cocktail mixer 2.0. Like the original, the next iteration offers automated cocktails and customizable drink recipes. But now, you'll be able to control the machine with up to three devices at a time, thanks to Bluetooth. And Barsys 2.0 will use AI to keep drinks consistent.
Read MoreThere are many challenges to developing robots that could operate within your body, not the least of which is finding a power source -- you can't exactly strap a big battery on them. That might not be an issue thanks to Georgia Tech researchers. They've developed minuscule "bristle-bots" that move by tapping vibration from a variety of sources, whether it's ultrasound or a nearby speaker. The trick was to mate a tiny piezoelectric actuator to a 3D-printed polymer body whose bristle-like legs are angled to move in specific directions in a resonant response to vibrations.
Read MoreThere are two types of drones: fixed-wing models that look like airplanes and multicopters that resemble hovering squares. A group of MIT scientists have designed a new platform that lets users combine the best of both worlds and create their own hybrid, fixed-wing drones. The end result is a drone that can both hover like a helicopter and glide like an airplane.
Read MoreThe pace of technical advancement in computer vision systems over the past few years has been nothing short of astounding. The eyes of machines are quickly gaining on their biological counterparts with 1,000-fps vision, the ability to figure out what they're looking at without human aid, and electronic eyes that can be outfitted to any robot. The same goes for tactile sensation and natural language processing, a robot's hands and ears. Research into machine tasting, however, has not seen quite the same degree of enthusiasm. But a new proof-of-concept from IBM Research could give field scientists access to a digital sommelier's palate, even when they're taste testing wastewater for hazardous contaminants.
Read MoreMost attempts at giving robots muscles tend to be heavy, slow or both. Scientists might finally have a solution that's both light and nimble, though. They've developed fibers that can serve as artificial muscles for robots while remaining light, responsive and powerful. They bonded two polymers with very different thermal expansion rates (a cyclic copolymer elastomer and a thermoplastic polyethylene) that reacts with a strong pulling force when subjected to even slight changes in heat. They're so strong that just one fiber can lift up to 650 times its weight, and response times can be measured in milliseconds.
Read MoreThe US military is about to try using robotic vehicles in a more aggressive fashion -- the Army will start testing robotic combat vehicles in 2020. Soldiers in two modified Bradley Fighting Vehicles (Mission Enabler Technologies-Demonstrators, or MET-Ds) will remote control four crewless M113-derived prototypes to gauge how well the system works in real life. While it's not a combat situation, the Army hopes for feedback that will reveal problems or different use patterns.
Read MoreIf you're tired of watching baseball's umpires blow ball and strike calls, we have some good news for you. Last night, a "robot" umpire called the Atlantic League All-Star game, and soon all eight teams in the league will use the system for all their games for the remainder of the system. The plan to try this tracking technology was first announced back in March, and after a half-season of testing the radar-powered system from TrackMan, it was deemed ready to go for the All-Star game. It's an experiment done in partnership with Major League Baseball, and it was a precursor of something that could come to the big leagues in the future.
Read MoreIf you've ever marveled at a team of ants working together to carry a huge morsel of food or navigate around objects, you've seen how effective a collective intelligence made up of simple individual units can be.
Read MoreConventional video cameras that capture scenes frame by frame have little in common with our eyes, which see the world continuously. A new type of device called an "event camera" works in much the same way, capturing movement as a constant stream of information. Now, scientists from Eth Zurich are showing the true potential of the sensors by capturing super slow-motion video at up to 5,400 frames per second. The research could lead to inexpensive high-speed cameras and much more accurate machine vision.
Read MoreIt took a few years, but the US Navy's beefier Fire Scout helicopter drone is finally ready for action... more or less. The military branch has declared that Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C has reached "initial operational capability," or the minimum state it needs to enter service. The new, Bell 407-based variant is considerably larger than its 8B predecessor, but it's also more capable. The 8C can last roughly twice as long in the air at 12 hours on station, and carry roughly three times the payload -- 701lbs, to be exact. It also packs new radar with a larger field of view and more modes, including air-to-air targeting.
Read MoreWelcome back to the Morning After. Over the weekend, our team tried out AMD's latest Radeon GPUs, Google tested out a global video play/pause button for Chrome and an airplane managed to land all by itself.
Read MoreSome of the biggest challenges for machines are tasks that are simple for humans. From mathematical puzzles like the famous traveling salesman problem to combining inputs from various senses, there are many functions that us dumb humans excel at but robots or AI struggle with. But robots are catching up at last, judging by this new video of the humanoid robot Atlas.
Read MoreHow do you get better at making more robots? By rethinking how you build the manufacturing robots, apparently. MIT researchers have developed a minuscule "walking" motor that allows for robots which should be at once customizable, fast and inexpensive. It's made of just five modular parts, including rigid and flexible components, electromagnetics, a coil and a magnet. Those move an appendage that lets the robot crawl, grip, push and otherwise perform tasks without a complex set of parts -- it's likened to a "micro-Lego" that can be configured to do what you want with a minimum of fuss.
Read MoreAs Samsung expected, its Q2 profit is off from last year's by about 56 percent. An operating profit of $5.6 billion (6.6 trillion Korean won) is no small figure, but obviously not up to par for the electronics giant, and follow a similar result in Q1 of this year. A big reason for the fall is a drop in prices for memory chips, which Samsung is a major supplier of for products like smartphones and servers. It's also negatively affected by weak iPhone sales since it supplies Apple with parts, and is facing slower sales for its own high-end phone models. Last year Samsung was looking toward foldable devices to help turn around the trend, and after a delay it's still expecting the Galaxy Fold to join its Galaxy Note 10 as an "innovative" new product launch. According to the company's report, it's also pushing ahead on 5G.
Read MoreSamsung isn't waiting until its Galaxy Note 10 event on August 7th to show all the hardware it's releasing later in 2019. The company has teased online reveals for its latest Galaxy Tab (believed to be the Tab S6) and the Galaxy Watch Active 2 on July 31st and August 5th respectively. The accompanying video only offers furtive glances at both, but it's easy to pick up on some features: the Galaxy Tab will include an S-Pen and the option of a keyboard, while the new smartwatch will help "keep you fit and on top of your day."
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous.Welcome to Thursday! Samsung's Galaxy Fold will attempt launch again this September, Facebook's billion-dollar FTC fine is kind of meaningless and would you like a look at Windows' redesigned Start menu? It's already out there.
Read MoreThree months. That's how long it has been since Samsung announced it would delay the Galaxy Fold due to issues that arose after reviewers got their hands on its nearly $2,000 device. People pointed out a hinge that could let debris fall inside and its screen protector as problem areas, and Huawei similarly delayed its folding Mate X. We've had speculation about how the company could fix it, rumors that a redesign is complete and hints that updates are incoming, but very few official statements until now. Samsung has revealed the next step for the Fold, which is to release the device in September in "select markets." The company listed several changes in its press release, and they're in line with the earlier rumors. Along with the press release, Samsung also released a gallery of photos of the device, and it looks to our eye pretty much like the Fold already did.
Read MoreSamsung isn't about to leave the doldrums any time soon. The company warned that its profits were likely to slump in the second quarter, dropping about 56 percent year-over-year to roughly 6.5 trillion won (just short of $5.6 billion). That doesn't sound great, but it could have been worse -- a one-time payment from an unnamed customer buoyed Samsung's income. The company reportedly asked Apple for compensation after its OLED display orders didn't meet minimum levels, although that hasn't been confirmed.
Read MoreSamsung is being sued by an Australian consumer watchdog over misleading claims in its advertising. The ads showed people swimming in pools and surfing in the ocean with their Galaxy phones, leading customers to think that they could safely swim or surf with their devices.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Good morning, there. As to be expected, a few after-the-fact reports on why Jony Ive is leaving Apple (with bonus Tim Cook response), an updated guide to the best games for your PS4 and we could be on track to increase global temperatures by 2?C.
Read MoreSamsung hasn't commented much on its decision to delay the Galaxy Fold and address design flaws, but it's opening up a little today. The company's electronics division CEO, DJ Koh, told those at a media event that he "pushed [the phone] through before it was ready." The setback was "embarrassing," he added. While Koh didn't elaborate on what happened, the statement suggests that Samsung was in a hurry to get the Fold out the door and claim some bragging rights.
Read MoreBixby may be the forgotten child of virtual assistants, but Samsung is still hoping it can break through and compete with the likes of Siri, Alexa and Cortana. The company has opened its Bixby Marketplace in the US and South Korea, where users can download services to customize their assistant.
Read MoreNosebleed seats may soon be a thing of the past. Scientists at the University of California San Diego have created a prototype contact lens that is controlled by the eye's movements. Wearers can make the lenses zoom in or out by simply blinking twice. A paper detailing the team's findings was published this month in Advanced Functional Materials.
Read MoreResearchers at Stanford have developed a "quantum microphone" which can detect the smallest known units of sound -- packets of vibrational energy called phonons. The device could form the basis for even more efficient quantum computers.
Read MoreBy most accounts, technology wreaks havoc on our sleep. Even tools meant to help us sleep better can make insomnia worse. But sleep and tech don't have to be mutually exclusive. Artists and researchers from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University have created a virtual reality tool to induce sleep. The device, Inter-Dream, combines ambient music controlled by artists with kaleidoscopic visuals controlled by the user's brainwaves, via EEG.
Read MoreOur phones contain a disturbing amount of information about us. While calls, messages, app usage and location logs have all been used to profile users, phone accelerometers contain key information, too. Researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University used the tiny sensors that track phone movement for things like step-counting to predict five key personality traits.
Read MoreCommon wound dressings usually just protect your cuts from the elements and from infection. A dressing developed by a team of researchers from Harvard's Wyss Institute, Harvard's John A. Paulson School for Engineering and Applied Sciences and McGill University, however, can actively help and speed up the healing process. They're calling the hydrogel-based material active adhesive dressings or AADs, and they were apparently inspired by the skin of developing embryos that can heal itself completely without forming scar tissues.
Read MoreSepsis (where your immune system starts a chain of inflammation reactions) is potentially deadly, especially if septic shock leads your organs to fail, but diagnosing that in a timely fashion is still difficult or requires an unwieldy device. Thankfully, MIT researchers might have a way to identify sepsis before it's too late. They've designed a small microfluidic sensor that could detect sepsis in roughly 25 minutes, or enough time for doctors to start treatment. It might not look like much, but it promises far more sensitive detection than before.
Read MoreScientists are still unsure of why a group of US diplomats in Cuba experienced mysterious neurological symptoms, but they're still looking for answers. A new study published today in JAMA by the University of Pennsylvania reveals that brain changes were found in US government officials who were stationed in Havana. But there's still no proof to the theory that the diplomats were attacked by a sonic weapon.
Read MoreLast year, Lego revealed a new type of brick made using a type of polyethylene created with ethanol from sustainably sourced sugarcane. Though it said only a small percentage of total bricks would be made in such a way, it was a major step towards Lego's broader sustainability ambitions. Several sets have included such pieces, though Lego has unveiled perhaps its most ambitious one yet: a Treehouse kit that includes 185 of those pieces.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. Feel the need to work on your body? We have some expert advice on training gear that can help, with input from elite athletes who don't have time to waste. Of course, all that effort could be for naught once our brains meld with computers and we're living in a(nother) virtual world full-time -- and that's where Neuralink comes in.
Read MoreWhile we waited for Neuralink to present the progress it's made over the last couple of years in brain-computer interface technology, the New York Times and Bloomberg published information from an early briefing and it's stuff that's straight out of science fiction. The Elon Musk-backed company claims its "sewing machine-like" robot will be able to implant threads deep into a human brain.
Read MoreLast month earned the title of hottest June on record, and yes, you have heard that before. According to NASA, the global average temperature was 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit (0.93 Celsius) above the June norm. That tops the previous record, 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.82 Celsius) above average, set in 2016.
Read MoreThere's a problem in cell biology research: to study what happens inside a cell, it has to be destroyed. When scientists use a traditional microscope to observe a cell, they use stains -- chemicals that color parts of the cell to make them visible. However, these stains cause damage and kill the cell prematurely. This might not be a problem for long though, as scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) have developed a technique to look inside living cells without damaging them.
Read MoreIt's no secret Scotland has a lot of wind farms, but it's now clear just how much electricity those turbines can produce. Data from WeatherEnergy shows that Scottish wind turbines generated just over 9.8 million megawatt-hours of electricity between January and June, or enough to power roughly 4.47 million homes -- nearly twice as many homes as there are in Scotland. The operators theoretically have enough excess wind energy to power a large chunk of northern England.
Read MoreWelcome to 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 MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. The AMD vs. NVIDIA midrange GPU battle is heating up, Microsoft went back to the '80s and Nintendo introduced a Switch Lite. Oh, and some Amazon workers will strike on Prime Day. Welcome to your weekend.
Read MoreFor the first time ever, physicists have captured an image of quantum entanglement. In a paper published in the journal of Scientific Advances, scientists from the University of Glasglow shared the first known image of a Bell entanglement. The photo depicts two photons interacting and sharing physical states for a brief instant -- an event that occurs regardless of the actual distance between the particles.
Read MoreShrimp and insect species that can see polarized light experience the world in a much, much different way than we do -- just take look at the image above to see what we mean. The only way we can get a glimpse of their polarized world is through devices like cameras, but polarization cameras are bulky and pricey at this point in time, limiting their potential applications. Harvard's portable and compact camera that can image polarization in a single shot, however, could change all that.
Read MoreAnother company wants to get in on the animal-free meat trend. The Swiss company Planted hopes to do for chicken what Impossible Foods did for beef. It claims its planted.chicken -- made from pea protein, pea fiber, water and sunflower oil -- is indistinguishable from the real thing, and as a meat alternative, it avoids some of the ethical and environmental concerns that come with raising poultry.
Read MoreThe UK wants to take down enemy drones and missiles with high-energy light beams. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) announced that it's developing laser and radio frequency weapons. Referred to collectively as Direct Energy Weapons (DEW), they're powered by electricity, operate without ammunition and are fueled by a vehicle's engine or a generator.
Read MoreNever mind using DNA to store data -- there may be a simpler way to store info. Brown University scientists have shown that it's possible to store data in solutions of artificial metabolic molecules, such as amino acids and sugars. The presence or absence of a given molecule creates one bit of data, and the complexity of the mixture decides how many bits that mixture can hold. After that, it's a matter of placing thousands of mixtures on tiny metal plates as nanoscale droplets -- you use a mass spectrometer to decode the data once the droplets have dried.
Read MoreResearchers at Stanford University have created glasses that track your eyes and automatically focus on whatever you're looking at. The so-called autofocals, detailed in a paper published in the journal Science Advances, could prove a better solution than transition lenses or progressive lenses.
Read MoreRussia's plans to build a hypersonic weapon system that can travel at more than 20 times the speed of sound, and also evade US missile defenses, has predictably rattled the world. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted that the Avangard weapons system would be ready by 2019. But some obstacles lie ahead that could impact production, CNBC reported. Specifically, the Kremlin needs to find another source of carbon fiber material to build the Avanguard hypersonic glide vehicles.
Read MoreEven if we stop building power plants, factories, vehicles and home appliances immediately, we're on track to increase the global temperature by more than 1.5?C -- the goal limit proposed by the Paris Agreement. Those existing, CO2-spewing offenders will generate an estimated 660 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases, and it will only take 580 billion tons to tip us past 1.5?C. It gets worse. If we continue to operate existing power plants for their useful lives and we build the new facilities already planned, they'll emit two thirds of the carbon dioxide necessary to boost temperatures by a full 2?C.
Read MoreLong-held theories about how materials melt, freeze and evaporate may need to be tweaked thanks to some breakthrough research. A UCLA-led team of scientists have captured the 4D movement of atoms through time and 3D space as they changed states, reportedly for the first time. The results were surprising and contradicted classical theories about "nucleation," when atoms start to change from one form to another. The research may prove valuable for the creation and study of new materials, chemicals and biological processes.
Read MoreQualcomm and Chinese giant Tencent have announced they will cooperate on a range of projects, including a 5G gaming device.
Read MoreMediaTek's mobile processors are more commonly associated with budget smartphones than gaming, but it's determined to change your mind. The chip designer has introduced a Helio G90 family of processors with performance and features intended with cutting-edge games in mind. Both the G90 and G90T are eight-core chips that use 2.05GHz Cortex-A76 cores for demanding tasks and Cortex-A55 for lighter duties, complete with Mali-G76 graphics (up to 800MHz) and up to 10GB of LPDDR4x memory. Those aren't too special, though -- it's what you won't see that might make the difference.
Read MoreGoogle is once again validating rumors about the Pixel 4, this time for its touch-free control. The company has confirmed that its next flagship phones will include motion-sensing Soli radar that lets you skip tracks, silence phone calls and otherwise control key phone tasks by waving your hand. Consider it a potentially more sophisticated take on the LG G8's gestures. Moreover, Soli will play a key role in one of the Pixel 4's other signature features: secure face unlock.
Read MoreYes, the company behind TikTok really is making a smartphone. ByteDance has confirmed that's producing a handset in a "continuation" of a project from Chinese phone maker Smartisan. Details of the phone itself are scarce, but ByteDance had obtained both patents and some staff from Smartisan before this. You'll see the outside influence in this design, then.
Read MoreIt's only been a year since Vivo and Oppo kicked off the all-screen, notch-less smartphone race, and now, the latter is literally pushing the boundaries with a new type of curved display. Earlier today, Oppo showed off a prototype device packing a "waterfall screen," which features an aggressive 88-degree fold on both the left and right sides. When viewed directly from the front, the bezels are practically invisible, which gives the device an even more premium look than today's curved-screen phones -- namely Oppo's very own Find X.
Read MoreSamsung has opened up Galaxy Note 10 reservations a couple of weeks ahead of officially revealing the phone at its Unpacked event on August 7th. You can submit your name and contact details to make sure you have early access to pre-orders, and if you do reserve a spot by August 7th, you'll receive $50 credit towards certain devices and accessories.
Read MoreSamsung has revealed the beleaguered Galaxy Fold will finally ship this September, but you won't be able to buy it through T-Mobile. The carrier has confirmed it won't sell the foldable smartphone.
Read MoreMotorola's reputation as a champion of excellent, inexpensive smartphones has never been seriously challenged, and devices like the new Moto Gs have helped the brand maintain its hold on the mid-range market. Of course, not everyone has $250 to drop on a new smartphone — that's where the 6th generation Moto E comes into play. It's the latest entrant in Motorola's popular low-cost line, and while it doesn't pack many thrills, it might not be a bad choice for smartphone shoppers on a budget. That is, if you're willing to live with some trade-offs.
Read MoreRED's much-hyped, camera-centric smartphone, the Hydrogen One, received some pretty damning reviews when it launched last year: the screen was poor quality, its headline photo features were disappointing and its camera software was rough around the edges. But according to RED founder Jim Jannard, it wasn't their fault. In a post on H4Vuser.net, Jannard blamed the company's unnamed Chinese ODM (original design manufacturer) for the Hydrogen One's shonky performance.
Read MoreThose rumors of the Pixel 4 sporting hand gesture control just became more tangible. Ice Universe has obtained photos that reportedly show the detached bezels for the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL, including a rather conspicuous ovoid hole on the right side. Given that this hole hasn't been visibly occupied by cameras or other visual sensors in previous leaks, this appears to be a cutout for the Project Soli radar that would let you perform gestures without poking at the screen.
Read MoreGoogle has revealed a handful of new Fast Pair capabilities coming out this year that'll make compatible Bluetooth headsets better competitors to Apple's AirPods. One of those features is Android's ability to display individual battery information for your earbuds and their case, and it's coming out later this year. It'll also add case open and close battery notifications to the platform, which will show detailed battery information when they pop up.
Read MoreWhen Huawei trademarked its Hongmeng operating system last month, many assumed it was the long-rumored mobile OS that the company said it could use in place of Android or Windows. But that's not the case. Catherine Chen, a Huawei board member and senior vice president, told XinhuaNet that Hongmeng wasn't designed for smartphones. Instead, it's meant for industrial use, and Huawei plans to continue using Google's Android OS for its smartphones.
Read MoreDeputies in the Kit Carson County Sheriff's Office in Burlington, Colorado, are wearing Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphones on their vests. The phones serve as body cameras and run on AT&T's LTE-based FirstNet public safety platform. In addition to recording footage, they serve as personnel locators, digital cameras and secondary radios.
Read MoreIt has only been a few months since Samsung unveiled the highest-capacity smartphone DRAM yet -- a 12GB LPDDR4X package for premium devices -- but it's already following that up with a faster model of the same size. The Korean tech giant has started mass producing what it says is the industry's first 12Gb LPDDR5 for phones, and it'll also start the mass production of 12GB LPDDR5 packages later this month. Samsung introduced its LPDDR5 chip technology last year in hopes of providing 5G phones with a fast, energy-efficient RAM that can power machine learning and AI applications.
Read MoreYou no longer need an iPhone if you want to bring an unlocked smartphone to Xfinity Mobile. The Comcast wireless service (which runs on the network of Engadget parent Verizon) has expanded its bring-your-own-device program to include Android smartphones. It's currently limited to semi-recent Samsung phones ranging from the Galaxy S8 to the Galaxy Note 9, so you'll want to forget dreams of bringing an S10 or Google Pixel to the network for now. The list of compatible devices will expand in the "near future," Comcast said.
Read MoreSo much for Samsung maintaining even the slightest bit of secrecy around the Galaxy Note 10 ahead of its August 7th debut. Both Ishan Agarwal (via MySmartPrice) and WinFuture have obtained what look to be official press images for the regular Note 10 and its larger Note+ counterpart (shown above). As you might have suspected, the two phones appear to push the Galaxy S10's nearly-all-screen concept even further. The more rectangular design has virtually no bezel, and the only interruption is a hole-punch camera located at the top center of the display.
Read MoreIt's high time modern features like dual cameras, longer aspect ratio displays and VoLTE calling came to sub-$100 phones and with Qualcomm's latest chipset, they just might real soon. The new Snapdragon 215 is meant to power phones that cost between $75 and $130, which means an upcoming generation of affordable handsets could be equipped for more-advanced features.
Read MoreWe already know what the rear of Google's upcoming Pixel 4 looks like, and renders of the other side of the XL version suggest the smartphone will ditch the widely-derided notch of the Pixel 3 XL. Tipster Steve Hemmerstoffer, aka OnLeaks, has a solid track record with leaks, and he and Pricebaba teamed up for more renders of the Pixel 4 XL based on leaked specs.
Read MoreStill waiting for Samsung's first foldable phone? Bloomberg cites anonymous sources saying that Samsung has completed a redesign of the Galaxy Fold in just two months. The protective film now covers the entire screen and stretches into the bezel so people can't pull it off by accident, and hopefully reduce the appearance of a seam in the middle. Also, the hinge has reportedly undergone tweaking to make it flush with the display, and pushing the film up when the device is opened.
Read MoreLG's unveiled what appeared to be a more affordable version of its G8 ThinQ flagship smartphone, the LG G8S ThinQ, back in February. Now, it is finally ready for release in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
Read MoreThe rumors were true -- Samsung has announced that it's holding its second Unpacked event of the year on August 7th at 4PM Eastern in Brooklyn's Barclays Center. The company hasn't said anything about what to expect, but the pen-centric teaser image (above) doesn't leave much to the imagination. The Galaxy Note 10 will clearly be the star of the show, and it's just a matter of pinning down the finer details.
Read MoreOwners of OnePlus 7 Pro phones have randomly received several weird notifications, causing consternation and concerns about security.
Read MoreIt appears we're now in the era of face filter malfunctions. The popular Chinese vlogger known as "Your Highness Qiao Biluo" was revealed to be decades older than the online persona she projected to her thousands of fans. A technical glitch during one of the star's livestreams last week showed that she was using a face filter, reported Lychee News. The young, long-haired woman that China's Global Times said fans called a "cute goddess" was gone -- and in her place was an unrecognizable older woman.
Read MoreNever mind relying on your phone's wellbeing tools to curb your social network addictions -- if one congressman has his way, the law itself would step in. Senator Josh Hawley has introduced a bill, the Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act (yes, that's SMART Act), that would ban features deemed to be exploitative. It would primarily forbid infinite scrolling, autoplaying media and achievements that don't "substantially" reward users with more content. There would have to be "natural stopping points" that encourage users to take a break, for hat matter.
Read MorePinterest is still on a quest to become your go-to social network for shopping, and it's launching a couple of new features in an effort to achieve its goal. Today, the company is adding a new button that says "More from [brand]" under Product Pins. Tapping on the button takes you to the brand's browsable catalog, which clearly shows you each product's price and gives you a way to shop and choose what you want to buy from within the platform itself. When you click through an item, you'll be taken to the retailer's website, so you make a purchase.
Read MoreFacebook knows its platform is awash with fake news, and since December 2016 -- after facing criticism about its failure to stem the spread of fake news in the run-up to the presidential election -- the company has been working with a number of fact-checking firms in a bid to review and debunk false information on the site. One such firm, UK fact-checking charity Full Fact, has now released a report outlining its work and findings from the first six months of its partnership with the tech giant.
Read MoreIf you ever needed proof that Twitter has reached a natural ceiling for its user figures, then its second quarter numbers are perfect. In the last three months, the company added just five million new daily active users, and coined a net profit of $37 million. Those aren't blockbuster numbers, but they do show that the platform now exists in a pleasant, and profitable, form of stasis.
Read MoreStarting today, there's an easier way to organize your servers on chat platform Discord: folders. If you're a member of many Discord servers, you'll know that organizing them is a bit of a pain. Previously, you could move server icons in your sidebar to reorder them, but if you had more than 10 or so, it was hard to find the one you want. Now, you can drag and drop servers into folders, and rename or color code those folders. For example, you could create a folder for gaming servers or one for servers that you mod. You can dismiss notifications by folder, so you needn't go through servers marking channels as read one by one.
Read MoreNBC is slightly loosening its firm grasp on its Olympic Games broadcast rights. It's teaming up with Twitter to bring limited live coverage and highlights, along with a daily 20-minute Olympics show, to Twitter's website and apps during the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Read MoreAfter several months of testing, Reddit announced today that it is rolling out a new feature called Community Awards for all eligible subreddits. The feature will allow moderators of communities on the site to create their own Reddit Gold-style medals that can be awarded to users and displayed next to their username on the subreddit.
Read MoreSnap appears to be working its way out of a downturn. In the company's Q2 earnings release that just dropped. Snap revealed that it had 203 million daily active Snapchat users in the last quarter, up eight percent year-over-year and seven percent quarter-over-quarter. That came after several quarters of declining users, something that was clearly troubling to investors.
Read MoreTwitter will soon do a better job of explaining missing tweets in your conversations. The social network is adding context to "this tweet is unavailable" notices in conversation threads to help explain just why a given post isn't readable. While Twitter didn't provide examples of the specific notices, it said that these tweets have usually been deleted, are marked as protected, or are linked to keywords the user has muted.
Read MoreInstagram is making a few changes to the way it disables accounts. Currently, the platform removes accounts with a certain percentage of violating content. But it's rolling out a new policy that will also allow it to disable accounts with a certain number of violations in a given timeframe.
Read MoreInstagram launched an experiment for Canadian users in April to try and find out whether hiding Like counts can benefit its users. While the Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform hasn't shared its results with the public yet, it's now expanding that experiment, perhaps to be able to gather more data for consideration. The platform is now hiding Likes and video views for select users in Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand, in addition to Canada.
Read MoreTwitter said that it would label tweets from political figures that violate its rules, but it's not clear if the social network is applying that policy yet. CNET noted that Twitter hasn't labeled a series of President Trump tweets that are widely considered to be racist. The politician suggested that "Progressive Democrat Congresswomen" critical of his policies, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, should go back to their "corrupt and inept" home countries. The not-so-subtle assertion, as you might gather, was that these non-white politicians weren't 'real' Americans.
Read MoreIt took quite some time, but the new Twitter.com is finally here. Months after teasing parts of it, Twitter has announced that it is now rolling out its redesigned site globally, which will bring people a web experience that's faster, easier to browse and more customizable. In addition to making conversations simple to follow, Twitter says the goal with this updated look and feel is for it to be more consistent with what you use on mobile devices. That's why the overhaul will make features like Explore, Bookmarks, Lists, Direct Messages and your Profile easier to access, removing the friction of having to switch between tabs, windows or screens to begin a new task or look at Top Trends.
Read MoreRepublican politicians are taking their allegations of tech industry bias to regulators. Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley have sent a letter to the FTC asking it to investigate how companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter curate content. These firms have "enormous influence," the senators wrote, and have the potential for "alarming and endless" abuses of power. Their ability to amplify or downplay content makes them powerful enough to "sway elections," according to the politicians, but they're reportedly not accountable to customers or voters due to a lack of transparency in their curation processes.
Read MoreThe FBI wants to gather more information from social media. Today, it issued a call for contracts for a new social media monitoring tool. According to a request-for-proposals (RFP), it's looking for an "early alerting tool" that would help it monitor terrorist groups, domestic threats, criminal activity and the like.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump kicked off his Thursday morning by doing what he does best: tweeting. Amid a sea of missives, which ranged from attacks on the "Fake News Media" to the Mueller Report, he said it would be "a big and exciting day at the White House for Social Media." It was all a lead-up to his administration's first "Social Media Summit," an event that was announced back in June and took place yesterday. Despite being billed as a summit about social media, though, the Trump administration didn't invite anyone from the two biggest players in the space: Facebook and Twitter. Instead, it brought together people who are under the impression that these tech giants are censoring conservative voices on the internet.
Read MoreI loved Twitter. I loved everything about it. It's where I met new friends. It's how I got most of my jobs. Like a new relationship, everything was sunshine, rainbows and the occasional fail whales. Hell, I even loved that damn whale. Then it got ugly. Very ugly and still I couldn't (I can't) walk away.
Read MoreTwitter is back online for some people after being down for an hour or so Thursday afternoon. Tweets weren't loading in the app or on desktop for several Engadget editors, while Down Detector had a massive spike in outage reports.
Read MoreThere's a good chance some strange ads have popped up in your Facebook News Feed. Now, the company wants to give users more clarity about why they're seeing specific ads. In the past, users could click "Why am I seeing this ad?" But the answers were fairly vague. Now, Facebook will share more detailed reasoning, like which of your interests matched you with a specific ad.
Read MoreA lake in Siberia nicknamed the Novosibirsk Maldives is a popular Instagram spot because of the appealing color of the water. It's also close to a Trans-Siberian Railway stop. The turquoise visage has a similar hue to oceans or seas you might see at a tropical paradise resort, albeit in eastern Russia. But the lake is an artificial creation, and the Siberian Generating Company (SGC) has warned people to stay away as it's actually an ash dump for one of its coal plants.
Read MoreThe lists feature hasn't received a ton of love from Twitter over the years outside of Tweetdeck, but lists can be extremely useful for organizing accounts by interest or to quickly see the latest tweets from your closest friends. Last month, though, Twitter gave lists a bit more prominence by testing them on the Home tab of its app, and now it's testing an option to quickly switch between tweets about your favorite show or some travel inspiration accounts.
Read MoreTwo critics of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who were blocked by the lawmaker on Twitter are now suing her. New York congressional candidate Joseph Saladino and former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hinkind on Tuesday filed separate lawsuits against Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, in reaction to this week's federal court ruling barring President Donald Trump from blocking his own critics on the platform. Both men announced their lawsuits (both filed in federal courts in New York) on Twitter, with Saladino including a video of him filling out the claim.
Read MoreIn the last year, the time spent watching Shows on Snapchat has tripled. The company wants to take advantage of that. Today, it announced Creator Shows, a new format that will deliver regularly published content from some of Snapchat's most popular stars. It's also adding a Highlights feature, which will let Creators add longer-lasting photos and videos to their profiles.
Read MoreTwitter has technically banned hate speech based on religion before, but it should now be easier for the company to clamp down on that behavior. The social site has updated its rules to require the deletion of any tweet that "dehumanizes" others based on their religion, whether or not it targets someone directly. The company won't ban or suspend people who wrote offending tweets before the policy's July 9th effective date, but they will have to delete the posts in question to avoid further trouble.
Read MorePresident Trump's desire to block critics on Twitter just hit another snag. A federal appeals court in New York has ruled that Trump is violating the First Amendment by blocking people he disagrees with on the social network. Public officials using social accounts for "all manner of official purposes" aren't allowed to silence people simply because they disagree on a given subject, the judges said.
Read MoreAs VidCon gets ready to take place between July 10th and 13th in Anaheim, California, Facebook has news to share with its creator community. The company has announced that it is introducing more ways for them to earn money on its site, starting by giving them the ability to choose better placement for ads in their videos. Facebook says that, in order to better support videos that may not have "a natural break for ads," creators will now have the choice to include non-interruptive advertising formats, such as pre-roll or image-based ads. This could come in handy on videos that are particularly short, for instance.
Read MoreToday, Instagram announced two new tools meant to combat bullying. The first will use AI to warn users if a comment they're about to post may be considered offensive. In theory, it will give users a chance to rethink their comments. The second will allow users to "restrict" problematic followers. Comments by restricted followers won't appear publicly (unless you approve them), and users on your restricted list won't be able to see when you're active or when you've read their direct messages.
Read MoreThe White House's upcoming social media summit might be missing some key players when it goes ahead this week. Facebook and Twitter have not been invited to attend, according to sources who spoke with CNN.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous. As many in the US celebrate Independence Day, we're probably catching you right before or after a Stranger Things 3 binge session -- and either way is the perfect time to read our review. In other news, Facebook suffered an outage, and Apple's latest iOS 13 feature is either creepy or cool -- we can't decide.
Read MoreThe field of science communication -- the practice of informing and educating people about science-related topics -- arose just after the start of the Enlightenment when Francesco Algarotti published his first edition of Newtonianism for the Ladies in 1737. While that bit of 18th century mansplaining doesn't really hold up by today's standards, in the nearly three centuries since, the pace of scientific progress has only accelerated -- with science communication evolving alongside it. The advent of social media, in particular, is an unprecedented, powerful tool for science communicators.
Read MoreFacebook isn't the only internet behemoth suffering from serious downtime. As of mid-day on July 3rd, Twitter is experiencing "some issues" with direct message delivery and notifications. We've asked Twitter if it can clarify what happened, but you probably won't be sliding into anyone's DMs until the issue is resolved.
Read MoreFacebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are experiencing outages this morning. Downdetector maps show the services are struggling around the globe, but the issues seem to be the worst on the East Coast and in Europe. According to The Independent, some WhatsApp users are unable to send photos, videos and voice messages, though text is still going through, and #instagram down is trending on Twitter.
Read MoreInstagram is introducing a new feature that will let users start private group messages around specific Stories. The company announced the change on Twitter today. Users will soon be able to add a "join chat" sticker to their Stories. If followers tap the sticker, they'll be added to a private group chat -- though the author will have the ability to approve or deny requests.
Read MoreTikTok is under investigation in the UK for how it handles the safety and privacy of young users. UK Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that the popular short-form video app potentially violated GDPR rules that state that technology companies must have different rules and protections for children, reported The Guardian. The UK began its probe on TikTok back in February, shortly after the FTC fined the app for child privacy violations.
Read MoreFacebook knows junk health claims are a problem, and it has quietly taken action to keep them out of sight. The internet giant has revealed that it changed the News Feed ranking in June to reduce the priority of posts that either make "exaggerated or sensational" health claims or try to sell products and services based on health claims. You should see fewer attempts to pitch miracle cures, diet pills or other treatments that don't pass scientific muster.
Read MoreIt's no secret that Snapchat is a big fan of sport, and tennis is no exception. Last year it released a 3D Bitmoji Lens that let users "take on" tennis legend Serena Williams at Wimbledon, now it's launched a real-time Bitmoji multiplayer tennis game that'll let you challenge your friends right within the chat function.
Read MoreLightSail 2 is faring much better than its ill-fated predecessor. The Planetary Society has verified that LightSail 2 successfully raised its orbit using solar sailing, making it the first small spacecraft to demonstrate the concept (though Japan's IKAROS was the first of any kind to fly). The team is now focused on raising the solar sailer's orbit for about a month's time as it continues to improve sail control through software updates and new techniques.
Read MoreThe world's largest telescope is one step closer to completion. This month, the team working on the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) completed the second of seven primary mirror segments, a process that began in January 2012.
Read MoreNASA is helping 13 companies develop technologies that could benefit its future missions. Jim Reuter, the associate administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, explained that the agency has identified the key areas it needs for future missions, including its planned crewed flights to the moon and Mars. "[T]hese public-private partnerships will accelerate their development so we can implement them faster," he added. Those key areas are as follows: Advanced Communications, Navigation and Avionics; Advanced Materials; Entry, Descent and Landing; In-Space Manufacturing and Assembly; Power; Propulsion; and Other Exploration Technologies.
Read MoreOver the past months, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory installed the Mars 2020 rover's wheels, legs, arm and other components in preparation for the series of tests it has to go through before it heads to the red planet. One of those tests entails using its 7-foot-long arm to maneuver an 88-pound turret from a deployed to a stowed configuration in a move that's not unlike how you'd do biceps curls with a dumbbell. The Mars 2020 team conducted that test on July 19th, marking the first time they were able to watch the arm and the turret move in unison -- something the rover must be able to do on Mars.
Read MoreAfter completing zero of two launch attempts on Wednesday, SpaceX went two for two on Thursday. Its Dragon spacecraft is making a third trip to the ISS, while its Starhopper test vehicle took a tiny untethered jump from its test pad in Texas (the picture above is from Wednesday's fiery test that was aborted just as it began). Elon Musk tweeted jokingly afterward that "Water towers *can* fly haha!!," then, more seriously, confirmed that a 200m test is scheduled to occur "in a week or two." There's no close up video footage of the attempt available yet, but the South Padre Isle live stream captured the event from a short distance away. To see the smoke and flame, check the stream at about 10:43 PM and let it play from there. This stubby test mule is testing out the Raptor engines before SpaceX flies its first "Starship" spacecraft. In practice, it's similar to the Grasshopper tests we saw years ago before Falcon 9 boosters that could launch and then land themselves became a regular occurrence. Update: If you wanted a close up look then here's one that's about as close you can get. Musk tweeted out video from the "engine cam" taken during the test.
Read MoreOn the evening of July 24th, SpaceX was supposed to conduct the Starhopper's -- its Starship prototype vehicle made for very short flights or "hops"-- biggest and first untethered test. The company even announced a livestream of the event, which is another step towards its goal of building a massive launch vehicle that can take humans to the moon and Mars. Unfortunately, SpaceX had to abort the test flight only 3 seconds after the vehicle's Raptor engine fired at 80 percent capacity at its Boca Chica test facility in South Texas.
Read MoreOur Sun is quite literally a hotbed of activity. Scientists are learning more about our star's solar cycle, in which its magnetic field flips and its north and south poles swap approximately every 11 years. Little is known about what causes this dramatic shift, although it does seem to be related to sunspot activity. A new set of research papers has laid out more about why solar cycles end and how the cycles can trigger a tsunami of hot plasma to cascade through the Sun's interior.
Read MoreStars still have plenty of surprises despite (or perhaps, because of) advances in astronomy. Researchers using Caltech's Zwicky Transient Facility have discovered a binary white dwarf system 8,000 light-years away, ZTF J1539+5027, where the two dead stars orbit each other every seven minutes. That's the second-fastest pair of white dwarfs seen to date, and the fastest such "eclipsing" system (where one passes between its partner and Earth). This isn't the first time they've seen one white dwarf 'eat' the other, but it's rare to catch this cannibalization in the act.
Read MoreLightSail 2, the crowdfunded spacecraft designed to be powered by the sun's photons, has officially set sail. The Planetary Society announced today that LightSail 2 deployed its solar sail on Tuesday as it was flying south of the continental United States. So far, everything seems to be working as intended. Scientists reported on Twitter that the solar sail was angled within 30 degrees of its expected orientation, a sign that it is properly tracking the Sun.
Read MoreTelesat, the Canadian telecom and SpaceX internet competitor, wants to connect remote regions with its low-earth-orbit satellites. Now, it appears to have the backing of Her Majesty's Government. The company announced today that it is partnering with the Canadian government to expand high-speed internet access to rural areas. Over the next decade, the government will contribute $600 million in Canadian dollars towards the telecom's upcoming fleet of satellites. An additional $85 million of funding will be used to create 500 new jobs, invest in R&D and promote STEM education.
Read MoreWant to know just how routine spaceflight has become? Just look at SpaceX's latest mission. The company is livestreaming the launch of its CRS-18 resupply mission for the ISS with an expected liftoff at 6:24PM Eastern, and every component from the mission is well-worn. The Falcon 9 launched a previous ISS supply mission in May, while the Dragon has visited the ISS twice -- once in April 2015 and again in December 2017. This is the first instance of SpaceX flying a Dragon capsule for the third time, the company said.
Read MoreAstronomers believe they've mapped an important sequence of events that shaped our galaxy 10 billion years ago. In a paper published in Nature Astronomy today, researchers from the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) share their findings that a dwarf galaxy, Gaia-Enceladus, once collided and merged with the early Milky Way. Their discovery offers a new understanding of how the Milky Way formed.
Read MoreOne week after a "technical snag" forced the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to delay the launch of its Chandrayaan-2, the lunar mission launched today. It appears to be back on track, and if all goes well, it will be India's first soft landing on the Moon using its own technology. It will also be the first soft landing attempt ever at the Moon's South Pole.
Read MoreIt's been half an Earth century since humanity first made landfall on its nearest celestial neighbor, and there's plenty of reason to celebrate, but that doesn't mean the news of the world has frozen in place like the flag Apollo 11's crew left behind. A new laser telescope array is hunting for signs of extraterrestrial intelligences, Toyota's spending the next ten years building a Moon rover and this past June got more than a little toasty.
Read MoreYou knew the US wouldn't mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 without news about the country's next trip to the Moon. Both Lockheed Martin and NASA have confirmed completion of the Orion crew capsule that will play a key role in Artemis 1, the uncrewed mission that will fly past the Moon while verifying Orion, the Space Launch System and the associated support systems. Efforts are now focused on integrating the capsule with the service module and testing it ahead of launch processing in early 2020.
Read MoreFew would deny that Neil Armstrong's shot of fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin is one of the most famous and compelling photos ever taken. What makes it so iconic? Of course, he had access to a place that only 11 other human beings have been, but there's more to it than that. The photo itself is well composed, full of incredible details and charged with the energy of the occasion. How Armstrong got it is a story of not just luck, but preparation and a great eye.
Read MoreDueling superpowers, rival billionaires. Inside the new race to the Moon Jeffrey Kluger, Time SpaceX, Blue Origin and others are in a heated battle to help NASA return the US to the Moon. Time takes an in-depth look at the new space race and the key players fighting for a piece of the prize.
Read MoreEarth is about to mark Apollo 11's 50th anniversary in one of the most fitting ways possible: sending people to space on the same day. NASA's Andrew Morgan (shown at left), Roscosmos' Alexander Skvortsov and the ESA's Luca Parmitano are launching on a trip to the International Space Station at 12:28PM ET today (July 20th), with NASA's live coverage starting at 11:30AM Eastern. The rendezvous with the ISS is slated for around 6:50PM ET. The crew will be joining NASA's current ISS residents Nick Hague and soon-to-be record setter Christina Koch, as well as Russia's Alexey Ovchinin.
Read MoreAR headsets haven't exactly caught on with the general public -- especially after the Google Glass debacle. Mixed reality technology has garnered a sizable amount of interest in a variety of professional industries, though, from medicine and education to design and engineering. Since 2015, the technology has even made its way into aerospace where NASA and its partners have leveraged Microsoft's HoloLens platform to revolutionize how spacecraft are constructed and astronauts perform their duties while in orbit.
Read MoreThere's a mystery at the heart of the first Moon landing. And no, it's not whether the whole thing was staged. Instead, historians are wondering whether a small company in Manchester helped NASA design its iconic Apollo 11 spacesuit.
Read MoreAstronauts endure one of the most dangerous, high stakes, high stress professions on (or off) the planet -- a job matched in isolation, confinement and extremity perhaps only by arctic field scientists and ballistic missile submarine crews. Of course, the latter two rarely have to deal with radiation exposure, gravity changes, or the prospect of being sucked out an airlock.
Read MoreOn July 21, 1969, the first humans set foot on the Moon. With Neil Armstrong's simple words, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," the world changed irrevocably. For a few hours, we existed on multiple worlds. That was fifty years ago. Now, in the shadow of Apollo, we are once again looking to venture back out into the stars, past the low Earth orbit where we've been learning about space over the past few decades. We know better how to live and work in orbit thanks to the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. Now NASA says it's time to return to the lunar surface. But this time, it wants to stay there. NASA's Project Artemis (aptly named as the goddess of hunting is Apollo's twin sister) aims to take humans back to the Moon by 2024. But there are many lingering questions about the destination, the goals, the motivations, the project itself, NASA's current readiness level and whether it has the support in Congress to move forward.
Read MoreVirgin Orbit, the small satellite launch arm of Virgin Galactic, will provide launch capabilities for the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF). Virgin has been angling for government contracts recently and has managed to land a project called Artemis "to demonstrate the utility of small satellites and responsive launch to provide information to the RAF."
Read MoreAs SpaceX continues its progress toward a Demo-2 launch of its Crew Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronauts aboard the company put together this reel of parachute tests. According to the tag, "SpaceX is returning human spaceflight capabilities to the United States with one of the safest, most advanced systems ever built." I didn't spot a clip from the failed test in April, but that's part of the reason why SpaceX is doing repeated tests from various heights and setups like the one it failed where one of the parachutes was intentionally disabled. It's all to make sure that the system works when it's called upon to provide a safe ocean landing for actual people. Boeing already announced the competing Starliner project has completed a qualification test for its parachute system, although both programs have faced technical issues, like the explosive incident SpaceX recently traced to an oxidizer leak.
Read MoreTime is joining Google in marking Apollo 11's 50th anniversary using augmented reality, although this one is decidedly different -- and may be particularly valuable if you're a history buff. The magazine has introduced a Landing on the Moon AR experience in the Time Immersive app for iOS (coming shortly for Android astronauts; the experience is also available in Engadget sister company Yahoo News's app) that lets you relive the landing (complete with audio), explore the lunar surface and even stand next to Neil Armstrong while he plants the flag.
Read MoreInternet investor Yuri Milner's search for extraterrestrial life now includes a hunt for, effectively, interstellar Morse code. Breakthrough Listen is teaming with the partners behind VERITAS (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) to search for nanoseconds-long optical pulses that could indicate the presence of aliens trying to flash messages across the cosmos. The collaboration will use all four telescopes at once to check for these light-based "beacons," which would could be brighter than stars observed in the same direction.
Read MoreJapan has an ambitious plan to send men to the moon by 2030 as part of a multinational mission and is determined they'll have a ride when they get there. Japan's space agency JAXA and partner Toyota have revealed that the pressurized, manned lunar rover -- announced earlier this year -- should be ready to launch by 2029.
Read MoreMonths after the incident, SpaceX has an explanation for why its Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed during a test. The private spaceflight firm has determined that a "leaking component" allowed liquid oxidizer (specifically nitrogen tetroxide) to enter high-pressure helium tubes during ground processing. When some of this oxidizer was sent through a helium check valve during the launch escape system startup, it reacted with the valve's titanium and triggered an explosion.
Read MoreWelcome to July 15th! For most of us, the summer has begun, so what better time to offer our new guide to outdoor gear for places that don't have WiFi (gasp!). As we do some preparatory stretches for Prime Day (more on that later), you might have missed the mystery of gravity, a hub to rescue your port-hungry laptop and the death of the inventor of the computer password.
Read MoreThe US isn't the only country that wants to create a dedicated space force within its military. French President Emmanuel Macron has greenlit plans to create a space command within his country's air force next September. The division would bolster defense of France's satellites, he said. Officials had yet to determine the scale of the investment.
Read MoreNASA is expanding its efforts to bring 3D printing to space. The agency has given Made In Space a $73.3 million contract to demonstrate the ability to 3D-print spacecraft parts in orbit using Archinaut One (shown above), a robotic manufacturing ship due to launch in 2022 or later. The vessel will fly aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket and 3D-print two 32-foot beams on each side, with each unfurling two solar arrays. The completed arrays could produce up to five times more power than the solar panels you normally find on spacecraft this size, NASA said.
Read MoreIndia is on the cusp of making space exploration history in more ways than one, and you might get to watch it first-hand. ISRO is livestreaming the launch of Chandrayaan-2, its second uncrewed mission to the Moon, starting at 5PM Eastern (liftoff is expected at 5:21PM Eastern). The trip is meant to deliver the VIkram lander and Pragyan rover to the Moon, making this India's first soft landing on the lunar surface using its own technology -- only the US, Russia and China have managed this feat so far. It's also the first soft landing attempt for any country at the Moon's South Pole, where Pragyan will study the chemistry, seismography and topography of the celestial body.
Read MoreRussia is back in the business of space observation after losing control of a radio telescope a the start of 2019. The country has successfully launched Spektr-RG, an X-ray telescope co-developed with Germany's help. The vessel will take 100 days to reach its final destination of Lagrange Point 2, where it can conduct studies in stable conditions a million miles from Earth. When it gets there, though, it could significantly reshape human understanding of the universe.
Read MoreNASA's Voyager probes are still out there, exploring interstellar space 42 years after they left our planet. To keep them running all these years with generators that are 40 percent less powerful than they were decades ago -- and which are producing less and less energy over time -- the agency had to sacrifice some of their parts and components. In fact, the mission managers have recently switched off the heater for Voyager 2's cosmic ray subsystem instrument (CRS) as part of their new power management plan.
Read MoreNext week will see the latest test of SpaceX's Starhopper spacecraft, the test vehicle for the Starship project which aims to create a resuable long-duration spacecraft for carrying passengers and cargo into space. SpaceX hopes to begin commercial launches using the Starship by 2021.
Read MoreWhile rovers like Curiosity are doing a bang-up job exploring extraterrestrial terrain, they don't have the capability to scale cliffs and other hard-to-reach places. That's a job best left to climbing robots like LEMUR, a technology developed by engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. JPL's engineers spent years refining the machine, which was originally conceived as a repair robot for the International Space Station. Now, the LEMUR (short for Limbed Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot) project has concluded, but not before JPL conducted a final field test in Death Valley, California.
Read MoreBack in February, Japan's second asteroid-exploring spacecraft touched down on the asteroid Ryugu to collect samples that it will bring back to Earth. Tonight, Hayabusa2 is making its final sample collection attempt, where it will try to collect material that was exposed by a crater it created with explosives back in April. It will once again try to quickly land, fire a tantalum bullet into the asteroid's surface and grab some of the dust that gets kicked up -- all in about one second. Assuming all goes well, the plan is to eventually deploy the Minerva II2 rover, and then begin its year-long journey back to Earth around November or December.
Read MoreVirgin Orbit's first rocket drop test has gone off without a hitch. The company's Boeing 747 launch aircraft (Cosmic Girl) successfully dropped a dummy LauncherOne rocket from its wing above the Mojave Desert, bringing it one step closer to launching real payloads into space. The focus after this is on launching a real rocket, according to Virgin -- and it might come soon.
Read MoreVirgin Orbit has gotten the thumbs up to conduct the LauncherOne system's first drop test, and it can happen "in the very near future." The Virgin Group's launch services company has successfully completed its final captive carry flight test, almost eight months after the first time its carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl flew with a 70-foot-long rocket strapped under its wing. Now that it's done with captive carry tests, the company is moving on to the next phase: air-dropping the LauncherOne rocket from an altitude of over 30,000 feet.
Read MoreA journey to Mars will take several months, and humans won't be able to turn back if an astronaut suffers a burn or a bone fracture. Which is why scientists at the University Hospital of Dresden Technical University have now produced the first bioprinted skin and bone samples for use in space. Even though treating patients with 3D-printed skin or bones is still in its early stages back on Earth, the technique is particularly vital in space, where the human body doesn't heal as quickly.
Read MoreSpace tourism company Virgin Galactic has announced that it will go public via a merger with an investment firm. Its new partner, Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH), will invest $800 million in exchange for a 49 percent stake and take Virgin Galactic public later in 2019 -- a first for a spaceflight company.
Read MoreIt can be tricky to measure the spin of a black hole, particularly when it's hard to see them, but astronomers have pulled off just such a feat. They've gauged the spins of five supermassive black holes through a combination of data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and gravitational lensing, or the use of gravity from celestial bodies to magnify very distant objects.
Read MoreSo far, it's been smooth sailing for the LightSail 2. The solar spacecraft is orbiting on its own after being delivered to space last week aboard Space X's Falcon Heavy. The mission team of the Planetary Society confirmed on Wednesday that it has established two-way communications with LightSail 2 and is running various tests. According to the spacecraft's telemetry, all of its major systems appear to be operating normally. Over the next few days, a time will be set for LightSail 2 to deploy its signature solar sails which will propel it forward. Unlike traditional spacecraft which rely on rocket engines, LightSail 2's design is powered by photons from the sun. If successful, it will be the first controlled light sail ever to enter and maintain Earth orbit.
Read MoreNASA has been putting the Artemis program together over the past months in hopes of returning to the moon by 2024. After picking the first three commercial moon landing service providers, NASA has now chosen the 12 science and technology projects they're bringing to Earth's faithful companion. All 12 will help us study the moon in preparation for our return in a few years' time -- a rover called MoonRanger, for instance, will create 3D maps of the lunar surface. Astrobotic has signed a $5.6 million NASA contract to build the lightweight autonomous rover, which will also demonstrate a long-range communication system for lunar exploration.
Read MoreBefore the Orion capsule takes astronauts to the moon, NASA first has to make sure that it can keep its passengers safe in case things don't go according to plan. In fact, the agency will put the spacecraft's launch abort system to the test today, July 2nd. NASA will launch a test version of the module from Cape Canaveral in Florida this morning, letting it fly to an altitude of about six miles at more than 1,000 miles per hour before the abort process is initiated.
Read MoreIt's been almost two years since the last total solar eclipse passed over the US, but there's a good chance you remember all of the hype. Now, a total solar eclipse is heading for parts of Chile and Argentina. It will arrive tomorrow, and thanks to NASA and the Exploratorium, you can catch a livestream as it happens. Beginning at 3pm ET, the agency will stream the eclipse, and at 4pm ET it will begin commentary in both English and Spanish. All three streams will be available on NASA's website.
Read MoreCBS, ABC, NBC and Fox have joined forces in a fight against Locast, a nonprofit streaming service funded in part by AT&T Inc and Dish Network Corp. The service is marketed as a distribution alternative for people who can't get local TV signals through their antenna, but it's also earned a reputation as a free alternative for consumers who are tired of their cable bills. According to The Wall Street Journal, the four networks claim Locast is retransmitting their local TV signals without permission, therefore violating copyright law.
Read MoreIt's going to be particularly easy to watch Lollapalooza concerts online this year. YouTube is livestreaming the 2019 music festival between August 1st and August 4th, both through Lollapalooza's channel as well as through YouTube Music. You'll see "curated" performances from the likes of Janelle Monae and Twenty One Pilots, but there will also be three streams to follow the action from multiple stages. It won't be the same as being there, but that might not be a bad thing if you're less than fond of sweaty crowds or making a pilgrimage to Chicago.
Read MoreIn the three months since Spotify crested the 100 million Premium user mark, the company has added another 8 million paying customers. It's another sign of health from a music streaming service that continues to grow in the face of tough and well-heeled competition. In its second-quarter earnings, Spotify said that its overall membership grew from 217 million last quarter to 232 million now.
Read MoreThe Greek goddess who infamously turned Odysseus's crew into swine in Homer's Odyssey is getting a modern-day reboot. HBO Max has ordered eight episodes of Circe, a modern-day adaptation of the ancient Greek myth that is based on the bestselling novel by Madeline Miller, reported Variety.
Read MoreYou don't have to make do with on-demand video if you watch Hulu on an Android TV device. Hulu is rolling out support for its Live TV service to Google-powered devices in early August, including TV sets from Sony and Hisense as well as set-tops like NVIDIA's Shield and Xiaomi's Mi Box. You'll also get Hulu's latest interface as part of the launch.
Read MoreTwitch's $20,000 karaoke contest is returning for a second season. The online singing competition for karaoke-style title Twitch Sings is open from today until Monday 5th August. Contestants can submit their audition videos here, and an internal team at Twitch will select the top 15 entrants to compete live over the course of five weeks.
Read MoreYou'd be forgiven if you were befuddled by AT&T's range of streaming services. Between DirecTV Now, HBO Max, Watch TV and now AT&T TV, it's not always clear what service will meet your needs, or even which app you might need. The telecom thinks it can simplify things a bit... well, maybe. As part of summer trials for its satellite TV substitute AT&T TV, it's rebadging DirecTV Now as AT&T TV Now and folding service into the same AT&T TV app. You'll have just one place to go whether you're a cord-cutter looking for a lean TV package or just looking for an alternative to satellite.
Read MoreGame of Thrones and Aquaman actor Jason Momoa has signed on to star in and produce Sweet Girl, a revenge thriller to be released on Netflix. The streaming service announced the project today, revealing only a few plot details and no release date. Momoa will star as Cooper, a devastated father who vows to bring justice to the people responsible for his wife's death while also protecting his daughter.
Read MoreIf you're like me, you probably came to terms a long time ago with the fact we might not ever hear that "new Tool album." Welp, it looks like I was wrong. The band announced on Instagram today that its first album in 13 years, Fear Inoculum, will be out August 30th. And to celebrate, the group's existing catalog of brooding art metal will be available on streaming services for the first time this Friday (August 2nd).
Read MoreIt's time to say sayonara to UltraViolet. The cloud-based digital rights locker that lets users watch content across a variety of services will shut down on Wednesday. Earlier this year, the company said it would cease operations on July 31st due to changes in the market. Customers will still be able to access any purchased movies and TV shows through the original retailers, which are FandangoNOW and Vudu (only in the US), Kaleidoscope (US, UK, Canada) and Flixster (outside the US). Same goes for making any online purchases or redeeming any digital codes.
Read MoreComcast users will soon be able to access their Amazon Music playlists with their voice remote. The cable company announced today that the streaming music service will be integrated with Xfinity's X1 and Flex platforms and will roll out over the next few weeks.
Read MorePBS and PBS Kids are coming to YouTube TV. Beginning sometime this year, PBS member stations who choose to participate will have their programming streamed on YouTube TV's live TV and on-demand subscription service. The move will bring both educational and local TV to the platform, and it marks the first time PBS has partnered with a streaming service in this way.
Read MoreA group of YouTubers is teaming up with Europe's largest trade union to lobby for greater transparency. Until recently, the YouTubers Union was a community group with little power of its own, but it has now teamed up with IG Metall, the German Metalworker's union. IG Metall is one of the oldest unions in Germany and over its lifetime has expanded to cover workers in industries including electrical engineering, IT, plastics and textiles.
Read MoreIf you can't get enough of shows like Big Mouth, you're in for a treat. Netflix has struck a deal with Brutus Pink, the new production house from Big Mouth creators Nick Kroll, Jennifer Flackett, Andrew Goldberg and Mark Levin. The multi-year arrangement will have the team producing animated movies and shows for Netflix, including three more seasons of Big Mouth beyond the third season already lined up for the fall.
Read MoreAlong with a season four renewal for its biggest hit to date, The Handmaid's Tale, Hulu had plenty to reveal about its programming slate at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. Among the announcements was a premiere date for Wu-Tang: An American Saga. It'll tell the true story of legendary hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan from their New York beginnings in the early '90s. Three episodes premiere on September 4th, with another arriving every week for the 10-episode run.
Read MoreRegal Cinemas is the latest company to offer an unlimited movie ticket subscription service. The details of its new Regal Unlimited program were posted on its website today. The service isn't up and running just yet, but according to Deadline, it should launch in less than a week.
Read MoreApple cordcutters will soon have an easier way to manage their CBS subscription, as the CBS All Access streaming service is arriving on Apple TV Channels on July 29th. CBS announced the launch on Twitter, as spotted by 9to5Mac.
Read MoreKids and video games -- rather than politics or makeup tutorials -- are the most powerful drivers of traffic on YouTube. Pew released a study today that analyzed over 40,000 high-subscriber channels for a week. What they found painted a picture of a YouTube user base that is younger, more drawn to Fortnite than Donald Trump and fluent in a language that isn't English.
Read MoreThe streaming wars are intensifying, with the likes of HBO, CBS and Disney focusing on their own platforms and hanging onto their content instead of licensing it to Netflix and other services. We now know when another major player will enter the battlefield, as NBCUniversal has pegged next April as the launch window for its ad-supported streaming service.
Read MoreEven a stellar cast and team of Bojack Horseman producers, led by creator Lisa Hannwalt, couldn't save the animated series Tuca & Bertie from Netflix's axe. The streaming company announced that the series, starting Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong, would not be back for a second season. "While Tuca & Bertie won't have a second season, we're proud to feature this story on Netflix for years to come," Netflix said in a statement.
Read MoreYou won't have to rely on canned videos if you want to learn a new language through online streams. Duolingo and Twitch are launching a Duolingo Verified Streamer Program that will showcase broadcasters using their channels to teach new languages. Some of them might use Duolingo lessons in their streams, but others will promote the use of other languages in cooking, travel and other real-world situations. They'll also encourage you to practice your linguistic skills in chat.
Read MoreYou now have yet another major video service to watch on your Oculus VR headset. Amazon has released a Prime Video VR app that allows Oculus Quest, Go, and Gear VR owners to stream the internet behemoth's shows in a virtual space. There will even be 360-degree videos to watch, although there are just 10 "handpicked" titles that include the climate change documentary Greenland Melting and the animated short Invasion.
Read MoreThe end of summer is usually a time when things wind down, but August is likely to be a banner month for Netflix. We'll finally find out what happens to the ragtag crew of professional female wrestlers in Las Vegas with a new season of GLOW. A sophomore season of Derry Girls, the rollicking comedy about a gang of high school girls growing up in conflict-ridden Northern Ireland, will also drop this month. New seasons of Dear White People and Mindhunter -- also Netflix Originals -- will debut in August.
Read MoreIn case DirecTV Now, HBO Max and Watch TV weren't enough, AT&T has one more streaming service in the works. The telecom used its second quarter earnings to reveal that it will start testing an AT&T TV service in "select markets" during the third quarter, with wider availability in the fall. The company didn't describe how it would work in a statement, but promised more details in the "coming weeks."
Read MoreRobert Mueller famously stated that "the report is my testimony" about potential obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump. However, Congress was having none of that and subpoenaed the former special counsel to testify before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees. That testimony will take place over a single day -- today, July 24th -- starting at 8:30 AM ET. If you're hoping for some drama or political theater, here's how to stream or watch it on TV.
Read MoreNetflix may have been in front of the curve when it came to video streaming, but the company has found things a little more difficult in recent months. Price hikes have derailed its growth, meaning it only amassed half of the five million new subscribers it predicted would sign up over the last quarter. With Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max all on the horizon, Netflix is seeking new ways to lure new customers to its platform, including smartphone-only plans, which have officially launched today in India.
Read MoreThanks to all the services that let you stream live TV, it's easy to watch sports without a commitment to cable. The channel lineups vary, and some are more limited than others. What's more, the television rights for college sports, especially football, are tied to the conference, so you'll need to find out which channels have the deal covering your favorite schools. From there, it's a matter of making sure the service you choose has all the channels you need so you don't miss a game. Lucky for you, we can help.
Read MoreNetflix is expanding its selection for tots. The streaming giant announced today that it would be adding seven new shows, all geared towards children between the ages of two to six-years-old. Included in the new lineup is DreamWorks Dragons Rescue Riders, a CG-animated follow-up to DreamWorks Dragons: Race to the Edge, another Netflix series in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise for slightly older kids.
Read MoreAnother San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, and as always, there were a colossal number of trailers and previews for upcoming shows and movies, including many in the streaming realm.
Read MoreIn one of the weirder artistic crossovers of the year, Grammy-award winning musician Sturgill Simpson is releasing an anime on Netflix.
Read MoreNetflix regularly works with unionized actors (they're ubiquitous in Hollywood), but usually on a show-by-show basis. Now, though, it's establishing a deeper connection. The service has signed a roughly three-year contract with SAG-AFTRA that provides expanded coverage for union work. It now recognizes "performance capture" (think motion capture) and dubbing as covered work, giving actors in those fields the same labor protections as others. The people voicing the English-language version of your favorite anime might have better pay and working conditions, to put it one way.
Read MoreThose murmurs of WarnerMedia making DC Universe's shows more widely available? They're true. DC's Doom Patrol has been renewed for a second season, and it'll be available on both DC Universe and HBO Max when it resumes in 2020. The move will also bring the superhero series' first season to HBO Max. There's no word on other shows following suit, but this could be a test case. It wouldn't be surprising if other shows followed suit if viewership soared.
Read MoreMarvel has provided the first details for phase four of its Cinematic Universe, and it won't surprise you to hear that Disney+ will play a large role. There are no less than five superhero shows reaching the streaming service, although you'll have to wait a while to watch them. And you'll have to watch them if you're an MCU completionist -- at least some of them will provide context for events in upcoming movies.
Read MoreYou'll have to forget about watching The Orville's third season on Fox. Hulu has announced that it will offer season 3 of the sci-fi series as an exclusive in the US, with new episodes premiering in late 2020. Creator and star Seth MacFarlane was fairly blunt about the reason for the move: the more ambitious production (particularly special effects, according to Variety) and resulting wait was going to be "challenging" for Fox. This ensures that you can still see The Orville while accommodating its needs.
Read MoreMedia giants are embroiled in yet another fight over TV rates, and viewers are once again paying the price. CBS' channels in 17 markets (including New York, San Francisco and Atlanta) have gone dark on AT&T services like DirecTV Now and U-verse after the two companies failed to reach an agreement on a new carriage contract before the old one expired at 2AM ET on July 19th. As is often the case in disputes like this, the two sides are each accusing each other of being unreasonable -- though AT&T in particular has also claimed that CBS is using All Access as a weapon.
Read MoreLast fall, Crypt TV announced it would convert its Webby Award-winning short The Birch into a 15-episode horror series for Facebook Watch. The digital studio, founded by Eli Roth and Jack Davis, isn't stopping there. According to Deadline, Crypt TV and Facebook are teaming up to bring a total of five horror series to the platform.
Read MoreAmericans didn't have official ways to watch the Eurovision Song Contest live this year, but they'll at least have a way to relive it. Netflix will carry the 2019 competition's semi-finals and grand final in the US starting on July 22nd, giving you eight-plus hours of melodramatic performances, over-the-top costumes and bitter national rivalries. You'll also have on-demand access to the 2020 contest after it airs.
Read MoreForget waiting until July 26th, during a panel at Comic-Con Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell announced season four of the relaunched series is premiering today on Hulu. All eight episodes are live right now, so if you're not at the event it's a perfect time to kick off some binge-watching a week earlier than expected.
Read MoreEddie Murphy might be better known these days for his work on the screen, but it was on the stage that he got his start. His stand-up specials Delirious and Raw are often ranked among the best ever, and Murphy has been open in recent years about wanting a return to live performance. Netflix might help him make the leap, as it's reportedly in talks with him for several stand-up specials.
Read MoreBritBox, the streaming service from two of Britain's largest broadcasters, will finally launch in the UK by the end of 2019. The service, a partnership between the BBC and ITV, will be priced at £5.99 ($7.50) a month, offering HD video across multiple screens and devices. BritBox will not only be a repository for UK TV content, it'll also commission new and original shows just for subscribers.
Read MoreIf you're a YouTube Premium or Music Premium subscriber, switching between a song and its music video should be smoother as of today. You can hop back and forth between the two, and playback will continue from the same point with no pauses or interruptions, YouTube says.
Read MoreEarlier this year YouTube announced an exclusive 13-game streaming deal with Major League Baseball -- and it's starting today. If you're in the USA, Canada or Puerto Rico you'll be able to watch a live MLB game of the week, every week of the regular season, no fees or sign-in required. And you won't be able to watch these games anywhere else. Today's game -- Dodgers vs Phillies -- starts at 12:30pm ET / 09:30am PT. Head over to YouTube's MLB channel to watch it live.
Read MoreApple isn't just using the Apollo 11 anniversary to hype up its live action shows. The tech giant has offered an early look at its Apple TV+ Peanuts cartoons with a short trailer for "Snoopy in Space." The clip underscores Snoopy's usual hijinks (much to the chagrin of Charlie Brown), but it gives you an idea of what to expect. The title will have Charlie and crew visit NASA, where Snoopy and Woodstock have been chosen for a mission.
Read MoreDropping A.P. Bio is never a good idea. NBC has approved the Lorne Michaels-produced comedy for a third season -- but will feature it exclusively on its upcoming streaming platform, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The network just last month elected to cancel the half-hour sitcom starring Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt, much to the despair of its fans and creators. The show, which tells the story of a hapless high school biology teacher and his class of high-achieving misfits, performed well on digital but drew only lukewarm ratings on broadcast TV.
Read MoreJust ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, you'll have another way to tune into NASA TV's live stream. Hulu will carry the feed on its live TV service as of July 19th, and a selection of video-on-demand material will arrive on the platform this week.
Read MoreNetflix just released its financial results for the second quarter of 2019 (PDF), and a number that jumps out is that its service grew by 2.7 million subscribers. That's a problem for shareholders because in its last report, the company predicted it would be up about 5 million in Q2, and in the US it actually lost more subscribers than it added for only the second time ever, dropping by 130,000. While any results tied to its juggernaut Stranger Things won't show up until the Q3 report arrives in a few months, Netflix said "Our missed forecast was across all regions, but slightly more so in regions with price increases." Another possible reason for the gap between expectations and reality is its big Q1 -- the company experienced its second-largest period of subscriber growth ever with 9.6 million new customers. Whatever the reason, Netflix's letter is quick to make sure no one makes the mistake of attributing the gap to competition (which mostly hasn't launched yet: Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max or NBCU) or highly-viewed licensed content that will go away in the future like The Office. Apparently Netflix believes this opens up more space in its budget for original content, and that even hits like that only make up a "low single digit percentage of streaming hours" that members quickly replace with other options on its service. Otherwise, it updated numbers for some of its big hits, like Murder Mystery, which stars Jennifer Aniston alongside Adam Sandler and is now the service's most-viewed Sandler flick with over 73 million households watching in its first four weeks. It also confirmed that in India, it will launch a lower-priced mobile-only package in Q3, and pushed back against rumors that it will add advertisements, saying that it prefers to be like HBO.
Read MoreAmerica's road trip with James Corden and his celebrity guests isn't over yet. Apple has renewed the CBS-produced Carpool Karaoke for a third season, reported Variety. The short-form singalong show was the tech giant's first original series on Apple Music (since moved to Apple TV), and so far has been a hit with viewers. Corden earlier this week racked up three Emmy nominations for his role in the web series spin-off, which began as a segment on The Late Late Show.
Read MoreSpotify has been available on the iPad for several years, but it hasn't really evolved to take advantage of the Apple tablet's growing multitasking abilities. You've still had to switch to a full-screen view just to start a new playlist or see what friends are playing. At last, though, it's getting more respect. Spotify has stealthily updated its iPad app with support for multitasking modes like Slide Over and Split View. You can keep tabs on an album while you're reading the artist's bio on the web, or browse podcasts without disrupting your group chat.
Read MoreDisney classics like The Lion King or Mulan are known for their iconic soundtracks, and now it's easier than ever to find them in one place. Spotify and Disney have teamed up today to launch a hub exclusively for all things Disney. Users can stream playlists of songs and scores from the classic animated film canon as well as the Marvel and Star Wars universe. While Disney music was already available on the streaming service, this is the first time it's all been gathered in one designated location.
Read MoreIf you weren't alive to witness the historic Apollo 11 mission, CBS has the next best thing. The US broadcaster is livestreaming the original broadcast from July 16th, 1969, letting you relive it as many of us saw it originally -- corny commercials included.
Read MoreIf you decide to rewatch the first season of 13 Reasons Why, don't expect to see the controversial three-minute-long scene showing Hanna taking her own life in graphic detail. Netflix and the team behind the show have decided to tone down that part of the episode ahead of the third season's debut and following advice from medical experts. In an announcement posted on Twitter, the team said they're aware of the ongoing debate surrounding the show and have heard concerns about that scene in particular from Dr. Christine Moutier at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and other experts.
Read MoreA couple years ago Dish revealed AirTV, an Android TV-powered set-top box. The company has been relatively quiet since then, but today, it launched the AirTV Mini. The new device is a 4K HDR-compatible streaming stick that brings users Sling TV, Netflix and over-the-air (OTA) channels, as well as other apps built for Android TVs.
Read MoreThere's bound to be a lot of changes, both big and small, at 21st Century Fox now that Disney's acquisition of the media giant is completed. One of those is the shutdown of FX Networks' Plus subscription service, which it launched with Comcast back in 2017. FX+ offers on-demand and ad-free streaming of the network's shows, including American Horror Story, The Shield and Sons of Anarchy, for $6 a month. According to the notice posted on the FX+ website, it will no longer be available by August 21st, 2019 and members only have until August 20th to enjoy the service.
Read MoreNetflix announced plans for a second season of Mindhunter almost two years ago, and now it finally has a release date. David Fincher has confirmed through The Treatment podcast that season two of the crime series will premiere August 16th. He didn't divulge details of the plot, but it's believe to take place roughly two years after the first and focus on the Atlanta child murders.
Read MoreYouTube is reportedly offering automatic downloads to its Premium subscribers. The opt-in feature should make it easier to watch content offline. As Android Police notes, some Premium subscribers now see a pop-up banner offering to automatically download favorite topics. In the "Downloads" section, users can pick channels and subjects to save for offline viewing, and each card indicates how long the videos are, so you have an idea of what you're saving.
Read MoreSure, Spotify has 100 million paid subscribers, and Apple Music has 60 million. But Amazon won't be left in the dust. According to Financial Times, the number of people subscribing to Amazon Music Unlimited grew roughly 70 percent in the last year. As of April, Amazon had more than 32 million subscribers across its music services, including Unlimited and Prime Music. While Spotify leads the pack with the most subscribers, it's growing at a slower rate, about 25 percent per year.
Read MoreApple has been snapping up big-name talents left, right and center as it gears up for the launch of Apple TV+. The likes of Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Octavia Spencer, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell and Kumail Nanjiani are making shows and movies for the upcoming streaming platform. Apple seems to have added another instantly recognizable name to the mix in the form of the BBC.
Read MoreHulu has launched a new Live Guide showing which live TV shows are available to watch on the streaming service right now and also what's coming up in the next two weeks.
Read MoreLast year, YouTube took to the VidCon stage to share new ways creators could make money. This year, YouTube returned with updates to those programs. For starters, it's adding new Channel Membership levels. Since last year, fans have been able to pay a monthly fee of $4.99 in exchange for added membership perks like exclusive live streams, extra videos and shoutouts. Now, creators can set up to five different price points and offer varying perks at each tier. According to YouTube, when Fine Brothers Entertainment tested offering multiple levels, the company's membership revenue increased sixfold.
Read MoreAre true crime podcasts as popular with Millenials as they are with Baby Boomers? Does the under-35 crowd listen to wellness podcasts? Nielsen, the company behind the TV ratings system, will begin to survey Americans about their podcast consumption habits in order to sell the data to podcast creators and ad networks.
Read MoreNetflix isn't just tapping Zack Snyder for a zombie action movie. The streaming behemoth has announced that Snyder and DC animated movie director Jay Oliva are creating an anime series based on Norse mythology. There's no mention of plot, a release date or even a name, but Netflix is counting on the close connection between the two masterminds as a selling point. They've worked together on more than a dozen movies, including Man of Steel and Justice League.
Read MoreSiriusXM will finally let some subscribers create personalized music stations with Pandora, nearly six months after it acquired the streaming music company. The company today announced a slew of upgrades, including access to customized music stations powered by Pandora technology for All Access and Premier subscribers. Integrating Pandora tech into the SiriusXM app has been in the works for a while -- and now it's actually happening.
Read MoreThose in the business of hosting videos created by the public need to have a solid copyright protection and claim system in place. While YouTube's is far from perfect -- in fact, it's been abused and used to extort creators -- the company has rolled out changes to the system that make it easier to deal with infringement claims. To start with, people manually filing copyright infringement claims must now provide timestamps for the exact part of the videos they're reporting.
Read MoreIt's been a while since we heard about this 10-episode sci-fi series from Netflix that features Battlestar Galactica and Longmire star Katee Sackhoff, but now there's a new teaser trailer for Another Life. According to the synopsis, her character Niko Breckenridge is on an interstellar mission to find the origin of a massive alien artifact after it lands on Earth, while her husband stays home investigating it. As you might have guessed, the mission doesn't appear to be going well, however the trailer doesn't explain quite what threat anyone is facing. Selma Blair and Justin Chatwin are also appearing in the Aaron Martin (Slasher) created show. We won't have to wait long to find out what the deal is -- Another Life premieres July 25th.
Read MoreAT&T's WarnerMedia finally has a name for its streaming service -- and some unfortunate news for people hoping it would share some classic shows. The new platform will be named HBO Max, and will unsurprisingly use HBO's material as its base on top of originals and shows from other Warner networks. Most notably, that includes exclusive rights "at launch" to every episode of Friends -- true to its word, AT&T won't let Netflix and others share its classics. There are similar on-launch exclusives for Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Pretty Little Liars.
Read MoreNetflix is ramping up its anime push, dropping a trailer for its remake of classic anime Saint Seiya which will begin streaming in a few weeks.
Read MoreCuphead and Mugman are making their way to Netflix. The protagonists of the devilishly difficult Cuphead will star in The Cuphead Show, an upcoming original animated series on the streaming platform. The game's distinctive, beautiful art style should lend itself perfectly to an animated show.
Read MoreHere's proof that Google and Amazon have truly buried the hatchet: Prime Video is finally available on Mountain View's streaming devices. The two tech giants ended their streaming video spat in April, paving the way for their services to become available on each other's hardware products. That means you can now cast Good Omens or The Man in the High Castle from the Prime Video app to screens bigger than your phone or laptop using Chromecast devices (or Chromecast built-in) or play the shows through the application on an Android-powered smart TV.
Read MoreMonths after Amazon and Google ended their fight over streaming video, the official YouTube app is once again available on Fire TV devices. As of today, some Fire TV devices (multiple Fire TV Stick variants and the Fire TV Cube) and TV sets (from Element, Insignia, Toshiba and Westinghouse) can natively play videos, keep tabs on subscriptions and otherwise do what... well, most other YouTube-equipped devices can do. This includes playback for 4K HDR video at 60 frames per second, not to mention expanded Alexa integration -- you don't have to mention YouTube by name if you're already inside the app.
Read MoreNetflix is no stranger to buying movies originally destined for other studios, but its latest coup is particularly eyebrow-raising. The company has acquired Red Notice, a blockbuster heist thriller that was previously under Universal's wing. It was already set to be a high-profile pic with Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot as its biggest stars, but the switch to Netflix also brings Ryan Reynolds to the cast. It's directed and written by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who's best known for working with Johnson on Central Intelligence and Skyscraper.
Read MoreSling TV has made some tweaks to its interface on Apple TV and Roku devices that should make for a better viewing experience. The company says the updates are in response to customer feedback, and should make it easier to sift through shows and movies. The changes are rolling out to Roku users starting today, and all Apple TV users should have the new interface by now.
Read MoreRemember when it was a big deal that Bright racked up 11 million viewers? That's now quaint by comparison. Netflix has revealed that 40.7 million accounts have watched Stranger Things 3 in the four days since its July 4th premiere, making it the most-viewed show of any kind on the service in that time frame. And many in that audience were determined to finish the season before they returned to work -- 18.2 million have already completed the entire season.
Read MoreIn this month's installment of our audio IRL, we're back to podcasts. Deputy Managing Editor Nathan Ingraham embraces the weirdness of Thom Yorke's new album and Senior News Editor Billy Steele can't get enough of Malcolm Gladwell's music history show.
Read MoreLarry David has always said the mantra for Seinfeld was "no hugging and no learning." In other words, whatever happened in an episode of the enormously successful sitcom, Jerry and the gang wouldn't change. That perhaps made it easier for viewers to dip in and out of random episodes, without necessarily needing to know about long-running storylines. To celebrate the show's 30th anniversary today, Hulu is leaning into that with an episode shuffle button.
Read MoreNetflix's anime adaptation of Pacific Rim will emerge from the depths when it hits the streaming service sometime next year. The animated expansion of the giant mech saga will run for at least two seasons, IGN reported.
Read MoreA few years ago, Netflix and Chelsea Handler set out to "revolutionize the talk show." The plan was to run three 30-minute, near-live episodes each week. But the show, Chelsea, took nearly two years to launch, and after just two seasons, Netflix pulled the plug. It didn't stop there though. Netflix also removed 66 episodes. A company spokesperson told The New York Times that it's the only instance in which Netflix has pulled content it owned and created.
Read MoreAlways Be My Maybe has been one of the most-discussed Netflix projects over the last month or so, with the charming romcom seemingly picking up a legion of fans. Admirers might be keen to learn a bit more about the making of the film, so Netflix has released a director's commentary as a podcast.
Read MoreFuture Netflix original shows rated TV-14 or lower and movies rated PG-13 or below will no longer include depictions of smoking or e-cigarette use, except in cases of historical or factual accuracy. The service will also avoid showing smoking or e-cigarette use in more adult-orientated projects "unless it's essential to the creative vision of the artist or because it's character-defining (historically or culturally important)," it told Variety.
Read MoreNetflix is setting up another big production hub, and this one is steeped in cinematic history. The streaming giant is establishing a 14-stage UK operation at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, a location that has been used to shoot more than a few classic movies. It's been used to film Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars, The Princess Bride, Gladiator and a slew Disney movies that include several Marvel titles, among other blockbusters.
Read MoreIn the days of CDs and records, exploring the credits for a piece of music simply meant reading the album sleeve. But with digital music, discovering the unsung heroes behind your favorite music -- the producers, the engineers and studio musicians -- is a bit trickier. Jay-Z's music streaming service Tidal wants to put an end to that, as the platform launches a new interactive credits feature.
Read MoreIt's no secret that Roku has many devotees, but how big is its lead in the TV streaming world, really? Quite large, according to Strategy Analytics -- and importantly, growing. The analyst firm's latest sales research indicates that Roku is expanding its dominance in the US, with over 41 million active media streaming devices (about 15.2 percent of the market) under its belt. That's a 36 percent advantage over the next-closest platform, Sony's PlayStation line.
Read MoreAnother year, another price hike for the PlayStation Vue TV-streaming service. On Monday, the company announced that it was raising the prices of all of its multi-channel plans by $5 per month. The change will be effective starting today for new subscribers. Existing subscribers can expect the price increase in their billing statements on or after July 31st.
Read MoreNetflix is known for taking bets on experimental shows and ambitious costume dramas set in far-flung locations. But the golden days of the company's cavalier spending on original content may be coming to a close as it becomes more careful with finances, reports The Information. The company is expected to be more budget-conscious with future productions as it faces competition from upcoming streaming services by Disney, NBC Universal, Apple and WarnerMedia.
Read MoreIndie artists will no longer have the option to upload music directly to Spotify -- not that they'll necessarily mind. Spotify is shutting down the upload beta test after determining that its efforts were better spent elsewhere. Feedback from musicians suggests that Spotify should instead "lean into" the work of existing distribution partners, according to the company. It would also pour more of its energy into unique benefits, such as listener metrics and a playlist submission tool.
Read MoreSling TV is once again raising prices, and you won't be thrilled if you're a sports enthusiast. New customers for the Sling Orange package now have to pay $10 per month for the Sports Extra channel bundle instead of the previous $5. Existing customers will see the rate hike take effect from August 1st onward. That's the same price that Sling Blue customers were already paying for Sports Extra, but it also means you're looking at a minimum of $25 per month when you combine the sports pack with any base plan.
Read MoreThere's more Star Trek available for streaming -- although it might not be on the service you were expecting to use. Amazon is adding five pre-Abrams Star Trek movies to Prime Video in the US on July 31st. Two of them come from the cast of the original series (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), while the rest are from the Next Generation crew (First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis). It could be a good way to brush up on Jean-Luc Picard's history ahead of his new streaming series.
Read MoreNeil Gaiman's epic mythology comic Sandman could finally make its screen debut. Netflix and Warner Bros. are close to signing a big-money deal to adapt the comic into a TV show, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Read MoreApple may have an abundance of new tablets to show this fall. MySmartPrice has found two new filings for unannounced iPad models at the Eurasian Economic Commission, joining the five new iPad models that popped up earlier in the month. The filings don't say much by themselves beyond the model numbers (A2200 and A2232), but they create a clearer picture of Apple's near-term plans for the iPad.
Read MoreApple has been busy in the tablet space this year between the new iPad Air and an overdue iPad mini update, but what about everybody else? You're getting your fix soon, apparently. MySmartPrice has discovered filings at the Eurasia Economic Commission for five unannounced iPads, two in one filing and three in another. The entries say precious little about the hardware itself, but these are definitely new models -- they'll all run iPadOS. As it stands, there are murmurs hinting at what you might expect.
Read MoreInventor of the jet-powered Flyboard Air, Franky Zapata, had his dream of becoming the first person to cross the English Channel by hoverboard dashed last week, after he misjudged the landing for a refuelling stop. But he remains undeterred in his quest, and will be making another attempt this weekend.
Read MoreNature is beautiful, but it can also be unpredictable and dangerous. Here's the gear that might save you when you're spending hours hiking, camping or adventuring outdoors.
Read MoreFrom the moment it was first teased last year, Samsung's Galaxy Fold convinced many that foldable phones were the next frontier to conquer. To no one's surprise, it wasn't long before competitors announced foldable plans of their own, feeding a cycle of hype that culminated at this year's Mobile World Congress. Samsung showed off the Galaxy Fold to the public (albeit, behind glass). Huawei unveiled its Mate X, a beautiful rival to Samsung's device that somehow cost even more. And Motorola, which had long been rumored to be working on a foldable, indiscreetly confirmed its plans to launch one this year. By this point, industry watchers and phone nerds had worked themselves into something of a foldable frenzy, and Samsung was supposed to be the first to scratch that itch. The Galaxy Fold was slated to launch in the United States on April 26th, but that, uh, clearly didn't happen.
Read MoreIf there was any doubt that Netflix was hunting for awards with Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, it just got erased. The streaming service has released a teaser (really, a first trailer) for the mob epic, and it's clear the movie is a callback to Scorsese classics like Goodfellas and Casino in more ways than one. There's the premise, for a start -- it shows the evolution of the Mafia over decades through the perspective of the hitman who claimed to have killed Jimmy Hoffa. However, it's the acting talent that's on clearest display here.
Read MoreIf you loved its record-breaking theater run but would rather watch the three-hour epic at home where you can take as many bathroom breaks as you like, then we have good news: Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame is available across various digital movie stores right now. Your home theater might not be an IMAX, but you can also check out all of the included extras this way. Otherwise, Discovery has kicked off Shark Week, and there's a pair of notable series finales lined up for Jane the Virgin and iZombie. For gamers, Madden NFL 20 is almost here, while on streaming we're looking forward to Four Weddings and a Funeral on Hulu, This is Football on Amazon Prime, and on Netflix, there's Otherhood, season three of She-Ra and the season premiere of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. 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 MoreMartin Scorsese directing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in a crime saga. If that weren't evidence enough Netflix is hoping for another major Oscars player with The Irishman, the movie will have a swanky world premiere when it opens the New York Film Festival September 27th.
Read MoreThe new Lion King movie is visually spectacular. A two-hour remake that frequently defies belief. Pride Rock is, of course, a fictional place but in director Jon Favreau's film it feels eerily real. The creatures, too, move just like they would on the plains of Africa. They're utterly believable until they talk and sing to one another about family, responsibility and the circle of life. Disney has been remaking its animated classics for some time now. But The Lion King, which hit theaters on July 19th, sets a new benchmark for what's possible with computer-generated animation. The secret behind it all? An experimental form of filmmaking that, through VR, allows studios to shoot virtual sets with old-fashioned direction and analog camerawork.
Read MoreThe deluge of Amazon Prime Video news also includes a treat for Tom Clancy enthusiasts. After a long, long wait, Amazon has posted a teaser trailer for the second season of Jack Ryan. The clip is unsurprisingly light on story, but does suggest the stakes (and stunts) are higher for Jack this time around. The CIA agent will have to grapple with IEDs, rooftop jumps and airborne insertions, not to mention political intrigue that complicates matters.
Read MoreAmazon's long-promised Transparent series finale now has a release date. The two-hour musical extravaganza is coming to Prime Video on September 27th, and the trailer gives you an idea of just how the show will handle Jeffrey Tambor's departure. It's treating his character Maura's exit as a sudden death, much like Frank in House of Cards, but it's a more sympathetic approach this time around -- the Pfefferman family uses song and dance to deal with the grief of losing an "irreplaceable" person. Much of the cast will return for the sendoff.
Read MoreThere's a flurry of show news from Amazon this weekend, but not all of it is positive. The company has cancelled its podcast-based Prime Video series Lore after two seasons. This wasn't a complete shock when the second season premiered in October 2018 with months of silence about its future, but it's likely not what you wanted to hear if you're a fan of the show's exploration of the origins of folk legends.
Read MoreAmazon clearly has a lot of confidence in its revival of The Expanse -- the internet giant has renewed the gritty sci-fi show for a fifth season months before season four's December 13th premiere. That's not completely surprising when the Prime Video series both has a devoted following from its Syfy days and an experienced team. Nonetheless, it's likely to be comforting for fans worried that Amazon might resurrect the show only to axe it soon afterward.
Read MoreHulu's dystopian drama The Handmaid's Tale is one of the service's tentpole original series, and June's harrowing tale is set to continue for at least another year. The Disney-owned platform confirmed at the Television Critics Association summer press tour the show will return for a fourth season.
Read MoreHulu might not have the answer to The Great Question, but it's cooking up something tHGttG fans may appreciate... if it does things right. The streaming platform is developing an adaptation of Douglas Adams' beloved classic The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, according to Deadline. Apparently, the project will be headed by Carlton Cuse, one of the showrunners behind Lost, Bates Motel and Locke & Key, as well as Jason Fuchs, whose writing credits include Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman.
Read MoreWhen Amazon Prime Video series Homecoming returns for its second season, it'll have a new star. Actor and musician Janelle Monáe is taking over the lead role from Julia Roberts. She'll play a woman who wakes up a canoe with no idea how she got there or who she is.
Read MoreThis week we're loaded with new stuff to watch on streaming, including Katee Sackhoff in a new non-Battlestar Galactica science fiction series, Another Life. Also new on Netflix this week is The Great Hack, a documentary focusing on the Cambridge Analytica election scandal, season two of Canada's Workin' Moms and the final season of Orange is the New Black. If you prefer Amazon, then check out its superheroes-gone-bad series The Boys -- season two is already in the works. On disc, Battle Angel: Alita brings its uncanny hero to Blu-ray, while for sports fans there's the USATF championships, WNBA All-Star game and F1 action from Germany. Finally, for gamers there's Wolfenstein: Youngblood across several platforms, and Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is ready for play in virtual reality. 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 MoreAmazon may have picked the first cast member for its upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series. Sources told several media outlets today that Australian actress Markella Kavenagh will be a series regular in the streaming giant's high-budget rendition of the J.R.R. Tolkien work. Engadget has reached out to Amazon for comment, and will update if we hear back.
Read MoreStar Trek: Picard feels like a watershed decision in the streaming TV wars: A show so niche that it cannot possibly find a mainstream audience. I'm not complaining since it seems to have been designed to appeal to my fanboy brain. But is Amazon going to get the army of new worldwide subscribers with a show this hostile to newcomers?
Read MoreFans of The Expanse finally know when they can expect Amazon to continue the cult-hit sci-fi series. The internet giant has confirmed that the fourth season of The Expanse will debut on December 13th. As you might have surmised, it's a direct continuation of the narrative you saw on TV. Now that the Ring Gates have opened to more planets, there's a "blood-soaked gold rush." The crew of the Rocinante is in a particularly dire mess -- it's entangled in a fight between an Earth mining company that claimed a planet and the Belt colonists that were there first.
Read MoreHBO has released the first full trailer for Westworld's third season, and it's clear that there's much, much more to see than what you caught in the teaser. The clip shows a future city where the park robots have slipped into human society, with Dolores well aware that she and her fellow bots are prime targets. She'll clearly be involved with Caleb, the construction worker played by Aaron Paul. We also see Maeve in a WWII-themed park -- as if Westworld's robots weren't dangerous enough.
Read MoreCBS is using San Diego Comic-Con to share a wealth of new info about its next wave of Star Trek material on All Access. To start, there's finally an honest-to-goodness trailer for Star Trek: Picard, which premieres early 2020 on the streaming service. We won't spoil the trailer for you, but that's not necessarily the biggest news from the event. It's who else is joining Patrick Stewart that could matter the most for some fans.
Read MoreBesides The Witcher, Netflix also highlighted its upcoming The Dark Crystal prequel series at Comic-Con. Instead of another trailer, the video posted goes behind the scenes, talking to engineers and others at Jim Henson Company who have continued the tradition more than thirty years later for this ten episode run. According to director Louis Leterrier, hopefully the audience will "forget you're watching puppets." Stars like Mark Hamill and Taron Egerton showed up for the SDCC panel, where producer Lisa Henson said "This is the proudest thing that I've done since my siblings and myself started running the company." The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will premiere on Netflix August 30th.
Read MoreLate last year we learned that The Witcher's TV adaptation found its Geralt in the form of Superman star Henry Cavill, and now at Comic-Con fans have their first glimpse of the live-action series coming to Netflix. The teaser trailer was unveiled at a panel discussion, where Variety reports Cavill said he campaigned "passionately" for the role and that he's a big gamer who also did all of his own stunts. There's no release date on the trailer itself, but at least we have an idea of the monsters Geralt will be facing -- both human and otherwise. Attendees got a look at some footage that isn't in this clip, including the game's notorious bathtub, among other things.
Read MoreWhat better way to celebrate the Moon landing than to gather your family around the couch and relive the experience? Even if you weren't lucky enough to see Neil Armstrong plant his feet on the Moon fifty years ago, there are plenty of films and shows that'll let you recapture the magic of that moment. And if you're not eager to honor the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11's momentous mission (you monster), it's still worth reminding yourself of what NASA, and mankind writ large, can do under pressure. The planet might be in the midst of a political and environmental meltdown today, but we managed to walk on the Moon once, damnit. It's all a reminder there may be hope for us yet.
Read MoreHey, good morning! You look fabulous.Looking for another creepy feline CGI movie trailer? We got you. We've also put together a guide for the best car-camping gear, if you're priming yourself for some weekend trips in the next few weeks.
Read MoreParamount Pictures has released a Terminator: Dark Fate featurette at San Diego Comic-Con, showing an inside look at the making of what people are calling the true sequel to Terminator 2. While the franchise spawned three movies since the iconic flick, including the critically panned Terminator Genisys with Emilia Clarke, Dark Fate will serve as a soft reboot to the series and will directly follow the events of Judgment Day. James Cameron and team even got Linda Hamilton to reprise her role as Sarah Connor almost three decades after saying hasta la vista to the character.
Read MoreVFX artists had a go with the feature film Cats. Universal unveiled a full-length trailer today that gave us the first look at what the film's human actors look like as CG-transformed felines. While the Broadway version of Cats relied on elaborate costumes and makeup, the Jellicle Cats in the Tom Hooper film are heavily aided by visual effects wizardry. Earlier footage revealed the film's actors performing in leotards with markers, with the promise of "digital fur" being added later in post-production.
Read MoreThe Television Academy has revealed this year's Emmy nominations and to absolutely no one's surprise, Game of Thrones scooped up the most nods with 32, including Outstanding Drama Series and 10 nominees across various acting categories. The show with the second-highest tally of nominations is Amazon Prime Video's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel with 20. It won several awards last year, including the top Outstanding Comedy Series prize. It's nominated again in that category.
Read MoreThis week more than one non-MCU superhero film that's worth watching is available, as Shazam! is released in 4K (and 3D, if you prefer), on disc and digital, and Fast Color makes its debut. On cable, Fear the Walking Dead is coming to a midseason break on AMC and Killjoys is back, while Suits kicks off a new season and spawns a spin-off, Pearson. On streaming, Netflix is all over the place, dropping off new episodes for Queer Eye, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and Money Heist. For gamers, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is a Switch exclusive. 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 MoreAmazon is reportedly working on a series based on Jack Reacher, the character from Lee Child's bestselling crime-thriller novels. According to Deadline, Amazon Studios landed the rights to develop a script-to-series drama. Scorpion creator Nick Santora will write, executive produce and serve as the series' showrunner.
Read MoreApple knows the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 is right around the corner, and it's using that as an opportunity to offer a new trailer sharing more about the origins of its alternate history Apple TV+ show For All Mankind. Co-creator Ron Moore, executive producer Maril Davis and advisor Michael Okuda note that they wanted to tap into the "optimistic future" the Apollo program (and the space race at large) promised. It's about tapping into that desire for humanity to "take its place in the universe," and celebrating an era when astronauts held an almost mythic status.
Read MoreWarner Bros. bought the movie rights to Space Invaders years ago, and now it looks ready to do something with the classic alien-blasting franchise. Deadline reports that Warner's New Line Cinema is advancing production on the film, with Mortal Kombat reboot writer Greg Russo handling the script. There's no release window yet, although the lack of detail suggests you'll be waiting a while.
Read MoreDisney's The Mandalorian is still months away from its premiere, but that isn't stopping plans for round two. Jon Favreau told Collider that he's already in pre-production for a second season of the live action Star Wars show, including writing and preparation for special effects shots. While this is as much about saving time as anything (it's tricky to produce quality effects on a TV schedule, Favreau said), it does show that Disney has confidence in the series.
Read MoreFilming is set to start soon on the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot, which is in pre-production in Australia under the wing of producer James Wan. Tidbits about what's in store are starting to emerge, such as the casting of The Raid star Joe Taslim as series lynchpin Sub-Zero. The latest news on the movie comes from writer Greg Russo, who said the production team is gunning for an R rating. And yes, it'll include proper fatalities.
Read MoreDisney's new Star Wars-theme park, Galaxy's Edge, will get its second ride before the year is up. Today, Disney Parks announced that "Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance" will arrive in Florida at Walt Disney World Resort on December 5th -- Walt Disney's birthday. Immediately after the ride debuts in Florida, the team will head to California, where they'll unveil it at Disneyland Resort on January 17th.
Read MoreIt's hard to believe that David Fincher, responsible for iconic films like Seven, Fight Club and The Social Network, hasn't made a film for five years. He's finally coming back to direct a movie called Mank for Netflix, according to Variety. It will star Gary Oldman and detail the turbulent development of the script for Citizen Kane by Hollywood legends Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles.
Read MoreMomo, the viral hoax that took the internet by storm last summer, has always looked like it belonged in a horror movie. Now it will star in one. Deadline reported that Orion Pictures is planning a movie based on Momo, the creepy looking character at the center of the Momo Challenge. The project will be developed in partnership with Vertigo Entertainment and will be led by Taka Ichise, one of the producers of The Grudge.
Read MoreThe Netflix era of Marvel TV shows has drawn to a close, but that doesn't mean you'll have to walk away from it empty-handed... in fact, you might just own a piece of the shows themselves. Marvel and Prop Store are auctioning off props and costumes from Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist on August 12th through the 13th, with online bidding starting now. And no, these aren't just incidental objects that would require a freeze-frame to recognize. Many of them are major, instantly recognizable items that defined the shows.
Read MoreThis week is light on big gaming releases, but sports fans can check out the MLB All-Star Game Tuesday, and ESPN's Espy's celebration on Wednesday. For movie fans, you can snag Robert Rodriguez's Alita: Battle Angel from digital retailers before the Blu-ray edition lands in a couple of weeks, while on TV there's a new US adaptation of Love Island and a new season of Top Gear. 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 MoreMore than twenty years after the release of the first Pokémon movie, the film is being reimagined with an all-new computer-generated release in Japan. The first trailer dropped at the start of this year, and now a second trailer shows more of what to expect from the upcoming film.
Read MoreOn Thursday at the Anime Expo in Los Angeles, director Katsuhiro Otomo was the center of several announcements. Sunrise Inc. is producing a new project based on Akira that is supposed to be a continuation of the classic series, although there weren't many details announced about it.
Read MoreRegal Cinemas is reportedly preparing to join the unlimited movie ticket subscription fray. It's said to be revealing its plans later this month. According to Variety, the three pricing tiers ($18, $21 and $24) will all offer unlimited tickets and will vary based on theater location, unlike the state-based pricing of AMC's year-old Stubs A-List service.
Read MoreAmazon's highly anticipated TV rendition of Middle-earth has secured some directing talent. Spanish director J.A. Bayona will direct the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings series and serve as executive producer, reported Deadline. The young director has plenty of experience in the world of big budget fantasy dramas; he most recently directed 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Also under Bayona's belt is tree monster flick A Monster Calls, natural disaster movie The Impossible and Spanish horror film The Orphanage.
Read MoreTommy Wiseau's 2003 film The Room is known as one of the best worst films of all time -- both awful yet strangely alluring. The filmmaker's awkward mannerisms, impossible to place accent and incredible lack of self-awareness is considered strange even by Hollywood standards, and even inspired an Oscar-nominated film, The Disaster Artist. Now Wiseau and former co-star Greg Sestero have released a pilot for SpaceWorld, a new sci-fi cartoon, on the YouTube channel of animation studio Octopie. You can watch the full episode below, which runs just under six minutes:
Read MoreGremlins, the 1984 comedy horror film that famously spawned the PG-13 rating, is coming back. WarnerMedia has confirmed that it will produce an animated series called Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. Set in 1920s Shanghai, the 10-episode prequel, written by Tze Chun, will tell the story of the mysterious shop owner Mr. (Sam) Wing. The plot will follow 10-year-old Sam and street thief Elle, and detail how he met Gizmo, the adorable Mogwai who can morph into a not-so-adorable army of evil Gremlins.
Read MoreHBO is releasing Hackerville, its German series about a talented Romanian teenage hacker, to American audiences. The show follows German cybercrime investigator Liza Metz (Anna Schumacher) who is sent back to her hometown in Romania to investigate a major hack against a German bank. Lisa teams up with a local cop, Adam Sandor (Andi Vasluianu) to hunt down the criminals. Meanwhile, a local teenager and talented hacker, Cipi, (Voicu Dumitras) is being scouted by both the police and those with more nefarious motives. Shot in both Romania and Germany, Hackerville was HBO Europe's first co-international production. For American audiences, the network is only releasing the series on HBO Now, HBO Go and HBO On Demand.
Read MoreIn the US, this week is interrupted by the July 4th holiday, and Netflix is celebrating by releasing season three of Stranger Things to take us on another trip back to the '80s. Even if you're not up to binge it on Thursday morning, don't forget there's also a game coming out for all the major systems, while anime fans can enjoy another new release with season three of Kakegurui. Otherwise, gamers should check out Sea of Solitude, a "brilliant, emotional horror show" we've been waiting years to play, while on Switch, Dream Daddy and What Remains of Edith Finch are making their debuts. On Tuesday night, ESPN is airing a new 30 for 30 about the Nathan's hot dog eating contest that focuses on the rivalry between Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi. 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 MoreHey, good morning! Welcome back! Stranger Things Season 3 is upon us, Amazon is upgrading its Fire TV service (alongside a sweet discount on its DVR box) and Huawei devices may make it back to the US.
Read MoreFitbit's smartwatch-fueled recovery just hit a setback. The wearable maker reported that its smartwatch revenue dropped 27 percent year-over-year in the second quarter as a result of "weaker than expected" Versa Lite sales. While it still lost less money than it did a year earlier ($68.5 million instead of $118.3 million), it had clearly been counting on the Lite to further improve its bottom line.
Read MoreDrone racers just got a major viewing upgrade. Aerial imaging company DJI has launched its digital first person viewing (FPV) transmission system, which boasts the first low latency HD video transmission signal. This means a crystal clear display, minimal lag, anti-inference reliability and range of up to 2.5 miles.
Read MoreSustainable speaker and headphone brand House of Marley is releasing its first set of truly wireless earbuds, the Liberate Air, made from bamboo and recycled materials.
Read MoreThe Khronos Group has launched the first official version of the OpenXR specification, which could make cross-platform AR and VR applications a lot more common in the future. It allows developers to build apps that can run on various devices across brands without the need to create a specific version for individual models. Khronos rolled out an experimental version of the standard a few months ago to seek input from the cross-reality (XR) industry. It aims to continue improving the specification and maintaining full backwards compatibility now that the standard is officially out.
Read MoreHey, good morning! With something close to seasonally timed perfection, Sony is offering a wearable 'air conditioner' unit on its crowdfunding platform. Meanwhile, Fortnite gets a premier esports circuit (with even more millions of dollars up for grabs), and we lay out the best streaming services for cord-cutters on a budget.
Read MoreAre you struggling to cope with the heat outdoors? Sony might have a solution, if not as soon as you might like. The company's First Flight program is crowdfunding a wearable 'air conditioner,' the Reon Pocket, that slips into a pouch in a special t-shirt. The stealthy device doesn't condition the air as such. Rather, it sits at the base of your neck and uses the Peltier effect (where heat is absorbed or emitted when you pass an electrical current across a junction) to either lower your temperature by 23F or raise it by 14F, all without bulk or noise. You could wear a stuffy business outfit on a hot day and avoid looking like you've just stepped out of a sauna.
Read MoreDetails about the second Galaxy Watch Active started leaking just a few months after the first one became available. A lot more unofficial information have been published since then, that we might actually know some of the device's most pertinent details before Samsung officially launches it. Now, a bunch of FCC documents first brought to light by Droid Life shows photos of the smartwatch's display, along with an illustration of its backside.
Read MoreMozilla just expanded the reach of its Firefox Reality VR browser to one of its bigger platforms yet: the Oculus Quest. Owners of Facebook's stand-alone headset can surf sites, watch videos and dive into VR experiences through a browser that both emphasizes privacy (Enhanced Tracking Protection is turned on by default) and puts VR web activities front and center in a portal. The features will seem familiar if you've used Firefox Reality on another platform, including voice search, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if you aren't happy with the usual Quest browsing.
Read MoreNike has developed a new shoe technology for both casual and every-day runners. Today, the sportswear giant is taking the wraps off of Joyride, a responsive cushioning system designed to adapt to individual foot strikes and offer high levels of impact absorption as your feet hit whatever surface you're running on. Nike says the idea with Joyride is to "make running easy" and give you more personalized comfort, which is made possible by thousands of tiny, energy-packed beads that form the shoe's midsole. You can get a great look at them in the Joyride Run Flyknit pictured above, the first Nike sneakers to feature the visible and colorful beads.
Read MoreSamsung's Galaxy Watch Active is more compact and less expensive than its sibling smartwatches, but navigation is considerably clunkier without the brand's usual rotating bezel. The company may have a simple solution to that, though -- turn the bezel into a touch surface. SamMobile sources claim the Galaxy Watch Active 2 will implement a "Touch Bezel" that lets you swipe your finger along the side to scroll through the circular interface. We could see that being an issue in some cases (Samsung will hopefully try to minimize accidental input), but it might beat having to obscure the screen every time you want to check the weather or read a text message.
Read MoreThe smart diaper wars have truly begun. Today, Pampers unveiled Lumi, an all-in-one connected system that includes two activity sensors for diapers, a Logitech camera fashioned into a Wi-Fi baby monitor and an app that wraps everything together. It follows Huggies adoption of the Monit smart diaper sensor in Korea. But Pampers, perhaps aware that a smart diaper alone isn't enough to entice consumers, is aiming for something a bit more expansive. The Lumi system is meant to make an infant's first year easier for parents by delivering as much data as possible.
Read MoreWhen a field of 127 runners lined up in Central Park on September 13, 1970, to run the first New York City Marathon, the only gadgets, per se, that could help them were a smattering of watches. A grainy finisher photo shows winner Gary Muhrcke breaking the tape with a watch band on his left wrist. Both of his hands are throwing peace signs. The only equipment required then was a pair of shoes, short shorts and enough grit to run 26.2 miles without collapsing. Today, running without a GPS watch is as much a protest against screen time and the intrusion of tech as it is a tactical racing decision. Some of us, meanwhile, can't imagine running without headphones. Then there's all the self-care. Vibrating muscle relaxers help athletes recover. Sport-centric social networks, like Strava, help us bask in our best workouts. Meditation apps help us calm down before bed while calorie counting apps track our macros. Even the most basic of fitness devices capture heart-rate data; on running watches, it will soon be standard. Speaking of sports watches, we have an entire buying guide for that, which we recently published as part of this outdoor gear series. But we were also curious about what it means to be better, faster, stronger when money is no object. We asked five elite runners, all of whom are flush with sponsorship deals and prize money, on what they use to train and how they protect their most important piece of equipment: their bodies. A couple of items on this list were universally recommended, namely the Hyperice Volt ($349) massage-ball gun (as I'm describing it) and NormaTec's compression boots ($1,295), both muscle-recovery tools. And, of course, plenty were eager to tout the wares of their sponsor partners. Here's what they're using.
Read MoreSamsung is exploring the possibility of developing augmented reality glasses, based on one of its latest patent applications first spotted by Patently Apple. The documentation the tech giant submitted to the US Patent & Trademark Office shows foldable device that looks more like a typical pair of glasses -- with much thicker frames to accommodate its electronic components -- than the Samsung Gear VR. While the final product could end up being vastly different, the current design is an eyepiece that automatically switches on whenever it's unfolded.
Read MoreMobvoi's second generation TicWatch Pro is available today, and the company hopes it will free you from your phone. The Wear OS-powered TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE offers wireless connectivity, so you can receive voice calls and app notifications, send and receive texts and use popular messaging apps. You can also hit an SOS button that will dial 911, and it will automatically sync your data with the cloud -- all without tethering you to another device.
Read MoreThis week in Engadget's Hitting the Books series: the surprising story behind the Apple Watch's ECG feature.
Read MoreFive years ago, Nicole Rose Stillings wanted a better pair of headphones. As a full-time professional DJ, she thought that most of the ones she wore were much too big and bulky for her head. So she created a few prototypes that were smaller in size, and for a bit of flair, adhered decorations on them (like rhinestones and Swarovski crystals). She began wearing them at her shows and they started getting a lot of attention -- primarily from women.
Read MoreCanon may be late to the clippable camera party, but it's still convinced it can bring something new to the table. The company is preparing a crowdfunding campaign for the Ivy Rec, a clip-on rugged camera that's designed to capture your hikes and other outdoor adventures. The cute-looking device won't win the image quality wars with a 13-megapixel sensor and 1080p 60FPS recording. However, it's built around a tiny water- and shock-resistant design that should be safer to use than your phone in the woods or at the beach.
Read MoreYou knew that Valve was going to support modding for its Index VR headset when it included a "frunk" just for accessories, but now the company is offering some of the tools you need to make those mods. It's releasing CAD files that can help you model accessories for the headset itself, the base station and the controllers. They're not just basic blueprints -- there are "inclusion zone" models to help you avoid interfering with sensors, and sample accessories give you an idea of what's possible.
Read MoreMuch like how Microsoft has positioned HoloLens as an enterprise-friendly tool for training, HTC Vive wants to help businesses take advantage of virtual reality. The company is launching a new unit today, Vive Enterprise Solutions, that'll be entirely focused on professional needs, be it VR hardware, software or services. It follows the release of the Vive Pro last year, a headset that managed to fix all of the problems of the original Vive, but at a high $799 cost that would really only appeal to businesses and professionals.
Read MoreMicrosoft is rolling out a couple of tests that could change the look of Xbox One's Home section as well as how you control the console via Cortana. Xbox Insiders should be able to check out the updates in the next few days.
Read MoreMicrosoft has been pushing its Xbox Game Pass service recently, adding new features and confirming it will be expanding to PC. Bargain hunters have been in the know about a special offer for the service since it was announced at E3, but now, the company has begun promoting what it calls a "lifehack" that allows gamers to upgrade to an Ultimate subscription for just $1.
Read MoreMicrosoft has introduced a new Xbox Game Pass feature that can help you remember to play the games you're putting off to finish the one you're on or to give those you've dropped in the past a second chance. You can now add titles from the service's catalog to a "play later" list through the console itself or the Game Pass mobile app. Since it's just a wishlist of sorts, you don't have to download the games the moment you add them -- just download them whenever you're ready to play.
Read MoreThe Coalition and Microsoft have offered a peek at Gears 5's cooperative Escape mode, but how does its competitive gameplay fare? You might find out very shortly if you're committed to the franchise. The companies are launching a Multiplayer Technical Test for the cover-based shooter that will run for two weekends, July 19th through July 21st and July 26th through July 29th. It'll be available to download for Windows 10 PC and Xbox One owners starting July 17th.
Read More