DailyShow
Latest
Elon Musk tells Ford VP 'bring it on' in F-150 vs. Cybertruck battle (update)
At the unveiling of Tesla's Cybertruck, Elon Musk showed off a video of the low-polygon-count pickup defeating an F-150 in a tug of war. Since then, many have complained it wasn't a good comparison, since the presumably AWD Cybertruck appeared to face off against a lower-spec RWD Ford with nothing in the bed to help its tires get grip, and took off first.
Huawei's answer to the iPad Pro is the 10.8-inch MatePad Pro
Huawei has unveiled the 10.8-inch MatePad Pro, an iPad Pro-like tablet that we saw earlier via a leak. While it does bear a strong resemblance to Apple's 11-inch iPad Pro, the MatePro has even slimmer 4.9mm bezels made possible by an 8-megapixel hole-punch front camera, according to Engadget Chinese. It's also got a slightly higher-resolution 2,560 x 1,600 display that can output a very bright 540 nits while supporting the DCI-P3 color gamut.
BYU researchers extend WiFi range by 200 feet with a software upgrade
As we fill our homes with connected devices, we'll need WiFi to reach around every corner. One solution is hardware like Amazon's Eero routers and Google's Nest WiFi, physical devices that give your primary WiFi signal a boost. But researchers think there might be another way: a software protocol that extends the distance connected devices can send and receive WiFi by more than 60 meters.
People are struggling to use Tesla's Smart Summon feature safely
Tesla's handy Smart Summon feature was hailed as the next big thing in motoring convenience when it was first announced earlier this year. Press a button and the car comes to you? Brilliant. But as a few Tesla owners have recently shown, there's still a pretty big gap between the way Tesla says the feature should be used, and how people are actually using it.
Microsoft HoloLens 2 will go on sale in September (update)
Microsoft announced its second-generation HoloLens at Mobile World Congress in February but didn't mention when the device will be available. Now, Microsoft EVP Harry Shum has revealed that the mixed reality headset will go on sale sometime in September. Shum has dropped the information on HoloLens 2's release date during a speech at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, where Elon Musk and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma engaged in a debate about AI. Update 8/29/19 7PM ET: A Microsoft spokesperson has reached out and clarified that the company hasn't announced a date for general availability yet: "As we announced in February, Microsoft HoloLens 2 will begin shipping later this year. We have started collecting expressions of interest for HoloLens 2 preorders and, as part of our standard practice for gathering feedback, have shared near-final prototypes with some customers, but have not announced a date for general availability."
Apple will still review Siri recordings, but only if you opt in
Earlier this month, Apple suspended the program which used contractors to review clips of audio gathered by Siri. Users were up in arms after they learned that the contractors sometimes heard sensitive information, like medical records, personal interactions and criminal activity. Today, Apple issued an apology and promised changes.
Apple fires hundreds of contractors hired to listen to Siri recordings
In the wake of revelations that Apple has people listening in to some Siri requests, Apple has fired more than 300 contractors in Cork, Ireland. As The Guardian reports those contractors were hired as part of a "grading" program that reviewed audio recorded by Siri. News broke last month that those contractors often heard sensitive information -- like medical info, criminal activity and "sexual encounters." After temporarily suspending the program, Apple has reportedly decided to terminate it.
A new coating could be the key to lighter lithium metal batteries
For a couple of years now, scientists have positioned lithium metal batteries as the next major breakthrough in battery technology, thanks to two main advantages over their lithium-ion counterparts. First, they can store at least 33 percent more power per pound. Second, they're significantly lighter thanks to the fact the positive end of the battery, the anode, is made from lithium, instead of graphite.
NASA's new moon-landing supercomputer is more powerful and more eco-friendly
NASA has officially opened its new supercomputer, Aitken, at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. It uses a modular design which requires less electricity and power than traditional facilities and and it will allow researchers to run complex simulations more quickly.
'Pokémon Go' gamified walking, so now 'Pokémon Sleep' scores your naps
So how will the Pokémon Company follow up the success of Niantic's Pokémon Go? At a press conference today they revealed Pokémon Sleep, a new mobile game that tracks your time sleeping to unlock new characters. It's being made by Pokémon Magikarp developer Select Button. There's also some new hardware with a Pokémon Go Plus + that works as a sleep tracker thanks to its integrated accelerometry, and also works just like the $35 Pokémon Go Plus accessory for use with that game.
NVIDIA buys high-performance chip-maker Mellanox for $6.9 billion
NVIDIA confirmed that it has purchased Israeli chip-maker Mellanox for $6.9 billion, its largest acquisition to date. The bid, rumored for several days, trumped a $6 billion offer made by Intel several months ago. It will reportedly help NVIDIA better compete in the server market, which accounts for about a third of its sales.
Sony finally brings PS4 Remote Play to iPhone and iPad
The latest update to the PlayStation 4 operating system has a feature that some users have craved for years. From today, the console will now properly sync with iOS devices, giving iPhone and iPad users the ability to game with the PS4 Remote Play app. Given that Sony first launched remote play (for its Xperia Z3) in October 2014, it's certainly been a long time coming.
Samsung's Galaxy Fold could lead to two more folding phones soon
If you, for some unknown reason, thought Samsung's flexible device rollout would stop with the Galaxy Fold then we have bad news. Bloomberg cites unnamed sources saying that the company is already working on a pair of follow-up smartphones, with one shaped like a clamshell (folding vertically so that the top meets the bottom) and another that folds away just like Huawei's impressive Mate X. The rumors suggest that the vertically folding device could appear late this year or early next year, while the one that folds out is due after that.
Tesla will unveil the Model Y crossover on March 14th
Tesla is following up a very busy February with an even more hectic March. Elon Musk has announced that his brand will unveil the long-promised Model Y crossover at the LA Design Studio on March 14th. On top of that, you can expect the first "v3.0" Supercharger station to switch on March 6th at 8PM Pacific. Musk didn't provide more clues beyond that, but you might already have an idea as to what to expect.
Motorola confirms its foldable phone is coming
By now, it's not much of a secret that Motorola is working on a folding phone of its own: A patent for such a device surfaced late last year, and a subsequent report in The Wall Street Journal basically confirmed the company's plans. Despite the ensuing hype, Motorola has mostly kept quiet about its progress, but in an interview with Engadget this week, Motorola VP of Global Product Dan Dery shed some additional light on the company's ambitions.
'Pokémon Sword' and 'Shield' arrive on Switch late 2019
Nintendo and Game Freak have been promising an honest-to-goodness Pokémon role-playing game for the Switch for years, and they're nearly ready to deliver. They've unveiled Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, the first entries in the core RPG franchise for Nintendo's current console. The initial clips only provide so much detail, but they do suggest a change from the classic top-down perspective to a horizontal view. And of course, there's new material. You can expect a new region, Galar, as well as three new starter critters: Grookee (a grass character), Scorbunny (fire) and Sobble (water).
Energizer's big battery smartphone is almost three iPhones thick
Energizer has teased a huge array of smartphones for a while. The company that makes the devices, Avenir Telecom, has used that branding to showcase dummy phone models at MWC with stupidly-high capacity batteries several times but I never got to see one of them working. That is, until this chunky azure thing showed up. The P18K Pop (as it's known) is probably thicker than any battery pack you currently own. It's basically an 18,000mAH battery with a smartphone stuck on it.
Here's what you missed over the weekend at MWC 2019
While you're enjoying a cup of coffee or tea to kickstart your week, there's a lot of MWC news to catch up on from over the weekend. Huawei, LG, Microsoft and others all hosted events in Barcelona yesterday to show off their wares, ranging from foldable phones to 5G handsets and mixed reality. We realize you may have snoozed Sunday away, so we've summed up all that you might've missed so far in one handy spot.
Samsung's foldable phone is officially the 'Galaxy Fold'
To the surprise of absolutely no one who paid attention to Samsung's hype-building for Unpacked, it had more to reveal about its foldable phone. The device is now officially known as the Galaxy Fold, and much like the prototype we saw back in November, we're looking at a 4.6-inch secondary AMOLED display on the outside, followed by a much larger 7.3-inch Infinity Flex AMOLED screen when the device is unfolded.
Netflix officially cancels 'Jessica Jones' and 'The Punisher'
You knew Netflix's remaining Marvel shows were living on borrowed time after it cancelled Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist within weeks of each other -- and sure enough, the remaining productions are on the way out. Netflix has cancelled Jessica Jones and The Punisher, putting an end to the Marvel partnership that started in 2013. Jessica Jones' third season will still launch on Netflix later in 2019 as a last hurrah, but that's as far as it goes.
