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The best games for Nintendo Switch
Nintendo'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. The Switch is also a portable console, which has injected new life into older titles and indie hits that have never made it a Nintendo device before.
Regulators are the only ones who can save us from distracted drivers
I ride my trusty Vespa scooter all around San Francisco. In the Bay Area, it's more convenient for getting around than a car, and I can park almost anywhere. Riding on two wheels places you above most drivers and makes you hyperaware of others on the road, and what I see more often than not terrifies me. Most of you are on your phones when you should be driving. It's time for automakers and the US regulatory agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to do something about it.
If your family needs a second car, make it a fun, compact EV
Earlier this month, Volkswagen began production of the ID.3. It's a small, electric four-door hatchback with three different battery sizes, meant for a variety of driving lifestyles. The interior feels like the future, and if it drives anything like the E-Golf, it's going to be great. Except it's not coming to the United States.
How did Google get Pixel 4 face unlock this wrong?
Like many tech writers, I've been struggling to wrap my head around the brand-new Pixel 4's face unlock security #fail. Before the phone was even released, BBC technology reporter Chris Fox discovered that his review unit had a deeply disturbing security flaw: The phone's only biometric security option, facial recognition, worked just fine if the subject's eyes were closed.
Google buying Fitbit is good for Google, bad for wearables
If it happens -- and that's already a big if -- it's not going to be good for consumers, is it? Yesterday, shortly before Alphabet's Q3 earnings call, news hit that Google's parent company is considering buying Fitbit. The biggest independent wearables company is a prime target for the search giant, and it's likely to be available for a decent price. Fitbit's business is clearly weak, with Apple and Xiaomi respectively eating away at its high- and low-end markets.
After Math: Stand and Delivery
Things happened this week, such as Alphabet commencing commercial flights of its Wing drone delivery program in Christiansburg, Virginia. But they weren't the only tech corporation that decided to put things where they previously were not at speeds the public is unaccustomed to.
A month on, Apple Arcade is too cheap to quit
It's been almost exactly a month since Apple Arcade launched. That means that a lot of free trials are about to expire, and it's time to decide: Is it actually worth your $5 a month? Like you, a number of Engadget editors have been testing out Arcade's various games in our spare time and, for us, the answer is a resounding "yes." The subscription gaming service has won us over in a very short time, including those that were initially on the fence. We all have our own reasons, whether it's seeing Arcade as a potential solution to skeezy free-to-play mechanics, a tool to play titles across various devices or just a way to play some good games without paying a lot. Join four of us as we dig in a little deeper, and highlight some of our favorite games from the service along the way.
'Fortnite' Chapter 2 is the fresh start the game needed
I've played Fortnite for over 1,400 hours, but never quite like this. While exploring today's release of Chapter 2, I swam through crystal-clear rivers, carried a downed teammate and ate a flopper fish while waiting for a speedboat to pick me up. After over a year as the most popular game on the planet, Epic Games' money machine has the reset needed not only to freshen things up but make the battle royale shooter exciting again. To be clear, this is very much still Fortnite. Your goal is to either eliminate or avoid 99 other players who have parachuted onto a vibrant remote island in order to win a "Victory Royale." However, with today's update, that task has become a lot more challenging thanks to a completely new map, a revamped user interface, streamlined loot drops, new points of interest and game mechanics. All told, it'll probably require another few hundred hours to fully get used to.
After Math: Who turned the lights out?
If you live in California, the answer to that is our local power company, PG&E. But they're not the only ones unilaterally shutting down their operations, users, dissent, and what have you. Here are some highlights from a ban-tastic week.
After Math: When your goose cooks
While many of us were channeling our inner jerks through a troublemaking goose avatar, companies throughout the tech industry were conducting dastardly shenanigans of their own. Here are a few of the week's highlights.
Even the tech expert from 'Mr. Robot' can’t figure out this iPhone hack
If your dad were the technical advisor for the realistic hacks on Mr. Robot and he lovingly micromanaged your gadgets, you'd probably feel pretty badass about the security of your personal devices. So when one of Marc Rogers' kids had their iPhone pickpocketed at San Francisco Pride this year, things took an unexpected turn when tech-savvy thieves pulled off hacking tricks that had Rogers beside himself with curiosity and fascination. And concern. Lots of concern.
The best free-to-play games
Gone 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.
The best games for your smartphone
Sorry, 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.
The best games for PC
So 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.
If Facebook owns reality, it'll be impossible to opt out
Facebook is developing augmented reality glasses -- but that's not the wildest bit of future tech the company revealed during today's Oculus Connect keynote. For these coming AR headsets, Facebook is building a virtual Earth, and it expects all of us to live in it, every day, for as many hours as possible. Maybe even all the time. And, chances are, we will.
The best games for Xbox One
A series of missteps put Microsoft in second place before the Xbox One even came out. While it's likely to remain there until the next generation begins, there are a lot of people out there who have never experienced what the console has to offer. With the Xbox One X having a clear advantage over Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro when it comes to gaming on a 4K TV, there's never been a better time to jump in.
The best games for PS4
Sony's PlayStation 4 is fast approaching its sixth birthday, and that poses a problem. You see, game developers have seen fit to release a game for almost every day the console has been available, leaving you with well over 1,500 titles to choose from. The sheer volume of games on offer, coupled with the subjective nature of the medium, makes it impossible to definitively name "the best," and that's not what this list is about.
After Math: Being better than being best
As protesters taking part in the Global Climate Strike shut down cities last Friday, a number of tech industry firms announced their own efforts to decrease their carbon footprints and improve the environmental stewardship of their operations. Here are a few of the highlights.
After Math: More, more, mooooooore
Woke up this morning with the "more, more, mooooooore" refrain from Lady Marmalade stuck in my head despite not having heard that song in close to a decade because sure why the hell not. So, since I can't get the demonsong out of my ear, let's get it into yours while we take a look at some of our more, more, mooooooore expansionary headlines of the week. We're getting itchi gitchi ya ya here.
After Math: A wee bit of strategery
We are a slippery species. As this week's headlines evidence, if there's one thing humans are good at, it's getting around the established rules.
