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Adidas is using augmented reality to sell limited-edition sneakers
It's never been easy to buy limited-edition sneakers, especially for consumers who may not have the same resources as a reseller. This can be anything from automated scripts (aka bots), to an army of people waiting in line outside a store ready to take all the stock. That's why brands such as Nike and Adidas are using technology to try to even the playing field for everyone, be it through random launches on an app or by using experiences based around emerging mediums like augmented reality. On November 3rd and 4th, at ComplexCon in Long Beach, California, Adidas Originals will debut a new AR feature that's going to let attendees buy some of the hottest shoes of the year -- including its Dragon Ball Z collaboration.
ID@Xbox won't disappear with the next console generation
When Microsoft revealed the ID@Xbox program in 2013, Xbox CVP Phil Harrison said he hoped it would usher tens of thousands of games onto the Xbox ecosystem. Five years on, Microsoft is 10 percent of the way there -- the company has officially published 1,000 games via the ID@Xbox program. (All things remaining equal, this means we'll hit Harrison's goal by 2068. Maybe hold off on printing those "Congrats on 10,000 games" banners for another few decades). "We're really kinda happy with where we are right now," ID@Xbox head Chris Charla told Engadget. "That doesn't mean there isn't tons of work to do for developers going forward, or that we're gonna slow down."
Twitch streamers are getting Snap's AR selfie filters
As part of its Snap Camera announcement, Snap Inc. has revealed a partnership with Twitch that will bring augmented reality Lenses to users of the video-streaming site. This will give Twitch streamers access to thousands of Snapchat-style selfie filters, including those made by Snap and independent Lens Studio creators. There's no need for users to have a Snapchat account, though the company is hoping to drive Twitch viewers to its mobile app by letting them unlock Lenses that their favorite streamers are "wearing" during a stream. You just have to scan a Snapcode that shows up on the big screen.
Snap is bringing augmented reality Lenses to the desktop
Fresh off its Q3 2018 earnings report, in which it broke a revenue record, Snap Inc. is making another major announcement. Meet Snap Camera, a standalone application that will bring the company's popular augmented reality filters, aka Lenses, to the desktop. Interestingly enough, the new app won't require a Snapchat login, a move Snap says is part of its vision to expand the Lens ecosystem beyond mobile.
With the iPhone XR, Apple broadens its 'best'
The iPhone XR might be the most interesting phone Apple has made in years. Think about it: Apple just released its flagship XS and XS Max to a chorus of positive reviews, and now here it is, a month later, preparing to launch another smartphone that packs many of the same features found in those really expensive ones. For Apple, this is all a little unheard of. To add to the curiosity of it all, the R doesn't mean much either. Phil Schiller, gingerly gripping a cup of coffee across from me, said the letters Apple uses never stand for something specific. But then his voice softened a little as he started to tell me about what the letters mean to him. "I love cars and things that go fast, and R and S are both letters used to denote sport cars that are really extra special," he said with a smile. That's not exactly the answer I was hoping for, but I'm not sure what I should've expected from a) Apple's SVP of global marketing and b) a longtime fan of Porsches and Audis. Of course, Schiller's is just one interpretation, and the iPhone XR lends itself to many. It's the cheap iPhone. It's the depressing iPhone. It's, in my case, the fascinating iPhone. That's all right though: Apple was intent on building the right iPhone for as many people as possible, no matter their outlook. These years of work have led Apple to build one of its best smartphones ever, even if it's a little misunderstood.
Volvo is betting big on mobile to push its car subscription service
The Volvo S60 will be the second car the automaker will "lease" via its Care by Volvo subscription service when it lands in showrooms in the next few months. But it turns out, that half the folks that flocked to subscribe to the XC40 didn't walk into dealerships. They "bought" the small SUV via their phones.
It's not always sunny in 'Cyberpunk 2077'
The Gamescom demo for Cyberpunk 2077 is nearly identical to the one shown at E3 two months prior, but it features a few important changes. First, it introduces a new weapon, a katana capable of emitting a magnetic field that deflects bullets, and it highlights the game's character-selection screens. Players will be able to pick their gender, appearance and backstory right from the beginning, filling in details about traumatic events in their past and other personal tidbits.
'Life is Strange 2' deals with brotherhood in the face of death
Life is Strange 2 begins with a bleak bang. Developer Dontnod shared the game's first 20 minutes this week on YouTube, introducing series fans to the Diaz family before diving straight into a chaotic, violent scene that sets the stage for the rest of the five-episode season. This article contains spoilers for the first 20 minutes of Life is Strange 2
Finally, a cheap smartphone with true flagship power
Xiaomi is one of the most respected smartphone brands in India, but apparently that wasn't not good enough. Earlier today, the Chinese phone maker launched a new sub-brand called Pocophone, which in turn revealed its new F1 smartphone. Normally, we wouldn't get too worked up over this kind of news, but as it turns out, Pocophone's F1 is a fascinating little machine.
YouTube Music is about to get a lot better
YouTube Music launched in May to mixed reviews. Even though its song catalog matches Apple Music and Spotify's (in addition to millions of videos pulled from YouTube) it arrived missing some essential features. Something as simple as sorting out your saved albums alphabetically, for example, isn't an option. You also can't browse by genre or easily see new albums from the week. But Google, which will replace Play Music with YouTube Music, is aware of these shortcomings and plans to address them soon.
Facebook's 'shared viewing' video feature is coming to all groups
Facebook has made it clear that it wants to make video a crucial part of its business, as it looks to compete with the likes of YouTube, Amazon and Netflix. And, over the past few months, the company's been making changes to help it get there, launching new features aimed at making videos more social. One of those is Watch Party, an experimental tool introduced in January that lets members of Facebook groups watch videos together and simultaneously. That shared watching experience, which works with both live and pre-recorded videos, was only available to select users when it was first announced, but now Facebook is bringing it to every group worldwide.
'Alto's Odyssey' lands on Android for free next week
Apple Design Award winner Alto's Odyssey hit the App Store in February, but Android players have been forced to wait for the serene platformer to come to Google Play. They won't have to sit on their hands for much longer -- Alto's Odyssey will land on Android on July 26th. And, when it does, it'll be free. The iOS version of Alto's Odyssey costs $5 and that's not going to change when the Android edition goes live. There's precedent for this platform price disparity: Alto's Adventure, the first game in the series, cost $3 on the App Store when it launched in 2015, while the Android version landed in 2016 as a free game. Snowman, the studio behind Alto, had heard from fellow indie developers that it was difficult to attain App Store-level sales figures on Google Play with a paid game, so they tried out a free model with ad support.
‘Emojiland’ blends musical theater and existential angst
The thing about musical theatre is that pleasant surprises are never too hard to find. A rock musical about 19th-century German teenagers exploring their sexuality won a Tony. And right now, a man playing a cartoon sponge from Nickelodeon is charming audiences on Broadway. Is it so strange, then, that someone out there decided a musical about emoji needed to happen? Nah.
Justin Roiland is a totally chill, normal guy with a new video game
Justin Roiland absentmindedly twirls the faces of the Rubik's Cube in his hands as we finish setting up the camera equipment. "I'm playing Shadows of Mordor... I just got the Oculus Go so I'm like messing around with bunch of stuff on [that]," he mentions. "I'm playing on the Switch, I'm playing ... god, too many things at once. I have too many games right now that I'm sort of bouncing around, you know?"
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' on PC is all about the customization
Call of Duty is no stranger to the PC. Previous versions of the game have been available on the platform before this year's Black Ops 4, but Treyarch is putting way more energy behind the PC edition than it has in the past. That means a much larger team is working on this version of the game. There's much more attention to detail, customization and other features specifically for the PC faithful.
'Dragon Quest XI' is the gateway JRPG new players needed
Dragon Quest XI launched in Japan almost a year ago, but it's only here at E3 this month that a western release is finally playable. Same old story right? A long-delayed Japanese game takes an age to get through localization, and appears with stilted translations, cheap voiceovers and a sense that this new game is already old. Wrong. DQXI subverts that. Well, a little. The US release will have voiced characters (the Japanese release had no voice actors), while also adding crucial upgrades like a dash button for your character, and a streamlined interface for smoothly getting your band of quirky allies in order.
Twitter is making it easier to follow your favorite topics and events
Twitter has always been the ideal site for conversations and reactions around live events, be it a sports game, an awards show or serious breaking news. Up until today, you've been able to use the Twitter mobile apps to get notifications from specific accounts you're into, like an NBA team or a media outlet, as well as breaking news. But now, the company wants to take that one step further and make it easier for you to see the latest about events and topics you care about. You'll notice this in the form of push notifications that will be sent to your phone based on your particular interests, including who you follow and what you tweet about.
ASUS ROG's ridiculously high-spec gaming phone was made for 'PUBG'
Thanks to the likes of Free Fire, PUBG and Fortnite arriving on mobile, gaming smartphones seem like a no-brainer for brands that want to break into the crowded smartphone world, with the Razer Phone setting the bar for others to follow. ASUS thinks it can do better. Here at Computex, the company surprised many by unveiling the ROG Phone, its first-ever handset made specifically with gaming in mind. Needless to say, this aggressive-looking device is specced out as a powerhouse, but it's also packed with many unique and thoughtful features that aim to deliver a better gaming experience. There are also a handful of dedicated accessories -- including an external cooling fan that clips onto the back, plus an optional handheld dock that adds a second screen to the ROG Phone.
AI can help a billion people, but Microsoft can't do it alone
"It cracks me up when I meet someone who says, 'Hey, I don't think I have people with disabilities in my company.' And that's when I know they've got people there that are not speaking up."
The smartphone notch is a status symbol
Whether you like it or not, the smartphone notch is here to stay. After the Essential Phone and iPhone X brought the notch to the masses, other major brands such as Huawei, ASUS, Oppo and Vivo followed suit soon after, and the latest to join the party is none other than LG with its G7 ThinQ. Admittedly, this is a little painful to watch considering that LG (and even HTC) once stood by its Second Screen idea well before the notch ever happened. LG had a fair reason to join this trend: People like it, and it has the numbers to prove it.
