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MoviePass founder's next big idea: Free movie tickets for watching ads
Stacy Spikes just wants to get people to the movies. As the co-founder and CEO of MoviePass, he helped popularize the idea of cinema subscriptions. (This was before MoviePass brought in a new CEO and his ambitious -- but ultimately unsustainable -- $10 monthly plan.) As he pondered his next endeavor, he started noticing just how many ads we're subjected to in theaters, something that seems especially egregious as ticket prices keep climbing. And that's not counting the product placement we see in films.
Apple's new AirPods offer longer battery life and wireless charging case
Apple's hardware trojan horse continues to gallop a week ahead of its "show time" event next Monday. We've seen two new iPads and an iMac update, and now its increasingly ubiquitous AirPods are up. The rumors have been around for a while as to what was next for the AirPods. Noise cancellation? All kinds of wireless charging? Always-on Siri? How about some, but not all, of the above?
Apple's 2019 iMac gets some fresh chips, including an eight-core CPU
It's shaping up to be a busy week for Apple. Yesterday the company unveiled two updated iPads, and today it announced the iMac is getting a minor refresh. Going forward, the 21.5-inch model will be offered with an eighth-gen six-core Intel Core i5 CPU at the high end, plus 4GB AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. That top-tier sku will also include an eighth-gen six-core Core i7 processor as a configure-to-order option. At the entry-level, the 21.5-inch model starts with a dual-core seventh-generation Core i5 processor, and then moves up to configurations with eighth-gen quad-core chips.
Apple quietly announces 10.5-inch iPad Air and refreshed iPad mini
Apple's online store went dark earlier this morning, and now it's clear why: The company decided to quietly roll out not one, but two new iPads ahead of its big event next week. The new, larger, 10.5-inch iPad Air will arrive with a 70 percent performance boost compared to its predecessor, thanks to the company's A12 Bionic chip with Apple's Neural Engine. That'll be useful alongside the now 20-percent larger display -- which is compatible with the first-gen Apple Pencil too.
The Android Q beta is here with a focus on privacy
It's that time of year when Google offers an early peek at the next version of Android, and sure enough, the first Android Q preview beta is here. Like previous Android betas, the emphasis here is more on functional updates rather than razzle-dazzle. Most notably, privacy is a major focus. You can limit location gathering to when an app is running (much like on iOS) and restrict apps' access to media, while Google will restrict apps' power to either jump to the foreground or collect sensitive info like IMEI and serial numbers.
NASA releases the final panorama that Opportunity took on Mars
Before a Martian dust storm took out Opportunity in June 2018, the rover was able to capture hundreds of images that NASA has now released as a panorama. The 360-degree photo is composed of 354 images overall, taken by the rover's Panoramic Camera (Pancam) from May 13th through June 10th. It shows the vehicle's final resting place in Perseverance Valley located in Endurance Crater's western rim. The rover lost touch with NASA in June after it reported the approaching storm that ultimately covered its solar panels with dust and rocks.
Japan's moon rover will be made by Toyota
Toyota is going to the moon. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has teamed up with the carmaker to build a pressurized self-driving rover that will land on the lunar surface in 2029. The six-wheeled transporter will be able to carry two humans for a distance of 10,000 kilometers using solar power and Toyota's fuel cell technology. The rover will be about the size of two minibuses, with 13 square meters of habitable space, and the astronauts on board will be able to take their suits off inside the vehicle as they explore. It will land on the moon before the human expedition arrives, and travel independently to meet them.
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.
China wants to put a solar farm in space by 2025
Humanity uses a lot of energy, and while solar power here on Earth is doing a reasonable job of contributing to the electricity mix, scientists have long hypothesized that gathering the sun's energy from space would be a lot more effective. And now China says it's going to be the first to do exactly that, announcing plans to build an interstellar power station that will orbit the Earth at 36,000 kilometers.
The 'Link's Awakening' remake could be the start of something special
I never beat The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, but not for lack of trying. It's one of my favorite entries in the Zelda series, and I played it over and over as a kid. I got stuck on the same bit every time, one puzzle I couldn't get past. It vexed me for years, but eventually I forgot about it. But now, more than 20 years later, I get another shot at it: Yesterday, Nintendo went deep into its back catalog to show off a remake of Link's Awakening for the Switch. The 1993 title debuted on the Game Boy and changed what we thought Nintendo's humble handheld console was capable of. Indeed, the game was nearly as deep and vast as A Link to the Past on the Super NES.
NASA admits the Mars Opportunity rover is dead
If you're a fan of Mars exploration, you're probably in mourning right now. NASA's Opportunity rover has effectively been declared dead after the agency's last attempt to contact the storm-struck rover was met with silence. Officials held a press conference at 2PM ET to discuss the outcome, and as expected NASA confirmed that it is saying goodbye to Opportunity. The machine doesn't stand a chance if it doesn't have power -- Martian winter is coming, and Opportunity needs working heaters to survive the chilly conditions.
